Public relations, advertising, and influencer marketing have been making major headlines recently especially as A.I. continues to capture every marketer’s collective imagination and Threads looks to dethrone Twitter as the microblogging social media platform.
Shein Flew Influencers to China to Help Its Image. A Backlash Ensued.
The New York Times reported on the uproar that was caused when the fast fashion clothing company Shein flew Tik Tok and Instagram influencers on a two-week trip to China to see its products being made. This case study shows the limits of influencer marketing as an effective issues management tool. The campaign felt heavy handed and inauthentic and left the influencers in the uncomfortable position of having to defend themselves to their audiences on why they felt qualified to assess labour conditions while on a sponsored trip.
Is Threads the Twitter killer?
In only 16 hours, Threads, which was launched by Meta, was downloaded 30 million times, making it the most quickly downloaded app ever. CBC’s Commotion led a discussion on if Threads will replace Twitter or if it is doomed to be a more boring version of Instagram. On the same day, The New York Times’ The Daily podcast also devoted an episode to Threads with the similar name of “Will Threads Kill Twitter?” but spent more time examining what made Twitter so vulnerable that Meta saw the opportunity to go after its userbase with the promise of a less toxic experience. As the New York Time’s Early Vibe Check on Threads noted, only time while tell if Meta, with all its resources, can actually lure users away from Twitter permanently or if its doomed to go the way of Google+.
How the generative A.I. boom could forever change online advertising
Speaking of A.I. and hand wringing, we can expect a lot of articles like this in the near future, where marketers try and predict the impacts of A.I. on the industry and how social media and online advertising will evolve. From providing additional image selection and content generation, to reducing time and resources to create ads, A.I. could streamline online advertising. Meta, Amazon and Google are all creating plans and tools to support this advancement.