This week, Instagram offers to pay for creators’ IGTV production costs, Facebook expands its breaking news tag to publishers in more regions and the Federal Trade Commission releases updated influencer disclosure guidelines.
Instagram Offers To Cover Production Costs For Creators’ IGTV Content
The offer is being extended to select influencers but has one caveat.
Why it matters: IGTV has struggled to gain viewership since its June 2018 launch, making this a small incentive for influencers to ramp up IGTV content creation.
The details: Bloomberg says that Instagram is willing to pay influencers thousands of dollars towards production costs in exchange for a set number of videos. The platform has already signed dozens of deals, the biggest being $250,000 for more than 20 posts. The partnership restricts creators from posting to YouTube and enlisting any third-party sponsorship for giveaways. One caveat is that creators aren’t allowed to discuss social issues, politics or elections in their videos.
YouTube Will Ask Creators To Clarify Whether Their Content Is Suitable For Children
The move follows an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over YouTube’s violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Why it matters: YouTube will also stop serving personalized adverts alongside children’s content, which, the platform says, could result in a revenue decrease for some creators.
The details: After the FTC fined YouTube $170 million dollars for its failure to comply with COPPA, YouTube was ordered to create a system to better identify content that’s aimed at children. During the upload process, creators will now be asked whether the video they’re publishing is suitable for children. YouTube will further its initiative via machine-learning to identify content targeted at kids. Comments on child-related content will also be disabled.
Facebook Expands Publishers’ Access To Breaking News Tags In More Regions
The feature is being extended after Facebook’s year-long test in several markets.
Why it matters: The platform’s red “breaking” tag doesn’t impact news feed post rankings, but Facebook says they improve a post’s performance. Following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s statements about free speech, it seems Facebook is attempting to reinforce its role of news provider.
The details: After running a test that allowed more than 100 news publishers from North America, Latin America, Europe, India and Australia to identify and label stories as “breaking news” on Facebook, the platform found that people engaged more actively with these stories. Now, the breaking news tags will be available to selected publishers in Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Federal Trade Commission Announces Simplified Guidelines For Influencer Disclosure
According to InfluencerUpdate.biz, the brochure explains laws surrounding disclosure and sponsored content in a manner that influencers will understand.
Why it matters: The FTC has made significant efforts to mitigate misconduct in digital spaces. Earlier this year, the FTC slapped TikTok with a $5.7 million penalty after the platform illegally collected personal information pertaining to children. Later, it fined Facebook $5 billion in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The details: Entitled “Disclosure 101,” the FTC’s updated guidelines provide clear instructions on how to disclose a partnership and reiterates the fact that financial relationships are not just limited to a monetary transaction. If sponsored content appears in a live stream, the brochure notes, then the disclosure must be repeated periodically so that viewers who opt-in at different times see it. The brochure also states that influencers shouldn’t mention products or services they’ve never used.
Instagram To Extend Test Of Hiding Likes To US Users
According to Social Media Today, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri announced at the WIRED25 conference that the platform will extend its test of hiding likes on posts to some users in the US.
Why it matters: Expanding the hidden likes test to additional users in the US suggests that it’s generating results, but what those results are, remains to be announced.
The details: Instagram launched the initial test in Canada in May then extended it to seven additional countries in July. Still, Instagram hasn’t released any data on how no likes will impact engagement and metrics.
Report Shows Impact Of Instagram’s Hidden Likes Test On Influencer Engagement
The HypeAuditor study surveyed more than 154,000 Instagram influencers to examine the impact of Instagram’s hidden likes experiment.
Why it matters: The removal of total likes is impacting overall engagement stats for influencers, but the results aren’t definitive.
The details: The study found that total like counts have fallen in regions where Instagram implemented the test. Nano-influencers have seen a pronounced reduction in some areas but not all. Brazilian influencers in the mid-tier influencer have seen a bigger hit while Japanese influencers experienced a spike in the major influencer category.
TikTok Partners With Yandex On Ad Sales
TikTok is collaborating with Yandex, “Russia’s Google,” known for its range of online services.
Why it matters: The collaboration gives marketers a way to reach Russian consumers on TikTok. Half of the Russian consumers use social media, making the county a ripe market for growth. This also means that TikTok is expanding the platform to third parties for ad sales to help expand its revenue base.
The details: Yandex advertisers will reach TikTok users in Russia through Yandex Advertising Network (YAN), the company’s ad-serving platform. The video ads will appear in TikTok users’ curated feeds in a format that Yandex adapted for TikTok. The ads will also be adapted in a mobile format and targeted at specific TikTok users.
Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, November 15. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
