Today in Digital Marketing - “Make Instagram Instagram Again”

Episode Date: July 26, 2022

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Today, Shopify lays off 1,000 employees. How brands are responding to the rising costs of marketing? Kylie Jenner demands that Zuck stops copying TikTok. Why you might need to boost your brand's snark level? And tech giants want to change how time works. It's Tuesday, July 26th. I'm Steph Gunn, filling in for Todd Maffin. Here is what you missed today in digital marketing.

Today, Shopify announced it is laying off 1,000 employees. That's 10% of its workforce, as a result of misjudging e-commerce growth. In a statement, the company's CEO said layoffs are necessary as consumers return to old shopping habits and cut back on online orders that fueled recent growth. In response to growing e-commerce sales at the time, the company believed it needed to expand the company to meet demand past the COVID-19 pandemic. Quoting the CEO, It's now clear that that bet didn't pay off. What we see now is the mix reverting to roughly where pre-COVID data would have suggested it should be at this point. Ultimately, placing this bet was my call to make

and I got this wrong. Now we have to adjust, unquote. As a result of these changes, the majority of the affected roles will be in recruiting, support, and sales, with the company also eliminating over-specialized and duplicate roles, as well as some groups that were convenient to have but too far removed from product development. The Canadian tech giant is scheduled to release its second quarter financial results tomorrow. As companies respond to market conditions, Digiday has a great think piece up today about how brands are adapting to the rising costs of marketing. Matthew Tilley, an executive at the media company Veracast and author of the article, explains that brands are adjusting to a world

where doing business costs more by evaluating their existing marketing efforts, refining their offers, and depending on reliable partners. What changes are brands making to their marketing mix? Tilly notes that while cutting marketing budgets might be a company's response to increased costs, no business can afford to stop connecting with consumers. Instead of slashing budgets, the importance of assessing the return on ad spend for campaigns and tactics is critical. Quoting Tilly, brands that are testing and learning are the ones that will identify with what works best to drive sales in this environment and make a profit. They are evaluating new channels such as social media platforms and connected TV while homing in on the

most effective media mix with tried and true tactics like shared direct mail packages and display advertising, unquote. The article also emphasizes that as important as it is to maintain share of voice and stay top of mind, advertisers must adapt to current economic realities. Consumers value brands that deliver messages that are sincere, empathetic, and relatable. This may require redirected budgets to cost-effective or readily available media. Lastly, Tilly indicates that brands are investing in partnerships that provide better data and insights, production flexibility, and consistent results to address the rising costs of marketing. It's not just social marketers that are fed up with Instagram's redesign. Mega influencers Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner shared a message about the platform on their Instagram stories yesterday to their combined 686 million followers.

The message said, Make Instagram Instagram again. Stop trying to be TikTok. I just want to see cute photos of my friends. Sincerely, everyone. The last time Kylie Jenner complained about a social media platform, Snapchat, the company lost over $1 billion in market value, and not soon after fixed the problem that irked her. So Instagram might have a problem. In what may or may not be directly related to Kylie's protest, in less than 24 hours, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri,

posted a reel addressing matters, including concerns about seeing fewer photos on the platform. Quoting Mosseri, I want to be clear, we're going to continue to support photos. It's part of our heritage. That said, I need to be honest. I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time. We see this even if we change nothing. We see this even if you just look at a chronological feed, unquote. Meaning, bad news for those who aren't feeling the app's recent changes. 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. There's no need to get HR involved with your brand's new social media manager because of their snark.

A great piece in Adweek today discusses how the rogue social media manager has become an advertising strategy. Several brands have taken on this new approach to social, including Wendy's, Spindrift, and if you really want to be shocked, have a look at RadioShack's Twitter. This strategy can help a brand achieve the main goal of any social marketing plan, becoming part of the culture and raising brand awareness. When done wrong, however, a brand can come across as cringy and grating. A brand's cheeky persona can start as a way to stand out, but regular posting of funny content can also encourage consumers to keep your brand's account on their feeds. An example of a brand doing it right is Duolingo. The language learning app's social media manager explains that once users start looking forward to

the brand's next posts, the brand has an opportunity to build a genuine connection with its consumers. But is it the right approach for your brand? While a customer who likes a brand's account is more likely to recommend and buy its products, the article notes that customers are aware that even the friendliest brands aim to sell to them, and they resent it when social accounts seem unaware of their sophistication. Therefore, it takes a particularly skilled social media manager to maintain an edgy online presence and get it right. How confident are you in the strength of your writing skills? A recent report found that while 8 out of 10 marketers think they write great briefs, only 1 out of 10 agency staff people

agree. We should note that this study was done by Better Briefs, a company that provides brief advisory services and training, so you know. But even with the likely bias, the results do ring true. The research found a quarter of marketing spend is wasted on poorly written and understood briefs. According to the report, the vast majority of both agencies and marketers indicated that while the brief is the most valuable tool in creating good work, it is also the most neglected. The study surveyed over 500 UK marketers and agency employees. Amazon announced a new digital wallet service for its merchants yesterday. The e-commerce giant said it will roll out the new tool called Seller Wallet over the next few months. The financial tool will let sellers hold, view, and transfer funds directly to their bank accounts within Seller Central. It's free to enroll in the new service and account maintenance

is also free. When sellers convert and transfer funds, volume-based currency conversion and international transfer fees will apply. The tool is currently available to a limited number of small businesses selling through Amazon.com. There is a call for the death of the leap second from Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. Yesterday, the four companies launched a public campaign to kill the leap second, an occasional extra tick that keeps clocks in sync with the Earth's actual rotation. Problem is, the leap second can also cause tech glitches. The group also claims that dealing with leap seconds is futile, since the Earth's rotational speed hasn't changed much over time. Engineers at Meta argue that the extra tick is

now causing more damage than good, resulting in disturbances and outages. Meaning that Zuckerberg is now looking to control time. I have a really picky dog, and she has to take medication every day now, and no matter what I hide it in, she finds the pill and spits it out. I've tried it all, but I finally found what I can hide it in. Hot dogs. She just pretty much swallows the entire piece whole. So I went grocery shopping last night and hot dogs were $8. Instead, I opted for the veggie dogs that were on sale. I tried the veggie dog out this morning. She wouldn't even sniff it. So guess who has to go spend $8 on hot dogs tonight. Don't forget you can get this podcast as a daily email newsletter to complete with images, related videos, links to dive deeper and even newsletter

exclusive content. There's also a free option. You'll get an issue every Friday for free. Just go to todayindigital.com slash newsletter to sign up or tap the link in the show notes. Thanks for listening and I'll talk to you tomorrow. 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.

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