Paid Social Industry Updates: December 2022

At the end of every month, our Paid Social division holds an internal meeting to share relevant updates in the social space. During December, they covered new features on TikTok, Twitter, and Amazon, tips for adjusting your ad copy for inflation, Pinterest’s 2023 predictions, and more. Let’s get into it!

Twitter’s opt-in paid subscription, Twitter Blue. As of Q4 2022, there were 424k verified Twitter accounts—less than 0.2% of its nearly 240 million daily active users. But this gap is likely to shrink, as now, you can buy your blue verified checkmark. In addition to the iconic blue checkmark, users benefit with early access to select features (such as the ‘edit tweet’ feature we mentioned in October), the ability to post long videos and audio, 50% fewer ads on their feed, and more. And if 50% fewer ads is still one too many, you might be able to take advantage of Twitter’s ad-free subscription, which is currently in the works.

Should your ad copy address the elephant in the room—inflation? As American consumers continue to battle through 40-year-high inflation, corporate profits are seeing record highs (namely those in the non-financial sector, which saw a record high $2.08 trillion during Q3 ‘22). So it’s safe to say that for business owners and consumers alike–inflation remains on everybody’s mind. However, Instead of approaching it head-on, consider advertising your services or goods as a solution. Take a page from Chase’s book where they promoted their app as a budgeting tool. Or Airbnb, who launched an ad campaign focused on ways you can use your home to earn extra income.

Turn your device to watch full-screen videos in… TikTok? Tiptoeing in YouTube’s shadows, TikTok has launched a new horizontal video mode to select users globally. Combined with 10-minute video limits, audience engagement could undoubtedly benefit from this new feature. But on the other hand, users may respond poorly—so it’s currently unknown if all users will gain access to this feature or if it’ll be discontinued.

Instagram Notes 🤝 AIM away messages (IYKYK). Allowing users to share away messages for 24 hours with 60 characters of text/emojis, this new feature brings back all the nostalgic feels from the early 2000s. There isn’t enough data to know the impact it has on digital marketing as a whole, but it’s unlikely it’ll be much.

2023 Pinterest Predictions. From ‘pool pawties‘ to ‘hipstoric homes‘, this year’s predictions touch on a little bit of everything. For the last 3 years, 80% of Pinterest’s predictions actually came true, so you’re going to want to seriously take notes. See all predictions and filter by audience, brand values, and categories, here.

Amazon’s newest feature, Inspire. Like several other popular social media/video platforms, this new feature allows brands, influencers, and customers to promote shoppable products via short-form video content. This approach, which has done historically well for brands such as David’s Bridal, brings an added level of convenience to Amazon storefronts.

TikTok takeaways to incorporate into 2023. After analyzing small, medium, and large-scale trends, TikTok shared its findings regarding culture and creativity on the platform. The 3 main macro trend forces that stood out were: actionable entertainment, making space for joy, and community-built ideals. Read all about it, here.

As we continue to adjust to the new year, hopefully these paid social updates help keep your strategy fresh and relevant. And look no further if you’re looking for an award-winning agency to manage and implement your advertising strategy from A to Z. ⬇️

And as always, a ginormous shout out to the Paid Social division for their hard work researching and compiling these industry updates