Happy “Can you believe it’s already November?”! While we didn’t see many big changes to social media platforms during October 2023, we’re following some trends that you should know.
Here’s our recap featuring TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Meta (Facebook + Instagram).
TLDR; view on Instagram
TikTok + YouTube: Leading the Way For All Things Video
TikToks are getting longer. YouTube videos are getting shorter.
TikTok, a platform that originally launched with 15-second micro-videos, is testing 15-minute videos. This move could pivot the platform towards the larger streaming industry in the same way as YouTube and Apple.
While YouTube launched “Shorts,” its version of TikToks and Instagram Reels, two years ago, creators are just now utilizing it as part of their content plan to capture new viewers.
These mirrored updates from TikTok and YouTube indicate that regardless of length, video is the preferred content type. That comes as no surprise, but it should be interesting to see how video evolves over the next 5 years.
As a business owner, you shouldn’t be afraid of the video format. You can easily create them (for free!) on TikTok, Instagram, or Canva. Get started by building a video library.
Integrating e-Commerce on Social Media Apps
Social media has long been the heart of e-commerce — but only as an advertising platform. As retail stores are standardizing apps as storefronts (as opposed to websites), social media platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, and Meta want you to stay and shop on their platforms.
It’s called social commerce. The main aim is to make it so that users would never need to leave social media apps. The secondary aim would be to provide these social media platforms with more consumer data than ever.
This will further legitimize the influencer marketing industry (and, as a bonus, will cut into Amazon’s market share).
For smaller online retail stores, this is an opportunity to increase advertising while decreasing costs.
The Looming Meta Problem: Increased Bots and Decreased Engagement
Both Facebook and Instagram are overrun with spam messages and comment bots. There’s no clear indication that Meta is trying to stop it.
The biggest problem Instagram is facing avoiding, however, is its algorithm.
To elaborate, Adam Mosseri, “Head of Instagram,” releases most of the app’s news, letting us know that collaborative carousels and in-post polls are coming. While he indicates that he’s excited for higher engagement, the feedback was loud and clear: Instagram doesn’t need more micro-features. It needs an algorithm that prioritizes its users, not advertisers.
Currently, engagement on Instagram is lower than it’s ever been, partially because of bots but mainly because the main feed shows posts from accounts you don’t follow. For marketers, content creators, and businesses, this means most of your followers aren’t seeing your content.
(See the announcement Thread that Mosseri posted that was not the success he was hoping for.)
Lastly
Get ready for your holiday marketing and do your research on hiring a digital marketing agency for 2024.
Want more? Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of user experience (UX) updates.