🚨Changes to Google Merchant Centre, Tips to Improve Content Reach on IG, X Launch Game-changing Analytics and LinkedIn Push Video

Hello and welcome to the (slightly later) edition of The Digital Dispatch!

I hope you had a fantastic Bank Holiday Weekend!

An extra day off is always welcome, however, it does mean this edition of The Digital Dispatch is coming to you a little later.

I use Monday to sift through the latest news updates and create the Newsletter for Tuesday's release, hence the evening read!

Next week shall see a return to form.

Anyway enough waffle from me, you want your news!

👇 Dive into 4 key updates below! 👇

1. Google’s Classic Merchant Centre to Be Replaced by AI-Powered Update 🚀 Google is phasing out its classic Merchant Centre for the new AI-driven Merchant Centre Next by September, featuring tools like Product Studio and enhanced analytics. 🤖📊

2. Instagram’s Tips for Boosting Content Reach 📈 Adam Mosseri suggests reposting Reels to Stories and letting larger accounts handle collaborative posts to improve Instagram visibility. 📲✨

3. X Adds Advanced Analytics for Verified Organisations 📊 Verified Organisations on X gain new tools for tracking trends and mentions, though access comes at a high cost. 💼🔍

4. LinkedIn Enhances Video Visibility with In-Feed Carousels 🎥 LinkedIn now features in-feed carousels of user videos leading to a full-screen feed, boosting video content visibility. 📹🔄

Google Scaps the Classic Merchant Centre

Google is set to do away with the classic look and feel of its Merchant Centre by September this year. Don’t worry, though, this isn’t the end but a rebirth, albeit an AI rebirth.

That’s right, Merchant Centre is to be rebranded as Merchant Centre Next, which will be fully loaded with AI tools and unified management for online and local listings for all retailers.

Key Changes and Features:

• Product Studio: An AI-powered content creation tool currently only available for merchants in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, and Japan. This could be a very handy time-saving device.
• Consolidated Analytics: You’ll get a new tab that combines various data tools, such as pricing reports and competitive visibility metrics, to help you keep one eye on the competition.
• Redesigned Interface: Google says that the new design will be more intuitive, giving users features like pre-populated product information and customisable homepages—providing you with the ability to have frequently used items at your fingertips.
• Unified Product Management: You’ll be able to manage online and local product listings in one place.
• Built-in Ad Creation: You’ll be able to create basic automated ad campaigns within Merchant Centre Next.

What Does This Mean?

This mandatory upgrade impacts all retailers using Google’s platform for product listings.

While Google claims the changes will enhance functionality, businesses familiar with the classic interface may face challenges during the transition.

Google has assured that features currently in use will be automatically enabled in Merchant Centre Next. They also offer transition resources, including guides and FAQs.

With the September deadline approaching, retailers should begin preparing for changes to their product management processes on Google.

Instagram Shares Tips on How to Improve Content Performance

If you’re looking for a boost in views on your Instagram profile, the platform's chief, Adam Mosseri, might have a tip or two to help you out.

In his weekly Q&A session on IG Stories, Mosseri shared some quick tips that could improve your content’s reach—sorry, views (we can’t forget that all metrics on Instagram now centre around view figures).

To be clear, these tips aren’t exactly groundbreaking and many of you may already use them, but they are worth bearing in mind and being more consistent with.

1. Reposting Content to Stories: Mosseri suggests that sharing content, specifically Reels, which you have posted on your feed could help boost reach.

Mosseri: 

“Posting a Reel to your Stories will help a bit with reach. Usually, for most people, your feed posts get a lot more reach than your Stories, and this is because there’s a ton of Stories inventory, so there’s a lot more competition relative to feed. But it will just generally be additive, so it’s a good practice, as long as it’s not something that annoys your followers.”

2. Collaborative Posts: Do you frequently collaborate with other businesses or brands and post about them? If the account with the larger following initiates the collaborative post request, this could boost the reach of the post—resulting in more views.

“In general, the ranking system [for Collab posts] biases more towards the original collaborator than the person who accepts. It really shouldn’t matter, but right now it matters a bit, so if the original collaborator is the larger account, that will help on the margins.”

In addition to this update, some users can now retrospectively add collaborators to posts - meaning any old post that you have can have a collaborator added

These are definitely not groundbreaking insights but they offer valuable refinement tips that could help you expand your Instagram reach as Q4 approaches.

New Analytics Tools for Verified Organisations on X

Verified Organisations on X can now search for keyword and topic-related trends on the platform.

X has updated its analytics tools to provide new insights for Verified Subscribed Organisations.

According to X, the update allows business users to 'gain an understanding of market trends and public opinion.'

The Updates:

• You can track conversation volume and velocity over time.
• You can break down mentions by time, allowing you to see when your target terms are gaining or losing interest.

The Takeaway:

These updates are useful for those looking to measure trends, industry shifts, and optimal posting times for content reach.

However, these features are only available to Verified Organisation Subscribers. With the basic package costing £200 per month and full access priced at £1,000 per month, it’s a significant investment that might exclude many businesses.

Nevertheless, if you’ve experienced strong sales or growth through the platform, the cost could be worthwhile for accessing these insights.

LinkedIn Pushes Video Through In-Feed Carousels

LinkedIn seems to be making a new effort to push video content on the platform, via in-feed carousels of video clips from users. 

As you can see in the image, users will now be shown an in-feed collection of videos created by other users that you side-scroll through. 

The videos shown are matched to users based on interests, in-app activity and profile details. 

Tapping on any of the displayed clips then takes users to LinkedIn’s TikTok-style full-screen vertical video feed.

Why should you care?

With LinkedIn seemingly pushing to promote video, and recently stating that video is the fastest-growing content type on the platform, it’s worth considering LinkedIn as a valuable channel for your business’s video content. 

It’s worth noting that short-form videos, popular on TikTok and Instagram, may not resonate well with professionals, but longer-form content could be more effective.

That's All Folks!

That wraps up this week's edition of The Digital Dispatch! We hope you found these updates insightful and helpful for your business.

Stay tuned for more tips, trends, and tools to keep you ahead in the digital landscape.

Until next time!

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