This month’s reads are about strategy, alternative and diversifying revenue streams and a ban on plastic surgery like filters on Instagram.
It’s an unusual and risky strategy—actively encouraging people to unfollow your brand—but Miller Lite is doing just that.
With the impact of social media influencers increasingly being questioned, influencers have begun trying to identify ways to monetize their followings by doubling down on presenting themselves as the product itself, often in an increasingly risqué way.
And Google, the hands down industry leader in search advertising revenue, has seen a small but significant increase in “Google other revenues.” And especially interesting to the aesthetics industry, Instagram has recently banned filters that produce a “plastic surgery like effect.”
Will “Unfollow” for Beer (If Allowed by Law)
Miller Lite, “the original social media.” Or so the company would like you to believe. Their latest ad campaign, ironically advertised on their social media channels, offered a free beer to anyone who took a screenshot of themselves unfollowing the brand.
The tagline for the campaign, “A few friends are better than a few thousand followers. Here’s to the original social media,” was devised as a way to try to connect with a younger generation and promote the idea of putting down the phone and enjoying a Miller Lite with real friends in real time. Read the full story on Advertising Age.
No Filter Allowed (Anymore)
With an increased awareness about body shaming, bullying and overall well being, Instagram has banned all filters that create a plastic surgery-like effect.
That includes filters such as Plastica, a filter that mimics the results of extreme plastic surgery, and FixMe, a filter created by non- plastic surgeon and graphic designer Daniel Mooney that mimics the pre-op markings on a patient. These filters and more are slowly being phased out by Instagram in an effort to promote a more positive experience for its users. Read the full story on Elle.
For Google, It’s Not Just About Ads (Anymore)
Google has long had a stranglehold on online search advertising revenue: it accounts for 70% of the search advertising market. Not taking this for granted, the company began looking to identify additional revenue opportunities years ago. With ever-increasing competition from Amazon, social media, and other ad buying options, this decision has become more important than ever.
Focusing on service-based offerings such as G Suite and Google Cloud, as well a hardware products like Nest and Google Pixel phones, these revenues have shown small but consistent growth. Read the full story on Quartz.
Influencers Are Finding New Ways to Monetize Their Brand
With an increasingly critical eye towards using influencers for marketing of brands both large and small, as well as changes in social media platforms, influencers are seeking out other ways to monetize their followings.
This has led to the creation of new paid social media platforms that, perhaps not surprisingly, allow for more risqué and possibly controversial content. These platforms allow an account owner to charge a fee for users to follow them for exclusive content. With this model, if even a small percentage of their organic social media followers follow them to a paid platform, they may earn a significant amount of incremental monthly revenue. Read the full story on Wired.
