Looking for the latest news and updates in the social media world? You’ve come to the perfect place!
Let’s supercharge those social strategies and round up all the must-know news from the top-rated social platforms right now.
TikTok attempts to BeReal
Even as the top dog trending social media platform, TikTok isn’t afraid of learning some new tricks. Or, at the least, copying them.
With the rise in popularity of BeReal, the snap-and-go platform catching the younger audience’s attention, it was only a matter of time until someone else swooped in and tried to pocket some of that buzz.
Introducing TikTok Now, a new(ish) way to connect with others across the platform.
Through TikTok Now, users will receive daily reminders to capture short videos or photos, which they can send to friends and family members. Additionally, users are notified that it’s “Time to Now” and can then reply with their own content. Sounds familiar, right?
TikTok is the first platform to take a page out of BeReal’s book. Though only in the US for now, we’ll likely see TikTok Now take flight overseas soon, bringing new marketing opportunities over with it.
And speaking of marketing opportunities, both TikTok and BeReal present brands with an opportunity to get to know their audience, and put a face to their brand. In fact, 55% of consumers trust user-generated content over other forms of marketing, making people-first and video-based apps the perfect place for you to connect with your audience and build trust with them.
What’s more, BeReal has tapped into a uniquely authentic approach to social media. As an app that focuses on close and reactionary communication with others, brands that have made their way onto the platform have been incredibly creative with their marketing, and you can too!
But TikTok is in another realm of popularity; the brand will likely find a way to implement ads, campaigns or other creative tools such as its massive music library into TikTok Now. Chances are, it will become increasingly monetisable while maintaining that ‘real’ feel.
With that in mind, are you already advertising on BeReal? Perhaps you’re looking for ideas on how to, or eager to know as much as you can before TikTok Now takes centre stage? We have the perfect BeReal strategy blog to prepare you here.
Snapchat’s snazzy new features
Keeping things fresh through Autumn, Snapchat has announced some sweet new features throughout the platform.
To keep things snappy, the new Lock Screen Widgets keep conversations with your friends saved on home screens, with the Chat Shortcuts feature allowing users to spot unread messages easily at the top of the Chat Tab.
But for all you marketers out there, there are a couple of features we wanted to highlight.
If you’re keen to increase brand interaction with audiences, Snapchat’s new Question Stickers could be the perfect tool to get stuck into. As simple as writing a question and posting it to your story, Question Stickers allow your brand to natively interact with audiences on the platform and keep their attention drawn to your content for longer.
Your brand could use Question Stickers in a variety of ways – such as asking for feedback on specific products or even offering users with the most creative answers to your question a limited-time discount on your services.
Breaking away from the small screen, Snapchat has also announced Snapchat for Web will now be available to everyone. Increasing the number of devices Snapchat works on (be it mobile, tablet or desktop) means there’s a larger demographic your brand can advertise and engage with.
With these new additions, alongside its distinct AR and Dynamic Travel ad features, Snapchat stands strong as a platform offering many creative marketing methods.
The latest in Livestreaming
Want to invest some of your campaign budget into the Livestreaming world? You might want to push pause for now, especially if you’re keen to collaborate with influencers.
One of the biggest Livestreaming platforms, Twitch, has come under fire for multiple controversies – from serious allegations against certain creators to the overall respect influencers are given across the platform.
Recently, Twitch announced a change in policy regarding revenue split when utilising the platform. For partnered content creators, the 70/30 split has been reduced to Twitch’s standard 50/50… a change people aren’t too keen on.
In fact, the change in policy has led the VP of Twitch to step down, with its highest-ranking influencers also voicing concerns and openly stating the possibility of jumping to another Livestreaming platform.
Potentially, this is where a platform like YouTube Live could win over the majority, as the company offers a 70/30 split for all its creators, not just partners.
So, if you’re planning on placing campaigns across Livestream media or thinking of Livestreaming your own branded content, we recommend checking to see where influencers and specific niche groups are heading; chances are, they won’t be on Twitch much longer.
Fancy some more insights? We’ll keep you in the loop on our social page if we have any further updates to these stories, app updates or big marketing moments we want to shout out.
For now, if you’re looking to get real with your TikTok strategies, interested in utilising Snapchat’s new features, or want help preparing next-level Livestreaming tactics – get in touch with our expert team now. We’ve recently won three awards for our social media campaigns, so you’ll be in good hands.
The gaming industry is the largest entertainment industry in the world. So how can you plug in and play your best strategies when it comes to video game marketing?
The most effective way to game right now is through streaming. And nobody does streaming better than the broadcasting giant, Twitch.
However, not everyone is as tech-savvy as the social influencers that use Twitch daily. That’s where Gameplan comes in. Let’s look at how Twitch’s new ad services will level up your branding in the biggest industry ever.
Plan for your brand
Twitch recently launched Gameplan – a global ad assessment programme that certifies you as a streaming platform professional.
Gameplan’s goal is to perfect brands’ understanding of live streaming. As a result, your online advertising on Twitch will 1-up and increase overall audience reach.
But there’s more! The training programme will also educate brands on the wonders of immersive and interactive campaigns on Twitch. So not only will you understand Twitch, you’ll master its range of experimental marketing!
Once completed, the shiny star of certification will be yours to show off! Your brand will be an official Twitch pro – which will present you as an all-knowing genius in live streaming marketing. Humble bragging is almost permitted.
Want to dive deeper into Gamplan’s services? Twitch held a one-hour launch event promoting the course – which you can watch here.
Branding to the next level!
Andrea Garabedian, global head of sales marketing at Twitch, highlights why Gameplan is an important tool for your game marketing. Her statement:
“Viewers on Twitch are more likely to trust and interact with brands when advertisers are invested in understanding our community. Twitch Gameplan provides context and best practices to ensure that brands can foster genuine engagement on Twitch.”
But the fun doesn’t stop there! As we mentioned earlier, Gameplan certification allows for a bunch of best practices for online marketing:
- Levelled Up Advertising
Creativity is key for advertising, especially with the rise of TikTok and native content more popular than ever.
Through Gameplan, you’ll learn how to create campaigns that immerse users through interaction – resulting in higher audience engagement.
- Brand Growth
Twitch is a trendy place; new games live stream daily, gaining huge watch time numbers from varying niche audiences.
From Fortnite to Among Us – it’s essential to keep track of what people are playing and catering your ads towards them. Gameplan will make sure you’re producing campaigns that deliver for your clients or follow your brand’s goals.
Yeah, we’re gamers
Brands are already gaining great experience (or XP for all you cool kids out there) in live stream marketing via Twitch.
PepsiCo, for example, promoted its limited-time Brisk product through an online tournament of Rocket League. Whilst ads for Brisk ran through the matches, Pepsi also created a car, themed off the product to play in the leagues.
By creatively standing out and immersing the brand within the culture, Brisk became the talk of the Twitch. Brisk even received organic taglines such as “Take the risk, drink the Brisk” from audiences. When you make it as a meme, you’ve made it.
However, you don’t have to go crazy with your campaigns. Sponsoring content can be as easy as having your brand appear on stream. A great example of this is when EA collaborated with Twitch streamer, RoryPlays.
Though Rory has a slightly smaller audience (with 23.3K as of now), EA sponsored her live stream when playing their additional content expansion for The Sims 4. They overlaid the EA logo onto the stream and asked if Rory would verbally promote the brand.
Working with micro-influencers is a fantastic way to spread brand awareness, as their audience is dedicated and eager to listen.
Influencer marketing is super important when marketing online. If you’d like to read more about influencer marketing and how it can improve brand recognition – read our blog here!
Twitching for something new?
Dan Holland, executive vice-president of Dentsu Gaming, highlights the importance of keeping up with new advertising platforms in the gaming world. His statement:
“Audiences are migrating to the new platforms, channels and spaces, often at a greater pace than our industry keeps up [with] – we need to be able to understand these platforms inside out to ensure our brands show up in a genuine, authentic way.”
Audiences certainly love Twitch – the stats prove it!
- 140 million monthly active users in 2022
- 71 million hours of content viewed every day
- More than 2.2 million users make the most of the stream feature every month
- In 2020, audiences consumed 18.6 billion hours of content.
- In 2020, the Twitch advertising revenue was $750 million
Though the core demographic of Twitch consists mainly of male users, 73% of which are under 35, that doesn’t mean the platform solely caterers to them – nor is it entirely a gaming platform.
Twitch offers a variety of streaming categories, from gaming to podcasts and “just chatting”. These options are great for e-commerce brands that want to establish an online identity naturally to audiences.
Also, categories are insanely open due to hashtags being available for all content. Educational services such as universities could easily create rooms for online tutoring or promote webinars through the hashtag education.
Additionally, Twitch offers trending topics as a category. Recently, the platform promoted International Women’s Month, giving female streamers the spotlight on Twitch’s landing page.
Ready, set, stream!
Twitch (or streaming in general) is not only a new avenue to explore in advertising; it’s a service to get involved with creatively.
Through active communication and fresh creative ideas, audience engagement is at peak performance on platforms like Twitch.
Other platforms, such as Meta, have begun restricting audience targeting options. Twitch, however, welcomes advertising for all audiences. Due to the nature of live content, it’s easier to monitor and report unethical advertising.
We love seeing platforms embrace new ways to engage and diversify advertising for audiences. And with Gameplan – you’ll be the master chief of live streaming in no time!
If you’d like advice on supercharging your live streaming efforts or want advice on how to Twitcherfy your content – contact our team of professionals now!