We are officially over halfway to Christmas!

Welcome to another Trending with Taylor 💃🏻

Here is the latest.

Article Source

My key points:

Gen Z values authenticity in brands, with 38% more likely to buy from companies that avoid Photoshop or retouching. This is something we’ve emphasised for a while now: Be authentic! You don’t always need overly polished ads. Sometimes the best-performing posts are the simplest.

Gen Z are avid users of YouTube (over 80%), Instagram (75%), and TikTok (69%), using these platforms mainly for entertainment. This is a key point to consider—if you’re not achieving the reach you want, review your content. Make sure it’s touching on the 3 E’s: entertaining, educational, or emotional. When Gen Z is deciding on purchases, 53% have bought something after watching a review video on social media. This likely happens because authentic reviews build trust.

Despite their love for social platforms, email remains essential for Gen Z. About 48% prefer hearing about special offers via email, and 41% have made purchases directly from email promotions in the past year. We all appreciate a good email discount!

Social media also guides their shopping habits; 46% browse or check reviews on platforms while shopping. Family and friends heavily influence their buying choices, with 56% relying on them, more so than social media and influencers, which impact 39% of Gen Z.

These insights highlight the importance of authenticity, social media engagement, and targeted email marketing in connecting with and influencing Gen Z consumers today!

🤖Instagram Updates

Carousel Updates

1. Music with Carousel Posts with Videos

Before this update, you could only add music to a photo carousel. Now you can add music to carousels with both videos and photos.

Instagram is adding more music features, likely because it thinks TikTok might not be available in the U.S for much longer. TikTok is very important for promoting music, with many publishers relying on it and some artists renaming their songs to follow trends.

2. Another feature added to carousel posts is the ability to include text overlays on images and vary image sizes within a single carousel.

This addition not only enhances engagement but also allows e-commerce businesses, for example, to highlight key product features throughout their carousel posts. Along with text overlays, you have the option to choose from three different image sizes:

• Original: Displays photos in their full size.
• Portrait: Crops photos to a vertical orientation.
• Square: Crops photos to a square format.

Once images are resized, they maintain their chosen format within the carousel. This feature could make carousels more dynamic and drive increased interaction, similar to successful strategies seen on TikTok.

🎾IG Creator Insights (testing)

As it is still in testing, the Creator Insights feature appears to be available on select profiles and limited to brand accounts. Nonetheless, if this rolls out it could be a valuable tool to quickly connect brands, influencers and creators for partnerships.

🎬Key Notes from the Interview with Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri

Mosseri explains that connection is a core part of Instagram’s identity, emphasising that shares matter more than the number of likes on a post. “Send more reach” is one of the most crucial stats to focus on within Instagram.

Mosseri also notes that Instagram is centered around private engagement, which makes short-form video crucial on the platform. We often discover videos that resonate with us, sharing them with friends for laughs, knowledge, or it may remind them of someone—these shares are really important for the reach and engagement. That goes to say, creating relatable content can significantly boost your engagement, as viewers are likely to share the videos, which can sky rocket your reach.

Another point Mosseri highlights is the importance of short-form content under 15 seconds, which continues to perform best and leads to more shares, thereby increasing reach. Additionally, it’s essential to note that about half of all video impressions on Instagram are viewed without sound. Creating videos that are understandable even without sound increases their accessibility, making them more likely to reach a broader audience!

TikTok updates

👾 TikTok Adds Commercial Music Library Integration for Adobe Express

TikTok and Adobe have teamed up to create easy-to-use tools that support every step of the TikTok content creation process! This integration with Adobe Express gives creators access to over 1 million pre-cleared songs and sounds. This partnership is giving brands a stronger and more simple way to connect with their audiences through music and sound on TikTok. Sound is crucial to the TikTok experience!  When brands use music that resonates with users, 68% remember those brands better, and 62% are more curious to learn about them. (Source)

🔍TikTok as a search engine:

I’ve discussed this topic in earlier blogs at the beginning of the year, highlighting TikTok’s evolution into a new kind of search engine, a trend that continues today. These statistics come directly from Adobe Express: Source

📲TikTok Launches Whee

Tiktok says “Whee is a new social app created to keep you connected with your close friends through life’s spontaneous moments. Capture and share real-life photos that only your friends can see, allowing you to be your most authentic self. Whee is the best place for close friends to share life moments.”

Let’s see if this gains any traction. 👀

Ad Inspo: 

Including a well-known name in an ad can be beneficial for several reasons:

• Credibility and Trust: We often trust brands or products associated with well-known names or names we respect. This can add credibility to the brand.
• Attention: Famous names attract attention! People are more likely to notice and remember an ad that features someone they recognie or admire.
• Reach and Engagement: Ads featuring well-known names can generate more buzz and social media shares! This can lead to increased reach as people share the ad with their networks, thereby amplifying the campaign’s impact.

🏋️🦈 Gymshark’s latest campaign

Waitrose x Taylor Swift

There are always memes and social posts you can captalise on when it comes to Taylor Swift:

See you next month.