It’s been a bumper week in the world of Digital Marketing, with X seeing (tangible) declines in users, TikTok moving against the US Government, and (slightly less geopolitically) Threads adding post drafts!

Beyond that, there are also a few new features from Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Enjoy the read!

X is seeing a decline in European users

While I’m sure you might be rolling your eyes at this headline and saying, “Duh”, there’s been relatively little first-party data indicating that X has seen any real decline until now. As part of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), all social channels are required to provide updates on active users in the EU twice a year. Last week, X posted its latest update.

There are a couple of interesting takeaways here. At the same time, all the talk has been of bursts of people leaving following individual events (coverage of the recent race riots in the UK, for example). At least within the EU, it actually just seems to be a slow, steady decline. This makes sense—I think we all have our own jumping-off points, and over time, more people are reaching these. I myself hardly use X now personally, beyond a couple of clients.

On the one hand, X is doing better than third-party reports suggest. But on the other, there is clear evidence now that there is some level of decline. Combine this with the level of growth at Threads, and the landscape then starts to look very changeable.

X is also running undisclosed ads at the moment, which is a weird step given the high level of scrutiny advertisers (and wider stakeholders) are applying to it. Particularly given the news this week from the CCDH (Center for Countering Digital Hate) that the platform ran ads alongside harmful posts.

What’s going on at TikTok?

In April this year, it felt like every edition of this newsletter included an item about TikTok (mainly related to the US ban), but lately, there’s been less noise. 

In truth, there’s been plenty going on, but none of it sounds quite as sexy as “major government planning to ban exponentially growing social network owned by a firm based in a country it doesn’t see eye to eye with”.

Recent developments have included:

• It has filed a motion to oppose the US Government’s sell-off bill. This sounds far more exciting than it actually is to read, but is important context.
• Feature-wise, it’s experimenting with group chats containing up to 32 people.
• People have reported receiving push notifications from TikTok containing misinformation, such as an old Tsunami warning or that Taylor Swift declared Florida to be “racist” and had cancelled concerts.
• The Information also reported this week that TikTok has resorted to (essentially) cash incentives for new users to try and re-accelerate growth.
• It did, however, reveal the Top 10 Songs of Summer in the app, so it’s not all doom and gloom! Million Dollar Baby (VHS) by Tommy Richman, in case you were wondering.

Threads adds grown-up features

Threads is finally growing up, with the news that it’s finally testing analytics, scheduling and post drafts. After a year of establishing itself and slowly bringing new/interesting voices to the platform, it’s finally reaching a point where it can start to form part of an effective and measurable social media strategy.

If these features (or lack thereof) have been putting you off, it might be time to take another look.

Further Reading

While many marketing managers scrap over dozens of new followers a month, Cristiano Ronaldo launched a YouTube channel that attracted 1 million followers in 90 minutes this week. Say what you will about the man, but that is some serious pulling power.

We can talk all we want about the actual efficacy of AI-driven ads and customer support on Meta, but in terms of revenue they’ve definitely been effective for Meta, with revenue-per-headcount increasing massively.

Very related – Meta’s announced how its AI tools are going to make ad targeting more precise. Mhm.

Instagram is testing changes to the user feed grid, which might alter your approach to posting. It’s pretty much the reels grid but integrated with images on the main display.

Something a bit different and not really related to digital marketing, but I was fascinated by WizzAir’s announcement this week that it’s offering an ‘unlimited flight’ subscription. Looking at the not-exactly-favourable Ts and Cs (essentially, this is a way of shifting last-minute empty seats), it does make one think this is a publicity stunt – but nevertheless, it makes for interesting reading and thinking moving forward.

That’s it! Your correspondent has one last short summer break next week. However, we’ll be back at the beginning of September through the end of the year.

If you found this interesting, I would really appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend!

I try not to talk too much about AI for the sake of it, however, there were three really interesting news stories in my news feeds this week that I felt warranted grouping together, and it feels worth taking a moment to step back and think about where we are with AI, its increasing role in our day-to-day lives, as well as what this means for us marketers. 

Firstly, there’s Google’s new Pixel and the way it incorporates AI to ensure ease of use. Then, there’s the spread of misinformation as AI is increasingly taught by…AI. And finally, what impact could AI have on our relationships or the way we define relationships?

Beyond this there was the small matter of two eccentric dudes having a chat on X, as well as a few platform updates worth a look.

A vicious circle – AI & Wikipedia

Sherwood published a thought-provoking piece on AI and what it means for Wikipedia this week. Essentially, with AI tools becoming more widespread, there’s an increasing gap between where people find information (i.e. by asking Chat GPT) and its sources (i.e. by going to well-known and established websites). 

This could have an impact on Wikipedia, as fewer people might contribute if they’re not visiting the site directly. It should be noted that to date, Wikipedia hasn’t reported a notable drop in traffic due to AI. However, without proper attribution and source links, AI applications could flood the internet with a wave of misinformation. And who will Wikipedia turn to in order to keep its records updated? AI. Uh oh.

Google Pixel’s new AI features

Google unveiled its Pixel 9 earlier this week, with a raft of new AI features designed to compete with Apple’s upcoming slate.

These included enhanced voice recognition, real-time language translation, and predictive text (i.e. things that will make using the thing a lot easier). These innovations could potentially surpass what Apple is offering, meaning that Apple now has to scramble to work out a response.

What does this mean for us? Well, firstly, anyone with even a tangential interest in app development should be keeping an eye on iOS vs Android market shares, and anything that might disrupt this.

But beyond that, as Google continues to integrate advanced AI into its ecosystem, there might be an increased demand for marketing strategies that tie in to these. And, of course, it goes without saying for any regular reader of this newsletter – good SEO is your best way to ensure your brand is represented properly via AI!

AI & Relationships

While we’re on the subject of AI, this is a chunky read (and there is a podcast featuring the interview), but if you’re looking for something to peruse over your lunch break, this interview with the CEO of Replika – a firm which specialises in chatbots – is fascinating, on the future of AI and the role AI will play in future relationships. The company’s goal, essentially, is to create a new category based on virtual relationships that has never really been fathomed beyond sci-fi.

On a related note, a recent Economist article also mentioned Volar, which is already running ‘dates’ between AI profiles to assess compatibility. Bumble apparently wants to move toward this as well. Wild!

Further Reading

More AI: this time from SEMRush, and a visualisation of the impact that Generative AI is having on search trends.

Away from AI, the major news in the world of socials this week was the eccentric conversation between Elon Musk & Donald Trump on X. I enjoyed Stephen Colbert’s take, personally. Related: the European Commission has warned Musk over inflammatory content. I am pretty confident it will not change his output one iota.

We talked about this last week, but Search Engine Land has a little more on the news that the US Government is considering forcing a breakup of Google.

Ever had a stakeholder ask what a view on a social post actually was? Well, this infographic of views on different platforms should help answer that question!

X reported record-high usage during the 2024 Olympics. Shocking, I know, but still a neat illustration of the impact major sporting events can still have.

TikTok has struck a deal with Amazon to sell products in-platform. Social shopping continues to progress!

Instagram is working on a feature that will let you see where (a refined group of) friends are currently.

That’s it! If you found this interesting then I would really appreciate it if you shared this with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!

Hello there! It’s been a minute. I’ve been enjoying the ever-mixed UK summer and gorging on the recent Olympics feast, while in the wider world it feels like we’ve had enough news for at least a decade.

At least in the world of Digital Marketing there have been a few platform updates, but things are really getting into gear now with the news that a US Judge has ruled that Google has build an illegal monopoly, as well as the recent-ish news that Google has u-turned on plans to block third-party cookies from Chrome.

Away from this there are ad platform updates from Meta, updates (or lack thereof) from TikTok and its potential US ban, Snapchat (remember them) announcing encouraging profits, and plenty more besides.

I’ll be back now every week for the foreseeable future – if you find this newsletter helpful or useful then I’d be hugely grateful if you could share with your peers and colleagues. With that, let’s get cracking!

US judge rules that Google built an illegal monopoly

A recent US District Court ruling declared Google to have an unlawful monopoly in the Search market. The ruling found that Google had violated antitrust laws and suppressed competition via a series of exclusive agreements, most notably with Apple, to make Google the default search on devices.

This is one of those news stories which could mean everything for marketers… or could mean nothing. Theoretically this could launch a sequence of events which sees Google go from having 85-90% of the global Search market down to a much more meagre (and competitively interesting) 50-60%, with users choosing to try alternatives. This would make PPC strategies far, far more complicated (and, dare I say, interesting?).

Or, as your writer predicts, Google’s brand is now so entrenched in the minds of people (“to Google” something is essentially a mainstream verb at this point) that the biggest losers here are actually Apple, who according to The Economist could attribute 18% of their operating profit last year to Google’s payments. I should say that the same article also theorised that Apple might now itself take a serious look at entering the Search market.

Either way, firms and platforms will now have to offer users a choice of which Search Engine they want to use – some might fancy something new and pick Bing. But I’m fairly confident that people who have spent decades turning to Google will continue to do the same. Something to monitor, either way.

Google u-turns on Cookies in Chrome

Stretching the definition of ‘this week’, but easily one of the biggest Digital Marketing headlines since we last spoke was the news that Google has abandoned plans to block third-party cookies from Chrome, something it initially announced in 2020.

Ultimately, it wants to give users the choice. My own experience of working with cookie opt-ins and Google Analytics is that while many will actively turn the cookies off, a sizable minority won’t bother.

I also frankly don’t think that this actually changes too much for those marketers who have been planning for this day. You’ll have been looking to combat this with improved first party data, tracking methods which rely less on cookies, and by being more transparent with consent management – I think it would be hard to argue against any of these as being sound approaches. Creative Salon has more on this.

Meta removes detailed targeting exclusions

Meta has recently removed detailed targeting exclusions from campaigns. Why? Because campaigns perform better without them. Yes, campaigns with broader targeting wind up being cheaper – who knew.

Up to this point, interest excursions were quite an important way for brands to refine their audience. For example, you might want to target people who do not already have an interest in your brand (or another firm), or in a particular offering, as part of growing your wider awareness. 

Meta claims that exclusions get in the way of its AI delivery systems being able to deliver ads at the right time – my own view is that this is similar to moves from Google to push advertisers towards Broad match, which ultimately make it easier for them to find ways to serve your ads.

Which is great for them, but not so great for your relevancy. Frankly there’s not much you can do at this stage other than to keep an eye on any further updates, and make sure the targeting you do have on Meta is as tight as possible.

Further Reading

The news that the US Government is looking to ban TikTok was everywhere a few months ago, but has seemingly gone quiet. The reality is that there is back and forth between various lawyers, with juicy headlines making way for tedious proceedings and bureaucracy. I’ll be keeping on top of this over the coming weeks and months so you don’t have to!

X has removed all ads for Premium subscribers. Great for those paying their monthly subs, less great for creators trying to monetize via the platform.

In amongst all the turmoil for Meta, X and TikTok, Snapchat has been quietly doing its thing in the background, and this week announced strong ad revenue subscribers, and that it has reached 11 million paid subscribers.

Raconteur has compiled a few little fun insights and thoughts on the trends some marketing leaders think will define the second half of H2.

Instagram is working on adding screenshot blocking for Temporary DMs.

I’d be surprised if you missed it, but Elon Musk has seemingly declared open war on Keir Starmer recently, branding him this week as “two-tier Keir”.

That’s it! If you found this interesting then I would really appreciate it if you shared this with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!