TikTok Made Me Buy It

How Do You Unlock 5-Star Reviews? Ask.

X’s Got 99 Problems… and Hate Speech Is All of The …

Gen Z and Millennials Embrace Ads (with Caution)

RIP TikTok Music. (Er, whatever that was.)

Google: A Monopoly for Your Protection

TikTok Made Me Buy It

TikTok isn’t just driving engagement—it’s also fueling impulse purchases.

A new report from Adobe details the impact short-form video platforms have on consumer behavior, and TikTok is leading the charge.

3 out of 8 consumers have made a purchase based on content they saw on a short-form video platform.

20% of consumers made these purchases within an hour of seeing the content.

More than 80% of consumers said these platforms sway at least one buying decision each week.

And then, there’s Tiktok…

More than half said TikTok is their primary video platform trigger for impulse purchases.

Nearly 1 in 4 said TikTok influenced them to make a within just 3 minutes of seeing it.

Impulse trends

Adobe found the influence of video content is particularly strong among consumers earning less than $30,000 annually, while it diminishes for those making more than $80,000.

In the U.S., respondents typically spent an average of $34 on impulse buys prompted by short-form content, with clothing, skincare, and makeup being the most popular categories.

Generational preferences

It's no real surprise that Gen Z respondents prefer TikTok over other platforms for short-form video, with 60% choosing it as their top platform.

On average, Gen Z spends almost 22 days (528 hours) on TikTok each year.

By comparison, more than half of baby boomers lean towards YouTube.

Still, TikTok emerged as the top choice for short-form video content across all generations, with one-third of users preferring it, closely followed by YouTube and Instagram.

How Do You Unlock 5-Star Reviews? Ask.

Should you ask customers to write a Google Review? The answer is yes, according to a new study from review software company GatherUp.

The study says improving your review volume, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and ratings requires a shift in how local businesses approach reputation management.

1. Customers value invitations

The data suggests that reviews should be integrated into your customer service strategy.

Businesses that actively solicit reviews average 122 per location.

Businesses that don't average about 53.

The study found that nearly one-third of customers will respond positively to a well-crafted review request.

2. Customers respond to care for their convenience

Only 6% of surveyed businesses combine SMS and email to request reviews, missing a significant opportunity. While email is effective for detailed requests, 50% of customers prefer text invitations, which boast a 98% open rate.

On average, using an email-only strategy yields 15 reviews for every 100 requests

While SMS-only requests generate 20 reviews per 100.

In contrast, a combined approach results in 26 reviews per 100 requests.

3. Engaged customers have a higher brand opinion

Businesses that use reputation management software have, on average, a 50% higher Net Promoter Score than their industry counterparts. Your NPS measures how likely existing customers are to recommend your business to others.

4 of the 6 industries surveyed achieved a higher average star rating just by taking the time to engage customers through review requests.

X’s Got 99 Problems… and Hate Speech Is All of Them

A new report has found that X suspends “hateful” users 98% less often than the company in its previous Twitter-form did.

And this report didn’t come from some ‘woke leftist thinktank’ — it came from X itself.

The platform released its first transparency report yesterday, since rebranding from Twitter, which details enforcement actions taken in the first half of 2024, including rule violations, content removals, and user suspensions.

Cracking down, but not on hate

Between January and June 2024, X suspended more than 5 million accounts and removed 10.7 million posts, surpassing the figures from Twitter's last report for the same period in 2022.

However, the data shows X is now far less likely to suspend users for hate speech.

Users reported 81 million abuse and harassment incidents and 66 million cases of hate speech.

Of those, only 1.35% of abusing accounts were suspended.

0.004% of those posting hate speech were removed.

This marks a drastic drop from 2022 Twitter:

THEN The platform suspended 111,000 accounts because of hate speech.

NOW In the same time period this year, X removed just 2,300 accounts.

On the other hand, X has increased its suspensions related to child safety and deceptive accounts. However, fewer actions are being taken against content related to suicide and self-harm.

Gen Z and Millennials Embrace Ads (with Caution)

Forrester’s latest report brings some good news for marketers: Gen Z and millennials are warming up to online advertising.

But there's a catch — they still don't trust brands.

The new ad aficionados

Consumer tolerance of digital advertising is on the rise, with younger demographics showing higher acceptance of brand messages and ads across new channels.

STREAMING More than one-third of surveyed Gen Z and millennials are open to seeing ads while streaming video on smartphones, compared to 20% of older consumers.

MOBILE They're also more accepting of ads in mobile apps and games.

INFLUENCERS Sponsored content from influencers holds the attention of nearly half of younger consumers, compared to less than a fifth of older generations.

The double-edged sword of advertising

Despite this growing acceptance, a lot of those dollars may be wasted.

9 out of 10 consumers see ads on social media.

Only 4 out of 10 pay attention to the messages they receive.

Younger consumers are also more willing to pay extra to avoid ads, with a third looking to upgrade to ad-free streaming subscriptions, versus less than a fifth of older generations.

Forrester also warned that trust in advertising remains a significant barrier, which remains low across age groups.

Only 20% of younger consumers and 10% of older consumers trust social media advertising.

Even branded posts struggle to gain credibility, resonating with only a third of young adults and less than a fifth of older consumers.

RIP TikTok Music. (Er, whatever that was.)

Pour one out for TikTok Music.

The company announced this week it’s pulling the plug on its music streaming service, ‘TikTok Music,’ due to limited user engagement and operational challenges.

The app will officially shut down on November 28, 2024.

WTF was ‘TikTok Music’?

Originally launched in India in 2019 as “Resso,” the app gained attention amid TikTok's rapid growth in the country.

Despite the platform's ban in India in 2020, Resso managed to continue operating.

Last year, the app was rebranded as TikTok Music and expanded its reach to Brazil and Indonesia, with beta testing in Australia, Mexico, and Singapore.

Challenges ahead

Despite the rebranding efforts, TikTok Music struggled with licensing disputes and could not compete with other streaming services. The platform has now shifted focus back to the main TikTok app.

Users are encouraged to transfer their playlists before the October 28 deadline.

The TikTok Music website has posted a message informing users of the closure, stating that all account information will be deleted after November 28. Refund requests will also be accepted until this date.

Google: A Monopoly for Your Protection

It may be a monopoly, but Google wants you to know: it’s for your own protection.

In court for its current anti-trust case this week, Google defended its advertising practices against allegations of anticompetitive behavior.

The tech giant argues that its closed ad ecosystem isn’t anticompetitive — it’s just safer. While the Department of Justice accuses Google of monopolizing the ad tech market for profit, Google’s executives assert that a more controlled environment protects users from harmful practices.

Fraud prevention

Google’s defense centers on the extensive measures it takes to combat fraud. The director of product management for ad traffic quality highlighted what they claim is a rigorous process' for tackling click fraud by shady websites.

Every day, between 15,000 and 20,000 publishers seek access to Google’s tools, each undergoing a thorough vetting process.

Advertisers are also screened, with millions of signups rejected due to suspicious activity.

Google's executives told the court that their teams focus on protection, not revenue goals, ensuring that only trustworthy parties participate in the ad ecosystem.

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