The trick-or-treaters have stopped ringing the doorbell, the leaves have changed colors and fallen off the trees, and planning for Thanksgiving dinner is underway.
Planning is also underway for the two big days of the holiday shopping season: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Social Media Holidays to Mark on Your Calendar
- Nov. 1: First day of American Indian Heritage Month, All Saints Day
- Nov. 11: Veterans Day
- Nov. 13: World Kindness Day
- Nov. 23: Thanksgiving
- Nov. 24: Black Friday
- Nov. 25: Small Business Saturday
- Nov. 27: Cyber Monday
Social Media Platform Updates
TikTok
Out of Phone
TikTok introduced out-of-home advertising offering Out of Phone, which lets brands and partners leverage TikTok content (minus the audio) on screens on billboards and kiosks, as well as locations such as airports, bars, cars, gas stations, movie theaters, restaurants, and retail stores.
@tiktoknewsroomIntroducing Out of Phone! This new out-of-home solution enables brands and partners to extend TikTok content beyond the platform, into the real world through screens on billboards, in cinemas, restaurants, airports, gas stations, retail stores, and more.🌎 🤩 Learn more at the link in our bio!♬ Canyons – Official Sound Studio
Out of Phone: Billboard extends existing TikTok campaigns to billboards worldwide, while Out of Phone: Cinema brings those campaigns from the small screen to the silver screen, and Out of Phone: Other Screens covers just about anywhere else where screens exist.
Partners at launch include Adomni, Dive Billboards, GSTV, Loop TV, Raydiant, ReachTV, Redbox, Screenvision, and Vevo.
The platform teamed up with tech consultancy firm Omida to identify some 2 billion digital OOH screens across the globe where TikTok videos can be displayed.
Ad-Free Subscription Tier?
TikTok marketing confirmed that it is testing a $4.99-per-month subscription plan that would allow users to enjoy an ad-free experience, denying reports that the test is taking place in the U.S., and only saying that it is currently limited to a single English-speaking market outside of the U.S.
It appears that only ads served by TikTok are excluded by the subscription plan, while content from creators—campaigns and single posts—is unaffected.
Other TikTok News:
- TikTok is testing a maximum video length of 15 minutes, up from 10 minutes.
- A new Direct Post API (application-programming interface) lets people post content directly to TikTok from third-party platforms, starting with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Express, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, SocialPilot, and Twitch.
- TikTok is offering sellers on its platform bonuses for their participation in and performance during a series of key livestreams focused on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to a leaked campaign brief. In order to qualify for participation, sellers must demonstrate the potential to generate at least $2,100 in sales during a single session and commit to livestreaming for at least one-and-a-half hours.
- Speaking of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, TikTok is looking to attract potential advertisers with Hashtag Audiences, or groups of people curated by the platform who are most likely to buy the products or services being promoted. The platform is recommending that advertisers spend a total of at least $250,000 during the holiday shopping season, across all its ad offerings.
- Disney is celebrating its 100th anniversary with Disney100, an activation on TikTok that features content such as behind-the-scenes tours, campus tours, character favorites, iconic moments, and theme songs, from Disney, DIsney Parks, ESPN, Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, and Star Wars.
- TikTok in the Mix, the company’s first-ever live global music event, will take place Dec. 10 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., with performers scheduled to include Anitta, Sam Barber, Cardi B, Neil Horan, Kaliii, Isabel LaRosa, Lu Kala, and Charlie Puth.
- The TikTok Effect Creator Rewards program was updated with lower eligibility requirements, a lower threshold for collecting rewards, reduced payout increments, and a revamped payout model.
YouTube
YouTube tapped its parent company’s Google AI for new ad package Spotlight Moments.
Artificial intelligence is used to determine the most popular videos related to specific cultural moments such as the Academy Awards, Halloween, or sporting events, and brands can then serve ads across videos referencing those moments in branded YouTube channels, where those videos are curated into dynamically updated playlists.
YouTube announced several new features, including:
- Turning “stable volume” on automatically for mobile devices to cut down on differences in volume between videos.
- Press to 2x, which automatically doubles the playback speed.
- Preview thumbnails in search.
- A lock screen setting for mobile and tablets to prevent unwanted interruptions.
- The Library tab and account page were merged into the new You tab, where users can access channel information, downloads, playlists, previously watched videos, purchases, and settings,
- Users can search for a song by humming, playing, or singing it via a new AI tool.
- The platform’s design was refreshed to be cleaner and more modern.
- Animations will react to what creators say during their videos, such as generating a visual cue to the respective buttons if they ask viewers to like or subscribe, or displaying sparkles if viewers “smash that button.”
- Viewers on smart TVs can see details about the video they are watching in a new vertical menu with quicker access to comments, subscribe button, video chapters, and video description.
Finally, the platform introduced new creator-focused features that enable the addition of timestamps to videos for tagged products, as well as the option of tagging affiliate products in bulk across their video library.
X
Will people pay to use the platform formerly known as Twitter? We may soon find out, as several initiatives are in the works.
X began testing a program in New Zealand and the Philippines where new users will have to fork over $1 per year to post and interact with other posts, ostensibly to eliminate bots.
CEO Linda Yaccarino said earlier last month that the platform would test three service tiers for X Premium: Basic (normal amount of ads in feed), Standard (one-half the amount), and Plus (no ads).
Premium+ became a reality in late October, with no ads in the For You or Following feeds, as well as access to the platform’s full suite of creator tools, and a bigger boost for replies.
Other X News:
- That’s hot: Paris Hilton became the first celebrity to ink a revenue sharing agreement with X, which will work with 11:11, Hilton’s next-generation media company, on initiatives such as live commerce, live video, Spaces, and video. The word Hilton has been trying to popularize is now the venture’s hashtag, #sliving, a combination of “slaying” and “living.”
The queen of pop culture, music, business, and TV is #Sliving on X. @ParisHilton welcome to the @X family, we’re excited to launch an official partnership with you and your next-gen media company 11:11. Together we’re going to create a launchpad for new initiatives in video and… pic.twitter.com/7ctohyn3Nb
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) October 2, 2023
- X began testing an early version of audio and video calling.
- An X pitch deck obtained by Ad Age demonstrated a major push behind vertical videos, an emphasis on brand safety tools, and a grab for political advertising dollars.
- Creators can now always or only allow direct messages from subscribers.
- Replies can be limited to verified users.
- Administrators of private communities have the option of requiring people to answer a question before they are permitted to join.
- Users can pin communities on Home.
- Headlines were removed from link previews to encourage more direct posting on X.
Meta
Pay Up
Meta is introducing an ad-free monthly subscription offering for Facebook and Instagram, but for different reasons than X.
The pay option will be offered in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland to comply with regulations that were recently introduced in the region, allowing people to pay €9.99 per month on the web or €12.99 per month on Android and iOS to access Facebook and Instagram without ads. They can also continue using the platforms without charge, and they will still be served ads that are relevant to them.
The initial subscription will cover all accounts in a user’s Accounts Center through March 1, at which point each additional account will cost €6 per month on the web or €8 per month on Android and iOS.
Reels Ads
Meta announced several new features for ads on Facebook and Instagram Reels.
- Advertisers on Instagram Reels already had access to collection ads, which feature one large image or video, joined by several other images, and the ability for viewers to swipe through. Collection ads are now being tested on Facebook Reels.
- Multi-destination calls to action are now available for Reels carousel ads, enabling brands to drive users to multiple product pages.
- Viewers can swipe left on Facebook and Instagram Reels ads to see more information about and purchase the products and services being promoted.
- Automatic templates were introduced to convert non-9:16 media to 9:16 media, as well as 3D motion and depth, aspect ratio variance, and image and video enhancements such as filters. These are all available within Advantage+ creative in Ads Manager.
- All advertisers on Facebook and Instagram delivering to iOS devices can add, select, and source music to their single-image Reels ads during the campaign creation process.
- Meta’s brand suitability inventory filter control and third-party brand suitability verification solution with Meta Business Partner Zefr were extended to Facebook and Instagram Reels.
AI
Meta began rolling out its first generative artificial intelligence-powered features for ad creatives in Ads Manager, anticipating global rollout by sometime in 2024. The initial tools are:
- Background Generation: Create multiple backgrounds to complement product images.
- Image Expansion: Adjust creative assets to fit different aspect ratios across multiple surfaces.
- Text Variations: Generate multiple versions of ad texts based on brands’ original copy.
On the user side, Meta began rolling out AI stickers across its apps, with people soon gaining the ability to edit images or co-create them with friends on Instagram using new AI editing tools such as backdrop and restyle.
New advanced conversational assistant Meta AI was released in Beta for Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, with Quest 3 virtual reality headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to be added soon.
Also in beta, 28 more AI characters were introduced, with celebrities such as Izzy Adesanya, Tom Brady, Roy Choi, Charli D’Amelio, Paris Hilton, Kendall Jenner, Sam Kerr, LaurDIY, MrBeast, Naomi Osaka, Chris Paul, Raven Ross, Snoop Dogg, and Dwayne Wade helping to flesh them out.
Other Meta News:
- The Meta Verified test was extended to businesses on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, giving participants access to account support, features to help them stand out, impersonation protection and a verified badge.
- Several settings were moved into Accounts Center to make it easier for people to manage their information across Meta’s family of applications, including the Access Your Information, Activity Off-Meta Technologies (formerly Off-Facebook Activity), Download Your Information, and Transfer Your Information tools.
Sharing to Reels is now available to all developers, following a test that kicked off last year with apps including B612, Reface, Smule, Snow, Videoleap, Vita, VivaVideo, and Zoomerang.
Third-party apps that are integrated will display a Reels button, which users can click to share videos with a single tap.
Other Instagram News:
Instagram is testing polls in its comments section.
A dedicated feed for posts from verified users is also being tested.
The platform is developing an API for its stand-alone Threads app, which will enable developers to create apps and experiences.
Reminder ads—which enable users to opt into reminders for events, launches, and moments that interest them—can now be featured within Instagram Stories and created directly in Ads Manager.
Users can now create stickers from their own photos for use in Reels and Stories.
GIFs and polls were added to Threads.
Threads users gained the ability to edit, along with Voice Threads. Posts can only be edited within the first five minutes after going live, and an icon will appear adjacent to the timestamp to indicate that the post was edited.
A paid partnership label for creators pins an un-editable hashtag to the bottom of posts on Threads.
Instagram is feeding the flames of Threads’ battle with X by preparing to add Trends to the former.
Managers of Facebook pages can now launch one-to-many messaging tool broadcast channels on Facebook and Messenger, enabling users to join and receive the latest news from those pages.
Content that can be shared via broadcast channels includes behind-the-scenes photos and videos, polls, and voice notes.
Predictive audiences powered by predictive AI was added to the suite of targeting tools available via LinkedIn Campaign Manager, enabling business-to-business advertisers to reach the right audience at the right moment.
The professional network’s predictive audiences uses probabilistic audience targeting to analyze data and build and optimize a high-intent audience that is most likely to help the advertiser achieve its objective, helping those advertisers:
- Identify their audience at scale.
- Optimize campaign efficiency.
- Maximize return on investment.
The platform’s new Revenue Attribution Report helps brands understand the full impact of their marketing efforts across the entire funnel by leveraging customer-relationship-management data to determine LInkedIn’s impact on key sales metrics such as pipeline, return on ad spend, and revenue.
Other LinkedIn News:
- LinkedIn Marketing Partner VidMob enables bands to use AI to drive integrated real-time campaign optimization.
- Organizations can highlight their “best and brightest” through Thought Leader Ads, turning their organic content into ads.
- Advertisers on LinkedIn can tap AI-enabled scientific A/B testing to give them more control over ad optimization.
- Domain-level publisher reporting was added to LinkedIn Audience Network, enabling advertisers to download a list of publishers and incorporate allow lists and block lists, giving them control over where their content appears.
- Dynamic ads leverage the platform’s rich member data to tailor content for each user.
- New LinkedIn Marketing Partners including Adverity, Digivizer, Supermetrics, and TapClicks give marketers access to account-level engagement, advanced analytics, attribution reporting, B2B reporting templates, and cross-channel reporting.
- Finally, Message Ads were reintroduced within Campaign Manager.
Snapchat
Snap Inc. Introduced Creator Collab Campaigns, a suite of products aimed at making it easier for brands to partner with the platform’s creator community.
The Creator Discovery API lets third-party partners search Snapchat’s creator roster by age breakdown, biography, follower count, name, and user name, and those creators can opt in to share additional metrics such as insights on audience, public Stories, saved Stories, and Spotlights.
Branded content can now be placed within creator-driven Stories, providing contextually relevant placement for creator collaborations.
Public creators can now tag their branded content as paid promotions with Snapchat’s new self-serve, in-app paid partnership tag.
Other Snapchat News:
- Lenses, profiles, public Stories, and Spotlight videos from Snapchat.com can be embedded on the web, linking seamlessly to Snapchat’s app and website.
- Research from GWI and Snap found that 43% of daily Snapchatters in the U.S. 16 and older do not use TikTok every day, 39% do not use Facebook every day, 53% do not use YouTube every day, and 69% do not use X every day.
Twitch
The streaming platform rolled out Stories, which last 48 hours and can be seen on its Following page. Twitch said more features are on the way, including mentions, polls, and video.
We’re rolling out stories on Twitch to help you stay connected with your community
💜 Update the Twitch app to see stories on the Following page
💜 Stories last 48 hours
💜 Eligible streamers will get access to create stories throughout the weekWho is eligible? Read more 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/MO9sD6p5a2
— Twitch (@Twitch) October 16, 2023
Streamers can now prevent banned users from watching their livestreams.
Reddit updated the descriptions in its privacy settings to make them clearer and more consistent cross-platform.
Changes are also coming to ad preferences and personalization, including the consolidation of ad partner activity and information preferences, as well as giving Redditors the ability to opt out of specific ad categories (alcohol, dating, gambling, pregnancy/parenting, and weight loss).
Search on Reddit’s Android and iOS apps now includes accessible comment and post search, a new media search tab, and simpler results.
Updates to search on the mobile web—which is now 85% faster—include distinct tabs for comment and community results, sorting options for comment results, an updated page design.
In-app text size for iOS users will be based on their device settings.
Finally, the comments page on Reddit’s Android app underwent a visual revamp.
Two accounts can now be logged in to the messaging app at the same time, letting people toggle between their personal and work accounts.
Canopy
Former TikTok Head of Global Communications Ayomi Samaraweera introduced Canopy, an anonymous peer-to-peer social networking app where content creators can connect, crowdsource information, and discuss the industry.
Brands That Stay On Trend
Chicken Salad Chick
Tuna melts are cool, but do you know what’s cooler? Chicken salad melts. Fast casual chain Chicken Salad Chick showed off its Chick Melt, which comes in 12 flavors, with content like this Reel from @bryan.a.williams.
View this post on Instagram
Green Cola
Not all soda is bad for you, as @coreybrooks enjoys a Green Cola in this Reel, while discussing how it contains no artificial sweeteners, aspartame, or calories.
View this post on Instagram
Overland
As it moves past sweater weather and into jacket weather, Overland tapped creators to demonstrate how its sheepskin coats can elevate any fall or winter outfit, as Keri Fay demonstrated on TikTok.
@kerifay Elevate any simple outfit with an @Overland Sheepskin statement coat! Link in my bio. #OverlandSheepskin #myOverland #ad ♬ Euro$tep – West
Open Influence’s team stays on top of the latest trends and is here to help you maximize your creator campaigns. Open Influence is a leading global creator marketing agency dedicated to creating engaging campaigns.
