As July ends, it’s time to round up the latest developments in digital marketing news! From the most recent social media updates to industry trends and campaigns, here is everything you need to know from the last month.
Social Media Updates
Meta’s Twitter alternative, “Threads” is the latest app to be launched, gaining a large amount of traction within the first month. The app received 100 million sign-ups in less than a week, including many brands, celebrities, journalists, and other accounts. The platform looks extremely like Twitter, with a primarily text-based feed and options to post photos and videos. Also like Twitter, Threads has a 500-character limit and users can reply to, repost, and quote others’ Threads posts. The platform also blends Instagram’s existing aesthetic and navigation system, offering the ability to share posts from Threads directly to Instagram Stories. Meta’s Threads has a chance at replacing Twitter due to users expressing a desire for an alternative since Elon Musk’s takeover and given its existing user base of 2 billion globally, compared to Twitter’s 250 million users.
Twitter is Being Rebranded as X
Twitter has officially begun the rebranding process, featuring an interim “X” logo to replace the blue bird icon once used. Users who visit X.com will be redirected to Twitter where they will see the new logo. This rebranding of the popular platform will be the clearest sign yet that this is no longer the same social network that it was before Elon Musk purchased it last year. While the platform has the same appearance outside of the logo, other changes have also been occurring, including a limit on the number of DMs for non-paying users, a LinkedIn-like hiring feature showed up for Verified Organizations, and soon, the ability to post long-form articles to the site.
TikTok diversifies users’ content experience on the app by adding a new text post feature. This new tool allows for written content that was once only available in comment sections, captions, and videos, while still maintaining the short-form content style offered by the app. Users can access a wide range of post-enhancing features such as stickers to support specific causes, events, or holidays, the ability to tag other accounts and add hashtags, background colors, different text colors, sound, and more. Text posts were streamlined for simple and quick creation, making them user-friendly.
TikTok’s New Partnership Allows for Post-Purchase Surveys
TikTok has announced a new partnership with top post-purchase survey providers, KnoCommerce and Fairing. Working with these partners can empower marketers with an additional layer of data to improve their online advertising strategy. Through these platforms’ impressive lists of data partnerships, post-purchase surveys can easily integrate with existing analytics capabilities. The surveys can complement UTM data and enhance multi-touch attribution and media mix models offering a more comprehensive picture of customer journeys. Those who use this feature can also gain insight into where customers came from, how long it took them to convert, and which channels are most effective. Overall, this new partnership gives those marketing on the platform the ability to make more informed decisions about advertising strategies and spending.
Snapchat Rises to 397 Million Users
Snapchat recently shared its Q2 2023 performance report which illustrated a 14 million increase in daily users, measuring a total of 397 million daily users overall. Some of these additional users are also in developing markets, providing an opportunity for advertisers on the platforms to reach new audiences. The report also showed Snapchat’s ad business has been gaining more traction, meaning advertisers are returning to the platform after seeing a decrease due to the shifting ad market and economic downturn. With recently added features like Snapchat+, AI/AR, and “Spotlight” video content being added to the platform, Snapchat has seen more user engagement meaning it could be a good time for advertisers to leverage this uptick in users.
Industry News
It is impossible to miss all the marketing efforts that went into the latest Barbie movie from Warner Bros. Studios. Knowing how much planning, creativity, and dedication go into creating integrated marketing campaigns, the $150 million Barbie campaign is a huge success. President of global marketing Josh Goldstine shared some key insights from the planning and execution of this campaign, including the importance of being strategic with the “breadcrumbs” they shared, timing, leaning into TikTok’s organic reach, partnering with big-name brands like Xbox, Balmain, and even Airbnb to bring the “Barbie Dreamhouse” to life. This pink-themed campaign hit every touchpoint for its audience and the payoff is undeniable with a box office revenue of $165 million in North America.
AI is all the rage, but have you ever thought about how email has already been using it to predict the end of sentences, offer autocorrection, and remind you when you forget to include a subject line? Given that email is one of the least authentic forms of communication, but something that most of us need to do every day, there is a chance that AI could develop even more in terms of how we respond to emails, sort through our inboxes, and even match our tone. This could also be a game changer for email marketing if AI tools can be used to analyze data from top-tier email subject lines—those with impressive open rates or sales conversions—and offer a hundred good ideas, saving time and money for marketers.
Ready to get the most out of these latest industry updates in your marketing strategy? Contact us to start a conversation about how our team of experts can create a unique plan for your brand to thrive in the current landscape!