Twitter: Branding Opportunities for Ads and Blue Check Subscription Perks

Twitter is rolling out a series of initiatives to try to secure more ad revenue after their initial backlash. Ad revenue dropped 50% when Elon Musk took over adieu to critiques concerns over an increase of hate speech on the platform. 

The first change is that Twitter is promoting more visual branding options to entice ad spend. The company rebranded “branded hashtags” as “Hashmojis”. Branded hashtags were introduced initially in 2010. The move to change the name is more than likely an attempt at branding alightingment with their new offer Hashfetti. 

When hashfetti is activated through a branded hashmoji, the emoticon will fall like confetti across the user’s screen, creating a fun little experience for them. The custom emoji is also enlarged for 24 hours, helping  bring more visibility to users. 

While Twitter is trying to entice advertisers to come back, the company is also offering a counteractive incentive for users to buy their blue check verification, which is a 50% reduction in ads. Twitter’s site states that:

                     The half ads feature does not apply to promoted content elsewhere on Twitter, including but not limited to        

                    ads on profiles, ads in Tweet replies, promoted events in Explore, promoted trends, and promoted accounts to follow.” 

The Tiwitter team is pushing for more incentives for Twitter Blue Check purchases, offering the ability to edit tweets, have NFT profile photos, custom themes, and more. Adding more incentives that “bragging rights” is a smart way to leverage more sales and give customers value. How this will help offset ad revenue losses, is to be determined. 

While there has been several other Twitter updates, such integrating the Doge icon, the last one we’ll focus on is Twitter restriction to Substack, which is an independent publish site for writers and podcasters. Users can no longer retweet, like, or comment on posts from substack newsletters on Twitter. 

Why this is happened, is unclear, and only Twitter knows the answer. The Verge believes this is related to Twitter’s API update, which has caused connection issues for various tools, sites, and bots. Social Media Today, however, believes that Substacks new Twitter-Notes-eques feature has upset Musk, who “hates copycats” and is retalitating against the platform. 

YouTube: Live Reactions for Livestreams

YouTube has rolled out a new feature for iOS users that allows them to react to live streams in real-time with anonymous reactions. These reactions can help increase engagement with replays by highlighting top moments and providing insights into what viewers find interesting. These reactions are anonymous, so specific users data will not be accessible. 

All eligible channels will have reactions enabled by default, but creators can turn them off for specific streams. The feature will expand to more devices in the future, according to YouTube.

Meta: Broadcast Channels for Better Community Management

Meta describes broadcast channels as “a public, one-to-many messaging tool for creators to invite all of their followers into and engage with their most interested fans.” Mark Zuckerburg made the announcement on his own broadcast channel, featured above. 

Only creators can create messages in the channels, and they can share text, videos, photos, and even polls – which from a data perspective gives brands a fantastic opportunity to learn more about consumers. 

Once a creator makes a broadcast channel their followers will receive a one time notification to join the channel. Creators who have activated Instagram’s subscription service have the option to make it available to all followers. Whatsapp is also testing the functionality of broadcasts. 

Per Meta: “Creators who are interested can sign up to be considered for early access HERE. “

LinkedIn: Updates Company Commitment Feature and Adds ‘I’m Interested’ Button

LinkedIn is updating their commitments feature for company pages which allows companies to “to showcase values along with more meaningful content, including reports, certifications, articles, blogs, and videos”. According to LinkedIn, 87% of perspective employees prefer to work for a company that holds the same values they find important. By giving companies the ability to showcase their core values and commitments, recruiters can have easier access to a pool of diverse talent. 

Companies can feature five commitments, which include: 

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Career growth and learning 
• Work-life balance 
• Social impact 
• Environmental sustainability 

LinkedIn is also adding an “I’m Interested” button near the company’s about me section. Potential candidates can express their interest in working for a company, giving recruiters warm leads. 

This, in combintation with the expansion of the commitment features, can give both employees and employers better opportunities to connect with the right people. 

At B3 Media Solutions, we’re always on the pulse of the ever-changing market of social media marketing. We create content strategies with data-driven actionable insights for enterprise-level businesses.

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What We’re Reading:

• Microsoft Drops Twitter from its Social Media Management Platform (Social Media Today)
• Twitter reveals how its recommendation algorithm works (HootSuite)
• After an investigation exposes its dangers, Pinterest announces new safety tools and parental controls (Tech Crunch) 
• Social Media Benchmarks from Rival IQ
• March Social Media App Updates 2023
• 10 Inspiring and Influential Black Women