Social Media

YouTube Launches Updated Desktop and Tablet App Layout

YouTube is rolling out a new desktop and tablet app update which utilizes an updated presentation style, and provides additional control options. The updated format provides more room for each preview panel, enabling additional context on each from the main screen. In addition to this, YouTube has also added an ‘Add to Queue’ option, which will make it easier for users to quickly build video playlists. And YouTube’s also adding its ‘Don’t Recommend Channel’ option to the desktop version. The feature was launched on mobile earlier in the year, providing an additional way to control the content recommendations that YouTube provides. The changes are relatively small, in a broader sense, but they add extra functionality to YouTube on desktop, which will help improve navigation, while also better showcasing content from the main screen. That could also provide some additional considerations for marketers, depending on where the majority of your YouTube traffic comes from, though the impacts in this sense are minimal.

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Marketing

WhatsApp rolls out SMB product ‘Catalogs’ to support local discovery and commerce

Facebook is now formally rolling it out in selected markets including Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, UK and the U.S., with more countries coming soon. Catalog allows businesses on WhatsApp to showcase products and services and share them with customers via the app’s messaging function. Consumers can also discover businesses and see and browse products directly on the business profile. It’s not entirely clear but it doesn’t appear that businesses will be able (at this point) to sell directly on WhatsApp. But they can link to pages where products can be sold or other conversions can happen. hatsApp is positioning itself as a complete commerce platform for small businesses. Although transactional capabilities are currently not present, I would expect them to be introduced in the future. 

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Salesforce launches hybrid Content Management System built to integrate with other platforms

Salesforce launched a new content management platform on Thursday, the Salesforce Content Management System. By entering the CMS space, Salesforce aims to give content marketing teams a tool anyone can use — “from novices to experts” reads the announcement — and capable of creating personalized content powered by Salesforce CRM data. Salesforce calls it a “hybrid” CMS, meaning users can create, manage and deliver content on the platform, and then distribute to other digital platforms not powered by Salesforce by using the company’s Experience Builder or Commerce Page designer tools. Marketing teams already plugged into Salesforce’s CRM will now be able to create more personalized content at scale via the company’s new content management system. And, if the CMS is as user-friendly as it is being billed to be — and actually does integrate with other platforms — teams won’t be limited based on their design resources, nor will the content be restricted to the Salesforce ecosystem.

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New Report Examines the Impact of Instagram’s Hidden Likes Experiment on Influencer Engagement

This week, influencer marketing platform HypeAuditor has released a study of content from more than 154k Instagram influencers, each of whom sees at least 30% of their following coming from users in the regions in which Instagram’s hidden Like counts test is currently running. For context, Instagram’s hidden like counts test is currently live for users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Brazil, Japan and New Zealand. The results here are not definitive – while they do reflect an overall reduction in Like activity in regions impacted by the change, HypeAuditor’s categorization (influencers with 30% of their following in the test regions) does leave a few questions around the specific methodology. But the data does show that the removal of total Like counts is seemingly having some impact on overall engagement stats for influencers. So, if you’re an influencer, you may well see a reduction in your Instagram engagement – but then again, that wouldn’t definitively impact reach, or even engagement on balance. The data provides some interesting, yet non-definitive, insights into the Instagram Like test. Hopefully, Instagram will soon be able to provide more clarity around the impacts that it’s seeing and recording within the test regions.

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Social Media

Facebook Has Discovered Another Data Access Issue, This Time Within Groups

This week, on the Facebook Developer blog, the company has revealed that a flaw in its Groups API may have enabled up to 100 app partners to access group member information, like names and profile pictures, in connection with group activity. Facebook made significant changes to its APIs to limit access in April 2018. As a result, Facebook says that up to 100 developers may have been able to access this information since it announced restrictions to the Groups API. Facebook says that the apps which could have accessed this information were primarily social media management and video streaming apps. Trust in Facebook is already at all-time lows, and every time there’s another issue like this, it not only reminds people of Facebook’s previous issues, but it also raises the specter of what else could be. If they’ve just now detected yet another flaw, surely there are other ways developers are still able to extract Facebook data.

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Facebook’s Testing an Improved Facial Recognition Process for Identity Verification

Facebook is reportedly developing a new process for a facial recognition system which would enable users to confirm their identity by sharing a video selfie. The new process would guide users through a process of angling their head around in different angles, in order for Facebook to get a full record of what the user looks like. As noted by TechCrunch at the time, the option could be particularly helpful if you’re unable to receive a two-factor authentication SMS, or if you lose access to your email account, adding another way to verify your identity and unlock your Facebook profile. But then again, it does feel a little creepy, especially given Facebook’s current reputation around personal data use and sharing. There’s no word on whether or when this feature will be released, but as noted, Facebook has been working on it for years, and from the screenshots, it does look fairly well along in its development. 

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Facebook Launches Next Steps in Full Messaging Encryption Plan

Facebook looks set to push ahead with its plan to add end-to-end encryption in all its messaging apps, with the company planning to announce the next phase of its process at a tech conference in Lisbon this week. The new section of the Messenger website provides simple overviews on how to use the various Messenger privacy functions, while it also includes links to Facebook’s policies and documentation on platform rules and systems. By raising awareness of such tools – specifically the existing encryption option – Facebook will be hoping to increase usage, and subsequently move further towards enabling full encryption in all messaging interactions. The next step then will be to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram messaging into a single, cross-connected platform, Facebook’s next big messaging play.

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Marketing

Google extends Shopping ads to more YouTube inventory

Google is expanding the visibility of Shopping campaigns on YouTube. Showcase Shopping ads are also going more places and opening up to more categories. Finally, sitelinks are coming to TrueView for action ads, the company announced Tuesday. Shopping ads can now show on the YouTube home feed and YouTube search results. On mobile, users will be able to scroll through a carousel of “Suggested Products” that will appear between videos on the home page or at the top of the search results. Google has long made the argument that users display shopping intent on YouTube just as they do on Google Search. It first introduced TrueView for Shopping and Shopping ads on YouTube in 2015. The company says it has seen watch time for “holiday shopping” videos on YouTube increase by more than 4X in the past two years, for example. These announcements are further indication of the power of Shopping ads and Google’s eagerness to keep finding more places to show them.

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Social Media

Pinterest Officially Announces New Pin Format Release

After it was spotted by several users over the last few weeks, Pinterest has now officially confirmed the roll out of its updated Pin format, which includes some minor functional tweaks, and separates each Pin element for more specific focus. The update will increase the size of the main Pin image, and give it increased focus, with minimal borders. That’s more specifically aligned with vertical, mobile viewing, and in some ways, mimics the presentation of Stories on other platforms. The change aligns with Pinterest’s updated business profile format, which it announced in September – the new business profile layout will enable brands to use custom images, or even video, in their header section, and will include a new ‘Shop’ tab. It’s taken a few months for Pinterest to make it official, but now, the platform says that the new format is in the process of being rolled out to all users.

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Facebook Launches New Work Groups to Connect with Coworkers on the Platform

Facebook has launched a new groups option called ‘work groups’, which, Facebook says, will help people “connect with their coworkers more easily”. The option seeks to reduce the need to connect with every person you work with, and let them into your more personal interactions. By creating a specific group only for work colleagues, you can keep the two elements separate, with only your work-related information showing up in your work group profile. The option also enables work group members to send messages to each other, without needing to be Facebook friends. It seems like a fairly minor option, but it does cater to a need to better protect user privacy, while also facilitating connection through the app. This option provides a new way to utilize the functional capacity of such connection, while still maintaining some boundaries. 

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Facebook to limit number of ads Pages can run simultaneously

Facebook announced on Thursday that it will be implementing a limit on the number of ads a Page can run at the same time. To prepare advertisers for the limitations, coming mid-next year, the company is releasing a new version of its Marketing API that includes an Ad Volume API to show the volume of ads running or in review in an ad account. The company said it will share more details about the limits early next year. Currently, the Ad Volume API will show how many ads a Page is running across accounts, and in the future, will include how many ads a Page is permitted to use. Facebook said future ad limits will only affect a small percentage of advertisers. You’ll have a better sense of whether you’ll be impacted when Facebook releases additional details. The change will not go into effect until mid-2020.

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Marketing

Google ramps up investment in wearable technology, enters deal to buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion

Google parent Alphabet is buying fitness tracker and smartwatch maker Fitbit in a deal that values the company at $2.1 billion. Android Wear devices have not kept up with the Apple Watch, which dominates the wearables market (along with AirPods). Google will use the acquisition to build next-generation wearables according to Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President, Devices & Services. He said in a blog post that the company sees “an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market . . . By working closely with Fitbit’s team of experts, and bringing together the best AI, software and hardware, we can help spur innovation in wearables and build products to benefit even more people around the world.” Google Assistant is becoming the focus of the Google cross-platform user experience and with it the conversational UI. BERT‘s importance thus comes into sharper relief as a key technology/tool for understanding more and more spoken commands and queries. And though “voice search” hasn’t lived up to the hype (yet), it’s the key interface that links experiences across Google’s growing array of connected devices.

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Social Media

Twitter Bans All Political Ads in Response to Concerns Around Misinformation

While the debate around how social platforms should address political speech and misinformation intensifies, Twitter has made the major announcement that it will move to ban all political ads on its platform, in order to distance itself from such concerns. Dorsey says that the power of targeted social media advertising brings significant risks to politics, “where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions”. Dorsey’s stance comes in stark contrast to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who recently gave a public address in which he championed the role of social platforms in facilitating free speech – which, in Zuckerberg’s view, includes enabling politicians to not only advertise on Facebook and Instagram, but to essentially say whatever they want in their ads.

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Snapchat Adds New, Free Drawing AR Option Within the App

Snapchat is rolling out a new option which will enable users to paint their own 3D AR effects over their face, or anything else, from within the app itself. The option will enable users to use free form drawing tools, which will then be attached as 3D objects within your frame. With World Lens objects, users could virtually attach a 3D image to whatever they wanted in the frame. This new update adds more creative capacity through free-form drawing, but the idea is fairly similar. Despite the ongoing challenge from Instagram, Snap has arguably managed to remain one step ahead on the AR front, and facilitating community involvement has expanded on its creative options. Facebook, of course, also offers AR creation tools, but Snap, at least thus far, has held its lead in this respect, continuously coming up with new, innovative and trending AR options to keep its audience interest – and attract new users.

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Marketing

Shorter holiday season won’t dampen e-commerce sales with revenue expected to surpass $143 billion

With a head start on this year’s shorter-than-usual holiday season, e-commerce sales should remain robust, according to Adobe’s predictions. The company expects online holiday revenue to reach $143.8 billion this year, a 14.1% increase over last year. The 20% lift in e-commerce sales expected on Thanksgiving will account for $7 million more than was generated last Thanksgiving. Adobe also expects Cyber Monday to see record-breaking sales this year, climbing to $9.4 billion for the day — an 18.9% increase over last year. Adobe expects mobile shopping to account for nearly 50% of the overall retail holiday growth in the U.S.: “Americans will spend $14 billion more this holiday season on their phone compared to last year.” Christmas Day sales will also see more purchases happening on phones than on desktops — the first time ever mobile devices will own more sales than desktops for the day. This year’s shortened holiday season (there are six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas) means marketers will likely need to start their campaigns earlier than usual to reach their holiday goals. Fortunately, according to Adobe’s predictions, the shortened holiday isn’t going to have much impact on how much revenue is up for grabs.

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Google Merchant Center updates rolling out ahead of holiday push

Google is out with its holiday updates for merchants. The company recently rolled out interface and navigation updates for Google Merchant Center. On Wednesday, Google announced a number of new and updated features aimed at simplifying the process of getting your product information on Google properties for the holidays. Starting in November, automated feeds will be available in all Shopping ads countries. Merchants can opt to let Merchant Center crawl their websites for schema structured product data and extract it into an initial feed.  Earlier this year, Google announced it would begin showing product information from Merchant Center in areas outside of Shopping Ads, free to merchants. With Surfaces across Google, any merchant can upload their product feed to Google Merchant Center and opt-in to enable their products to show up on Google platforms, including rich product results and Google Images. These options are aimed at making it easier for merchants to get their products showing on Google, whether in ads or free listings. For Google, removing friction for merchants helps make the search engine a better resource for searchers looking for products (it’s competing with Amazon, after all).

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Social Media

Facebook Launches New Option Which Enables Advertisers to List Ad Text Variants

Facebook has added a new option which will enable advertisers to include multiple text variations for their ad copy, which Facebook’s systems will then be able to choose from when displaying the ad to different users. the new option – called ‘Multiple Text Optimization’ – is similar to Google’s ‘Responsive ads’, which give advertisers the ability to include alternative text options, which its systems can then test and optimize the generate the best results. The option essentially expands on Facebook’s Dynamic Ads, which enable Facebook’s systems to showcase your products based on connected inventory listings – as opposed to you having to create individual ads for each. In order for Facebook’s systems to determine what works best, it’ll need the ad budget to be able to run its own tests of the various text elements – which could mean that you need to spend more in order for it to be effective. There’s no word, at this stage, on where exactly Facebook is making the option available.

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Marketing

Facebook Launches ‘Preventive Health’ Tool to Raise Awareness of Personal Health Concerns

Facebook has this week launched a new ‘Preventive Health’ tool, an optional process within its main app which can prompt users to undergo regular health check-ups, based on their age and gender information. To address this, the new Preventive Health tool, which is now available within Facebook’s extended apps, will take account of your personal information and suggest that you undertake check-ups relative to your age. Facebook says that the initial focus of the Preventive Health app will be on heart disease and cancer, along with the flu, with reminders of flu shots to help maximize awareness. Facebook has also gone to expanded effort to underline the fact that any information shared within the tool will not be used for ad targeting, and that user privacy is at the heart of the initiative. 

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What does Google Maps ‘incognito mode’ mean for businesses?

Google recently announced Android users will have the option to do incognito searches on Google Maps starting this month with iOS to follow soon. When users activate Incognito mode, they can navigate Google Maps without having their activity saved on their Google accounts – just as Google Search’s incognito mode works. For people wanting to protect their privacy while they use Google Maps for wayfinding, incognito mode should prove to be useful. Once the incognito mode is activated, Google won’t be able to offer personalized recommendations such as restaurants or things to do based on their usage history. Should businesses that have diligently built up their location information on Google Maps be worried that incognito mode will hurt their visibility in Google Maps to search? I’d suggest business owners not see incognito mode is a threat but more of a “cover the bases” response to a post-GDPR heightened interest in privacy that has increasingly defined the technology industry.

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Squarespace gets into social content creation with Unfold acquisition

The web development platform Squarespace has acquired Unfold, an app used to create Story content on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. For SMBs and marketers without the design resources of a major brand, having a tool like Unfold to create Stories across Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat can help elevate their social content at a relatively small costs. This is Squarespace’s second acquisition this year. The company bought Acuity Software in April, an online appointment and booking tool for businesses. Squarespace had previously integrated Acuity’s capabilities into its development platform, but the acquisition allowed for a more integrated solution. The company’s recent moves, first with the Acquity Software purchase and now the Unfold acquisition, demonstrate it’s goal to be a comprehensive platform that goes beyond web development tools, now offering a social creation app for marketers. 

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