After months of extreme updates and turbulence in the marketing world, there seem to be steadier waves in the past month. However, that doesn’t mean that it has been quiet.
We’ve cut through all the noise to update you on the marketing news that actually matters and what it means for your marketing strategy and tactics.
We understand that you are probably very busy, so the TL:DR is:
- No special strategy is needed for Google’s AI Overviews; good traditional SEO is enough.
- AI Overviews don’t always appear at the top of search results, leaving potential for organic clicks.
- New Instagram features include the ability to add links to posts, pin your own comments, and access advanced Reels analytics.
- YouTube is rolling out new ways for creators to earn money and gain visibility to attract and retain them
- Facebook: Meta is removing Community Chats from Groups, confusing users and marketers.
Contents
SEO Updates
There are many movements in the SEO world at the moment, as AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimisation) is rolled out to more of the world (including, here in the UK). Whilst we continue to unravel the impact, we can look at the top SEO news from last month and the changes these updates will have on your strategy.
- We finally have some metrics from AI LLMs (Large Language Models)! However, we have lost some metrics in other places, so the balance between relying on metrics and trusting your marketing gut is still a tightrope we are all trying to walk. You will need to get stakeholders to trust you and your marketing judgment, as we are increasingly having less access to stats and data points.
- Perplexity launches a Search API (Application Programming Interface). This API will allow developers to access Perplexity “search evaluation” metrics and integrate this data into other apps and platforms.
- Many users are seeing massive drops in GSC (Google Search Console) impressions, and increases in avg. position since &num=100 was disabled. The impact of tools scraping SERPs on GSC may have been even larger than previously thought.
- To have your content shown in AI Mode, you just need to keep doing what you were doing before in SEO. No significant changes have been made that affect your visibility in AI Mode on Google.
- Schema is not a differentiating factor for AI Mode visibility. Schema helps Google understand your content and brand but doesn’t increase the chance of inclusion in AI Mode.
- Google’s Danny Sullivan says “Good SEO is good GEO”, reaffirming what Google’s Gary Illyes told crowds earlier this year at Google’s Asia Search Live Deep Dive event.
- There may be a new search engine about to join the race.
- Rumours circulate of Apple planning to launch their AI search engine next year. The report suggests that this new technology will be powered by Google, and will integrate with Siri
- Has the AI bubble popped already?
- Traditional search isn’t declining, despite the growth of AI search. A SparkToro study found that 95% of Americans continue to use traditional search each month. AI tool adoption also appears to be slowing down.
- AI Overviews don’t always appear in position 1 on the SERPs. According to a study by STAT Search Analytics , 14% of the analysed AIOs appear below position 1, with 6% even further down, below position 4. Maybe there’s still hope for our clicks?
- Google tests changes in AI Mode to encourage clicks. These updates include links embedded in the text of a response and the carousel of embedded links, currently on desktop, also coming to mobile.
Social Media Updates
The top news for social media is that TikTok is remaining in the USA! The news doesn’t stop there, we have more new features, new platforms (Adobe even launched an app), and new tactics you can use to help expand your reach.
Here are the updates from last month:
Instagram updates for September
- Nobody knows why Instagram launched a new size for Reels, but they did. You’ve probably seen 5120 X 1080 Reels trending on the platform. I cannot think of a singular example where this was needed, please prove me wrong!
- The Instagram new features team haven’t completely lost the plot though as they’re testing the ability to add links to posts. FINALLY!
- As a user, you may soon be able to experience both an ad-free Facebook and Instagram in the UK. It will be interesting to see how this affects the reach of ads on Meta. We would suggest looking at where your ad placements are and if you need to consider looking at another platform, if you are relying on meta at the moment.
- There have been a whole load of other features, they may be beneficial to you and your brand. We always recommend playing around with features when they are new, especially on Instagram we have seen that they can help increase reach.
- New features include the ability to add links to posts, link to other Reels for series, split audio in-app, and access advanced Reels retention analytics. Meta has also fully launched AI-targeted “Reels Trending Ads.”
- Users can now pin their own comments on posts, and creators have new DM filters for story replies, unread messages, and more.
- Creators will be able to export detailed data about their account, posts, Reels, and campaigns as a PDF report.
- The platform is now warning users that Reels longer than three minutes will not be eligible for recommendation to new audiences.
- You can stop engaging with content for X amount of time before or after posting, as Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, has debunked that theory along with some others.
- Scheduling posts on Instagram does NOT lower reach.
- Engaging with content on Instagram before you post does NOT improve reach, it’s just a rumour.
- It’s unlikely Instagram will introduce the ability to create longer Reels, with Adam saying “short videos are more aligned with what we’re trying to achieve.”
- There’s no perfect amount of time to wait before posting another piece of content on the platform, and it just depends on your audience.
- Sharing content via Direct Messages is now the most important factor for increasing reach, as it aligns with the goal of “bringing people together over creativity.”
LinkedIn updates for September
LinkedIn is offering more insights. It feels like a warm comfort compared to search and web, where insights are getting increasingly harder to find.
- LinkedIn now offers analytics on how often your posts are saved or shared via direct message, providing deeper insight into these private signals of content value.
- It appears you need to be posting (probably) ALOT more on LinkedIn, but don’t worry you can post any links in the caption, so you don’t ever have to write “link in the comments” again!
- Including a link in your post does not inherently limit its reach, as long as the link is not the post’s main focus. The key is to create a post that provides enough value to stand on its own.
- A new study from Buffer indicates that increased posting leads to greater success. Data shows that publishing more than 11 times per week can generate over 16,000 additional impressions per post.
YouTube updates for September
- Think back to the early years of 2010, when you had to be on YouTube to be a ‘creator’, however, with the launch of TikTok and Reels, it became too hard and not lucrative enough for new content creators to join YouTube or for existing creators to stay. So, it makes sense that YouTube is currently going hard to get creators back on board. YouTube is making the platform more enticing with more monetisation and creator guides.
- Creators can now earn more with flexible brand placements in long-form videos, automated product tags, and clickable brand links in YouTube Shorts.
- To support growing channels, YouTube’s global Hype feature lets fans elevate videos they love, giving them a prominent spot on a new leaderboard.
- YouTube shares proven strategies for content creation, such as refreshing your most popular videos, jumping on trends, and mining search analytics for inspiration.
Threads updates for September
- Threads are trying to capture the remaining users still on X, as well as Reddit users, with some new features.
- Threads is developing “Communities,” a feature for topic-based groups that connect users with shared interests.
- The app now supports 10,000-character text posts with rich formatting, offering a free alternative to X’s paywalled long-form model.
TikTok updates for September
- A major TikTok deal is allegedly happening this week.
- Three new features are coming to the platform. We always recommend getting involved with new features, as they can help increase reach.
- Get ready to post pics in comments! The “Comment with Image” feature is expanding.
- Bulletin boards from brands are now popping up in your For You feed.
- You can now send audio messages and attach video/audio clips.
- TikTok have a new competitor with an app called Skylight launching.
- This new app is taking a different approach to short-form content, whatever that means. The main difference is that they are building communities that engage with a curator (not a creator) who builds a custom feed for the community.
Facebook updates for September
- For some strange reason, Meta is removing Community Chats in Groups. Personally, we don’t think this makes a lot of sense for consumers or as marketers. I’m seeing a lot of groups move over to WhatsApp. Considering both Facebook and WhatsApp are owned by Meta, it feels like they’ve missed a trick in offering an easy migration across platforms.
Snapchat updates for September
- You may want to go and download any old photos from your Snapchat archives. Snapchat will now charge users to store their old photos and videos, a decision that has provoked a swift and negative response from its community.
Stay Up To Date With Marketing
Digital marketing is ever-evolving, with new social media channels, new forms of searching for content and updates to algorithms and consumer changes. It’s important to stay up to date with the latest information to ensure your marketing is moving towards hitting your goals and targets.
There’s a lot to keep up with in marketing, which is why we offer a range of online and face-to-face marketing training courses and 1-2-1 consultancy packages that cover the latest trends and best practices that your organisation needs in order to succeed.
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