🗞️ Digital Marketing Must-Knows

Hello, Marketers.

Last week we got a good reminder. Social apps are great for top-of-funnel exposure. But not so much for building communities. Algorithms get in the way.

That’s why creators also use apps like Discord & Telegram.

By introducing ‘Channels’, Instagram is making it easier for creators to build their community in one place.

Meta showed how they are trying to make a better home for creators to engage with their audiences. As it becomes less about follower counts and more about connection.

Let’s jump in

- Kole

P.S. Thursday, Feb 23 I’ll be hosting a free live session: The 6-step Formula for a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy. I’ll also give away my template for free too. Details are at the end!

Round-Up

1. Instagram launched a broadcast chat feature, ‘Channels’: A New Way for Creators to Deepen Connections with Followers. (Tech Crunch ↗️)

• Creators can broadcast messages to engage with their followers at scale directly. There’s no algorithm in the way of creators distributing their content to their follower’s feeds.

• Only the creator can send messages, which can include: text, photos, videos, voice notes, and polls. Followers can add emoji reactions to content and participate in polls, with more features coming soon.

• Brands working with creators can use the Channel to promote products more directly to a targeted audience. The Channel members receive a push notification with new messages.

• There’s also the option to create a broadcast channel limited to paid subscribers for exclusive content.

• Instagram is initially testing the feature with a small group of creators. There is a waitlist for early access.

2. Facebook has updated the ‘Why am I seeing this’ ad feature. Users can see how their online activity (both on and off Meta apps) influenced the ad they were shown. “Such as liking a post on a friend’s Facebook page or interacting with your favorite sports website”. Meta has also added an option to manage ad preferences in the tool. (Search Engine Land ↗️)

3. TikTok is working on new creator monetization options. Creators could be able to charge $1+ for people to watch their videos. TikTok wants to boost the financial incentives to keep the talent on the platform. Monetization through ads is tricky because one ad is sandwiched between several short videos. Rather than one ad that loads before a particular video, like on YouTube. (Business Insider ↗️)

4. Meanwhile TikTok has opened its Shop feature to more brands. TikTok lets companies sell products directly on the app through a TikTok-hosted checkout. Resulting in a smoother buying experience for customers who aren’t redirected to a store. Ad Age reported that several more retail brands have joined the program. The program remains in testing. Right now there are no details on the commission model or how customer data is treated. (Tech Crunch ↗️)

5. Insider Intelligence: US adults will spend more time streaming video than on traditional TV for the first time this year. The trend shows 53% of video consumption, 3 hours and 11 minutes, is spent on Netflix, TikTok, YouTube, and others. Versus 2 hours and 55 minutes on traditional TV. (Marketing Brew ↗️)

More headlines:

• Facebook is testing a verified account feature, like Twitter. Where creators get a badge and priority support

• Twitter is focusing on improving ad relevance based on search history and topics of tweets

• TikTok is testing dedicated feeds alongside FYP, for food, gaming, sports, and fashion

• Google launched new Connected TV features for DV360

• Spotify is preparing a TikTok-style feed

🏁🏁

^_✍🏽 written by Kole Ogundipe

🆕 Free Live Session, this Thursday, Feb 23:

The 6-step Formula for a Winning Digital Marketing Strategy (30 mins)

• Group 1: Noon ET (New York) / 5pm GMT (London). Add to your calendar

• Group 2: 5pm ET (New York) / 3pm PST (LA). Add to your calendar