Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup

Linkedin Plans To Add Gaming To Its Platform

The Microsoft-owned social platform has made a name for itself primarily as a platform for people looking to network and pick up knowledge for professional purposes and recruitment. With 1 billion current users, the company aims to boost the time people spend on the platform by breaking into a totally new area: gaming. It will do so by tapping into the same wave of puzzle mania that helped simple games like Wordle find viral success and millions of players. Three early efforts are games called “Queens”, “Inference” and “Crossclimb.” App researchers have started to find code that points to the work LinkedIn is doing. One idea LinkedIn appears to be experimenting with involves player scores being organised by places of work, with companies getting “ranked” by those scores. A spokesperson for LinkedIn has said: “We’re playing with adding puzzle-based games within the LinkedIn experience to unlock a bit of fun, deepen relationships, and hopefully spark the opportunity for conversations.”

TikTok Launches Search Insights To Help Creators Identify Trending Topics 

TikTok rolled out a new feature called Creator Search Insights, allowing creators to track trending search terms on the platform. This tool provides creators with valuable insights to inspire and enhance content creation. By doing this, users can boost the visibility of their pages and improve the likelihood of engagement. This tool allows users to filter searched topics by “trending” or “for you”. “Trending” shows the popular searches across the app, while “for you” delivers searches relevant to your content. TikTok said: “We hope that Creator Search Insights empowers creators to make content relevant to searchers and positioned to perform well on TikTok.”

Youtube Enforces AI-Generated Video Labels For Creators 

To enforce a sense of transparency around what users see on the video-sharing app, YouTube now requires creators to publicly disclose when they upload synthetic content, including generative AI, that they have altered or created to be realistic in any way. The synthetic media disclosure will appear as a label in a video’s description or on the front of the video player. The label is designated for content that may allude to users about its realness, not content that is “clearly unrealistic, animated, includes special effects, or has used generative AI for production assistance.” Content that requires a label either uses the likeness of a realistic person (otherwise known as a deepfake), includes altered footage of actual events or places, and generates realistic scenes, “like a tornado moving toward a real town.” According to YouTube, the new label was designed to “strengthen transparency with viewers and build trust between creators and their audience.”

Reddit Launches New Ad Format That Closely Resembles User Posts 

Reddit announced a new ad format known as “free-form ads”, which closely resembles the appearance and style of user-shared posts on the platform. Free-form ads have the potential for brands to efficiently deliver a wide range of information to readers in an engaging manner, which could enhance conversion rates. However, ads that resemble user-shared posts may irritate users seeking genuine user-generated content rather than advertisements. Jim Squires, EVP of Business Marketing and Growth at Reddit, said, “Free-form ads are unique to Reddit and its one-of-a-kind communities. As we continue to invest in our ads product roadmap, it’s important to draw from what people love most about Reddit and create opportunities for businesses to be a part of that.”

Google Confirms: High-Quality Content Is Crawled More Often

Google’s recent insights clarify that a fixed “crawl budget” is a myth. Instead, the search engine’s crawling decisions are dynamic and driven by content quality and search demand. By prioritising quality, relevance, and user experience, site owners can ensure that their valuable pages get discovered, crawled, and indexed by Google – without worrying about hitting an arbitrary limit.

Instagram Is Working On A Feature That Would Allow You To Let Others Put A ‘spin’ On Your Reel 

Instagram is working on an internal prototype called “Spins” for Reels, a short-form video TikTok clone, allowing other users to swap out the text or audio in your Reels. The feature could be used as a way for users to start trends by creating templates that others can put into their creative spin. If released, the new feature would give reel users and viewers access to a functionality that isn’t available on TikTok. Given that Reels is essentially a design copy of TikTok and has the same features, adding Spins would introduce a small differentiator between the two apps.

Google Image Search Results Testing Like Button

Google seems to be testing a ‘like/thumbs up’ button on image search results – below the image and between the share and save buttons. This new update signals a significant shift in user interaction within the search engine’s image results. By incorporating a simple yet expressive feedback method, Google may aim to enhance user engagement and provide more nuanced insights into user preferences regarding image content. This potential addition could streamline the process of expressing approval for specific images and serve as valuable feedback for Google’s algorithms, aiding in the refinement of search results for future users.

Code Suggests That TikTok Could Be Building An App For Photos

After rivalling music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music with TikTok Music, ByteDance might be looking at creating an Instagram competitor named TikTok Photos, code in the TikTok app suggests. “Whether you’re a world traveller, food blogger, or simply enjoy sharing what’s going on in your life, TikTok Photos is our all-new photo-sharing platform dedicated to helping creators like you reach other like-minded people,” the description reads. The ByteDance-owned platform is competing on multiple fronts as it plans to take on the likes of YouTube with 30-minute videos, along with the addition of text posts to rival platforms like X and Threads last year. With this update, users could already add photo posts to the network. Still, the company could be working on a separate platform to make photos stand out, thereby rivalling the photo-sharing platform Instagram.

Microsoft Advertising Testing New Interface Similar To Google Ads 

Microsoft Advertising’s new navigation layout is set up like the latest Google Ads interface, with two vertical menus on the left side of the screen. A second menu pops up nearby when you hover over the main menu. This makes it quicker and easier to find what you’re looking for. It’s designed to be user-friendly and efficient, similar to how popular websites operate. Microsoft Advertising’s new UI resembles Google Ads’ interface – and that’s a positive change. By making its platform more similar to Google’s, Microsoft aims to reduce user friction and improve usability, making it easier for marketers to switch between the two.

Advertising In The Living Room Drives ‘significantly Higher Ad Recall’

A new study commissioned by Thinkbox reveals that advertising in the living room leads to significantly higher ad recall than in other house rooms. The research identifies key factors contributing to ad recall at home, such as professional video content, large screens, company, and mood, with the living room offering the most potent combination. The study emphasises the effectiveness of TV advertising in creating memorable contexts, with professionally produced content generating higher ad recall, trust and entertainment. Additionally, ads displayed on TV screens yield better results than tablets or smartphones, especially when viewed with others. The findings underscore the importance of understanding viewers’ habits and preferences in optimising advertising effectiveness.

Linkedin Now Allows Brands To Sponsor Any Organic Post 

LinkedIn is now allowing businesses to promote content from any user on the app, not just their employees, expanding its Thought Leader ads into branded content promotion. Previously, brands could use Thought Leader ads to turn posts from verified employees into promotions. Now, businesses have the option to promote posts from non-employees, too. Sharing insights and experiences from people not on your payroll could enhance your brand’s reputation, credibility and trustworthiness, potentially leading to more conversions. LinkedIn said: “Expanding our Thought Leader Ads format to enable brands to showcase voices beyond their employees gives them a new way to reach their target audience with relevant information, like customer testimonials.”

TikTok Adds New Influencer Audio Clips To Its Commercial Sounds Library 

TikTok has added some new elements to its “Sounds for Business” audio library, with extra audio clips from a range of TikTok influencers, which are free to use for advertisers in the app. This update allows users to use more recognisable voices in their TikTok promotions via pre-recorded audio clips provided by platform stars. This new feature is interesting in the platform’s ongoing dispute with Universal Music. However, how it can help businesses enhance their in-stream promotions is to be learned. TikTok says that the 18 new voice clips are now available in its Commercial Music Library, which also continues adding new music and sounds to assist in the creative process.

Google Integrates Social Media Posts Into Google Business Profiles 

Google has introduced a feature that automatically displays social media posts from platforms like Instagram and Facebook directly on Google Business Profiles (GBP). This update aims to give customers a more comprehensive view of a business’s online activity and engagement. Users can now add one link from each platform: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X, and YouTube. As Google continues to roll out this feature to more regions, businesses may see enhanced visibility and engagement by automatically displaying their social media posts on their Google Business Profile.

Instagram Launches Ads With Promo Codes To Entice Purchase Activity

Instagram has launched a new “Ads with Promo Codes” option to all brands globally, providing another consideration for Instagram campaigns. Meta says adding in-stream codes linked directly to purchases has effectively lured many prospective shoppers. “Advertisers who used this feature had a 9.1% median reduction in cost per purchase in their campaigns and a 10.1% median increase in conversions.” This latest variation provides more incentive to use discount codes while also giving shoppers more impetus to purchase immediately, as opposed to scrolling by and returning to find it another time.

TikTok Adds More Options To Simplify Commerce Promotion 

TikTok has announced the global availability of Video Shopping Ads with simplified creation tools, partnerships with Shopify for easier integration, and a new Shop Ads Product Card format. These updates aim to help retailers promote direct sales within the platform. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, seeks to replicate Douyin’s success in Western markets where in-app purchases are a significant revenue driver. While TikTok’s in-app spending has increased, it lags far behind Douyin. Despite potential user annoyance, TikTok continues expanding its e-commerce offerings to gain traction with Western consumers.