Today in Digital Marketing - The Problem With 5-Star Reviews

Episode Date: July 25, 2022

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Today, Google Local Service Ads fake review problem. Has inflation killed the buy now, pay later industry? Meta gets hit with a piracy lawsuit for allegedly stealing hundreds of songs. And creates a new revenue stream for video creators that use licensed music. It's Monday, July 25th. I'm Steph Gunn, filling in for Todd Muffin. Here is what you missed today in digital marketing. Is Google sleeping on its screening processes for local service ads? According to the tech giant, local service ads are supposed to be screened, guaranteed,

and reviewed by someone contracted by Google. However, Search Engine Roundtable reported today that many reviews in local service ads appear to be fake. On Twitter, an SEO enthusiast observed that Google now shows three local service ads on mobile instead of two, and also noted that all of these listings are spam, and Google has refused to take action on the reports for over five months. As an example, a search for injury lawyers found that all 100 SLA results had a rating of 5.0. And the SEO professional added, Considering that, the business names, multiple listings for the same business, and lack of verifying if the locations are real,

I don't see how anyone at Google could feel okay about these results. Someone else questioned whether fake reviews constitute consumer deception, because they are accompanied by the Google Screened label, which implies the reviews are legitimate. We'll keep you updated if Google responds. With inflation and a possible recession looming, buy now pay later services are facing roadblocks. Klarna's valuation was recently slashed to $6.7 billion, around a seventh of what it was worth a year ago, and other companies in the space have laid off workers. However, in spite of these challenges, data from the research firm Morning Consult

found that the share of consumers who reported using Buy Now Pay Later to make a purchase in the past month has never fallen below 15%. As a result, an analyst there believes that Buy Now Pay Later services have been firmly ingrained in consumers' wallets. The analyst suggested that as higher interest rates might lower consumer spending overall, they could also drive people away from credit cards in favor of interest-free alternatives like buy-now-pay-later providers.

Trustpilot's recent survey found that the prospect of more debt without credit reporting benefits is the main reason the majority of consumers don't use Buy Now, Pay Later. According to a Trustpilot executive, new regulations might not be a roadblock. In order to become a real alternative to credit cards, the Buy Now, Pay Later industry must address these consumer trust concerns, and credit reporting regulations and rules for these companies could help change that. Epidemic Sound, which provides royalty-free music to YouTubers and other creators, claims Meta stole hundreds of songs, resulting in billions of illegal views on Facebook and Instagram. The company alleges that Meta's platforms are using its content as if it was

their own and making it available to users without any license. According to the recent filing, roughly 95% of content using Epidemic's music on Meta's platforms is unlicensed. The complaint states that it knows of over 950 of its music tracks that have been reproduced, stored, made available to, and distributed to its users by Meta through its music library or through its other content sharing tools without a license. The complaint also said that Meta's violation has grown even more rampant recently, in part due to Meta's creation of tools that lets users infringe on Epidemic's rights. The lawsuit claims Meta is aware that it is actively storing, offering, curating, reproducing, performing, and distributing Epidemics

music through its music library and Reels remix and original audio features without a license. As a result, the complaint seeks up to $142 million in statutory damages for willful infringement, as well as a permanent injunction. 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. As Meta faces a lawsuit for allegedly stealing hundreds of songs,

apparently there's no better day than today for the company to announce a new way for creators to earn money through Facebook videos that use licensed music. Music revenue sharing lets creators include licensed music in their videos on Facebook and earn revenue from in-stream ads. Creators will receive 20% of the revenue from videos, with Meta and Music Rights holders also receiving separate shares. It is required for creators to be eligible for in-stream ads and meet Facebook's monetization eligibility standards. All eligible songs for music revenue sharing must also be in the licensed music library. Finally, Meta noted that the licensed music cannot be the primary purpose of the video

and that it must also contain a visual component. The music revenue sharing program will be rolling out to video creators worldwide today. Meta said eligible videos will monetize with in-stream ads delivered in the U.S. to start and will expand in the future. Is it time for your brand to enter the in-real-life catalog game? A recent report from the Harvard Business Review found that traditional catalogs are highly effective marketing vehicles for retailers. But before shifting your budget to paper, consider these findings to determine whether catalogs are right for your brand. The study found that catalogs plus email boosted purchases by a quarter over email only.

Catalogs were more effective with customers who did more than half of their shopping in stores. Catalogs with images and short narratives were 40% more effective than those with just photos and product names. And finally, catalogs with higher priced and hedonic products had a 120% higher return on investment than those featuring utilitarian products. This study also suggests another benefit of printed catalogs is that they can provide a real-world presence for online-only brands. So we have this beautiful plum tree in our backyard that was filled with fruit this year,

which I've been really excited about because it's the first year that it's actually produced any fruit. So I've been checking it every single day to see if the plums are ready and they were almost there. So I checked it yesterday and I was thinking, you know what, they'll probably be perfect by the end of this week. Went out this morning, there isn't a single plum left on the tree. The squirrels have taken every single one of them. I just thought since they haven't bothered with the tree at all this year that they weren't going to, but it turns out I'm the fool because they were also just waiting for the plums to ripen. Don't forget the premium version of this podcast is just like this one, but with no ads, access to deep dive weekend episodes, replays of upcoming live events,

better audio quality, story links in the show notes, and lots more. You can get 50% off of your first month by going to todayindigital.com slash premium feed or tap the link in the show notes. Thanks for listening and I'll be back to talk to you tomorrow. Thank you.