Today in Digital Marketing - Pay-to-Post: X Basically Kills Off Organic Content

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Starting point is 00:00:18 starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected, be Zen. It is Friday, October 27th. Today, Oversight Skirmish. Has Meta turned a blind eye to its own ad guidelines? TikTok teams up with a seasoned B2B platform. Google's search themes could help tweak its AI in your favor. And on the ad-free premium podcast, which you can learn more about by tapping Go Premium in the show notes, Andrew Foxwell on what Meta's Q3 says about the future of AI forward ad campaigns, which ad format he thinks will be the breakout next year, and how Google's Demand Gen campaigns compare with results on Meta. I'm Todd Maffin. That's Ahead,

Starting point is 00:01:03 Today Digital Marketing. X has unveiled a new subscription tier, on Meta. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in digital marketing. X has unveiled a new subscription tier and its current subscribers and marketers might not like it very much. It's called the Premium Plus Plan and costs twice as much as the current subscription. For $16, what do buyers get? For one, no ads at all on the For You and Following feeds, but it also gives those people what X called the largest reply boost, meaning their replies will be pushed higher than those paying for a smaller plan. It'll be interesting to see the fallout from this. The main pitch for the upgraded subscription was that your posts and replies would get an algorithmic boost. This new plan, by definition, would push those replies down lower stream, meaning subscribers to the original plan either will just have to get used to the reduced visibility

Starting point is 00:01:56 or pony up even more money. There is also a new basic subscription for $3 a month. Those people don't get a blue checkmark, which is mostly meaningless now anyway, but they do get a small boost and we'll see all the ads the free users do. Given that there are now three paid tiers artificially placing content higher in feeds, this truly does mean that brands still on X who aren't paying will probably be all but invisible on the platform. Meta has chosen to overlook some recommendations from its oversight board concerning ads for drugs.

Starting point is 00:02:39 The board had earlier raised concerns about a 2022 Instagram-sponsored post. This post promoted ketamine, a drug not yet approved by the American drug regulator, as a remedy for anxiety and depression. Back in August, the board made four suggestions about the post, but last week, Meta dismissed one and delayed the others for future consideration. The board, which is funded by Meta, claims its decision should be binding unless they break the law, but Meta seems to disagree. The board, which is funded by Meta, claims its decision should be binding unless they break the law. But Meta seems to disagree. The board had requested clarity on Meta's policy about promoting drugs that can cause a high. But Meta said this would limit users' freedom to discuss their health.

Starting point is 00:03:18 The original ad described ketamine as a magical entry and contained a bunch of psychedelic images. TikTok and HubSpot have teamed up to help businesses reach and nurture potential customers from the TikTok platform. The company says one in three people find new products through brand videos on TikTok and more than 90% take action after watching content there. This new partnership lets HubSpot gather leads from TikTok ads. To set it up, you link your TikTok account with HubSpot, then there's a little field mapping to do. And once your lead ads start running, they should, in theory, begin to populate your HubSpot CRM. We have a visual walkthrough of this in GIF format in today's newsletter.

Starting point is 00:04:07 Tap the link in the show notes if you're interested in that. For those jumping in early, there is a bonus. The first 500 advertisers to integrate get $200 in TikTok ad credits. This integration is live in the U.S. and Canada. More countries will follow soon. Google has unveiled the beta version of Search The themes for its Performance Max ad campaigns. These serve as an optional tool to help brands inform Google's AI about their operations. Starting in early 2024, Google plans to automatically transition existing custom segments based on search activity to these search themes. Once this change is implemented, you will not be able to add or modify custom segments from past search activities in

Starting point is 00:04:53 Performance Max, but segments based on interests will remain accessible. Currently, Performance Max works by trying to predict the best placements for your campaign. It does this by looking at your assets, your landing pages, and so on. With search themes, you will be able to provide a bit more information for the AI to chew on. For these campaigns on Google search, search themes will be given the same priority as phrase match and broad match keywords. Exact match keywords will, of course, still take precedence over search themes and other keywords. Users will also have tools to manage the kind of search traffic their performance max ads attract. X, previously known as Twitter, is working on a Newswire service named XWire.

Starting point is 00:05:38 The move pits X against established press release services like Sishin's PR Newswire. This announcement came at an all-hands meeting with owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino present. One key point? Musk's continuing vision of transforming X into an everything app. This app would cater to creators, handle payments, and even manage users' finances. Remember, Musk believes he's no longer competing with any of the microblogging sites that were like Twitter, like Threads or Mastodon or Blue Sky. He's competing with YouTube and LinkedIn.

Starting point is 00:06:12 They've already launched a job listing service, for instance, letting companies post job openings directly on X. Giaccarino shared a bunch of stats claiming X is thriving, both with users and advertisers. But as a private company, they don't have to prove any of it. And pretty much every other independent study has found X is in a death spiral. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit?

Starting point is 00:06:46 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. 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.

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Starting point is 00:07:52 that are seeking out these shows. A few key points from this study, almost half of American children listen to podcasts weekly. Family listening is common. 48% of children always or often listen with a parent. Discovery is mainly through recommendations from friends and family. That was 65%. And social media made up 58% of that. Kids prefer genres like comedy, action and adventure, and educational stories. Most listen at home, especially on weekends and afternoons. And the top platform for listening to podcasts is YouTube, with 82% of podcast listening children using it for podcasts.

Starting point is 00:08:36 Meta is killing off group rooms from its platform. These rooms were introduced back in April of 2020. They let users video chat with up to 50 people. They were a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a way for people to connect during lockdowns. Inspired by Zoom's success, Meta introduced these in-app engagement tools. Later in 2021, they added audio rooms, riding the wave started by Clubhouse. But now, neither version is getting much traction. As a result, Facebook is pulling the plug on group rooms. At their launch, these rooms were seen as a promising feature.

Starting point is 00:09:10 They offered a unique way to connect with friends, especially during times when in-person meetings were limited. Audio rooms, though short-lived, seemed like a potential tool to boost group engagement. But the reality was different. Meta is now focusing on other areas, hinting at cost-cutting as part of their year inefficiency. For those who use these rooms, they will soon disappear, but video chats can still be hosted via video calls. So ham radio study update.

Starting point is 00:09:49 I quit. Yeah, you know, like, here's the thing. Well, I didn't really, really fully quit. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to basically audit it the first time around. It's hard, bro. Like, I was the regulations I got through the basic electrical stuff I got through. And then like this past Wednesday's course was inductors and capacitors. And oh, my God.

Starting point is 00:10:11 And here's the thing. Not a lot of people know this about me. I dropped out of school halfway through grade nine. I kind of skipped. I basically dropped out of school to go into college. So I entered college early, but I missed those years between grade nine and grade 12, where that's where you get taught, you know, math and physics. My wife was watching over my shoulder. She had no problem. She's like, yeah, that's a reverse index capacitor. How do you know

Starting point is 00:10:39 this? You work in public health, but apparently they're taught this in physics class. So I have decided that I'm going to still go to the courses. They're on Zoom, so why not? And I'm still going to study, but I'm probably not going to take the test. The whole thing was a retirement project anyway. So I figure that maybe when retirement comes in a few years, 10 years, maybe, maybe I'll pick it back up then. I'm a pretty good self-learner and I'm not much of a quitter, but I just, I had to tap out of this one. Follow us on social media. We're on all the new and upcoming ones, Threads, Mastodon, Blue Sky, and more. We're also on the big platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Tap the link at the top of the show notes or go to todayindigital.com slash social.

Starting point is 00:11:30 That'll do it for the week. Today in Digital Marketing is produced by EngageQ Digital on the traditional territories of the Tsunamik First Nation on Vancouver Island. Our production coordinator is Sarah Guild. Our theme is by Mark Blevis, music licensing by Source Audio, ad coordination by Red Circle. I'm Todd Maffin. Thanks for listening. See you Monday. follow the leader now it ain't come so easy

Today in Digital Marketing - Pay-to-Post: X Basically Kills Off Organic Content

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