In the UK it’s looking like we might finally be arriving at summer, just in time for the solstice. I personally can’t quite believe I’m closer to writing a 2025 trends piece than I am to having written a 2024 article.
However, looking at the 2024 trends, I’m not sure how much will be different. Voice Search remains a slow burn. Regular readers will know of the changes organic search is undergoing. However, while I did say AI would make you better at your job, what I didn’t see coming was the idea that AI might make you better at Job Hunting, which was the news out of LinkedIn this week.
Otherwise Meta announced upgrades to Advantage+ – maybe just not the ones your writer was hoping for. YouTube on the other hand took a genuinely interesting step with plans to pilot community notes, while there were a few other announcements going on.
This will be the last edition of this newsletter for a few weeks, with a couple of small holidays planned and a likely slowdown in digital marketing news with many key protagonists enjoying a quieter summer. So please enjoy this one, and then I’ll see you for some more in a few weeks time!
First AI took our jobs; now it’s coming for Job Hunting
You’re likely familiar with LinkedIn and its use as a platform by Job Hunters. Speaking as someone who has been on both sides of the divide, it’s maybe one small step up from useless at the best of times; hundreds if not thousands of speculative applicants meaning that the odds of your CV being seen and properly reviewed are even less than they might have been ten years ago.
Anyway, with that context in mind, LinkedIn has announced that it is further weaving AI into this process. For instance, you can now get AI tools to write cover letters for you (because as we all know, generic computer-generated content is the way to convey your passion for a role). Indeed, between LinkedIn’s frequent prompts to encourage AI to write your content, it’s starting to feel like they want a lot less of a social network and instead a series of chatbots talking to each other, based on real life personas.
It’s weird, and likely to provide further credence to the theory that quite often, the best jobs are based on your human connections, rather than those fostered on a platform such as LI.
YouTube experimenting with community notes
One of the relatively quiet wins from a few social platforms over the last few years has been the ‘Community Notes’ feature often seen on, for example, contentious posts on X.
Having seen this work elsewhere and having then liked what they’ve seen, it seems that Google will be piloting this with YouTube. Essentially, users will be able to add notes flagigng that a video is a parody or if it doesn’t depict current events. Users will then be able to flag whether or not a note is helpful. This is all with a view to combating rising disinformation, which certain sectors of YouTube are notorious for.
Meta announces further AI ad upgrades
Meta took to the stage at Cannes this week to try and tell us how great it’s Advantage+ ad tools are. Many out there would disagree, and will probably welcome the news that Meta is continuing to work on these.
Unfortunately though, rather than addressing dodgy targeting and overspend, it appears that the new advancements focus instead on the Gen AI offering, enabling more variations of ads. Which is interesting, but won’t get me using Advantage+ again any time soon.
Otherwise, updates also included the expansion of ads on Instagram Reels, allowing advertisers to reach audiences without disrupting the viewing experience. Additionally, Meta is introducing app promotional ads to Facebook and Instagram Reels, with a view to using the generally highly-engaging ads to boost app downloads.
Further Reading
Meta is putting its AI assistant tool on hold in the EU following a series of privacy objections. Related: Insta users are getting worried about AI scraping their photos.
Better news for Meta; it’s on track to overtake linear television next year in terms of total ad revenue.
As rumoured for a few months, TikTok has finally announced a photo sharing app called Whee (no, really). They’ve stated its only for sharing photos with your closest friends. It sounds a lot like Instagram’s Close Friends feature turned into an app. I wouldn’t bet heavily on this one.
Working with a small PPC budget? This Search Engine Journal piece contains a nice checklist of hints and tips to guide your path.
That’s it! Your correspondent is finally going to venture outside with Factor 50+ and will be back later this summer. Have a great weekend (and a few weekends after)!