A look into the world of media, technology + innovation through the eyes of the team at M+P
In what will likely come as no surprise, people are spending a lot more time using apps amid the COVID-19 lockdowns around the world.
According to the latest report from App Annie, daily time spent in apps on Android devices increased 20% year-over-year in Q1 2020, while consumer spending in both iOS and Android apps was also up 15% and 5% respectively, setting a new record for in-app spending for a single quarter at $23.4 billion worldwide.
As you might expect, Twitter is seeing a lot more usage amid the COVID-19 lockdowns across the world – but that doesn’t, however, mean that Twitter’s making more money as a result, according to a new update from the company.
As reported by Bloomberg, Twitter has this week withdrawn its revenue and operating income guidance for the first quarter of 2020, as well as its outlook for expenses, headcount, and capital expenditures for the full year due to the rising impact of COVID-19.
As per Twitter:
“While the near-term financial impact of this pandemic is rapidly evolving and difficult to measure, based on current visibility, the company expects Q1 revenue to be down slightly on a year-over-year basis. Twitter also expects to incur a GAAP operating loss, as reduced expenses resulting from COVID-19 disruption are unlikely to fully offset the revenue impact of the pandemic in Q1.”
Those reduced expenses likely relate to the reduction in human moderators who have been sent home to help limit the spread of COVID-19. In their place, Twitter will increasingly rely on automation tools for reviews and approvals for the time being – but within that, it seems likely that Twitter will also see reduced costs, overall, depending on any potential compensation package in place for those workers.
So overall, Twitter is predicting broader revenue impacts – yet, at the same time, Twitter usage is rising.
Further into its update, Twitter says that its monetizable DAU (mDAU) count is up to 164 million for the quarter, a 23% increase Q1 2019 (and up 8% from its most recent performance update).
So, theoretically, Twitter should be able to display more ads right now, not less, right?
The platform didn’t provide a detailed breakdown of the impacts here, other than noting that:
“Twitter had a strong start to the year before the effects of COVID-19 began spreading more broadly, including a successful Super Bowl and overall strength in the US. The COVID-19 impact began in Asia, and as it unfolded into a global pandemic, it has impacted Twitter’s advertising revenue globally more significantly in the last few weeks.”
The impact is likely coming from smaller advertisers and businesses that have either been shut down or restricted, and which are now switching their focus onto how they can simply stay in operation, as opposed to spending on ads. The rolling closures will also mean a significant reduction in ad spend from restaurants, cinemas, events, etc. While Twitter is seeing more usage, it makes sense that it would also be seeing less ad demand, at least in this initial stage of the lockdown period.
That may change as people get more accustomed to this changed environment, but Twitter is moving early to advise of the potential impacts. That could also have something to do with the fact that CEO Jack Dorsey was effectively saved from an effort to oust him by activist investor group Elliott Management Corp. earlier this month, after Dorsey and Co. made a deal to keep him in the job, contingent on strict performance improvements.
What do you communicate with your customers and clients amid the overwhelming news influx of the coronavirus pandemic?
That’s what many social media and content professionals are now considering as they grapple with the new reality of social distancing and self-quarantine lockdowns, while also contending with revenue declines and significant business changes as a result.
In some ways, you want to communicate that your business cares, and is doing all it can to assist, but in others, you also need to consider the longer-term viability of your workplace, and how you can keep revenue flowing despite the conditions.
Read full article HERE.
While TikTok has been getting a heap of attention from consumers, it’s still largely new ground for brands, and amid the various concerns around the platform’s moderation policies and data privacy regulations, many are still unsure as to whether to take the leap and try to connect with audiences through the platform’s short video clips.
And even then, how do you do it? The other issue with the platform being so new is that there are few best practices established, particularly in this case because TikTok’s algorithm and distribution processes are different to other platforms.
That’s where this report comes in. To help provide more context as to how brands can best use TikTok, the team from Conviva have put together a 34 page eBook which outlines key best practices, provides an overview of TikTok analytics, and lists industry-specific benchmarks for performance to help provide some perspective.
You can download Conviva’s full TikTok Benchmarks & Strategy Guide here (with sign-up), but here’s a look at some of the key highlights.
First off, as noted, the report provides an overview of TikTok basics and how to create your TikTok clips.
The Conviva team have also outlined a range of key TikTok strategy tips, based on their experiences working with brands on their approaches.
The guide also covers the various analytics tools and options at your disposal to maximize your use of the app, and improve the performance of your videos.
But the real gold here may well be the benchmark data.
As you can see here, the focus is largely on sports, but the data provides some perspective as to what sort of activity levels that these professional accounts are committing to the app, and the relative engagement and account growth they’re seeing as a result.
Those are some big numbers in terms of uploads in the last 30 days (far right column). Indeed, professional sports accounts, in particular, are generating real traction on TikTok – but other media players are also growing their audiences on the platform too.
Interesting to note, too, the fairly close correlation between activity levels and audience growth. TMZ is a bit of an outlier in this list, but for most of the others, the more videos they’ve posted, the more followers they’ve gained. Which makes sense, but that’s not always the trend we see with bigger brand names on other social platforms.
There’s a heap more data in Conviva’s full report, and a heap more insight to help improve your TikTok efforts. It won’t be a platform for every business, but the numbers here show that there is significant potential for reach and engagement – if you can get it right.
