Will the US ban TikTok?
The US has had its eye on TikTok from the moment it got popular. Now it seems they could ban it.
The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that requires ByteDance to divest from TikTok or be banned from being offered on app stores.
But it’s not over yet.
The next step if for the bill to pass the Senate and be signed by the President.
The ban could happen. That means that if your target market is in the US you will need to rethink your social platform choice. It also means other countries and even the EU may decide to follow suit.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/13/house-passes-tiktok-bill-ban
Google Business Profiles Get Social
Is your Google Business Profile up to date?
If not, it may be time to look. The platform recently prompted users to add their social accounts to their listing and now, in some regions, it’s automatically pulling in social posts from those networks.
It’s not clear if this will be rolled out further but it does make sense for Google and your business to have one place that collates all your business info.
New verified stuff on Meta
Should you pay for customer service?
It’s a question I asked when Meta launched verified, and amongst my contacts, it’s the reason people pay. But apparently, interest in Meta verification is waning.
Some users are getting surveys asking what features they want in verified. Yet again a lot of these suggestions seem to be customer service related.
Adding links to Reels seems like a nice incentive but should you pay for faster ad approval? For content protection? For a customer support phone line?
I know I’d temporarily upgrade for the phone line, but I wouldn’t hang around. It will be interesting to see if these features are rolled out.
Get a headstart on Google Analytics 4 & understand the lingo with the GA4 phrase book
Pay to make your links more clickable
Website traffic from social is in decline but would you pay to make your links more clickable?
That’s what Meta seems to be offering some verified users. In a screenshot shared by Ahmed Ghanem on threads ‘More engaging links’ appears as an option.
That means you’ll be able to customise your link image making them more enticing to the people who see them. But is it worth paying for when your link posts get so little reach? I still think maybe it is.
https://www.threads.net/@theahmedghanem/post/C4NN4y_t5S1
Do you speak TikTok?
There is no denying the impact of TikTok on our lives. I’m seeing TikTok sections in bookshops and gadget shops. We’re all using vertical video. All the social channels are copying them and now…
It seems there is a TikTok Accent. The voice includes a higher intonation when we make declarations and a ‘vocal fry’ which adds some gravel to your voice.
As pointed out by BBC commentator Sophie Smith Galer, these vocal ticks could make you more compelling and keep people watching for longer.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240123-what-tiktok-voice-sounds-like-internet-influencer
Ugly graphics are hot
How do you stand out in a busy social media feed?
Could ugly graphics be the solution? It seems that brands targeting younger users are embracing ugly low-effort design.
And it’s working. One business ‘Nutter Butter’ has been particularly successful using the tactic to build their audience and loyal fan base.
Could this be a reaction to the fake world of Instagram and perfect graphics? Whatever it is it seems to be working for some.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C117rleIsMu/?hl=en&img_index=7
X videos on the telly
People are watching your YouTube videos on their massive TV screens, which is great. It’s another place where you can reach and engage your audience (but maybe not drive website traffic).
Soon they could be watching your X videos there too.
Musk has been invested in video on X for a while and now it’s going to offer long-form videos via a smart TV app. This could be great for long-form video creators, but you have to pay to upload these videos. Will this extra distribution result in more X subscribers?
