Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Bringing you your midweek roundup of the latest in digital and media.
Stay connected with recent updates from Google, Meta, Twitter & many more!
Comedian Chris Rock to star in Netflix’s first-ever live-streamed event early next year
Netflix has been making a lot of changes recently - with its new ad supported tier, and crackdown on password sharing - but in another unexpected move, the streaming platform has announced its first ever live-streamed event. With its first set to be hosted by comedian Chris Rock, with plans to focus on unscripted content, competition shows, reality reunion specials, live comedy shows and even a future ‘Netflix is a joke’ festival. Watch this space.
Instagram has added the capacity to add music to still image posts
Instagram users can now add music to a still image when creating a new post. Users are able to search for tracks and choose specific segments to use within their post. In the words of Instagram themselves “Music is a huge part of expression on Instagram, and we’re excited to provide the ability to add music to Feed photo posts, like you can with Reels and Stories. No matter which format works best to tell your story, you can now add a soundtrack to your favourite photo moments to bring them to life”.
Our takeaway… Some have deemed this feature unnecessary and another copy of TikTok, but we think adding music posts will allow users and brands alike to be able to be a lot more creative with their content.
Advertisers can now select the frequency target for videos which Youtube will optimise towards, avoiding over-delivery of ads
YouTube’s new global Targeting frequency goal option for video campaigns optimises videos for maxim unique reach. As YouTube explains “our built-in capping, campaigns deliver within a tight distribution range so viewers don’t see the ads too many times. In fact, over 95% of Target frequency campaigns on YouTube successfully achieved their frequency goals when set up following recommended best practices. Not only do the campaigns deliver on their target frequency, but they drive brand impact as well.” This is supported in version 2.2 of Google’s Ads Editor.
After many fake accounts pretending to be celebrities & brands became verified and posted false claims,Twitter has blocked new users becoming verified
Despite most of Twitter thinking Elon Musk’s changes to the verification system would not end well for the platform - Elon carried them out anyways, only to quickly back-peddle when things turned ugly. Since the changes to the paid tier, many accounts pretending to be celebrities, influential people and brands have become verified and began posting audacious, false claims - including a LeBron account requesting a trade away from the Lakers. As a temporary measure, twitter has blocked new accounts becoming verified, though this does not stop long-standing accounts doing the same thing.
ITV AdLabs has developed an Automatic Contextual Targeting (ACT) tool that harnesses artificial intelligence to help brands fine-tune campaigns
ITV’s AdLabs has developed an Automatic Contextual Targeting (ACT) tool that harnesses AI to categorise streaming content according to three metrics: moods, objects and moments behind popular shows. This contextual knowledge will allow advertisers to optimise their tone of voice and timing for maximum engagement. Reading cues such as facial expressions and speech, the system is able to distillate context around the theme of food, drink and meal times as well as moments of joy, beauty and cosmetics.
Pinterest is expanding its live-stream Pinterest TV shopping with a showcase ahead of the holiday season
In its efforts to push its e-commerce feature, Pinterest has announced it is expanding its live-stream TV feature into Canada and the US. According to Pinterest, over 60 brands and 4 major publishers are taking part in daily programming which will include over 40 hours of shoppable content. The programming allows brands to showcase popular gift guide products, announce discounts and flash sales. In addition, Pinterest has also partnered with select partners on social ‘gift guides’ to offer gifting inspiration to Pinners.
Google’s latest updates to Ads Editor gains quicker access to the Asset Library, easier ad scheduling, improved notifications and more
Just four months after Ads Editor 2.1 was released, Google has released its second version with a series of updates and improvements. New features include:
- Enhanced asset libraries
- Notifications now built into Editor
- New UI for editing ad schedules
- Support-friendly network logs
- Out-of-sync indicator
- Global offers
- Recommended budgets for Video action campaigns
- Target frequency for video campaigns
- Video campaigns with shopping
- Support for more recommendation types
- Basic support for all recommendation types
- Optimised targeting
- Gmail display campaigns removed
YouTube is showcasing a series of shopping livestreams and in-app shopping activations hosted by popular creators
YouTube is claiming to be “making the holidays easier than ever” with their showcase of e-commerce livestreams entitled ‘From Youtube to You’. The showcase includes a series of videos, livestreams and Shorts featuring popular creators, their curated gift recommendations as well as exclusive product drops and deals. YouTube is hoping the events will expose a lot more users to the potential of in-app buying, giving the wider e-commerce features a push.
Zoom is working with Tesla to bring video conferencing into its vehicles
As announced at the 2022 Zoomtopia conference, Zoom’s video conferencing feature will soon come ‘as standard’ on all new Tesla models. The collab makes working from anywhere even easier - and will make up part of Tesla’s infotainment system designed to entertain drivers or passengers while sitting parked and charging. The infotainment system currently includes access to netflix, YouTube, Karaoke, and gaming options - and soon, the ability to attend meetings on the go.
TikTok launches its in-app shop to select US businesses as part of its e-commerce expansion
TikTok has launched its in-app shop feature to US businesses on an invite-only basis, allowing selected businesses to sell products on a separate shop tab within their profile pages. TikTok Shop launched last year in the UK, but its lack of take up combined with internal issues forced the company to scale back expansion within Europe. It is likely TikTok is wanting to replicate the success of the Chinese version’s in-app shop which is hugely successful and generates the majority of its revenue from direct sales in the app.
Bing is testing an AI chat embedded at the top of their search results - allowing users to ask specific questions to a live chatbot
Bing is testing a new placement of its AI chatbot feature at the top of its Search results, in the featured snippet area. Spotted by a Twitter user, the test allows users to send questions to an AI chatbot relating to the overarching search query. It is not yet known how long this test will be carried out, or if it will develop past the testing phase.
Klarna has a new price comparison service it is calling a ‘credible alternative to Google and Amazon’
Klarna, the financial firm most well known for its ‘buy now, pay later’ service loved by Gen Z, are moving into the competitive space of price comparison sites. The new service, rolled out quietly in the US last month and now extending into European markets allows users to compare product prices across thousands of retailers. With Google currently being sued by Pricerunner for allegedly giving its own price comparison service higher positions in Google Search results, Klarna is positioning itself as an ‘unbiased’ alternative.
YouTube has introduced a new ‘Live Q&A’ feature, that will make it easier for creators to manage questions during live streams
YouTube has created a dedicated ‘Live Q&A’ feature within live streams that makes it easier for creators to interact with viewers. The feature prompts viewers to ask questions and also allows creators to pin commented questions so users that join mid-livestream are quickly caught up on what the creator is discussing. When the creator has had enough of the questions, they can go straight back to the standard live chat. TikTok has a similar Q&A feature, allowing creators to engage with the viewers and build communities. Last week the platform also announced its new ‘Go Live Together’ feature - suggesting that YouTube is really looking to push its live stream content at the moment.
Amazon has launched an online, message-based healthcare service in the US called Amazon Clinic
Amazon Clinic is a message-based healthcare service that offers treatments for over 20 ‘common healthcare conditions’ such as allergies, dandruff, hair loss, birth control and acne. The service connects consumers with licensed telehealth providers who create personalised treatment plans and administer prescriptions to be fulfilled at any pharmacy, or of course Amazon’s own pharmacy. Amazon Clinic is currently available in 32 US states.
YouTube is expanding its comment translation tools and rolling out broader access to smart, auto-generated replies
YouTube’s Creator Insider channel has revealed that the platform is expanding its comment translation tools to Studio mobile, as well as rolling out broader access to Smart replies. Having been available to some users for a while now, Smart Replies - the auto-generated, template response options which allow quick and easy replies are now being made available to all creators on the main app, whilst also launching an experiment on Studio Mobile. The video also announced visual tweaks to the playlist tab on Studio Desktop too.
