Social listening (via Netbase + HUNTER: Insights)

The most discussed brands among U.S. Twitter users over the preceding week included Spotify, Amazon, the NBA, and Wordle. Jeff Zucker, who resigned as president of CNN, was among the most discussed non-politicians. Top hashtags used or engaged with by American Twitter users over the preceding week (see tag cloud) included #ProBowl, #Tigray, and #BlackHistoryMonth.

Among the most viewed YouTube videos during the past week was Do We Have a Problem?, Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby’s new music video which accumulated more than seven million views within three days of uploading.

Topics that most-captured the digital public’s interest over the last week, as measured by the most-accessed articles on Wikipedia, included: Pamela Anderson (subject of a new Hulu series), Tommy Lee (also a subject of aforementioned Hulu series), 2022 Winter Olympics (currently occurring in Beijing), Alan Ritchson (star of the new Amazon series Reacher), and Groundhog Day (which was observed last week).

Looking ahead on the social calendar, Valentine’s Day (February 14) may generate attention over the next week. Hashtags that saw the most traction on this subject in 2021 included #valentines and #valentinesday.

Articles of interest five to read today!

YouTube Previews New Tools to Help Creators Showcase the Value of their Channel for Brand Promotions (via Social Media Today)

Within the next few months, YouTube will introduce a new “MediaKit” within YouTube Studio that will help YouTubers better showcase the potential value in their channels for brand promotions, help users to secure more deals, and provide greater choice in ad placements based on reach and shopping insights. This new MediaKit display will provide a shareable summary of channel audience and viewer stats, including in-depth audience data such as demographics and audience interests. The listing will also highlight previous paid partnerships and allow channel managers to select four featured videos to showcase.

Hit songs getting shorter because of TikTok generation’s attention span (via The Telegraph)

The average length of tracks nominated for Song of the Year at the Brit Awards has fallen over the past 40 years to just three minutes and seven seconds, according to a study sponsored by Brit Awards sponsor Mastercard. Latest Trends, a debut single, went viral on TikTok after a 15-second snippet was used in thousands of videos before the full track was even released. “Songs that are reduced in time are more favourable largely due to listener preferences, Spotify algorithms and the rise of social media platforms such as TikTok,” the team said in its analysis.

Facebook Messenger to send screenshot notifications on 'secret' messages (via Lancashire Telegraph)

Mark Zuckerberg, announced a series of updates including changes to its “secret” Messenger platform. The changes involve Messenger’s “secret conversation” which is similar to WhatsApp’s encrypted message function. The new update for end-to-end encrypted Messenger now allows you to get a notification if someone screenshots a disappearing message. Meta is also adding GIFs, stickers, and reactions to encrypted chats too.

TikTok Explicitly Bans Misgendering, Deadnaming and Promotion of ‘Conversion Therapy’ (via Variety)

TikTok is taking new steps to protect the LGBTQ community and women from harassment and hate speech with updates to their community guidelines. The new rules expressly prohibit misgendering, deadnaming, and misogyny, as well as ban any content that supports or promotes “conversion therapy” programs. While these topics have been prohibited on the app for a while, after hearing from many creators and organizations, they added the rules explicitly to their guidelines.

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Mascots might be the key to a successful TikTok strategy for brands (via Marketing Brew)

From Duolingo’s “Duo the Owl” to Empire State Realty Trust’s “Empire State Building” and “King Kong” characters, brand mascots are becoming more prevalent by the day as part of one’s TikTok strategy. While the “why” behind the success of brand mascots on the platform is still being sussed out, early findings suggest that users find character-fueled content more relatable than other types of content. Some also believe it’s because the characters provide an easy vehicle for users to quickly jump in on the platform’s ever-changing trends. Currently, Duo the Owl, is proving to be the category’s A-lister, as the character has helped the language-learning app rack up nearly 3 million followers on TikTok.

TikTok updates its policies with focus on minor and LGBTQ safety, age appropriate content and more (via TechCrunch)

This week, the company announced a series of policy updates and plans for new features and technologies aimed at making the video-based social network a safer and more secure environment, particularly for younger users and those who identify as LGBTQ. As part of the updated guidelines, the platform explicitly prohibits misogyny, misgendering, and deadnaming, as well as support or promotion of “conversion therapy,” an umbrella term used to refer to the widely debunked — and potentially dangerous — practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, the platform established a new system that allows community members to choose which “comfort zones” — or levels of content maturity — they want to see in the app. Similarly, creators will be asked to specify when their content is more appropriate for an adult audience.

The Moral Quandary of ‘Slow Fashion’ Influencers (via NY Times)

“Slow fashion influencers” are a niche group known for sharing outfits and extolling the virtues of thrifting, mending, and buying well-made garments instead of fast fashion pieces. However, although they’re encouraging their audiences to “shop small,” the clothes themselves are still new pieces, and more importantly, their content still drives a desire to consume. Experts predict that the sustainability category will only continue to grow despite the irony. Therefore, the best way for brands to integrate with influencers in the space is to ensure that they can freely acknowledge the juxtaposition while still laddering back to the goal of learning how to purchase better.