Today in Digital Marketing - Your Ads Will Cost More... and You're Gonna LIKE It, Mister!

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Starting point is 00:00:18 starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. It is Monday, January 13th, 2020. Be protected. Be Zen. Google puts a face on their search ads. And surprise, Microsoft has two new tools for marketers. Here's what you missed today in Digital Marketing. Did you feel that? That rumbling? That was a Google update, and a big one that just went live this morning. Google tweaks its algorithm all the time, but it only has a few so-called core updates a year. And today was one of them.

Starting point is 00:01:07 The last core update was in September. Quoting Search Engine Land, that update felt weaker to many SEOs and webmasters, as many said it didn't have as big of an impact as previous core updates. Google also released an update in November, but that one was specific to local rankings. So all that to say, if you have access to an SEO tool, like SEMrush or Moz or whatever, maybe check where you stand later this week. If you've been advertising on TikTok,

Starting point is 00:01:33 your rates may be about to go up. Thing is, you'll probably love that. Not for the price you'll pay, but for the placement that you'll be in. If reports are right, TikTok is considering making a specially curated feed of content, a feed that will be more advertiser friendly. If you're familiar with Snapchat, you'll know the Discover tab. That's where mainstream content brands like Condé Nast and NBC and so on, where they put their content. So flipping from story to story there is a relatively safe experience for users. Not so on the main feed where their friends post, both on Snapchat and TikTok. Despite TikTok's moderation, the main content feed, which it calls For You, is a collection of stuff users post.

Starting point is 00:02:19 Maybe stuff that posted recently enough that the moderators haven't seen it? So, sure, you could advertise there, but you risk being alongside some content that you don't like. This new curated feed, if it indeed shows up, would make sure that the content is brand friendly, but you will pay a premium to be there. If you completely phased out there during that last segment, maybe that's because you're a B2B marketer and don't really care about TikTok. Well, I have some good news for you, too. New forecasts from eMarketer show LinkedIn is growing faster than the research company expected it to.

Starting point is 00:02:54 Last year, users were up nearly 9% over the previous year. That's better than eMarketer's previous forecast of 7%. That said, they do expect slowing user growth in the next couple of years. Google has a new ad format out, and it could be really strong if you market a personality-based brand like a realtor or a lawyer, you know, any brand where the business card has your face on it. These new ads are called screened ads, as in Google has screened the content. They're little cards that have a headshot, brand name, a star rating, and how many years the company has been in business. At least that's what it looks like right now.

Starting point is 00:03:35 It is still in testing. Like many companies, Microsoft is at the National Retail Federation's annual show in New York this week, and they have announced two new tools for digital marketers like you and me. Bing for Commerce is a new search AI platform that helps retailers improve search results on their site and potentially avoid site abandonment. And PromoteIQ claims to help push products using intent-based data to increase sales at scale. Home Depot was in the PromoteIQ pilot last year. Microsoft says consumer engagement for that brand increased 35%, and products promoted with the tool saw double-digit growth. If you do a lot of Instagram posts, you may have noticed that the app now has three new boomerang modes, slow-mo, echo, and duo.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Slow-mo is, well, you know, it's slow motion. Echo adds a kind of motion blur to your video, and duo makes this sort of quick rewind visual effect. Also, you can now trim your boomerang before posting. If you don't see this in your Instagram app, make sure you update the app. All right, it is lightning round time. Google has shut down a rumor that links on secure pages are given more authority than links on non-secure pages. They say, nope, not true. They are given equal weight.

Starting point is 00:05:02 Facebook is rolling out their new desktop UI to more people, and you're gonna hate it. And Matt Navarro reports that Twitter is considering a feature that will allow users to tip each other, like literally send money through a tweet. I mean, what could go wrong with that, right? If you value a daily digital marketing news show, please take a moment to review this podcast.

Starting point is 00:05:25 It only takes a second. Quick instructions at ratethispodcast.com slash today. And if your brand could use some help with your social media content, engagement, or digital marketing, check out our agency at engageq.com. Follow me on social. Links to my channels and our agency are in this episode's description. I'm Todd Maffin.

Starting point is 00:05:44 See you tomorrow.

Today in Digital Marketing - Your Ads Will Cost More... and You're Gonna LIKE It, Mister!

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