Is Lemon8 the next big thing?
If you want your business to grow you have to keep a keen eye on your audience and their needs.
For example:
Remember when Meta was just Facebook? No Instagram, no WhatsApp, just Facebook? As the world changed they had to diversify by launching new platforms.
It seems TikTok’s owner ByteDance is doing the exact same thing. It’s launching a new social media platform called Lemon8, people are calling it a mixture of Instagram and Pinterest.
Although it’s not officially launched yet, ByteDance has been ramping up the promo by inviting creators to get in early. That means it’s already reached the top 10 most downloaded apps in the US.
Those who have access say it’s similar to another Chinese app Xiaohongshu, which is a discovery engine and e-commerce platform.
Could this be the next big thing? Could a flood of apps from China put an end to the ban on TikTok? It’s going to be an interesting one to watch.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/07/lemon8-bytedance-copy-from-china/
Whitehouse Influencer briefing room
It takes a US election to prove the power of social media.
Obama was the first to use it to boost his profile. Then there was Trump and the Facebook ads scandal and let’s not even talk about Twitter.
This year could be the year that the world realises Influencer marketing is a thing.
The Whitehouse is setting up some sort of Influencer briefing room, similar to a press briefing room. It will be populated by young influencers and creators.
With trust in old-school media tanking and with more people relying on creators to inform their opinion this is a smart move and a good way for Biden to reach the younger voters who are already more likely to vote for him.
Could this win him the election? Maybe but the real winner will be influencer marketing.
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/09/bidens-digital-strategy-an-army-of-influencers
Get a headstart on Google Analytics 4 & understand the lingo with the GA4 phrase book
Instagram advice on DMs
Your website is the most important part of your digital marketing to track and deliver sales. But it’s not the only way to get sales.
More and more conversions are happening in social media apps without website visits. Perhaps because it’s much easier for someone to message you when they see your posts on social than it is to find your website and click around until they find what you want.
And that’s why Instagram Direct is so important.
Using messaging you can build relationships and see.
It seems Instagram knows this as this week it’s added a page to its business site that walks you through the DM process.
This includes adding an IG.me link on your site and in emails to encourage conversations, using click-to-messenger ads and setting up automated FAQ prompts (and others) in your account.
https://business.instagram.com/direct-messaging/learn-how
Instagram Upgrades Creator Marketplace
The creator marketplace on Instagram was designed as a place where brands could easily connect with Creators. And now it’s getting an upgrade.
The API (the thing that connects Instagram to other platforms) will now support the creator and influencer platforms that brands may already use. This will make it much easier for them to connect with creators without having to navigate to a whole new site.
This has to be good news for creators, and as long as Facebook doesn’t start charging tens of thousands for API access (like Twitter) it will be good news for brands and the tools they use too.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/11/instagram-adds-new-features-to-its-creator-marketplace-expands-access-to-brand-agencies/
No more 10 minute TikToks
Something disappeared, unannounced from TikTok this week.
For those who had the option, 10-minute videos created in app have gone. The maximum length is now 10 minutes.
There was no official announcement but users are reporting it widely.
Does this mean that TikTok realises we don’t want long videos on the platform?
Or…
Is it just a glitch?
Either way, I don’t think I would sit through a single 10-minute video on TikTok. It would have to be pretty amazing to stop me scrolling onto the next cat video.
https://searchengineland.com/10-minute-tiktok-videos-are-gone-395487
Legacy Twitter Checkmarks Will Disappear
If you have a blue checkmark that you didn’t pay for, you’re going to lose it on Thursday.
That’s the date that Elon Musk declared that they will remove legacy checkmarks. Weirdly, many celebrities have said they won’t bother paying for it.
Does this prove that there is little value in the new checkmark? Does it mean anything if it’s not awarded to prove public figures are who they claim to be?
Worse, real people who sign up for Twitter Blue are getting abused online for paying for verification. Which is not nice.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/Twitter-Confirms-Removal-of-Legacy-Checkmarks/647390/
Oh please, Elon’s dog is CEO of Twitter?
Elon Musk gave an extensive interview with the BBC via Twitter spaces this week. In it he talked about the painfulness of taking over Twitter, how he only did it because the courts would have forced him to. How he hated firing the workforce, how he sometimes slept in the office and…
How he did honour the poll telling him to stand down as CEO, he has appointed his dog Floki to the job.
Everything he says becomes more ridiculous by the day, but at least he didn’t feel good about firing all those people I guess.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/12/elon-musk-twitter/
