Daily Minute Master Series – November 19, 2019

Social Media

TikTok Reaches 1.5 Billion Downloads, Seeks to Distance Itself from Chinese Government Links

According to the latest data from Sensor Tower, the short video app has now exceeded 1.5 billion downloads worldwide, making it the third most downloaded, non-gaming app of the year (after WhatsApp and Messenger). US growth is good, but India, with over 1.3 billion total citizens, and a rapidly growing digital economy, may be even better for the app’s longer-term future – if TikTok becomes the must-have app among younger Indian users, that will set it up for huge success, and huge advertising potential in that market. TikTok’s also experimenting with social commerce links and new ad types which could expand on its potential for brands and businesses. There’s a lot to like for social media marketers, and TikTok could well be for real, and could be set for a major rise in 2020. 2020 could be the year for TikTok, and if it continues its rise in India, it could well be on track to become the next big social platform – and as such, getting in now and establishing a presence may be of some benefit. Or it could stumble and fall back. 

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Snapchat Adds Extended Mid-Roll Video Ad Option

Snapchat is giving advertisers more room to tell their stories in mid-roll video ads by expanding the time limit for its video ads to three minutes. According to AdWeek, Snapchat users will still be able to skip the mid-roll video ads after six seconds, but advertisers will be able to use the option for longer video messaging, in order to keep those viewers who are interested engaged. Snap says that the option will provide more capacity for advertisers to utilize their existing video assets, rather than having to cut them down to six seconds, which may provide more opportunity for cross-promotion and engagement. Capitalizing on that increased interest will be a key focus for Snap in 2020, and you can expect the platform to launch new original programming and additional ad formats in line with usage trends.

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Marketing

Google Maps becomes more ‘social’ with Local Guides follow feature

Google’s Local Guides program has more than 120 million members in 24,000 locations globally. They are a largely invisible but indispensable part of the Google Maps experience, providing reviews, images and other content as well as answering questions (Q&A) about local businesses and places. Now the Guides are about to become more visible. Maps users in a number of cities will soon be able to follow Local Guides and see local recommendations of places and things to do. For You is essentially a local discovery feed, like other Google content feeds. It’s not clear how widely used it is; Google hasn’t released any data to my knowledge.  When users follow a Local Guide, they’ll see that person’s recommendations. This essentially mirrors the local business follow feature in Google My Business and the lesser-known follow Lists feature in Maps, which lives under “Your Places.” Google has made numerous attempts to build social networks or social products over the years, most visibly Google+. All have essentially failed, unless you consider YouTube a social network. Now Google is layering social features into successful, established products. But will those features be adopted? That’s the relevant question.

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Shutterstock’s new music subscription offers affordable music licensing for content creators

Shutterstock has launched an unlimited music subscription plan for content creators and digital marketers, offering more than 11,000 tracks that can be included in web-based content, including YouTube videos, podcasts and conference presentations. The subscription fee is $149 per month, and includes access to the Shutterstock Music library with music tracks searchable by genre, mood or popularity. The company says its music selection has been curated by professional musicians, with hundreds of tracks added every month. This latest offering from Shutterstock gives digital marketers and content creators the ability to spice up their content — putting a professional shine on things like podcast intros, YouTube ads or conference and trade show presentations. At $149 per month, it’s a cost-effective feature for marketers lacking the budget and resources to invest in high-end music productions for various projects.

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