Today in Digital Marketing - There's No Business Like Slow Business

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Monday, January 22nd. Today, more layoffs affecting Amazon's Buy With Prime program and Google's search quality. TikTok's growth is starting to slow down. Prime video ad rates look pretty darn competitive. And the latest U.S. state to put a consumer privacy law in place, how this will affect your business. I'm Todd Maffin.

Starting point is 00:00:25 That's ahead today in digital marketing. 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. More layoffs in the digital marketing space and it's Amazon this weekend announcing more

Starting point is 00:00:57 reductions to its workforce. Retail Dive reporting this morning that the company is laying off about 30 employees from its Buy With Prime division. This lets Amazon Prime members buy products directly from third-party sellers on Amazon's marketplace. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed these layouts, noting they affect less than 5% of the team's staff, and despite this, the company says they still plan to invest in the program. These layoffs are part of a larger trend of workforce reductions at Amazon, which has been ongoing for over a year. The company's announced several job cuts across various departments, including Prime Video, MGM Studios, its Alexa unit, AWS, Twitch, and other teams. In total, these reductions amount to tens of thousands of jobs. In addition to staff reductions, Amazon has also been closing several of its physical stores,

Starting point is 00:01:47 including Amazon Style apparel stores and its standalone bookstores. But the company maintains that physical retail remains a key aspect of its strategy, especially in the grocery sector. Meanwhile, a company called Appen put out a news release this morning saying they had been cut by Google and will stop working with the search giant in mid-March. Appen is a large contractor, and for Google, they provided the people who rate search quality.

Starting point is 00:02:17 These are external evaluators who assess the quality of search results. They have a giant guidebook and spend their days doing Google searches, rating the quality of the searches and providing that data to Google, which it uses to improve the algorithm. It's unfortunate timing for Google, given the recent reports of their search results getting worse in quality. Appen says they had no prior notice about being cut.

Starting point is 00:02:50 TikTok is still growing, but at a much slower clip than previously. New data from Sensor Tower shows that TikTok's average quarterly growth in monthly active users decreased from 12% in 2022 to just 3% last year. This slowdown coincides with the launch of TikTok Shop in the US, which began testing in November of 2022. The platform tried to convert the popularity of TikTok videos into sales following trends like the TikTok made me buy it phenomenon. But users and sellers alike have complained about the increasing presence of ads and low-quality products, some labeling it an ad-filled wasteland. Meanwhile, Instagram might benefit from this shift. After removing its own shop tab and discontinuing live shopping, is it possible Instagram could attract users

Starting point is 00:03:37 seeking a less commerce-focused experience? Social commerce constituted only about 5% of total U.S. e-commerce sales in 2022. Amazon is set to introduce a new ad-supported streaming tier for its Prime video service on January 29th. A recently viewed pitch deck by Adweek reveals Amazon will offer three different plans for advertisers. The preferred deal, guaranteed buy, and premium sponsorships. The preferred deal is the most cost-effective option with a base cost of $26 per thousand viewers reached. That's not CPM, by the way. CPM is impressions delivered.

Starting point is 00:04:20 This number is based on actual reach. So, $26? Pretty competitive price. Meanwhile, the guaranteed buy and premium sponsorships provide more complex targeting options and exclusive program sponsorships, albeit at higher costs. Notably, these costs per thousand views are fixed and not tied to an auction. Some analysts say Amazon Prime will reach 317 million households globally this year. This expansion into ad-supported streaming could divert billions of dollars from traditional TV and other streaming platforms.

Starting point is 00:05:02 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. TikTok has released a new guide for advertisers. It has some new info on optimizing ad bidding strategies. Quoting social media today, quote, first off, the guide provides an overview of

Starting point is 00:05:37 how to approach your ad process and the different bidding options available within TikTok system. The guide also includes pointers on how to structure your ad account in order to maximize performance, which provides some key guidance on common best practices. There are also tips on how and when to update your campaigns in order to avoid audience fatigue and the shifts that can occur within the learning phase. There are also pointers on bidding strategies

Starting point is 00:06:02 and when they are most effective, unquote. We have a link to their web auction best practices guide in today's email newsletter, which is free. You can sign up by tapping the link in the show notes or going to todayindigital.com slash newsletter. New Jersey has become the latest American state to sign consumer privacy protection into law, and it could affect how you store your customers' data. It kicks in next January and, like the 12 other states with similar legislation, lets consumers opt out of having companies sell their personal information. The law applies to businesses operating in New Jersey that either control or process personal data of over

Starting point is 00:06:46 100,000 consumers or those handling data of at least 25,000 consumers while profiting from it. It follows a similar framework to California's consumer privacy law, where a sale includes sharing, disclosing, or transferring personal data for monetary gains or other benefits. This does, of course, affect third-party entities like ad tech vendors. The law does have some exceptions. It doesn't cover personal data processed solely for completing payment transactions. And interestingly, it does not grant a private right of action.

Starting point is 00:07:23 This means enforcement lies solely with New Jersey's attorney general and residents cannot sue companies for privacy violations. Next up, probably New Hampshire. A similar bill is awaiting the governor's approval there. Monday morning, it sure gives me the mood. Our digital marketing helpline team is ready to handle your problems. Whether you can't figure out how to get your Google Analytics connected, or your CPCs are spiking, or you need help growing your agency, just speak your question into our voicemail,

Starting point is 00:08:00 and we will get an expert to answer your question on the show. Go to todayindigital.com slash voicemail to submit your question. If we use your question on the show, you will get a free subscription to our premium newsletter that comes with a free course, access to dozens of marketing science interviews and more. That's todayindigital.com slash voicemail or tap the link at the top of the show notes. All right, that's it for today. I'm Todd Mappin.

Starting point is 00:08:28 Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. Working every day till the weekend comes around.

Today in Digital Marketing - There's No Business Like Slow Business

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