Check out our weekly roundup of the latest PR, Social and SEO updates that happened Monday 22nd April – Sunday 28th April.
SEO
On 7th May, you can join the experts over at Comarch for a conversation around important trends in loyalty programs. For any business, customer retention is key, and studies have shown that loyal customers can be responsible for 65% of all brand purchases.
Whether you offer a subscribe and save option for your B2C customers, or allow customers to accrue points for repeated purchases, there are so many options for driving customers back, and reviewing what you offer your loyal customers can only be beneficial.
Search console
Google is rolling out improvements for Search Console ownership token management, incorporating capabilities related to unused ownership.
To summarise: You will now be able to verify whether an unused ownership token has been removed from the site by following this flow:
- Visit the Users and permissions interface
- Click “Unused ownership tokens”
- Choose the tokens you’d like to remove and click “Remove”
- Click “Verify removal” to get update for the unused ownership token
Social Media
Check out our round up for the latest social media updates, and whilst we cover all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, X and more, last week saw key updates for TikTok and Meta platforms.
TikTok
As you may have seen in news headlines, the USA is threatening to ban TikTok, unless the Chinese parent company ‘ByteDance’ sells the platform, which they have stated they haven’t got ‘any plans to sell TikTok’.
It’s due to Beijing’s tightening grip on private companies which has raised concerns in the US, and other Western countries, about how much control the Chinese Communist Party has over ByteDance, and the data it holds.
You can see the TikTok’s CEO Chew Shou Zi’s response below.
@todayonline TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi said on Wednesday (March 13) that the company will "not stop fighting" and will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban. #worldnews #usnews #tiktokceo #tiktokban ♬ original sound - TODAYOnline
TikTok
On the other end of the scale, TikTok is competing with Instagram and has launched the ‘Notes’ photo App in Australia and Canada.
TikTok said:
“We hope that the TikTok community will use TikTok Notes to continue sharing their moments through photo posts. Whether documenting adventures, expressing creativity, or simply sharing snapshots of one’s day, the TikTok Notes experience is designed for those who would like to share and engage through photo content”.
This could be another ‘Threads’ which starts off with recording breaking downloads, but after six months, loses 80% of its users…
TikTok is also creating new ‘AI-moji’ digital avatars, that works in a comparable way to Bitmoji, and will scan a user’s face to create a cartoonish likeness for in-app stickers.
meta
Firstly, Meta is integrating more A.I features into their platforms, including an AI chatbot that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger users, directly in the search bar of each app. Check out the example by Instagram boss, Adam Mosseri, below.
BACKDROP
Meta is also releasing ‘Backdrop’ on Instagram, which is explained by Instagram in this post below.
Currently, this is available in the US only, but it’s thought to be rolling out globally soon. It’s hard to say what the impact of these updates will be without getting our hands on them, but it looks like they might help to enhance bland looking stories.
Advantage+
Meta’s automated ad tool, Advantage Plus, has faced technical issues that have led the system to overspend and fail to deliver sales results, according to an investigation by The Verge.
Many several users have expressed concern about Advantage+ so it may be wise to review your Advantage+ campaign performance, and see if your ads are being affected, or just pause them momentarily until a fix is released by Meta.
Meta frequently has issues with over or underperforming data due to a multitude of different reasons, and usually they’ll issue some form of refund, but this could cost the Agency’s key clients if their ads are underperforming due to these errors, so a refund on overspend, simply won’t cut it.
YouTube
Auto Ads are currently being tested on YouTube, with ads that play when videos are paused, and trials so far have been positive according to Google.
Google’s Philipp Schindler said: “Initial results show that pause ads are driving strong brand lift results and are commanding premium pricing from advertisers,”
Whilst we don’t have any information on when this will be released more broadly, if YouTube is a key advertising platform that you use, it’s something to look at for, and to see how you can leverage them.
For support and advice on social media and SEO, contact our team.
