Strategic Shifts | Measuring Metrics Across Platforms

CANNES LIONS 2024 RECAP

During the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Meta announced products to help drive creativity and success for businesses. 

• AI Chatbot – Businesses now have access to an AI chatbot, built with Meta Llama 3, to assist in answering customer questions and advertising new products. Businesses can get started using the chatbot in the Meta Business Suite by inputting information about their brand, services, and products.

• Messaging Tools – Businesses can also send updates to customers through Messenger and WhatsApp to alert them of deals, restocked items, discounts, and more. Paid marketing messages are available to set up and send through the Ads Manager.

Meta Apps Dominate Downloads –– Based on Sensor Tower’s Digital Market Index report, Meta apps Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were the top three breakout apps worldwide in Q1 2024, with Threads following near as number six. 

FACEBOOK FEATURES

Future of Facebook is Young Adults – Facebook has announced its vision for the future – "building the next generation of social media for young adults.” The latest platform changes have all been with young adults in mind, and they are putting effort into improving community on the platform through Marketplace, Reels, Groups, and even Facebook Dating.

A recent report found that over 40 million young adults are daily active Facebook users, and the app is the “preferred social media app for communities.” Facebook Dating is steadily growing with a 20% increase in users year-over-year. Additionally, 1 in 4 young adults on the app use Marketplace, and 1.8 million use Facebook Groups.

Facebook used to have a higher percentage of teens on the site, but now they are growing with their audience.

INSTAGRAM INNOVATIONS

Ad Updates

• Unskippable ads –– Instagram started testing unskippable ads which display a countdown, and the words “Ad break,” until users can move on to the next post. The new format is similar to ads currently on YouTube and Snapchat. Next to the timer, users can click to learn more and read the following message: 
• “You’re seeing an ad break. Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you keep browsing.”
• Ads on Stories –– A new type of ad appeared on Instagram Stories recently that is displayed on top of users’ original content. So far, the pop-up ads have only been for Meta’s virtual reality game, Super Rumble, but they are a new kind of ad to watch out for.

Creator Insights Overview –– Instagram added a new way for creators to show off their profile performance to brands they want to partner with – “Creator Insights.” Creators can display an overview of their follower growth, accounts reached, and accounts engaged within the last 30 days on their profile. This is great for creators as well as marketers who want a bit more insight into a creator’s profile performance

TRENDY THREADS

API released –– Threads API is now available for developers, which will give them access to post via third-party platforms and view post metrics. Users can manage their content on platforms like Sprout Social or Hootsuite and view analytics including views, likes, replies, reposts, followers, and more. Begin using Threads API today. 

Premium Company Pages –– To aid in the growth of small-to-medium size businesses, LinkedIn has launched Premium Company Pages. With this subscription, users will have access to a variety of new features, including: 

• Custom CTA buttons
• Auto-invites for potential followers
• Insights on Page visitors
• AI writing assistant tools
• Showcase sections for client testimonials
• Additional alerts

A subscription for Premium Company Pages costs $44.99 when billed annually.

AI Literacy Required –– Have you heard the latest in the job market? Leaders do not want to hire people without AI literacy skills. According to a LinkedIn report, 71% of leaders would hire a less experienced candidate who has AI literacy skills over a more experienced candidate without them. 66% would not hire a candidate without them. 

LinkedIn offers several AI-focused LinkedIn Learning courses to assist marketers with the growth of AI. 

Newly Hidden Likes –– Elon Musk has officially implemented hidden likes. Users can now only see their likes, but not the likes of any other users. X announced this change last month, but the update went live for all users on June 12.

Premium Advanced Analytics –– X Premium users now have access to advanced analytics which include total impressions, engagement rate, profile visits, link clicks, and more. Nonpaying users used to have access to these insights, but the new analytics dashboard, with a few more specific data points, is only available to premium subscribers.

Sports content thrives on X –– Sports content is the number one content on X, according to CEO Linda Yaccarino, particularly women’s sports ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a result, X is working on creating more sports docuseries on the platform to take advantage of the organic conversations. Upcoming projects include:

• “The Offseason” –– A docuseries about the National Women’s Soccer League
• “All In: The Boston Celtics” –– A docuseries unveiling the behind-the-scenes of the Celtics’ NBA championship.
• Paris Olympics videos from a partnership with NBCUniversal.

Cookies Are (Almost) Out – Advertisers Need New Recipes

Are your digital advertising plans ready for third-party cookies to disappear? In response to a united call for increased privacy and data protection, third-party cookies have been slowly phased out. Cookies are small pieces of data that websites place on a user’s device to track browsing history and enable personalized ads. Tech giant, Google, and its browser, Google Chrome, are the final holdout, but the latest announcement indicates that cookies will no longer be on the menu as early as Q1 2025. 

Not to worry though – there are many comparable audience targeting solutions fresh out of the oven for you. Here is a preview of cookieless targeting options: 

• First-Party Data: Any channel or publisher that has collected first-party data, such as Meta, is still in the table. Likewise, if you have collected your own first-party data, like subscribers, you can leverage it for advertising. If you haven’t invested in building out your own subscribers, it’s not too late to get started! 

• Contextual Targeting: Contextual targeting will still be available, allowing advertisers to run ads alongside aligning content. For example, a health policy ad would do well on websites featuring healthcare-related content. A step further, data providers are creating contextual audience segments with predictive analytics to target hundreds of audience characteristics, including contextual political segments. 

• Location-Based Targeting: Location-based targeting will still be available, making it easy to curate and target audiences where they are or have spent time. 

• Data Aggregation Partners: Tap data partners that have modeled audiences without cookies. For instance, Tunnl offers cookieless, privacy-compliant targeting solutions to reach audiences based on their values. 

• Google’s Privacy Sandbox: Privacy Sandbox will offer privacy-friendly alternatives to cookies, and while not all features have been shared publicly, one promising feature will anonymously aggregated audiences based on topics. This offers a way to personalize ads, without accessing the user’s identity. 

We are here to help with this transition and ensure ongoing access to the audiences that matter most. Reach out with any questions and to plan your next audience activation. 

What do you think? — Will Meta platforms continue to dominate with Instagram’s latest ads and Facebook’s focus on young adults?  

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