Today in Digital Marketing - “Pay Us to Help You Pay Us”: Google’s Audacious “Paid Support” Experiment

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Thursday, August 17th. Today, having trouble with your Google Ads? The company's testing making you pay to help you pay them. Why is Amazon charging a new fee for merchants that self-ship? Instagram is testing a new multi-advertiser Reels ad format. And Snapchat's AI goes rogue and then refuses to explain itself. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today.

Starting point is 00:00:26 Need help with your Google ads account? Get ready to pay for a shoulder to cry on. Google is testing a paid version of customer support for its ad platform. This paid pilot targets smaller advertisers, granting them personalized one-on-one assistance for a fee. The company told Search Engine Land that the paid-level support will offer its smallest customers the same level of service some of its largest customers get. Agencies partnered with pilot participants can also arrange paid support sessions to meet their clients' specific needs.

Starting point is 00:01:03 Google added that these changes are part of a long-term strategy that it will continue to develop and test as the process unfolds. According to a screenshot of the offering, the service costs $50 US, which reportedly includes up to 45 minutes with a customer service rep. Of course, this is just a test and that might change. This test is currently limited to select small advertisers, but Google may expand it once the pilot is complete.

Starting point is 00:01:33 While advertisers are looking for ad placements that stand out from competitors in a crowded digital market, Instagram is testing a format that displays four ads sharing one single screen between reels. Meta previously introduced multi-advertiser ads for Instagram's main feed last year with a side-scrolling display of related ads shown based on user engagement. After viewing or engaging with an ad, multi-advertiser promotions appear below the post. These ads can also be displayed in Facebook feeds and stories and now seem to be expanding to Reels. Advertisers have the choice to opt in to the ad type, quoting Social Media Today. So you don't have to enable your ads to be displayed in this format.

Starting point is 00:02:17 But Instagram is looking to extend multi-advertiser ads to Reels. And if you do give it the go-ahead by ticking the box, this is what you'll be paying for. That could be beneficial, offering lower cost, higher volume placement potentially, among people who've already engaged with related content, but it might also lead to less exposure and reduced performance as you'll be competing with more brands in a single frame, unquote. Amazon just imposed a new fee on sellers.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Even shipping your own products is about to cost extra. Starting October 1st, third-party merchants who list on Amazon but ship their own packages will now face an additional charge. Previously, sellers could list on Amazon and ship their products without contributing to the company, but the new fee means Amazon seller-fulfilled Prime members will have to pay 2% on each product sold. The upcoming surcharge is in addition to existing payments the company receives from merchants, including a selling plan fee of $0.99 per product or a monthly fee of $39.99 for unlimited sales. It also charges a referral fee for each item sold, generally ranging between 8% and 15%, depending on the product category. A report from Gizmodo suggests that the new

Starting point is 00:03:39 shipping charge might be intended to pressure sellers to switch to Amazon's in-house delivery service. Sellers told Bloomberg they were blindsided when they received a notice saying they'd be charged yet another fee for self-fulfilling orders. The move comes as the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the company for violating antitrust laws. The FTC plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon's online marketplace over allegations that the company rewards third-party merchants who use its logistic services while penalizing sellers that fulfill their own orders. and boots. So when you do, always make sure you get cash back from Rakuten. And it's not just

Starting point is 00:04:25 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 dot C-A. R-A-K-U-T-E-N dot C-A. 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,

Starting point is 00:05:05 data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. As merchants get hit with unexpected fees, Amazon is expanding its consumer buy now, pay later offering for shoppers beyond its platforms, making it available on other retailer sites. The BNPL option is only available to customers using Amazon's Visa credit cards. But with the update, cardholders can use Amazon Pay's equal monthly payments option for online purchases of $50 or more and split payments over 6 or 12 months with 0% interest when purchasing at stores beyond Amazon. The new

Starting point is 00:05:46 feature doesn't require any changes to e-commerce sites currently using the Amazon Pay checkout button. And that will bring us to the lightning round. Nearly half of American adults support a TikTok ban, according to a Reuters Ipsos survey. The poll found 47% in favor of the ban, 36% opposed to it. TikTok says 150 million Americans use the app, including 5 million businesses. LinkedIn has introduced some AI tools for Sales Navigator and its recruiter product, one of which will prioritize which users are most likely to respond to your sales pitches. There's also a likelihood of interest element for recruiters. Rumors about Google testing a new logo have turned out to be false.

Starting point is 00:06:31 Some people spotted yesterday a different typeface being used on the search engine site. Google says that was a font rendering issue, not a new design. And YouTube is testing some new comment filters in its main app. This will allow brand managers to find specific comments easily. Filters include super thanks, channel subscribers, and comments not yet responded to. The feature is still in testing with only a handful of users. And finally, it can be your brand's worst nightmare. An influencer bad-mouthing your business, triggering review bombing, and a PR crisis.

Starting point is 00:07:07 One of YouTube's top influencers is under fire this week for sharing her negative experience at a wine tour. And now, one of the influencer's sponsors is cutting ties. Tana Mongeau shares dramatically exaggerated stories about her influencer life, a strategy that's earned her more than 5 million subscribers on YouTube, and a podcast with a half million weekly listeners called, perhaps appropriately, Cancelled. In a recent podcast episode, the influencer spent about 30 minutes ranting about a wine tour escapade she'd had in France, dropping the name of the tour guide and

Starting point is 00:07:41 the tiny French village they were in. While she didn't reveal the tour guide's last name, a quick Google search could easily lead you to her personal site. This ordeal got ugly, with the tour guide receiving a barrage of negative comments on Instagram and Google reviews. Some of Tana's fans even threatened to harm her. Tana didn't hold back either. During the episode, she repeatedly expressed wanting to fight, curb stomp, and even kill the tour guide. When she read an ad for one of the podcast's sponsors, language learning platform Babbel, she said, quote, and with Babbel, I could have told Cynthia the wine lady to shut the fuck up in her native language, unquote. Babbel's PR lead told NBC News this week that the company was no longer working with Tana and would more carefully vet podcast sponsorships in the future.

Starting point is 00:08:39 Kind of a scary time right now up north in Canada, in Yellowknife. An entire city forced to evacuate because of the wildfires out there. We have some friends that got out early, early this morning. So I'm going to head off, check in on them. Keep them in your thoughts, please. Thanks. See you tomorrow. You can put your head down, but I'm small town. And I'll be ready as the world goes crazy. Just tell me what you need, I'll never let you down. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Starting point is 00:09:17 I'll never let you down. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. I'll never let you down.

Today in Digital Marketing - “Pay Us to Help You Pay Us”: Google’s Audacious “Paid Support” Experiment

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