The Bulletin April 2023

With the increasing popularity of Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Meta has launched new ad options as it leans into short-form video content. Among the many tools, Click-to-Messenger ads are now available in Reels. You’ll also be able to start a conversation over WhatsApp with a direct ad link. A recent Meta survey showed that 50% of Reels viewers have made DM contact with a brand after seeing their short-form video content, so building on the popularity of video and private messaging seems like a smart move in advertising.

This month Instagram launched new Reels options designed to help creators tap into latest trends and maximise viewer engagement. The highest form of flattery, many of the tools appear similar to TikTok, as Social Media Today writes – it’s CapCut in Instagram. The new analytics allow creators to see more details such as plays, likes, comments, saves, and shares. The new creator tools also allow them to save audio from their Reels, and discover new music and sounds. According to Instagram, these updates will make it easier for creators to produce high-quality content that better suits their audience. We expect these tools will see more engagement and use of the platform.

Though many apps prioritised in-app purchases during the pandemic, once physical stores reopened and sales trends normalised, less effort was placed into online buying, with one exception – TikTok. According to the team from Insider, this month TikTok is doubling down on its efforts to make in-stream shopping more popular. Following the success of their shopping initiatives in China, such as Lemon8, TikTok is inviting selected retailers to join its in-app shopping push, offering subsidies on shipping and sales to maximise interest, and if the sellers are interested, the buyers should follow. The new tools will allow brands to promote their goods via clickable links in videos and livestreams. Only time will tell if they catch on.

This month the team at Search Engine Land (SEL) did the hard work for you, exploring whether Facebook’s Advantage+ technology is worth the hype. Using automation and technological learning, Advantage+ shopping campaigns make it easier for ecommerce businesses to reach more people who are likely to purchase their products. But according to SEL, it comes with some caveats: it’s currently only available to ecommerce businesses, the system requires KPI history on creatives and targeting so it won’t work on a new account, and you currently cannot define targeting for the technology, meaning you won’t be able to isolate specific parts of your audience by gender, age, or other demographics. Turning complete control over to AI might be questionable, however the results appear promising according to SEL, but you can’t know what will work for your business until you try it yourself.

According to a new study conducted by Statista, TikTok users are overall more open to in-app ads when compared to other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. While a large group are understanding when it comes to in-app ads, what comes as a surprise is that almost 15% of users struggle to distinguish between advertising and regular content. This is an important point for brands and creators as ads should be platform specific and fit in with other content seamlessly to align with the broader user experience. This could be the reason why users find ads less annoying on TikTok – they are simply less disruptive. Read the link below for more notes that could help guide your TikTok approach.

Time to update your SEO strategy, and the team from Red Website Design are here to help, sharing the top confirmed Google ranking factors that will help businesses and brands succeed this year. From Relevance and Freshness to Mobile-Friendliness, many factors help determine where your website ranks in Google, but not all are easy to adapt your campaign strategy to. It all depends on your products, services and keywords. Read the infographic for a good place to start or let your marketing team tackle the research.