This week in social media news, Snapchat now reaches 70 percent of 13 to 24-year-olds, Twitter aims to double its total revenue by 2023, Pinterest gives users access to virtual fashion week content, a new Facebook study shows the growing importance of online groups, Twitter’s latest research shows the top trends driving conversations on the platform and more.
Snapchat Now Reaches 70 Percent Of 13-24 Year Olds
On its first investor day, Snapchat revealed to shareholders that 70 percent of its reach is 13-24 years old and 80 percent is above 18 years old.
Why it matters: New forthcoming ad offerings in high traffic areas like Snapchat’s Snap Map and Spotlight video platform will give brands a lucrative opportunity to reach the highly engaged ‘Snapchat Generation,’ which opens the app an average of 30 times a day.
The details: Snapchat’s chief business officer, Jeremi Gorman, told investors that Snap Map, its opt-in function that lets users share their location with friends on a map, currently has over 35 million businesses.
The company expects new ad products to contribute to a 50 percent increase in revenue year-over-year for the next few years.
Marketers should take advantage of the platform’s augmented reality lenses, as users said they’re 2.4 times more likely to convert when they use AR filters to try on products.
Twitter Aims To Double Total Revenue By 2023
Twitter plans to double its total annual revenue from $3.7 billion this year to $7.5 billion in 2023, the company announced on its Twitter Investor Relations account.
Why it matters: In Q4, Twitter reported reaching 192 million monetizable daily active (mDAUs) users–a bit shy of the 193.5 million it projected. It’s continuously adding new features including stories-like Fleets last year, and exploring new ones such as a subscription plan.
The details: Twitter anticipates reaching a minimum of 315 million mDAUs by Q4 2023, which would equate to a 20 percent increase from its 152 million mDAUs in Q4 2019.
Pinterest, Launchmetrics Debut Shoppable Fashion Week Initiatives
Pinterest has partnered with Launchmetrics to give Pinners exclusive access to images and videos from fall/winter 2021 virtual fashion shows and presenting designers.
Why it matters: Pinterest’s ‘Pinterest Predicts’ report found that searches for fashion-related terms like reworked clothes, soft outfits, cotton jumpsuits for women and custom hoodies surged in 2020.
The details: Starting February 14, Pinners can check the ‘Today Tab’ to discover New York Fashion Week content, including behind-the-scenes images from designers like Anna Sui and Alice+Olivia, as well as collection reviews and street style ideas. They can shop the looks directly from pins when clicking “shop similar.”
Snapchat Study Finds Increased Video Consumption Is Here To Stay
Snapchat and Omnicom Media Group conducted a two-part research study between July and October 2020 among 1,000 Gen Z and Millennials, which found that Snapchat videos drive longer and more frequent instances of higher immersion and that increased video consumption is here to stay.
Why it matters: The findings revealed that Snapchat video ads were eight percent more immersive than ads on other apps tested, and 36 percent more immersive than the overall ad industry benchmark. Respondents indicated a strong preference for watching videos on mobile that are five minutes or less.
The details: In part one of the study, 61 percent of respondents said they’re watching more videos on social media apps, 56 percent are watching more videos on streaming apps on a television and 52 percent are watching more videos on streaming apps on their phone. Over half say this increased viewing behavior will continue.
Part two of the study, which leveraged neuroscience measures to understand the emotional response to viewing social media videos, found that Snapchat videos were less likely to cause stress for younger generations than those on other social media platforms.
Videos on all three platforms tested drive attention and emotional response, but Snapchat Friend Stories had the strongest immersive index, perhaps due to the greater likelihood that stories there are viewed by real and close friends.
Facebook Study Highlights The Growing Impact Of Virtual Communities
The most important group that people worldwide belong to is a primarily online one, according to a new study conducted by Facebook and the Governance Lab. The companies interviewed leaders of 50 Facebook groups and 26 global academic and industry experts, and worked with YouGov to survey 15,000 internet users in 15 countries.
Why it matters: Despite the lack of physical proximity, online groups give their members a strong sense of community, and empower marginalized groups by cutting across traditional boundaries of race, class and other divisions.
The details: Every month, Facebook Groups are used by 1.8 billion people, more than half of which are members of five or more active groups. In the past month, there were 70 million people acting as admins and moderators of these groups.
According to the YouGov study, in 11 out of 15 countries studied, the largest proportion of respondents said that the most important group to which they belong to is virtual.
From the 50 interviews, Facebook and Governance Lab found that the flexibility and unmodified operations of online groups have created a new class of leaders. Additionally, the most successful Facebook Groups host deliberative and often contentious conversations about topics their members value, and therefore demand strong moderation.
Twitter Releases Report On Top Trends Shaping The Platform
Twitter’s latest report, ‘The Conversation: Twitter Trends’ gives brands a glimpse into the biggest trends driving conversations on the platform based on an analysis of billions of tweets from the last two years.
Why it matters: Twitter closed out 2020 with 192 million monetizable daily active users worldwide, up from 187 million in Q3.
The details: The trends driving Twitter conversations are personal and mental wellbeing, creator culture, spirituality and escapism, sustainability, technology and self-expression.
The pandemic inspired honest conversations about mental health and self-care, with mentions of mental health increasing by 74 percent and conversations around sleep as a form of self care growing by 43 percent.
Pandemic-induced unemployment coupled with the rise of the gig economy led to a 32 percent increase in conversation around entrepreneurialism and a 121 percent surge in mentions of “side hustle.”
In their search for meaning and comfort, users explored topics like astrology, embracing solitude, healing and paying it forward, leading to a 48 percent rise in conversation around spiritual energy and a 109 percent rise in conversations about tarot and psychics.
Users also considered their consumption habits, leading to a 53 percent increase in conversations around clean corporations and 29 percent increase in conversations around irresponsible packaging.
A demand for ease increased conversation around online shopping by 173 percent, and conversation around social/emotional dependence on tech by 96 percent.
A growing sense of awareness around social activism inspired a 33 percent rise in conversation about ethics and morals.
TikTok Introduces First Group Of Black Creators For New Incubator Program
After first announcing its three-month Black Creatives incubator program in January, TikTok has introduced the first 100 creators and emerging music artists selected for the initiative, which aims to nurture black creators on the platform via motivational town halls, community-building forums and educational events.
Why it matters: TikTok says it received more than 5,000 video applications in less than 24 hours after announcing the program, which it’s conducting in partnership with MACRO, a media company that represents voices of people of color.
The details: The program kicks off today with “a full day of educational programming” where the inaugural class will hear from Gabrielle Union on the importance of setting their goals and knowing their worth. Over the next three months, the creators will join the TikTok team at virtual events led by successful black business leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities.
LinkedIn Debuts New Tools For Company Pages
LinkedIn has rolled out new tools to help companies strengthen the connection between their employees, customers, partners and brand supporters, including updates to the “My Company” tab, an analytics feature to measure the impact of employee advocacy programs, free Lead Gens for product pages and more.
Why it matters: The new community-building features are in response to user feedback regarding how difficult it has been to stay connected with colleagues and customers in this new virtual environment. LinkedIn also cites research from a Glint Employee report, which found that feeling disconnected was the highest risk factor to burnout for 41 percent of employees.
The details: First up, LinkedIn’s updates to the “My Company Tab” will enable page admins to curate organic content through a new “Recommend” tool and suggest trending articles for employees to reshare via a new “Content Suggestions” tool. Plus, a new analytics feature will help companies measure the reach of their employee advocacy program.
LinkedIn has also added Lead Gen Forms—which help companies boost high-quality leads through pre-filled forms populated with a LinkedIn member’s profile data—to product pages, for free.
Additionally, a new feature for LinkedIn Stories will give pages and page admins a way to add a destination URL to their Story right from the Story frame to maximize engagement and conversion.
In the coming months, LinkedIn Elevate customers will gain access to employee verification for free on all pages with more than 10 employees.
YouTube Adds New 24 Hour Comparison Tool In Analytics
YouTube has added a new feature to creators’ channel analytics that reveals how their video performed in the first 24 hours after publishing.
Why it matters: Though a video’s performance in the first 24 hours isn’t indicative of its future performance, YouTube says it added the feature because the first 24 hours is typically when creators want to compare their video performance.
The details: Creators can find the new feature under channel analytics in advanced mode, then click “compare to” to see the “first 24 hours video performance.” There, a scatter plot compares several videos across the same time period, and lets you choose what metrics to compare against.
Snapchat Research Shows Length Isn’t A Predictor Of Ad Efficiency
According to the findings of a joint study by Snapchat, Magna and the IPG Media Lab, six-second Snapchat ads convinced more consumers to consider buying the products featured in commercials compared to 15-second ads.
Why it matters: Snapchat notes that 15-second ads are valuable for increasing awareness, but specifically for ads that market new products. Overall, Snapchat was shown to be more effective at improving awareness and purchase intent than the online video platforms tested.
The details: Leveraging a digital lab-based experimental design, Magna surveyed over 7,700 participants from a panel representative on both PC and mobile devices, with their media habits assigned to either Snapchat, a video aggregator or a full-episode player.
Magna controlled the ads served to participants, who were asked to complete an online survey measuring awareness, brand perception and purchase intent.
They found that regardless of length, full-screen vertical ads on Snapchat drove more than twice the lift in awareness than other platforms tested.
Six-second ads on the platform were also more persuasive than 15-second ads for both younger and older generations, with participants considering the shorter ads “immersive and innovative.” Younger participants were less likely to feel that 15-second ads were “innovative” or “offer new info.”
Snapchat gauged the incrementality it could offer by developing creative custom for the platform rather than cutting down from longer-length assets. It found that cut-downs and customized creative performed similarly, and upon reviewing persuasion across all ads tested, the delta was consistent for the two separate creative executions.
