Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup

Google Ads Moves Reports to New Location in Latest UI Update 

Google ads has rolled out an updated UI to a small number of accounts. This specific UI change, which is currently in beta for Manager Accounts, was designed to improve workflow organisation and streamline accessibility. When a Manager Account logs in to Google ads and cannot find performance reports, it is because they have moved to the “Insights and reports” section. It is important to note however that there has been no changes in functionality to any tools or features. The new design is part of the same UI update that began rolling out in June. Google has said that they continue to work on the new layout to make the platform easier to navigate.

LinkedIn to Sunset Lookalike Audiences in Favour of Different Targeting Options

Advertisers must modify their audience targeting strategy before March, as they will no longer be able to create new lookalike audiences or edit existing ones. A ‘Lookalike audience’ allows your ads to reach new individuals who are likely interested in your business because they share similar characteristics with your existing customers. The platform suggests that advertisers on the platform explore alternative options to connect with similar audiences who are likely to take action such as:

• Predictive audiences: For contact list, conversion, or Lead Gen Form data sources.
• Audience expansion: For Matched Audiences and LinkedIn attribute targeting, such as by skill or interest.

For existing ad campaigns using ‘Lookalike audiences’ on the platform, advertisers will need to shift to predictive audiences or activate audience expansion to maintain a dynamic targeting strategy. It is also important to note that LinkedIn’s API for creating lookalike audiences through third-party marketing platforms, such as HubSpot will no longer be available. Marketers relying on these integrations will need to explore alternative options over the 30-day grace period.

TikTok Pilots 30-Minute Video Uploads for Select Users 

TikTok is trialling 30-minute-long video uploads for some users in the beta version of its app. Longer-form videos could offer more opportunities to place ads in the middle of clips, known as ‘mid-roll ads’. These mid-roll ads often lead to higher completion and engagement rates. TikTok’s choice to allow longer video uploads follows Douyin’s move, the Chinese version of TikTok, which extended its upload limit to 30 minutes in 2022 and received a positive response. TikTok has a track record for extending its upload limit over the years, from 60 seconds to 3 minutes in 2020, 5 minutes in 2021, 10 minutes in 2022 and 15 minutes in 2023.

Google Tests Price Slider Filter in Search for Product Results 

Google is testing a price slider for some queries where narrowing by price may make sense. We’ve seen Google show price range sliders for products and price slider filters for hotels but now we’re seeing the same for normal product results – which could be a useful feature for price-conscious customers. This was first spotted by Shameem Adhikarath, who posted a video on X while shopping for mobile phones.

Meta Expands Automated Audience Targeting Options in Latest AI Push 

Advantage detailed targeting is a product available within Meta’s Advantage product suite which leverages AI to identify a broader range of high-valuable customers for your campaign. Meta’s Advantage targeting is now available on all campaign objectives and optimisations. The decision to expand access to this automated audience targeting feature comes just weeks after Meta announced plans to sunset detailed manual ad targeting categories for sensitive topics. Leveraging AI in advertising could enhance campaign performance for advertisers and marketers. However, there is concern surrounding the lack of control may lead to the opposite outcome, causing inefficient allocation of ad budgets that becomes challenging to manage.

Netflix Phases Out Basic Tier as Ad Options Come Up Trumps 

In its report on the fourth quarter of 2023, during which it gained a better than-expected 13.1 million net subscribers, Netflix emphasised the success of its ad-supported plan, revealing that it constitutes 40% of all new Netflix registrations in markets where it has been launched. The company also noted a nearly 70% quarter-over-quarter increase in subscribers on its ad-supported tiers. Although specific subscriber numbers were not disclosed, Netflix mentioned surpassing 23 million monthly active unique users on its ad-supported tiers. To encourage more customers to opt for the ad-supported plan, Netflix announced its intention to phase out the no-ads Basic plan in certain countries where the ad tier has been introduced. The initial phase will commence in Canada and the U.K during the second quarter of 2024, with further plans to be determined based on the result, as stated in the Q4 shareholder letter.

Amazon Prime Video Offers Incentives for Ad Tier after Lacklustre Initial Demand

Amazon Prime Video is pulling out all the stops to incentivise advertisers to buy into Prime Video, including low minimum spends and bonus media promotions. The streaming service launched its ad tier on Monday, but just days before its debut, multiple media buyers say reception thus far has been lacklustre which is likely why the streaming giant has needed to offer incentives to entice brands.

Meta is Rolling Out Tighter Teen Messaging Limitations and Parental Controls

Until now, Instagram has restricted adults over the age of 18 from messaging teens who don’t follow them. Meta has now announced that new DM restrictions on both Instagram and Facebook will mean that adult users cannot message anyone under the age of 18 unsolicitedly. Meta is also making its parental controls more robust by allowing guardians to allow or deny changes in default privacy settings made by underage users. The social media giant announced that it is planning to launch a feature that will prevent teens from seeing unwanted and inappropriate images in their DMs sent by people connected to them, as well as “discourage” teens from sending these types of images.

Meta Rolls Out New and Updated Tools to Improve Brand Safety Controls

Meta has introduced new tools to help protect the intellectual property of brands and help combat trademark, counterfeit, and copyright infringement. The new tools, for example, an updated Brand Rights Protection Manager platform, a new Intellectual Property Reporting Centre and a new “Protecting Businesses” section on the Meta for Business website. Will make it easier for businesses to monitor brand impersonation, prevent scams, report intellectual property infringement and block infringing content across Facebook and Instagram.

Google Expands ‘Conversational’ Generative AI Tools for Advertisers Powered by Gemini

Google has rolled out a conversational experience in Google Ads, powered by its Gemini AI model that can run on all devices. This conversational AI experience will enable advertisers to generate relevant ad content such as creative and keywords from a website URL. In early tests of the tool, advertisers built higher-quality search campaigns with less effort required to do so, increased ad-strength scores that measure relevance and higher quality and diversity of ad copy. Small businesses like Page1 that use the conversational experience in Google Ads are 42% more likely to publish search campaigns which score a “Good” or “Excellent” ad strength.

Meta Steps Up Data Privacy Measures in Europe Amid Targeted Ad Concerns 

Over the next few weeks, Facebook and Instagram users in Europe will start receiving notifications prompting them to make choices regarding the sharing of their data to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The effectiveness of targeted advertising through audience profiling on Meta platforms could be significantly impacted if a substantial number of users choose to not share their data. Meta’s focus on improving data privacy comes after Facebook was accused of actively sharing data about every user with thousands of brands. The research, conducted by Consumer Reports, found that on average, an astonishing 2,230 companies share data about each user with the social networking site. This could dramatically impact users’ trust in the social media giant, furthering the risk of diminished effectiveness of targeted advertising.

Meta Lets Users Separate Facebook & Instagram Accounts in Europe 

Meta has announced a change in policy for users in Europe. The company plans to give users more control over how they use Instagram and Facebook. This comes as the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are set to enforce new regulations from March 2024 across Europe, so Meta is trying to get ahead. The DMA is part of the European Union’s larger plan to promote fair competition, innovation, and consumer options in the digital marketplace. Meta has voiced approval of DMA to promote fairness online and said it’s dedicated to ensuring its offerings in Europe follow the DMA’s rules while continuing to provide benefits to users.

Meta’s next steps towards investing in artificial intelligence

Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced the company’s plans to further invest in AI and to open-source the emerging technology. Zuckerberg posted on Threads: “Our long-term vision is to build generative intelligence, open source it responsibly, and make it widely available so everyone can benefit.” Although AGI is still a theoretical possibility, by investing in the system, Meta could potentially automatically enhance the user experience across its family of apps. Zuckerberg has made it clear that the company’s focus on AI will connect directly to its long-term metaverse strategy.

LinkedIn Launches Sponsored Articles Removing Need to Exit App

LinkedIn has released sponsored articles on their site, which will provide marketers and advertisers with an additional tool that may contribute to enhancing brand awareness. For users, this would mean that they will no longer have the hassle or inconvenience of having to leave the platform to read the sponsored content, resulting in higher engagement. Currently, only articles authored by companies are eligible for sponsorship. However, the LinkedIn product team is actively working on developing additional functionalities, expected to be rolled out shortly.

Universal Music Is Removing Its Tracks From Tiktok After Failing To Reach New Rights Agreement 

Universal, which is home to some of the biggest music artists including the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele, and Billie Eilish, has stated that TikTok has offered less than it had hoped on both compensation for its artists, as well as safeguards about generative AI. Universal has gone as far as to say that TikTok tried to “bully” them in the negotiations, by using its audience reach as a means to reduce the current payment arrangement. Universal has announced that it will therefore withdraw its music from the app, as of February 1st. Despite TikTok holding its ground, this is going to be a big blow for the app, especially considering music is a much bigger focus as of late, as it works to capitalise on the rising value as a music discovery platform.