Joining Learning Brew's founding Alumni Advisory Board (ALBAB).
Last year, I was committed to continuing my education and doing so in a fashion that made sense to me. As a social media professional, I didn't know educational opportunities would provide me with true value.
I was excited to hear that one of my favorite newsletters, Morning Brew was expanding its offerings through Learning Brew with the Business Essentials Accelerator (BEA).
Grateful to be joining a group of professionals that built authentic relationships that go from virtual to in-person.
After graduating in their 5th cohort, I knew there was more in store for me. So I'm excited to be a part of Learning Brew's founding Alumni Advisory Board (ALBAB).
I look forward to helping Learning Brew build out the Eduverse, pioneer the future of learning, and accelerate the careers of top-performing professionals.
Social Media News For You In October
Let’s get right into the social media and influencer news you can use to start your week. We’re covering TikTok’s attempt to tap into the BeReal app, Instagram announcing its new Collabs feature, and how Content Creator satisfaction on Instagram is lacking compared to other platforms.
Want more social media news worth using? You can see more of my latest social media updates and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog if you’re new to my website.
TikTok BeReal Imitator Launches
Over the weekend, TikTok released TikTok Now, a standalone mobile app throughout international regions outside of the U.S., mostly on iOS. TikTok Now is a BeReal clone, and the app has features similar to the TikTok Now app recently released in the United States. Even if they have their TikTok alerts turned off, users of TikTok Now's standalone mobile app can choose to get push notifications for these social check-ins.
This move by TikTok represents yet another instance of social enterprises and conglomerates copying their burgeoning rival, BeReal. Being copied is flattering, or you could just be keeping up with the market.
Learn more about the new TikTok functionality and standalone app here.
Tips for Instagram Brand Collabs
Have you seen Instagram posts published by two users in your feed recently? That is the new function on Instagram, their Collabs feature. Instagram Collabs essentially offers posting credit to two users while allowing two users to upload the same content. Brands can now easily partner with influencers with the Collabs feature, making it easier for partnerships.
Why should brands look to tap into the collaboration feature? It will first increase overall reach by a brand’s sponsored content. And both usernames will be visible to anyone who comes across said social post. Additionally, brand collobartions like this should lead to higher engagements. Last but not least, it will aid Instagram in removing “duplicate” posts, improving the overall user experience.
There are a few instances where Instagram Collabs makes sense. My favorite would be for when a brand has a new product releasing. An Instagram Collab could be ideal for broadening your brand’s audience and increasing overall engagement. Learn more here.
Instagram Creator Satisfaction Is Lacking
According to a recent survey by Adobe, the creator economy expanded by over 165M people worldwide in the previous two years, a rise of 119%. Globally, 23% of people identify as creators, meaning approximately one in four people make an artistic or creative contribution.
However, internal documents highlight Meta's concern around its social platforms regarding creator satisfaction. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri says that surveys of creators showed that Instagram "lag[s] behind TikTok and YouTube on all the dimensions that are most important to creator satisfaction," including several unrelated to the ability to make money, such as "fun, reach, fair algorithm and care."
This is concerning because Instagram was once seen as the main competition for TikTok. Throw in the recent announcement that Instagram was no longer a photo-sharing app, and the app has lost its appeal to many longstanding users. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3C0fz2E.
Until next time! If you’re looking for more social media and influencer news, visit my blog.
Why I Started A Cohort-Based Class For Social Media Professionals
As a subject matter expert, I enjoy sharing my experiences and turning them into actionable insights. This is why I'm proud to announce I'm launching the 1st cohort of my Maven class: "SocialMedia Skills To Master.
Whether you work at an agency or are on the brand side, there is always an ask to connect better with one's target audience. Easier said than done, right?
The latest data from Social Media Week stated that the average attention span of consumers is roughly 2.5 seconds.
How can we, as digital marketers connect authentically with a consumer when you have the same time it takes for a human to take a breath?
So I set out to create a class at "Social Media Skills To Master” at Maven to help those working daily to succeed on #SocialMedia.
I've been fortunate to work on iconic brands like Oscar Mayer, Clorox, Kingsford, Burt's Bees, Triscuit, and Kool-Aid to develop and execute social media content strategies that have reached millions of consumers across the globe.
But I've also applied those strategies to challenger brands and small businesses.
Leading to speaking opportunities at Chicago Social Media Week, SocialRock Conference, and most recently, partnering with @bipocann and Colorado's Office of Economic Development.
This cohort will get started on 11/3 and includes four weekly sessions, ending before the holidays.
Have questions? Ask away but be sure to check out the FAQ here.
Social Media News Worth Knowing In September
Let’s get right into the social media and influencer news you can use to start your week. We’re covering why YouTube’s strongest asset is its ever-growing library, 23 useful Instagram Story hacks you can use today, and how Tik-Tok’s thunder is being stolen by content creators making the switch to YouTube Shorts.
If you’re new to my website, you can see more of my latest social media updates and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog.
Why YouTube's Best Weapon is its Asset Library
In 2021, Amazon, Disney+, and Netflix spent a combined $55B to enrich their content libraries, which roughly equals:
50k hours for Amazon
4.5k hours for Disney+
40k hours for Netflix
But what if I told you that over 500 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute? How many hours do you think that is per year? 262,080,000 hours of content, to be exact.
Every three hours, YouTube adds as much content as Netflix and Amazon's entire catalogs combined, or 20x Disney+'s.
That amount of content means there's something for everybody on the app, across generations. A recent poll states that 95% of teens use the app.
23 Instagram Story Hacks For You and Your Brand
With a 24-hour lifespan, Instagram Stories may seem insignificant, yet many brands and consumers love using them to share content. Are you maximizing your brand's use of Stories? Most likely not, as these various Story hacks from Business Insider can assist you in using Instagram's top feature to create more intelligent, imaginative, and exciting content.
For example, using closed captions, adding a background image, or hiding hashtags "off-screeN' are a few worth implementing regularly. Visit the link below on how to make your Instagram Stories, both personal and professional, stand out.
YouTube Shorts Stealing Content Creators From TikTok's
We are all aware of TikTok's growing popularity, and it's here to stay. Other social media platforms have also taken notice of this trend. With its YouTube Shorts feature, YouTube is one of the most well-known platforms that has dabbled in the "short-form video" field. Over the past two years, they have been developing this feature and recently announced a monthly user base of over 1.5 billion users.
In essence, YouTube Shorts is an app within the YouTube platform, where users can shoot and share short videos, similar to TikTok. However, YouTube is stepping it up by generating additional revenue from its content. On their platform, they're introducing a new ad option that will offer content creators up to 45% of the money generated by ad sales.
According to executives from YouTube, they want their creators to "make more money under this new advertising strategy, which is geared for long-term sustainability." TikTok and other short-form video platforms do not currently offer their producers as much revenue. If this trend continues, YouTube will be one of the best places for creators to make a career.
That's it for this week's social media news worth knowing! What other marketing or social media tips do you know that would be helpful to other digital marketers? Be sure to visit my blog for more social media-related content.
Social Media News You Need To Know
Let’s get right into the social media and influencer news you can use to start your week. We’re discussing the impact of iOS privacy changes leading to more influencers, tips for creating engaging carousel posts, and how small businesses can use social commerce for success.
If you’re new to my website, you can see more of my latest social media updates and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog,
iOS Privacy Change Leading to Influencer Partnerships?
Following last year's iOS privacy updates, brands are still trying to figure out how to make an impact through advertising. Many advertisers are shifting their marketing budgets away from paid social and toward influencer marketing.
Influencers can help brands reclaim some of their power and efficacy. This shift can also be seen in the influencer marketing sector, which increased to $13.8 billion in 2021 from $9.7 billion the previous year.
Many influencer marketers believe that Apple's privacy improvements have given them an advantage in the market and that the sector's recent rise may be partly due to the industry's increased focus on privacy.
At our agency, we see this as well, with multiple clients launching multiple influencer campaigns to close out 2022.
Tips for Creating Engaging Carousel Posts
We mentioned that Instagram is currently seeing the most reach with Reels, but carousel posts are also a great way to promote your content. There are numerous ways to use carousels to benefit your brand; here are a few of our favorites.
The traditional photo dump. You've probably seen it before, and you've probably done it yourself. Dumping a slew of photos or videos (no more than ten in a carousel) into one post to help tell your story. Photo dumps are popular among creators because they feel more authentic and personal.
Carousels can also be used to display behind-the-scenes content. Taking your audience behind the scenes of a shoot or event is an excellent way to increase participation. Showing users what happens during a photoshoot and the less filtered content that is captured can aid in the formation of trust and a connection with your audience.
Carousel posts are great for sharing more content and increasing your audience's visibility.
How to Use Social Commerce for Small Businesses
What is social commerce, and how can it help you serve your clients? Social commerce is a great way to simplify the buying process for potential and current customers of small businesses.
Social commerce is the practice of selling products directly to customers through social media platforms. Social commerce accelerates the purchasing process by keeping customers on the site where they first saw your product. The consumer's shopping experience becomes easier and more seamless, and brands generate more sales and revenue through social media.
Many of our small-business clients can benefit from the social commerce revolution by integrating their e-commerce stores with social platforms (for example, creating product-tagged posts) or hosting live shopping events on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
That's it for this week's social media news worth knowing! What other marketing or social media tips do you know that would be helpful to other digital marketers? Be sure to visit my blog for more social media-related content.
Let's Talk About "Quiet Quitting"
Whether you're a business leader navigating the ever-changing professional space or a Gen Z employee just starting their career, "Quiet Quitting" has been everywhere. What began as a trend on TikTok made its way to Twitter, YouTube, the web, TV, Print, and of course, your favorite newsletters (I see you, Morning Brew!)
During my commute this morning, I read an article on Business Insider about quiet quitting, and what started as a simple tweet, turned into a Twitter Thread. And that Twitter thread has now turned into a LinkedIn article.
I love this professional and cultural trend because it means something different to each individual and generation. Ask a Gen Z professional, and they say quiet quitting is a form of self-care that helps them prevent burnout, as it's been nearly 3 years since the ways of working were forever changed with the start of a global pandemic.
Ask a millennial, and many like me say that's it all about work-life balance. In that, we recognize that the positive benefit on my career by working 5+ extra hours a week is much smaller than the negative impact on my personal life and mental and physical health in doing so.
Talk to an older Gen X or Baby Boomer, and they'll say that quiet quitters are clueless, lazy, and won't succeed in high-performing companies. Just ask entrepreneur and TV personality Kevin O'Leary for his thoughts on quiet quitting.
While I recommend reading the Business Insider article in-depth, I wanted to share two meaningful quotes and my thoughts on the topic. Both are from Dr. Liz Gross, founder, and CEO of Campus Sonar, a higher education consultancy.
"I don't think quiet quitting would be a phrase or something that we're talking about if we didn't have a widespread problem with corporate cultures of overwork, underappreciation." - Dr. Gross
This, to me, is the most significant point around Quiet Quitting. Employees wouldn't look to reclaim their time if they didn't feel they needed to in the first place. You don't have to look for long on LinkedIn before you see a post about someone with either a negative or toxic work-life balance, regardless of industry or size. But will business leaders dig deeper into why #QuietQuitting is everywhere they look?
And another insight from this "outsider" perspective:
"There is a large portion of the workforce that went above and beyond, over the course of time, but particularly during the pandemic, and received absolutely no reward for that — and maybe actually lost something in the process," Gross said. "So if there is no incentive to exceed expectations, you should never expect people to go above and beyond."
Between the #GreatResignation and Quiet Quitting, I've personally seen organizations spend at least 2-3x in costs replacing employees instead of compensating them adequately. The emotional impact of a team member leaving and the impact of those who pick up the slack is hard to quantify.
Now Let Me Apply A Personal Lens To Quiet Quitting
Thinking about my personal experiences, I'll never forget the day I had 11 meetings scheduled while working as a middle manager at an advertising agency. I already knew it was a lot, but it was reaffirmed shortly after. My Dad, a senior HR executive for one of the largest companies at the time, had reached out as he always does and mentioned he only had two meetings.
I'm happy my Dad has a better work-life balance as a senior leader; he's earned it. But this anecdotal evidence from my personal life ties directly back to what Dr. Liz Gross said, entire industries and organizations have a culture of overwork.
I believe in putting in the work, learning skills, and building the mental fortitude for when the going gets tough. But the employer and employee relationship is a two-way street, and the organizations that recognize and lean into that fact retain the best employees and spend less time and money on rehiring and training.
And as leaders, we owe our teams at the very least, setting realistic expectations and communicating those clearly. It's then up to us as employees to decide if that's a good fit for us as professionals. I once worked on a nightlife brand, and due to a new project we sold in, would require someone from our social media team to be online late-night Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, engaging with our target audience.
That responsibility landed on my plate, and I directly asked my manager at the time, "Is the expectation for me to work a full day Thursday, and then either stay awake until the early morning or nap for two hours. And then do the same thing over again on Friday?" The response, as you can imagine was not straightforward and neither of us are there to this day.
How have your colleagues, your teams, and leaders responded to the trend of Quiet Quitting? Do you see similar things to what I mentioned above? Am I completely off?
Let me know!
