Zucker-burglary(?) & YouTube Goes ‘Old School’

Twitter's having a bad week, YouTube's sending us back to school and Meta is doing what it does best... Stealing other platform's ideas! But hey, they do it pretty well. Get the full low-down ??

Zuckerberg 1 - 0 Musk

And no, we’re not talking about Zuckerberg and Musk’s much anticipated cage fight (though that would have been equally newsworthy!)

Meta's new social media application, Threads, is set to become the fastest-growing app ever, with more than 30 million users currently active. The app has seen rapid growth as people join to reserve profiles and assess its value. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expects Threads to exceed 50 million users by the weekend, potentially claiming the 'fastest-growing app' title from ChatGPT, which reached 100 million users in just two months earlier this year. Despite its resemblance to Twitter, Threads has managed to attract a substantial audience, however many Twitter-fans have raised concerns about Threads' data gathering methods and its apparent censorship of users.

Despite the criticism, Threads is positioning itself as a significant rival to Twitter, especially considering the massive user base of Instagram, which Meta is utilising as an onboarding platform for Threads. Instagram's billion daily active users far outnumber Twitter's 250 million, indicating a potentially massive trending discussion Threads users might access. The platform's growth could also lure ad buyers, increasing Meta's revenue potential while diminishing Twitter's market share… Have you set up your account??

YouTube Quizzes: A) Yes? Or B) No??

YouTube is trialling a new AI-powered quiz feature within its mobile app, aimed at enhancing users' understanding of topics and assessing the effectiveness of each video in covering a subject. The quizzes, generated by AI, will appear on the app's homepage and will challenge users' comprehension of a subject featured in a video they recently watched. This experiment appears to be an extension of YouTube's 'Study Hall' initiative launched earlier this year, aimed at providing more direct education opportunities within the app.

The quiz feature targets viewers who have watched multiple educational videos on the app, thereby reinforcing their knowledge on a particular topic. While the concept seems promising, its success heavily depends on user participation. Whilst I can see a world where quizzes might successfully reinforce educational or course-related content pieces, the idea of having to take a quiz (like a mid-term school exam!) is not all that appealing. There are also assumptions that YouTube might witness increased engagement if it introduces elements like a leaderboard to gamify the process further. However, the feasibility of such an addition remains unclear due to the unique AI-generated quizzes.?

Currently, the experiment is being conducted with a small percentage of viewers on iOS and Android. Are you game?

Meta Releases a Seasonal Campaign Cheatsheet!?

(and we’re here for it!)

Meta has released a new ‘Holiday Planning Guide’ to help brands prepare for seasonal promotions. The guide shares user data that indicates consumers are starting their Christmas shopping earlier due to economic constraints, often as early as October, to make the most of sales and make smarter buying decisions. This trend implies that brands should consider connecting with shoppers ahead of time, whether through early promotional strategies or facilitating interest-free repayments. Notably, the guide also emphasises the importance of Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, for product discovery.

The planning guide suggests a minimum 'three-month runway' leading into Christmas, encouraging brands to engage customers early on and help alleviate their budgetary worries. It further highlights the effectiveness of Meta's advanced AI ad tools, like Meta Advantage, which enhance targeting to active shoppers. There's also a focus on using Reels as part of the advertising strategy. Additionally, the guide provides in-depth insights on using Meta’s advertising tools, optimising audience reach, case study examples, and advice on audience segmentation for better personalisation. It even includes timelines for major shopping campaigns and examples of effective creative and influencer marketing initiatives.

Download the guide (aka cheatsheet) here!

IG Releases Multiple Post Collaborators Features

Teamwork makes the dream work? Instagram certainly thinks so! The app has expanded its collaborative posts feature, now allowing users to include up to three collaborators on any feed post or Reel. Initially launched in 2021, the feature initially permitted sharing credit for a single post with one other account. Now, multiple partners can contribute to a single post or Reel, each gaining access to organic insights such as view and like counts. However, the platform highlights that paid partnerships must use the Paid Partnership Label process, adhering to the regulations around influencer marketing disclosure.

For regular users, this update offers additional ways to tag and boost friends within the app, further enhancing engagement and fostering community networks. The expanded collaboration feature may also be used to showcase artwork or projects among friends, even if not through a business or creator account. From a business perspective, this offers greater opportunity to leverage multiple account followings through collaborative pieces with partners, media houses and more.

Hello you - thanks for reading all the way to the bottom part - not everyone makes it this far ?? Enjoyed reading this week's update? Don't forget to subscribe to 'Social Climber' to stay up to date with all that's new in the world of social media.