Today in Digital Marketing - 168: Can We Legally Use Embedded Instagram Posts or Not?!

Starting point is 00:00:00 So which is it anyway? Do you have the right to use embedded Instagram images on your brand's website? After all, that user-generated content can make for some compelling mid-funnel content. But now, Instagram's made a statement on the matter that is confusing the hell out of a lot of brand managers today, Monday, May 9th. It's World Ocean Day, I'm Todd Mathen, and here's what you missed today in digital marketing. Some legal mumbo jumbo ahead, but important to know if you like, you know, not getting sued. Instagram has clarified that it does not sub-license embedded photos. In other words, in those long terms and conditions, it never actually asks the photographer to give them away to pass display rights to people like you who embed their posts on other web pages, like, say, your brand's website.

Starting point is 00:00:54 And that's weird, because a recent court case you may have heard about right here ruled against a photographer because the court said she had granted Instagram the right to sub-license her photo to other Instagram users in the terms and conditions. Mashable, in this particular case, was the website. But now, Instagram says, nope, that's actually not the case, and it's probably best for you to get permission before you use Instagram's own embed code to post a photo on your brand's website. This, of course, has huge implications for brands that use those embeds. So, which is it then? Instagram says you don't have the right to use embedded photos, which makes you wonder, A, why they didn't include that in their terms,

Starting point is 00:01:39 and B, why we can even embed it all if it's not on the up and up. Or, do you choose the court's decision and embed anyway? Because even if the court was technically wrong in its judgment, it hasn't been appealed yet and therefore something something precedent. I think most brands will err on the side of caution and that might be where you start too. If you've ever wanted to get your Twitter account verified, you know, the blue checkmarky thing, you might be getting your chance soon. A programmer has found code on Twitter's website pointing to a new system for requesting verification. Don't go looking for it now. It hasn't launched yet.

Starting point is 00:02:18 But the fact that the code is buried in their site means it's probably coming. It's been three years since Twitter has had any kind of verification application. They halted it in 2017 when they verified the organizer of a white supremacist rally. Not just any rally, mind you, the one in Charlottesville where one person was killed. At the time, Twitter tried to explain it saying, well, you know, his account was in the public interest and we verify accounts that are in the public interest and then backed off that when pretty much everyone else in the world pointed out how ridiculous that was. But do you actually really want that blue checkmark? I have it. I've had it for a few years now. Honestly, all I get out of it are very polite Indian men asking how they can get verified too. But from a brand point

Starting point is 00:02:59 of view, of course, having that checkmark can be important, especially when there's confusion in the marketplace between your account and others. Of course, I will checkmark can be important, especially when there's confusion in the marketplace between your account and others. Of course, I will let you know here if Twitter rolls this out. Disney is now working with Samba TV, a viewer tracking application for smart TVs. They'll be working together on ad performance metrics and some interesting offline metrics at that. Quoting Marketing Dive, Samba TV can help to measure key performance indicators like offline conversion, foot traffic, digital engagement, brand lift, tune in, reach and frequency, and so on, among linear, digital, and connected TV outlets. The solution links cross-platform activity among Disney's properties, including ABC,

Starting point is 00:03:44 ESPN, FX Networks, Hulu, and National Geographic Networks. Hulu was actually just added to Disney's ad platform that they call Luminate. And Disney's ad team are reportedly participating in Nielsen's test of an addressable TV platform to study how targeting works. If you are looking for where to start up your digital marketing efforts post pandemic can we say post yet mid mid pandemic maybe anyway one marker is coca-cola that says it will be cranking up its own digital ad efforts after the coronavirus lockdowns and they say they'll be shifting their strategy a bit moving toward more live streaming and something it calls real-time content production. Even though Coca-Cola did go dark on advertising, it did not stop its social media engagement during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Starting point is 00:04:39 We may be seeing some very early signs that Google's entire business may soon be forced to radically shift, all thanks to an antitrust investigation currently underway with the U.S. Justice Department regarding alleged anti-competitive practices. So far, it seems to hinge on Google's dominance in the search engine world. Quoting Search Engine Journal, a particular focus of questions being asked by authorities is whether Google should be required to suggest alternatives, that is to say alternative search engines. Authorities are most concerned about having Google present alternatives to its search engine and Chrome browser on Android devices. It's alleged that Google is engaging in anti-competitive

Starting point is 00:05:20 behavior by having its own search engine and web browser as the defaults on Android. Unquote. Make no doubt, this has the potential to be a very big deal. Because, in a bit of historical context here, this is pretty much exactly the same kind of language that the Justice Department was using back around the year 2000 or so when Microsoft lost its own antitrust case. And that was partially based on them installing their Internet Explorer browser as the default on their operating system. Sound familiar? The result of that ruling 20 years ago, the entire tech industry crashed. You may know of it as the dot-com bust. Well, that bust was kicked off by this Microsoft antitrust ruling.

Starting point is 00:06:07 So, early days yet, but heads up. And finally, was it an accident or was it legendary-level digital marketing? The Facebook page for the BBC's Family and Education News division over the weekend made the following post on their Facebook page. All. That's it. That's all it said. The entire post. All it was was literally the word all.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And then, just a minute later, a stream of seemingly random letters and about 30 also seemingly random emoji. And then silence. Later in the day, a new post popped up. Apologies for the pocket posting earlier today. Pocket owner has been alerted. But was it a pocket post? Sister brand CBBs, a BBC children's brand, commented on that post saying,

Starting point is 00:07:01 happens to us all, we once posted 94 randomly was one of our most successful posts so like i say accident or legend you decide you may have noticed a new theme song if you've been listening for a while now you know i've never really been happy with that cheesy retro 90s news theme that I commissioned last year. This theme, though, was composed by my friend and co-author Mark Blevis. And you can learn about Mark, his podcast, and our book, in fact, at markblevis.com. Also, thanks to McKenna Hadley-Burke from our agency who filled in for me last week while my wife and I took a week off to play video games. And finally, thanks to Paul from the UK who left a review saying this is the best digital marketing digest does exactly what

Starting point is 00:07:49 it says on the tin. Thank you, Paul. And if you would like a shout out here, just rate and review this podcast, you will find a link in this episode's notes that will take you right to your own apps review page. classified ads still available on the show 20 bucks will let you reach 1000 listeners in the digital marketing space. There is a link in this episode's description. I'm Todd Maffin. I will talk to you tomorrow.

Today in Digital Marketing - 168: Can We Legally Use Embedded Instagram Posts or Not?!

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