We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #624
YouTube to let advertisers target Gen Z based on trending music
This summer, YouTube will begin rolling out an ad offering for brands to target Gen Zers using the songs that are trending amongst them within the platform. Advertisers will be able to target this demographic based on their current music interests, as YouTube leverages AI to identify the music resonating with Gen Z across its content. The songs will be featured in packages for advertisers to buy across YouTube, YouTube Music and YouTube shorts.
Meta Launches New Reels Ad Options as it Leans into Evolving Consumption Shifts
Meta is rolling out new ad options for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram to align with social platform usage shifts and to maximise their promotions opportunities within short-form video. As Reels continues to gain momentum, Meta is making its Click-to-Messenger Ads available on Facebook to enable businesses to drive direct DM contact via Reels. They are also making WhatsApp Conversion optimization available, broadening its business messaging opportunities. And for better engagement measurement, Meta will be making the Ads on Facebook Reels post engagement objective more widely available.
TikTok launches Branded Effects for marketers
TikTok has announced a new Branded Effects product aimed at businesses marketing themselves on the platform. Brands will be able to collaborate with TikTok effect creators to design custom effects – like AR experiences and other interactive features – for their online campaigns and marketing efforts. The product will allow brands to engage with users, reach new audiences, share stories, and build community. It will also allow brands to boost their content to a wider audience through paid branding traffic solutions, placing their effects in premium placements on the effect panel’s “trending” tab for greater visibility.
Twitter announces new API and launches T2 verification program
Twitter has announced its new three tiered API price structure which include a free option, a basic $100/month level, and an enterprise level. Each of these levels gets access to Ads API at no additional cost, and old access levels will be discontinued over the next month.
T2, Twitter’s seed-funded rival developed by Google and Twitter veterans, is launching a verification program targeting those who are poised to lose their checkmark under Twitter’s new policies. T2’s “Get the Checkmark” program is timed to correspond to Twitter’s removal of legacy verification checkmarks across all users who aren’t paying for the Twitter Blue subscription. As T2 continues testing and growing its user base, it will widen access and rollout new verification flows.
In other news
TikTok overtakes Instagram to become the world’s most downloaded app in Q1 2023 🏆, Instagram now lets you bookmark posts with friends and store them in a dedicated space and is working on the ability to reply to a user’s bio 👀, and Twitter is experimenting with custom reactions – SuperLikes 👍.