Today in Digital Marketing - FLoC Off.

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Starting point is 00:01:06 and on the premium podcast with more stories, no ads, and exclusive Deep Dive Weekend episodes, tap the link in the notes for info, the questions to ask when you are scouting out a new CRM provider. It's Tuesday, January 25th, 2022. Happy Robbie Burns Day, Scotland. I'm Todd Maffin from EngageQ Digital.

Starting point is 00:01:24 Here's what you missed today in Digital Marketing, episode 547. With Google's Chrome browser set to block third party cookies sometime next year, the company's been working behind the scenes to find an alternative, some way to let marketers target consumers without the strong tracking the pixels give us. Last year, they floated an idea called FLOC, which stands for Federated Learning of Cohorts. The idea being that people would travel around the web with a kind of HelloMyNameIs name tag on, only except for their actual name.

Starting point is 00:01:55 It would list the topics they seem to be interested in, based on past browsing. A kind of group resume that you'd be a part of. But privacy advocates didn't like that much, saying, what right does a landscaping website have knowing that I'm interested in LGBT topics? And despite Google's attempt to make it an industry standard, developers of other browsers, like Microsoft's Edge, Brave, and Firefox, said they'd refuse to use Flock.

Starting point is 00:02:19 So Google retooled and today announced a new proposal. Call it Flock 2.0, although Google is calling it the Topics API. Quoting The Verge, Topics works by pinpointing five of your interests, like fitness or travel and transportation, based on your web activity as measured by participating sites for one week. Your browser will store these topics for three weeks before deleting them. Google says that these categories are selected entirely on your device and don't involve any

Starting point is 00:02:50 external servers, including Google servers. When you visit a website, Topics will show the site and its advertising partners just three of your interests, consisting of one topic from each of the past three weeks. As noted on the Topics API GitHub page, there are currently about 350 available topics in its advertising taxonomy, although Google plans on adding anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand eventually. And if you're wondering, no categories like race or gender will not be part of that list. Some analysts are calling this essentially a dumbed-down version of Flock. Also, if users are using the Chrome browser, they'll be able to view their topics, delete topics, or turn off the feature entirely,

Starting point is 00:03:36 meaning they'll arrive on websites as a blank slate. Quoting Martech.org, Google confirmed that unlike traditional contextual advertising, users can be targeted by topic even on sites that have nothing to do with the topic. In other words, someone that had showed interest in camping equipment in the previous three weeks might be targeted with ads for tents on, say, a sports website, unquote. The next steps are to send the tech to developers. No timeline for that. Google has said third-party cookies will stop being supported in Chrome,

Starting point is 00:04:08 probably in the third quarter of next year. The European Parliament has made history by approving the first draft of the Digital Services Act, which will prevent platforms like Google, Amazon, and Meta from using sensitive data for targeted advertising. 530 lawmakers approved the draft, 78 opposed, and 80 abstained. The approved proposal... The approved proposal... You know what, that's just so funny, I'm going to leave it in. The approved proposal requires services to give users easy opt-out capabilities

Starting point is 00:04:44 and pressures platforms to remove illegal content and products online, such as hate speech or counterfeit goods. It also includes two rules that the Parliament agreed on last month, a ban on targeted ads for minors, and a ban on the use of dark pattern UI. Violation of these policies could result in fines of up to 6% of an offending company's global revenue. YouTube has long been a popular site for influencer marketing and is

Starting point is 00:05:17 still one of the biggest players in the industry, but new marketing forecasts suggest its relevance is declining as more marketers are choosing a different platform. New data shows that last year, TikTok overtook YouTube as the third most popular influencer marketing platform among U.S. marketers. It's estimated that 45% of marketers from companies with 100 or more employees will use TikTok for influencer marketing this year, as opposed to 42% who will use YouTube. In terms of daily time spent on the app, YouTube remains undefeated there. Last year, users spent 45 minutes on the platform per day and are expected to spend 46 minutes this year. TikTok users, on the other hand, spent 40 minutes on the app on average last year,

Starting point is 00:06:01 and that will actually drop to 38 minutes this year as the pandemic-driven consumption of social media recedes. As for the user base, YouTube is still well ahead of social media's golden child, but TikTok will reach another major milestone this year. It's estimated they will have more US users than Snapchat and Pinterest. In 2022, TikTok's user base will increase 5% to reach 90 million users, which will make it the third most popular social app in the country. The forecast provided by Insider Intelligence. Speaking of TikTok, a few other updates to get you up to speed on.

Starting point is 00:06:42 First, the platform is experimenting with a new avatar feature, similar to Snapchat's Bitmoji and Apple's Memoji, in which users can create a digital character based on a selfie. The difference between TikTok's avatar and the others is that you'll be able to customize your expressions based on your actual face. For marketers, this could provide a new way to engage with users and respond in the app.

Starting point is 00:07:03 Also, TikTok is testing keyword filtering for feeds. With the keyword filter, the app will no longer show you videos containing that word in a video's description or stickers, and that'll apply to your For You page and following feeds. And finally, Platform is reportedly bringing the most chaotic feature of LinkedIn to the app and testing the option to see who has viewed your profile. Upon opting in, users will be able to view who and when someone has viewed their profile. TikTok used to offer this feature as a way to increase connections on the

Starting point is 00:07:37 app. Looks like it's coming back, if in limited form. It's the season for new styles and you love to shop for jackets and boots. So when you do, always make sure you get cash back from Rakuten. And it's not just clothing and shoes. You can get cash back from over 750 stores on electronics, holiday travel, home decor, and more. It's super easy. And before you buy anything, always go to Rakuten first. Join free at rakuten.ca. Start shopping and get your cash back sent to you by check or PayPal. Get the Rakuten app or join at rakuten.ca. R-A-K-U-T-E-N dot C-A.

Starting point is 00:08:20 Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Every so often, we like to look at the best practices around marketing-specific areas, at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. customers to switch to you and relies on four forces that influence brand switching. First, pushes away from your competitor. Clients who don't believe your rival's solution works as well as it could or among your best prospects. They recommend you analyze online reviews to identify

Starting point is 00:09:16 negative perceptions and complaints, target those complaints and demonstrate your superiority, and ask clients who switched from a competitor to you for quotes to support your claims. Second, pulling toward your solution. Your business may be new to your competitors' customers. Perhaps you offer features and services they haven't previously experienced. Show them how happy their lives will be once they become your client and position your company as a solution to their problems. Three, anxieties around your solution.

Starting point is 00:09:44 Even in B2B, prospects experience social and emotional concerns that prevent them from switching. So research your current customers. Find out about their decision-making journey and what are their biggest objectives. And then place social proof around calls to action to minimize concerns about switching. And finally, habits that are preventing them from making a switch.

Starting point is 00:10:04 There are times when prospects are stuck with certain beliefs, delusions, and routines that can get in the way of switching. They recommend, show how you provide superior results for your clients versus your competitors, and don't rely on surface-level arguments like cost savings. Instead, weave in some emotion to further your point. Google is testing a new way for your brand to stand out. The company has confirmed it's running a small experiment that displays fav icons. Fave icons. Have we figured out how we're pronouncing this yet? Anyway, the little icons that show up in the browser tab. I'm just going to say fav icons. Some search engines like Brave Search already do this. This was discovered after someone spotted a pizza emoji in an Uber Eats Google ad and tweeted Google saying, wait, I thought we're not allowed to put emojis in ads like that. Turns out it wasn't an emoji.

Starting point is 00:10:56 Well, it was, but it was being used as a fav icon, which is a nice extra branding element that you can use to catch the eyes of searchers. The feature is being tested as part of a series of experiments designed to help users identify the brand advertiser associated with the search ads they see. Here's what happens when a company embraces SEO a little too much. A photo was posted to Twitter of a dentist's office with its company name, Dentist Near Me. Literally, go to my Twitter account if you don't believe me, at Todd Maffin. That is the name that is physically on the front of their storefront.

Starting point is 00:11:40 All of you SEOs are thinking, oh, this dental office wants to rank for all the local dental queries. Turns out, might not be the best strategy after all. Google search advocate John Mueller tweeted, quote, I kind of wonder if it works against them because of how easily search engines change near me into just a location, making it really hard for people to search for them by name. For a local business, probably not a problem though. And the cute name likely helps with marketing, too. And finally, straying away from marketing for just a moment, in NFTs are a scam designed to part you from your money news, hackers have exploited a loophole,

Starting point is 00:12:21 letting them buy NFTs from people well below their asking price, then immediately turning around and selling them for massive profit to someone for the asking price. This leaves the original seller out hundreds of thousands of dollars. So far, we know of 12 flips like this, including from the coveted Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. One attacker managed to massively discount seven NFTs, paying $133,000 for them, then quickly selling them for almost a million. Five hours later, they concealed the purchase using a so-called mixing service. NFTs, the Ponzi scheme of our generation. Well, my thanks to Luke, who tweeted this to me last night.

Starting point is 00:13:05 I feel like there's so many ads now in Today in Digital Marketing. I actually like a podcast ad because that's how I found your show. But three to four ads in an eight-minute broadcast seems steep. I agree, Luke. We've got plans to work with our podcast platform to get those in check. The issue is that it's a programmatic platform. So in most cases, those roll out on their own. There's like a position in pre and post,

Starting point is 00:13:26 two positions in mid-roll. So we are aiming to get that down to a single mid-roll and probably drop the pre-roll slot. We have also stopped accepting ads on our own for the time being. Also, good news is, as of tomorrow,

Starting point is 00:13:38 the podcast will be a little longer. We usually do about seven stories per show. And from here in, we will be aiming for around eight to nine stories. So not perfect, but hopefully that'll suffice until we get the ad stuff back in line. The premium feed, of course, will have even more stories than that and no ads. If you'd like to comment on what you've heard and have me read your tweet out, just include the hashtag TIDM

Starting point is 00:13:59 or leave a voicemail at todayindigital.com slash voicemail, or by tapping the link in the show notes. Sadie, John, and David, those three marketers signed up for the premium feed today. The premium feed has no ads, more stories, full-length interviews with experts on the weekends, and better pronunciation of difficult names. And by popular demand, we have restored the annual plan, which will save you $30. Sign up by tapping the link in the episode notes

Starting point is 00:14:30 or go to todayindigital.com slash premium feed. Talk to you tomorrow. She said I would do well to remember my place before some big ideas Develop in between my ears That maybe we could be good friends Now she said boys like me Are always thinking romantically

Today in Digital Marketing - FLoC Off.

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