There’s a new Instagram on the way…
…And it’s for kids. News broke late yesterday that Facebook is developing a kid-friendly version of Instagram for kids under 13, as part of a current initiative to make the platform safer for children.
Why it’s happening: We’ve entered a new digital era over the past decade, where kids 13 years old (and much, much younger) have access to phones and all types of social media.
Naturally, that creates safety problems – and because it’s so hard to verify age on social media, Instagram has had a tough time setting proper safety policies for kids.
(Kids under 13 technically aren’t allowed on the platform, but that doesn’t stop them.)
Here are a few more details:
- It’s being built for parents, just as much as it is for kids. Although children will be the ones using the app, Facebook is building it with parents in mind. There will likely be plenty of parental controls and monitors for parents to make sure their kids are secure on the app.
- We don’t know the marketing impact yet. Nobody knows how widely-adopted the new kids’ version might become, if and when it launches. But if it means your ads are being shown to fewer kids with no money to spend, that’s probably a win.
You can read more on Buzzfeed’s article here.
TIKTOK
Your TikTok ads cheat sheet
Ever used Facebook Ads Library?
Odds are, if you advertise with Facebook, you probably have. It’s a great tool for analyzing competitors’ campaigns, and getting inspiration for your own.
So if you enjoy Facebook Ads Library, good news: TikTok just released a similar tool that you’ll probably want to check out. It’s in the Creative Center on the TikTok site, and here’s how it works:
- You can filter by ad type, industry, and geographical markets. The library isn’t super comprehensive – you don’t get as many details as you do on Facebook – but the filters make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
- TikTok gives you helpful tips. If you click on a showcased ad, TikTok will give you a few insights on why the ad is working, and how you can use it in your own campaigns.
The Crew’s take: Well, it’s not as comprehensive or geeky as Facebook Ads Library, but it’s still a helpful tool. If you’re just dipping your toes into the waters of TikTok Ads, give the site a look for some useful inspiration.
SPONSORED BY INSIGHTS
Get a sneak preview of our newest deep dive analysis coming to Insights
Can you guess what’s our next deep dive?
We’ll give you a couple of hints:
- Recently sold for ~$75M to Insider.
- Has “brew” in their name but is not a coffee company.
- Basically considered the flagship of newsletter businesses.
If you guessed Morning Brew, you must read the preview to see what we have prepared.
The full deep dive is almost 100 pages of growth strategies and tactics that Morning Brew is using (and used) to grow from zero to over 2M subscribers.
If you haven’t guessed it, well… You should still check it out! Why wouldn’t you want to know everything growth related to create a $75M newsletter business?
We don’t think calling that upcoming deep dive a complete guide to newsletter growth is an exaggeration.
Wondering how to get the full one, not just the preview? We’ll release it on Insights on 1st April, 2021.
If you want to get it for only $49/month, subscribe to Insights today, using the code STACKED49.
On April 1st, the code expires and the normal price is $99/month.
What’s Insights? It’s our new project.
We spend 200+ hours of research to compile a comprehensive report dissecting the full marketing strategy of one brand every single month. We dig into their website, ads, emails, SEO and all other growth strategies – no channel is ignored (both for pre- and post-purchase).
And that’s just one part of it. Learn everything about Insights here.
CONTENT MARKETING
How to set your blog apart from the pack
We are all guilty.
You head to Google, check the content of the first results for the keyword you’re targeting, and write your own, better version of that content.
This practice is followed by many content creators. Some of them re-adapt the content, others blatantly copy and paste it from one platform to another.
If you’ve ever caught yourself doing something similar (hopefully the former, not the latter), “SEO For The Rust of Us” shared a 4-part strategy to create unique content – without following the generic “take what’s out there and make it better” strategy.
Let’s get into it.
1) Develop a case study, story, or walkthrough: “Stories are infinitely better than explanations. They tap into the conflict, the real reason a person is consuming your content.”
We all have stories to tell, and using them makes your content personal and unique.
2) Original data wins: Gathering original data on your own is a tedious task. But you don’t have to do it. Here are three workarounds:
- Partner with somebody who has that data already.
- Have an audience large enough to survey for free.
- Pay somebody to acquire and organize the data.
But there’s a fourth solution as well: “Double data strategy”. It involves the use of Google Dataset Search. And you can find the steps on the post.
3) Apply a new angle or theory: Your content can’t just be 5% better than the others. It can’t be 27 tips instead of 17.
Your content must be new, and different. To do that, you must inject in it your own opinions, your own theories.
To be able to do that, you must be an expert in that niche. Only by being an expert, and applying the information in the field, can you gain new perspectives and ideas.
4) Create a multimedia experience: Your blog post doesn’t have to be only made of written words. You can add graphs, illustrations, videos and other elements to make it more interesting and different!
As you can see, you don’t have to be the Steve Jobs of content creation to produce innovative content.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
TWITTER: Jane Manchun Wong reports that Twitter is working on the ability to add custom backgrounds to a Fleet.
IOS 14: There’s a great new piece on Digiday that debunks some of the myths surrounding Apple’s upcoming privacy update. It might not be quite as scary as you think.
YOUTUBE: As of yesterday, the YouTube Shorts beta is officially rolling out in the United States. It’ll be interesting to see how much traction this gets on the platform.
TWITTER: You may soon be able to view YouTube directly on your Home timeline, according to Twitter. The feature is currently being tested on iOS in limited geographies.
TIKTOK: Good news – auto-captions are coming to TikTok! Plus, there’s some more buzz about 3-minute TikToks getting a rollout to more creators.
BRAIN TEASER
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
How good are you?
A better question might be: How much time do you spend on social media?
Because this fun little logo quiz will put your knowledge to the test. There are 15 companies in total (mostly tech and media-focused), and you’re given two logo choices – all you have to do is pick the correct one.
It’s harder than it seems. Play it here and see how many you can guess! (We went through the quiz in about 45 seconds – it won’t take up too much of your day.)
We’re willing to bet that Stacked Marketer readers far outperform the average…