TikTok News 🗞

Hello. Benoit Garbe, the U.S CMO of its embattled Bud Light brand, is stepping down later this year. U.S. chief sales officer Simon Whitworth noted the company hopes to “accelerate our return to growth as we continue to focus on what we do best - brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter.”

— Hubert Trinkunas & Rosa Cecilia

DTC brands use crowdfunding as venture capital funds slow

DTC brands turn to crowdfunding amidst a dip in venture capital funding, reflecting a 97% drop in U.S. investment since 2021. Crowdfunding offers startups vital funds while engaging loyal customers through perks like ownership stakes and personalized consultations. Not universally suitable, crowdfunding proves effective for brands like Panic Panties and Reel Paper, serving as both financial support and a creative marketing strategy. By aligning perks with their values, such as tree planting and exclusive events, brands like SuperMush use crowdfunding to reinforce their identity and connect with consumers, bypassing extensive ad spending through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and newsletters.

Latest 📲

📲 Meta, Alphabet, ByteDance, Snap must face social media addiction lawsuits, U.S. judge rules.

💬 IBM suspends advertising on X (Twitter) after ads appear next to Nazi posts.

🌐 F1: As Las Vegas Grand Prix looms, a look at how F1 turbocharged growth in the US. ‘They’re trying to create that Super Bowl effect,’ experts say of F1, which has seen an enormous spike in popularity in the US following the success of Netflix’s Drive to Survive.

Will Threads be the link between marketers and the fediverse?

The fediverse, otherwise known as the federated universe, is basically a group of social media networks that operate independently while still being able to communicate with one another.

Meta's Threads is set to connect with the fediverse, marking a potential shift in social media dynamics. For marketers, this could mean tapping into untapped audiences, but uncertainties surround Threads' commitment and marketers' grasp of the fediverse.

Threads breaking walls: Meta's strategic move with Threads signals a departure from walled gardens, embracing open-source platforms and offering marketers new engagement possibilities across diverse audiences.

Marketers eye authentic spaces: The fediverse's promise of ad-free spaces and genuine community interaction intrigues marketers. Despite Threads facing initial user decline, exploring the fediverse provides marketers a chance to experiment in a space where authenticity outweighs traditional ad-driven models.

Google elevates search with AI-driven shopping and visuals

In a Christmas push, Google’s adding a new gift recommendation element into its AI-based search generative experience (SGE), which is designed to help users find more relevant product matches.

Google explained; “Let’s say you’re looking for a present for the budding chef in your life and don’t know where to start. Search “great gifts for home cooks”, and you’ll now see a wide variety of subcategories to explore, with options from brands large and small. Just tap into a category to browse shoppable gift options and select a product to buy.”

Google’s also experimenting with another generative AI element in Search that will enable you to better visualize and find what you’re looking for. “Soon when you use SGE to look for apparel, you’ll have the option to generate photorealistic images inspired by the words you search - and shop products that match those images.”

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Amazon Briefing: How Prime is becoming core to Amazon’s social commerce strategy

Last week, Meta advertisements began to pop up that showcased products sold on Amazon that could then be purchased inside the Meta app if the user links their Amazon account.

This partnership could be beneficial for both platforms — Amazon has been trying to figure out social shopping for the last five years and Meta has launched many attempts to get users to buy products inside its apps.

Indeed, social platforms have tried and failed to get users to purchase goods on their sites — and most of those attempts have failed. Meta tested out live shopping, but ultimately sunsetted the program in 2022. Meanwhile, TikTok has made multiple attempts to facilitate commerce over the years, including opening and shuttering an e-commerce program in both Europe and the U.S. last year

Zoomed out, it becomes clear that Amazon sees one answer for privacy and shopping issues: Prime. And earlier announcements have paved the way.

New report shows more people are now getting news content via TikTok

As per Pew Research, around half of all U.S. adults now get at least some of their news and information input from social media apps, with Facebook leading the way.

Though there is one particularly notable exception:while Instagram has seen a slight rise in news usage, a heap more people are now getting news updates from TikTok.

In terms of demographic insight, Pew’s data also explores how male and female users engage with news content across apps; “Women make up a greater portion of regular news consumers on Nextdoor (66%), Facebook (62%), Instagram (59%) and TikTok (58%), while men make up a greater share on sites like Reddit (67%), X (62%) and YouTube (58%).”

Other headlines…

• Shein’s revenue surged more than 40%, likely surpassing Zara.

• Google’s next-generation ‘Gemini’ AI model is reportedly delayed.

• YouTube loosens ad guidelines around breastfeeding nudity and twerking.

• Twitter’s decentralized offshoot Bluesky now has 2 million users.

• Instagram is retiring its guides posting option next month.