We’ve got a special Social Media Edition of Sly Fox for you today. Recently, there have been A LOT of social media updates we simply couldn’t keep to ourselves, so continue reading for the latest news on all things digital.
An encompassing term for websites and apps that enable content creation, networking, and connection, “social media” peaked in 2020. During the height of the pandemic, when we were all confined to our homes with little else to do, users spent more time than ever on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Fast forward to 2022, and reports are showing signs of decline across social media platforms—except for TikTok, which has grown by 32% since 2020.
So what is TikTok’s magical formula? Its algorithm.
Owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, TikTok boasts a highly sophisticated algorithm that knows exactly what you want to watch. TikTok understands your specific interests and behaviors, and hyper-targets content in order to keep you engaged with the platform.
Although this social media platform is growing, Tiktok is primarily an entertainment app, so you may not want to throw all of your marketing eggs in the TikTok basket. We’re not saying it’s a bad idea to have a brand presence on this booming app, only that it’s important to consider these questions:
What platforms is your brand’s target audience—and more importantly, potential consumer base—largely spending their time on?
Are you aligning your brand’s content with the platform’s current trends and best practices?
In any case, if you are interested in learning more about marketing on the platform, TikTok just launched “TikTok Academy.” This marketing education platform offers a series of free video courses to walk you through best marketing practices on TikTok. Check it out here.
Hot Marketing News
Twitter is struggling to keep users engaged, even the platform’s most active users. Also known as “heavy tweeters,” active users generate 90% of all tweets and 1/2 of global revenue, according to Reuters.
Elon Musk, Twitter’s new CEO, has plans to fix this. In addition to firing top Twitter execs, taking the company private, and changing the homepage, Musk is taking immediate steps to change the platform. Here is his list of priorities:
- Bot elimination
- Re-evaluation of Twitter’s moderation policies
- Open-sourcing feed algorithms
- Growth of paid subscriptions
- Reduction of Twitter’s reliance on ads
Facebook & Instagram
Meta (previously known as Facebook), reported its first loss of revenue since going public in 2007. Plus, the company’s stock fell more than 60% this year, and Meta expects to lose around $10 billion in ad revenue this year. Yikes!
Instagram, owned by Meta, is experiencing its own set of issues. These days, it seems like all users are seeing on Instagram are ads. As frustrating as that is for users, however, advertisers themselves are at their wit’s end.
Meta has altered how its advertising system operates, causing advertisers to have to re-submit and re-optimize campaigns. What a headache! To combat this issue, Meta recently launched “Performance 5,” which includes five data-proven steps to optimize campaigns. They are:
- Ad Testing
- Conversions API
- Simplified Ad Sets
- Broad-Targeting
- Mobile-Friendly Video
If you want the full scoop on Performance 5, click here.
BeReal
The latest on the social media scene, BeReal is a photo-sharing app that prompts users to take a candid photo of what they’re doing at any given moment, and share those photos with friends—but you can only post once per day. Check out the app for yourself here, and be on the lookout for BeReal.
Do you think this app will sink or swim?
Quick Facts
- The movement of decreased social media use (excluding TikTok) is being led by Gen Z (ages 18-25).
- 1 in 4 consumers watches a video made by a brand every single month.
- Zenith predicts that social media’s ad market will overtake TV in 2022.
- 77% of internet users look to social media when looking for more info on brands.
In Conclusion
Although social media seems to be on the decline, it continues to be an important aspect to include when building out your company’s marketing strategy—it just shouldn’t be your entire marketing strategy. When looking at the big picture, there are still 4.74 billion active users on social media (as of October 2022).
So yes—there are eyes on social media that your company can get in front of…you just have to put strategy behind your content plan. (Plus, social media is great for organic SEO, making it easier for Googlers to find your business.)
Top Fox Marketing is about to launch a new service that encompasses social media, Google ads, organic SEO, messaging, and more. Click here to be the first to know when our program is launched.
Ready to launch a marketing campaign…now?
You’ve come to the right place. From branding and content to strategy and execution, our team at Top Fox excels at all things marketing. Let’s talk—reach out to hello@topfoxmarketing.com.
