Today in Digital Marketing - The Future of AI: Automated LinkedIn Inspiration Porn <sigh>
Episode Date: June 23, 2023The dark horse of social platforms is looking up... Bad news for Reddit ahead of a planned IPO. LinkedIn's generative AI is one step closer to annoying you with even more humblebrag posts and insp...iration porn. And is this video game campaign the world’s smartest ad placement?.Thanks to our sponsors!- Go to brevo.com to sign up for Brevo for free and use our code TODAY to save 50% on your first three months of Brevo’s Starter & Business plan!- Go to HelloFresh.com/digital16 and use code digital16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping.✨ 𝗚𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗨𝗠! ✨Get these exclusive benefits when you upgrade:✅ Listen ad-free✅ Weekly Meta Ad platform updates with Andrew Foxwell✅ Weekly Google Ad platform updates with Jyll Saskin Gales✅ Earlier episodes each day✅ Story links in show notes✅ “Skip to story” audio chapters✅ Member-exclusive Slack channels✅ Marketing headlines each morning in Slack✅ 30% off our Newsletter✅ Back catalog of 30+ marketing science interviews✅ Discounts on marketing tools✅...and a lot more! Check it out: todayindigital.com/premium.🔘 Follow us on social media🎙️ Subscribe free to our other podcast "Behind the Ad"🆘 Need help with your social media? Check us out: engageQ digitalIf you like Today in Digital Marketing, you’ll love Morning Brew.Get smarter in 5 minutes (and it's free!)There's a reason more than 4 million marketers and business people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from marketing to the ad business to social media. Business and marketing news doesn't have to be boring...make your mornings more enjoyable, for free.Check it out!.💵 Send us a tip🤝 Join our Slack: todayindigital.com/slack📰 Get the Newsletter: Click Here (daily or weekly)📰 Get The Top Story each day on LinkedIn. ✉️ Contact Us: Email or Send Voicemail⚾ Pitch Us a Story: Fill in this form🎙️ Be a Guest on Our Show: Fill in this form📈 Reach Marketers: Book Ad🗞️ Classified Ads: Book Now🙂 Share: Tweet About Us • Rate and Review.ABOUT THIS PODCASTToday in Digital Marketing is hosted by Tod Maffin and produced by engageQ digital on the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw First Nation on Vancouver Island, Canada. Associate Producer: Steph Gunn. Ad Coordination: RedCircle. Production Coordinator: Sarah Guild. Theme Composer: Mark Blevis. Music rights: Source Audio.🎒UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS• Inside Google Ads with Jyll Saskin Gales• Google Ads for Beginners with Jyll Saskin Gales• Foxwell Slack Group and Courses .Some links in these show notes may provide affiliate revenue to us.Our Sponsors:* Check out Kinsta: https://kinsta.comPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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It is Friday, June 23rd. Today, the dark horse of social platforms is looking up. Bad news
for Reddit ahead of a planned IPO. LinkedIn's new generative AI is finally live. And is
this video game campaign the world's smartest ad placement? I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead
today in digital marketing.
Pinterest, long seen as a decent place for ad campaigns, but not a critical one,
is getting some increased attention this week.
This after the company's stock price surged by 15% yesterday year-to-date,
driven by increasing ad revenue.
The rise has attracted investment firms' attention,
prompting RBC Capital Markets to reassess its estimates for the company.
RBC is said to have liked Pinterest's recent third-party media deals, like the recent
multi-year partnership with Amazon, deals which let Pinterest place more ads in categories where
it lacks first-party data. According to analysts, two opposing forces are actually at play here.
First, increased ads, and two, Amazon's involvement leading to higher auction density that should drive CPMs higher platform-wide.
So, good news for Pinterest.
Maybe less so for media buyers.
Conversion support will also become a factor.
Pinterest reports that 10% of enterprise customers using its conversion API have seen a 15% reduction in cost per action, a 30% increase in conversions,
and a 30% growth in ad spend in the recent quarter versus 5% overall.
Looking to get more views on YouTube?
The company released its 2023 Creative Trends Report this week,
which looks at current shifts in audience interests and behaviors on the platform.
The report identifies a few main trends marketers might want to keep at the back of their heads.
Also keep in mind, YouTube is incentivized to report the trends that are beneficial to its business strategy.
That said, it noted that fandom is alive and well and that in the past year, almost half of all Gen Z viewers
have watched videos made by fans of specific artists or public figures. Quoting the report,
key to this dimensionalized fandom is the growth of formats beyond long form,
most notably short form, but also live streams and podcasts. Creators have embraced storytelling
across these offerings, which lets audiences personalize their consumption even further.
87% of people have watched at least four of the content formats that YouTube offers over the past 12 months.
A link to download the report is available in today's newsletter, or you can search YouTube Culture and Trends Report 2023.
Reddit is facing more than a user uprising.
Prior to thousands of subreddit communities going dark this month in protest against increased API fees, Reddit faced another stark reality, slowing sales growth.
The information reporting today that Reddit's revenue increased 40% last year.
But while the growth rate outpaced many
other internet ad firms, it's a significant deceleration compared to the previous year
when the company's revenue more than doubled. The slowdown in sales growth adds to the uncertainty
surrounding its plans to go public. This newly reported 2022 sales figure suggests Reddit would
face a significant valuation cut from its last
private round if public investors valued it similarly to peer companies. While online
advertising-dependent firms, including social networks and news sites, suffered from reduced
marketing spend in the past year, Reddit's growth rate was faster than its larger competitors like
Meta, Twitter, and Snapchat, reflecting the progress
it's made on building its ad business. Despite this progress, Reddit's ad sales still pale in
comparison to other companies. The company, though, says it wants to generate $1 billion
in ad revenue by 2023. To reach that goal, Reddit's growth rate would have to reach nearly
50% again. This battle has highlighted the challenges for many internet firms that rely
on content from users, but are trying to build profit-making businesses. percent again. This battle has highlighted the challenges for many internet firms that rely on
content from users but are trying to build profit-making businesses.
Look, is it just me or are LinkedIn posts getting worse? It seems every time I check the feed,
there are dozens of effusive posts celebrating how amazing someone's team is or the lessons
they learned watching their kid have a lemonade stand or something.
Well, it's about to get worse, with LinkedIn nearly set to unleash its new AI that can write posts for you.
The company announcing it has officially started testing its AI post-generation tool.
To use the feature, all you have to do is share 30 words, expressing your thoughts and perspective. And then
the AI takes over generating a first draft, which you can review, edit and personalize before posting
on the platform. You can only imagine the language model has been trained on millions of other
LinkedIn posts. This does not bode well. The tool is currently being tested with select members.
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If you're looking to expand your brand's content into new markets,
YouTube is boosting its AI offerings with a new tool that can dub your videos into different languages.
The company announced yesterday it's bringing over the team from Aloud,
an AI-powered dubbing service from Google's Area 120 incubator.
First, the tool transcribes your video, giving you a transcription to review and edit,
and then it will translate and produce the dubbed version.
Currently, English videos can be dubbed into Spanish and Portuguese,
with more languages coming soon.
On another front, YouTube introduced a new A-B testing tool yesterday for thumbnails.
It's called Test and Compare.
It lets you upload up to three thumbnails for a single video, Thank you. YouTube is currently testing the feature with a limited group of users, with plans for a wider launch next year.
And finally, gamers are now being targeted by recruitment ads from Schneider Trucking Company amidst an employee shortage.
The company recently placed recruitment ads on in-game billboards in American Truck Simulator, a popular game that encourages players
to build business management skills
while driving a truck through the American Midwest.
The billboards are virtual,
but they point to real websites,
one of which being the company's own website.
Who said playing video games could never get you a job? If you're new around here, you may not know about our email newsletter.
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Today in Digital Marketing is produced by EngageQ Digital
on the traditional territories of this dynamic first nation on Vancouver Island.
Our associate producer is the intrepid Steph Gunn.
Production coordinator, Sarah Guild.
Music licensing by Source Audio.
Ad coordination by Red Circle.
And you know, not many people know this,
but our theme composer, Mark Blevis,
is one of Reddit's biggest moderators.
Well, was.
Reddit booted him when he made his community private
as part of the API protest,
but luckily Mark has an inside man who tipped him off
that he'll be back soon.
The text read,
Today is going to be the day
that they're going to throw it back to you
I'm Todd Maffin
have a restful weekend friends
see you Monday
I am standing here outside
my comfort zone
and while I'm waiting on your mind
I wonder, oh, why not let your heart decide?