LinkedIn doubles down on video
Plus: Strong quarterly growth for Snap, Curry’s on TikTok, and how much is Google spending on AI this year?
Happy February! It’s nice to sit down and write one of these without touching on wider geopolitical events for a change.
This week we’ve got some fun features coming from LinkedIn, impressive quarterly results for Snap, and a bunch of other bits and pieces - including a surprising set of TikTok superstars.
LinkedIn bets big on video
LinkedIn has been on quite the journey over the last decade; from being very late to the party on video ads, to now placing video front and centre of the app experience.
Social Media Today compiled a useful article explaining the new features announced this week, but essentially vertical videos will appear in larger frames on the feed, with users able to scroll easily between them (similar to TikTok) and look at a grid of videos on a profile… similar to TikTok. It seems to be paying off though, with viewership growing massively in the last 3 months.
If you aren’t already doing video on LinkedIn, then you really should be looking into it. The algorithms on there are only going to favour video content more heavily, so if you want to be seen, then it’s the best direction to go in.
As an aside, there’s also been a lot of conversation lately about Connected TV ads on LinkedIn. It’s kinda funny to think back to even the start of my career, when buying TV ads could be a nebulous, messy and expensive process; now, you can get high-quality, impactful and targeted visuals onto peoples screens for a fraction of the cost and effort. The networks seem very US-centric at the moment, but its something to keep an eye on.
Another good quarter for Snap
It’s been another good quarter for Snap, with a strong increase in users and higher-than-forecast revenue. There are some concerns that the growth is relatively linear/stagnant, as opposed to seeing the explosive growth enjoyed by peers such as TikTok.
Snap will say the key is that they are making money, and that they are also well positioned to enjoy growth thanks to the uncertainty surrounding TikTok, although in adland it doesn’t quite seem that this has transitioned into ad spend moving over just yet.
My own view on it is that if you are very dependent on TikTok for your ads, then it might be worth trying a small test-and-learn exercise on Snap’s self-service platform to see if it offers a viable alternative. If it does, then you at least have a solid backup in place.
Further Reading
TikTok vs the US Government continues to rumble on. This week, while Donad Trump continues to seek a deal, there’s some talk that higher-ups in China might pull the plug on the app in the US altogether. To be continued.
Google is experimenting with a search AI tool that will call businesses on your behalf to find out quotes and other basic information. Speaking of which, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai estimates the firm will spend $75bn on AI this year, while Google also announced its new “thinking” model with Gemini 2.0 earlier this week.
Instagram is testing a new “pause” feature on reels.
And finally, have you ever looked at Curry’s activity on TikTok? The brand has a cult following on there, one which is worth exploring further.
That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll be back next week. See you then!