Simply Social Newsletter

YouTube Expands Access to Communities, with New CTV Viewing Insights

YouTube has expanded access to its “Communities” tab which will improve discussion within the channel. Along with this, YouTube is working on improving insight into Connected TV viewership in the new update. This will help channel managers to understand the impact of connected TV viewership on their stats. The “Communities” feature is an extension of Community Posts. More channels will be given access to this with the new update. Community channels include text-based discussion boards, where users can interact with creators. YouTube already has a “Communities” tab in its channel management options, which is focused on broader comments and discussions. This will be changed to “Posts” in order for this update to go live.

What does this mean for my channel/ brand?

• Building Relationships and Loyalty with “Communities”: This update incorporates a social-friendly way for creators to build relationships with their subscribers.
• Improve Interactions and Engagement: Communities may be a great way to drive more interaction and engagement with your audience. With more brand loyalty and building relationships with subscribers, this opens the doors for further interactions and engagements on videos, and across your channel.
• New Connected TV Viewing Stats: This will make it easier to understand where your audience is watching your videos, and in turn help to guide your creative process.

Instagram Adds WhatsApp Sticker to Stories?

Instagram has just added a new WhatsApp sticker to Stories, which allows users to direct clicks towards a private WhatsApp chat, directly from your Stories. This is now available in the Stories sticker options, and will require phone number verification to activate.

What does this mean for my brand?

• Share Updates with Your Followers: This could allow a new great way to let users know about your brand’s WhatsApp channel, in order to update your customers via DM, and drive more discussion and relationships with potential customers. This would work particularly well for brands with services, like beauty for example, or small sustainable clothing brands.
• Staying in with the Times: In recent times, users are moving away from posting publicly on social media, and savouring real connections via DMs or private discussions. This keeps your brand relevant, and helps you connect with your audience.
• Maximising Engagement and Interaction: Messaging should be part of your planning, with WhatsApp growing in Western markets, reaching 100 million users in the US last year. Consider WhatsApp as a means to both enhance connection, show promotions, and target your audience where they’re most active.

LinkedIn Introduces New Updates to Video Presentation and Discovery

With video content becoming more popular on LinkedIn, with a 36% increase in watch time in the past year, the platform has announced some new video updates. These updates will make videos stand out more in-stream. LinkedIn is also bringing its full-screen, vertical video display to desktop to mirror the mobile app. Videos will now appear in wider and longer frames throughout the main feed, which will take you through to the full-screen video player when tapped. Tapping on a creators’ profile in the feed will give users a mini-profile overview, with their video uploads highlighted, much like TikTok’s display. ?LinkedIn is also testing out a more prominent “follow” button within the full-screen video player. New video analytics will include data showing average watch time to help you better understand your video performance. The platform has also launched new learning courses on the topic.

What does this mean for my brand?

• Improved Video Discoverability & Exposure: With this update, it may become easier for users to discover your content.
• Adjust your Strategy: In order to stay relevant, your business may need to adjust your content strategy, and incorporate more videos. The newly available video analytics and learning courses will also allow you to better understand what’s working for your business.
• Increased Followers: With the new, more prominent “follow” option, this may lead to a jump in followers.

Sports Engagement Skyrockets on Snapchat

Snapchat has shared data from a new survey report by National Research Group, based on 8.4K social media users, across several markets. on sports engagement within the app. Snapchatters are seen to be highly engaged with sports, along with major sporting events. Statistics show that almost 9/10 Snapchatters engage with sports weekly, and 85% watch sports matches monthly. Snapchat users view 25M+ minutes or more of sports content on the Spotlight video feed.

What does this mean for my brand?

• Utilise Snapchat for Activations: This provides great opportunities for your brand to utilise sports-themed marketing activations within the app.
• Improved Audience Targeting: If wanting to target audiences interested in sports and fitness, this is your opportunity to utilise the platform.
• Fuel your Audience’s Passion for Sports: 87% of Snapchatters are attracted to brands which help fuel their passion for sports. Consider incorporating sports themed content into your marketing on the platform.