🤔 Boost Reels views by ignoring IG's advice?.. and 25 other stories

Welcome to TWISM (This Week in Social Media). This newsletter covers the biggest stories in Social Media Marketing each week.

October 17, 2024

This week’s insights on Social Media Marketing:

  • Top News of the Week

  • Tutorials of the Week

  • Listicles of the Week

  • Tips of the Week

  • Case Studies of the Week

  • Meme of the Week

  • Tools of the Week

  • Creator of the Week

  • Quote of the Week

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Top News of the Week

Instagram survey reveals how influencers are using AI. 76% use AI for images, videos, and captions. Only 13% are “very comfortable” with using digital clones of themselves.

Influencer clones? Aren’t the originals enough already?? 😂 ~TWISM

Meta AI now converses and understands photos. Users can converse with Meta AI on Messenger, Whatsapp, and IG DM (we recommend using John Cena’s voice!). Meta AI can also interpret and edit photos now.

TikTok's new Flip Stories add “unlocking” feature. Flip Stories allow creators to add a hidden part to stories that viewers unlock by flipping. Billie Eilish recently used the feature to reveal exclusive “before-and-after” tour content.

X to launch Zoom-like video conferencing. The feature will allow users to host vid meetings directly in X. But can X compete with Zoom or Google Meet?

Did anyone even ask for this? ~TWISM

LinkedIn trains its AI on your data without consent. Data security experts aren’t happy, and many users are opting out. (Opt-out here)

YouTube Shorts can now be up to 3 min long. Other updates include a new trends page and templates for creators to remix popular Shorts. User feeds now also have a "Show fewer Shorts" option.

LinkedIn supports 10 more languages. This update brings the total to 36 languages, including Bengali, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew, Persian, Vietnamese, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu and more.

Pinterest adds new interactive collage options. "Collage Remixing" and "Collage Sharing" allow users to remix existing collages and download their creations as vids to share on other platforms.

TikTok unveils new automated ad solutions. “Smart+” automates targeting, bidding, and creative selection. “GMV Max” automates creation for TikTok Shop campaigns. Early tests show a 52% lift of ROAS and 30% lift of GMV.

Brazil lifts ban on X. The platform was blocked for 5 weeks after refusing to remove certain accounts, among other things. Elon eventually complied with court orders, allowing X to resume operations in Brazil.

Looks like Elon blinked first. Welcome back, X users in Brazil! ~TWISM

Tutorials of the Week

How to skyrocket your views on Instagram Reels. Step #1: ignore IG’s recently released best practices. This vid shows you unorthodox (but proven) ways to go viral on Instagram.

How to automate your Facebook posts (& 3x your Likes). This guide shows how to post on FB in your sleep. Major time-saver!

How to seize LinkedIn’s new video shorts opportunity. Kallaway has generated 28M views on LinkedIn in the past 28 days. This video breaks down how he did it.

How to use AI to level up your social media posts (tools included). This article offers creative ways to use AI to stand out on social media.

Listicles of the Week

43 time-saving LinkedIn post templates. Download these free, ready-to-use AI prompts and design templates to save time. Perfect for when you’re stuck in a posting rut!

8. Save a TikTok to your phone without the TikTok logo. Want to share your TikTok on other platforms without the watermark? Just screen-record your preview, trim the clip, and voila! A clean, logo-free video ready to post anywhere.

Tip 9: Create content for your audience, NOT yourself. Want to lose followers quickly? Just post what you like instead of what they want. Instead, focus on understanding your audience’s preferences. Try following the 5, 3, 2 rule! (5 curated, 3 original, and 2 fun posts.)

2. Facebook adult users spend an average of 30.9 minutes daily on the platform

37. In the U.S., 40% of households with incomes surpassing $150,000 per year are active users of Pinterest

63. When it comes to generating exposure for business, marketers cite TikTok (73%), YouTube (70%), and Instagram (69%) as having a major impact on that

Tips of the Week

If your content doesn’t make people stop scrolling, is it even content? 

Answer: no, it’s already forgotten. You need to be bold and surprising! Take Nike — they don’t just sell shoes, they inspire action with powerful visuals 🤩 and punchy lines. 💥

Next time you post, ask yourself: “Would I stop scrolling for this?” If not, channel your inner Nike and Just Do It. (But better. 😉) ~TWISM

✋ STOP selling, start storytelling.

People don’t want to be sold to. They want to FEEL something. Instead of “Buy our candles,” tell them how your hand-poured candles 🕯️ bring peace to Moms who finally get a break after a long day. Brands that share real, relatable stories build lasting connections and loyal customers.

Don't sell the product. Sell the feeling.💡 ~TWISM

Case Studies of the Week

Duolingo’s green owl getting big results on TikTok. Their “unhinged” marketing strategy has the owl twerking in the office and jumping on viral trends. Result: an increase to 4.4 million followers and 84.6 million Likes (and counting!). 🚀

Respect, Duolingo. ~TWISM

Stanley Cups social virality increases rev by 10x. Stanley’s Quencher tumbler went viral after a TikTok video showed it surviving a car fire (ice still intact!). That clip racked up 84 million views, and the shift from targeting workmen to women looking for stylish hydration helped revenue soar from $73 million in 2019 to $750 million in 2023. 🤯 

Meme of the Week

Moo Deng, the baby hippo that stole hearts across the globe 😍

What does it meme? This baby hippo is just what you needed to see in your inbox today! Moo Deng went viral for being the cutest thing we’ve seen in 2024. 🦛

Now, the entire internet is using candid photos of this adorable girl to make their own relatable memes.

Because who doesn’t feel like a helpless hippo sometimes? 😅

Tools of the Week

Calla gives pro editing advice. Need to polish some copy fast? This ChatGPT copyeditor bot recommends edits that boost engagement.

LeadDelta helps manage LinkedIn relationships. Perfect for heavy LinkedIn users. I use this CRM to track convos and leads so I never miss a follow-up.

Suno lets you make full songs in seconds. This AI song generator can make goofy songs for your business’s social vids. Quality is impressive! 🤯

Creator of the Week

Alex Garcia goes from 500 to 40k followers in 50 days with Threads challenge.

Alex Garcia didn’t just take on a challenge — he went BIG: writing 50 Twitter threads in 50 days.

➡️ His goal? Grow his audience fast.➡️ The result? 500 to 40,000 followers in less than two months!

What’s his secret?

  • Alex kept it simple: he stuck to what he knew — growth marketing — and consistently posted longer, in-depth threads that hit home with his audience.

  • By focusing on value-packed content and showing up every day, his following exploded. 💥

Alex gained followers, sharpened his writing, and figured out exactly what his audience loved.

Takeaway: If you’re looking to grow (fast!), try setting up your own challenge. It’s a fun way to stay consistent, build momentum, and level up your skills along the way!

Quote of the Week

“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.” 

~ Alice Morse

Have a great weekend!

~ Josh from “This Week in Social Media”

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