Business of Creators 💬

Industry latest

📣 Research shows Snapchat is an effective platform for entertainment promotion, with an 84% increase in audience interest in new TV shows and movies after seeing ads on Snap, and reaching a unique audience not typically reached by TV ads.

🧑‍🏫 TikTok is hosting a "Mastering Creative Performance" webinar for small businesses, offering tips and strategies from industry experts to improve TikTok marketing and boost holiday sales.

🏛️ The White House is hosting its first "Creator Economy Conference", where digital creators and industry experts will meet with government officials to discuss key issues like privacy, fair pay, AI, and mental health, to help shape future policies.

💄 TikTok, in partnership with Estée Lauder, has announced "The Catalysts", a program to support emerging beauty creators by offering mentorship, financial and marketing support, and expert advice to help them build and scale their businesses.

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Platform round-up

Leverage the latest updates and features across digital platforms to help you get ahead of the game…

➕ ‘Sends” have joined Instagram’s post display meaning you can now see how many times your post has been shared alongside liked and commented 

👎 A new ratio metric? X is experimenting with bringing back downvotes for posts

🤖 Meta is launching the first stage of its "AI Studio" platform, allowing Instagram creators to develop AI versions of themselves for audience interactions via DM

📛 YouTube is expanding its @handles for channels to 75 languages, allowing creators to customize their unique handles in their preferred language for use across YouTube, including on Shorts and in comments.

📣 Instagram is testing chat widgets to boost engagement in DMs by adding tools like countdowns, timezones, and pinned content, which can enhance interactions and potentially benefit brand engagement.

⏭️ TikTok now lets creators save their videos without a watermark for easier sharing on other apps, but they must post the video on TikTok first to use this feature.

The power of the “send” metric 

Whilst likes and comments have dominated metrics on platforms like Instagram, it’s great to see the dynamic shift towards the “send” metric. Why? Because amidst a plethora of active users that post, like and comment, lies an even greater pool of “invisible” users who frequent the platform but might only share content via DM. 

This week you might have seen a slight update on your Instagram feeds where the number of shares are visible for your post, an intentional development led by chief Adam Mosseri who has reiterated that sends are a key focus for engagement. (We’re glad to see some more alignment in the IG ecosystem on its comms towards creators, maybe they’ve read our past couple editions pointing out its contradictions 👀). 

However, reaction has been a mixed bag. Negative comments on the Mosseri post accuse the platform of creating flawed features, not giving creators what they need and operating as a business. 

“Unfortunately, that’s a flawed method. Most wholesome or good content that’s not rage or trigger baiting is just consumed. They watch, they like, and/or comment but it’s not often sent privately. I post relatable pet content, not going to tease my pets or go over the top just for views etc…” - @through.the.whiskers 

It prompted a slight reaction from me that maybe some creators don’t have a full grasp on the varied behaviors of users and how truly useful this feature can be. In contrast to what some creators might think, I’m the last person to share a baiting post from the likes of LadBible on how “drinking vodka everyday can decrease chances of dementia” but would be the first person to share wholesome pet content to my family. And I’m certain I’m not the only one. You see, likes/comments are not the only indicator of impact. In fact many posts can cause quite the stir and discourse but still receive few likes. For instance, no one is really going to share your beach post in the Bahamas. It might gain envy in the form of comments saying “you look stunning, babe 💋”, but a post where a creator might be giving make-up tips or providing wholesome content is the perfect opportunity to engage with my friends on our shared interests, or to have a passionate conversation on why someone’s polarizing post is a bad take.

My advice to many creators is to not forget about the huge pool of “invisible users”. Whilst there are record downloads of social media apps, studies by the Wall Street Journal show that less and less people are posting and commenting than ever before. It means that discourse and consumption of content is more likely to be engaged behind closed doors in more intimate circles and DMs, making the “send” metric a very useful layer of the engagement onion!