Chasing Rabbbits

🪩 Social Signals

In 2022, social media became synonymous with short-form video—the TikTok-ification of the internet.

Despite what headlines about "what Gen Z is doing" would have you believe, social media is still plenty popular. Global time spent on social apps rose 17% year-over-year last year (on Android devices).

Under the Influence®️

While people are sick of influencers flaunting/flogging luxury (turns out celebrities aren't just like us when times are tough (and, yes, this is from the UK, which has a much different energy situation than the US currently)), influencers are sick of Instagram. Or at least not banking on it making them bank.

Unsurprisingly, TikTok is the cool kid and YouTube is the popular clique that doesn't play super well with others. On the other hand, Instaglam is becoming the quiet loner that only speaks in quotes.

The agency HigherVisibility did some research on creators and its Top 20 list includes only 2 that use The 'Gram as their main platform. And only 1 of those started on IG (shout out, Vine! We see you). It doesn't get better:

Instagram places last with the lowest amount of average followers among the top 10 creators on the app

But here's the real kicker:

Organic reach for brands on TikTok is reported to be 118%, and when compared to the likes of Instagram which is reported at 13.51% the difference is astronomical.

🤯

Since Instagram "accounted for 94% of influencer marketing campaigns as of 2022," the opportunity in 2023 may lie literally anywhere else.

Big Blue Elephant in the Room

Insert an "I'm not dead yet!" GIF here because the Facebook app still gets downloaded. Mostly in India, but the US clocked 30M+ downloads last year. It may not be popular with the youths†, but it's popular with someone. (†This may be an overblown take, they may just use less feed and more groups. The slow growth of dark forests should continue to be a trend.)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before (you can’t because you haven’t), Meta ads got cheaper. Prices dropped 12% week-over-week to end 2022 (with some saying CPMs were down 28% year-over-year), and performance improved (for some). A marketer’s dream scenario: spend less to get more. It’s unlikely Zuck instituted a price drop, so this could mean advertisers are taking their dollars elsewhere. Could Meta Ads become an opportunity in 2023?

What other crazy things might happen in Meta’s ‘verse this year? Messenger is going back in app.

I expect Meta (and other platforms) to prioritize revenue and earnings this year, that means fewer moonshots and more focus on the money making basics. For Meta that means giving more people more reasons to spend time in the flagship apps: Big Blue and The ‘Gram. The former has easier levers to pull on that front than the latter. And both share a lever: Reels.

All signs point to Facebook being an interesting play to start the year. To that end, you’ll want to make sure you beat ad fatigue and maybe do a little community building.

It’s More Than Meta

Turns out turmoil may be good for LinkedIn. The Professional Platform has been on an upswing since early in the pandemic. First the mass shift to remote work and less face-to-face, then That Twitter Thing, and now the mass layoffs in tech and media sectors (I feel for them, good luck in your job searches). Through it all, LinkedIn has been growing—revenue, users, and engagement. If you’re wondering where your audience is, it might be on LinkedIn.

YouTubers get some new analytics (or at least new, more visible locations for old analytics) and other toys. Surprise surprise, Shorts get the spotlight. And some other new features, plus monetization.

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