TikTok's Apple Vision Pro App Foreshadows the Future of Creator Content

TODAY’S EDITION

• TikTok launches an app for the Apple Vision Pro, foreshadowing the future of creator content

• Instagram helps creators focus on their most important messages with a ‘People You Follow’ filter

• Threads finally tests a trending topics feature

• YouTube adds Shorts remix options for music videos as UMG and TikTok continue to battle it out

• YouTube increases the discoverability of Community Posts with a dedicated feed

• X adds to its video-first platform efforts with Creator Targeting

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DEEP DIVE

What TikTok’s App For The Apple Pro Vision Means for Creators Today and In The Future

TikTok has launched a native app for the Apple Vision Pro, Apple's recently launched mixed-reality headset.

How It Works:

The app optimizes the viewing experience for full videos by relocating the navigation bar and like buttons off-screen. When users interact with comment sections or creator profiles, these elements appear on the side of the feed, enhancing the immersive content viewing experience.

Users can leverage the Apple Vision Pro's fully immersive capabilities to watch TikTok videos in various environments, such as Yosemite or even on the moon. They can also use the Shared Space feature to watch TikTok content while using other apps simultaneously. However, creating or uploading content is currently not supported by this app.

One of A Few Apps:

TikTok is one of approximately 1,000 native visionOS apps for the Apple Vision Pro. Surprisingly, YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify are not among these apps, although YouTube has an app on its roadmap.

The TikTok Experience Is More Immersive:

TikTok's early investment in tailoring an experience specifically for the Apple Vision Pro aligns with its strategy to expand onto larger screens, including tablets, televisions, and billboards. This move provides additional avenues for discovery for creators and supports TikTok's efforts in generating longer videos.

The immersive experience offered by the Apple Vision Pro may attract users to engage with longer videos, benefiting creators specializing in such content. Whether short or long videos, consuming TikToks in a mixed media experience can enhance engagement. For example, users can watch a recipe video and cook, view how-to tutorials for an app while pulling it up, or simply watch a travel vlog with a corresponding immersive background.

More Spatial Creator Content Could Arrive:

Although content sharing is currently unavailable on the app, it is likely to be introduced in the near future. There is also a possibility that TikTok will support spatial photos and videos, allowing users to enjoy 3D content. With the iPhone Pro 15's capability to capture spatial media, creators have a low entry point for shooting this type of content.

While it may take time for mass adoption due to the device's price point, TikTok's native app for Apple Vision Pro foreshadows the opportunity for creators to connect and engage with audiences through immersive experiences. In the future, creators may need to consider optimizing content for the Apple Vision Pro, the Meta Quest Pro, and similar devices and experiences, as YouTube creators are doing for television today.

If Apple can replicate the success, it has had with the iPhone and iPad, a future where we watch and interact with our favorite creators through more immersive experiences is possible, opening up a host of opportunities, including new content formats, fan engagement, monetization, and brand integrations.

NEWS, TRENDS, AND INSIGHTS

Instagram Launches A ‘People You Follow’ Filter For Direct Messages

Instagram launched a ‘People You Follow’ filter for direct messages (DMs). This enables creators to filter and view their messages from accounts they follow.

Why It Matters: This helps creators, especially those with a large following, easily find and manage messages they likely care about most, such as other creators reaching out to collaborate, brands responding to their pitches, or top fans sharing their feedback on their latest upload.

One potential future development for Instagram that could be even more beneficial for creators is the ability to filter messages by people who engage with their content the most, adding another level of prioritization.

Threads Tests Trending Topics Feature

Threads started testing a trending topics feature in Today’s Top Topics, which displays the top five trending topics on the Search Page and the For You feed. These topics are determined by Meta’s AI system using signals such as how many people are talking about a given topic. Content specialists also review them to ensure accuracy, and users can report topics they think may be an issue.

Why It Matters: This marks the second consecutive week Threads has introduced a highly requested feature. Trending topics have been a sought-after feature since launch, but Meta has approached it cautiously due to concerns about amplifying hard news and political content.

With it, users can now engage in timely conversations and discussions, making it easier for people to share on the platform. This can help drive more usage and engagement, especially for key moments like the Super Bowl and Grammy Awards, where people tend to be active online and share their thoughts in real time.

YouTube Adds Remix Options for Music Videos in Shorts

YouTube added the ability to remix music videos on Shorts. Users can tap the Remix button on music videos and choose from four options:

• Sound: Use the video's sound in a Short.

• Collab: Create a Short alongside the video.

• Green Screen: Utilize the video as a background in a Short.

• Cut: Select a specific clip from the video to use in a Short.

Why It Matters: With music from Universal Music Group (UMG) artists and songwriters like Drake and Taylor Swift no longer available on TikTok due to expired licensing agreements, YouTube seizes the opportunity to provide creators with new ways to incorporate music into their Shorts, which are garnering 70 billion daily views now.

This is useful for creators, including those focused on music, in sharing their first reactions to a new music video, performing choreography alongside the artist, or providing commentary on a music video with it playing in the background. As UMG and TikTok battle it out, platforms like YouTube and Instagram stand to gain as creators and marketers seek alternatives to TikTok for sharing music-related content.

YouTube Rolls Out A Dedicated Feed For Community Posts

YouTube rolled out a Posts-Only feed for mobile devices. This feed showcases Community Posts, which are short-form posts that can feature images, videos, polls, quizzes, and more.

When users see a Community Post on the Home page, they can tap the 'View All Posts' button to see a feed featuring these posts from channels they have previously engaged with and posts that YouTube recommends.

Why It Matters: Since the discontinuation of Stories, Community Posts have emerged as a popular format alongside Shorts. Like Facebook and Instagram posts, creators can utilize a mix of media to engage with users, such as polls to crowdsource ideas for upcoming videos, images to show behind-the-scenes of an existing video, or text to promote an upcoming video upload.

Now, with a dedicated feed, creators investing in these posts can expect more visibility and discoverability.

X Gives Advertisers The Ability To Run Ads On Creator Videos

X announced Creator Targeting, an advertising solution that enables advertisers to place their ads with select creators. Using its self-service ad platform, advertisers can select specific creators and run pre-roll ads on their video content. They will soon also be able to display ads on a creator's profile.

Why It Matters: This serves dual purposes. First, it helps address the brand safety issues of X, including ads being served with harmful content. By choosing with whom and where their ads are run, advertisers have more control while also being able to tap into creator audiences, similar to the TikTok Pulse program.

Second, Creator Targeting adds another monetization opportunity for creators. Following a successful pilot program with MrBeast, where he earned over $250K in ad revenue from pre-roll ads on a single video, X announced plans to extend the program to a broader pool of creators, with Creator Targeting looking to be just that. With ambitions to be a video-first platform, incentivizing creators to upload their videos on X will be key.

WHAT I’M READING

Most influencers fail to admit to advertising, EU study shows (Reuters)

According to a study by the European Commission that screened content by over 576 influencers, it was revealed that most influencers fail to disclose ads.

In a booming influencer economy, creators seek standardization for payment terms (Digiday)

Digiday talked to five creators about their experiences with payment terms while working with brands, agencies, and platforms. Creators like Jayde Powell and Joy Ofodu share how they negotiate better terms, like asking for payments to be processed sooner and charging fees for late payments.

The Creator Economy: Boom Not Bust (Acast)

Ross Adam, CEO of Acast, a podcast hosting and distribution company, wrote an op-ed about the future of the creator economy and the role that podcasting will play.

THANK YOU

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