The Weekly Report #2
Week: 08 Aug 22 - 12 Aug 22
In a nutshell,
How instagram is so boldly embracing its recent failure, Facebooks rough days with its numbers falling in the second quarter, Snapchat announcing a grant for Sound Creators, all the tea about how TikTok is reportedly going further in to the music space and just how that could compete with Spotify and Apple Music. And all the details into new feature by YouTube.
Let’s get social!
1. Instagram walks back platform changes
This happened
In the wake of massive amount of blowback about updates to the app’s user experience, Instagram will walk back some recent changes to the product following a week of mounting criticism, the company said today. This includes full-screen photos and videos being phased out in one to two weeks. Most importantly, Instagram plans to work on its algorithms.
I’m glad we took a risk - if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough.
said, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri
The Lesson
These rollback will apparently not be permanent, Instagram’s changes demonstrates the importance of listening to the users who populate the platform. Conclusion is Instagram will remain focused on video content, but brands and marketers who use the platform should pay attention to these updates, and in the meantime continue to take advantage of the prioritization of Reels and other short-form content.
2. Facebook reports drop in revenue for the first time
This happened
Facebook reported its first-ever yearly decline in revenue for the second quarter, announcing a 1% drop to $28.8 billion, and predicted that growth in the third quarter could fall even more.
The overall profit for its parent company, Meta, fell 36% to $6.7 billion.
The Reality Labs division responsible for building Mark Zuckerberg’s met averse dreams lost $2.8 billion in the quarter. The platform has managed to grow its audience base; however, increasing daily users by 3% to $1.97 billion.
The Lesson
With this drop, we can reasonably expect that Facebook will continue to create a user experience to rival TikTok, they target competitor, and allow for monetization features that will offset the losses from Apple’s recent privacy updates. Digital Marketers should continue to look to take advantage of social’s largest platform full of consumers looking to make connections and stay up to date on their friends and families.
3. Snapchat announces Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund
This happened
A new grant program designed to recognize emerging, independent artists for the critical role they play in driving video creations, inspiring internet trends and defining cultural moments.
Snap will provide monthly grants up to $100,000 USD to top Sounds Creators that are distributing music in Snapchat via DistroKid,
and driving the creation of content across platform. Popular sounds will also have the opportunity to included in our Sounds product, in a Snapchat Lens or in Spotlight.
The Lesson
This is quite the step up to be one of the many platforms competing with TikTok. While they have made their nice and specific niche in AR, they have introduced and built out their sounds capabilities for the past two years, and with this partnership it looks like they are trying to combat TikTok and pivot themselves to be a sound-focused app as well. In the mean time there are going to be more sounds for creators and brands to play with that come through this fund, make the app a more creative and inviting space.
4. TikTok reportedly to develop TikTok Music App
This happened
The parent company, ByteDance, files a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “TikTok Music” in May. According to the filing, the service would let users purchase, play, share and download music. It would also allow users to create, share and recommend playlists, comment on music, as well as livestream audio and video. ByteDance already filed for a “TikTok Music” trademark in Australia last November.
The Lesson
The rightfully recognized short-term content app, is also an impossibly powerful music discover service. This new move by the company would position them further into the music space, becoming a more social-oriented competitor to platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. The continued growth and prominence of the app will be sure to change the way that consumers stream and talk about music on social media.
5. Youtube’s making it easier for creators to turn longer content into Shorts
This happened
With the addition of a new “Edit into a Short” tool to its iOS and Android app, will allow creators to select up to 60 seconds from one of their videos and bring the clip into the Shorts editor, right from the YouTube app on iOS or Android. Text, filters, as well as additional video shots with the Short camera or pulled from the photo library can be added. The finished short will link to the video it was clipped from.
The Lesson
The ability to take content already made and optimized for long-form, as the vast majority of YouTube creator do and then have it live a second life as a Short is a great opportunity for creators on the platform; it could easily make shorts the ideal promotional tool for a channel. This new feature will be sure to be a priority for YouTubers, and brands and digital marketers. And look to create content specifically for Shorts as a way to diversify short-form content placement and increase visibility of campaigns and assets.
That’s all for this week - See you again!
Source: 5 things The Podcast by Grey