Social Media

YouTube Adds New ‘Creator Liason’ to Improve Relationships with Creators

Over the last year, YouTube has been working to improve its relationship with creators, after various decisions in the past which have negatively impacted monetization, distribution and more. Those efforts have seen significant improvements in its systems, and have been largely welcomed by the creative community – but then, earlier this month, the platform announced that it generated some $15 billion in ad revenue for 2019, up 36% from the previous year. That’s obviously a great result for YouTube, but creators have rightfully questioned where their cut of that huge chunk of change might be. While the systems have improved, if YouTube is generating billions off their work, there’s seemingly more opportunity for better revenue share and profit mechanisms for them. That means that YouTube may need to do more to facilitate better relationships, and ensure that its creators have an even stronger voice into the future. Aligning with this, YouTube has this week announced the appointment of a new “Head Creator Liason” who will be tasked with advocating on behalf of creators from inside the company.

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Facebook Adds New Option to Create 3D Photos from Any 2D Image

Facebook has added a new element to its 3D photos option, with its system now able to simulate depth in any image, enabling you to convert any static picture into a 3D post. As explained by Facebook: “Our 3D Photos feature has [thus far] relied on the dual-lens “portrait mode” capabilities available only in new, higher-end smartphones, so it hasn’t been available on typical mobile devices, which have only a single, rear-facing camera. To bring this new visual format to more people, we have used state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to produce 3D photos from virtually any standard 2D picture. This system infers the 3D structure of any image, whether it is a new shot just taken on an Android or iOS device with a standard single camera, or a decades-old image recently uploaded to a phone or laptop.”

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Marketing

Amazon Search Ads: How to Advertise on Amazon – Profitably

The early days — just a few years ago — of cheap clicks, little competition and a buggy interface with little reporting are gone. Amazon advertising formats and inventory have evolved dramatically, and marketers and Amazon sellers are flocking to the platform. More competition means advertisers need to be savvier to ensure they’re ad campaigns are profitable. Calculating your COGS (cost of goods sold) and all seller fees is key to running profitable search ad campaigns on Amazon, says Kaitlin McGrew, senior SEM manager at Houston-based PMG Digital Agency. In addition to the monthly Amazon seller subscription fee and per-item closing and referral fees, you may also incur sales tax service fees as well as various storage and inventory fees if you’re using Amazon’s FBA fulfillment program, McGrew said in a talk on “Driving Profitable Sales with Amazon Search Ads” at our SMX West conference last month.

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Pinterest Reaches 60% of US Women; Here’s What They’re Searching For

Pinterest published a new report ahead of International Women’s Day which details what its largest demographic is searching for. Traditionally, Pinterest has seen more use among women than men. The report indicates that Pinterest reaches 60% of all US women, including 80% of moms and 75% of millennial women. The report also emphasizes the purchasing power of women worldwide, stating: “As the global income of women reaches trillions of dollars, women are expected to control almost 75% of discretionary spending worldwide by 2028.” In addition to using Pinterest to find ideas for dinner, travel, home and clothing, women are also looking to Pinterest for support and empowerment. “Everything from traveling solo, living (and budgeting) with a partner, negotiating a tough salary, to buying a first home — no choice is too big.”

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