The Olympic Games are officially underway (congrats to the Canadian swimmers and divers leading the way with Canada’s first two medals and our first gold medal 🎉). But in the competition that is social media, you might be a bit shocked about the platforms either starting to take the lead, or making serious gains.
THE GOLD GOES TO…
And the 🥇 goes to: TikTok! If you read last week’s newsletter, you already know that it’s the first non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion downloads globally. That, in itself, is a feat of strength. It’s also a leader in music and culture, according to a recent independent study commissioned by TikTok. You can read the full results here, but they all resonated with me (yes, I associate music with TikTok; yes, I have tried things I learned on TikTok; and yes, I like it when brands embrace trends). And finally, consider how other platforms are trying to compete. For example, YouTuberecently hosted a dance challenge featuring K-Pop sensation BTS in a bid to promote YouTube Shorts — a TikTok copycat. And just a few weeks ago when Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri admitted that competition from TikTok is part of the reason the platform is embracing video.
IN SECOND PLACE…
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The 🥈 goes to: Snapchat 👻. While the platform faltered for a few years after a failed redesign, and an exodus to Instagram when the Facebook-owned platform copied its look with “Stories,” the platform just had its best quarter in four years, according to TechCrunch. Snapchat’s Q2 revenue in 2021 hit a new high of $982 million. That’s 116% higher than one year ago. Why?
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#WINNINGTHEBRONZE
And the 🥉goes to: Twitter! It’s not necessarily a “cool” platform when compared to TikTok or Instagram, but Twitter is seeing some impressive gains on Wall Street. The stock is up 30% this year, according to CNN. That’s a bigger bounce than either Facebook or Snapchat. And while it said good-bye to its Stories-like feature, called Fleets, earlier this month, Twitter is working hard to reward creators with: Tip Jars, Super Follows, and Ticketed Spaces (Spaces is the platform’s audio-only feature, and competitor to the Clubhouse app). And if you are wondering where Twitter is headed — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently said bitcoin will be a “big part” of its future.
