Baby Yoda, Covid Cliches, Messenger Updates, 94-Year-Old Instagram Breaking Records, and More This Week!
Welcome to?The Strata about GenZ and GenAlpha!?Each week we gather the latest youth market news, social media trends, and the most critical issues impacting the lives of young people during these times of innovation and uncertainty.?
All content is curated by the?Engage Gen Z Creator Council,?so you're guaranteed a suitable combination of youth and expert marketing perspectives that we hope you'll find both informative and actionable.
BABY YODA IS A SOCIAL MEDIA STAR AGAIN
By: Peter Suci Source: Forbes
TL;DR Free press for Star Wars helping firefighters in Oregon.
Baby Yoda is back. The character of "The Child" from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian took over social media when it debuted. The childlike version of the popular Star Wars character Yoda blew up when the series aired last December. So much so that it gained much attention from fans and out-trended political candidates emerging at the time. While the next Star Wars series featuring baby Yoda isn't coming out until the end of October, the fictional character is becoming a sensation on Facebook once again. This time the little alien boosted the morale of those fighting the Oregon wildfires.
It all started when a grandmother and her grandson were shopping for supplies to send to the firefighters battling the Oregon fires. The pair saw a cute baby Yoda toy and wanted to send it to the firefighters. The Baby Yoda toy found it's way circulating between firefighting hotspots as the fires continued.
The Toy gained attention and now even has a Facebook page @babyyodafightfire. The page has around 52,000 followers and 50,000 likes allowing baby Yoda to become a fun gender-neutral storyteller during these fires and bringing smiles to faces in an otherwise stressful situation. We love a feel-good story amongst the tragedies!
7 COVID CLICHES TO AVOID AND WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD
By: Bernie Smigel Source: Skyword
TL;DR Phrases are used way too much to describe pandemic current events; let's make a change.
"In these uncertain times"...we can't hear one more time. Right now, there is a balance as the world is shifting, and it can be hard to come across as sensitive to using cliches that people are sick of. No matter what market you are in, cliches don't usually attract an audience, and the same can be said for the Covid-19 cliches. Below are a few ideas of what to say instead. We never want to see "in these uncertain times" at the start of an email ever again.
"Now more than ever" This one is a classic. Just skip it and get straight to the point. Everyone knows what's happening right now and understands that things are different during the pandemic.
"Unprecedented Times" This phrase spiked in March and is still trending. The words are vague and don't say much. We suggest being specific and descriptive by saying something like, "nobody has a compass to navigate what's going on right now, but at least we have..." Or, make fun of it and say something like "a throwback to precedented times when...". The point is that your audience doesn't want to hear the same thing they have likely heard again and again and again and again.
The article provides a few more fun examples of what to say, but we just had to include a few more cliches we want to avoid: "We can all stay connected" or "difficult times." If you love these phrases, go for it, but if you are tired of reading them and cringe a little at their mention, maybe your audience feels the same way.
MESSENGER'S CROSS-APP COMMUNICATION WITH INSTAGRAM AND NEW FEATURES
By: Sarah Perez Source: TechCrunch
TL;DR Facebook & Instagram app Messenger gets a facelift and cross-communication between them with new visuals.
Facebook Messenger is getting a makeover. The app is getting a visual update, and a few new features, including support for chat themes, custom reactions, and soon selfie stickers, plus vanish mode. These are all part of Facebook's bigger plan for an overhauled messaging platform that will allow Instagram users to communicate with Facebook users for the first time. Instagram users were given an opt-in feature with a new update.
Messenger users won't have to take action to get this new feature. They will receive the update by automatically rolling out users as it becomes available in their region. In addition, they are changing the messenger logo to the one in the middle of the photo above, which has pink and purple colors to mimic the Instagram logo and not just remain facebook blue. The logo isn't the only thing changing; there will be options to have a chat mirror the color scheme. There will be other fun add-ons, like selfie stickers, that users can create, customize and share. We are enjoying keeping up with the progress and the fun features.
领英推荐
94-YEAR-OLD SCIENTIST BREAKS JENNIFER ANISTON'S RECORD FOR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS
Source: euntroprenur.com
TL;DR Turns out saving the plant might be the way to get a million followers in under 5 hours; who knew?
David Attenborough is a 94-year-old scientist known for his documentary series "Life in Earth" from 1979. The scientist only needed 4 hours 44 minutes to reach a million followers on Instagram, which is 31 minutes less than it took the previous record holder, Friends star Jennifer Aniston.
Attenborough is a significant climate change and environmental issue activist. His first post is a video explaining that he is taking on Instagram as a new form of communication to explain what to do about the ice caps melting and the other climate-related issues plaguing the earth. Since then, he has been posting small videos explaining what is happening in the world and giving tips on changing it. Bravo, Mr. Attenborough! If you want to see what all the frenzy is about, go check him out on Instagram @Davidattenborough.
YOUTUBE PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THE UPDATED VERIFICATION PROCESS FOR CREATORS
By: Andrew Hutchinson Source: Social Media Today
TL;DR YouTube guidelines clarify what's needed to get that pretty blue badge next to your name.
Want to know how to get verified on YouTube? Well, they just made it a lot easier to find out how. Last September, YouTube announced it was changing its verification process, and now if you look at YouTube requirements, it's not a mystery anymore to get that blue checkmark next to your channel name.
The first requirement, you must have at least 100k subscribers. Until you reach the 100k mark, you won't have access to this form. The second requirement is "Chanel authenticity" YouTube describes this as needing to be an authentic user creating your content, which means you will need to be verified as the person making the content and the one posting it.
The third requirement equals profile completion. The user must be public, including a description, videos, and a channel icon, in order to have an official presence. YouTube also notes in these updated guidelines that they will take away verification if users are seen to be taking material or impersonating other users. These requirements seem pretty reasonable, and now creators striving for the blue badge know exactly what they need to work toward.
SOCIAL MEDIA USE SOARS FOR MOMS
By: Larissa Faw Source: Media Post
TL; DR Is it that moms are the following most prominent social media demographic?
Moms are taking over. During the pandemic, every group and demographic has increased their social media use, but Middle-aged women with school-aged kids have gone up the most. 85% of these moms claim their social media use has doubled since March. 52% of them admitted that their usage went up by 4-8 hours every week outside of what their jobs required.
One of the most significant factors affecting this has been the added responsibility of their children's education. Many of these moms share that the recent influx in their screentime has been due to their online search for educational material and tips and tricks for homeschooling their kids. Brands love it! As moms spend more time on social media, they have more time to form a relationship with this demographic.
Instagram and even TikTok seem to be getting their most significant increase from moms. Many moms said that they created their TikTok for the first time when quarantine started, and even more have been spending more and more time on Instagram, staying connected with their friends, and shopping more on Instagram. The time moms spend on Instagram is predicted to keep going up with the holiday season rapidly approaching. So remember your mom when considering your marketing demographic. She may be more of your target audience than you thought.
Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern
Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor
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