This week, after months of talk, we’re starting to see the real impact of the increasing integration of AI with platforms, with examples from both Meta and Google.

Meta announces AI-powered ads deliver 32% better returns

After (what feels like) years of talk around the increasing integration of AI into platforms, it was interesting to see Meta announce this week that AI-powered ads delivered 32% better ROI when compared to manual ads.

Advantage+ ads (and similar variants) have been heavily pushed by Meta for a while, but this is the most concrete evidence I’ve seen yet that they are seriously worth your time.

Meta has bet big on AI to fill the void left following the restrictions created by iOS14, and so far it appears to be paying off. Speaking of digital marketing channels betting big on AI…

Google integrating Gemini into Ads platform

Another week, another AI story – but this is pretty interesting. Google has announced (unsurprisingly) that it’s integrating its proprietary AI platform Gemini into Google Ads, among other tools.

This is obviously interesting from a digital marketing perspective because it offers an opportunity for easy ad creation and optimisation; a major barrier for time-poor smaller businesses in particular.

My own experience of AI elements within Google Ads to-date has so far left me with a dim impression; recommendations are often irrelevant or impractical, while ad copy is on the cringier end of the scale. It will be interesting to see if integrating a much better trained platform into the mix will improve this, and is another example of the increasing automation of marketing channels. Marketing Dive have taken a deeper look at what this means for marketers.

Further Reading

LinkedIn will be discontinuing lookalike targeting from next month, instead encouraging advertisers to use alternatives such as the (relatively) untested Predictive audiences. Limiting targeting opportunities is always an interesting decision, but LinkedIn must be seriously confident in the capabilities of its Predictive audiences to be making this kind of change.

Meanwhile, Meta added a range of new tools this week designed to aid brand protection, including tools which detect replicas in product listing and improved IP violation tracking.

Google this week once again warned website and app owners that non-compliance around regulations on GDPR banners could lead to suspensions. Perhaps a good time to check that you’re compliant?

BeReal’s USP was that it was taking social media back to smaller, more sociable groups with an unfiltered approach. And yet, were any of us surprised at the launch of RealPeople this week, which fills the feed with updates from ‘notable’ users?

TikTok was spotted this week experimenting with 30 minute videos. Seriously, who even needs a USP these days?

YouTube announced this week that it’ll enable systemic A/B testing of thumbnail images, a favourite topic of conversation among seasoned YouTubers.

Finally, while noodling around the web I came across WeatherAds, a platform that enables you to trigger different ads depending on different weather conditions. While we’ve had seasonal advertising for a while, this programmatic approach caught my eye.

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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.

This blog is taking a small break until January. However may I suggest taking a look at my concise summary of the major trends Digital Marketers should watch for in 2024? Read on.

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