Hi CCs! Before we dive into it this week, please let me know what’s going on for you when it comes to social media below:

The glory of storytelling

“Brand storytelling is going through a renaissance. Pushed aside by performance and influencer marketing, and marred by the declining TV and print formats, brand storytelling was considered something CMOs say at panels when at a loss for alternative.”

— Ana Andjelic, Sociology of Business

This article discusses the renewed importance of storytelling in brand marketing, contrasting it with performance marketing. It highlights that brands are essentially stories providing context and meaning to products, thus differentiating them from commodities.

‘The year Twitter died’: a special series from The Verge

This week The Verge published this great collection of beautifully-designed and interactive articles about the death of Twitter. Great reads. RIP.

“Twitter was so many things…”

Gen Z has discovered a whole new source for news

“Kelsey Russell, a 23-year-old TikToker in New York, is on a mission to pull off what media executives have struggled to do for decades: Persuade young people to buy newspapers.”

— Dan Whateley, Business Insider

On TikTok's recommendation feed, there is little distinction between a report from ABC News and a rant about that report from a lifestyle influencer. That chaotic democratization is by design. A TikTok representative told Business Insider that the company treats all accounts the same when it comes to policing misinformation and promoting content.

The fastest ways to make Instagram Reels

Three solid tips from Later to help you speed up your creation process.

🔮 Tips & Trends

REPORT: Pinterest Predicts: Trends of 2024 [LINK]

5 top Gen Z shopping trends to watch in 2024: a panel of young experts recently joined Ad Age to discuss their buying habits. [LINK]

What’s a Creative Director for, anyway?: three species of creative leaders are poised to redefine the industry. [LINK]

The 21 Most Defining Memes of 2023: from viral dances to lil-stinker promo shots to songs we couldn't get our of our heads, our favorite Very Online moments of the past years by Rolling Stone. [LINK]

📡 On Our Radar

Etsy lays off 225 workers after ‘essentially flat’ sales, says CEO. [LINK]

Google shares their next step to phase out third-party cookies. [LINK]

Here's every new emoji we got in 2023. [LINK]

Google launched its 2023 search trends site. [LINK]

Pinterest is having a moment. [LINK]

🎶 TikTok

TikTok abandons podcast features. Platform announced it’s “focusing our efforts on other initiatives.” [LINK]

A declining share of adults, and few teens, support a U.S. TikTok ban. [LINK]

TikTok has now added an option to mention an account in the bio section. [LINK]

TikTok has introduced a new feature called “Sub-only videos,” allowing you to share content exclusively with your subscribers. [LINK]

Have we reached peak TikTok? The app’s hype cycle may be nearing an end. [LINK]

TikTok launches improved experience on tablets and foldable devices. [LINK]

📸 Instagram / Meta

Facebook is ending its 55% ad revenue share program with creators to be replaced with a new model that gives creators payouts based on metrics like views, as opposed to a percentage-based revenue share based on ads played next to videos. [LINK]

Instagram launched Video Notes. The new tool lets creators record a two-second looping video that will stay in a follower's Notes section (above DMs) for 24 hours. [LINK]

Instagram launches ‘Live Producer’ to simplify process of going live from 3rd party apps. [LINK]

Instagram now allows you to create and use custom ‘Add Yours’ templates. [LINK]

Instagram is working on ‘Flipside’, a space just for you and chosen connections. [LINK]

🧵 Threads

Meta’s Threads is now available in the EU. [LINK]

Threads now lets you track Threads referral traffic separately from Instagram. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏 (Twitter)

Searchable Bookmarks coming soon to X. [LINK]

Elon Musk says X is bringing video to Spaces soon. [LINK]

📹 YouTube

YouTube is now playing fewer ads on TV screens. The ads it does run on TV, though, will have a longer run time. Ads are also now appearing between Shorts viewed on TV. [LINK]

YouTube adds more formats for Video Reach Campaigns: VRCs now include in-feed and shorts ads, offering marketers a more diverse and effective approach for reaching their target audience. [LINK]

Introducing ViewStats: A data platform for YouTube creators co-founded by MrBeast. [LINK]

YouTube will enable channels to give away 10 free subscriptions per month. [LINK]

👻 Snapchat

Snapchat reaches 7 million paid subscribers & launches new AI features. [LINK]

Snapchat announces annual ‘recap’ activation, shares top in-app trends from 2023. [LINK]

💬 Twitch

Twitch cracks down on boobs again by rolling back its ‘artistic nudity’ policy. [LINK]

Twitch gamified its 2023 recap. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

Here to help: how generative AI is changing the customer service game. [LINK]

If you want advice on getting the most out of GPT prompts, check out OpenAI’s guide to prompt engineering here. [LINK]

Free live event on January 9th: ‘Can AI Be Contained’? Join Mustafa Suleyman and Scott Galloway for a discussion on whether humanity can contain the next wave of AI. [RSVP]

🤳 Creator of the Week

Well known food reviewer, Keith Lee, changed the trajectory of a struggling small pizza shop, Frankenson’s Pizzeria in Las Vegas, with one review. After his glowing review, the local business amassed a huge following and tons of google reviews referencing Keith. Yay!

Keith’s engaging content is in a style that is commonly referred to as ‘low effort high impact’. This trend is all about creating content that resonates with your audience even when you don’t have the time, budget, or resources.

I think people get stuck on content creation without a fancy camera, aesthetic house, clothes, etc (I’m guilty here), but remember that - especially on TikTok - we have moved from curated feeds to more unfiltered content. Keith is great inspiration for this style.

🎨 Creative Corner

Heavenly scents: 7 evocative identities and packaging design projects for candle and fragrances

The Brand Identity explores how design captures the essence of various fragrances. It discusses the integration of design with sensory experiences, particularly smell, and showcases how designers like Stefan Jandl and Oddity creatively approach the fragrance world. The piece includes a curated list of identities and packaging designs, demonstrating how these elements contribute to the overall appeal of fragrance products.

If you made it this far, will you consider sharing Creative Commerce with friends and family that might enjoy it? I really appreciate your support!

Shareable subscribe link: https://creative-commerce.beehiiv.com/

Thank you so much, and Happy Holidays! 🎁 ✨ 🥂

Winter Mendelson
Co-Founder, Posture Media
Instagram / Linkedin / Threads / X

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

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