Shop on TikTok with What's Next Shopping Trends and Amazon partnership

Hello and welcome to this week’s Social Buddy newsletter, where we share the news from the world of social media, insights and tools for creators, and the latest social media marketing trends. 

Some highlights you’ll find this week: 

🍿 TikTok Spotlight will help promote entertainment on the app and connect fandoms. 

👀 Instagram Insights refocuses on Views as the primary metric for creators.

🛍️ A new partnership with Amazon will make it easier to shop on TikTok and Pinterest. 

Check out the biggest headlines from this week in social media: 

Amazon partners with TikTok and Pinterest for in-app shopping

Buying from Amazon will be easier than ever on TikTok and Pinterest thanks to a new partnership. Now, users can connect their Amazon account to their TikTok and Pinterest accounts and make purchases directly on the social media apps when they see products they like on ads or promoted by influencers. The new features also include the ability to see real-time pricing on TikTok and Pinterest, as well as Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and even product details. With so many consumers, especially Gen Z, buying products they see on social media, these partnerships will offer a faster and more seamless social media shopping experience. Read more.

Instagram updates its analytics with a focus on Views and Reach

Likes are no longer the most coveted metric - Instagram has refocused what success means on the app, and now it’s all about Views. “Views” are now the primary metric, and Instagram will focus on “Views” for all formats, including Reels, Photos, Carousels, Stories, and Live streams. The focus on Views will streamline metrics across these different formats, replacing Reel Plays and other metrics like Accounts Reached. Repeat views will be counted again, helping to increase the number of views. Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri has been pushing Views and Reach as creators primary focus, as more and more people don’t follow creators but still watch their content regularly. Read more. 

Key Insights from TikTok’s “What’s Next” Trend Report for 2024 

Last week, TikTok released its annual “What’s Next 2024 Shopping Trend Report” with 26 pages of insights into user experience and shopping trends on the app. The theme of this year’s report was “Bending Reality” with three key themes: Bending Emotion, Bending Communities, and Bending Relationships. The Emotions section focuses on users wanting to find joy in experiences on the app. Communities refers to brand partnerships and finding a sense of belonging on TikTok and through trends, and Relationships dives into the evolving relationships between brands and consumers. The report also shares the methodology with which they come to their conclusions, if you want to learn more about the data science behind the report. Read more.

YouTube Studio adds a Gemini AI integration to help creators brainstorm content 

YouTube is testing out Google’s Gemini AI to help creators come up with new content ideas. Some creators already have access to the new “Brainstorm with Gemini” integration in their YouTube Studio, offering generative AI prompts to get started on new creations. The prompts, which seem to be powered by Google Search data, include video ideas, title ideas, and even thumbnail suggestions. When drafting outlines in YouTube Studio, look for the Brainstorm with Gemini button to try it out, or find it in the Research tab. Learn more.

Meta Ads removed detailed targeting exclusions, citing better ad performance without them 

Meta has taken action and removed detailed targeting exclusions on its ads. This move was first discussed back in January when they consolidated some of their targeting exclusion features, and now it has removed the option altogether. Detailed targeting exclusions made it possible for advertisers to intentionally exclude certain audiences from seeing their ads, based on certain demographics or other markers. While the purpose of these exclusions was to fine-tune ad targeting, Meta’s studies have found that exclusions actually hurt ad performance and that ad campaigns improved 22.6% when the exclusions were removed. Read more. 

TikTok Spotlight creates in-app promotional hubs for movies and TV shows

TikTok is always adding new features, and the latest is TikTok Spotlight, which creates a dedicated landing page for movies and TV shows and “makes it easy for studios to harness the power of TikTok for upcoming releases and library content”. Now, if someone creates a TikTok discussing a piece of entertainment, for example, like a new movie, TikTok Spotlight will identify the connection and add a link to a landing page for that movie. The movie’s page will include information like a synopsis, cast list, and other content created about that movie. The landing page will also link out to streaming services where users can watch the movie, or to ticket sales platforms to buy a ticket to see it at the theaters. Learn more. 

Also in the news this week: 

• Instagram is testing out a location-sharing feature with friends, similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map.

• Reddit is testing out AI-powered search pages with AI-generated summaries leading the results.

• Instagram now allows up to 20 images or videos in a carousel, embracing the photo dump trend.

• Facebook is testing a dedicated Video feed alongside the usual feed.

• X is removing all ads for Premium+ subscribers, decreasing monetization potential for creators.

• Reddit’s CEO hints at adding a paywall to certain subreddits. 

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Until next week,

Social Buddy