Social Platforms Are Diverging
Social Platforms Are Diverging
Social Platforms Are Diverging
Social Platforms Are Diverging
Social platforms are diverging
When I started making content a year ago, there was a lot less competition.
I was able to make a single high quality video and post it across all 4 platforms (Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) with solid results.
Not every video would go viral on every platform, but it was clear the best stuff was going nuclear everywhere.
One of the tough parts about being in the content game is that algorithms change without warning.
Things are wildly different now.
What I’m noticing is that each platform is diverging from the center and becoming it’s own little world.
The best creators will create pieces of content native for both the medium (short vs long) and the platform (Tiktok vs YouTube).
Here’s how I’d summarize the use cases and style preferences I’m seeing work on each platform (for short-form content):
Tiktok:
Tiktok has become the new social search.
The best performing content is either leveraging Tiktok shop (no surprise Tiktok is juicing their own stuff) or is super low frills editing, green screen, talking head, normal pacing, etc.
I thought these lower quality styles of content would be arbed to zero with overcrowding (because the bar to create is so low), but that hasn’t been the case.
My high quality video style only works on Tiktok when I’m covering something that is in the news cycle. And this makes sense with the backdrop that Tiktok is the new social search.
For example, take my video on McDonald’s new CosMc restaurant. I made a certified banger (knew it as soon as it left my hand) and it only got ~50-100K views in the first few days on Tiktok. I was 5 days late on the initial news cycle.
But now, that video is at 846K views on Tiktok. Why?
It’s still in the news cycle and people are natively searching for CosMc’s McDonalds. My video has been assigned that by Tiktok search so now it’s coming up when people search it. And because my stuff is higher quality, if people land on that search, they are going to click it.
The game for Tiktok now is that you have to make content that a) is accurately tagged by the search categorization algo in Tiktok and b) is something that people are searching for. If those two things are true, your stuff will work. If one or both are not true, it will not work on Tiktok.
Instagram:
Instagram has become the new Tiktok mixed with a visual diary.
The original version of Tiktok was novel because it was content curated by interest. But now, Tiktok has shifted it’s “For You” algorithm to skew much more heavily to news and current events.
The core features used on IG are Reels, Stories and DMs. Instagram Reels are still very much based on interest categories, regardless of timeliness.
A core difference on Instagram is that visual quality is rewarded. People still win with raw unedited stream of consciousness in stories, but high quality visual aesthetic still works and is sometimes preferred. Also, IG is the best place to interact 1:1 in the DMs.
Youtube:
YouTube has become the new TV.
If it wasn’t for sports, cable TV would be dead. My hot take is that streaming platforms aren’t much better off.
The common behavior of the day is to pop-open YouTube and let the Home Page surface interesting content.
YouTube has always been designed in that way. It’s the Internet’s TV, with infinite channel options.
Content strategy differs greatly when considering shorts vs long-form YouTube.
With shorts, YouTube rewards storytelling and visual quality. They do not reward raw vlog style content.
With medium-form, I’m a bit out of my depth (because I haven’t yet cracked it), but it feels like a trend towards more authentic, less editing, slow paced type of content. Sam Sulek is a good example for what can work when you’re interesting and your content topic has a broad audience.
Snapchat:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what Snapchat is. If I had to categorize it, I’d say that Snapchat is the new Netflix.
They have 6-10K curated shows, with gatekeepers preventing new shows from being permissionlessly created.
In a way, this means it’s kind of like YouTube, but with a much more curated selection of channels.
Content that works on Snapchat Shows is often faceless or high graphic based without a ton of talking head.
While it’s not clear where each platform will end up, what is clear is that creating a single version of your content and cross-posting will likely result in only one platform working well for you…whichever one you had in mind when you starting creating in the first place.
— — — — — — — — — — — — —
If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, you should subscribe to me weekly creator journal, Blueprint. Each week, I share metrics, ideas, frameworks, and experiments designed to supercharge your thinking about content & brand building in the modern age.
Social platforms are diverging
When I started making content a year ago, there was a lot less competition.
I was able to make a single high quality video and post it across all 4 platforms (Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) with solid results.
Not every video would go viral on every platform, but it was clear the best stuff was going nuclear everywhere.
One of the tough parts about being in the content game is that algorithms change without warning.
Things are wildly different now.
What I’m noticing is that each platform is diverging from the center and becoming it’s own little world.
The best creators will create pieces of content native for both the medium (short vs long) and the platform (Tiktok vs YouTube).
Here’s how I’d summarize the use cases and style preferences I’m seeing work on each platform (for short-form content):
Tiktok:
Tiktok has become the new social search.
The best performing content is either leveraging Tiktok shop (no surprise Tiktok is juicing their own stuff) or is super low frills editing, green screen, talking head, normal pacing, etc.
I thought these lower quality styles of content would be arbed to zero with overcrowding (because the bar to create is so low), but that hasn’t been the case.
My high quality video style only works on Tiktok when I’m covering something that is in the news cycle. And this makes sense with the backdrop that Tiktok is the new social search.
For example, take my video on McDonald’s new CosMc restaurant. I made a certified banger (knew it as soon as it left my hand) and it only got ~50-100K views in the first few days on Tiktok. I was 5 days late on the initial news cycle.
But now, that video is at 846K views on Tiktok. Why?
It’s still in the news cycle and people are natively searching for CosMc’s McDonalds. My video has been assigned that by Tiktok search so now it’s coming up when people search it. And because my stuff is higher quality, if people land on that search, they are going to click it.
The game for Tiktok now is that you have to make content that a) is accurately tagged by the search categorization algo in Tiktok and b) is something that people are searching for. If those two things are true, your stuff will work. If one or both are not true, it will not work on Tiktok.
Instagram:
Instagram has become the new Tiktok mixed with a visual diary.
The original version of Tiktok was novel because it was content curated by interest. But now, Tiktok has shifted it’s “For You” algorithm to skew much more heavily to news and current events.
The core features used on IG are Reels, Stories and DMs. Instagram Reels are still very much based on interest categories, regardless of timeliness.
A core difference on Instagram is that visual quality is rewarded. People still win with raw unedited stream of consciousness in stories, but high quality visual aesthetic still works and is sometimes preferred. Also, IG is the best place to interact 1:1 in the DMs.
Youtube:
YouTube has become the new TV.
If it wasn’t for sports, cable TV would be dead. My hot take is that streaming platforms aren’t much better off.
The common behavior of the day is to pop-open YouTube and let the Home Page surface interesting content.
YouTube has always been designed in that way. It’s the Internet’s TV, with infinite channel options.
Content strategy differs greatly when considering shorts vs long-form YouTube.
With shorts, YouTube rewards storytelling and visual quality. They do not reward raw vlog style content.
With medium-form, I’m a bit out of my depth (because I haven’t yet cracked it), but it feels like a trend towards more authentic, less editing, slow paced type of content. Sam Sulek is a good example for what can work when you’re interesting and your content topic has a broad audience.
Snapchat:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what Snapchat is. If I had to categorize it, I’d say that Snapchat is the new Netflix.
They have 6-10K curated shows, with gatekeepers preventing new shows from being permissionlessly created.
In a way, this means it’s kind of like YouTube, but with a much more curated selection of channels.
Content that works on Snapchat Shows is often faceless or high graphic based without a ton of talking head.
While it’s not clear where each platform will end up, what is clear is that creating a single version of your content and cross-posting will likely result in only one platform working well for you…whichever one you had in mind when you starting creating in the first place.
— — — — — — — — — — — — —
If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, you should subscribe to me weekly creator journal, Blueprint. Each week, I share metrics, ideas, frameworks, and experiments designed to supercharge your thinking about content & brand building in the modern age.
Social platforms are diverging
When I started making content a year ago, there was a lot less competition.
I was able to make a single high quality video and post it across all 4 platforms (Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) with solid results.
Not every video would go viral on every platform, but it was clear the best stuff was going nuclear everywhere.
One of the tough parts about being in the content game is that algorithms change without warning.
Things are wildly different now.
What I’m noticing is that each platform is diverging from the center and becoming it’s own little world.
The best creators will create pieces of content native for both the medium (short vs long) and the platform (Tiktok vs YouTube).
Here’s how I’d summarize the use cases and style preferences I’m seeing work on each platform (for short-form content):
Tiktok:
Tiktok has become the new social search.
The best performing content is either leveraging Tiktok shop (no surprise Tiktok is juicing their own stuff) or is super low frills editing, green screen, talking head, normal pacing, etc.
I thought these lower quality styles of content would be arbed to zero with overcrowding (because the bar to create is so low), but that hasn’t been the case.
My high quality video style only works on Tiktok when I’m covering something that is in the news cycle. And this makes sense with the backdrop that Tiktok is the new social search.
For example, take my video on McDonald’s new CosMc restaurant. I made a certified banger (knew it as soon as it left my hand) and it only got ~50-100K views in the first few days on Tiktok. I was 5 days late on the initial news cycle.
But now, that video is at 846K views on Tiktok. Why?
It’s still in the news cycle and people are natively searching for CosMc’s McDonalds. My video has been assigned that by Tiktok search so now it’s coming up when people search it. And because my stuff is higher quality, if people land on that search, they are going to click it.
The game for Tiktok now is that you have to make content that a) is accurately tagged by the search categorization algo in Tiktok and b) is something that people are searching for. If those two things are true, your stuff will work. If one or both are not true, it will not work on Tiktok.
Instagram:
Instagram has become the new Tiktok mixed with a visual diary.
The original version of Tiktok was novel because it was content curated by interest. But now, Tiktok has shifted it’s “For You” algorithm to skew much more heavily to news and current events.
The core features used on IG are Reels, Stories and DMs. Instagram Reels are still very much based on interest categories, regardless of timeliness.
A core difference on Instagram is that visual quality is rewarded. People still win with raw unedited stream of consciousness in stories, but high quality visual aesthetic still works and is sometimes preferred. Also, IG is the best place to interact 1:1 in the DMs.
Youtube:
YouTube has become the new TV.
If it wasn’t for sports, cable TV would be dead. My hot take is that streaming platforms aren’t much better off.
The common behavior of the day is to pop-open YouTube and let the Home Page surface interesting content.
YouTube has always been designed in that way. It’s the Internet’s TV, with infinite channel options.
Content strategy differs greatly when considering shorts vs long-form YouTube.
With shorts, YouTube rewards storytelling and visual quality. They do not reward raw vlog style content.
With medium-form, I’m a bit out of my depth (because I haven’t yet cracked it), but it feels like a trend towards more authentic, less editing, slow paced type of content. Sam Sulek is a good example for what can work when you’re interesting and your content topic has a broad audience.
Snapchat:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what Snapchat is. If I had to categorize it, I’d say that Snapchat is the new Netflix.
They have 6-10K curated shows, with gatekeepers preventing new shows from being permissionlessly created.
In a way, this means it’s kind of like YouTube, but with a much more curated selection of channels.
Content that works on Snapchat Shows is often faceless or high graphic based without a ton of talking head.
While it’s not clear where each platform will end up, what is clear is that creating a single version of your content and cross-posting will likely result in only one platform working well for you…whichever one you had in mind when you starting creating in the first place.
— — — — — — — — — — — — —
If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, you should subscribe to me weekly creator journal, Blueprint. Each week, I share metrics, ideas, frameworks, and experiments designed to supercharge your thinking about content & brand building in the modern age.
Social platforms are diverging
When I started making content a year ago, there was a lot less competition.
I was able to make a single high quality video and post it across all 4 platforms (Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) with solid results.
Not every video would go viral on every platform, but it was clear the best stuff was going nuclear everywhere.
One of the tough parts about being in the content game is that algorithms change without warning.
Things are wildly different now.
What I’m noticing is that each platform is diverging from the center and becoming it’s own little world.
The best creators will create pieces of content native for both the medium (short vs long) and the platform (Tiktok vs YouTube).
Here’s how I’d summarize the use cases and style preferences I’m seeing work on each platform (for short-form content):
Tiktok:
Tiktok has become the new social search.
The best performing content is either leveraging Tiktok shop (no surprise Tiktok is juicing their own stuff) or is super low frills editing, green screen, talking head, normal pacing, etc.
I thought these lower quality styles of content would be arbed to zero with overcrowding (because the bar to create is so low), but that hasn’t been the case.
My high quality video style only works on Tiktok when I’m covering something that is in the news cycle. And this makes sense with the backdrop that Tiktok is the new social search.
For example, take my video on McDonald’s new CosMc restaurant. I made a certified banger (knew it as soon as it left my hand) and it only got ~50-100K views in the first few days on Tiktok. I was 5 days late on the initial news cycle.
But now, that video is at 846K views on Tiktok. Why?
It’s still in the news cycle and people are natively searching for CosMc’s McDonalds. My video has been assigned that by Tiktok search so now it’s coming up when people search it. And because my stuff is higher quality, if people land on that search, they are going to click it.
The game for Tiktok now is that you have to make content that a) is accurately tagged by the search categorization algo in Tiktok and b) is something that people are searching for. If those two things are true, your stuff will work. If one or both are not true, it will not work on Tiktok.
Instagram:
Instagram has become the new Tiktok mixed with a visual diary.
The original version of Tiktok was novel because it was content curated by interest. But now, Tiktok has shifted it’s “For You” algorithm to skew much more heavily to news and current events.
The core features used on IG are Reels, Stories and DMs. Instagram Reels are still very much based on interest categories, regardless of timeliness.
A core difference on Instagram is that visual quality is rewarded. People still win with raw unedited stream of consciousness in stories, but high quality visual aesthetic still works and is sometimes preferred. Also, IG is the best place to interact 1:1 in the DMs.
Youtube:
YouTube has become the new TV.
If it wasn’t for sports, cable TV would be dead. My hot take is that streaming platforms aren’t much better off.
The common behavior of the day is to pop-open YouTube and let the Home Page surface interesting content.
YouTube has always been designed in that way. It’s the Internet’s TV, with infinite channel options.
Content strategy differs greatly when considering shorts vs long-form YouTube.
With shorts, YouTube rewards storytelling and visual quality. They do not reward raw vlog style content.
With medium-form, I’m a bit out of my depth (because I haven’t yet cracked it), but it feels like a trend towards more authentic, less editing, slow paced type of content. Sam Sulek is a good example for what can work when you’re interesting and your content topic has a broad audience.
Snapchat:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what Snapchat is. If I had to categorize it, I’d say that Snapchat is the new Netflix.
They have 6-10K curated shows, with gatekeepers preventing new shows from being permissionlessly created.
In a way, this means it’s kind of like YouTube, but with a much more curated selection of channels.
Content that works on Snapchat Shows is often faceless or high graphic based without a ton of talking head.
While it’s not clear where each platform will end up, what is clear is that creating a single version of your content and cross-posting will likely result in only one platform working well for you…whichever one you had in mind when you starting creating in the first place.
— — — — — — — — — — — — —
If you enjoyed this post and want more like it, you should subscribe to me weekly creator journal, Blueprint. Each week, I share metrics, ideas, frameworks, and experiments designed to supercharge your thinking about content & brand building in the modern age.