Today in Digital Marketing - From FYP to ROI?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Friday, September 6th. Today, TikTok's last stand. The platform pushes a PDF it hopes will finally get you on board. Also, numbers tick up for the media buying business. Google versus the U.S. part two. And augmented reality comes for a high sales category. I'm Todd Maffin. That's Ahead, today in Digital Marketing. Well, if your brand sells physical products, there are lots of places to sell them. On your own website, Amazon, Shopify, and TikTok desperately wants to be on that list. To that end, the platform has released a surprisingly comprehensive guide detailing all the inner mechanics of selling products on TikTok. The guide is 93 pages long. It covers the basics of mechanics of selling products on TikTok. The

Starting point is 00:00:45 guide is 93 pages long. It covers the basics of setting up a store on TikTok, but it also offers some pretty detailed tips on creating ads. It has details on how to set up a live commerce stream and a bunch more. It is a PDF. It is free to download, of course. TikTok has been pushing for brands to get on board, and it seemed even sometimes a little frustrated that the uptake isn't more impressive, especially in Western markets where consumers have proven themselves to be lukewarm to the idea. Quoting social media today, quote, Western consumers remain wary, likely due to the preference for in-store sales, as well as concerns about TikTok's links back to the Chinese government. But even so, TikTok's overall sales volume is rising, even at a lower rate. TikTok's users spent $3.8 billion in the app throughout 2023, up 15% year over year. And while a lot of that has gone toward in-stream donations for creators, there is rising potential for sellers as well.

Starting point is 00:01:44 Unquote. We have a link to the full TikTok guide in today's email newsletter, which you can sign up to by tapping the link at the top of the show notes or going to todayindigital.com slash newsletter. American ad buyers are feeling more optimistic about this year's landscape. In a new survey, the Interactive Advertising Bureau boosted its ad spending forecast to nearly 12% growth. The main reason for the unexpected jump in confidence was that media buyers reported being more confident in the overall economy. They also expect the upcoming US elections to drive ad spending, of course. As for what they're buying, digital ad spending is expected to grow

Starting point is 00:02:25 more than 13% this year. Buyers are shifting more of their budgets to digital channels, particularly video and social media. TV ad spending is also expected to grow, but at a slower rate at about 6%. The boosted forecast is good news for brands. It means they'll have more opportunities to reach their target audiences across multiple channels.

Starting point is 00:02:48 But it also means they'll face more competition for ad space, which could drive up prices. Another salvo in the endless, perhaps pointless war of duplication between Instagram and TikTok, the latter adding a new feature to its inboxes. Basically, Instagram notes. Notes are short messages that show up as a thought bubble above profile avatars at the top of the stories page row and on the profile page. They disappear after a day. They can be up to 100 characters long and can include text emojis and gifs. And yes, this is basically the same as the feature that Instagram introduced last year. One sort of

Starting point is 00:03:32 hilarious bit is that TikTok can't copy the name and call the feature TikTok Notes after Instagram Notes. And that's because TikTok has its own spinoff app called TikTok Notes, which itself is pretty much a direct ripoff of the main Instagram app. I've never understood why they chose to name their photos only app after a format for text, but whatever. This, of course, gives users another way to communicate with friends on TikTok, if brief and fleeting. And in the end, it is another way for TikTok to try to keep users engaged and in the app longer. Google is heading back to court, this time to defend its ad tech business. The American Department of Justice is suing the company,

Starting point is 00:04:19 claiming it has a monopoly on the ad tech market. This is different than the antitrust case the company lost last month. That case focused on its search engine. The DOJ alleges that Google's dominance in ad tech hurts competition and drives up prices for advertisers. Quoting The Verge, quote, the government says that Google exerted a campaign

Starting point is 00:04:41 to condition, control, and tax digital advertising transactions over 15 years by illegally tying its tools together and excluding rivals from being able to fairly compete. The suit describes it as a ripple effect that began when Google built advertiser demand through its dominance in search. Then, Google bought publisher ad server DoubleClick in 2009, giving it a large publisher base that sought to connect with advertisers in its ad network, plus a nascent ad exchange.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Once Google controlled all sides of the market, the DOJ alleges, it took exclusionary action to mutually reinforce its monopolies, including manipulating ad auctions to give itself an advantage Google denies the claims, saying its ad tech business is fair and competitive. The trial could have major implications for Google's core business model. If the DOJ wins, Google might be forced to break up its ad tech business or change how

Starting point is 00:05:46 it operates. This could, of course, impact the broader online ad industry. Watch this space. A U.S. bill that would force TikTok to sell off its American operations is losing support. The bill, introduced earlier this year, aims to address concerns about TikTok's ties to China. Lawmakers are reportedly hesitant to support the bill due to concerns about its impact on the U.S. economy. Some also question whether a sell-off would actually address national security concerns. Quoting the Pew Research Center,

Starting point is 00:06:20 quote, even amid the decline in support for banning TikTok, views remain divided by political party. Support for a TikTok ban continues to fall in both parties, but Republicans remain more likely to back this than Democrats. Instead of a sell-off, lawmakers are now said to be exploring alternative solutions like stricter regulations on TikTok's data collection and storage practices. This approach could address security concerns without requiring a full transfer of ownership. like stricter regulations on TikTok's data collection and storage practices. This approach could address security concerns without requiring a full transfer of ownership. The loss of momentum for the sell-off bill is, of course, good news for TikTok. The company has maintained it does not pose a national security risk and has taken steps to address concerns about its data practices.

Starting point is 00:07:09 Google is expanding its virtual try-on tools to more brands and products. The feature uses augmented reality to let users try on products virtually. Last year, Google launched the tech, but restricted it to men's and women's shirts and tops. It was impressive and included showing what the fabric would look like when it draped, when it was in shadow, even with wrinkles.

Starting point is 00:07:28 Now Google says it's expanding the technology to include dresses. Quoting social media today, quote, it is a significant advance in Google's virtual depictions, which ideally will help people when making purchases online by better displaying what the item looks like in reality. Though it's not reality. Be sure to follow returns in the mail. Unquote. Be sure to follow us on social media.

Starting point is 00:08:09 We are almost everywhere. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, Mastodon, Blue Sky, even Snapchat and Pinterest. Go to todayindigital.com slash social or tap the link at the top of the show notes. That will do it for the week. Today in Digital Marketing is produced by EngageQ Digital on the traditional territories of the Tsunamic First Nation on Vancouver Island.

Starting point is 00:08:31 Our associate producer is the intrepid Steph Gunn. Our production coordinator is Sarah Guild. Ad coordination by Red Circle. Mark Blevis is the redo button on an AI prompt that went off the rails. I'm Todd Maffin. Have a restful weekend, friends. I will see you on Monday.

Today in Digital Marketing - From FYP to ROI?

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