Matters of Influence: Week of 9/14/20

Influencer marketing news moves at the speed of social media. Every platform update, algorithm tweak, and current event makes a huge difference to the influencer marketer. We’ll help you keep up.

Featured headlines

Oracle Wins Bid for TikTok in U.S., Beating Microsoft (Wall Street Journal)

Finally, there is a winner in the race to own TikTok, but this update leaves us with more questions than answers. Rejecting a buyout offer from Microsoft, ByteDance instead chooses Oracle to become its “trusted tech partner,” leaving many wondering what that even means. Others are just trying to figure out how this will impact influencer marketing, and how to strategize TikTok influencer campaigns as a result. Meanwhile, TikTok is more than happy to answer questions about their creator fund, the app algorithm, and user privacy–looks like we’ll need an oracle of our own to answer the rest.

Instagram Reels copied TikTok's format. But influencers are already seeing clear differences between the two, especially in making money from brands. (Business Insider)

While many average users reported last week that they saw almost no difference between TikTok and Reels, influencers are sharing a different perspective. Asserting that “We go to Instagram to shop and TikTok to laugh,” Business Insider outlines the key differences between the two platforms that affect the performance of influencer content. Leaning into this distinction and playing to their strengths, Instagram is testing a dedicated shopping tab and trend reporting to keep brands, influencers, and consumers all on the same page.

[Infographic] Twitter Shares New Insights into 'Back to School' Discussion Trends (Social Media Today)

While many brands have built their reputations by marketing limited-edition exclusivity and FOMO, it doesn’t feel the same in 2020. Consumers left disillusioned by a lack of personality in traditional marketing are turning to new forms of influence, searching for down-to-earth figures who share their moral values. Priorities shifting from exclusive products to inclusive marketing indicate the rise of a new kind of influencer–one who values community, collaboration, and caring for your fellow human beings.

Featured blog

When one of our customers asks a smart question, we know that there must be others wondering the same thing–so that’s why we’re responding to them on our Dear Julius blog series. In this edition, we’re answering questions about autodetection: what is it, what is it detecting, and how does it make running influencer marketing campaigns easier than ever? Read more to find out how it can save you time, trouble, and energy.

Julius product spotlight

Julius is a hands-on company–we want to engage with our customers from onboarding through the end of their subscription. Part of that assistance comes from our customer support team, who can help with product tutorials, FAQs, and adding influencers to the platform, but a lot of our customers also find that our Help Center is their go-to source for DIY support. The Help Center is available 24/7 and is filled with Julius how-tos, best practices, and more. You can access the Help Center by clicking the ‘Help’ button at the bottom of any Julius page, or the book icon in the top right corner.