Each week the insights team at The Goat Agency pull together the latest news from the social space in a weekly social media news round-up. This week we cover the top trends highlighted in ‘Year on TikTok’ 2022, Elon Musk’s plan to rid Twitter of its bots and Liver King getting exposed.
Don’t forget you can follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter for real-time announcements of all our new blog content!
Contents
Elon Musk Outlines ‘Human’ Test to Rid Twitter Bots and Scammers
‘Year on TikTok’ 2022 Report Underlines Top Clips, Creators and Trends
Ancestral Lifestyle Creator Liver King Exposed
Instagram Testing More BeReal-Like Features
TikTok Update CAP University Curriculum With Live Shopping Tools
Elon Musk Outlines ‘Human’ Test to Rid Twitter Bots and Scammers
Twitter is reportedly working on a new process that could restrict users from using certain functions within the app if they have not been able to prove that they are human.
The new process is intended to combat the problem of Twitter bots, which have previously made up around 5% of the platform’s user count. If users pass the human test, they will see improved tweet visibility and have full access to Twitter’s DM tools. The new roadmap will also include improved detection and removal of Twitter bots and the incorporation of Twitter’s $8 verification scheme, which will require payment verification to register accounts, effectively eliminating bots and scammers.
Foreseeing the success of a human test is difficult because there are not many in-app activities that distinguish between real users and bots. However, Elon Musk is prepared to combat the bot problem, which almost sabotaged his Twitter takeover due to the platform being overrun with bot accounts. Since taking over, Musk has boasted about the platform’s user count, which is now reportedly at record highs.
But, Musk’s own team estimates that bots still make up a significant portion of the user base, which is why Twitter 2.0 is keen to weed out the surplus of Twitter bots.
‘Year on TikTok’ 2022 Report Underlines Top Clips, Creators and Trends
TikTok’s fifth annual ‘Year on TikTok’ report has landed, summing up the top creators, moments and trends that reverberated within the app throughout the past 12 months.
Year on TikTok is separated into nine categories:
- FYFaves – The most popular video content of the year
- TikTok Taught Me – Highlighting educational lessons, life hacks and how-to’s documenting learning experience from the TikTok community
- The Playlist – The most popular songs on TikTok in 2022
- Only on TikTok – Key TikTok trends, powered by creative effects, sounds and other product features
- Breakthrough Stars – The rising creators and celebrities who had big moments on TikTok this year
- The Hitmakers – The most popular artists in the app
- Uncovered Communities – A celebration of subcultures and niche communities that are thriving on TikTok
- Eats on Repeat – Key food and recipe trends
- Loved by TikTok – Some of the most popular products and small businesses presented in the app
Through these, we can understand the range of niche communities that make up TikTok’s 1.5 billion users.
Moving onto the top perfoming clips of the year, the full list of the most popular US clips is:
- @amauryguichon – Constructing a very large chocolate giraffe
- @chipmunksoftiktok – Squishy’s back after hibernation!
- @rosalia – You can say a lot with the way you chew gum
- @blondebrunetteredhead – A deadpan take on “Jiggle Jiggle” by the leads of Riverdale
- @little.blooming.women – “I’m just a baby!”
- @schmoyoho – The beloved Corn Kid gets remixed
- @lizzo – Lizzo helps us learn the choreo for “About Damn Time”
- @itsmrfinn – A teacher’s elaborate yearly school musical reveal
- @jimmydarts – Helping Tom get back on his feet
- @meltandpour – The ultimate showdown: lava vs. ice
There are quite a few celebrities featuring amongst the top clips, which underlines the rising cultural influence of TikTok, building on the previous ‘Year on TikTok’.
‘Year on TikTok’ highlights a range of insights into TikTok usage, more specifically what’s popular in the app. The report shows us which trends were the most popular:
- Jiggle Jiggle
- It’s Corn!
- One Thing About Me
- That’s Not My Name
- OK I Like it, Picasso
- Core Memories
- Things That Just Make Sense
- Horace
- Rotoscope
- Renaissance Eyes
At the start of the year, could you have predicted that Louis Theroux would be the inspiration behind TikTok’s top trend? Absolutely not. Yet, these were the banks of content that got users participating, and sharing their own depictions of these trends.
TikTok’s key trends are vital to the platform’s success. Prior to TikTok, trends were consumed passively. Now, TikTok has added the incentive to participate, so you’re not only being entertained by other people’s content, but you can actually get involved, stimulating the spread of a trend across the app.
The full report is definitely worth a look, whether you’re a regular user, content creator or brand marketer – there are some interesting learnings to take from the key trends and opportunities underlined in ‘Year on TikTok’ 2022.
Ancestral Lifestyle Creator Liver King Exposed
The social media figure known as Liver King has been facing backlash for alleged steroid use. Real name Brian Johnson, the creator has built his online presence around ‘ancestral’ living, which entails the consumption of a raw meat-based diet, which has led to criticism.
Liver King has amassed a large following across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok over the past year. He has used his platform to urge his followers to embrace a primal lifestyle, suggesting that a raw meat-based diet is the key to his physique.
Fans of the creator have been influenced to follow the nine “ancestral tenets”, which involve rejecting the “friction between modern environments and our biology” that he says is exacerbated by things like canola oil. His viewers can start replicating his lifestyle and physique for as little as $138 through the supplement packs he sells.
However, leaked emails suggest that Liver King has been alluding to the fact that he is using steroids.
Since the allegations started circulating online, Johnson has issued a public response admitting to the allegations.
Instagram Testing More BeReal-Like Features
The rise of BeReal and its success as App of the Year on both Apple and Google highlights a growing trend on social media: people are growing tired of the airbrushed, edited, and sculpted personas that people showcase on social media. BeReal encourages authentic content without the incentive for engagement.
Now, Instagram is looking to build on this concept. After trying out a BeReal-like feature earlier this year, Instagram is now developing new features in a similar vein.
“Roll Call” is the latest development, which would enable group chat members to request that all participants add a photo or video of themselves to the chat within five minutes. This feature is, in essence, a smaller version of BeReal, compiled within the confines of a group chat.
Instagram is also working on “Glimpse” Stories, which replicates the BeReal format, using both the back and front cameras to show what you’re doing at any given moment.
Both of these features require participation, like on BeReal and TikTok’s “Now”, where only those posting their own contributions can view other posts.
Could this spark a wider trend on Instagram, cementing these additions as permanent features? Only time will tell.
TikTok Update CAP University Curriculum With Live Shopping Tools
TikTok has announced the Fall Semester curriculum for its Creative Agency Partnership (CAP) University program, which seeks to teach agency marketers how to approach the platform.
CAP University provides advanced training and insight for marketing and ad partners, helping them improve their strategy for their clients. The course has added “Content to Cart”, which explores the potential of eCommerce and its evolution of product and shopping tools.
TikTok has already seen success with live shopping elements in the Chinese version of the app. The hope now is to conduct a bigger push to expand user behavior and maximize revenue and creator monetization.
Live shopping tools could be a valuable addition to the CAP curriculum, for TikTok and its participants. If the platform can get more brands considering commerce opportunities, that could help generate more action and interest in not only the tools, but the app itself.
For more on the possibilities of live shopping and eCommerce, download our live shopping education deck here.
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And that’s all for this week, but don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter for real-time announcements of all our new blog content!
