Voting Isn’t OverIf you’re sick of hearing about either Facebook or voting, you might want to skip this story. (JK, please don’t.) Because the social network is testing a new up and downvoting system for comments — and it has big Reddit vibes.
The experiment is currently taking place within certain groups, with a pop-up label alerting users they can vote up or down based on whether they think the comment was valuable to the group or not. The option to “like” and reply to comments is still present.
The feature could increase engagement and provide valuable insights into user sentiment— a handy tool for brands. But it’s worth noting it could also lead to increased divisiveness on the platform. This implementation isn’t the first time FB has experimented with a downvoting option, so for now, we’ll be watching to see whether this version sticks.
TL;DR: Facebook is testing a Reddit-like up and downvoting feature for comments within groups. Time's (Not) Up for TikTokWith over 100 million monthly active U.S. users, it's hard to ignore TikTok’s siren call. But since it’s future was touch and go there for a while, many brands were understandably apprehensive about devoting any marketing dollars to it. Now with the news that TikTok gets to live another U.S. day, the social network isn’t wasting any time partnering with companies that make it even more appealing to marketers.
Its newly announced partnership with Shopify allows merchants to create and run e-commerce campaigns directly geared toward TikTok's highly engaged community. And its latest agreement with Sony Music Entertainment lets users and creators up their content games with perfectly curated tunes.
These are just some of the advancements TikTok has made to make itself a more appealing platform for brands and marketers, and you can bet more are in the works. With 2021 plans starting to take shape, there’s never been a better time for brands to strategize and harness TikTok’s marketing prowess. Don’t forget to add #FYP to those videos.
TL;DR: Now that the TikTok ban is on hold, the app is making itself even more attractive to brands. Zuckerberg's Cookie DietIf someone takes your cookies away, would you seek out another source? Zuckerberg thinks so. He even believes you’ll reach for Facebook’s cookie alternative, a family recipe called Conversions API. The application programming interface (API) is browser-free and tracking-free, with an extra dash of user privacy. The mechanism is meant to help digital brands adapt beyond their reliance on cookies for that yummy audience data.
Without consumer purchasing behavior data to inform your targeting efforts, digital advertising is a shot in the dark. So Facebook made changes to its user privacy policies by putting more liability on marketers and brands to use consumer data responsibly. It’s a creative way around those gritty privacy restrictions while maintaining its status as a data source.
Facebook’s API tool comes as a solution for its own pixel-heavy Facebook advertisers. As pixels lose their effectiveness over time due to their reliance on tracking users, try some test bakes with the Conversions API solution before the pixel recipe drops its ingredients.
TL;DR: Facebook’s Conversion API is a solution for a cookie-free world. Instead of relying on users tracking data, the browser-free tool connects marketers and their servers directly to a Facebook server. What Lit Us UpD&I 'n A&FIf you were born before 2000, it should come as no surprise that Abercrombie and Fitch needed a brand overhaul ... especially after taking home the title of “Most Hated Brand” in 2016. So to earn some respect, the company didn’t just revamp it’s notoriously dark, loud, and smelly stores — it launched a significant diversity, equity, and inclusion effort.
Abercrombie’s latest DEI progression includes a seven-part Instagram miniseries with none other than soccer star, LGBTQ+-advocate, and social influencer, Megan Rapinoe. This campaign successfully scores a few goals with one swift kick by tapping into Instagram’s younger audience and delivering mental health awareness messaging all through a celebrity influencer — a perfect hat trick.
After a long, hard look in the dressing room mirror, Abercrombie managed to shed the unflattering image of its past and emerge as a brand with strong values and a desire to reconnect with its consumers. From an early 2020 campaign that highlighted diversity and inclusion to its vocal stance supporting #BLM, A&F continues its transformation from a widely disliked brand to one that’s committed to a more consequential cause. It’s a friendly reminder that a bad reputation doesn’t have to be permanent. With authentic motivations and meaningful actions, brands can effectively change their audience’s opinions. The game’s never over until a team quits playing.
TL;DR: Abercrombie and Fitch partners with Megan Rapinoe for a mental health awareness campaign on Instagram to rebuild its damaged reputation. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.)
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