In a week where big, blockbuster ads have dominated our social media feeds, it’s been entirely possible to miss a few potentially interesting developments in the world of Digital Marketing.

Firstly, Twitter/X made its first positive advertising announcement (at least that I can remember) for a considerably long time, with a new feature presumably designed to assuage brand safety concerns. LinkedIn also announced a useful evolution of its own (much stronger) ad offering.

Those who closely follow social will already know this, but this week also saw Richard van der Blom’s annual LinkedIn insights report drop, which is essential reading for anyone with a close interest in the platform. If you want to up your LinkedIn game, it’s definitely a great place to start.

Elsewhere there were developments from Google, OpenAI and TikTok.

Twitter/X tries kindness

Elon Musk and the crew at Twitter/X have finally realised that telling advertisers to eff off is potentially not the best strategy to attract their ad spend. Part of the issue Musk has is that even prior to his takeover, Twitter Ads was not a Good product.

Speaking as someone who has managed hundreds of campaigns across well over a dozen self-service platforms, I feel confident saying that actually, Twitter Ads was a Bad product – targeting was inferior to competitors, demographic information was lacking, and all-round accountability was poor.

So, it’s interesting to see the gang (I think there’s just about enough people left there to call it a gang) now looking to improve the offering, by now allowing advertisers to run ads alongside curated content creators. Which sounds amazing in theory, but given these numbers are dwindling, I would expect CPMs to be significantly higher than ads elsewhere – when when internal stakeholders see even less YoY return, they’ll continue to go elsewhere.

Don’t get me wrong – this is a step in the right direction for Twitter/X, but it does feel too little too late. It will be interesting to see if they pursue the path of improving features for advertisers, because there is at least something compelling there.

LinkedIn improves planning

Speaking of platform improvements, LinkedIn this week announced an improvement to its own ad platform, which will enable much more accurate planning in terms of spend x impressions & results. To-date I have always taken the estimates with a pinch of salt, but this sounds like a great development – the idea is that these figures will need some interpretation, but if they actually bear some resemblance to reality then that’ll be a good start.

There was a time when I’d have argued LI was inferior to even Twitter Ads, but those days are long gone.

LinkedIn Algorithm insights

In a week of neat segues, one of the most interesting reports I’ve read for a few months was Richard van der Blom’s annual LinkedIn algorithm update. Some choice cuts include:

• Polls and Documents are the content types most likely to drive reach, with text + image and LinkedIn video further back
• Commenting and Reposting Instantly are the actions you can take to drive success with your own content (although Reposting Instantly feels like something LI will surely look to cut back on if people do it too much)
• If you’re linking out to an article, removing the preview will help reduce reach
• Posting more than once a day is ill-advised
• Engagement in the first hour will play a huge part in determining how successful the post is

These were my key takeaways, but the document has literally hundreds. The whole PDF is pretty chunky, but if you’re someone with either a personal or professional interest in LinkedIn content, it’s worth a look. Alternatively, RVDB pulled together a nice, concise summary infographic.

Further Reading

It seems that OpenAI is working to make sure that ChatGPT can remember conversations in future.

Google said earlier this week that it took down 45% more fake reviews in 2023 thanks to its latest algorithm.

I mentioned last week about TikTok testing a ‘Sub Space’ where private chats could take place between creators and fans – well, TechCrunch have filled in some of the gaps this week.

Having read Walter Isaacon’s recent biography of Elon Musk, this stranger-than-fiction tale of Musk taking over Twitter to try and get revenge following an argument is very believable.

Finally, it would be remiss of me to go through this entire newsletter without mentioning the SuperBowl (I think I can say that legally?), which has dominated my social feeds for the last two weeks; Google unveiled some fun trends, including which states enjoy which dips. Scraping the barrel of PR-friendly content.

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I’ve been running these newsletters for a few months now, and I’m not sure I’ve ever offered Snapchat more than a passing reference. However, it’s their time to shin… well, it’s their time this week.

In other news, after years of seeing companies take brief snapshots of SEO performance a couple of times a year, it was interesting to see a columnist at Search Engine Land this week call for a more enlightened approach. Meanwhile, TikTok is testing private spaces where creators can engage with select subscribers – perhaps not world changing in itself, but indicative of a wider trend where social networks are focussing on ways to satisfy both the public and private needs of creators.

What’s going on at Snap?

It was all happening at Snapchat this week, which might have had one of the most turbulent weeks in its relatively rollercoaster existence.

Still reeling from the news it was going to have to recall its Pixy drones due to battery issues, Snap (the company behind Snapchat) then announced significant layoffs to 10% of its workforce. Somewhat predictably given that news, it then transpired that the quarterly earnings had not gone well, leading to stocks tumbling amid fears that growth hasn’t quite gone as well as expected – largely, from where I’m sat, because TikTok has happily stolen it’s lunch.

It isn’t all doom and gloom for Snap however – it has more monthly active users than ever, and there are continued platform improvements.

From my perspective, and chatting with a few peers, I’ve never quite gotten past the fact that Snap was incredibly slow to monetize, wanting to offer advertisers an exclusive experience and failing to launch a self-service ad platform while the iron was hot. By the time that had reached a point of being interesting, much of the same appeal was already offered via Instagram, and then via a TikTok ad platform that has constantly improved since launch.

When you factor in the fact it’s never quite had a market-leading offering with the fact that in that time we’ve seen unprecedented economic instability, it probably isn’t too much of a surprise that investors are concerned. As a marketer, I haven’t heard a single compelling reason to go back to Snap – and don’t see that changing any time soon.

A user-centric approach to SEO

I spotted an interesting article in Search Engine Land this week looking at why a shift to user-centric SEO objectives makes a lot of sense.

At the moment, there is a general focus on capturing volume-based metrics at moments in time – total page views, monthly organic traffic, number of indexed pages and then keyword rankings. These still have a place for me (most obviously tracking keyword rankings) – but the point here is that rather than measuring at distinct fixed points in time, we should consider tracking them dynamically at more regular intervals.

We should also track how user behaviour changes over time, particularly in tandem with how keyword rankings change. This is crucial for adapting to the fluidity of online user needs and aligning marketing strategies more with user experiences and preferences, improving overall SEO performance

Doing this means we can learn more about why these changes are happening, rather than just noting that they’re happening. I’d recommend taking a look at the article for more detail.

TikTok experimenting with private spaces

TikTok is testing a new feature called “Sub Space” within its Live subscription tools, aiming to boost engagement between creators and their paying subscribers by setting up private chat rooms. This very much plays into the wider trend called out by The Economist this week that we’re seeing the demise of the social network as a concept, and the rise of private social spaces.

This feature is designed to incentivize sign-ups by offering exclusive interaction opportunities in live chats. For digital marketers, this represents a novel avenue to deepen relationships with our most engaged audience members. It’s still very much in development, but we should consider how to incorporate private spaces into our TikTok strategies (and potentially other channels – Instagram is playing in the same sandbox).

Further Reading

Are you one of those people who was vaguely interested in Bluesky when it was exclusive and invitation only? Well it’s your lucky day as now anyone can sign up, post once and never use it again. In all sincerity – I’d keep an eye on it as a marketer, but it’s some way off being a major concern.

Meanwhile, Meta gave some insight this week into how the Threads algorithm works. Nothing earth shattering, but worth a look if you have a presence there.

One interesting and unintended consequence of the tightening up of restrictions on ads around political and social issues is that it’s causing brands to see CSR-focussed ads disapproved. This is particularly hitting Pharma firms at the moment.

And finally, well done if you had Tucker Carson interviewing Vladimir Putin on your bingo card this week – the stranger-than-fiction scoop also led to X topping the app store charts for the first time in a long while. Speaking of the channel formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk is putting his money where his mouth is regarding funding legal action for those cancelled for comments on the channel, funding Gina Carano’s case against Disney.

That’s it! If you enjoyed this article, then please feel free to tell your friends, say hello or if you’re feeling particularly generous, to buy me a coffee.

This week Google and Meta reveal increased faith in ad platforms, Universal takes on TikTok and Instagram tries fixing a problem no one has.

After a slow start to the year, we’re starting to see some interesting developments within and adjacent to the world of digital marketing. TikTok has been making the headlines this week thanks to a seemingly irreconcilable dispute with Universal, while Meta, Google and Microsoft have been in the business pages with quarterly earnings calls. Plus (at least within my circles) there’s been much discussion about Instagram’s new ‘Flipside’ feature, and what that actually means.

Universal vs TikTok

In the world of digital marketing and social media, it’s been hard to escape the news that Universal is removing its songs from TikTok following a breakdown in negotiations over compensation. The net outcome will be that TikTok will feel like a very different experience for users, no longer able to add songs by artists such as Taylor Swift to their videos.

Universal didn’t pull any punches either, accusing TikTok of trying to “bully” them into “accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.” Nevertheless, as TikTok users noticed a dwindling selection of UMG tracks, the implications for content creators and potential missed opportunity for the broader music industry became evident.

Digital marketers who use TikTok as a core part of their strategy may need to rethink their content or potentially even overall approach; at the very least, it will be curious to see what, if any, overall impact this has on TikTok usage.

Microsoft and Google Post Better-Than-Expected Earnings

It’s quarterly earnings call season! Microsoft and Google have both posted better-than-expected results, while Meta has made a series of positive projections. Although it should be noted – Meta’s call is scheduled for a few hours after this goes out – I’ll provide any relevant updates in the next edition.

All three are surpassing expectations, and while these aren’t all exclusively driven by marketing activity, it does help demonstrate the growing confidence in their digital marketing platforms by our colleagues and peers. Meta in particular has been bullish about the impact of AI on improving its platform, and it does seem that Google and Meta in particular will be forming part of your marketing mix for some time yet. Don’t forget that Microsoft owns LinkedIn, which is also reported to be over-performing against expectations.

What is Instagram’s Flipside Feature?

Some of you may have heard talk about Instagram and tests of its new ‘Flipside’ feature. In a nutshell, for all the talk about social media being about driving impressions and engagements, there is a not-insignificant minority of accounts belonging to people still living in 2006 – sharing all of their thoughts, feelings and updates with a curated group of people via private ‘Finsta’ accounts.

Instagram is trying to work out how best to serve this audience, and the feature being tested is essentially that an account will be able to have private and public posts, with the former being sent out to private groups of people. Essentially, a slight upgrade on the current ‘Close Friends’ feature on stories. 

Given the potential for mishap here, I have to admit I can’t really see any particular issues with the current ‘solution’, but hey, Meta’s gotta find a way to make money somehow. Quite how they achieve that with this will be intriguing to see.

Further Reading

After I mentioned the fact that we’re starting to see tangible demonstrations of the impact of AI on digital platforms in last week’s update, Google’s aforementioned Q4 earnings call revealed its growing role in its search platform.

Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller meanwhile lifted the lid on how long it takes Google to process URL changes on larger websites. Answer: longer than you might think.

Following its EU launch, Threads tripled downloads through December. While many industry writers have used this as a demonstration that the platform is here to stay, I’m waiting for the earnings call later this week and any nuggets in terms of improvements in actual users.

Reddit launched an interesting microsite (as part of a wider strategy shift) on what potential benefits and solutions it offers specifically to SMBs.

And finally, unrelated to Digital Marketing, but I found this article by The Economist on what we can learn about energy in the workplace from Jurgen Klopp’s departure thought provoking.

That’s it! If you enjoyed this article, then please feel free to tell your friends, say hello or if you’re feeling particularly generous, to buy me a coffee.