Inclusive Marketing News #32: TikTok’s Ranking Algorithm Leaked & PLT’s Rebrand

Welcome back to our bi-weekly recap of industry news, including exciting social media updates, important disability and inclusion related news, and our favourite marketing campaigns.

In this week’s inclusive marketing news round up, we talk about TikTok’s leaked algorithm, Instagram’s potential new Reels app, Pretty Little Thing’s rebrand, and lots more, including our favourite campaign of the week by Women’s Aid.

If you want to be like these brands, and be known for your amazing inclusive work, or you want to start your inclusion journey, contact us today. You can also subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter to be up-to-date with the latest news.

TikTok’s Ranking Algorithm Leaked

No, we haven’t stolen some super secret TikTok information, but it seems like this leaked screenshot might show us some interesting insights into how the platform is ranking your content. Is this real? No one knows, and TikTok hasn’t confirmed it yet, but it definitely makes some sense to us, so let’s go through it.

There seems to be a points system with the following rankings:

• Likes: 1 point
• Comments: 2 points
• Reposts: 3 points
• Watching until the end: 4 points
• Rewatching: 5 points

Then your video goes through different levels, getting more or less engagement based on which level it ends up at.

First, your video is shown to a small group of users to gauge initial engagement, and depending on the points it receives, it moves to the next level where it’s shown to more people. This process continues until the video’s engagement starts to go down (less points), and the platform stops pushing it to more users.

Whether TikTok uses a points system or not is unclear, but it’s definitely true that the more people engage with your content, the more the app will push it to more and more audiences. So make sure you create content that people will not only want to watch, but also repost and share with their friends.

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Will the PLT Rebrand Work?

The fast fashion brand, Pretty Little Thing, has recently had a rebrand. This included deleting all their past content, creating a new logo with more nude tones, and changing the style of the brand to a more ‘quiet luxury’ aesthetic.

Umar Kamani, owner of PLT, has said this new PLT will be ‘much better than the old one’. They’re focusing on more timeless and elevated styles, creating luxury clothes that are available to all.

Even though this ‘quiet luxury’ style seems to be a trend that is growing in the fashion industry, it might leave their customers confused. And in fact, as I scrolled down their comments section I spotted many upset customers wanting the pink unicorns back.

Rebrands are never an easy thing to navigate, however, it feels like PLT’s has caught everyone off guard. It’s definitely early stages so we cannot say for certain if this will end up being a positive move for the brand, but it definitely feels like customers are divided at the moment. In any case, fashion is an ever changing industry, so it’s great to see brands adapt to the needs of their customers, including a stronger focus on sustainability – which has always been a complaint for the Boohoo Group’s brand.

If any of the PLT team is reading this, this would definitely be a great time to put more emphasis on inclusion, show different body sizes and disabilities on the website, create an inclusive range of sizes, make adaptive collections, etc. If you’re adapting to the new era of customers, inclusion will definitely be on their minds, and this rebrand is the perfect blank slate for it!

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Cinemas Offering Subtitle Glasses for Deaf Film Fans

These subtitle glasses were first launched in 2024, and trialled in different cinemas across the UK. Now, a Kent cinema has become the first one in the South East to own two pairs of this life-changing glasses.

We focus on inclusion and accessibility, so if you’re thinking why not films include subtitles from the get-go, we are with you there, and however ideal that would be, that’s not the case in real life. Subtitled sessions seem to not be as popular with audiences, so the number of those have been significantly reduced.

These glasses allow Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to enjoy films without worrying about finding a subtitled session. Through technology, the glasses process the soundtrack of the film being watched and turn it into captions, which then the wearer can read in front of their own eyes.

This technology is expensive, which means only a limited selection of cinemas can offer this accessible option, but we’re hoping more and more glasses become available across the country! Everyone deserves to enjoy a cinema night with their friends.

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Is Instagram Launching a Separate App for Reels?

It seems like every week we talk about a new potential social media app, but for this one there are just rumours.

The Meta app is reportedly thinking about creating a separate platform only for its Reels content. Yes, basically another TikTok app. And this might come from all the unknown future of the Chinese app in the United States, with Meta wanting to leverage having a video-focused app ready in case TikTok disappears.

We’re used to this industry changing constantly, so we’ll have to keep an eye and see what happens. And even though I can see where they’re coming from, I don’t think a new app might be the solution. If Meta wants more engaged users, maybe focusing on making the current platform more accessible would be a better way to approach this situation.

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Instagram Shares Tips to Help Creators Break Through

Instagram wants creators to grow, and it shows with the constant advice and help they share.

This time, they talk about how your content can be seen by more people, and it’s not surprising to see that it’s a very similar method than the one TikTok might be using, as seen at the beginning of this article. Your videos are shown to followers and non-followers that the app thinks might be interested in your niche, if they engage with your content, it’s then pushed to a new audience, and that keeps going on and on.

Users’ engagement behaviours have changed, so this method is meant to adapt to this and help creators break through. Apart from this new changes, the platform also recommends users to:

• Post regularly
• Create content that can stand on its own
• Amplify your content with audio
• Continue experimenting
• Embrace unpredictability

Remember that having lots followers might help, but engagement is the real element that makes content and creators reach a wider audience. So if you’re a brand, and are struggling to find the right creators for your next influencer campaign, send us an email and we’ll find the perfect diverse group of people for you.

Also, did you know that creating accessible content on Instagram also helps your content reach a wider audience? 👀

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Trend Spotlight: Me The Next Day 

@cayanafreeman

Someone please explain the offside rule again!😩😩 #foryou #premierleague #sportspresenter #footballreporter #girlsinsports #fyp

♬ That dont impress me much – MusicVideos102 👑

This trend has been going on for a while now, but with International Women’s Day just passed, we needed to include it in this news recap. It’s a fun take on situations where men might try to impress women in the wrong way, by mansplaining things they are already experts in.

It’s a great way to share your niche and attract the right audience to your page!

Campaign Spotlight: Women’s Aid

Ahead of the Spring Spending Review, Women’s Aid has launched ‘The Monster Who Came to Tea’ campaign to urge the UK Government to reassess domestic abuse funding.

The short film shows a mum and a daughter reading a story book where a monster knocks on their door and asks to be let in. To the outside, this monster is nice and friendly, but the moment he goes inside, chaos erupts. It’s a powerful campaign that shows the reality that a lot of women and families across the world face every day.

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Conclusion

Make sure to come back to check our bi-weekly news recap with the latest inclusive updates in the marketing and social media worlds. That’s all for this week, but don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok for more news and exciting content.

And learn more about Purple Goat, the inclusive marketing experts, on our website!