Happy Friday Reader, ready for a strong sense of deja-vu?

Facebook is working on audio rooms. So is Twitter, with spaces. So are LinkedIn…and Spotify? Whether Clubhouse is really dead or not, there is an argument to be made about the power of audio marketing and whether it’s here to stay.

In other news, Amazon Deepfake accounts have been wreaking havoc on Twitter, whilst Instagram is doubling-down against TikTok.

On, and if you are looking for examples of April Fool done well, check out these QR-coded cows.

Yeo Valley Organic’s “Moo-R” codes were born after the British company “shaved the codes into its 400 Fresian cows”. Scanning one takes you to a website purporting to be a social network for the herd. Genius.

This bit of news introduces 2x new sections of the newsletter:

• Campaign spotlight: all about exciting campaigns and stunts from awesome brands - that you can learn from
• Guide of the week: with insights and goodness on a specific marketing topic

Let's get right into some goodness 👇

Fab

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE 🎙

Instagram has been dabbling with the idea of hiding likes for quite a while now. Likes and followers are often considered vanity metrics.

As a refresh, vanity metrics include any sort of catchy analytics that may be satisfying on paper, but cannot be attached to clear business goals. They may look good on a report, but no context for future marketing decisions, something actionable metrics can do. Basically, every good marketer’s nightmare. Why you may ask? Because every client you work with will obsess over them.

Reframe your marketing tracking efforts by looking at other powerful metrics for your accounts.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• 🗃Corporate ploy or simple coincidence? Amazon Deepfake accounts have been wreaking havoc on Twitter. These accounts were likely to be parodies created to mock the company. However, they raise some very important questions about the future of transparency on social.​
• 💰After launching an initial test of IGTV ads with US creators in May last year, Instagram has now announced an expansion of the program, with selected creators in the UK and Australia now eligible to activate ads on their IGTV uploads.
• 📈 Late last week, TikTok began rolling out a new 'Playlists' feature with selected creators, which enables users to group their TikTok clips into themed collections. This could be an amazing way to make it easier to quickly access specific content on the platform.
• 👀 It was just a matter of time before the rise of audio-based social interaction on other networks.It comes as no surprise to find out that LinkedIn is also developing its own audio rooms product to tap into the trend and connect professionals around niche, industry discussions.
• 🎊LinkedIn’s looking to help users share more of their personal story, and maximize their on-platform presence, with the addition of a range of new features for individual member profiles in the app.
• 👋 Looking to access Clubhouse on your desktop? Clubdeck - Get Clubhouse on your desktop with this unofficial Clubhouse client for MacOS + Windows.
• 🎧Spotify bought Locker Room app's in order to tap into audio marketing and reach a wider range of creators and fans, offering a range of sports, music and cultural programming along with interactive features.

CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTS

• 🥥Learn how Vita Coco works with a tech company to identify relevant trends early and jump on those conversations before they disappear into TikTok's perpetual feed and out of consumers' minds.
• 🛍Anthropologie, the clothing and home furnishings retailer owned by Urban Outfitters, created the first digital-only catalog for its AnthroLiving collection on Pinterest. Visitors to the photo-sharing platform will see an immersive and interactive look at Anthropologie's spring home assortment, per an announcement emailed to Marketing Dive.
• 🌟Dove is promoting inclusivity in advertising by offering to subsidize the cost of hiring diverse talent incurred by other brands, according to Dove South Africa's website and a newly posted YouTube video from Dove South Africa about the effort. The "It's On Us" campaign, which began in 2020 and is continuing this year, is an extension of Dove's Project #ShowUs to create a collection of more than 10,000 images that depict a more inclusive vision of beauty for advertisers and media outlets.

MARKETING GUIDE

⚡️Learn how to run your very own Instagram audit. How to re-assess your Instagram content, your profile, and your followers with this step-by-step guide.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

🟣 Matt Navarra @MattNavarra Instagram is now testing its ‘Remix’ feature for Reels publicly It’s basically Instagram’s copy of TikTok’s ‘Stitch’ feature h/t @riodevale pic.twitter.com/fN7XdAn58W March 26th 2021 23 Retweets 54 Likes

Instagram is working to add a remix option into Reels, going back to its never-ending crusade against TikTok. The feature is now being tested with some users in the app — mostly knows as ‘duets’ on TikTok, could open a whole new avenue of collaborations on Instagram.