This week in social media news, Vimeo becomes the first video software company in TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program, Facebook commits to investing over $1 billion in creator programs, TikTok becomes the first non-Facebook mobile app to pass 3 billion global downloads, Twitter axes its Fleets function and more.
TikTok And Vimeo Announce Partnership To Help Businesses Create Video Ads
Small and medium businesses on TikTok will now have access to Vimeo Create, an artificial intelligence-driven video production tool, via TikTok Ads Manager, as the result of a new partnership between the two platforms.
Why it matters: According to a press release, the partnership makes Vimeo the first video software company in TikTok’s Marketing Partner Program.
The integration provides a solution for marketers challenged with creating new content and ads more often than on other online channels given the high user engagement on TikTok.
The details: Using Vimeo Create, small and medium businesses can produce and publish ads directly into the TikTok Ad Manager. The integration also includes custom video templates optimized for TikTok.
In a pre-launch test, small business participants saw up to 50 percent higher clickthrough rates compared to previous campaigns on other platforms and were able to double the number of videos they created in a short time span.
A family-run soy candle company called NaturalAnnie Essentials saw a 5.5 times increase in conversion rate within the first two weeks of the trial campaign when compared to other forms of online advertising.
Additionally, more than 85 percent of participants reported successful campaign results and plan to run more TikTok campaigns, according to the release.
Facebook To Invest Over $1 Billion In Creator Programs By The End Of 2022
Facebook recently announced its plan to invest over $1 billion in programs that give creators new ways to monetize their content across Facebook and Instagram. That includes new programs that pay eligible creators for reaching certain milestones and provide seed funding for creators to produce their content. Facebook says its new bonus programs are designed to reward creators who are creating original and high-quality content.
Why it matters: Facebook’s increased focus on influencer monetization options echoes a message that Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared recently, noting that the platform is no longer a photo-sharing app and plans to lean into entertainment to keep up with TikTok.
The details: First up, Facebook is launching seasonal bonus programs. While bonus programs such as Badges and Stars Challenges already exist, Facebook will now have a dedicated place for bonuses within Instagram this summer and in the Facebook app this fall.
Available by invitation now on Facebook is the In-Stream Bonus, which pays an earnings bonus over the next four months to select video creators using in-stream ads.
Also available now is the Stars Bonus, an expansion of the Stars Challenges program that will now include select gaming creators. The updated Stars Bonus will give video and gaming creators a monthly bonus for hitting specific Stars milestones over the next three months.
On Instagram, the first bonuses that will be available by invitation will reward influencers for signing up for IGTV ads and using badges in Live and Reels.
The IGTV ads bonus, open to US creators now, enables creators to earn a one-time bonus for signing up for IGTV ads, which enables them to earn a share of revenue when ads run during their videos.
The Live bonus badges, available now to influencers in 11 countries, reward creators when they meet certain milestones with badges, like going Live with another account.
Lastly, the Reels Summer bonus, which will launch in the coming weeks to US creators, will pay creators based on the performance of their Reels videos. Creators can learn more about this bonus in the new Bonuses section of the Instagram app.
TikTok Becomes First Non-Facebook Mobile App To Pass 3 Billion Global Downloads
According to Sensor Tower’s latest data, TikTok has now passed 3 billion installs globally from across the App Store and Google Play—including the iOS version of TikTok’s Chinese release, Douyin, and excluding third-party Android marketplaces.
Why it matters: This makes TikTok the fifth non-game app to join a tier that Facebook has historically dominated. Based on Sensor Tower’s data of worldwide installs from iOS and Android, excluding pre-installed apps, the four other apps that have amassed more than 3 billion installs since January 2014 include WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook and Instagram.
The details: According to Sensor Tower, TikTok was the most downloaded and highest-grossing non-game app globally in the first half of 2021, reaching about 383 million first-time installs and an estimated $919.2 million in consumer spending.
In Q2 2021, TikTok saw its highest quarter-over-quarter growth in consumer spending since Q2 2020, increasing from $384.7 million to $534.6 million.
First-time TikTok downloads grew from 177.5 million in Q1 2021 to 205.4 million in Q2 2021, the most growth TikTok has seen since its record-shattering Q1 2020 when it garnered more than 315 million installs—the most any app has seen in a single quarter, according to Sensor Tower.
Twitter Axes Its Fleets Function After Launching It Less Than A Year Ago
Twitter has announced that come August 3, Fleets, the Snapchat-like feature that gave Twitter users an ephemeral way to share their thoughts, will no longer be available after it failed to result in an increase in user engagement.
Why it matters: According to Twitter:
“We’re evolving what Twitter is, and trying bigger, bolder things to serve the public conversation. A number of these updates, like Fleets, are speculative and won’t work out. We’ll be rigorous, evaluate what works, and know when to move on and focus elsewhere. If we’re not evolving our approach and winding down features every once in a while—we’re not taking big enough chances.”
The details: Twitter launched Fleets about eight months ago as a way to compete with Snapchat’s Snaps and Instagram’s Stories, which disappear after 24 hours.
Twitter says it’ll use its learnings from Fleets to create other ways for users to join the conversation. For example, Twitter built the Fleets function to address some of the anxiety people have about tweeting but found that Fleets were mostly being used by people who were already tweeting to amplify their own tweets and communicate directly with others.
Twitter also found that most Fleets include media, which is why it says it’ll test updates to the tweet composer and camera to incorporate features from the Fleet composer, such as the full-screen camera, text formatting options and GIF stickers.
The platform’s Fleet ads test concluded last month, making it one of Twitter’s first experiments with full-screen, vertical format ads; it says it’ll apply these learnings to assess how these ads perform on the platform.
Snapchat Data Show COVID-19 Accelerated Sports Viewership On The App
With the return to in-person sports events slowly underway, Snapchat has shared some new insight about how the pandemic boosted sports viewership on the app, plus the type of users that watch live sports on the app.
Why it matters: There are 90 million sports fans in North America alone on Snapchat, with 87 million Snapchatters watching sports content each month on the app.
The details: During the pandemic, Snapchatters watched an average of 28 hours of sports per week versus non-Snapchatters who watched 22 hours. Nearly half (46 percent) of Snapchatters started watching a new sport because of the pandemic versus 35 percent of non-Snapchatters. Plus, 86 percent of Snapchatters said they’re ready to go back to games versus 72 percent of non-Snapchatters.
Snapchatters are more engaged on their phones than non-Snapchatters while watching live sports, according to Snap research. Seventy-five percent of users use social media versus 59 percent of non-Snapchatters. More Snapchatters message people, play games and bet on sports than non-Snapchatters too.
Snapchat says it offers a 39 percent incremental reach to TV among ages 13 to 24 and a 38 percent incremental reach to sports events on TV and sports websites/apps among ages 18 to 34.
