Krista Neher

Nov 09 2018

Members of our Digital Marketing Insiders get first look at the November 2018 Digital Marketing Updates plus answers to their questions. Want to join? Learn more here! 

Facebook News Updates

• Facebook Q3 Earnings – Facebook user numbers are growing slowly (but not declining) and revenue is up 33% (although this is below target). Overall not great, but not terrible for Facebook – especially given all the data/privacy issues they’ve had.
• Facebook has new Video Ad Options – There are 2 main updates here – one option allows you to pay only for 15 second views, which can be a great way to make sure that your content is driving impact. The second is that they announced premium mid-roll placements where ads are only seen on “quality” content (although this is questionable in execution).
• Facebook Messenger 4 Gives Prominence to Brands – Facebook launched Messenger 4 with a number of enhancements, but most notably the “Discover” tab makes it easier for people to find and connect with Brands and Businesses.
• Facebook Launches 3D PHOTOS!!! – If you haven’t seen them yet you will probably find them in your newsfeed soon. Facebook launched 3D photos which are really cool and certainly have thumb-stopping power.
• Facebook Attribution Dashboard Lets to Track Sales Better – If you sell on your site and use the Facebook Pixel correctly you can now gain attribution data – you can see exactly which ads contributed to your sales over time – even with multiple ads and touchpoints involved. Bye-bye last click.
• Facebook Launches First Party Cookies – This is more relevant for larger and more complex advertisers, but as more and more browsers block third party cookies, Facebook is allowing businesses to use First-party cookies to directly track people online.
• Facebook Premiers Rolls out to Global Pages – Think of a Premier as a pre-recorded live. It gets great visibility in notifications, the format can be longer and the intention is to drive people to watch live at a set time. The content for a Premier must not be previously published, but the pre-recorded format offers better control and production quality.
• Facebook Reduces Low Quality Ads – They do this periodically. Check out what they are looking for (like engagement bait, sensational language and withholding information) to make sure your ads aren’t impacted.
• Facebook Instant Forms Allow Lead Gen on Other Ad Times – Formerly you could only collect lead information on a lead ad. Now you can get lead info on Facebook reach and traffic ads as well, which could make them much more powerful as you can create multi-purpose creative campaigns.
• Facebook Creative Compass Measures Creative Impact – This was recently announced and looks like a good way to measure the creative impact of Facebook ads. The metrics look promising to help businesses create more compelling creative for the platform.
• Facebook Previously Had mislead in Video View Counts – A few years ago Facebook updated their analytics and noted that they were miscalculating (inflating) video views. This lead to a lawsuit, and it now looks like the problem was bigger. This doesn’t really impact anything currently, but it is getting  a lot of attention so good to know.
• Facebook Portal – Facebook has a new in-home device (like the Amazon Video one) that allows you to have video calls directly from an in-home device. This puts Facebook in the field with Google Home and Echo.

Instagram News Updates

• Teens use Instagram more than SnapChat – It is official – Instagram is used more by teens vs. Snapchat (although they prefer Snapchat). If you are looking to reach teens Instagram may be an easier way (if you already use Facebook especially) vs. trying to get started on Snapchat.
• Instagram Founders Leave Facebook – Maybe not relevant, but just FYI 😉
• Instagram Launches Nametag – This allows you to scan other users “Name Tags” to connect with them on Instagram. Snapchat has had this functionality for a while, so it is interesting to see Instagram follow suit. Be sure to create one for your business. Here is a guide on how to use them as a business.
• Stitch Together Instagram Video Stories – This is interesting if you are using stories – you can now “stitch” together multiple 15 second videos into a longer video.
• Instagram offers Quick Replies for Businesses – If you get a lot of questions or have a lot of interactions this can make it quicker to respond. This is great if you do a lot of customer service.

Twitter News

• Twitter Looks to Grow Ad Revenue with Search Ads – Twitter is still around a kicking – and hoping to grow ad revenue with new search ad offerings. Nothing yet, but stay tuned.

LinkedIn News Updates

• LinkedIn Talent Insights – Allows businesses to harness LinkedIn data to better understand their talent strategy. This gives you tons of data on where talent is and how you can make your business more appealing. Seeing a social network cross over to become a data provide is also a big innovation in social media and a trend worth watching.
• LinkedIn Sponsored Content can be Tracked with Google – Connecting the dots between your online marketing is always tricky. This update allows you to see ad performance and attribution on your site!
• LinkedIn and Bing Partnership Allows Bing Ads to Target LinkedIn Profiles – This could be HUGE – one of the biggest challenges with LinkedIn ads is they are SO EXPENSIVE and not very impactful. This new partnership allows you to target users by their LinkedIn profiles on Bing Ads. Very cool.

Snapchat News Updates

• Snap Camera for Desktop – If you want to use Snapchat on your computer you can now with Snap Camera. This makes the app more accessible and easier to use for brands/people that work on computers vs. phones.
• EVEN MORE LENSES – You can check them out 😉

Google+ News Updates

• G+ for G Suite Lives On – Google is rebranding as an internal social network, which could have some potential as so many small businesses use GMail. Not a marketing platform probably, but a communication platform for businesses.

YouTube News Updates

• YouTube Premiers Available for All – This allows businesses to do live “Premiers” to show new content and generate excitement around a “live” event (with recorded content).
• YouTube Changes Engagement Counts – It now counts engagements at 10 seconds instead of 30 seconds so you may see changes in your analytics.
• YouTube Ad Extensions Make Ads More Impactful – You can now add more information with Ad Extensions to make your ads even more impactful.

Digital Ads News Updates

• Video Ads Make up 25% of All Ads – Think videos in your ad strategy if you want to break through the noise and stand out!

Search News Updates

• Google My Business Adds Branded Search Reporting – You can now see the types of searches that drove traffic to your listing – including branded searches.

Industry News and Research

• Reminder: Top messaging apps are BIGGER than top social networks. It is helpful to keep this in mind as you consider your strategy and plans for 2019. Messaging could be a growth opportunity for your business.
• Facebook Report on How Messaging Impacts Path to Purchase – Check out this new report to better understand how messaging can be relevant for you.
• Reddit has over 1 Billion Video Views – If you’ve ignored Reddit as a syndication and community platform this may be the time to reconsider. Reddit has a large and growing community and they also share and watch TONS of videos.
• Social Listening Platforms are Merging – This could mean that the platform you use gets more functionality. It also suggests the industry will become dominated by a handful of core players.
• Advertisers are Thinking about Voice Search – As there are 70 million voice devices in homes (plus voice search on mobile grows) brands are looking to get in on it. Check out these examples of brands participating and the challenges.

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