Instagram and TikTok have become indispensable for D2C businesses. Here, Foot introduces the latest trends on these social media platforms.
There have been all sorts of updates this month, so we’ve got plenty of the latest news!
Consumer Affairs Agency Issues Cease-and-Desist Order Against Breast-Enlargement Supplements Promoted on Instagram, Citing “Lack of Evidence”
The Consumer Affairs Agency has issued an administrative order to two companies, “Akugarage” and “Assist,” demanding they cease certain advertising claims regarding supplements posted on Instagram that claim to increase breast size when consumed, on the grounds that these claims lack scientific basis and violate the Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.
According to the agency, the two companies have been collaborating since 2018 to sell two types of supplements: the capsule-type “Jewel Up” and the powder-type “Mote Ange.”
In exchange for providing the products free of charge, the company instructed at least 15 Instagrammers to post photos of the products along with keywords such as “##BustUp” and “##BiggerBreasts.”
However, when both companies were asked to provide evidence demonstrating the breast-enhancing effects, they failed to do so, which led to this action.
This is the first time an Instagram post has been found to violate the Act on the Display of Prices and Other Matters Concerning Goods and Services.
From the Perspective of a Food Social Media Manager
This is the first case in which an Instagram post has been found to violate the Act on the Labeling and Advertising of Foods. In particular, the fact that the post instructed the user to engage in stealth marketing has been cited as a problem.
As the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law continues to become stricter, it’s important to keep in mind that posts commissioned from influencers are treated as advertisements and must always include the “#PR” disclosure, and that hashtags may also be treated as advertisements.
When implementing influencer campaigns, let’s take a moment to consider whether we’re planning and executing them in a way that aligns with our objectives.
Instagram's Creator Subscription Service Set to Launch Soon; Revealed in App Store Description
It has been revealed that Instagram is developing a feature called “Exclusive Stories,” which will be accessible only to subscribers of Creator Subscriptions.
Instagram has long stated that it plans to make the platform more user-friendly for creators by expanding its creator tools and introducing features such as subscriptions.
Once the subscription service is launched, fans will be able to pay a fee to access exclusive content from their favorite creators.
Although the full details of the subscription plan have not yet been revealed, it is expected that more information will be provided in the future.
From the Perspective of a Food Social Media Manager
It sounds like the scope of creators' activities is set to expand even further. In particular, this time around, fan communities—similar to online salons—will be established on Instagram.
From the company’s perspective, it may be necessary to reevaluate how it engages with creators and to work with them to develop products based on what they want to create, among other things, to ensure alignment.
This trend is making it easier for creators to monetize their work.
Instagram Expands Action Buttons to Beauty Salon Reservations
On November 10, Instagram announced that it would expand the availability of its “Action Button”—previously limited to restaurants and other food and beverage establishments—to include beauty salons as well.
This will allow accounts for businesses such as hair salons and nail salons to display a “Book Now” button on their Instagram profiles, encouraging users to make appointments.
With the introduction of action buttons, users can complete every step—from discovering hair and nail salons to booking appointments—entirely on Instagram.
In addition, beauty salons that have enabled this feature will have a “Book Now” button displayed on the map search function introduced this past June, allowing them to encourage users searching for nearby hair salons or nail salons to make appointments.
From the Perspective of a Food Social Media Manager
When choosing a hair salon or beauty salon, customers prioritize “proximity” and “price.”
In addition to this, I think Instagram is better at conveying the atmosphere, personality, and technical skills of our business in an appealing way. Going forward, we plan to use Hot Pepper and Instagram to encourage repeat customers to follow us on Instagram. Once they do, I believe we’ll be able to smoothly encourage them to make reservations through Stories.
We have begun testing the sharing of videos under 15 minutes as Reels
On November 17, Instagram announced that it would begin testing a feature where videos of 15 minutes or less shared as feed posts will be shared as Reels.
This test is being launched in two countries—Japan and Indonesia—and will allow users to access some of the Reels editing tools for videos 15 minutes or shorter. Additionally, videos will appear in the Reels tab, increasing the likelihood that they will be viewed by more users.
If you post a video longer than 15 minutes (up to 60 minutes), it will be shared as an Instagram video rather than a Reel and will appear in the Videos tab on your profile.
Additionally, there are no changes to Instagram Live, Stories, or archived live streams, and even if a video is 15 minutes or shorter, it will not be displayed as a Reel.
Futo's Perspective on Social Media Management
Reels is the feature Instagram is currently focusing on the most, and it helps increase an account’s reach and impressions.
Since Instagram is moving toward categorizing videos as either Reels or other video types going forward, it looks like we’ll need to rethink our strategy for short videos like Reels.
In the real estate industry, there’s Parco Home (https://www.
Launching in-stream ads on Facebook to help creators monetize their content
The company announced that it will begin offering in-stream ads—ads that can be inserted before, after, or during video content on Facebook—in Japan.
This allows creators who meet the eligibility requirements to insert business ads into the videos they post on Facebook, thereby generating a steady stream of income.
With Facebook In-Stream ads, you can insert 15-second ads before, after, or during the playback of video content that is 1 minute or longer.
Ads can be inserted not only into videos that creators will post in the future, but also into videos that have already been published (provided they were published by November 16).
Futo's Perspective on Social Media Management
Since Facebook is increasingly focusing on videos (Reels) and a creator-first approach, I feel it was only a matter of time before ads started appearing between videos posted in the past.
In a way, it might be similar to YouTube ads. Since many people are already accustomed to ads appearing before, after, or in the middle of videos on YouTube, this may be a platform where users accept ads without resistance. This is something ad managers should definitely keep an eye on.
I also wonder if, for example, by inserting ads between specific videos, a monetization system similar to Google AdSense might eventually be established from the creators' perspective.
We currently manage about 30 accounts, specializing in services for D2C companies and companies that operate e-commerce platforms.
I'm not sure how to go about it, but I'm interested in Instagram strategies specifically tailored for D2C. How do I get started?If that sounds like you, please feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to discuss this further, including more detailed examples!
