TikTok has driven the headlines this week – you’ll likely have heard that it could be banned in the US. I’ve taken a quick look at this, as well as Meta’s bid to increase verified subscription sign-ups and how you can use AI to improve your day-to-day workflow.
TikTok facing prospect of ban in US
The big news this week has been the bill mentioned in last week’s newsletter meaning that ByteDance may have to sell off TikTok in the US, or face a ban.
Now, there is much debate about whether or not this will happen, however the reality is that it would be enormously complex to implement any such ban. Given those complexities plus the enormous potential of the US as a revenue driver for TikTok, I wouldn’t be surprised if some form of agreement is reached.
Nevertheless, there’s a few takeaways for any digital marketer from this. Firstly, don’t put all of your focus into one platform – you cannot legislate for legislators interfering and potentially banning platforms or forcing huge changes (GDPR and iOS14 among others have meant huge pivots in paid social strategies, for example).
Secondly, and this is more for the global brands out there, but while for years the emphasis was on centralising social media accounts, it could be worth considering splitting out geographies – if only to ensure you don’t get caught out by market bans. This would be a drastic step out of nowhere, but on TikTok is surely a must-do now.
Meta looking at ways to increase verified subscription sign ups
There’s been a steady increase in conversation around social platforms and premium or verified subscriptions over the past couple of years, with X Premium a huge driver of that towards the end of 2023.
Now it looks like Meta is testing the waters on this, sending out a survey to verified users to see what they would be willing to pay for. It already has a service, but word is that it isn’t exactly flourishing.
There’s a few interesting potential features here though – faster ad reviews and better access to customer support are certainly things I’ve wished for previously, and wouldn’t be at all surprised to see brands paying for.
On a slightly related note, and more in relation to consumer use; LinkedIn has seen a positive trajectory by most measures over the last 4-5 years, and it looks like Premium Subscribers are no exception – it recorded a 25% YoY increase in 2023.
How can I use AI to improve my website content?
Search Engine Journal posted a nice piece this week on how, despite Google deprioritising AI content, you can still use it to improve your overall rankings.
Spoiler alert: you don’t just get the AI to do everything, but you do get it to do plenty of the heavy lifting. There’s probably not a lot here for people who are now regularly using Generative AI tools in their day-to-day workflow, but possibly some interesting thought starters for those who aren’t.
Further Reading
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet – particularly if it has anything to do with Twitter/X, which this week has been shown to be releasing misleading data relating to growth while third-parties report otherwise.
An interesting one in terms of Gen AI and search – Google has restricted Gemini from being able to answer questions relating to upcoming in-market elections. Likely more a preventative measure than an instructive one, but interesting nonetheless.
Microsoft is expanding access to its Copilot tool, which allows easier advertising solutions via AI content and asset generation. Still early days and only available to a few, but one to watch.
And that’s it for another week – if you found this interesting then I would really appreciate if you shared this with your friends and peers.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend and see you next week!