For one last time, Happy New Year! It’s fair to say that 2024 has seen a relatively slow start in the world of Digital Marketing, with most platforms slowly emerging from hibernation. However this week we’re back to normal, and I’ll be back in your inboxes every Thursday for the foreseeable future!
It’s time to prioritise first, not third, party data
One of the key things I’ve seen talking heads talk about again and again in the last couple of months is the impending doom caused by the depreciation of third-party data on various Ad platforms. But what does this actually mean, and what can this look like?
From my perspective, cross-platform targeting and attribution is about to get much more complicated. Therefore it’s essential that firms are collecting data responsibly, and then using it where relevant – for example, with Custom and Lookalike Audiences on Meta/LinkedIn, or email lists on other platforms. That’s the easy bit, and hopefully if this is relevant for you you’re already doing this.
The hard bit will be the fact that you’ll likely need to invest in a more sophisticated CRM/analytics platform (think Hubspot, Salesforce, etc) to accurately track cross-platform conversions.
Econsultancy have published an interesting piece this week making the case, while The Drum took a deeper dive in a trends article as well. Although, that said, maybe we aren’t done with third-party targeting just yet…
Thousands of companies contribute to Meta targeting
A recent survey run by Consumer Reports demonstrated that, on average, over 2,000 companies feed data into Meta ads for each individual user. This means that, contrary to some popular beliefs, Meta ads interest-based targeting is fairly robust. While I’ve always somewhat rolled my eyes at the assertion that “Facebook is listening to me” (it’s not that good), it is often the case that a conversation follows or is followed by browsing a connected website, or browsing relevant content on a related channel.
What does this mean for you? That Meta Ads continues to be a viable option, despite all the troubles the company faces, and that when it comes to plucking out ‘Interest’ based targeting it remains far superior to other Paid Social options.
Google lays off Ads Customer Service employees
For years, my experience as a Google Ads customer has been less than satisfactory when it comes to any mildly complicated CS queries. It seems that’s about to get even worse, with Google announcing layoffs from the Ads Customer Service team, with the work to be picked up by AI tools.
In my experience these tools are great for 95% of queries, and less-than-helpful for the remaining 5% – and it’s often the remaining 5% that are the most urgent. Given continuing apathy towards the platforms and how they treat advertisers who do ultimately fund them, it will be interesting to see if Advertisers who feel they don’t get enough support eventually spend money elsewhere.
And if you’re a client of an agency reading this, when your agency says they’re having difficulties reaching customer services, they almost certainly are telling the truth!
Further Reading
2024 has started in much the same way as 2023 finished – with OpenAI in the news. This time though its broadly positive, with the firm unveiling its Custom GPTs store. This enables paid-up users of ChatGPT to buy and sell customised chatbots.
Hootsuite has pulled together a handy compilation of AI tools which should help make your job easier this year. Worth a look.
LinkedIn recently surveyed B2B marketing professionals on their challenges and priorities, and are releasing results in a series of blog posts. The most recent one focussing on the Tech industry makes for interesting reading – perhaps unsurprisingly, there is an average of 85% budget spent driving new leads, and only 15% on the lower hanging fruit of nurturing and growing existing clients.
Sheryl Sandberg, one of the key driving forces behind the rise of Facebook, is stepping down from the Meta board. She was a key architect of the business model (focused on digital advertising), though I wouldn’t expect any strategic changes as a result of this.
That’s it! If you liked this, please consider telling your friends, or feel free to say hello.