Advertisers: Don’t Fear, Help is Here!

Having the right message, design, ad words and timing across multiple platforms is a HUGE challenge for today’s marketers.

Google wants to help. The company has announced a new suite of machine learning tools, aimed at helping marketers create more effective ads. The new products include responsive search ads, maximum lift for YouTube, local campaigns and smart shopping campaigns. Marketers who tested the services saw a 15% increase in click-throughs.

Facebook wants to help too. The company has announced a new augmented reality feature that allows users to virtually try on items with “just-one-click”. The new feature was designed to give advertisers more bang-for-their-buck on the platform. At launch, the feature is limited to users in the US.

Privacy Continues its Journey Down the Rabbit-Hole

Privacy is making a come-back following the GDPR rules and the Facebook Analytical scandal, right? Not so fast. Turns out we all need to pay a little bit more attention to the new privacy settings.

According to a new consumer advocacy report from the Norwegian Consumer Council, Google and Facebook are misleading European users into sharing more of their personal data than they might like through carefully crafted wording specifically designed to get people to agree to sharing info that the GDPR rules were designed to protect. While this mainly is a concern for those who live in Europe, the implications of major tech companies tricking their customers into sharing information reaches across the pond. Read the full report here.

The End of Net Neutrality As We Know It

As of June 11, the way the internet has been policed since the Obama administration has ended. Net Neutrality was originally put in place to prevent internet providers from charging more for certain content or giving preferential treatment to some websites. The concern is that large businesses could pay for premium speeds or enhanced access to consumers over small ones. Or that providers could start charging for tiered-packages of apps and websites, like cable providers who offer packages of channels.

While the law-change could very well change the way we use and pay for the internet, many experts say that changes are likely to happen slowly, when net neutrality is out of the spotlight and consumers aren’t paying as much attention. And while some cable and internet providers may choose to block or slow down competitors, many still have policies in place promising to preserve the “internet experience” and to not give preferential treatment to websites or services.

No news is good news for now, but the lesson here is stay alert.

The State of the Internet

Mary Meeker has released her 2018 internet report, a treasure-trove of information for advertisers. Some key points of interest? As of 2018, half the world’s population is now on the internet, American adults are clocking 5.9 hours of internet use a day on mobile devices and the shift to mobile has created a 7-billion-dollar ad opportunity. Read the full report here.

Are you horrified that we are all spending nearly 6 hours online on our phones and tablets? Don’t be. Everyone always wants to talk about the ways the internet is ruining our lives, but maybe that’s not completely true. There are nearly 6 million apps available and Marketing Tech highlights the apps that help us manage money, focus on tasks and stay healthy.

Privacy Concerns Trump All

Privacy is a hot-button topic for sure and we will likely see that continue into the summer and perhaps for the better part of 2018 while companies scramble to assure users they are keeping their information secure.

Facebook has suspended 200 apps that may have leaked private data, pending investigation. This may indicate privacy concerns are not over even though Facebook’s stock has rebounded to pre-scandal levels.

While many individuals left Facebook following the #deletefacebook movement, few small businesses did. Apparently, 80% of small businesses use Facebook to promote their business and most of the posts created are meant for public consumption. Since the whole point is sharing their content, there is little concern about who gets ahold of it.

Cambridge Analytica is Out of the Spotlight—For Now

Facebook has been dominating our newsletter lately. Thankfully, for now, attention has shifted away from the Cambridge Analytica scandal—for the most part—that has dominated the news cycles for the last month.

But hold on, before you completely dismiss the scandal--it was revealed just this week that Cambridge Analytica also purchased tweets from Twitter over a five-month-period in 2014-2015. While Twitter has confirmed this, they have clarified that Cambridge Analytica did not obtain personal data of Twitter users. Stay-tuned?

Facebook Fall-Out Continues as the #DeleteFacebook Movement Grows

The Facebook fall-out continues as Mark Zuckerberg addressed questions about the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Scandal in a joint-Senate hearing Monday.

The media has questioned how effective the hearing may have been. CNN suggested that the hearing was simply a “light roasting” because many Senators did not have a good understanding of what exactly Facebook does. The Verge also questioned the validity of the two-day-hearing by pointing out exactly how much money Facebook has donated to the lawmakers who were questioning him—it’s $641,685, by the way.

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook: Scandals, Falling Stocks and Algorithm-Hacks

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you must’ve heard that the big social media news of the past two weeks is the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. Cambridge Analytica says they took data from Facebook users to target voters and influence votes. Facebook claims to have been tricked by the company as they were supposed to delete that data in 2015.

Social Media—New Facts, a Throwback and the Future of Tech

The Pew Research Center released their latest social-media use findings early this month. Facebook still holds to strong to the #1 spot—nearly 2/3 of U.S. adults report they are users and just about 75% visit the site daily. YouTube also holds a top spot with 73% of adults using the platform. As marketers already know, young adults heavily skew towards Snapchat and Instagram.

The New York Times reported this week on the growing number of firms that investigate and identify bots--fake accounts that follow Instagram celebrity personalities. The services have sprung up on the heels of another report that revealed the number of people buying fake followers to increase the amount they could charge marketers.

Brand Loyalty is Out—Engagement is In

According to Fast Company, marketers can stop worrying about brand loyalty and instead focus on engaging with their customers. The article blames the rise of technology on an increasingly disconnected society. Brands should be building spaces, products and experiences that bring people together—that is the future of marketing. At least for now.

Fast Company uses the example of Rapha Cycle Club (RCC), a membership organization that started as-a-way-to promote Rapha apparel is changing the way companies engage with their customers. Their customers are “members” and they are invited to Rapha clubhouses and on rides with employees and other members.