Update: Instagram launched link sticker 

Instagram has been testing a new sticker function for the last couple of months. According to Andrew Hutchinson from SocialMediaToday, Instagram confirmed that all users who can currently access the swipe-up link for Stories will be able to access the new link sticker. The swipe-up links to Stories will be gone at the end of August.  

A benefit of the switch could be that the sticker can be placed anywhere in your Story you would like. That will give creators more presentation options to help drive traffic, by featuring them more prominently within the frame. If the option will be available for everyone and not only users with more than 10k followers is still an open question.  

Recommendation: 

 It’s time to start experimenting now! Try out different approaches and make use of the new creative control. Maybe you might even gain more link clicks this way and put more focus on your Stories. 

TikTok is testing Story function 

Until now, nearly every other social network has copied some functions from TikTok. Now it’s TikTok’s turn to copy something that Instagram, Facebook & Co. are using a lot. We’re speaking of the Story function here.  

According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, TikTok Stories are very similar to Instagram Stories. They will be visible for 24 hours and the creator is able to see how many people have watched them. The new function also changes the navigation in the app. There will be a new sidebar where Stories can be created and published.  

For TikTok, this is a new and fast way to communicate with followers. Other than other networks, TikTok offers a comment function within the Stories which makes the most important difference. The platform also offers known features like stickers and sounds. For now, this is only a test, it remains to be seen how this turns out. For Instagram, the Story format is one of the most successful functions. On other platforms not so much. It will be interesting to see how Stories perform on TikTok. The worst-case for Instagram will be if TikTok succeeds in slowing down the use of Instagram Stories and especially makes creators prefer to publish Stories on TikTok. Since Stories are a great ad format for companies and brands and Instagram offers an ad placement for it, TikTok could follow up on that. Let’s see what happens! 

TikTok introduces new Shop tab 

TikTok is taking another step into eCommerce. The company is expanding its relationship with Shopify as well as a pilot test of TikTok Shopping among selected Shopify merchants across the U.S., U.K. and Canada. This will enable Shopify merchants with a TikTok For a Business account to add a new Shopping tab to their TikTok profiles and sync their product catalogues to create mini-storefronts on their profile. According to Sarah Perez from Techcrunch, Kylie Jenner is one of the first adopters of her cosmetic brand. 

Another aspect of the new partnership is to provide Shopify merchants with product links to tag products in their TikTok videos. This way, TikTok users can click on the highlighted product to be directed to the merchant’s checkout. 

Shopify mentioned a growing demand among merchants to work with TikTok. TikTok’s larger goal with shoppable content could be to challenge Facebook and Instagram, which have also invested in online shopping in recent years. Other than on Instagram, the checkout on TikTok won’t take place inside the app but via Shopify. Let’s see how the test goes! 

New ad format in Instagram Shop tab 

Instagram is testing a new ad format in the shopping tab which is supposed to make the Shop tab more relevant for eCommerce. According to Ashley Carman from The Verge, the test is hold with selected advertisers, but the feature will be expanded in the future. For now, US brands like Away, Fenty Beauty, and Clare paint have been chosen.  

The ads consist of a single image or a carousel and will be shoppable.  

Of course, this shouldn’t be a surprise. If there is unused space on Instagram, they will try to put more ads in more places.  

Recommendation: 

 Even though this is a new placement, and it is still unclear how these ads will be performing, brands should at least try it and use the opportunity to show their products to billions of users 

Pinterest launched shoppable Idea Pins 

 At the end of July, Pinterest has launched a new way for creators to grow their business and make money on Pinterest by making their Idea Pins shoppable and partnering with brands through sponsored content. With product tagging for Idea Pins, Pinterest creators can tag millions of product pins in their Idea Pins. 

According to Pinterest, Pinners are 89% more likely to show purchase intent for products tagged in Idea Pins than for product-only pins. Content creators can now benefit from this purchase intent themselves by tagging specific products in their own Idea Pins. Creators like Olive + Brown, Fall for DIY, and UnconventionalSouthernBelle in the U.S. are already making their content shoppable and helping their target audiences to have an inspired shopping experience. For Pinterest users, this means they can now shop directly from the Idea Pins of their favorite creators. 

Pinterest will be launching product tagging for Idea Pins for all enterprise accounts in the US and UK and will be making the feature available to international creators in the coming months. 

Authors:

Johanna Leffers & Anna Lemke