Instagram has a new TikTok attack plan

Date:
Thu, 05 May 2022 06:00:38 +0000

Description:
Meta's popular app, Instagram, might be heading in a very TikTok direction with a new vertical video feed

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There are a million things you can say about TikTok and its effects on the social media landscape, but the one undeniable fact is the apps massive presence in almost everyones lives. Instagram and, by proxy, Meta now want a bigger piece of the vertical video pie, with Instagram testing a full-screen vertically scrolling feed just like the one that keeps you on TikTok.

In an effort to grow the platform in a world where photos and videos are mobile-first, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri was very open about the fact
that he thinks media should take up more of your screen and be more
immersive. In this new feed, youll still use a bottom-mounted navigation bar with discovery, Reels, shopping, and the profile page, but instead of having negative space between posts like youre used to, scrolling down will take you straight into the next image or video. Testing Feed Changes Were testing a new, immersive viewing experience in the main Home feed. If youre in the
test, check it out and let me know what you think.
pic.twitter.com/dmM5RzpicQ May 3, 2022 See more

Obviously, Metas endgame is to create a platform that will compete with
TikTok and its infamously powerful recommendation algorithm. The new feed style is still in early testing and is only rolling out for users in the apps beta program.

As it stands, Instagram hasnt monetized Reels in the same way as it has with Stories, which leaves a lot of room for advertising revue from a new
Instagram feed style. According to the companys Q1 2022 earnings call per TechCrunch , monetizing Reels, Instagram's current TikTok competitor, will likely take a few years. In that same earnings call, the company revealed
that Reels is growing quickly, with 20% of the time spent on Instagram now dedicated to Reels. Analysis: The TikTokification of the internet

TikToks influence is incredible. Following the unfortunate demise of Vine , ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, pitched TikTok (formerly
Music.ly) as a haven for short video creators and promised a strong algorithm for users to personalize their feeds. TikTok quickly exploded in popularity, which took social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube
by surprise.

Soon after, just as most platforms had already copied Snaps disappearing stories feature, we saw the release of Reels, Shorts, and Snapchats Spotlight all trying to steal TikToks thunder, and with varying degrees of success. Not even Byte (Vine 2.0 for the uninitiated) could truly get itself off the
ground after TikTok had established itself as the go-to video platform.

You could write a million think pieces about TikToks dominance in video, its algorithms, and the psychological effects on the youth due to screen addictions, etc. Many of them wouldnt be too far off base, but the formula produces data, and data makes quite a bit of money. Even if you dont use TikTok yourself, youve likely seen plenty of the short-form videos. Its no wonder that Meta, perhaps the infamous king of personal data scandals , wants to have TikToks cake and eat it too.

The only way Meta/Instagram could feasibly compete with TikTok is with its planned monetization and with a more stable creator economy. A plethora of creators on TikTok often lament about random account strikes, shadowbans, temporary posting bans, etc. with no support or information on the disciplinary action from TikToks staff. Bigger creators also talk about how little money they make from the so-called creator fund. Among its critics is everyones favorite science guy (after Bill Nye), Hank Green . Green made a thorough analysis of the platform and its monetization compared to other platforms. His core thoughts on it are When TikTok makes more, creators make less.

If Instagram wants to steal creators from the behemoth, its going to have to pay up in more ways than one.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/instagram-has-a-new-tiktok-attack-plan/


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