Posts from June 2024

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
June is coming to an end, which means it’s time for another social media roundup! 
 
We’ve seen quite a few updates to digital platforms over the last month, so let’s take a look at what’s been hitting the headlines over the last few weeks… 

AI Insights Added To Google Ads 

Google Analytics 4 has been updated, now offering AI-powered notes created to highlight key data events, using more simplified language for better understanding. Google have explained this by saying: “Imagine your “Purchase” events spiked on a series of individual dates. Our AI engine works through the countless combinations of dimensions and metrics to proactively connect the dots, explaining why these spikes are happening. These insights will be written in a natural, easy-to-understand way, almost like a colleague summarizing the key takeaways for you.” 
 
With Google Analytics 4 becoming the standard platform from July 1st, they’ll be adding aggregated impressions from the linked Campaign Manager 360 accounts. Cross-channel budgeting will also be added so users can see their projected performance against target objectives. 

AI Assistance Tools Expanded For YouTube Creators 

Struggling for video ideas? YouTube has updated their ‘Research’ tab – renamed the ‘Inspiration’ tab - in YouTube Studio to provide AI recommendations for creators looking for some ideas on what videos they should make. YouTube have commented on this: “Breakout Videos will highlight videos from similar channels that have performed exceedingly well. The goal is to give creators a more holistic understanding of channels similar to them, what content is resonating with their audience, and inspiration.” 
 
They’re also adding A.I. tips, where creators will add a topic into the search bar so YouTube’s AI can provide ideas and notes based on what viewers may be interested in watching, and can generate a bullet pointed outline to help you get to grips with these suggestions. 
 
They’re rolling these out currently, and hope to have them in the EU and the UK soon. 

TikTok to Add ‘Virtual Influencers’ 

TikTok stay ahead of the curve by taking the AI boom further – now allowing businesses to choose from digital characters in their ‘Symphony’ Platform that can advertise their products and services on TikTok Live. 
 
If you don’t want to use one of their digital creators, you can create your own, which have the ability to advertise in multiple languages. 
 
The feature has been used in China since 2022, and has seen huge results for business owners who have seen their sales rocket thanks to these 24/7 livestreaming virtual influencers. 
 
TikTok have added further detail on this new innovation: “To help creators and brands captivate global audiences and deliver impactful messages in an immersive and authentic way, we are excited to announce Symphony Digital Avatars. Digital Avatars help breathe life into branded content with generative A.I. avatars of real people, which will enable new ways to scale creative strategies on TikTok.” 

Meta Adding New Features 

AI seems to be the topic for June – and Meta aren’t getting left behind. 
 
First of all, they’re rolling out an A.I. Q and A feature to help streamline the query process for businesses and their customers. 
 
They’re also offering users the chance to sign up to business’ marketing – from then on, any messages, offers or information from businesses will be sent directly to a user’s Messenger inboxes. 
 
Broadcast Channels are set to be rolled out for Facebook Pages with 10,000 or more followers, allowing businesses with smaller audiences the chance to get their followers into one channel and communicate with them directly. 

X Analytics Updated…For Premium Users 

Probably the most significant update this month for marketers on X – they’ve finally switched over what was Twitter Analytics to X Analytics, with a catch. 
 
The previously free-for-all feature has been locked behind a paywall, with users signed up to X Premium or the tier above the only ones able to access their advanced analytics. 
 
These analytics are now offering the following: total impressions, engagement rate, profile visits, video performance, link clicks and a new display to allow ease of access to different data. 
 
X have been slowly trying to drive up subscriptions in the last 2 years, with little success of hitting any of their targets to do so. By putting analytics behind a paywall, it’s just another way they hope to get people to pay for previously free features. The question remains whether they will – analytics are imperative to businesses whose main marketing is done on X, but often they’ll be using multiple platforms – so using another website who can provide the same info in one central place is probably the way many will go. 
That’s all for June! Have a great July and keep an eye out for any updates to come over the next month. 
 
Your social media tip this month is: Many business owners I speak to struggle to get their ads in front of the right people, pouring money into campaigns but seeing little return. 
 
You see the key to cost-effective, profitable paid ad campaigns is understanding your audience better. 
 
By using detailed targeting options and creating content that resonates with your ideal customers, you can turn your ads around and start seeing some real results. 
 
So, here are three tips that when used will help improve your ad performance: 
✅️ Research Your Audience - Dive deep into their interests, behaviours, and demographics. 
✅️ Test Different Ad Formats - Experiment with images, videos, and carousels to see what works best. 
✅️ Monitor and Adjust - Regularly check your ad performance and tweak your targeting and content as needed. 
 
These 3 simple steps can transform your ad strategy and help you see much better results. 💡 
 
 
 
 
Advertising on social media has paved the way for businesses to grow their audiences, make more sales and see growing success. Facebook is one of the markets leaders when it comes to such ads, providing a platform that makes the creation of ads a relatively simple process, and gives valuable insights into your performance – allowing you to make tweaks to improve the performance of your ads as they run. Facebook Ads also have the highest ROI for social media advertising, making it a key component in a digital marketing strategy. 
 
If you don’t think Facebook Ads will work for you – think again. Here’s why your business should be advertising on Facebook…. 

Audience Reach 

One of the best things Facebook offers you is unparalleled access to your audience – with 3 billion worldwide users, you target customer will definitely be out there, waiting for a business just like yours to solve the problems they’re having with a product or service that matches their needs and requirements. 
 
Facebooks targeting capabilities are one of the most attractive parts of choosing Facebook over its counterparts, allowing not just the most basic levels of picking your ideal customers characteristics, but micro-targeting options that narrow down the size of your audience to help you not only with costs, but also ensures you mostly reach the audience who’ll be likely to make a purchase. Facebook has data on all of their users – such as age, gender, job - that makes targeting a simple process, with audience segments further boosting the suitability of the people your ads are displayed too. These segments include such things as income, behaviour, education, interests – metrics that can be leveraged to give your business a better chance at converting users. 

Brand Awareness 

Facebook Ads appear on feeds, and make audiences aware of your business whilst they’re scrolling through said feed. Ads that are creative, attractive and stop users in their tracks further help with this brand awareness even if the user doesn’t convert to a customer straight away, but interacts with the ad in some capacity. Ad are your chance to make an impression, and sticking in the minds of users is imperative if you want to grow your presence on social media. 

Analytics & Insights  

It’s pretty likely you’ll already know that checking your insights and analytics is one of the key components to social media marketing. Facebooks Ad Manager offers you information on clicks, cost per click, reach and impressions, letting you know what is or isn’t working with the ad so you can make the changes needed to keep expenses low and retain your customers. These are real time results that must be checked and tracked regularly so you can analyse your ad performance over time. 

A/B Testing 

A/B testing can be a huge help to advertising on social media – allowing you to make different versions of the same ad and review the results to see which performs best. Facebook offers this as a specific feature, with the ‘winner’ of the A/B testing becoming the ad that’s displayed Facebook wide. This style of ad helps you test strategies, and gives you the options of using different variables to figure out the best way to go forward with your advertising methods in future campaigns. 

Mobile Optimisation 

Facebook Ads are optimised for mobile, and with 98.5% of users using mobile devices to open Facebook, meaning you won’t have to worry about making different ad formats in order to fit with both mobile and desktop devices. Mobile optimisation provides a seamless and engaging experience for users and advertisers, allowing you to reach your target audience whether they’re at home or on the go. 
Facebook Advertising is a huge part of what makes social media marketing a key part of strategies for many businesses looking to excel their digital presence. Start your journey by creating an ad today! 
 
 
 
 
 
If you work in the digital marketing space, or you have some knowledge about the industry, it’s likely you’ll have heard the terms ‘remarketing’ and ‘retargeting' before. It’s also likely you’ve heard them be used interchangeably, despite both of them having some substantial differences. 
 
But what do these terms mean, and how do they differ from the other? In this blog we’ll cover all you need to know about both remarketing and retargeting, and the places in which they overlap. 

What is Retargeting? 

Retargeting is where businesses will advertise to people who have shown interest on your website without making a purchase. This is where cookies are useful, being set in browsers when users interact with something on your site. You can use this data to retarget them, reminding them of the products or services they were looking at whilst browsing. 
 
Retargeting is often split between ‘On-site’ and Off-site interactions. 
 
‘On-site’ interactions are those that target individuals who have already visited your site and had some interaction with your products and services before but haven’t completed purchasing. This method of retargeting helps to increase your conversions and will also help you retain those potential customers who’ve expressed an interest but aren’t ready to convert just yet. 
 
Methods you can use to do this include: 
 
• Targeting based on a product they’ve interacted with 
• Targeting based on the way they found your site 
• Targeting those on your email list who’ve shown interactions but haven’t purchased anything 
 
Google Analytics, Google Ads and Facebook Ads are all ideal ways to use ‘on-site’ retargeting. 
 
‘Off-site’ interactions are actions taken by users on your social media pages – for example, Facebook now offers ‘engagement targeting’ for their ads, allowing businesses to target audiences who have interacted with your page, events or other areas of Facebook that register as interest in your business. 

What Is Remarketing? 

Remarketing is all about re-engaging your existing customers through media or email platforms. Emailing a customer to renew a subscription or service, using previous purchase history to remind customers to take some kind of action or even asking for users to upgrade their previous purchases all count as remarketing, and mainly exist in the realm of email marketing campaigns. 
 
If your business has any of the following, you should consider using remarketing: 
 
• You have a product/service that is typically a repeat purchase. 
• You want to sell customers additional products 
• You don’t have a big budget. 

Do They Overlap? 

Remarketing and retargeting often overlap, with the terms often used to cover both definitions. For example, Google’s ‘Remarketing Tools’ can actually be considered ‘Retargeting Tools’. 
 
With Google and Meta also offering businesses the ability to use email lists for ad targeting, the terms have started to be used as one in the same. They do share the same goal – to re-engage potential or former customers with you business by utilising data on user behaviour in order to target a message via email or ad to drive conversions. Both can also be used alongside the other – pushing an on-site retargeting ad and emailing a similar offer means you’re doubly reaching your targeted audience using two methods that go hand-in-hand, reinforcing your businesses presence, message and increasing the likelihood of converting leads. 
Retargeting and Remarketing are two terms that businesses should consider using beyond the general acquiring of new customers, but you must understand what both of them entail and what they mean before slotting them into your campaign strategy. Take a look at how your business is performing on social media and see where you could use both of these things today. 
 
 
 
 
Social media has been increasingly used to sell products over the years, with many taking advantage of the ever-growing list of features available to users who are looking to these platforms for sales as well as engagement. 
 
Selling on socials doesn’t just limit you to creating ads – although this is a good way of getting your products out onto the feeds of the people you ideally want to target. Instagram is just one platform offering a ‘shopping’ function to users, keeping their audiences interacting with their page without having to exit out of the app to find products. 
 
Here’s how your business can sell on Instagram... 

Getting Set-Up 

Firstly, you need to make sure you meet the following requirements stated by Instagram in order to set up a shop: 
 
• Be located in one of these markets - Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine*, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, United States 
• Have an Instagram business or creator account 
• Comply with Instagram's merchant agreement and commerce policies. 
• Connect your Instagram account to a Facebook Business Page 
 
You can use a site like Shopify or manually upload through Facebook Business Manager to put your products onto Instagram. You should keep your product inventory on these sites updated as you get new items in your store. 
 
You then need to submit your account for approval to Instagram. You can do this by accessing your Professional Dashboard > Get Started > Select Catalogue > Submit For Review. 

Instagram Shop Posts 

When your account is approved, you can then upload photos and tag your products within them. To do this simply upload to the grid as you would usually, and then select the ‘Tag Products’ option. This will allow you to search for a product and select the right one before sharing to your audience. You can go back to your old posts and tag products too if needed to give your feed a more consistent appearance and boost your performance on social media. 

How To Optimize Selling On The Site 

If you have access to Instagram Shop Posts, then don’t change your posting style just because you want to use the features. Keep your posts consistent, tag your products and give them a natural feel on the feed. You may want to change your content strategy slightly when it comes to new product releases or sales, but don’t let these sales style posts take over from your usual social media marketing efforts.  

Use Influencers  

Influencer Marketing is something that may be possible for your business to take advantage of, even if the influencers you pick aren’t some of the top names in the industry. If you send a product ton them and they ake a post promoting and tagging your brand and what you’ve sent, you’ll be attracting their audience and potentially start making more sales thanks to the power of the influencer you’re working with. Building up industry connections like this can be really helpful in getting your business out there beyond promotional posts or adverts. 
 

Create Your Shop Page 

When you’ve posted nine shoppable ads on Instagram, you can then open your shop page, which will display all of your products linked on posts in one section, which users can then click to buy. Users can also save these products for future purchase from this tab, making Instagram a great place not just for purchases but also for creating wish lists too. 
 
Selling on social media is a big part of what makes digital marketing so powerful, and you’ll be able to take advantage of all of these features when you get yourself set up on Instagram. Take a look into the benefits of Instagram shop and get started today.