December
What Happened?
- Instagram releases ‘Reels’ mode to compete with TikTok
- Google adds ‘Request Quotes’ button to local search
- Amazon makes advertising easier for agencies
1. Instagram releases ‘Reels’ mode to compete with TikTok
If you haven’t heard of TikTok, then where have you been? TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short music videos in 15 seconds or less.
Data from ‘Sensor Tower’ has shown that downloads of the app hit 1.5 billion downloads across both the App Store and Google Play in February this year. This rapid increase is only a narrow margin away from Instagram who hit their 1 billion active users in 2018.
With TikTok’s rapid growth, it’s only understandable that Instagram would like their share. So instead of releasing a new app, Instagram has introduced a new ‘Reels’ mode onto their story mode which is vertically identical to TikTok. Instagram’s Reels mode will enable users to create their own short videos which have creative editing options along with an option for the video to be remixed.
The surprise? Instagram is only releasing this feature in Brazil, and as of now, there is no confirmation on when this new feature will be available for other countries. It will be interesting to see if Instagram ‘Reels’ will be a success in Brazil.
2. Google adds ‘Request Quotes’ button to local search
As a part of their efforts to improve the mobile search experience, Google has added a ‘Request Quotes’ button to the local search pack. This button allows mobile searches to collect prices from several different local businesses, with the aim to give the searcher the best price possible via messaging.
When submitted, the quote request is sent to the business via Google My Business messenger (which requires the GMB mobile app).
While this may encourage more people to engage with local businesses, there is also the risk that they will receive a quote without context of their issue which will require further questions.
I put together a quick article on the new “Request Quotes” feature I’m seeing in the 3-pack on mobile search.https://t.co/AollfImNjt
— Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) 17 December 2019
A wise move to help local businesses or a problematic tool? Leave a comment with your opinion below.
3. Amazon makes advertising easier for agencies
Amazon has just changed the registration process for agencies and marketers that are running advertising campaigns on behalf of their clients.
Before the update, agencies had to submit vendor codes and wait for approval from Amazon to set up advertising accounts.
Now starting to advertise on Amazon is as easy as clicking ‘I represent a vendor’ and once your client approves your request, you’re in. I know this doesn’t sound like a life-changing update but it clearly shows Amazon Advertising starting to grow and improve. More and more companies are starting to show interest in Amazon Advertising, and even these small changes make everyone’s lives so much easier. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to see where Amazon Advertising is going to be by the end of 2020!
