A Changing Digital Landscape: The Rise of Video Consumption and the Impact on Social Media Trends
The Emperor's New Clothes: The Rebranding and Redirection of Instagram
In recent years, you may have noticed Instagram undergoing some subtle, yet significant changes. The platform has become somewhat notorious for emulating the successful features of other social medias: first, it was Snapchat's stories, which the Meta subsidiary quickly made its own. In fact, in 2022, Instagram stories generated about $16 billion USD in advertising revenue, or around one-quarter of the company's total. Instagram reported in 2019 that more than 500 million accounts used stories daily — a figure that has undoubtedly grown since.
Instagram Stories was the platform's first foray into video content, but it is certainly not its last. In 2020, the platform set its sight on industry disruptor TikTok and introduced its own competing platform, Reels. Ever since then, Instagram has increasingly taken steps to prioritise video content and deprioritise photos, stills or static infographics. The platform even deprioritises recycled content with a TikTok watermark, indicating its wish to compete in the video space as a major player.
Changes to the social media platform have not been received without controversy. Despite user dissatisfaction, Instagram continues to "double down" on its video-first direction, with Head of Instagram, Adam Moserri, stating on Twitter in July of 2021 that "We are no longer a photo-sharing app".
The Age of Streaming: How Media Consumption Habits Have Changed.
Instagram's shift to video content is a sign of more significant shifting trends in consumer entertainment and education. The rise of TikTok and increased accessibility to video content creators means that by 2022, more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic will be spent streaming and downloading video content. NBA franchises report 22% higher engagement with Reels compared to photo posts or stories. In 2022, an average person will spend 100 minutes per day watching online videos, and video posts on social media get 48% more views than photos.
New Kid on the Block: Why Everyone's Talking About TikTok
If you work in social media marketing, no doubt at some point over the last couple of months, you've sat down in a meeting sometime where someone has said something along the lines of:
"Oh, and that TikTok app… should we look into that?"
The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!".
Amongst Gen Z users in the United States (those who would be between 10 and 25 in 2022), TikTok has now surpassed Instagram in popularity, with 37.3 million on the app compared to 33.3 million on Instagram.
But the perception that TikTok users are all teenagers dancing to thirty-second song snippets is also not entirely correct. The app has a significant reach in older demographics, with 36% of users on the platform now between 35 and 54 years old, compared to 26% two years ago. Government organisations and brands are quickly discovering that the app's high engagement — users spend almost triple the amount of time on TikTok than Instagram — is key for reaching new audiences and delivering messages in interesting and modern ways.
How can we help?
At KINSHIP digital, we take the time to understand our client's needs and unique operating environments to empower them on their journey towards digital maturity. We offer a variety of smart services and frameworks that help you take control, succeed, and lead in the world of digital.
We provide social media consulting and management services, analysing how a TikTok account could complement or transform your social media structure and providing a comprehensive strategy to guide you on the platform through evidence and experience-based recommendations.
Using our customer experience management platform, advertisers can now create and manage in-feed video advertisements in addition to their campaigns on other supported social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
TikTok's in-feed video advertisements allow customisable call-to-action buttons that direct viewers to external landing pages. This integration can also assist brands in increasing return on ad spend with AI-powered optimisation, which enables them to automatically adjust ad content in response to elements such as social media discussions, the weather, or other occurrences.
Advertisers can increase their productivity by driving real-time reporting, eliminating manual reports from various channels, creating customisable dashboards, and through streamlined ad creation.
From digital marketing to integrations, KINSHIP digital is here to provide effective solutions to your modern problems. To learn more about this digital environment and how to integrate this into everyday business operations, register your details here.