In this week’s edition, we explore exactly what OnlyFans is up to with OFTV and discover why the real estate sector is going all in on social media. We will also highlight the top stories from creators this week, including how Twitch plans to finally be more transparent with streamers and how Dr DisRespect is planning to develop games based on what creators want to see in the gaming market. Finally, we will break down the latest changes with platforms which includes Reddit and its TikTok-like feature!
OnlyFans Launches OFTV, Featuring Free and ‘Suitable For Work’ Content
OnlyFans has created its first app following the original platform being rejected from Apple and Google App stores. The app is called OFTV, and will not feature nude content, nor charge any subscription fees or run any ads. This move has been followed up with the announcement that OnlyFans will prohibit creators from posting sexually explicit content from October 1st.
OnlyFans has become a platform synonymous with nude content and has made many creators millionaires, offering a new monetisation option that is more profitable than what is available on platforms such as YouTube. Speaking on the popularity of OnlyFans, the platform is reportedly being used by 130 million people each month.
The app that just launched currently has around 800 videos starring some of the biggest creators on the platform and an original series Unlocked, which features conversations with the likes of Holly Madison, Bella Thorne and Mia Khalifa. The app is looking to change perceptions of the OnlyFans brand, away from sexual content to areas such as fitness, podcasting and food – to name a few.
The app actually launched earlier this year, but now the platform is trying to push the app to shape a new image of the OnlyFans brand, following plans OnlyFans is seeking new funding.
Why Success In Real Estate Begins & Ends With Social Media
Real estate publisher The Close, conducted a survey in July 2021 that revealed how important social media is within the industry. Whilst the pandemic hit every industry, the real estate sector still appears to be on the rise with house prices increasing in Q2. As a result of the industry still being profitable, it has led to an overly competitive sector – which is where social media comes in, providing benefits for real estate agents to stand out.
The survey conducted by The Close revealed that 60% of agents feel social media is even more important than their own website for marketing and outreach, however, only 35% felt confident with their online marketing capabilities. Furthermore, the study revealed that 79% of respondents felt that video content on social helps real estate agents stand out, with 73% of sellers saying they are more likely to list with an agent who utilises video formats.
From what we are seeing on social, there has certainly been an increase in agents dedicating time and effort to building a presence on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube – as well as pushing forward with new technology such as VR, to elevate virtual viewing experiences. We’ve even seen disruptors in the market such as Boomin Property that are using big named influencers to showcase properties, resulting in thousands of views on a single video alone. This is significant as the survey from The Close also discovered that 64% of agents are planning to get more clients from social media in 2021.
Reddit Raises $700 Million
Reddit only recently raised a Series E in February and now the platform is looking for more funding in a Series F round led by Fidelity Investments. The platform will raise up to $700 million in its latest fundraising round, with the most recent valuation putting Reddit at over $10 billion. In recent communications online, funds will help with the platform’s international expansion and new initiatives to innovate community building and support the increased push on advertising offerings.
Reddit has been hiring and expanding into markets such as the UK, Canada and Australia and has for the first time reached $100 million in advertising revenue. Reddit, on its push to support new ways to build communities, has also made moves in connecting through audio and video. Reddit purchased Dubsmash last year and integrated the platform’s tools into Reddit to provides a means of creating short-form video content on the platform.
Reddit still has a long way to go. With 52 million daily active users and over 100,000 communities, it still is far from Facebook’s 2 billion daily active users. However, Reddit appears to be on the rise with ever-expanding growth and a lot of attention following Reddit’s WallStreetsBets forum story, which saw traders coordinate a plan to drive GameStop’s stock price up, causing short-sellers huge headaches who initially betted on the company’s stock falling. The momentum from this David and Goliath story helped catapult Reddit into the mainstream.
Twitch Aims To Be More Transparent With Creators
Twitch has been notorious for banning creators with little transparency as to why. This appeared to be the case with the sudden and unexpected ban of Dr DisRespect in 2020 – forcing the popular streamer to move to YouTube, leaving fans baffled by why he could no longer stream on Twitch.
Now Twitch will provide more detailed explanations as to why streamers are being punished on the platform. As per a Twitch support account on Twitter:
“As of today, enforcement notifications sent to suspended users will include the name of the content and the date of the violation to ensure they have better clarity about what content is being actioned on.”
However, this update provides little new information. Twitch will still not provide the explicit reason for punishment, only what policy has been violated and now the name and date of the stream. Twitch has had an ongoing push to improve policies with an update to ‘Harassment And Hateful Conduct’ and most recently an update to restrictions on gambling-related links. For some time, a number of Twitch streamers have gotten away with sketchy gambling streams and now the platform has finally taken action, since some creators have called out such streamers. In all, this is a step in the right direction, but Twitch still has further steps to take in the eyes of many creators on the platform.
Dr DisRespect Moving In On Game Development
Dr DisRespect, as mentioned above, was one of the top streamers on Twitch, who then moved to YouTube following an unexpected ban. Since then, the creator has amassed over 3.45 million subscribers and brought his entertaining and high production value streams to the platform. Now the creator is trying his hand at the development side of gaming, which will be driven by creator ideas for new gaming titles under his gaming studio.
According to a job posting on the streamers website:
“Dr Disrespect in partnership with BoomTV is taking on the game industry by storm and incubating a new AA/AAA gaming studio that has a unique twist to it. The studio plans to forge a partnership with a select list of mega influencers and then work closely with them to launch their dream gaming title. Those gaming titles will either be incubated and developed OR partner/co-develop with existing indie game developers and launched as mega titles.”
The studio will be built in partnership with BoomTV, which is an esports event organization platform that the streamer has worked with for a number of years now. This is an example of creators moving into new areas to elevate their brand to new heights, and the creator edge of developing games based on their expertise and passion could prove to be a great formula for launching new and exciting games into the market.
Addison Rae Stars In Upcoming Netflix Movie And Her Brand Item Beauty Makes Its Sephora Debut
Addison Rae began posting on TikTok in 2019 and has since become one of the biggest creators on the platform. Following her momentum on TikTok, Addison began branching into new areas such as singing and acting. One of the biggest steps forward in her career has been her starring role in her first film, ‘He’s All That’. The movie will premiere on 27th August on Netflix and is a remake of the popular 1999 movie, ‘She’s All That’. Additionally, Addison’s beauty brand ITEM Beauty (which she launched last year) will be launching at Sephora – both online and instore – on 19th August, making August a huge month for the creator-turned-celebrity.
Addison Rae stands as another example of an influencer expanding their reach and influence beyond social media into the spheres of film, music and entrepreneurship. Sephora and Netflix are huge companies that stand to benefit from Addison’s influence in turning her followers into customers and viewers.
Reddit Testing A TikTok-Like Video Feed
Reddit is testing its own short-form video feature, as Reddit looks to increase engagement through video formats. Reddit has reportedly rolled out a button on the iOS app to take users to the right of the search bar – allowing users to see video content in a way that is similar to TikTok. Users, when seeing a video, can engage through upvotes and downvotes, comment, share and even gift an award, and then swipe up to see the next video – serving content based on the interest of the individual.
Reddit is yet to create a dedicated video creation stream for short-form video, but users can use video clips that are already posted on the platform, which Reddit will repurpose in the new video viewing option.
Reddit is hoping to follow the success of YouTube Shorts, which has seen huge viewership of short-form videos on the platform. Reddit will be looking at building out the capabilities of short-form video to engage users and perhaps make the format more interactive – since the platform did acquire Dubsmash last year, which enables users to lip sync and dance to audio tracks.
TikTok Partners With Canva & Vimeo
TikTok looks to encourage more small businesses over to the platform through the support of making ads on Canva & Vimeo. The two graphic design and video platforms will have integrations with TikTok to make the creation of effective ads accessible to all.
The partnership with Canva will provide 50 templates for TikTok ads and the ability to publish ads directly to the TikTok platform. The partnership with Vimeo will see a similar integration, with businesses using Vimeo Create to also post directly to the TikTok Ads Manager, along with custom video templates being made available.
Both platforms have been named TikTok Marketing Partners, joining other tech companies who have created advertising solutions for TikTok, making it easier for advertisers to create, implement and measure on TikTok. This move to make it easier for businesses to create ads will in theory reduce the barrier to entry since ads on TikTok are meant to be very different to any other platform. Ad solutions to bring more small businesses over to the platform makes sense since Facebook has profited from making its self serve ads platform accessible and user friendly to all types of advertisers and businesses.
YouTube Adds Chapter Listings To Search
YouTube rolled out an automated chapter segmentation for all video clips, allowing YouTube to identify different parts of a video to elevate the user experience when viewing or picking a video to watch. Now, YouTube is looking to integrate ‘Chapters’ into search tools, enabling users to search and discover specific elements in each video that refers to what they specifically searched for.
Now when users search, a video is displayed within the YouTube search results with an option for a ‘Chapters’ drop-down, navigating users to a specific clip relevant to their search.
As explained by YouTube:
“Up until now, when you browsed for a video to watch on YouTube, you’d see a thumbnail image of each video. It gave you a chance to gather a quick snapshot of the video’s content. Now, you’ll be able to make even more informed decisions about what you’re going to watch through video chapters directly in the search page. When available, these time-stamped images detail the different topics covered in videos and let you better evaluate the video you’re about to watch. You can also jump directly to the section most relevant to your specific interest.“
To note, automated chapter segmentation is not yet available for every video as of yet, however, as this feature gets rolled out it will certainly elevate the searchability of content on the platform. The feature of ‘Chapter’ listings in search can also have SEO benefits, with creators or marketers utilising keywords in Chapters to aid discovery.
