On Our Radar | September 2022

MORE NEEDS FOR SPEED | IT’S ALL ABOUT THE REELS, MAN | TIKTOK TESTS A NEW ‘NEARBY’ CONTENT FEED | WHAT‘S THE DEAL WITH NEW GOOGLE ANALYTICS TRAFFIC? | FACEBOOK CREATES A NEW HELP DIVISION | MEET GEN Z’S LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA CRAZE: BEREAL

To combat the world of ever-changing digital marketing – the TwoSix team is here to give you what’s On Our Radar for the month. This month, we discuss the importance of Reels, TikTok updates, changes in Google Analytics, and more! Keep reading to find out what we’re keeping On Our Radar for September 2022.

More Needs For Speed

The value of time is hitting home on all social media networks. We’ve seen the quick hit content apps like TikTok and YouTube Shorts continue to grow at a rapid pace recently, with everyone digesting bite size pieces of content in a swift burst of time.

Well, YouTube recently revealed on its blog that many users are using the video playback speed feature to move through videos at a faster speed. The preferred speed is 1.5x, a tad bit faster than normal, but this is a great indicator that clear, quick and concise continues to win out. When creating videos, always remember to brand upfront, communicate your message and end with a call to action to inspire a website click or Google search query. Oh, and don’t forget to do it as quick as you can.

Dave Serino Founder & Chief Strategist

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It’s All About The Reels, Man!

If your Instagram strategy seems to be sucking a little bit of wind lately it’s likely because you’re still relying on image posts and not fully embracing Reels. Relying on standard photos simply doesn’t cut it anymore. We’ve seen many DMO Instagram accounts take a bit hit in reach and engagement during 2022 due to not evolving their Instagram strategy. New data indicates that even though images still reign supreme as the most common type of content published, it’s Reels that are getting the most reach. Reels are consistently generating more engagement in the form of like than other format types too. We recommend trying to even out your content types between images and Reels. Shoot for an even mix and watch your engagement rates. We suspect that you’ll find yourself becoming a short-form video content creator to pump out even more Reels over time. At the end of the day, if Meta is prioritizing Reels, so should you.

Brian MatsonSenior Director of Strategy and Education

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TikTok Tests A New ‘Nearby’ Content Feed

A new tab is on the horizon for TikTok, and it could be a game changer in social media. A new nearby tab has popped up on a few user’s TikTok account as the network is currently testing out the feature. The experimental new feed displays content posted by users that are near you. As the feed learns what you like based on your interests it could end up showing you things such as restaurants that are near you. This would create an even bigger reason for businesses to jump on TikTok to promote locally. A new study came out in which according to Google, “Almost 40% of young people now refer to TikTok or Instagram instead of Google Search when looking for a place to eat.” Knowing this fact, it really could provide a huge opportunity for brands to reach out to their community! Currently, the nearby tab has only rolled out to a select group in Southeast Asia, so it is unclear if or when this will be available to the general public. With over 1 billion users, TikTok’s popularity continues to rise and with the introduction of helpful features such as this, more and more users and businesses will continue to join the app.

Ashley MaddixDigital Advertising Strategist

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What’s the Deal with New Google Analytics Traffic from New York, LA, DC, Chicago?

If you’ve hopped into your Google Analytics and gone to locations lately, you’ve almost certainly seen a huge uptick in traffic from New York, Chicago, Washington DC, and Los Angeles metro areas in the past few months. It’s probably not just up in terms of traffic, engagement is also up, with bounce rates going down and time on site going up. In the screenshot below, you can see how one of our clients has seen when comparing June 1, 2022 – August 15, 2022 to the previous 75 days:

So, what’s the deal? Do you suddenly have a bunch of dedicate fans from these big metro areas? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Apple is super dedicated to privacy now and the iOS 15.5 update on May 16, 2022 automatically opted-in all users’ Safari browsers to obscure users IP address from trackers. Trackers, like Google Analytics, are now limited to just knowing country and time zone. Due to the method Apple uses to obscure location information, it appears to Google Analytics that the traffic is coming from these major metro areas. Check out what this looks like when we add a Secondary Dimension of “Operating System” to Metros:

The impact couldn’t be more obvious! About 51% of Americans have an iPhone and about 50-60% of web traffic is on a mobile device, so a lot of traffic will be affected here. However, there are two caveats. The first is that this should only apply to users on cell networks and not WiFi. The second is that the while Geotargeting may be affected, the Geofencing method of targeting will still be a very accurate way of determining location.

Next steps? If you’re worried about your social ad campaigns, they should still be humming along just fine, as this is a browser privacy change and not an app privacy change. If you’d like to learn how to better analyze Google Analytics after this iOS update, consider a coaching session with us.

Nick DanowskiLead Content Strategist

FaceBook Creates A New Help Division

Anyone who has worked in social media marketing for the last several years knows that asking Meta for help is almost always a dead-end road. After gutting the representative program in 2021 in favor of a more sales-focused program, it seems the social media giant is forming a new division to specifically help with user queries. This gives users an additional help resource outside of the advertising optimization space that was not available before.

This is especially good news for businesses that use an agency for their advertising needs. Rather than needing a third party to act as a go-between for communicating with Meta on all issues, not just advertising related can be a frustrating experience. Hopefully, the implementation of this new tool will help to streamline the process for everyone.

Scout DelicatoDigital Advertising Strategist

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Meet Gen Z’s Latest Social Media Craze: BeReal

As short-form video continues to trump all other content, who would foresee a photo-sharing app topping the social media charts? BeReal is here to remind us to expect the unexpected as the anti-Instagram photo-sharing app’s downloads increased an astonishing 315% since the beginning of this year. BeReal is taking a unique approach to creating a more authentic and un-edited view on social sharing.

How it works: every day, at a different time, all users are prompted to share a photo of what they are doing within two minutes. Additionally, the app uses your front and back camera to simultaneously capture a selfie and a photo of what is in front of you. This concept prioritizes authenticity by removing the ability to stage and edit shots, building a genuine relationship with your followers.

What this means for the tourism industry: even though spur-of-the-moment content may not be ideal for some businesses, we can expect that Meta will carry over the trending concept of real-life experience to their platforms. As BeReal continues to rise in popularity, consider focusing on creating meaningful relationships with your FaceBook/Instagram communities and pushing out content that appeals to the younger generation.

Makenna SchmitzDigital & Social Media Director

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With the ever-changing digital marketing world, we are here to keep you informed of new digital trends and what we are keeping on our radar for September 2022. Have any questions? Contact us! We’re here to help.

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