In this month’s digital round-up, we’ve covered a lot of the hottest topics and updates from the digital world – from YouTube launching new Analytics to some new and exciting LinkedIn features. Keep reading to stay up to date:
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New Experiments Feature Being Rolled out for Performance Max
Google Ads Performance Max campaigns now provide advertisers with the ability to test updates in their accounts and monitor results before applying the changes.
Advertisers will be able to test conversion uplift from adding Performance Max to your existing campaign mix or compare Performance Max Campaigns with Shopping Campaigns.
The Performance Max campaign that you’re testing will need to have the same targeting settings, bidding strategy and conversion actions as the comparable campaigns. During the experiment, the traffic is divided equally between the control group and the test.
YouTube Launches New Analytics & Custom Shorts Thumbnails
YouTube is launching more detailed analytics data for video creators. This will now include a breakdown of subscribers gained by content type along with information about the content their audience is viewing across formats. Previously only data on views per content type were available.
This data can be found in the Audience tab by filtering by content type and should give creators a better understanding of their audience viewing habits.
Along with this, views per content type analytics data will now be available via the Studio Mobile app.
Also, Video creators can now select a frame to use as the thumbnail for Shorts when uploading on Android. The thumbnails will be displayed on the Shorts tab on channel pages, in recommendations on YouTube’s home page, in videos on the Subscriptions tab and in YouTube search results. This is also expected to be available on iOS in the near future
Google Changes “Remove Redundant Keywords” Recommendation for Google Ads
As of 19th January, the “remove redundant keywords” recommendation has changed so that not only keywords with higher-performing keywords of the same match type are included but also keywords with broader match types in the same ad group.
This change underscores Google’s recent attempts to urge advertisers to towards using Broad match-type keywords, with many predicting match types to disappear altogether one day soon.
We advise you to check your auto-apply setting for this specific recommendation if you don’t want this new definition to be applied or if you’re unsure and want to have greater control.
YouTube Introduces New Monetization Terms for Partner Program
YouTube is introducing new terms and conditions for its Partner Program, which will allow creators more flexibility and ways to earn money.
The new terms, which must be accepted by July 10th, include a modular structure for monetisation and a watch page monetisation module for long-form videos and YouTube Premium.
Additionally, a Shorts monetisation module will be available from February 1st for creators who accept the new terms, allowing them to earn money from ads between Shorts and in the Shorts feed on YouTube Premium.
Creators can accept all or some of the terms, and those who don’t accept the base terms by the deadline will have to re-qualify and reapply to join the program again.
Twitter Introduces New ‘Search Keywords Ads’ Feature to Boost Ad Revenue
Twitter has introduced a new advertising feature called “Search Keywords Ads” which allows advertisers to pay for their tweets to appear in search results for specific keywords.
This new ad feature is similar to promoted tweets, but with the added benefit of appearing in search results.
This will enable advertisers to reach a wider audience, as users searching for specific keywords will now be exposed to sponsored tweets. The feature can be found as a new campaign objective within the Twitter Ads interface and is designed to drive conversions to advertiser websites.
Twitter intends to expand Search Keywords Ads to other advertising objectives in the future.
This new feature can potentially be a significant revenue generator for Twitter, which is currently in need of increasing ad revenue.
LinkedIn Unveils Seven New Features for 2023: Improved Video Accessibility, Job Search Updates, and More
LinkedIn has announced seven new features that will be rolled out in 2023, aimed at improving accessibility, job search, and content analytics.
The company has revealed that it will automatically generate captions for videos uploaded to the platform, and you can add or edit these captions before publishing the video.
Additionally, the company will now offer a list of standardized job titles, such as “accessibility designer” or “accessibility engineer,” to help accessibility professionals be more easily discovered and find opportunities that match their skills.
The platform will also allow advertisers to add alternative text descriptions to images in their ads, enabling blind or visually impaired users to understand the images being presented.
LinkedIn will also be testing personalised job collections for casual job seekers and will be adding new category filters and improving the relevance of Product Pages to create a more personalised experience. The platform will also provide post-scheduling and an updated creator analytics dashboard that includes audience data and top-performing content.
Account-level Negative Keywords On Google Ads
Here’s the update you didn’t know you needed. You can now stop creating the same negative keyword list separately for each of your Google campaigns.
Google Ads’ new update allows advertisers to create one account-level negative keyword list to ensure there is no wasted budget by preventing the campaigns in that account to show for identified negative keywords.
If you had a brand that only sold trainers, you wouldn’t want Google to show your ads to people looking for ‘high heels’. With this update you don’t have to set ‘high heels’ as a negative keyword for your campaigns individually, you can just set it at account level which will save you both money and time.
Instagram Will Return Focus on Photos in 2023
In 2022, Instagram went on a real drive to become the all-encompassing social platform, with a big push for video content through Reels. They created copy-cat concepts from other trending platforms, such as Be Real & TikTok. There was quite a resistance to the changes, especially from content creators who have found more success through still photos and the original Instagram features. Instagram is going to attempt to find a balance this year and will return some focus towards promoting static imagery. The challenge will be for Instagram to retain a sense of clear identity, rather than trying to please all (& pleasing no one). And creators will need to feel properly valued, otherwise they may look elsewhere for their suitably engaged audience.
Web3 Experts Predict 2023 Trends for AI & NFTs
The Social Media Examiner released an intriguing collection of expert predictions for Web3 in 2023. Up until this point, AI & NFTs have felt quite fringe to the greater mainstream audience. Although some bigger brands have attempted to get ahead of the curve through the metaverse, there has been a mixed bag of success and clear misses. Some of the most interesting developments for Web3 this year and beyond could be:
- World-building happening in a matter of moments
- AI working to make our lives easier with more efficient systems
- NFTs being used to enhance the consumer experience
- A network of loyalty-driven community perks
- Blockchain tech providing personalised TV ads
- UX being at the forefront of web development
