blogfyre
What a silly name for a blog.
The Future of TikTok
When it comes to posting content on the internet, for marketing, entertainment or anything else, the creator is at the will of the platform. While that can be a hard pill to swallow, it’s a pill you have to get down. The internet wasn’t built for your benefit, it also does not care about you. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you, but I hope it helps.
I hope it helps because it should take some of the sting out of these cataclysmic digital shifts. TikTok going dark and (potentially) selling out is nothing personal and it has nothing to do with you. These changes come and go and the best thing you can do is prepare for the next one. How do you prepare? You create your own footprint.
Screen Time: You Get What You Give
To quote prolific 90’s band New Radicals, “We only get what we give.” Now, whether you have the dreamer’s disease or not, this statement holds true and is the perfect conclusion to our blog series on screen time. No one ever expects the double New Radicals reference.
Over the course of this blog series, we have not only defined “screen time,” but we’ve also explained the “Algorithm” and how you can control it. That’s all well and good, but how does it pertain to the New Radicals? Good question.
This Is Nothing #2
Please stop spamming my inboxes. It will never, ever work. It will, however, continue to give me a reason to write this blog series. Today’s blog is about Followers.com. They emailed me last week asking if I would like to “Join Our Nerdy Podcast Revolution Today!” In our last issue, I needed to do some Googling before I cast my judgment. This time around, I can tell you up front that this is Nothing.
Screen Time: On TikTok
TikTok is, far and away, the MOST linked to a user’s screen time. While screen time is a factor for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, it takes a back seat to user experience. On TikTok however, screen time IS the user experience. When a user opens TikTok, there is no blank space. There is no landing page or home screen, no sign posts and no welcome mat. The moment a user opens TikTok (and maybe after an ad) they are fed content. And, to be clear, that isn’t necessarily content made by someone they know or follow. In fact, it’s more likely that the first video is from an account the user does not follow.
Screen Time: On YouTube
If your strategy involves posting to YouTube, understanding the inner workings of the site are imperative. While you may be able to stumble into moderate success on a platform like Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok, you will find zero, and I do mean zero, success on YouTube without this knowledge. YouTube demands strategy and a meticulous approach across multiple steps. If someone has ever told you that YouTube is easy, they lied. YouTube is the Big Leagues, kid.
The first thing to note about YouTube is its absolutely massive scope. YouTube fits into conversations about social media outlets just as easily as it does into conversations about cutting traditional cable television. Not only do you have short-form and long-form user generated content, you have live streams, live television, professional sports broadcasts and feature films. The most subscribed to channel on the platform has 64.7 billion views all-time. The second most subscribed to channel is an Indian music label. Number three does exclusively children’s nursery rhymes.
Screen Time: On LinkedIn
LinkedIn is like the world’s most professionally dressed flea market. You’ve got a core group of users recycling the same concepts day in and day out. Also, much like a flea market, LinkedIn is somehow both everything and nothing all at the same time. Need to connect with your coworkers? LinkedIn. Need to grow your thought leadership? LinkedIn. Need to find a job? LinkedIn. Need to announce your new job? LinkedIn. Is LinkedIn optimized for any of those things? No, absolutely not.
Screen Time: On Instagram
Let’s crack open Instagram and see how it works. In yesterday’s blog, I did this with Facebook. Today I want to move on to a more modern outlet and one that may be part of your digital marketing strategy. While Instagram and Facebook are both owned by the same parent company, the way the platforms work are quite different. The game plan here is to take our knowledge of screen time and apply it to Instagram. We’re going to identify what Instagram likes, how users spend time on the app, and how you can use both of those things to your advantage.
Screen Time: On Facebook
How can one go about marketing their content on Facebook and what does screen time have to do with it?
Facebook wants users to feel comfortable. It’s got the oldest user base and the most established formula. Facebook wants to make sure that when imaginary user Jan logs onto “The facebooks” on her lunch break, she sees things she recognizes. If Jan has a handful of friends she interacts with regularly, Facebook is going to feed Jan their posts. Perhaps Jan likes to save recipe videos to try with the family; best believe Facebook is giving her some recipe videos. Unfortunately, Jan’s lunch is only 40 minutes and she can find a plan for dinner later. So how can Facebook get Jan to stay online for that 41st minute or, better yet, reopen the app later on her shift?
Screen Time: Controlling Your Algorithm
Let’s face it, spending time on social media in 2024 is kind of a nightmare. You never see half the things your friends post, it’s riddled with ads, and it’s impossible to log on without seeing something downright upsetting. It’s easy to feel like you don’t control the content of your feed. Luckily, that’s not the case.
Grabbing your personal algorithm by the reins is actually easier than you might think. Once you understand what drives an algorithm, you can pave a path in whichever direction you choose. So what drives an algorithm?
Screen Time: The Algorithm
Across all social media, in every single app, the algorithm exists for one reason, to keep users’ attention. See chronological feeds have an explicit problem, they end. A user viewing posts chronologically will eventually catch up to where they left off on their last scroll. But, if that user sees posts based on their interest, and is introduced to content from accounts they don’t follow, they can scroll forever.
So what does the algorithm want? It wants users to stay on the app. Forget everything else, every rumor you’ve ever heard and any suspicion you’ve ever had. Algorithm want screen time. Period.
Screen Time: What Is It?
Today’s word is, “Screen Time.” Can you say “Screen Time?” Jokes aside, can you define “Screen Time?” And if you can define it, do you know how “Screen Time” affects social media algorithms or why it matters to you? Heads up, that was the last time I’ll put screen time in quotes or capitalize it.
Let’s start at the beginning. Webster’s dictionary defines screen time as: The amount of time someone spends using a device with a screen, such as a smartphone, tablet, computer or television. Pretty self-explanatory, right? Screen time is the amount of time spent looking at a screen.
coming soon: an in-depth look at screen time
This week, I’ll be running a series on Blogfyre aimed at demystifying the concept of “Screen Time.” Why? Because understanding “Screen Time” is the first step to understanding “The Algorithm.”
This is nothing #1
Welcome to This Is Nothing, a special series on Blogfyre devoted to examining content marketing opportunities and solutions. If you’d like to submit something that you think might be Nothing, email it to us with the subject line “Is this Nothing?” and we may feature it here!
In my many years marketing on the internet, I’ve seen a myriad of tactics that are Nothing. So what does it mean to be Nothing? Well, I’m glad you asked. I deem things as Nothing when they:
give me an hour of your time
One hour, that’s all I ask. One hour and I will recontextualize EVERYTHING about how you market your business, event or offering. I promise.