TAKUMI TRENDS LETTER #32 📈
Welcome to the TAKUMI insights subscription 📊.
• Influencer Marketing • Social Updates • Creator Culture • Industry Insights •
TAKUMI’s insights team is curating the most impactful industry news and weekly developments for brands, right here 👇.
Instagram launches chronological and ‘favorites’ feeds for all users, but they can’t be the default | 23rd March 2022
“There are now three options for viewing your Instagram feed: the main, algorithmic Home feed; the chronological feed (Following); and the new Favorites feed, which consists of accounts you choose.”
TAKEAWAY 🔥: Instagram's chronological feed is officially back by popular demand ⏳. Many users have campaigned for its return since it was replaced by the algorithmic feed in 2016, but mounting concerns around the dangers of social media algorithms potentially favouring harmful content and misinformation has no doubt put pressure on Meta to hasten its reintroduction. While the update is intended to give users greater control over the content that they see, the algorithmic feed is still very much here to stay. Users will have to manually select the chronological feed each time they enter the app, with the algorithmic version being the default.
Instagram has explained that the ranked feed is preferred by the majority because algorithmically generated content is tailored to the user and is therefore much more engaging; not to mention, it aids in discovering new communities and creators who share content which Instagram already knows you're going to love 👀. After 6 years of being spoon-fed endless content without the need to refresh the feed, it’s easy to forget the limitations of the chronological ranking 💭. That’s not to say there aren’t obvious pros and cons to both options, but ultimately the way we consume content has evolved; we expect a tailored experience, whether we truly want it or not.
Testing, testing: Piloting new formats for Twitter’s ad suite | 31st March 2022
“As we look ahead, we see untapped potential to develop more creative and innovative ad formats that ultimately deliver results and value not just for advertisers but also for consumers and creators.”
TAKEAWAY 🔥: Twitter has announced some new ad formats coming to the platform, in a bid to boost usage and revenue with a more immersive ad experience 📈. The first of the three new formats, Interactive Text, will allow brands to highlight specific words in the text of an ad to draw users' attention towards key information about a product. With 10 bold colours to choose from, brands can make these keywords 'clickable' by linking them to a landing page, thus ensuring that every bit of an advert - copy included- serves a tangible purpose 📲.
For a more immersive experience, Product Explorer Ads will bring Twitter in-line with the likes of Instagram and Pinterest by offering an interactive, 3D ad display. This format lends to the growing demand for a omni-channel shopping experience: one which embodies the personal and sensory experience of shopping in-store, but with all the convenience of the digital experience 🛍.
Finally, Collection Ads will allow brands to showcase multiple products at once; one static hero image will accompany a tweet, alongside 5 smaller, scrollable images, all of which can be linked to a different landing page 🤳🏻. Testing is limited to the US for now, but could eventually expand to more territories as brands unlock these improved ad capabilities, so long as users don't mind a more commercialised Twitter experience.
How does TikTok commerce stack up against Instagram and Facebook? | 1st April 2022
“TikTok is also rapidly releasing new features to drive more in-app buying, including mini storefronts, product links, and the ability to integrate product catalogs into select ad formats and livestreaming. That will help it capture more social commerce spending.”
TAKEAWAY 🔥: Recent findings show that TikTok shoppers are purchasing products more frequently on TikTok than on other social media platforms 💸. As this eMarketer article points out, although the research does not indicate whether these shoppers are completing their purchases within the TikTok app or elsewhere off-platform, it does indicate the incredible influence which TikTok has on purchase behaviour. The virality of #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has cemented the video sharing app as the go-to place for product discovery, with 67% of users claiming that TikTok introduced them to products they had never even thought of before, and 57% agreeing that TikTok inspired them to shop even when they weren’t looking to do so 📈.
Despite the new 10-minute video option, it's still the snappy and highly engaging short-form content that reigns on the platform; the kind of candid content which makes TikTok inherently suited to organic recommendations from real people. What's more, from #CottageCore to #FoodTok, the array of communities and subcultures on TikTok can help to streamline these product recommendations, while the algorithm does the rest of the leg-work 📲. It's also why TikTok is such an effective channel for creator campaigns, bringing native videos and reliable recommendations to the highly engaged, trusted audiences of content creators 💫.
Want to find out more about TAKUMI’s Top Performing Ads on TikTok? Get in touch!
Instagram's Removed In-Stream Video Ad Placements from its Advertising Options | 6th April 2022
“Instagram’s currently testing a new, full-screen feed format, which would incorporate static posts, videos, Stories and Reels into a singular content stream.”
TAKEAWAY 🔥: Instagram is leaning closer into Reels and edging towards a fully immersive, TikTok-esque scrollable feed, with recent reports suggesting that in-stream video could be on its way out altogether. The speculation follows the news that advertisers will no longer be able to bag in-stream video spots for ad placement, instead having to run video ads using Reels alone 🎥. By forcing advertisers to rely on Reels for video ad placement, Instagram is incentivising brands and creators to fully embrace the short-form video feature which will eventually become the epicentre of the platform, and likely the key source of monetisation and commerce opportunities💸.
ThisThat Podcast: Ep 2, A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That: 'Improving Each Campaign'.
TAKUMI’s Chief Strategy Officer, Jim Meadows, joins the ThisThat podcast to share his top strategy tips for growth, sales, and salience. Alongside him, TAKUMI’s Paid Media Director Joe Adsett explains why growth-minded businesses should harness their analytical skills to make the most out of their marketing processes 🔥.
Listen below 🎧
We’ll be back soon with more insights and updates.
Like what you see? If you want to find out more about TAKUMI and how we can help bring your campaigns to life, get in touch!
📩 hello@takumi.com