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 Microsoft, Google, Meta & many more!
Twitter has now implemented priority display of Tweets from Twitter Blue subscribers in main feed & replies
As promised, Musk has now announced that Tweets from verified accounts (ie. those subscribed to Twitter Blue) now take priority in the main ‘For You’ feed as well as in Tweet replies. Whilst Twitter Blue subscribers only currently make up 0.26% of Twitter’s total user base, these users will now benefit from greater exposure within the app - leaving many users feeling that their ‘For You’ feed is not really for them at all.
Instagram tests new process to help brands discover relevant user-generated content
Instagram is testing a new way to help brands source user-generated content within the app. Several shop managers have reported seeing a new prompt encouraging them to ‘Add user generated content’ to their product listings to further appeal to potential customers. According to Instagram, “When a user tags a brand in a post, that brand will have the ability to request permission to feature their products in that post”.
Pinterest partners with Amazon to bring third-party ad demand to the platform
Pinterest has announced a new partnership with Amazon, which will enable Amazon advertisers to expand their campaigns to Pinterest via an integrated presentation and purchase flow process. Pinterest explained, “The partnership with Amazon will bring more brands and relevant products to the platform combined with a seamless buying experience on Amazon for consumers and offer advertisers strong performance”. The partnership will hopefully help Pinterest achieve their goal of making every pin shoppable.
TikTok spotted testing new generative AI profile images that enable users to create custom avatars
As more and more apps jump on the AI craze, TikTok has been spotted testing its own use of generative AI, with a new profile image generator. Screenshots show this test enabling users to create their own custom AI-generated profile images by uploading 3-10 photos of themselves. Within these TikTok refers to a ‘Plus service’, leading many to speculate that the platform is developing its own premium subscription similar to Twitter Blue or Snapchat+ (for which AI avatars may be just one exclusive feature).
LinkedIn has added new custom CTA buttons for LinkedIn Premium member pages
LinkedIn is rolling out a new feature for premium subscribers that will allow them to add custom CTA buttons on their profile - enabling them to direct profile visitors to specified URLs. Members will be able to choose from six preset CTA’s including ‘Visit my store’, ‘View my portfolio’, ‘Request a demo’ etc. These will likely be helpful for creators looking to build a business around their personal brand.
Meta is removing the option to host Shops that refer buyers to third-party sites
In a bid to streamline the shopping experience, Meta has announced that they will be removing the option to host Shops that refer buyers to a third-party website. According to Meta, Shops that have checkout enabled in-app (ie. Shops with integrated inventory) perform better in driving user action. This change means that brands will either have to run a fully enabled Shop in-app, or not be able to run Shop ads at all.
Twitter to enable publishers to charge per-article to bypass paywalls
Elon Musk has announced that Twitter will soon allow publications to charge users for access per article. Musk proposed this idea back in June last year, with the aim that users who would not necessarily sign up for a monthly subscription, may be willing to pay a higher per-article price when wanting to read the occasional article.
Reddit is testing new community Chat Channels to encourage interaction between users
Reddit is testing out a new community element called Chat Channels, to try to encourage greater interaction between users. These channels are now being added to 25 volunteer communities at first, allowing members to strike up real-time, topical chats. This does however sound quite similar to their Chat Room feature which was shut down in 2020 due to lack of use.
Google has released the latest revision of its Ads API with new features to enhance campaign management
Google has released the V13.1 of the Ads API with a host of new features and improvements to enhance campaign management and performance. The update includes added functionality in Performance Max campaigns as well as new recommendation types for Shopping campaigns. The update also has support for SKAdNetwork conversion value schemas in iOS App campaigns. Learn more about the changes here.
Snapchat faces spike of negative reviews as users call for removal of ‘My AI’ chatbot in chat feed
Having recently rolled out their own AI chatbot, ‘MyAI’ to all users, Snapchat is facing growing complaints and one-star reviews regarding the placement of the chatbot. MyAI has been pinned to the top of users' chat feeds without warning or consent, and cannot be unpinned, blocked or removed in the same way other chats can. Whilst Snapchat likely expected more positive feedback amid the recent AI craze, many have taken to Twitter and app stores to retaliate against the change.
Netflix loses 1M users in Spain following crackdown on password sharing
A recent report has shown that Netflix has lost 1 million users in Spain in just over a month following its crackdown on password sharing. Bloomberg also reported that 10% of remaining subscribers plan to cancel their membership in Q2. The company however doesn’t seem too concerned with these reports, commenting that “in Canada our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the U.S.”.
Google is testing new ad slots in the search suggestions of its Play Store ahead of developer conference
Google has been spotted testing a new Play Store ad slot ahead of its I/O developer conference in May. The ad slot appears on the search menu where users go to search for a specific app. Back in November users reported seeing targeted promotions for apps in this same space but Google claimed at the time that these were merely personalised recommendations. Now, however, slots labelled as ads sit alongside these suggestions.
TikTok is inviting select US retailers to access in-profile product display in bid to push TikTok Shop
TikTok is inviting more businesses into its beta shop test ahead of its roll out to all U.S. retailers. Selected sellers received a notification inviting them to join TikTok shop and gain access to in-profile product display. According to the platform, 83% of users say TikTok plays a role in their purchase decisions, describing TikTok Shop as a ‘one-stop ecommerce solution for driving sales and brand growth on TikTok’.
Amazon Ads enhances DSP with machine-learning models and optimised campaign-control systems
Amazon Ads has developed more advanced machine-learning models and optimised campaign control systems in order to enhance bidding and pacing decisions for the Amazon DSP. These upgrades mean that the models will be better at predicting the likelihood of bid requests converting, and enable algorithmic changes that improve pacing-to-goal whilst optimising for performance.
WhatsApp’s new multi device feature lets users login on more than one phone
WhatsApp has announced a new multi device feature rolling out to all users in the coming weeks, which will allow users to log on to the same account on up to 4 phones. Meta has been working on this highly anticipated feature since 2021, though it struggled to offer multi device sync for messages whilst maintaining full end-to-end encryption. Alongside this, WhatsApp is also rolling out a new one-time code that will make it easier and quicker to link devices.
