Key Takeaway
Kylie Jenner’s recent takedown of Snapchat is the latest example of the enormous potential power of social media. Individual posts from influencers have the capacity to literally create, and destroy, a company’s valuation or a person’s reputation, in real time. Conversations around Jenner’s tweet also highlight the rising battle between social platforms, brands and consumers. And from the smoke, new players in the game are rising.
Kylie Jenner takes down Snapchat
Kylie Jenner is not impressed with Snapchat’s latest update. As though we needed a reminder, what this represents is the incredible power social media and social influencers hold.
A single tweet from Jenner has been blamed for sending Snap’s shares tanking $1.3B – and Facebook’s soaring $13B. Instantly.
Potentially realizing her mistake, the reality star immediately followed up, replying “still love you tho snap … my first love”, and later posted a first glimpse at her new baby’s foot on the social platform, as an answer to the very first post which had debuted on Instagram.
The same week, L’Oreal cosmetics brand Maybelline New York polled its followers on Twitter, crowdsourcing the decision as to whether or not it should keep its presence on Snapchat. The brand noted that this was because “Snapchat views have dropped dramatically.” The tweet was later deleted, and the Maybelline team released a statement indicating they were happy with their Snap relationship. However, thanks to screen capture, the damage was already done.
While Snap’s team was undoubtedly listening to this data and launched into crisis mode to resolve the issues, CEO Evan Spiegel stood by his claims that the latest update was intended to better connect users with their friends – and that his intention was always to make celebrities feel different from those friends on the platform.
Both Facebook and Snapchat have discussed a strong focus on improving community and connection for users over the coming years, and this redesign is a first attempt from Snapchat toward this vision. For the platforms, however, this separation of everyday users and brands could mean a massive drop in advertising spend – and for consumers, the loss of the “closeness” they once felt to their favorite influencers in the former Snapchat design.
Vero takes center stage
The incident reveals the growing struggle social platforms are facing around the question of ‘authenticity’ when it comes to integrating brands, news and celebrities into the everyday user experience. They’ve so far been unable to effectively cater to both in a way that’s authentic, non-intrusive and still inherently social.
Cue startup Vero. The “new” social platform has recently been gaining traction, having arguably launched for the very purpose of solving this problem. It’s gained so much popularity, in fact, that its servers began crashing following Jenner’s tweet due to volume.
The core difference Vero claims is a push for a more authentic user experience, vowing to cater exclusively to the everyday users, with brands as a secondary audience. They go so far as to charge users a subscription fee. According to their site, the subscription model will allow them to “keep Vero advertising-free, and to focus solely on delivering the best social experience instead of trying to find new ways to monetise our users’ behaviour or tricking them back into the app with notifications.” Ultimate transparency for the win.
While some feel Vero may be just the latest in a long line of failed attempts to edge out the social giants, others are optimistic about the potential for a social refresh that has been able to glean significant learnings from its predecessors.
While Facebook battles fake news and Snapchat figures out how to make celebrities and everyday users feel more like friends, startups like Vero are looking to swoop in as the answer to your social media woes. But the fact remains that no matter where an opinion is posted, influencers on social media remain powerful enough to make or break a brand. If you’re not listening to these external conversations, you will continue to find your brand at a significant disadvantage.