Social Media Round Up: November 2019

Every month we take a good long look at social media marketing news.

There is always something worthy of being aware of. This month is no different, and we start off the round up with news about one of the most frustrating platforms out there right now.

TikTok gets a lot bigger

Tik Tok has an audience, but it doesn’t yet have a real pull for social media marketers. It seems people know there is clear potential there, but marketers just aren’t quite clear on how to harness what the platform seems to offer.

The frustration is even more acute at the moment, with news that TikTok has reached 1.5 billion downloads. That’s a bucket load of users (okay, there may not be 1.5 billion users, but still) that are not yet being properly acquired by social media marketers.

The micro-video app has its biggest audience in India, according to Sensor Tower:

"India has been the main driver of TikTok downloads across the App Store and Google Play, with 466.8 million, or about 31% of all unique installs coming from the country. China has generated the second most downloads for the app, accounting for 173.2 million, or 11.5%. The United States ranks No. 3, generating 123.8 million downloads, or 8.2%."

The market is absolutely huge, and users are actually spending money on the platform too. The main issue that may hold TikTok back from global domination is a recent investigation into links with the Chinese government. There are concerns that the Chinese government could ask for user data. It’s as simple as that, and TikTok would have to oblige. If that is a concern and nothing more, expect to see TikTok become the next big thing. If it’s a potential problem however, TikTok will be an issue for marketers, one that most likely won’t be solved.

Facebook launches Whale

This new app that is currently being released to Canadians only, allows users to quickly and easily make memes. The social media giant has released it to Canada via it’s NPE team. The NPE part means ‘New Product Experimentation’.

It’s hard to see the point in such an app. It’s effective, apparently, allowing users to create memes inside the app. And we can see how some users, particularly younger users, will find it fun. However, we can’t help thinking that Whale will grow some legs and then be sucked up into the Facebook app. That makes sense.

It all depends on user response to Whale. It’s not a guaranteed win, and the only thing that is keeping it going is Facebook’s money. They can afford to fail, again and again. If Whale gets big, they will have another way to hook in new users.

Facebook teaches you how to do video

Facebook, via it’s Creator blog, has highlighted a small company that has managed to get video right. It’s lucky for the company, called Art All The Way, that Facebook has done this, because they choose their company spotlights very carefully. Facebook has been very positive about how Art All The Way managed video:

The Art All the Way team decided to focus on video content early on. With consistent daily uploads, they hope to keep fans engaged and entertained with high-quality videos that show fun, do-it-yourself arts and crafts projects. Whether instructing viewers how to create their own picture frames or make handmade earrings, Art All the Way’s content appeals to their audience’s creativity. They incorporate live craft demonstrations into their Facebook programming and use Facebook Premieres when introducing new and innovative crafts that they want to highlight.

Via Facebook Creator

In the post, Facebook basically outlines how the company did it, and gives the reader a full description of how it should be done. It’s interesting that Facebook has analysed the company and it’s video work so carefully. It’s a mix of a tutorial and some promotion.

Twitter becomes even more protective of users

Twitter is rolling out the option of hiding replies to tweets.

This is a big thing, because it shows that Twitter is simply thinking about how to make its space safer. Hiding replies allows users to take inappropriate or off topic content off their feeds. The replies can still be seen,  but users have to click on a special icon to do so.

Interestingly, during the testing, celebrities and politicians haven’t gone out of their way to hide replies in any major fashion.

Would you like to get some great social media metrics at your fingertips? No problem. Take out a subscription to Locowise and you will never look back. And your first week is free.