Today in Digital Marketing - The Revolution Will Be Vertical

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Thursday, April 4th. Today, Google's new ad format might hide your ad behind a scroll, but it's not as bad as you think. Your LinkedIn campaigns can now run on TV, everything is going vertical on Facebook, and the massive company thinking of buying HubSpot would be its biggest deal ever. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in digital marketing. 750 stores on electronics, holiday travel, home decor, and more. It's super easy. And before you

Starting point is 00:00:46 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.ca. R-A-K-U-T-E-N.ca. 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. Google is testing taking your ad, you know, the one that runs at the top of search results,

Starting point is 00:01:32 and dumping it into a carousel slider with a whole bunch of other ads. Marketer Alexander Hatala spotted this in the wild and posted about it on social media. The screenshot shows sponsored listings in a slider, which appear to be for review discussion type sites. But before you dust the pitchforks and torches off, a few things for context. First, this isn't actually a new use of a sponsored carousel. Google has displayed shopping ads in carousels before and tested others. And no advertisers will lose money if this launches. Our Google Ads correspondent, Jill Saskengales, who spent six years working in the Google Ads division, reminded me, quote,

Starting point is 00:02:08 remember that you don't pay unless people click. And you don't even get an impression unless you actually get eyeballs. This carousel looks to be ads for review sites. So it's possible that this is some kind of new discovery placement for forum type content, perhaps a new placement for demand gen or more likely from PMAX, unquote. No official reply from Google about it. I bet I know what they'll say, though.

Starting point is 00:02:35 Something about they're always testing things, many of which never make it live, which is true. And something about how their AI will put the most relevant ads at the front of the carousel for each person, which will probably be true some of the time. We'll update this story if we learn more. Speaking of new ad formats, LinkedIn today staked its flag into the connected TV space. Advertisers can now add CTV to their LinkedIn campaigns. The ads will be delivered through LinkedIn's partners like Paramount, Roku, and Samsung. This is going to be found inside the self-service campaign manager, but if you prefer to go with a more bespoke setup,

Starting point is 00:03:15 they will set you up with a managed offering run by NBCUniversal. Quoting Martek, Connected TV is a growing channel for many marketers, including B2B businesses. As part of the rationale for introducing connected TV, LinkedIn cited a study from Demandbase that found 90% of B2B marketers who used it in 2023 believed it helped reach customers. A LinkedIn representative told Martek, quote, since only 5% of buyers are in market for a new purchase at any given time, it's important for B2B marketers to consistently engage with their audiences to ensure their brand is memorable when it's time to buy. We launched LinkedIn CTV to help our customers continue to reach and engage new audiences across streaming television content, unquote. Facebook is getting a big makeover for its video player, taking a page right out of TikTok's playbook, of course.

Starting point is 00:04:12 All videos on Facebook will soon sport a vertical full screen look. Yes, all videos, including stories, traditional long form videos, and even live streams. It will roll out first in the US and Canada on both iOS and Android platforms in the coming including stories, traditional long-form videos, and even live streams. It will roll out first in the U.S. and Canada on both iOS and Android platforms in the coming weeks, with a global launch planned in the months ahead. This marks a significant shift from the past, where Facebook juggled multiple video formats, including traditional horizontal videos and those playing in the app's feed. With this update, videos will automatically present in vertical format,

Starting point is 00:04:50 although there will be an option to watch horizontal videos in full screen by flipping your phone around. For many marketers, this could mean putting vertical video production on a higher priority, especially considering even your landscape videos will come out vertical on Facebook. Threads might soon start to see more content and maybe better content. Meta is launching a content reward program which, like we've seen on other apps, will pay creators for their content based on view count. TikTok has had a couple of variations of these programs, as have LinkedIn and Instagram and others. For now, creators are being invited to the program individually and earn money on any

Starting point is 00:05:30 video that gets more than 2,500 views, which seems to be an awfully low bar to me. And Meta says the details of the program may vary by participant, which certainly sounds like they're cutting different payout deals with different creators. Also, that invitation will actually show up in your attached Instagram account in the professional dashboard. That's because Threads used Instagram's code base to get off the ground quickly. Quoting social media today, right now, Threads probably does need a boost. While the app has seen rapid growth, rising to 130 million users after its launch last July, that momentum has slowed. Threads hasn't really made a dent in the real-time social market, despite early interest. Indeed, while Threads is up to 130 million active monthly users,

Starting point is 00:06:18 it reached 100 million in October, just three months after launch. We're now nine months in, and within that time, Threads has become available in more regions, most notably Europe, where my estimate suggests that Threads should have added an extra 25 million users. So while there are people using the app, it's not exactly seeing rapid expansion, while piggybacking off of Instagram has also given threads a significant leg up on other new platforms, which dilutes its comparative performance, unquote. 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.

Starting point is 00:07:05 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.ca. R-A-K-U-T-E-N dot C-A. Do you have business insurance?

Starting point is 00:07:32 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. And finally, today reports are circulating that Alphabet, Google's parent company, is thinking about buying HubSpot, the large CRM platform. HubSpot is public and has a market valuation of about $32 billion. Its stock has been on a climb since about mid-November or so.

Starting point is 00:08:11 Alphabet executives have apparently met with bankers to flesh out what a deal would look like. Nobody's talking on the record, of course, and analysts are skeptical. Quoting Reuters, if Alphabet moves ahead with a bid, it would be a rare example of a major technology company attempting a mega deal amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of the sector. The potential acquisition would be Alphabet's largest ever and allow it to put some of its cash pile, which reached almost $111 billion at the end of December, to work. Alphabet's CEO is looking for avenues to boost growth after the company disclosed in January that fourth quarter ad sales came in below expectations. Unquote. We will keep you updated if there is a development there.

Starting point is 00:09:01 Well, if you've got a marketing position you're trying to fill, or maybe you're looking for that next great gig, consider a classified ad right here. It's not just limited to HR. You can use it to advertise pretty much whatever you like. It's just 20 bucks and you can book it online. Link in the show notes or go to todayindigital.com slash ads. I'm Todd Maffin. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Today in Digital Marketing - The Revolution Will Be Vertical

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