Happy Easter! It’s been a busy few days in the world of digital marketing; no one story necessarily warrants full focus, but there are plenty of bits and pieces to keep an eye on.
Will Meta get elections right in 2024?
There’s been a lot of chatter over the last few days regarding Meta and numerous elections taking place this year. To briefly summarise:
- Some people were surprised to learn that Instagram is limiting visibility of political content by default (this can be reversed, but only by hunting through settings).
- Meta has also killed off CloudTangle, one of the key tools utilised for finding and flagging disinformation. Meta has essentially responded by stating that it is launching new features which will make these tools obsolete.
- Relevant but also not directly related, I found this piece on how AI deep fakes are scamming older users on Facebook interesting, alarming and thought provoking.
Back to my original question – with so much external and regulatory pressure, it’s hard to imagine how Meta can reasonably handle elections (and politics in general) in a way which pleases everyone.
That said, after years of a relatively free-for-all environment, I can’t help but feel that limiting and restricting content is probably the most sensible approach. It just doesn’t feel like they’re nailing it currently. One to watch and something I’m sure I’ll circle back on as we learn more.
Disney+ advertising available for self-service buyers
Users of Google’s DV360 services should shortly be able to buy ads on Disney+ for users of its ad-supported tier.
I’ve mentioned this before, but this has now started to move from the realms of theory to reality. Personally I think this is really interesting; for a long time, the only way to buy ads on some of the world’s largest video streaming platforms was to buy direct. This is great for big businesses with a small navy of agencies at their disposal, but for marketers who have to work smarter it means fewer options, and less ability to test, learn and scale accordingly.
I’ll still always suggest using the right channel and targeting to match your audience and service, but another powerful option seems to be around the corner. (ICYMI: You can buy ads on Netflix via Microsoft’s ad solutions)
It’s all going on with X (formerly Twitter)
It feels like every time I check my news feeds this week, there’s something else going on with X.
- According to some new research, X usage is down a quarter when compared to life before Elon Musk’s acquisition. The only surprise is, given the amount of people in my little digital marketing bubble who’ve said they’re boycotting it, is that the figure is so low. The echo-chamber in practice.
- Remember the drama around users having to pay for blue ticks? Well, we’re now heading back to the model where people with big followings could get verified, whether they like it or not.
- And finally, X is testing adult content groups for users. Just what the platform needs, more “ickyness” – that’ll definitely get the advertisers back.
It’s hard to feel that X is anything other than a sinking ship at the moment – and none of these developments make me feel more inclined towards encouraging clients to go back there. But nevertheless, another one to keep an eye on.
Further Reading
🚨 TIKTOK AND UNIVERSAL KLAXON 🚨: This week’s news story doesn’t actually involve TikTok, but an interesting expansion of the deal between Universal and Spotify. Likely a coincidence but a sign that Universal is willing to play nice, under the right conditions.
LinkedIn is adding dynamic UTM tracking to ads. Dry, but incredibly useful.
YouTube is offering creators even more analysis of their viewers, with audience retention insights.
Came across this piece (Meta takes $40K, holds our business ransom) and, let’s just say, Meta’s customer service doesn’t come out of it particularly well. Given that they and others are moving more and more CS functions to AI, the future looks bleak on this stuff. Although at least you’ll be able to look at it through cool augmented Ray-Bans.
And finally, for those who really do want some further reading about social media, this seems like a great list and one I’ll be working through for sure.
That’s it for this week – if you found this interesting then I would really appreciate if you shared this with your friends and peers.
If you’re feeling particularly generous, then I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great Easter break and see you next week!