Edition 58: Power of Social Media During an Election Season, Google Insights on Trends, Sizzler + Skechers Campaigns, "Very Demure" Creator & more!
Navigate is a weekly newsletter dedicated to providing the latest updates and trends in the world of social media marketing. Written by industry experts at Captiv8, each edition features key stories, insights, and trends that are essential for staying informed and ahead in the rapidly evolving landscape of social media marketing.
🗺️ Roadmap
📱 Unlock the Power of Social Media During Election Seasons
🔎 Google Provides More Insight Into Emerging Search Trends
🌭 Sizzler Brings Randy Johnson Out of Retirement to Coach Youth Baseball
👟 Howie Mandel's Skechers Story Turns Into Latest Campaign
🎵 Meta and Universal Music Group Announce Expanded Global Agreement
🤳 Instagram Tests Vertical Grid to Elevate Reels and Videos
🏁 Top Stories
As election season approaches, an increasing number of Americans find themselves turning to social media platforms for information, discussion, and engagement. Our latest report, Unlocking the Power of Social Media During Election Seasons, dives into this phenomenon, highlighting how increased social media usage during elections can be leveraged to boost brand engagement. The shift is particularly noticeable among younger generations, with platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and X seeing spikes in usage. Understanding the nuances of social media usage during elections is crucial for brands, influencers, and political candidates alike as they navigate the complex landscape of online engagement.
Google has launched an updated version of its "Trending Now" tool within Google Trends, providing more detailed insights into search terms experiencing notable increases in volume. The revamped tool offers a clearer view of trends, including how long they've been trending, total search volume, and quick access to trend overview charts. Users can filter trends by region and time frame, from the last 4 hours to the past week. Powered by a cutting-edge trend forecasting engine, the tool detects ten times more emerging trends and refreshes every 10 minutes. This update makes it a valuable resource for ad campaign planning, SEO strategy, and staying culturally relevant in social media by highlighting emerging trends that could inform content creation and outreach efforts. The new display is now available in 125 countries.
⛽ Revved-up Campaigns
In the latest campaign for Sizzler, titled “Hungry for the Win,” MLB Hall of Famer Randy Johnson returns from retirement to coach a hapless youth baseball team, the Simi Valley River Dogs, with his signature tough love. Despite their clumsy efforts and not winning the game, the kids manage to score their first run, earning them a celebratory feast at Sizzler, reinforcing the new tagline, “We Goin’ Sizzler.” The campaign humorously underscores that every small win deserves a big celebration at Sizzler, where customers can enjoy a free sundae in a collectible baseball helmet bowl with any meal purchase. The campaign continues Sizzler's nostalgic approach, following their reunion with Full House star Jodie Sweetin, who appeared in a Sizzler ad over 35 years ago.
Skechers has signed comedian Howie Mandel as its latest brand ambassador after a humorous incident in which Mandel, while shopping at a Los Angeles Skechers store, attempted to claim a discount by falsely posing as an ambassador. The story caught the company's attention, leading to a new ad campaign that playfully highlights the incident. This partnership is part of Skechers' broader strategy of collaborating with a diverse range of celebrities, from Snoop Dogg to Martha Stewart. The approach continues to drive success, with Skechers reporting a 7.2% increase in second-quarter sales, and raising its full-year sales forecast due to the brand's focus on comfort and value.
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🚗 Platform Directions
Meta and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced an expanded global, multi-year agreement that enhances creative and commercial opportunities for UMG artists and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) songwriters across Meta's platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Horizon, Threads, and for the first time, WhatsApp. Building on a 2017 agreement, this partnership reinforces their shared commitment to protecting human creators and ensuring fair compensation for artists and songwriters. The agreement also focuses on addressing unauthorized AI-generated content and expanding monetization opportunities, particularly through short-form video and new channels like WhatsApp.
Instagram is testing a new vertical grid display on user profiles, replacing the traditional square thumbnails with longer images that better align with Reels and video content. This change, currently being tested and likely to be rolled out to all users, reflects a shift towards vertical content, which now dominates the platform. Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri explained that the new format aims to better serve modern content creators by eliminating the need to crop images into squares. This update could significantly impact your IG posting strategy, emphasizing the importance of video content and potentially altering how you design and present your profile to capture attention.
💡 Quick Tips
🚦Influencer Spotlight
The "very demure, very mindful" trend is sweeping across TikTok, thanks to a viral video by content creator Jools Lebron. Known for her bold and unapologetic style, Lebron humorously tackled the topic of workplace presentation in a satirical clip. She advised women to embrace looks that are "demure, modest, and respectful," offering a tongue-in-cheek take on conservative workplace attire. This trend has sparked widespread discussion and engagement on the platform, further cementing Lebron's influence in the social media landscape.
With Captiv8 data, we can see Jools has achieved impressive growth metrics including
⭐ 82.23% increase in followers
⭐ An engagement rate of 11.77% (increase of 361.18%)
⭐ 1.74M views per post (increase of 923.53%)
Captiv8 provides powerful analytics tools to track and understand such impactful stats. Discover how you can leverage similar insights to elevate your own social media strategies and connect with trends that resonate. Discover more with a demo at captiv8.io!