TikTok teases new app to rival Instagram: Social media competition

TikTok users have posted screenshots of a notification from the company advertising a new app that may rival Meta's (META) Instagram. As the battle for social media supremacy heats up, can TikTok stay ahead of the curve or at least keep up with the competition?

DoubleVerify CEO Mark Zagorski joins Yahoo Finance to break down this latest development from TikTok and the future of social media competition.

Zagorski elaborates on TikTok's attractiveness to advertisers despite Washington's legislative battle against its parent company, ByteDance: "We have not seen any slow down in spend across TikTok. I think, the current political environment notwithstanding, advertisers know it's a solid platform to engage users. We've seen the demos get better across that platform over time moving from kids and teens to now a lot of the politicians who are even talking against TikTok are still on the platform and still, showing, for lack of a better term. We've not seen ad spend move now."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

- The fight for user attention on social media is heating up. TikTok users posting screenshots online of a notification regarding a new app from TikTok, one that can potentially rival Meta's Instagram. Here to discuss is the CEO of DoubleVerify, Mark Zagorski. Mark, it's great to see you.

It's not a new thing for-- to see social media platforms sort of copying each other. But TikTok has been sort of a one trick pony. A very good trick in the eyes of most users but a one trick pony nonetheless. I mean, how big a deal would this be if it was doing a photo service in addition to its video posting service?

MARK ZAGORSKI: I mean, look, I think it's a pretty big deal. We've seen this before, as you noted, you know, when these social platforms have really heavily engaged audiences that are captive audiences. They're going to look to monetize them every way they possibly can. And this was exemplified earlier when we saw, for example, Facebook launching Threads, an X competitor. We've seen platforms like Amazon, for example, start pushing Prime and ads across Prime. So it's just an example of a monetization play of a really attractive demo that continues to grow and is super engaged.

- Do we know, Mark, what the appetite right now is among marketers for TikTok and whether there's been any kind of shift there or change, Mark, given what we're seeing on Capitol Hill?

MARK ZAGORSKI: So we work with TikTok on the brand safety front and we've been doing that for the last few years, helping ensure advertisers spend is measured and brand safety violations flagged. We have not seen any slowdown in spend across TikTok. I think the current political environment notwithstanding, advertisers know it's a really solid platform to engage users.

We've seen the demos get better across that platform over time moving from kids and teens to now a lot of the politicians who are even talking against TikTok are still on the platform and still shilling, for lack of a better term. So we've not seen ad spend move. Now, obviously, if something should happen in DC, those dollars would change. But TikTok's a big platform. US is a big market for them but they're all around the world.

- I'm curious, you know, because this is not the first time we've had this discussion about TikTok at least being divested, right? We had that discussion a few years ago. Are advertisers owner agnostic? In other words, did you see them-- because it seemed like it was getting closer last round around than it-- than it has yet this time. Do advertisers tend to make changes or contingency plans in advance of those kinds of potential events?

MARK ZAGORSKI: The digital world is one which is pretty agile. So dollars can move pretty seamlessly from platform to platform pretty quickly. So advertisers become relatively reactive when things happen. Now, with regard to ownership changes, really, I think the advertisers will look to see is the engagement level still the same, is it an environment in which their brands can be safe, and is it one where they can kind of establish their global footprint. And if that still remains, I think TikTok still remains a viable entity for advertisers no matter who owns it.

- Mark, also just more broadly just to get your take on just kind of just the overall digital ad market right now, how healthy and resilient it looks to you, Mark? I would think this would be a good year just given, listen, the Olympics and the election, right?

MARK ZAGORSKI: Yeah. You've got a lot of outside forces, right, that are providing tailwinds. You mentioned Olympics and the elections would certainly push more dollars. And we're going to have probably the heaviest digital spending election in the history of the world this year. And that's not just in the US, this is around the globe.

So digital ad spend is expected to grow year over year I do think that we are seeing the larger platforms take a lion's share of that growth, particularly as they lean more heavily into personalized experiences, engagement that draws users in, and then create a safer environment than maybe that's been there in the past.

- Mark, it's great to see you. Thanks for joining us.

MARK ZAGORSKI: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.