Welcome to our new end of month review, where we breeze through the marketing headlines or topics that gave us our “water cooler” moments in the office last month. (For the record, we don’t have a water cooler, since there are only two of us, but you know what we mean).
It seems politics and social activism have finally caught up with social media and hit the digital giants where it hurts – brands continuing to pull ad spend include colossi like Unilever and Coca Cola.
Speaking of which, are you dope, lit, or any of those other youth terms we don’t really understand, either? Even if (like us) you’re not, it’s probably time you got hip to what’s going down at TikTok, the youth-targeted app. Read on!
Social Media · 6 mins
Tik Tok, Tik Tok…is the clock ticking (already) for TikTok?
Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is aimed squarely at the youth market, has gained 800 million users and makes us feel very, very old.
Though popular with the kids, TikTok is viewed with extreme scepticism by authorities. Donald Trump is campaigning to either ban the platform – ostensibly as punishment for China’s response to the coronavirus – or have Microsoft buy it.
Sources suggest his motives are more to do with fears the app could be used by China to spy on users, while some feel the real issue is that owner Bytedance is the first bona fide rival to the Silicon Valley giants of the U.S. to emerge out of the East, and that Trump is just protecting his own.
Social Media · 6 mins
Advertisers’ about-face on Facebook
The Facebook advertising boycott was pretty big news last month. Almost 1,000 businesses joined the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, which encourages advertisers to boycott the social media giant until it does more to prevent the spread of racist material across the platform. World Federation of Advertisers CEO Stephan Loerke has said they will be unlikely to return “if there hasn’t been structural change.”
Meanwhile, advertisers have cast doubt on the efficacy of the advertising data of several digital giants, with Facebook paying a group of advertisers $40million to settle a lawsuit claiming it had inflated video metrics by up to 900%.
Strategy · 3 mins
90% (social) proof: Why you need to get testimonials into your marketing
In the digital age, few marketing tools pack bigger reward v effort than reviews and testimonials. Fully 90% of consumers read online reviews, with most trusting them as much as a personal recommendation (testimonials count as reviews).
Whether you’re B2B or B2C, people are seeking testimonials about you to help them make buying decisions. It’s not complicated to build testimonials and case studies into your business process; it just takes a bit of time and effort.
(It’s something we love helping clients with, so talk to us if you want to learn how we can help).
Social Media · 4 mins
LinkedIn tweaks you’ll want to know about
Divisive it may be, but to its credit LinkedIn continues to tinker with ways to benefit users and businesses. As such, it has a raft of noteworthy new features including new follower analytics for company pages, an audio option for pronunciation on user profiles and a limit on how many times a company page manager can invite their connections to follow their company.
Hardly brand new but also useful and overlooked, is the option for a company page manager to invite their company’s employees to share a piece of content once it’s posted to the page. Sharing is caring. Nice. (If in doubt, talk to us.)
ALSO IN THE NEWS…
After 34 years, venerable music institution Q Magazine is no more, and with Twitter’s April – June ad revenues down 23%, CEO Jack Dorsey is considering ways to diversify revenue – so expect trials of a subscription-based model later this year.
What’s cooking?
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed
We’ve just finished Mr Syed’s latest (adult) book, and it’s a corker. A timely call for more “cognitive diversity” in organisations and teams, its key argument is that you can’t expect to evolve if you hire a bunch of clones. Human collective intelligence is enhanced by diverse backgrounds, experience and expertise.
