🗞️ Digital Marketing Must-Knows

Hello, Marketers. Kole here, back with 5 hand-picked stories you should know.

Last week we got our first glimpse at how Google is integrating AI within Search. Initially, Google is taking a different approach to Microsoft/Bing by presenting AI-chat and search as different functions. This keeps more of the status quo for Google’s search ads business while they test further. Meanwhile, Microsoft can afford to offer a new type of search experience right away.

Let’s get started.

Round-Up

1. Instagram announces an upcoming ‘Ads in Search Results’ release. At the same time, Instagram also revealed ‘Reminder ads’. (Instagram ↗️)

• Instagram are testing ads in their Search results feed. The new ad placement will roll out globally in the coming months.
• Where will the ads be placed? After users search on Instagram, they can select from a range of posts. The posts open into a feed of further relevant posts. And that is where the image/video ads will be shown. Within that feed.
• Targeting was not mentioned in the announcement but it’s expected to be keyword-based. Twitter released a similar product in January.
• The second update from Instagram: Advertisers can promote an event through Reminder ads. Brands can offer users the option to share the event to their story. Or to receive reminders for the event.
• When opted-in to reminders, users receive 3 notifications via Instagram. The day before, 15 minutes before, and at the time of the event.

 2. Google publically rolled out their AI chatbot, Bard, to compete with ChatGPT. Google wants Bard to become an integral but “complementary” part of the Google Search experience. Unlike Bing’s ChatGPT integration, Bard does not look up search results. Bard is designed to help people “brainstorm”. And directs users to search on Google to go deeper. Bard is available for free testing in the U.S. and UK. (The Verge ↗️)

Here’s how Google’s project leads describe Bard:

Bard is a direct interface to a Language Learning Model (LLM), and we think of it as a complementary experience to Google Search. Bard is designed so that you can easily visit Search to check its responses or explore sources across the web. Click “Google it" to see suggestions for queries, and Search will open in a new tab so you can find relevant results and dig deeper. We’ll also be thoughtfully integrating LLMs into Search in a deeper way — more to come.

3. Microsoft’s Gaming Division CEO announced that Microsoft could launch an alternative app store on iOS and Android. The EU’s Digital Markets Act is expected to mean that Apple and Google will have to open access for other companies to offer app stores on their devices. The EU’s rules are expected to come into effect in March next year. (Tech Crunch ↗️)

You know who else could really benefit from creating their own app store?

Meta 🤔

4. Google recently updated their policies on AI-created content. Google reaffirmed that they want to “reward original, high-quality content that demonstrates qualities of what we call E-E-A-T: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness”. This applies whether AI was used or not. Last week TikTok updated their policy to require creators to label content created or modified using AI. (Google ↗️)

5. Meta confirmed that verification will not provide subscribers with increased organic reach. The initial intention from Meta was to boost reach for subscribers. But they have put a pause on that feature white they gather more feedback on the new subscription product. (Instagram ↗️)

 More Headlines

• Apple is considering bidding for Premier League streaming rights
• LinkedIn added new company pages features
• Twitter will start removing legacy checkmarks

 Presented by Ariyh

• I subscribe to this newsletter for marketing tips backed up by science.
• You get ~3min summaries on how to use the latest research from top business schools in your marketing.
• For example: “When $.99 pricing works best”
• Subscribe for $0 here

Become a future sponsor

Free Mini-Course

• New to the world of Digital Marketing? I created a series of 7 emails in 7 days
• We cover some of the keys behind the major marketing channels of 2023
• You can read each one in the time it takes to drink your morning coffee ☕
• It runs each Monday. Start learning for free.