Trump's new platform, Snapchats new feature & TikTok's new take on the way we market

This week, Trump returns to social media, Snapchat launches a live location feature and Tik Tok is infinitely better at selling than all of us.

Donald Trump launches his new social media platform 

Donald Trump is celebrating Presidents Day in the most Trumpesque way imaginable. The former president has released his own social media platform after he was publicly banned from Twitter, Facebook and Youtube more than a year ago for inciting violence. ‘Truth Social' officially launched on Apple’s App Store today and is being (self) touted as a ‘big tent’ platform where freedom of expression prevails, every political ideology is welcomed and users can follow the truth! (The exclamation mark is crucial). But Trump has pitched his tent on crowded land. His app joins a growing camp of companies positioning themselves as saviours of free speech, here to offer a place of refuge for users who feel that their voices are being suppressed. Welcome back, Trump. It’s like he never left.

Snapchat launches Live Location feature

Snapchat is officially the ‘text me when you get home’ friend. The platform has launched a new Live Location feature in partnership with It’s On Us, a nonprofit dedicated to sexual assault prevention. Users will be able to share their location in real time with chosen friends, allowing their movements to be tracked for a set duration. The feature is designed to give people a greater sense of personal security by empowering friends to keep each other safe from a distance. Snap users have been able to share their location via the Snap Map since 2017, but the new option allows a more location specific, granular tracking of a user’s movements. And before you ask, privacy considerations have been built into the feature to combat the potential negative consequences of a location tracking app. Good one, Snap.

We 👏 don’t 👏 want 👏 the 👏 funnel.

TikTok is continuing to change the marketing landscape with its new customer sales journey, The Infinite Loop. Inspired by behaviour on the platform, the infinite loop is a retail path with no start or end point and is designed to put power into the users’ hands. Rather than trying to force consumers onto the linear path of purchase, it integrates natively with the user experience and meets people where they are. Pretty great, right? It gets infinitely better. Whereas the funnel was designed for conversion, the infinite loop is designed for community. Brands don’t just show up when they have something to sell. They have a consistent presence, which means they can build more meaningful relationships, leading to more brand loyalty, repeat purchases and greater spending. At this point, TikTok is more of a culture driver than leaders of the free world.