Cookies | Future-Proofing | Facebook Ads | TikTok Competes | Pinterest
We all love social media platforms. From posting that ‘must-like’ selfie to that hilarious trendy short-video. However, social media and data platforms are consistently changing to keep up with the ever-evolving society we live in. That’s what we’re here for. Every month, we discuss what we’re keeping on our Radar for the upcoming month. For the month of September, we discuss cookies, everything new with Facebook, and more. Read on to see what we’re keeping on our radar for September 2020.
The Difference Between the Cookies
More and more browsers are announcing that they are no longer going to support “third-party” cookies, and this could significantly impact digital marketing. Why? It’s all in the difference between the cookies.
First-party cookies are stored directly by the site you’re on and essential to good website experiences – they’re the ones that keep you logged in to sites and remember your language preferences. These aren’t going away anytime soon. Third-party cookies, on the other hand, are stored by websites other than the one you’re visiting directly. Have ever researched a specific pair of shoes and then had ads for the shoe follow you around the Internet for days? That’s because of third-party cookies and they help with targeting as well. These third-cookies can be invasive, and are what browsers are starting blocking.
Don’t panic just yet, fellow digital marketers. While the end of third-party cookies may be nigh, all the tech giants agree that they need to replace them with something less invasive, not get rid of such functionality entirely.
The Importance of “Future-Proofing” and “Owned Data”
With all the amazing targeting options we’ve grown accustomed to over the past several years it’s important to keep your focus upcoming trends and on your owned assets. This should have always been the case, but it’s especially true now that Google has announced the phasing out of cookies on their popular Chrome browser over the next couple of years. This phasing out is important to note. It potentially means the end of website custom audiences and other valuable remarketing efforts we may have grown accustomed to. Website pixels have driven many of our retargeting strategies for a while now but in light of this news, it’s important to keep your strategies (or at least a portion) dialed into acquiring those consumer email addresses, mobile numbers, and zip codes.
This will, in a way, help “futureproof” the quality of the audiences we use to target moving forward into a cookie-less world. A great objective moving forward would be to keep hammering on acquiring lead generation and opt-in audiences. That data is pure gold and you own it for the long term. If you’d like to learn a bit more about what the post-cookie world might look like be sure to take a look at the Conversion API from Facebook. Might as well get familiar with it sooner rather than later. Because we’re all going to be using it to ensure that we keep hitting the bullseye.
Facebook Ad Preferences
In the coming weeks and months, Facebook will begin rolling out a new version of the Ad Preferences tool which will help clarify user’s data and give them more control over how advertisers reach them on the platform. The update makes it much easier for users to decide what data they share with advertisers, which interests categories they are a part of, and which advertisers are able to reach them. While this function is technically already available on the platform, the new update will help users gain a better understanding of the impacts any changes they make has. This gives individuals unprecedented insight and control into the way their data is used.
In a way, this update will empower users, and Advertisers will need to put more consideration into the quality, frequency, and targeting of their ads if they want to keep those users engaged. High frequency ads or campaigns with low-quality creative could risk permanently alienating users. Highly-trafficked interest categories, such as outdoor recreation, could see a decrease in audience size if used too frequently. It’s unclear yet how popular this new data management layout will be among users, but advertisers should work to keep their audience’s experience top of mind when planning future campaigns.
TikTok vs Everybody
There has been an insane impact on the media world by the new social platform TikTok not only on the world but on social platforms themselves. Its like every time you turn around, Facebook and Instagram, and coming up with new ways to compete with TikTok. What TikTok is, is a short video, up to 1-minute, of trending dances, voiceovers, etc. It’s crazy how these short videos have completely taken society by storm. Over the last few months, we’ve been discussing the Future of TikTok and Tourism, Instagram Reels, and Google Shorts. It seems that every social platform is coming up with their own form of short-videos.
Most recently, Facebook is starting to roll out short-videos tests within its Indian population due to the TikTok ban there. This is an insanely smart decision since before the TikTok ban in India, they were the largest user market outside of China. Facebook Short Videos can be uploaded with up to 26-seconds of content. Any videos uploaded longer can be trimmed manually. Like TikTok, you can add text overlay on your videos.
Out of all the platforms that have created their own short-video feature, Facebook is definitely one to watch out for.
Pinterest has played an increasingly bigger part of our paid promotional programs the last few years, but success on the platform has drastically increased in terms of overall impressions, reach and cost per click during our recent recovery campaigns.
Two key items to note when utilizing Pinterest now and in the future – be sure to capitalize on the increased interest in searches on road trips and outdoor activities.
For more see a recent blog post by Pinterest and how travel organizations are leveraging the platform.
With the ever-changing world of digital marketing, we are here to keep you informed of new digital trends and what we are keeping on our radar for September 2020. Have any questions? Contact us! We’re here to help.
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