This week in social media news, Facebook publishes a report on the importance of diversity, TikTok’s latest partnerships help brands unlock the power of music and sound on the platform, Pinterest expands its suite of shopping solutions and Snapchat shares how to use audience insights to improve campaign success.
Facebook’s New Report Highlights Importance Of Diversity In Advertising
Facebook’s latest report, ‘Barriers to Representative Advertising,’ highlights the importance of diversity in advertising and the barriers to facilitating greater representation, with recommendations to help address the key elements of inclusion in ads–including assessing the workforce experience of different identity groups and reviewing talent processes for equitable outcomes.
Why it matters: Most brands seeking to maximize engagement and profits must keep up with social trends. In 2021 and beyond, that means aligning brand values with those of the consumer. Ninety-three percent of agency survey respondents reported being very receptive or receptive to guidance and tools around addressing representation and inclusivity in advertising. Making a mistake in this endeavor may produce devastating results given that public backlash is now more active, more immediate and more impactful than ever before.
The details: In partnership with Deloitte, Facebook carried out a series of surveys and interviews to diagnose the main obstructions to more representative advertising. The study highlights the need for greater representation and points out the five key barriers to diversity. Among them: a lack of a leadership mandate, difficulty valuing long-term benefits and lack of awareness of tools and resources.
TikTok Announces New Partnerships To Help Brands Build Sound-On Strategies
TikTok has announced the expansion of its TikTok Marketing Partners program and the introduction of six certified Sound Partners who will help brands build sound-on strategies for TikTok.
Why it matters: As noted in the announcement, “Sound is the universal language of TikTok” and is one of the features that allow it to achieve astronomically high engagement levels. Its sound and music elements have triggered and will continue to trigger global trends. Brands utilize the sound-on feature to show their personality, which increases engagement in new ways that don’t feel inherently sales-y. Thus, the new expansion and Sound Partners will drive further innovation and success for brands connecting with audiences on TikTok.
The details: According to a 2020 study from MRC Data, 65 percent of TikTokers prefer content from brands that features original sounds while 68 percent report a brand being more memorable when they feature likable songs in their videos. TikTok’s new Sound Partners will offer solutions in two particular areas: Custom Sound and Subscription Sound. Each will help with an array of campaign goals including producing a “sonic brand identity.” Custom Sound partners create bespoke tracks that stimulate community participation and commotion around Hashtag Challenges and campaigns.
Subscription Sound partners provide flexible music offerings via monthly, yearly or project-based licensing plans that allow brands to develop always-on strategies.
Pinterest Expands Suite Of Advertiser Shopping Solutions
Pinterest is now offering more features to facilitate greater reach and conversion rates of shoppers who are primed to purchase.
Why it matters: Individuals who use Pinterest weekly are seven times more likely to report it as the most influential platform in their purchase journey compared to other social media platforms, according to a Pinterest blog post. Additionally, Pinterest shoppers have 85 percent larger carts than shoppers on other platforms and they spend twice as much monthly.
Shopping on Pinterest is about discovering new products and determining which products the user actually wants. Because of these phenomena, among others, Pinterest has rolled out features that make it easier for brands to reach and convert Pinterest shoppers who are primed to purchase.
The details: A few of Pinterest’s new features include a slideshow for collections that allows for products to be pulled from brand catalogs and automatically incorporated into a collections ad, the ability for brands to showcase their values on their Pinterest profile such as “Woman-owned” or “responsibly sourced” and a test-run of a paid joint partnership between creators and advertisers called Idea Ads.
Snapchat Releases Guide To Using Audience Insights
Snapchat has offered advertisers a guide on how to use audience insights to improve the efficacy of ads on the platform.
Why it matters: Ads do better when they’re informed by testing and audience insights. Marketing has the biggest impact when ad creative, messaging and calls to action work together to communicate with the target audience. There are several elements brands must understand in order to execute ad campaigns effectively and Snapchat has offered Audience Insight tools to help.
The details: Audience Insights allow brands to examine a wide array of groups on Snapchat, providing them with the ability to learn how Snapchatters are responding to ads, who those Snapchatters are and what they’re interested in. Audience Insights combines data like demographic interest categories with external data from third-party data providers to offer brands a thorough idea of who the audience is and what they’re engaging with on the platform. Snapchat then advises brands to put this knowledge into action by, for example, creating relevant audiences that can be activated with Saved Audiences and adjusting bids by type of device and carrier.
Snapchat Offers Marketing Tips To Drive Holiday Sales
Snapchat has shared a list of best practices for brands to get the most out of Black Friday advertising campaigns on the platform.
Why it matters: Black Friday marketing campaigns are starting earlier each year, now as early as October, according to a Deloitte survey. It’s vital that brands employ every strategy necessary to maximize the selling season. On Snapchat, peak purchasing occurs one month before Christmas and 72 percent of Snapchatters intend on shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Snapchat’s tips aim to help retailers get Black Friday campaigns up earlier, boost sales and engage customers natively.
The details: First up, Snap recommends optimizing your website for mobile to increase conversions. According to eMarketer, 67 percent of all ecommerce sales will occur on mobile. Offering a mobile-friendly and responsive website is critical to maximizing Black Friday profits.
Next, implement the Snap pixel to track, measure and build audiences. Install Snap Pixel to begin building Pixel Custom Audiences, allowing your ads to appear for Snapchatters who’ve previously visited your website, keeping your product which has the effect of reinforcing their intent to purchase.
Snapchat has included a few creative best practices to help brands stand out by showcasing their products and deals front-and-center. For example, feature your best-selling products with full-screen images and videos, drive urgency with strong language that directs attention to huge deals that generate excitement, and lastly, make the shopping experience as seamless as possible by linking directly to the product or category page you’re promoting.
