Snapchat Spotlight Challenges & Other Monetization Tools For Creators!
According to Variety, Snap is pushing boundaries with new tools for Snapchat creators that will help them bring in more cash. Snap is launching Spotlight Challenges next month, which will provide cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to users with the most views in various categories.
This technology is a ramped version of Snap’s rival (like TikTok), Spotlight’s monetization tool. Before we explore the other tools that Snap is introducing, let us delve deeper into – Spotlight Challenges.
Interesting Read: After Instagram, TikTok Targets Snapchat With Its New Augmented Reality Ad Format
Snapchat Spotlight Challenges: Cha-Ching!
Snapchat will be offering the aforementioned cash rewards to artists who create the most entertaining videos using certain AR lenses, sounds, or topics.
Snapchat users may enter Spotlight Challenges to earn cash rewards for generating postings in a variety of categories, such as “Best Trick Shot” and “Impressions Challenge.”
Individual Spotlight Challenge prizes will generally range from $1,000 to $25,000, though Snap stated it may pay out a greater figure for a specific challenge on occasion. A Snapchat user may earn a minimum of $250 in a Spotlight Challenge.
If you are wondering, what are the rules for this challenge? Well, the only rule is…there are no rules.
Just kidding.
Apart from being a legal resident of one of the 50 United States and be above 16 years of age, participants must suffice to a lot of rules that you can find – here.
According to Snap, each challenge would typically award prizes to an average of 3-5 eligible Snapchatters. Each contest’s top 50 qualifying, relevant, and most-viewed contributions will be judged on their ingenuity and novelty, creative use of Snap creative tools, distinctive point-of-view, and entertainment quotient.
Now, how to find these spotlight challenges on the Snapchat app?
The challenges may be found on the Trending Page by tapping the “trending up” sign in the upper right corner of the app’s Spotlight. The description and submissions provided by the community will be shown on each Spotlight Challenge’s website.
To submit a video to a contest, users may press the camera icon to launch the Snapchat camera and make and enter a Snap.
Interesting Read: TikTok MENA Newsroom: An Opportunity For The Region’s Finest Creators!
What Else Is New For Snapchat Users?
Apart from Spotlight Challenges, Snap is also rolling out other tools to increase income options for creators. Here are some other new changes that Snapchat plans to introduce –
- Snap is also bolstering its Creator Marketplace, allowing Snap Stars ( as they are dubbed) to secure sponsorships and tag brands in sponsored content
- Snapchat will also globally launch ‘ Creator Hub’, the company’s pioneer resource guide tool
- Snap’s gifting functionality, which allows followers to send money directly to creator accounts, might also be potentially rolled out worldwide
These changes are part of Snap’s efforts to dissuade prominent artists from switching sides to competitors like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, which are all investing substantially in incentives in the next two years alone – to entice creators to their networks.
Also Read: Instagram Rolls Out Ad Feature To The Shops Tab Globally
The New World Of TikTok Marketing, Everything You Need To Know!
What is TikTok in three words?
Real. Short. Videos. And, real short videos.
The video-sharing platform has taken the digital world by storm with its immensely growing popularity. The app recently passed 1 billion users. TikTok has solidified itself into one of the social media powerhouses. It is a one-stop destination for all – creators and marketers. At a global virtual event ‘TikTok World’, it introduced a range of new ad solutions, product updates, and initiatives. The aim is to help brands of all sizes to buy ads on their platform, track performance, and scale the most effective ones.
Blake Chandlee, President, Global Business Solutions said –
“So when businesses of all sizes come to TikTok, we’re excited to help them connect with their community, market their products, and build their brand in a way they can’t do anywhere else.”
At the TikTok world event, the platform announced a package of new features for brands. They can run ‘effective, predictive, and transparent’ campaigns on TikTok. This will help brands reach out to a larger volume of users and boost their impressions by choosing into higher frequency for their ad placements.
TikTok Marketing: Rewriting The Narrative With New Elements
During the TikTok world event, the social media giant provided an insight into all the key elements. Here are some of them –
Facilitating Brand/ Creator Partnership
The first key element is the – brand-creator partnership – to maximize brand performance. The study suggests, 61% of users find advertising on TikTok is unique from any other platform. The data proves that users enjoy TikTok ads.
The highlight of the brand-creator partnership was the updated version of the self-serve portal TikTok’s Creator Marketplace. Brands can discover creators of the same interest with ease.
The new version includes more performance insight, sorting tools, and monitor the campaign in real-time. This helps brands to track their influencer campaign progress and maximize the ROI.
TikTok Creator Marketplace API
Another key element is TikTok Creator Marketplace API (application-programming interface). It provides access to TikTok’s first-party marketplace data to creator marketing experts including Captiv8, Influential, and Whalar.
Open Application Campaigns
Another element of TikTok marketing for brands is Open Application campaigns. It enables brands to list their campaigns on TikTok Creator Marketplace for interested creators to self-apply. It is another opportunity for brands and creators to broader monetization efforts.
TikTok Creative Exchange
Complimenting the TikTok Creator Marketplace is the launch of a new initiative is the ‘The TikTok Creative Exchange’. A portal helps brands match with creative experts to generate high-performing ads that meet the objectives.
Creative Centre
Another feather in the TikTok marketing cap is the new creative center. It is designed to help advertisers analyze the performance of the campaigns in real-time. Brands can explore top-performing ads, identify trends and be more creative using TikTok’s audio library.
Branded Content Toggle
TikTok’s marketing strategy for brands and creators also includes branded content toggle. It allows creators to make videos and disclose commercial content without any disruption in the flow. Brands can also create a customized landing page that loads in seconds- 11x times faster than standard mobile pages. Isn’t that amazing?
Interesting Read: TikTok: A Digital Ecosystem For Content Creators To Earn Extra Income!
Measuring The Effectiveness of The Creative Tools
In order to leverage the entire TikTok marketing strategy, the company announced brand safety tools and ad measurement tools.
To measure its value and impact, it teamed up with DoubleVerify and MOAT for ad viewability. Furthermore, it will collaborate with Integral Ad Science (IAS), OpenSlate, and Zefr to ensure brand safety.
It is also working coherently with Kantar and Nielsen for Brand Lift Studies. TikTok introduced an inventory filter to enable advertisers to gain more control over what type of content their ads will run adjacent to TikTok.
Interesting Read: Taboola And Double Verify Partners For Brand Safety
Let’s Go TikTok Shopping
In this new era of TikTok marketing, these creative and innovative tools will attract ad spend. However, eCommerce is a promising platform. The company is expanding its investment in Social Commerce. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt received over 5 billion views. A survey by Material suggests TikTok users are 1.7 times more likely to purchase products they discover through the app than they are on other social networks.
TikTok detailed TikTok Shopping suite of advertising tools and solutions to empower brands and merchants.
TikTok shopping includes direct integration for merchants to tap full commerce from product upload to fulfillment. Sellers can also opt for third-party integration via commerce partners. TikTok has rolled out new shopping partners like Square, Ecwid, PrestaShop beyond pilot partner Shopify. Wix, SHOPLINE, OpenCart, and BASE are to be added soon.
Another tool of TikTok’s marketing strategy is developing Product links. Merchants can include multiple product links directly in an organic TikTok video to drive users to the product detail page.
Brands on TikTokk can connect with users in real-time via Live Shopping. It can share dynamic links to products and services while streaming. Walmart was the pilot partner for this feature.
Interesting Read: TikTok To Move Into Social Commerce Game, Partners With Shopify
TikTok marketing gambit offers a trio of in-feed ad products for shopping: Collection Ads, Dynamic Showcase Ads (DSAs), and Lead Generation.
Collection ads allow brands custom, swipeable product cards in their In-Feed video ads.
Dynamic Showcase Ads allow merchants to serve users multiple products SKU’s via personalized, targeted ads based on their interests.
Lead Generation is available within in-feed video ads that allow brands to collect TikTok user information using online forms. The partnership with Leadsbridge and Zapier will help to connect a brand’s CRM in real-time to TikTok for lead generation campaigns. This will eliminate the need to download data manually.
Interesting Read: A Panoramic Perspective Of Amazon’s Advertising Business!
Final Thoughts
The innovations are just the beginning of the new TikTok marketing era. There’s a heap to take in here as TikTok scales its ad business. The new tools and partnerships paves way for better opportunities especially as we head towards the holiday season. The roadmap of TikTok world is fairly clear. eCommerce is the primary focus providing monetization opportunities for both brands and creators.
It will be interesting to witness the next milestone as the story of the new TikTok marketing has just unfolded!
Also Read: Here, There, Everywhere, It Is Cross-Screen Advertising!
You Can Now Charge For Tweets With Twitter’s New ‘Super Follows’
Starting today, Twitter is launching Super Follows, its premium membership option.
The function, which was initially announced in February, would allow users to pay a monthly fee to subscribe to accounts they enjoy in return for exclusive material. Super Follows are another valuable tool for artists amid the growing patchwork of revenue opportunities available across social media.
Eligible accounts can charge $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month for Super Follow memberships, which is equivalent to the cost of a paid newsletter. They may then opt to make some tweets exclusive to subscribers while still reaching out to their unpaid followers on a regular basis.
Super Follows: Paid Vs Unpaid Subscribers
Paid subscribers will be distinguished from unpaid followers amidst the crowded tweets by a unique Super Follower badge. The badge appears in replies, allowing followers to communicate directly with the accounts they want to support.
Super Follows will appear as a separate button on the profile page for accounts that have the feature enabled. ( like the picture above)
Similar News: Twitter Tests New Feature to Limit Sharing of Unread Articles
Super Follows: An Exclusive Affair
Super Follows isn’t enabled by default for everyone. For the time being, the procedure is still application-only, with a waiting list. The option can be found under the Monetization section of the app’s sidebar, but users must be based in the United States and have at least 10K followers and 25 tweets in the past month to be eligible.
Starting today, iOS Twitter users in the United States and Canada will be able to Super Follow certain accounts, with additional users around the world receiving the feature in the following weeks. On the creator side, Super Follows are now only available on iOS, with Android and desktop compatibility “coming soon.”
Similar News: Instagram Rolls Out Ad Feature To The Shops Tab Globally
Super Follows: How It Will Impact Twitter’s Revenue
Twitter claims that Super Follow earnings will be subject to Apple or Google’s regular, though contentious, 30% in-app purchase fees. For the first $50,000 earned through Super Follows, Twitter will only take a 3% share of profits – a bonus for smaller accounts just getting started or anybody who utilizes the paid Twitter tool to augment other creative income elsewhere. Twitter will begin collecting a 20% cut after an account reaches $50,000 in revenue.
Also Read: Taboola Acquires Connexity, A Global Leader In E-Commerce Media
TikTok Partners With Shopify In The Middle East
Highlights
- TikTok for Business moves into social commerce with Shopify deal in the Middle East.
- Shopify merchants can now access TikTok for business Ads Manager without leaving the former’s dashboard.
TikTok recently extended a partnership agreement with Shopify to the Middle East after their collaboration last year. The partnership will enable brands to create shoppable video ads and campaigns directly geared towards TikTok’s high engaging community. Brands and advertisements are an integral part of the TikTok experience and customers in this region like to connect with their preferred brands. Shant Oknayan, general manager of global business solutions for TikTok in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan says,
“We are very excited to announce this partnership with Shopify in the Middle East, giving merchants a unique platform to reach new audiences in an engaging and creative way like nowhere else.”
Neilson’s study states that 88% of TikTok users discover new content that they enjoy while using the app, and 50% discover new products through advertisements posted by a product or brand. To keep up with this, TikTok has taken several steps such as introducing new ad formats as well as achieving brand safety certification. Oknayan further said,
“As we continue to develop our platform to bring businesses of all sizes innovative and fun ways to connect with new customers, as well as get the best out of their campaigns, we are confident this partnership with Shopify is a big step in this direction and the start of a promising future in the e-commerce arena.”
Social commerce has been an emerging channel for merchants to reach out to newer audiences. Through this partnership, TikTok aims to make it easier for Shopify merchants to tap the creativity of the TikTok community and optimize their marketing campaigns. They can also benefit from the core functions of the TikTok For Business Ads Manager integrated into the Shopify dashboard. In simple terms, TikTok’s suite of ads allows to showcase creativity and tell stories legitimately, grow audiences and generate optimal results at a lower cost.
Satish Kanwar, Vice President of Product at Shopify expressing optimism said,
“TikTok is one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment platforms with over 100 million highly engaged users in the US alone. The TikTok channel means Shopify merchants—even those without a strong TikTok following of their own yet—can connect with these new audiences using content that feels authentic and genuine to the TikTok experience.”
Some key points of the partnership include:
Seamless and Streamlines operation
Shopify Merchants can set up an account and payment options seamlessly as well as easily track conversions by installing TikTok Pixel.
One-Stop-Shop for all
Merchants can easily create and optimize campaigns, target audiences, and track performance all under one go
Testing New Commercial Features:
TikTok will also start testing new commercial features that will make it easy for users to discover Shopify merchants in the Middle East and shop their products within the app.
LinkedIn Premium Publishers : How Will Help Push Subscriber Revenue?
LinkedIn wants to expand the number of individuals who pay for premium membership, and it believes that allowing access to paywalled content from premium publishers might contribute.
According to sources the Microsoft–owned social network discreetly started a trial initiative called LinkedIn Premium News last month, which provides LinkedIn Premium members enhanced access to content published by sites that employ Piano’s paywall technology.
Piano, one of the leading paywall providers in the media, has clients such as Gannett, Axel Springer, and Le Parisien, as well as Digiday Media.
According to a third source familiar with the initiative, the program, which started with fewer than a dozen publishers, is still growing, with additional publishers expected to join in the coming weeks.
This pilot program provides LinkedIn Premium users with five credits per month that they may spend to open paywalled material they find on LinkedIn and view on publisher websites.
For those publishers who choose to participate, LinkedIn plans to offer them a steady stream of highly qualified leads for their own subscription products in exchange for more access to paywalled coverage.
LinkedIn will not take part in any subscription revenue generated by the leads created by the pilot program.
A LinkedIn spokesperson commented –
( The program) aligns with our efforts to help publishers reach the right audience and build a community around their content. (The project is intended) to drive value for members and publishers on and off LinkedIn
Over the last few years, publishers have been increasingly cautious of platforms. However, a small percentage of publishers say LinkedIn has a significant impact on their businesses, despite the fact that its overall impact on the publishing landscape is minor; according to Parsely data, LinkedIn is currently outside the top ten sources of referral traffic to publishers’ websites.
Instagram’s Reels, Tik-Tok’s Clone, Is Now For 60 seconds Long
Instagram Reels doubled the previous time- limit of 30 seconds and added functionality for a caption sticker.
Now, you can record Reels up to one minute long. Instagram announced that the Reels time limit is doubled to 60 seconds for all users.
Reels. up to 60 secs. starting today. pic.twitter.com/pKWIqtoXU2
— Instagram (@instagram) July 27, 2021
Within a month of its launch, Instagram extended Reels from 15 to 30 seconds. Recently, Tik Tok expanded its time limit to 3-minute, and YouTube Shorts also has a 60 second time limit, so it was unsurprising for Instagram to follow the trend. However, it is wise for Instagram to expand Reels to 60-second as it gives creators more capacity to work with.
It is mainly useful for creators who repurpose the same posts that they are uploading on TikTok or other competitor’s apps to grow their following across multiple platforms. Cross-posting is beneficial to the creators but also to Instagram, as it gives more content for Reels.
ProTip: Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t promote cross-posting content with a TikTok watermark, as it will affect your reach.
Instagram also added functionality for a caption sticker on Reels. It converts audio to text making for people who want to enjoy the Reels without sound. However, this is available only in a handful of English-speaking countries but Instagram plans to expand to other countries and languages soon.
TikTok Brand Lift Study And How It Amps Up TikTok Experience!
TikTok has recently announced that it is introducing TikTok Brand Lift Study (BLS), a first-party measurement solution for advertisers.
The company believes that brands play a vital part in the whole TikTok experience. To make sure that resources are fully utilized, TikTok BLS assists to liberate advertisers with actionable data to move, enhance, and segment resources into meaningful campaigns and efforts.
TikTok has devised this new TikTok BLS, as the company believes, that it has witnessed the collective power of community over and again – whether it is in form of top hits, creating viral trends, or an increase in demand for popular products.
TikTok BLS offers businesses a novel way to traditional measurement and optimization of brand resonance.
TikTok BLS, in typical TikTok fashion, is an immersive, in-feed polling experience with the music and motion graphics that TikTok users have come to expect and adore.
TikTok BLS allows brand partners to use strict experimentation to understand and quantify the effectiveness of their ads. Brands can have a greater understanding of awareness, attitudes, favorability, and intent.
TikTok also says that as they continue to offer excellent brand lift performance, companies can be confident in making data-driven campaign decisions while building brand affinity on the platform.
Furthermore, TikTok has also announced that Kantar will be their third-party verification measurement partner of the TikTok BLS. The company believes that to uphold its mission of maintaining transparency, it provides advertisers with the options to fully comprehend their ad campaign value.
Nicole Jones, Senior Vice President, Growth & Strategy, Media & Content at Kantar said-
“We know from Kantar’s Media Reactions study that TikTok is the platform on which consumers globally feel they have the best advertising experience, so it’s critical for advertisers and their agencies to understand what works on the platform,”
Jones also added that they are excited to be TikTok’s third-party verification partner to aid advertisers to gain value from their marketing efforts.
TikTok says that with TikTok Brand Lift Study, brands can gain insights on how to effectively reach and interact with the communities that matter the most to them.
All About “Baaz”- World’s First Exclusive Arabic Social Media Platform.
The beta version of the first Arabic social media platform “Baaz” was launched. The platform created in the Arab world for the Arab world targets the audiences in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and is characterized by providing features that are culturally relevant to the Arab user as well as enjoyable at the same time.
The Salient Features Of Baaz
Baaz has various features but the most prominent is augmented reality (AR) technologies that allow users to test a set of visual effects in harmony with facial movements. It provides an exclusive series of avatars that embody famous Arab personalities or have Arab features. This is an addition to the ‘Explore section’ of the platform where users can browse famous and interactive photos and videos based on their interests ranging from comedy, video gaming, travel, and more. Baaz CEO Hamda Khochtali said,
At “Baaz”, we will ensure that the designs of our products are simple so that they remain the closest and easiest for users to understand.”
It targets the digital-savvy young generation whose knowledge of the digital world and technology is growing. Baaz is the perfect tool for those looking to connect with the outside world and share their ideas.
Baaz: The Game-Changer For The Arab Audience
Baaz uses the most advanced tools and methods and adopts the latest encryption technology, which complies with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CEO Khochtali emphasized that the social media platform aims to meet the demand of Arabic language users, focus on Arabic content as well as be user safe and friendly.
“Since the beginning of this year, we have worked to adapt to the requirements of the Arab user, and we made sure that the product is based on three basic points, that it is Arabic, safe, and simple, meaning easy to use. Arabic, because we really need an Arabic platform that understands us and our needs, a platform that looks like us.And, Safe because the Arab user is tired with fake accounts and fake news.And to be simple, because a large number of features and effects, does not necessarily mean meeting the aspirations of users.”
In its first of its kind experience, Baaz provides the easiest and fastest process to users that verifies accounts instantly and ensures a safe environment for users. The “verified” account holder has access to all tools and features and can prevent unverified users to comment or interact on their post. On the other hand “unverified” accounts are classified as virtual. They have access to dozens of avatars, filters, and virtual backgrounds as well as can verify accounts anytime.
CEO Khochtali stated that the goal is “not to rival Facebook and Instagram” as there is no Arabic competition.
“We do not have a competitor at the moment in the Arab world. We aim for “Baaz” to be among the three most used platforms in the Middle East and North Africa within the next few years, and to be distinguished by our proximity and deep understanding of the Arab user. We are from you and to you.”
Baaz is currently working with the most prominent digital content creators in the Arab world, especially from Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan, and Palestine to provide exclusive content on the platform. This will enhance user experience and serve the aspirations of Arab audiences. It also looks forward to gradually expand to other Arab markets and work tightly with more startups, developers, content creators, illustrators, and artists.
Trump Praises Tik Tok Deal As ‘Fantastic’ With Oracle and Walmart
Key Points
- In the eleventh hour, Tik Tok averted a shutdown in the U.S after President said he has given his blessing to a deal with Oracle and Walmart.
- The deal announced by the companies would create a new company Tik Tok Global that will be headquartered in the U.S.
- Silicon Valley giant Oracle will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake in Tik Tok Global and a cloud partner.
- Tentatively, Walmart will own a 7.5 % stake in Tik Tok Global as a commercial partner and CEO Doug McMillonwould would serve as one of the five board members.
- Tik Tok’s Chinese parent company Byte Dance will own the remaining 80% of Tik Tok Global.
Tik Tok successfully averted the app store ban in the eleventh hour, with President Trump giving preliminary approval to the landmark deal with Oracle and Walmart. Meanwhile, the U.S judge issued a ruling early Sunday morning to block the WeChat ban.
Background:
In August, Trump had issued an executive order to face a ban if Tik Tok U.S operations were not sold to an American company by September 20, owing to its data privacy concerns related to Tik Tok’s ownership by a Chinese tech company.
- Tik Tok denied it and said that 100 million American users’ data is stored in the U.S and back up in Singapore.
- Shortly after the announcement, Byte Dance was in talks with Microsoft or Oracle to sell Tik Tok’s U.S operations.
- Meanwhile, the talks went kaput after the Chinese government implemented new rules on AI technology exports that prevented Tik Tok from transferring its recommendation algorithm and technology.
Of note: Presently, The U.S. Commerce Department has announced a delay by week to September, 27 to the executive order deadline.
What he’s saying: After all the twists and turns, Trump approved the deal ‘in concept’ and said,
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic deal. I have given the deal my blessing. If they get it done that’s great, if they don’t that’s okay too.”
He further added that the new entity to be formed will be exclusive for U.S operations.
“It will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country, it will have nothing to do with China. It’ll be totally secure. That’ll be part of the deal.”
- The President also noted that the new company will likely be headquartered in Texas and could bring at least 25,000 jobs across the country.
- One of the stipulations for approving the deal was a $5 billion commitment towards an education fund to teach kids about history, science, and other subjects.
- Trump also noted that “it’ll be totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart”.
Yes, but not completely true. Tik Tok Global will be a 100% subsidiary of the Chinese parent company Byte Dance. The company is planning to raise pre-IPO financing with new investors Oracle and Walmart taking 20% – 12.5% and 7.5% respectively after which Tik Tok Global will be a 80% holding subsidiary of Byte Dance.
However, Americans will hold a 4-1 majority on the TikTok Global board, whereas ByteDance shareholders — will own a majority of shares in the company that includes American, Chinese, and international investors. This shows Byte Dance will have some control over the product’s intellectual property. Therefore, it is debatable to say whether the Americans will have total control over the company from governance, management, and technology standpoint.
What did Tik Tok say:
“We are pleased that the proposal by TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the US Administration and settle questions around TikTok’s future in the US.”
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) September 19, 2020
What did Oracle say: Oracle CTO Larry Ellison said Tik Tok will run on the Oracle cloud. CEO Safra Catz said,
“Oracle will quickly deploy, rapidly scale, and operate TikTok systems in the Oracle Cloud. We are a hundred percent confident in our ability to deliver a highly secure environment to TikTok and ensure data privacy to TikTok’s American users, and users throughout the world.”
“This greatly improved security and guaranteed privacy will enable the continued rapid growth of the TikTok user community to benefit all stakeholders.”
What does this mean for Oracle:
- The cloud deal is a huge win for Oracle and shows its expertise in cloud computing which is majorly dominated by Amazon and Microsoft.
- Oracle can expect a nice ROI when Tik Tok Global has a public listing n a year.
- Oracle will be the ‘trusted technology’ partner who will use its cloud infrastructure to protect U.S data.
- Oracle Generation 2 will isolate running applications and responds to security threats autonomously.
What did Walmart say: The retail giant will be a commercial partner and outlined the following in a statement:
“This partnership will provide Walmart with an important way for us to expand our reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace, fulfillment, and advertising businesses.”
- Walmart said it will provide “eCommerce, fulfillment, payments and other omnichannel services to TikTok Global.”
- It would work toward a public listing of TikTok Global in the U.S. “within a year” to bring more ownership to American citizens.
- The deal can help Walmart gain a foothold in social commerce and access to users who are younger than average Walmart shoppers.
What happens next: As reported by Bloomberg, The two companies would pay a combined $12 billion for their stakes if they agree to an asking price of $60 billion. However, the companies are yet to negotiate and finalize the valuation as they have worked out only equity and measures for data security.
As the deal inches closer, there are certain impending concerns :
- The Chinese government is yet to approve the deal. If sources are to be believed the deal will get a nod from China as it adheres to the new tech export rules.
- Given that Tik Tok is not completely cut loose of Chinese ownership, it is unclear whether it will satisfy the requirements of the U.S national security concerns.
This Tik Tok saga had many twists and turns and according to the U.S treasury, the deal still needs to be finalized and approved by the federal national security committee. More drama can be expected in the coming weeks.
Bottom Line: On the face of it, Tik Tok is here to stay and time-being influencers can do the happy dance.
Read more: Tik Tok Widens Ad Options With New Marketing Tools, Rolls Out New Feature ‘Stitch’
Watch Videos With Friends On Facebook Messenger!
Facebook never fails to amaze its users! The trend-setting social media platform is a digital home for billions of people around the world. They can talk, greet and share their feeling using the interactive social media platform.
Facebook also added an option for shopping on its platform a few months ago. It was said to be one of the best marketing strategies and have been in news for weeks! With its undying popularity among its audience, Facebook recently introduced a new feature on its messenger platform.
The messenger platform provides its users with the independence to connect with a maximum of eight friends and watch videos and movies on the platform.
The feature is getting a lot of positive responses from the market and people to seem excited to try their hands on this newly developed feature.
Facebook is calling it a “Co-viewing experience.” However, the content that can be watched on the network will be limited to things which are available on Facebook. The content will consist of both; user-uploaded videos and licensed videos.
“So go ahead and oooh and ahhh over a video by your favorite celebrity, shed a tear over a puppy rescue video, laugh out loud at the latest viral videos, scream during Blair Witch or feel nostalgic while watching your favorite episode of Community. Watch Together will help you feel together even when you’re not.”
According to a nexus shared by Google, every day approximately 150 million video calls initiated using the platform and nearly 200 million videos shared every day!
The feature of “Watch together is introduced to provide a “Co-viewing experience” to the audience so they can enjoy the ultimate experience of viewing their favorite videos with their loved ones.
“We created Watch Together to make spending quality time with friends and loved ones feel as close to an in-person experience as possible. Whether it’s watching a trending video, a movie, a sports highlight, a makeup tutorial or a Facebook Watch original, the feature allows you to watch your friends’ reactions at the same time.”
Experiencing the “Watch-Together” on Facebook Messenger
It is easy to use the feature, which will be available on the Facebook messenger application. A user will be able to use the feature while video conferencing with their loved ones. With just one easy swipe-up option while video conferencing, the user will get the option “Watch Together.” Once the user will click on the option, they will be able to access the list of the content and will also get an option to select the users with whom they want to share their video watching experience.
The experience can be enhanced using the Facebook application. On the application, the user can create a private room and add up to 50 members and can have a wonderful video watching experience.
However, the messenger rooms are user friendly and lenient in its policies.
What is there for the advertisers?
There are billions of people who are currently active on the social media platform. They are spending multiple hours in a day swiping through the variety of options that Facebook provides to its users.
The new “Watch-together” option is a brilliant way to lure customers to spend more time on the platform. It will even help them connect with their loved ones and family.
This Facebook strategy can prove to be an effective strategic step in breaking the viewership of Netflix, Amazon and Hotstar. Therefore, it will provide advertisers with an opportunity to place advertisements before or in between the videos.
The feature will be a global release this week and can prove a game-changer in the field of online content viewership and advertisement. Adscholars will keep you updated with all the upcoming updates! Stay tuned.