Staying on top of new tools, technologies and tactics in the digital world can be overwhelming. Many platforms are constantly changing to cater to their ever-growing audiences. Luckily many of these changes and updates are beneficial to marketers. To distinguish which updates and tools will benefit your campaigns, you need to start by analysing and understanding your brand’s objectives. Updating your campaign to include different platforms can be advantageous as it refreshes your campaigns onto newer audiences. Using features that are not compatible with your campaign will not help you reach your objectives, is a waste of time & is not financially beneficial. This article features the latest updates on the biggest paid media platforms and evaluates how these updates can benefit your marketing campaign.
New ad space
Within the mix of user content now lies another space for brands to bid for. Instagram and Twitter have both recently introduced an ad space within their latest features. Instagram is allowing brands to place ads in between reels and IGTV videos. The format of the ads depends on what type of content they follow; reels are 15 seconds long, and videos uploaded onto IGTV can be up to 60 mins, but the ads can only be 15 seconds. Twitter has also followed in the same direction by adding ads spaces in between fleets. Fleets are a very new feature to Twitter as the platform has never incorporated a story like-feature before. If your target audience uses these platforms, investing in paid ads campaigns on Instagram and Twitter can help push your brand into the hands of your desired audience. But these platforms are overly saturated with advertisers bidding for ad space, so marketers must ensure that they produce highly engaging content with a clear CTA to best benefit their campaign and drive those conversions.
In-app shopping
In-app shopping is an excellent way for social media users to be connected with their favourite brands and quickly encounter new ones. Many platforms are now introducing and bettering their in-app shopping experience. Facebook has announced that they will integrate shops across the social network and introduce shops to WhatsApp and the marketplace. 74% of Facebook users said they use FB to discover new brands & products online. Brands can now add their shop to the marketplace and have an additional sales channel. Instagram is another Facebook product that is updating its Commerce platform. Spring, an eCommerce platform designed to help brands create and sell products directly to their customers, is set to partner with Instagram by the end of 2021. By using a direct to consumer sales method, Spring connects retailers with potential customers. This update will develop Instagrams in app-shopping features and improve the eCommerce experience for users and brands. Pinterest is also stepping up its eCommerce game with its latest update intended to make the purchasing process easier for users and brands. Their eCommerce efforts have increased in the past year, and the platform’s latest feature is a “shopping list” tab. The list is set to be an organised place where users can find all the items they are interested in buying. Pinterest has also introduced a Verified Merchant Program, and verified sellers will have a blue tick on their profile and a shop tab on the brand’s profile. An interesting new feature coming up is a two-week shopping highlight called the ‘Goods by Pinterest’, which will give users access to limited edition products by British sellers. All these new features will be beneficial for marketers whose targeted audience are Pinterest users.
Creative & Editing – Youtube video editing / TikTok creative suite
More platforms are adding features that help brands and marketers advertise their products/ services. But with so many different platforms, distinguishing how to plan and create specific plans for each platform can be challenging. To solve this problem, platforms are now providing marketers with an in-app creative platform that assists brands in launching paid ad campaigns. Creative & editing suites have become very popular on social media platforms that offer automated ad services. TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram and some of the latest platforms to release a creative service within their platform. Once brands open or convert to a business account, they can access automated ad services beneficial to marketers who use the specific platform. If you have automated ads on TikTok, then using TikToks creative suite will enable your ads to be created in the same format as the ads on TikTok. The technology within these platforms optimises and ensures that your ad performs at its best.
TikTok offers a business creative hub, a section with relevant trends and tips to set itself apart from other platforms. The business content page has blogs and videos showcasing the best practices of advertising and brand awareness. This feature is also similar to TikToks ‘Top ads’ library, Which displays marketers on the platform with examples of successful ads. Setting guidelines and presenting best practices, platforms like TikTok can assist marketers in advertising and branding methods. To ensure that they are hitting the mark of attracting their desired audience within that specific platform.
Audio Content
As the marketing world moves online to suit the needs of the current climate, podcasts and audio related services have become extremely popular. Lockdown saw the rise of the podcasts and the app Clubhouse. As many stayed at home, the public found different forms of staying entertained and communicating with others. Platforms are adding features that replay audio-based content. Facebook is one of the latest platforms to release a Live Audio room, expanding the platforms podcast features. Users in the US and on Apple devices will soon listen to popular podcasts, public figures and a dozen FB Groups. FB’s Audio room is very similar to their competitor’s Clubhouse, which has multiple rooms hosted by users, brands and even celebrities. Audio content enables brands to reach their audience differently from other social platforms. Brands use these audio-based platforms for advertising themselves and their products, but they can create brand awareness by speaking on subjects that correlate with their brand and be helpful to the listeners. Spotify, SoundCloud and other audio-based apps are one of the only platforms that have audio ads. Even though Social platforms mainly use images and videos for their paid media, audio content can be highly beneficial in raising brand awareness and providing a unique experience for their user, especially if your target audience is listening to music or podcasts on these particular platforms.
Ultimately, choosing which new tools or updates will benefit your campaign is determined by your brand and what you expect to achieve with your campaigns. Don’t be afraid to choose more than one social platform to use, but first, you must understand your audience and what content will best serve them & drive your campaign towards success.
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