Happy Friday, and welcome to the Weekly Download, the newsletter where we will mention Beyoncé because it’s totally marketing-related. Apart from Queen Bey, Meta won’t charge creators commission until 2024, Instagram begins testing age-verification options, and Twitter goes long form. Read to the end to learn about CivicAction’s tool to build diversity into your hiring process.
Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” Teaches Us a Thing or Two About Marketing
When Beyoncé releases a song about quitting your job, people listen — and use the song to launch their own businesses.
The singer released “Break My Soul” this past Monday night as part of her seventh studio album, which drops July 29. The song is the latest pop culture reference to the Great Resignation, with people reevaluating what’s important to them and resigning from their jobs. It seems the song is giving the undecided that push they need to set themselves up as freelancers on Fiverr.
What can we learn from this as marketers? A lot, to be honest. The first is to read the room and pick up on the current zeitgeist. The next is that when you control your narrative and have brand loyalty, you can release a product (or a song) any time and your fans will be right there, waiting to consume it. And turn it into TikToks.
Meta Won’t Take a Commission from Creators Until 2024
Creators, now is the time to really lean into the Meta apps and make that money. The company has promised that creators on Instagram and Facebook will not have to pay a cut of their earnings to Meta until 2024. Mark Zuckerberg announced this last Tuesday; it’s an extension to the original statement that saw no commission charges until 2023.
Not every tool is commission-free, however. Online events, subscriptions, newsletters, and badges sold during live streams are covered, but other forms of revenue generation, like Reels and other video products, will continue to charge a commission fee.
Apart from the above announcement, Meta is expanding Stars, the company’s in-app tipping feature, to more creators, is opening up its Reels bonus program to more users, and is expanding support for NFTs on Instagram. That includes integration of NFTs into Instagram and Facebook Stories soon.
Instagram Adds Age Verification Features
We’ve spoken before about recent studies that show social media has a negative effect on young people and what various platforms are doing to counter that. Instagram, part of Meta, announced this week that it’s testing new age-verification options, starting in the United States.
What happens is if someone tries to edit their date of birth on Instagram from under 18 to over 18 years of age, the platform will require them to verify their age using one of three options: record a video selfie, ask mutual friends to verify their age, or upload their ID.
You might be thinking that a little hair, makeup, and attitude might be enough to fool someone watching a selfie, but Instagram has paired up with Yoti, which can provide AI-based estimates on a person’s age.
Twitter Expands into Long-Form Content with Twitter Notes
Could it be the end of never-ending Twitter threads, or “Tweetstorms” as they’re known? The original short-form platform moved from its original 140 characters to 280, and now it’s getting even longer. Twitter is merging its newsletter subscriptions and its long-form feature in development, Twitter Notes, into one product called @TwitterWrite.
We’re not sure how it’ll be used, but it would definitely provide more breathing room to convey a thought. Articles could be directly written on the platform and instantly shared and reshared. It could also be another revenue stream for creators.
Pride Month: Client Feature
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Friday Fun!
Chloe Fineman is our favourite thing about the new Father of the Bride remake.
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