Gen Z prefers TikTok and Instagram, TikTok's Musical Event, Instagram's Collaborative Posts, and the Rise of a $250 Billion Creator Economy

TikTok In The Mix

TikTok, the platform renowned for music discovery and creativity, has announced "In The Mix", a unique live global music event. This event will showcase the music, trends, and experiences that the TikTok community cherishes. Headlining the event are prominent artists Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta, and Charlie Puth. Fans will witness performances in an intimate 'in the round' setting. Additionally, emerging artists from TikTok's "TikTok Elevate" program, including Isabel LaRosa, Kaliii, LU KALA, and Sam Barber, will grace the stage. The event will also feature activities inspired by TikTok's popular "For You" feed. "In The Mix" is scheduled for December 10, 2023, at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. It will be live-streamed on TikTok LIVE, curated to highlight beloved creators and past year's moments. The production, tailored for TikTok's vertical format, is spearheaded by director Hamish Hamilton and Done+Dusted. Paul Hourican, TikTok's Global Head of Music Partnerships and Programming, expressed the platform's unique blend of music and creativity, aiming to bring the "For You" feed to life. The event is open to all ages, with tickets going on pre-sale from October 27th and general sale from November 2nd.

Threads is launching polls and GIFs and working on an API for brands, Instagram is testing collaborative carousel posts

Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, posted a number of updates on Threads, In one conversation on Threads, he explained that the platform is working on an API. He said his “concern is that it’ll mean a lot more publisher content and not much more creator content, but it still seems like something we need to get done.” So it seems brands who want to be on threads are one step closer to being able to schedule content and manage messages. He also stated that Threads is introducing polls and GIFs. 

In another post on Threads he explained Instagram is testing a new way to create posts where friends and followers can contribute content to a carousel. “We just started testing a new way to invite friends to join in on your feed posts. Before posting a carousel, you can turn on the ability for your followers to submit photos and/or videos, which you can approve to add to the post. Excited about all the creative possibilities this opens up. Let us know if you think you'd try this out!“

The creator economy is worth $250B

The creator economy is valued at $250 billion globally. It has allowed many to ditch traditional careers and become online content-makers, gaining large audiences and influence that now rivals entertainment and news.  Creators now have teams of specialists and wield political clout, though most remain solo entrepreneurs with volatile income. The economy has made "influencer" a top career aspiration for youth.

TikTok and Instagram are the choice of Gen Z for shopping and product discovery

Retailers like Nike, Forever21, Lululemon, Urban Outfitters and Sephora are popular with Gen Z shoppers for their use of social media and technologies like augmented reality and self-checkout. A survey found Gen Z divides its attention across multiple platforms for shopping and other activities, with TikTok and Instagram most popular overall but differences by age - teens prefer YouTube more while older Gen Zers use Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit and X more.