Today in Digital Marketing - 165: Managing COVID Messaging Burnout

Episode Date: June 3, 2020

A PSA from Google to website owners... A new Facebook feature helps users hide their history... Snapchat’s Dynamic Ads go global... And, why you might want to rethink your brand’s COVID messaging. Today in Digital Marketing is produced by engageQ.com. Can we help you with YOUR brand’s digital marketing and social media? Email [e-mail] or visit engageQ.com/contact Help Spread the Word! • Review this podcast at ratethispodcast.com/today • Click bit.ly/tweet-tidm to preview a tweet you can publish Advertising: Reach ~1,000 Digital Marketers • Classifieds ($20) — todayindigital.com/classifieds • Mid-Rolls — todayindigital.com/advertising TOD’S SOCIAL MEDIA: • Tod’s web site: TodMaffin.com • Tod’s agency: engageQ.com • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/todmaffin • Twitter: twitter.com/todmaffin • Instagram: instagram.com/todmaffin • Facebook: facebook.com/tmaffin • TikTok: tiktok.com/@todmaffin • Mixer: mixer.com/HappyRadioGuy • Xbox Gamertag: Radio#9573 SOURCES: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-is-currently-experience-indexing-problems/371137/?ver=371137X2 https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/03/snapchats-dynamic-ads-product-for-e-commerce-retailers-rolls-out-worldwide/ https://wersm.com/this-new-facebook-feature-helps-clean-up-your-past/ https://marketingland.com/your-customers-arent-interested-in-your-covid-messaging-anymore-what-now-279711 https://www.prweek.com/article/1682400/gci-health-harris-poll-finds-clear-desire-non-covid-related-content --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/todayindigital/messageOur Sponsors:* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. A PSA from Google to website owners, a new Facebook feature helps users hide their history, Snapchat's dynamic ads go global, and why you might want to rethink your brand's COVID messaging. It's Wednesday, June 3rd. Happy Global Running Day. I'm McKenna Hadley-Burke from EngageQ Digital, filling in this week for Todd Maffin. And here's what you missed today in digital marketing. If you noticed a change in traffic to your website yesterday, we may know why. In a tweet shared yesterday by Google Webmasters, Google confirmed that they were, quote,

experiencing indexing issues that may cause stale search results, unquote. shared yesterday by Google Webmasters, Google confirmed that they were, quote, experiencing indexing issues that may cause stale search results, unquote. What does that mean for your website content? Quoting Search Engine Journal, new content was either not being indexed or previously indexed content fell out of Google's index, unquote. If you're ever worried that your recent website content is not being indexed, Search Engine Journal shared an easy way to check. Search for your domain, click on Tools, and then set the filter to Past Hour or Past 24 Hours. Google sent out an update earlier this morning to confirm that the issue has been resolved,

but it might be worth running your site through the two-step test anyway. As of today, Snapchat's dynamic ads are officially available to advertisers outside of the U.S. TechCrunch reports that while the ads were previously limited to the U.S., the product is now available to advertisers worldwide. According to TechCrunch, the dynamic ads, quote, allow advertisers to automatically create ads in real time using the brand's extensive product catalogs. Snap provides a variety of mobile-ready templates for advertisers to choose from, then serves the ad to Snapchat's 229 million daily active users based on their interests, unquote. TechCrunch also notes that this launch was well-timed, given that many advertisers were feeling that, quote, the Instagram ad market had

become too crowded, resulting in saturation and higher prices. In the case of direct-to-consumer brands in particular, Snap's ads were often more affordable than Instagram, unquote. As COVID drives digital sales up, Snap's dynamic ads serve a growing e-commerce need. Quoting TechCrunch, Snap touts the global expansion of dynamic ads as yet another step forward in its direct response offerings for advertisers, as well as a way to serve brands in the post-COVID era, unquote. Facebook's new feature is designed to help you sweep your digital past under the rug. The Manage Activity tool is a one-stop shop for ridding your profile of older posts in a quick and decisive fashion. The tool lets you choose between archiving or deleting posts. If you archive a post, you'll be removing it from public view, but keeping it for yourself. If you delete a post, it will be sent to your

trash, where it will be held for 30 days in case you change your mind. According to We Are Social Media, you can also sort through your old posts in bulk using filters, quote, including dates, people tagged, and content type, unquote. In a newsroom post, Facebook explained the purpose behind the new feature like this. Quote, We are social media reports that the feature is already available in the mobile app, with plans for a rollout on the web app and light mobile app soon. This year has been an ongoing lesson for brands in crisis response management. While many brands scramble to address the Black Lives Matter movement,

they are doing so against the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic. As brands look for the right words, audiences are feeling the COVID burnout. A COVID-19 health impact survey conducted by GCI Health and the Harris Poll reported that, quote, 93% of respondents are interested in non-COVID related content, unquote. Marketingland also shared that according to a separate METO-conducted survey, 41% of respondents were, quote, ready to hear from brands about topics unrelated to COVID-19, unquote. The movement away from COVID-related messaging is, of course, not an option for all industries. For instance, restaurants will need to continue to update patrons on safety guidelines. While ignoring

the outbreak isn't the answer, perhaps there are some ways your brand can diversify your content and messaging. Marketingland turned to three social media and marketing experts for advice. Michelle Morgan, the director of client services at Clix Marketing, advises, quote, to think about how customers interact with your company. They only want slash need to hear about COVID if it will impact their experience of working with you, unquote. Amy Bishop, owner at Cultivative, shared that she would, quote, still stick to visuals where folks are social distancing and wearing masks where applicable, unquote. And Monina Wagner, the social media and community manager at Content Marketing Institute, reminded us there's no quick fix.

Quote, we should be thinking about a long term strategy to navigate us through this new landscape. COVID has left a lasting impact on us all, but marketers are resilient. We assess, we adapt and we push forward. Unquote. That's it for today. You can find more information and links to the articles we mentioned in our show notes. I'm McKenna Hadley-Burke. Talk to you tomorrow.