The Influence Download: April Edition

Lemon 8

With 75% of YouTube users engaging with Shorts, YouTube has created a new option that will encourage more short clips. Over the last month, ByteDance has been pushing their lifestyle app called Lemon8 in Western social media markets in order to compete with Instagram.

Source: Social Media Today

It is not a new app, but is new to social media users in the US since TikTok has been experiencing new bans. Recently, the app blew up and took number one spot in the app store for lifestyle apps which was a hige jump considering it never reached the top 200 even only a month ago.

Lemon8 is a video and photo-sharing social media platform that primarily caters to users’ interest in food, beauty, wellness, and travel.

But whilst Instagram is notorious for “contrived spontaneity,” or the idea that a perfect moment or photo occurred naturally, users on lemon8 can enjoy aesthetically pleasing content and be free of the things they don’t like about Instagram’s interface

There aren’t any popular influencers on Lemon8 right now, but many micro-influencers are on the app – influencers with 900-3,000 followers on Instagram or TikTok. Lemon8 leans more toward influencer marketing than TikTok, which leans toward content creation

There’s a large number of creators on Lemon8 who create “aesthetic” content. This content is perfectly posed, curated, and edited to show only the best parts of this person’s life. It’s unclear how creators can monetize on the platform yet.

Suggested Shorts via AI

A new AI-driven tool helps creators turn their long-form videos into Shorts

Source: TubeFilter, Google

An interesting new tool using AI is here to help power creators. With uncertainty looming over TikTok almost constantly, more and more creators are turning to YouTube Shorts as a potential alternative distribution channel and many OG long-form YouTube creators are using the new-ish platform as a brand building tool & distribution channel, and with Google reporting that Shorts receive more than 50 billion + views per day, AI entertainment company BenLabs is ensuring no long-form creators get left behind the move.

They’ve introduced an AI-powered tool called “suggested shorts” which analyses existing long-form content to make best recommendations about which snippets of, say, a 15 minute video should be used and cut for short-form content. They analyse things like audience behaviour, watch time, and more to determine the clips with the best potential for performance. The suggested shorts feature is a new addition to YouTube opitimiser, ‘Tube Buddy’ owned and operated by BenLabs. In a beta test of the feature, 72% of testers reported that they’d be disappointed if it wasn’t a permanent feature.

Meta Launches New Reels Ad Options

When isn’t Meta coming out with new platform updates, especially when it coms to their paid ads?

Source: TubeFilter, Google

When isn’t Meta coming out with new platform updates, especially when it comes to their paid ads?

This one is actually exciting and should be beneficial to a lot of brands. Meta is now offering advertisers the option to run a “click to DM/message” CTA versus their usual “click to learn more” This is super helpful for both brands and consumers because consumers will be able to enquire/show direct interest to a brand when served an ad they like, and advertisers can take a more direct path to help the consumer convert to purchase. With the learn more feature, consumers could only be led to a landing page, where from there, it was up to them to learn more and navigate the website to find what the need.

And, the added level of personal messaging seems to be helping convert more – Meta is seeing almost 50% conversion rates among Reels viewers who did DM a brand.

This is another reflection of Meta adjusting to social consumer behavior – DMs and shares via DM have risen in popularity when it comes to engaging with a product/post. People have been less inclined to publicly post about it in their own feed or post a comment, but rather share the interest privately in the DMs, so this new messaging feature meets consumers where they are and makes it easier for them to hit add to cart.

Madewell Glow Up

When isn’t Meta coming out with new platform updates, especially when it coms to their paid ads? Madewell has had a brand revamp as it aims to target a younger demographic. The brand shifted ad spend to TikTok despite its bigger instagram reach

Source: Cosmopolitan, AdAge, TikTok

Because consumers told them to—Madewell tapped into customer insights through its Madewell group chat, a pool of around 5,000 volunteer customers who answer surveys and questions that help guide marketing. The name #Jortcore taps into the idea of “core” fashion trends, which means focusing your style on a single aesthetic.

Madewell created the hashtag #Jortcore in an effort to promote jean shorts, or jorts, and show how to style them for the season. The goal is to engage with Gen Z and highlight sustainability by transforming pre-worn Madewell jeans.

The brand has recently been tapping into an edgier group of celebrities and influencers, such as “White Lotus” and “Euphoria” actor Lukas Gage for its menswear launched in 2018 and “Bodies Bodies Bodies” actress Chase Sui Wonders. They’ve appeared in campaigns, while Gage appeared at a recent art-themed party in Los Angeles heralding the brand’s new aesthetic along with fashion it-girl guests such as actress and model Ava Capri.

In the face of inflation, creators have proven to be a good return on investment. This means that brands need to prioritize the channels that they’re investing in—those that are demonstrating effectiveness.

Reformation’s Instagram Tactics

Reformation has been partnering with content creators to re-create their most viral original videos specifically for the brand’s Instagram account.

Source: Substack

Reformation has been partnering with content creators to re-create their most viral original videos specifically for the brand’s Instagram account.

Sustainable fashion brand Reformation has been spotted trying an interesting tactic on their Instagram channel that I personally haven’t seen before–they’re working with content creators in a creative way: they’ve been hiring recently viral and up and coming TikTok creators to re-create some of their most viral content (things like dating storytimes, lifestyle content)—usually almost word for word in NEW videos that are posted directly on Reformation’s TikTok page.

The only difference is that in the “new” video, they’re wearing Reformation clothing, and it’s working out. Videos that received millions of views on TikTok are also receiving millions of views on Instagram in the “new” version and points to how creators shouldn’t be thought of solely as distribution channels for content – they can be extensions of brand social teams.

An original video from @allergictocats received more than 2.6M+ views. On Reformation’s page it garnered more than 1M+ views, too.

Levi’s AI Talent Misses the Mark

Levi’s announced it would partner with an AI-powered digital model studio to increase the “number and diversity” of models on its website.

Source: The Drum

We’ve been seeing brands jump all over using AI, from hosting AI fashion shows to allowing AI to help write commercials, but Levi’s took it one step further by attempting to “increase diversity” by leveraging AI models in their e-catalogue imagery.

The brand announced that they’d partner with LaLaLand.ai to use AI models in an effort to increase the number and diversity of models on it’s website. What they didn’t speak about was how this is also considered a cost/time saving for them too – the AI studio claims their process is 90% faster than photoshoots.

The issue here is that instead of raising and giving spotlight to actual BIPOC humans, they’re now taking away paid opportunities from those underrepresented groups, while still profiting off the image of using “diverse models.” Many have called Levi’s out for the performative act and haven even called it “corporate blackface.”

While using AI can result in cost efficiencies, Levis could have just as easily contracted real content creators and influencers to create self-shot imagery to help cut down on production costs, a practice many brands have adapted since the pandemic.