- Creative Commerce
- Posts
- IG's new podcast, 2024 trends, and more
IG's new podcast, 2024 trends, and more
Plus the brand of the week ☠️ 🦇
Winter Mendelson, Co-Founder, Posture Media
December 11, 2023
Hi CCs. Since there are many new people here, I'd love to know what you do, or aspire to do, so I can ensure I'm curating the most relevant content. Please take a moment to select the best option below - it’s so helpful for me! 🙏🔮
What's your current position? |
The best Reels strategy according to a Meta executive
I came across this video on YouTube from LifeByMJ where she opted in to receive a call from a Meta executive to get advice on her Instagram Reels strategy. I think it’s pretty interesting because it does debunk some myths that are going around, like “hashtags are dead” for example.
Below are the key takeaways:
You want to train the algorithm what you’re about/what you represent and consistency is very important for this.
Post at least 3 times per week, but 5 is ideal.
Edit within the app to show you’re a super user.
Yes, use trending audio, but it’s also fine if you’re doing a VO with soft trending audio in the background.
Hashtags are not dead, but only use 7-10 that are relevant to your content.
Low fi content vs. high quality content is totally fine and can build a better connection. Your content just needs to connect with something your audience wants.
BTS (behind-the-scenes) is also an audience and algorithm favorite.
Grab attention ASAP - draw people in from the beginning. Use storytelling and be punchy, be quick.
Show yourself as much as possible, highlight who you are and what makes you different as a content creator (or brand).
Later is an awesome social media publishing platform, and I think this report could be very useful for you, whether you’re a social media manager or want to create a report for your own progress measurement.
The Founders Of Glowbar, Maude And Nopalera Spill Brand-Building Secrets
“I definitely began with the end in mind, which is something I tell every entrepreneur. Determine where you want to go and then reverse-engineer it,” said Velasquez. “I was building a brand for clean beauty, so it needed to look and feel a certain way. It needed to be at a certain price point, too.”
In this insightful article from Beauty Independent, the founders of Glowbar, Maude, and Nopalera share their secrets to building distinctive and successful brands in the beauty and wellness industry.
They discuss their unique branding strategies, challenges in securing funding, and the importance of assembling the right team. Their journeys are filled with personal anecdotes and professional insights, offering valuable lessons for entrepreneurs aspiring to make a mark in the competitive beauty sector.
Instagram and Unwell Network launch ‘Close Friends Only: Trend Talk with Doja Cat and Ice Spice’
In Trend Talk with Doja Cat & Ice Spice the two icons share their most unfiltered thoughts, play rapid-fire games, and dive deep on Instagram - from crazy memes to content from creators they love. Plus, they reveal a couple juicy secrets - all for their close friends.
You can watch below, or listen to the audio version if preferred.
🔮 Tips & Trends
2024 Instagram Trend Talk: From fashion and friendship to eras and icks, here’s all the trends Gen Z will be driving on Instagram in 2024. [LINK]
Amazon joins retro wave with reworking of cheesy old commercials. [LINK]
Adobe launches Creative Trends Report 2024. [LINK]
Why some celebrity-led brand stunts work—and some fall flat. [LINK]
How to get on the FYP (For You Page) on TikTok: 15 Hacks. [LINK]
Mexican politicians are harnessing Swiftie fandom on TikTok. Advised by TikTokers and digital strategists, politicians in the country have tried to use artists’ Mexican fandoms to their advantage. [LINK]
Pantone has just just announced “Peach Fuzz” or PANTONE 13-1023,” the 2024 Color of the Year. Known for its color standards and digital solutions in the design community, Pantone announced the color aiming to move towards empathy and understanding. [LINK]
Nobody is talking about Gen X. Gen Xers say they like it that way. [LINK]
📡 On Our Radar
Pinterest opens first pop-up store in NYC to feature its shoppable 2024 trends predictions. For those not in NYC, they also created a feed, the Pinterest Predicts Shop, where consumers can also shop trending items through an online store. [LINK]
The popularity factories distorting what you see on social media: their influence is often invisible and nearly always misleading: but what do ‘click farms’ really look like from within? [LINK]
Adweek drops their 20 best ads of 2023. [LINK]
Reddit updates look after rough 6 months and ahead of reported IPO. [LINK]
🎶 TikTok
TikTok shares their Recap of Top 2023 Content Trends. [LINK]
The rise of long-form content: TikTok says users spend half their time in the app watching minute+ long clips. Alongside this, the platform quietly announced last week that they’ll be rolling out a 30 minute video option soon too - which many believe to be a signal that long-form social content creation and consumption is on the rise ahead of 2024. [LINK]
Report: CreatorIQ partnered with TikTok to uncover what separates the platform’s top performing creator ads from the rest. [LINK]
TikTok owner ByteDance joins generative AI frenzy with service for chatbot development, memo says. [LINK]
Federal judge blocks Montana’s TikTok ban, which would have been the first of its kind. [LINK]
📸 Instagram / Meta
Instagram tests new ‘Hype’ option to encourage engagement with Stories. [LINK]
Audio has vanished from Instagram’s oldest videos. [LINK]
Cross-app communications chats on IG are are going away. [LINK]
🧵 Threads
Threads is rolling out its hashtags without the hash symbol globally. [LINK]
Instagram Chief offers insight into Threads content ranking. [LINK]
☠️ 𝕏 (Twitter)
Media Grids are now rolled out on X Web. [LINK]
Expanded Bios are now available to all Premium users on web and iOS. [LINK]
𝕏 will soon allow video uploads longer than 3 hours. [LINK]
📹 YouTube
Youtube launches Pause feature that allows creators to prevent the creation of new comments at the video level while preserving comments that were already published. [LINK]
Report: A Year on YouTube: The Trending Topics that Defined 2023. [LINK]
YouTube Music will finally replace Google Podcasts for good in April 2024. [LINK]
New launch of ‘LinkedIn's Guide to Creating’. [LINK]
New tools to establish your voice with LinkedIn newsletters. [LINK]
👻 Snapchat
Snapchat+ subscriptions are now available in the US for purchase via Amazon. Gift cards are easy to redeem right away. [LINK]
🤖 AI Boom
NY Times missed these 12 trailblazers: meet the women transforming AI. [LINK]
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sits down for an interview with Trevor Noah on the comic’s What Now? podcast, diving into the recent saga at OpenAI. [LINK]
Meta launches AI Image generator to US Public. [LINK]
Google released Gemini, a multimodal AI in three versions: Ultra, Pro, and Nano. Gemini Ultra outperforms humans in 30 of 32 LLM benchmarks, a first in AI history. It's set to change Google products, challenging OpenAI (and Microsoft) in the AI race. [LINK]
While Gemini steals the spotlight, Meta quietly rolls out 20 new AI features across its platforms, including a standalone image generator, 'Image with Meta AI'. With these updates, Meta wants to subtly reshaping social media. [LINK]
🤳 Brand of the Week
Good Weird, a beauty brand that takes a ‘genderless approach to beauty’ is REALLY GOOD. AND WEIRD.
Starting with their brand identity and website: delightful.
The site is pure design porn that is also very conversion optimized. I love the nostalgia-meets-futuristic vibe. Although potentially risky since it’s very on-trend for the moment. This means they may need to update their site’s look-and-feel more regularly to stay relevant. I have a feeling they are down for the challenge.
You immediately know who their target demo is (Gen Z meets Bushwick) and this very fluidly ties into their approach to social, creating a highly recognizable and memorable brand.
Looking at their Instagram, I see a healthy balance of creative product photography (some very lo-fi which works well here) and a quirky use of UGC.
I’m a fan of their street interview series called ‘Good Weird on the Street’ and feel that it shows how brands can get creative with content beyond the product to connect with community and create entertaining content.
I have not tried their products yet but I am going to fix that ASAP.
🎨 Creative Corner
“No grid, no rules”: How the Spotify design team created the identity for this year’s Wrapped
This article from It's Nice That delves into the creative process behind Spotify's 2023 Wrapped campaign, emphasizing the theme of chaos and fluidity.
Rasmus Wängelin, Spotify's Global Head of Brand Design, explains the intention to mirror the blurring lines between online and offline life, and the influences of early internet nostalgia.
The piece details the challenges of creating a design that is both chaotic yet functional for global use, highlighting the unique approach to design that balances emotion and functionality.
It's a fascinating read for anyone interested in graphic design and brand identity.
Are there any brands or creators that you’re very inspired by? Respond to this email with some recommendations for next week’s newsletter and I’ll be sure to give you a mention too (only if you’d like of course)! 🔥
P.S. I will probably have typos in the event that my dad is unavailable to proofread. Sorry in advance.
Creative Commerce is a newsletter for entrepreneurs, marketers, and social media managers. It is written, edited, and published by Posture Media, an independent branding and marketing studio based in Brooklyn.
🔮 Nonbinary & QTPOC-owned
🔥 DEI 365 days a year
Were you forwarded this email? Feel free to sign up here.
Interested in advertising in Creative Commerce? Learn more and get in touch here.