The marketing insight and news from November are here! As we head into the last month of the year, there has been a clear trend for a new channel for eCommerce powered by interaction and emotion. Any clue of what we might be talking about? 

During this month, the topic of social media as a new eCommerce channel was definitely relevant. Both giants TikTok and YouTube shorts are taking the leap in this field. Could it be too much of a coincidence that channels with similar content types are trying to incorporate a direct sales experience into their customer journeys?

Keep on reading to find out more about this new trend and, of course, about the other search marketing, tech marketing, social media news and updates from Frizbit.

Digital Marketing News and Updates from November 2022

CONTENT

Search Marketing Updates

• Google releases the ultimate guide to understanding current and retired ranking systems

• Google finally rolls out their new Local search features

• Drive traffic to your eCommerce with the new Google Shopping tab

Tech Marketing Updates

• The new era for ClickUp and Hubspot: the strategic partnership

• Get ready for Notion AI and all its possibilities

Social Media Updates

• TikTok Shop begins rolling out in the United States

• YouTube Shorts has rolled out product features in videos (also just in time for the holidays) 

• Tumblr is back. How can you use it for your marketing strategy?

Updates from Frizbit

• Frizbit exhibited at WebSummit

• Hello, Helsinki: Frizbit was present at Slush

• Client Spotlight!: We welcome Zelucash on board!

Search Marketing Updates

• Google releases the ultimate guide to understanding current and retired ranking systems

Source: Adobe Stock

Good news from Google, just in time before the end of the year! Get ready to readjust your SEO strategy as the company has rolled out the ultimate guide to understanding the current ranking system and discarding old practices.

In the new ranking guide, Google explains which ranking systems it uses to rank search results as well as introduces new terminology, such as highlighting the difference between “ranking systems” and “ranking updates”. In this case, the word “system” stands for a constant concept that is always functioning. And on the other hand, “updates” stands for a one-time specific change to the ranking systems.

With that being said, we will go first through some of the current ranking systems in alphabetical order.

• BERT: Short for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. It allows Google to understand different combinations of words to create different meanings and intent.
• Exact domain system: It ensures that Google doesn’t give higher punctuation to websites with domain names that exactly match a query.
• Helpful content system: A system developed to rank better content created to add value rather than content created to gain or increase traffic.
• Neural matching: A system that aims to ensure Google understands representations of concepts of queries and pages to match them accordingly.
• Reliable information systems: It ensures that reliable information is shown by elevating authoritative pages, demoting low-quality content, and rewarding quality journalism.

Now let’s move to the retired Google Ranking systems.

• Hummingbird: Rolled out in 2013, it represented a significant improvement in Google’s rankings system.
• Mobile-friendly ranking system: It preferred the content rendered specifically for mobile experiences. It has since been incorporated into Google’s page experience system.
• Panda system: Introduced in 2011, this system preferred high-quality content and original content. It is now part of Google’s core ranking system in 2015.
• Secure sites system: Introduced in 2014, this system preferred websites secured with HTTPS. It is now part of the page experience system.

With this update, Google isn’t implying those older ranking systems, such as page speed, rewarding original content, or secure navigation, are obsolete. On the contrary, Google has transformed most of the retired rankings to be part of their essential needs to be met through their core ranking system or Google’s page experience. This ultimately means that meeting these requirements is no longer optional, but a must when creating content to improve the search experience of the users.

• Google finally rolls out their new Local search features

Source: Google Blog

The time has come, and Google is finally rolling out the local search features that were briefly introduced earlier this year. We believe the timing couldn’t be better as well, as it can increase the positive impact for local businesses during the holiday season.

As a local business in the hospitality industry, this update brings to life the feature of searching a restaurant by dish, as well as incorporating new search capabilities built into Google Maps Live view. This means having a possible increase in both visibility and reach results. 

If you own a local store, keep on reading to find out the new functionalities available to elevate your search possibilities.

1. Live view search: For the moment, it is only available for London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Tokyo on Android and iOS. This feature allows you to find information around you through the lens of your camera. Information includes if a business is open, how busy it is, star rating and even price range.
2. Search restaurants by dish: In the case of restaurants, this update brings up two ways of being found. Restaurants can be found by either the user manually typing their desired dish or conducting a visual search through Google Lens.
3. Accessibility search: Available worldwide, now users can search in Google Maps for wheelchair-accessible, stair-free places.

• Drive traffic to your eCommerce with the new Google Shopping tab

Source: Google Blog

With the goal in mind of supporting merchants to achieve growth, Google Search Console is introducing the new Shopping tab listings. This new feature aims to help online store owners to showcase their products with ease on the shopping tab on Google.

Through merchant listing reports and product structured data, among other features, Search Console is making it easier for merchants to display their products across Google. The company is then helping merchants drive more traffic to their online stores and connect with customers who already have a need/search in mind.

With this update, merchants can easily create a Merchant Center account and ease the process of having to re-verify the website ownership or submitting a product feed. All that is required from you as a business owner is to keep the product structured data up-to-date. The company hopes that speeding up processes will get products quickly on the Shopping tab on Google.

The roll-out will be deployed gradually and only to eligible businesses.

Marketing Tech

•  The new era for ClickUp and Hubspot: the strategic partnership

Source: Adobe Stock

One of the most remarkable CRM platforms: Hubspot, meets productivity with ClickUp. This partnership aims to help customers create more efficient processes and workflows while collaborating across multiple team members.

Yamini Rangan, CEO at HubSpot, mentioned: 

 “Building deeper relationships with customers starts with having a team that’s aligned and working together towards creating a better customer experience. That’s why I’m so thrilled about our partnership with ClickUp, the power of HubSpot + ClickUp enables growing companies to create strong connections at every point in the buyer journey.”

How will ClickUp contribute to Hubspot?

The productivity app enables teams to achieve their deadlines and goals by creating a seamless and collaborative experience that ultimately reflects delightful experiences for its customers. It will be achieved through:

• Two-way-sync between ClickUp and HubSpot. This creates more efficiency in teams as it saves time on some manual tasks, therefore accelerating the customer success workflow.
• Seamless Automations: By collaborating, if a project needs to be handed off, now it can be done automatically while ensuring the best experience for the users.  Also, stakeholders will get to know the status of the project at all times.
• Special deals for Users: If you are a client of either of the platforms, you can enjoy a 20% discount on the previously unused software during implementation.

We believe that by joining forces, the results will be a game-changer for creating powerful results in the experiences for both the front-end and back-end parts when managing and delivering different projects. 

• Get ready for Notion AI and all its possibilities

Source: Notion AI

 

Recently, Notion has been the number one tool for productivity, planning, and organization. From simple planning to complex tracking, Notion has become the platform to do-it-all in one place. 

In its most recent update, the company has announced that now the tool is putting all its efforts into developing what seems to be the most dynamic and powerful writing artificial intelligence assistant.

They state that its development is able to generate any type of content. What can you achieve?

• Blog post: Write the page title, and Notion AI will do the rest
• Press release: Become an expert in PR.
• Poem: Inspired by the Japanese haiku, Notion AI promises to write poems about all topics
• Meeting Agenda: Provide a topic, and Notion AI will outline the agenda
• Job Description: You only need to add the basic requirements
• Pros and Cons list: Consider and evaluate different scenarios 
• Social media posts: The tool provides specific copy for different channels while providing multiple options.
• Sales emails: It can help you to be persuasive and increase your revenue
• Outline: Create structures while staying in your creative flow. 

Besides generating any type of content, the tool has also announced its great capabilities to work as an editor by translating in real-time, summarizing and fixing grammar and spelling.

As Ivan Zhao mentions: 

“For many users in this space, it solves the cold start problem. And even more than that, it saves time.” Notion AI won’t write you a publishable blog post, but it can help you skip the crappy first draft phase and go straight into improving and polishing.”

Zhao also envisions Notion, further than a mere writing assistance tool. As he describes it, the platform already has the potential to be able to answer questions and act as a knowledge database. Could it be the next Google, powered with AI and productivity tools?

The alpha private version started rolling out in mid-November and will gradually release to more users on a waitlist basis.

 Social Media Marketing

• TikTok Shop begins rolling out in the United States

Source: Adobe Stock

TikTok keeps being controversial, as now the social media platform has decided to broaden its lists of competitors and enter the eCommerce and ads space, competing directly with one of the biggest retailers: Amazon.

Having said this, TikTok is rolling out its shop feature in the United States. For the time being, the feature is only available to a limited number of merchants that have been invited to test the social commerce solution.

TikTok is slowly building fulfilment centres in the US, which might indicate that the platform is serious about making it big in the social commerce space. With this, TikTok has also established the benefits that brands are entitled to by selling on the platform:

• A built-in payment system that creates a streamlined customer experience to buy products
• A rich user base that connects merchants with potential customers in a more trusted space
• An algorithm designed to match brands and content with users who find it relevant, which means that products will be visible to people who are most likely to buy.

This new approach isn’t surprising, as TikTok knows the potential it has, the growth it has achieved through the years, and the capabilities of its algorithm that connect people with their interests. This makes it the perfect space for promoting online shopping dynamics.

 

•  YouTube Shorts has rolled out product shopping features in videos

Source: Deposit Photos

Following up with the new social media eCommerce selling trend, Shorts from YouTube is adding shopping functionalities to this format. The shopping features allow users to purchase products while scrolling through the app.

Is it available to everyone yet? Unfortunately, it isn’t. For the time being, it is being rolled out only to eligible creators in the United States, who are able to tag products of their own shops. 

Who can shop, then? Viewers in the United States, India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. YouTube has stated that it plans to continue expanding its shopping features to more creators and countries in the future.

The eCommerce social news doesn’t stop here. YouTube is also experimenting with an affiliate program, in which creators can earn a commission for products they recommend through their content, both regular and Shorts formats. 

As the company stated:

“We firmly believe YouTube is the best place for creators to build a business, and shopping is a piece of that” 

 

• Tumblr is back. How can you use it for your marketing strategy?

Source: Deposit Photos

 

Tumblr is back, and although its interface hasn’t changed in more than 10 years, they have understood what it is that its audience wants to get from them, and they are not holding back.

In times when we are overwhelmed by how the algorithm is trying to work on other platforms, Tumblr still works with a reverse chronological feed, you see only what you’ve followed, there’s no pressure and feels absolutely free.

Tumblr invites users to post freely, diversely, and as creatively as they’d like to. Currently, there are 135 million monthly users who are enjoying the freedom and feeling relief from traditional social media channels.

With this rapid resurge, how can marketers take advantage of Tumblr?

Although the social media platform might not be suitable for every brand, here are our takeaways for you to audit if your brand is a good match.

1. Tumblr is defined by its culture, not its content type.
2. Understand its chaotic nature and use it to your benefit
3. Be open to a less structured way of selling 
4. Organic marketing is everything, making your user really see more of your posts
5. Be authentic and content relevant

We are sure Tumblr isn’t for every business, but if your industry fits into this platform, we encourage you to take the leap. Connecting with customers has been one of the biggest pillars of eCommerce this year. It’s a natural and organic way of functioning, making it perfect for brands to show authenticity.

Updates from Frizbit

• Frizbit exhibited at WebSummit

  

From November 1st to November 4th, Frizbit attended one of the most claimed events, WebSummit, in which +2000 companies redefining the global tech industry gathered in just one place.

Representing Frizbit, our co-founder & CEO, Ata and our business developer for Spain, Oscar, let the participants at the Summit learn more about Frizbit and how we can help bring your customers back through cookieless remarketing strategies.

From the Frizbit team, we are deeply thankful to Eureka for the opportunity of participating in the startup Alpha track this year under the category Advertisement, content & marketing.

•  Hello, Helsinki: Frizbit was present at Slush

November was a pretty dynamic month, and Frizbit travelled all the way to Helsinki for this.

In this case, our CEO & Co-founder, Ata Gur was at Slush 2022, representing our AI-based SaaS startup Frizbit and our solution helping the e-commerce industry to bring customers back, revolutionising retargeting without ads or third-party cookies.

The event was a great opportunity for connecting startups with relevant potential stakeholders or even just other startups, their unique solutions and proposal. Thanks to ACCIO for the opportunity to join their delegation as a part of the selected Catalan startups.

It was a great opportunity to connect, inspire, and be inspired!

 

•  Client Spotlight!: We welcome Zelucash on board!

We are thrilled to announce that the Argentinian number one reconditioned devices retailer, Zelucash has decided to join the Frizbit family.

Zelucash knew the potential they had with the service and products they were offering, but was also aware of the need for them to expand their reach and be present in a multichannel customer journey. It was then that the solutions Frizbit introduced were the perfect match for them, and after the one-month free trial, they took the leap and incorporated web push notifications into their strategy.  

During this first month, they have generated a database with more than 20000 push notification subscribers. Our platform multiplied their reach as we are capable of targeting both registered and non-registered users.

Happy to have you on board!

If you wish to experience what retargeting without ads can do for your business, get in touch with us for a personalised demo.

A new month is here, and with it, our monthly newsletter has arrived as well. As we enter the last Q4 of the year, it is even more crucial to keep up to date with the latest digital marketing news and start adjusting our strategies.

So, if you are ready to dive into this new quarter of the year with the latest trends and updates, keep on reading to get the latest insights and advice from us. 

Just a quick announcement for those living in Barcelona, our next event (in Spanish) is scheduled on October 26th, 18.00h @Aticco Verdaguer. For those who can’t attend on-site, we will also have a live-streaming option.

Without further do, we wish you a happy reading!

Digital Marketing News and Updates from September 2022

CONTENT

Search Marketing Updates

• Mobile Search will experiment 5 new changes, according to Google.

• Google includes a new HTTPS Report in Search Console
  

Tech Marketing Updates

• iOS 16 has landed, and with it, the web push notifications for iOS (earlier than expected).

• Meet the new Flodesk Checkout

• Canva Create 2022 surprises with its new features

Social Media Updates

• Instagram announces that videos up to 60 seconds are available for stories

• TikTok is competing to become the leading search engine social media platform

• Snapchat provides voter registration tools ahead of the US Midterms

Updates from Frizbit

• Mark your calendars. A new Workshop about GA4 is scheduled.

• New software updates to the Frizbit dashboard

• It’s a wrap! The replay of the session and event recap for How to Do Retargeting in the Cookieless World are up.

Search Marketing Updates

• Mobile Search will experiment 5 new changes, according to Google

Search mobile experience is definitely getting an upgrade, according to the latest announcement from Google. The company has recently listed 5 upcoming changes worth learning to increase your search possibilities on mobile devices.

1. Say hello to Google Search Shortcuts:
   
   

   Source: Screenshot from Google Blog Post
   

   As we know, users can search on Google beyond typing their queries. However, although the possibility of this has always been there, few are fully aware of it. From searching through Google Lens uploading pictures to humming songs, the search experience is just so much richer nowadays.

   Well, Google has decided to amp up the experience and introduce more tappable solutions. For the moment, this update is only available for the Google app on iOS and is here to compete directly with the native Safari browser.
   
2. Predicted results are coming from the results in the search bar:
   

   Source: Screenshot from Google Blog Post

   This feature is expected to roll out in the upcoming months, but Google has shown that they are committed to improving the navigation for users. 

   The new feature aims to shorten the search time spent when doing a query by suggesting the most suitable solutions right away. This plays a significant role in SEO to match and guide the users in the right direction, working seamlessly with the algorithm.

    

3. Refined queries:
   

   Source: Screenshot from Google Blog Post

   
   Following the previous update, Google is enhancing the search for queries with recommended words to tap on. Again, we believe having a clear SEO strategy can boost your company to be associated with the most common related searches.

   While the user types his/her query, Google with start recommending associated and common words to that search to make it more relevant and specific.

    

4. Welcome to the Google Web Stories:
   

   Source: Screenshot from Google Blog Post

   This update aims to make the mobile searching experience a more pleasant one through the integration of visual layouts. However, this rollout also gives credit to content creators and positions them as a valuable source for content search. 

   As stated by the company:

   “So, we’re also making it easier to explore a subject by highlighting the most relevant and helpful information, including content from creators on the open web. For topics like cities, you may see visual stories and short videos from people who have visited, tips on how to explore the city, things to do, how to get there and other important aspects you might want to know about as you plan your travels.”

   This feature will be displayed as a widget in the search results, in which the users will be able to expand further, if interested.

5. Visual Search Feeds will be a reality:With the clear goal in mind of enhancing searchability navigation, Google aims to bring a visually harmonic experience by combining text, images, and video in mobile searches. The feed is expected to look like the following example:
   

   Source: Screenshot from Google Blog Post

   As aesthetic as it looks, the next big question is what happens with the traditional ranking system? This new search layout puts all media at the same level, so it will be safe to say that visuals and graphics will become as relevant as the main content for upcoming searches.

   Google has stated that creating aesthetic searches is going a step further into the mobile navigational experience:

   “We’re also reimagining the way we display results to better reflect the ways people explore topics. You’ll see the most relevant content, from a variety of sources, no matter what format the information comes in — whether that’s text, images or video.”

• Google includes a new HTTPS Report in Search Console

  

Source: Adobe Stock

 

Google has announced a new rollout to identify which sites are HTTPS and which ones aren’t, all accessible from Google Search Console. Unfortunately, the new integration will still need a few months to be completed, but it is undoubtedly a functionality that users have been requesting.

As the company stated in its blog: 

“One of the common requests we heard from you was to provide more information regarding the HTTPS status of the site and make it easier to understand which pages are not served over HTTPS, and why not,”

Why does this matter? How can it be useful?

Both marketers and SEO professionals can benefit from this new feature, given that it will help to map out which URLs from the same site are indexed as HTTPS or HTTP. 

HTTPS doesn’t only serve a secure navigation purpose, but also, as announced by Google in 2014, it is a recognised ranking signal. The report will also help to prevent common errors that prevent pages from being served as HTTPS by addressing the exact cause of failure. 

Lastly, this report will certainly come in handy as, according to the Core Web Vital from Google, using HTTPS increase the metrics ranking for UX. 

To recap, both in providing secure navigation to the users and for better ranking possibilities, this report is an outstanding addition to Google Search Console.

 

Marketing Tech

•  iOS 16 has landed, and with it, the web push notifications for iOS (earlier than expected)

Today as Safari 16.0 ships for iOS, macOS Monterey and Big Sur — lots of you are asking about Web Push.

Yes, real Web Push is coming to macOS Ventura in Oct. 100% web standard based. No Apple Developer Program membership required.

Read all the details:https://t.co/RYGjmoJUrQ

— Jen Simmons (@jensimmons) September 12, 2022

Earlier this year, we published an article highlighting what this rollout could actually mean for the ‘cookieless’ retargeting world. We finally have some dates to mark on our calendars for the release on MacOS Ventura in October 2022.

Let’s recap what web push notifications or browser notifications are: These are alert-messages types working on an efficient opt-in basis. Users get asked for permission to receive time-sensitive alerts without compromising their personal data.

What do we know so far about the update?

1. It will be available for all users, regardless if they have or not an Apple Developer Program membership.
2. Apple rolled out this update ahead of its original expected date, which was appointed to be in early 2023.
3. It will use the same Apple notification service powering Native Push on all iOS devices.

If you want to be ahead of time and prepare for when push notifications are ready to be used on iOS (iPhone), get in touch with us for a personalised demo

• Meet the new Flodesk Checkout

Source: Flodesk

Flodesk has slowly worked on its branding positioning as one of the most visually pleasant and straightforward email marketing platforms in recent years. By providing high-performance experiences to their users, they have partnered with Stripe to bring to live Flodesk Checkout.

What is it, and how can it benefit you?

It might be one of the simplest and most visually aesthetic ways to sell online. Their advantage is that you don’t need to create a fully operating website to sell.

With this rollout, you can:

1. Build a sales page
2. Build a checkout page
3. Build a delivery page
4. Publish a functional payment gateway page
5. Integrate payment methods with Stripe.

Of course, while keeping the great CRM and email marketing functionalities from Flodesk.

 

•  Canva Create 2022 surprises with its new features

Source: Canva

 

Canva Create 2022 came in with tons of new functionalities. It is positive to affirm that the platform is evolving and growing with its audience needs to become the new one-stop-shop for all visual needs. Yet, by remaining accessible to non-designers. 

From the Frizbit team, we have highlighted 3 of their recent updates:

 

1. Video Background remover:
   

   Source: Canva

   In the same way that removing the background from a picture was possible for non-designers with Canva, now the platform brings a whole new level to video editing. Video background removal is now possible, just under one click. This is an outstanding development, considering that not even professional tools can get done the same job with that ease.

    

2. Creating websites is now accessible to everyone:
   

   Source: Canva

   This rollout allows users to create responsive websites with both desktop and mobile previews. Again, everything under the same mission of making design accessible to everyone. Choosing from beautiful templates and customising it was never so easy to bring a website to life
   
   

3. Canva Docs (Beta Version coming soon):
   

   Source: Canva

   
   Canva announced their Canva Docs development, aiming to create visual docs in an entirely collaborative environment. The main standout characteristic is that these documents are meant to work on building richer media documents. As in opposite to the other existing text-based document with a difficult media integration option. The rollout already has a waiting list for when its Beta version becomes available.

   
   

 

 Social Media Marketing

• Instagram announces that videos up to 60 seconds are available for stories

Source: Instagram

The well-known video updates from Instagram continue their course over the last months. The newest announcement revealed that now videos of 60 seconds will no longer be split into 15-second segments in the app.

The new feature has already started rolling out in September by showing a pop-up notification to users. 

So, can this have an entirely positive experience for content creators?

• Pros: Content creation through stories for promotions, selling content or engaging could be easier for creators, easing the work to split the content.
  
• Cons: Users typically scroll through stories to get the information they are looking for as fast as they can, meaning that engagement might actually drop.

Instagram has confirmed the new Stories video expansion to TechCrunch, explaining that:

“We are always working on ways to improve the Stories experience. Now, you’ll be able to play and create Stories continuously for up to 60 seconds, instead of being automatically cut into 15-second clips.”

 

• TikTok is competing to become the leading search engine social media platform

Woah…! TikTok has increased video description character limit to 2,200 characters!

This is huge for creators and massive in terms of TikTok’s plans for becoming a search engine pic.twitter.com/kGhnL97uUM

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 23, 2022

The video platform is clearly evolving into a wider version of itself, leaving behind being considered only as an entertaining social media platform. 

According to Matt Navarra, TikTok has increased the maximum length of its captions from 300 characters to 2,200. Although the company describes the update as a space to express more details about creations, the truth is that it leads the platform to become more competitive as a search engine social media platform, especially for Gen Z.

This update allows content creators to include keywords that will improve the discoverability of their content in search. If we take into consideration that TikTok is already recognised for having one of the most accurate algorithms, then this entitles TikTok as a leading search engine social media platform.

 

•  Snapchat provides voter registration tools ahead of the US Midterms

Source: Snapchat

Snapchat has shown a history of educating its users and providing in-app tools to build youth engagement in political events. For instance, in 2020, the platform helped 1.2 million users to register to vote and play a part in what resulted in the largest youth turnaround in decades. 

The platform reaches 90% of the 13-24-year-olds, giving the opportunity to empower and educate the youth about the importance of participating in the democracy. 

2022 couldn’t be any different from previous elections periods aiming to build youth civic engagement, so they have developed some tools:

1. Allow Snapchatters to register to vote
2. Allowing 16- and 17-years-old Snapchatters to pre-register in selected states.
3. Community building to reach out to friends who haven’t registered yet
4. Creation of Voting 101 Hub: an in-app training on how to register to vote, becoming a poll worker, and so much more.
5. Curated Map stories 
6. Safeguards to review the content and prevent misinformation 

 

Updates from Frizbit

This monthly newsletter comes with some outstanding updates from the Frizbit team! 

We have a special invitation for those interested in evolving with Google Analytics 4, some product updates and past-events recap.

 

• Mark your calendars. A new Workshop about GA4 is scheduled.

  

 

In partnership with Jevnet, Aticco Workingspaces and the Barcelona Growth Marketing Group, we have designed a new workshop to skyrocket your digital marketing skills.

As some of you might already know, the traditional UA (Universal Analytics) platform is phasing out in less than 9 months, meaning that data and traditional measuring will come to an end.

So what solution do you have at your fingertips? The answer is short: migrating into Google Analytics 4 as soon as possible.

We have come to realise that there is still some hesitation and doubts around the new platform. Having this in mind, we’ve created this event in Spanish to equip marketers with all the relevant information about the new software.

Event details:

Date: October 26th 2022

Where: Aticco Workspaces Verdaguer for our friends based in Barcelona and streamed online for those who can’t attend live.

Time: 18.00h to 20.30h

Workshop Facilitator: Michele Sforza, Senior Account Manager at Jevnet

Language: Spanish

Book your spot here

•  New software updates to the Frizbit dashboard

In the last few months, we have been working on improving the experience and added value for our customers on the platform. Currently, our product could integrate different channels such as web push, email and SMS to provide seamless messaging strategies. However, in order to improve and reach a wider audience, we are developing the WhatsApp channel as a retargeting medium without ads.

The update is still under development, so elements such as images included in the message are not yet available. However, we have prepared an example as a preview of what is to come.

Among the hyper personalisation possibilities, you can have the following:

• User name
• Name of the specific product
• Price of the selected product
• CTA
• Product image (coming soon

From the Frizbit team, we are excited about this new launch as it will generate more possibilities to reach and bring back more users at different points of their customer journey.

If you’d like to know first-hand what these new software updates can mean for you and your business in bringing customers back, you can get in touch with us for a personalised demo.

•  It’s a wrap! The replay of the session and event recap for How to Do Retargeting in the Cookieless World are up

 

On the 22nd of September, we hosted our first event after the summer break, and we must admit it felt like a great way to come back to the routine. As usual at our events, we enjoyed -which was maybe – the last open terrace networking session of the year with some mandatory beers.

If you work in/with the digital marketing industry, you might be aware of the constant changes that we frequently face. During the event, our main goal was to demonstrate to our attendees that entering the cookieless is less scary than what we could imagine. There are alternative ways to do retargeting without ads or third-party cookies.

Also, in the way things are shifting, leaving third-party cookies behind is no longer an option or a choice, but rather a necessity. In our event, we teach you how to do it seamlessly.

Having said this, if you couldn’t join us at the event or simply would like to refresh what you’ve learnt, we have created two options for you:

? If you’d like to learn more about the right strategies, channels and have a deep understanding of the cookieless world, you can find all the necessary information here:

Read all the info from the blog here

?If, on the other hand, you are more of a visual learner and would like to learn first-hand, then the event session replay in Spanish is here for you:

Watch the replay of the event here (In Spanish)

We welcome September after a slower summer season with our monthly newsletter. During August, while most professionals enjoyed a well-deserved break or had a slower-business season (at least in Spain), the rapidly changing marketing landscape kept its usual pace.

Let’s start this back-to-school and back-to-business season with the most recent and relevant digital marketing news and updates.

Keep reading to find out the latest insights from the digital marketing world.

Digital Marketing News and Updates from August 2022

 

CONTENT

Search Marketing Updates

• Meet the new Helpful Content algorithm by Google

• Google sets the race for Local and Smart Shopping campaigns to shift into Performance Max campaigns

• Do you have an international SEO strategy in place? Google Search Console will remove its International Targeting report

   

Tech Marketing Updates

• Introducing Shopify Collabs: the new digital solution to connecting creators with Shopify businesses

• Canva gets one step closer to becoming the one-stop-shop for visual needs with Whiteboards

Social Media Updates

• LinkedIn introduces the ability to pin comments under posts

• Podcasts steps firmly into the YouTube platform

• Twitter is testing professional account options, which include shopping & link features

   

About Frizbit

• Save the date, a new workshop is coming up on September 22nd [Event held in Spanish]

   

Search Marketing Updates

• Meet the new Helpful Content algorithm by Google

 

As announced in the blog of the company, Google is rolling out a new algorithm for its search engines. While many eCommerce stores are still struggling with the recent Product Review Update, Google is determined to provide a more human approach to online navigation. And clearly, this update demonstrates so.

So far, there are many reactive opinions about this new update going around in the SEO industry. Most of them are implying that with this new update, the SEO era will come to an end. Some experts are arguing that the new algorithm will devalue the content written for SEO purposes. However, all that this update aims for is to favour the content written for people by people.

So, what can you expect from the new roll-out? Contrasting with the previous update, which only affected certain pages of a website, the new Helpful Content algorithm has the potential to impact all pages within a site. 

As Google describes it, this update aims to:

“Tackle content that seems to have been primarily created for ranking well in search engines rather than to help or inform people.”

What else do you need to know about the algorithm?

• A new signal ranking is coming out for both new and existing websites.
• It will start rolling out in September
• Google is prioritising expertise and added-value rather than simply summarising content from other posts.
• Undefined niche categories in publications might classify a site as unhelpful.
• If Google detects that users aren’t finding what they truly need, it might affect the ranking of the site.
• Writing about trends outside your niche or industry might get classified as an effort to classify higher in the rankings, rather than providing value.
• Removing unhelpful content will increase the possibility of ranking in a higher position

 

So what can we learn from this update?

First things first, the SEO era will not come to an end. It is definitely taking a new direction towards a more streamlined practice, connecting humans with humans. 

This new update isn’t either devaluing the SEO practices, but rather is an open invitation to content creators to incorporate conscious practices into creating content with people in mind.

 

Google sets the race for Local and Smart Shopping campaigns to shift into Performance Max campaigns

Earlier this year, Google announced that its Local and Smart Shopping campaigns would embrace changes and turn into Performance Max campaigns. In their announcement, Google provided clear deadlines for this placement, with it being September 2022. 

To understand the relevance of this update, let’s get back to the basics: what exactly are the benefits of the Performance Max campaigns?

Performance Max campaigns use Artificial Intelligence combined with automatisation to maximise the performance based on a specific conversion goal. 

So conversion, performance, AI, and automatisation are in one place? Yes! And the benefits don’t just stop right there. These campaigns encompass all Google properties such as YouTube, Gmail, maps, search discovery, and display. Ultimately, you are able to track the customer journey a client does when searching for a product or purchasing online.

Now that we’ve covered the basics and we are well aware of the tight deadlines Google is giving, let’s break down the official news.

In August, Google released a tool to self-upgrade both Local and Smart Shopping campaigns with just one click. The trick with this update is that although you can do it with a simple configuration setting, it won’t be available for all the merchants yet. 

So, how can you know if you’re eligible for the self-upgrade?

If your campaigns were compatible with the upgrade, it is likely you have received a notification with a link or that you are able to find the option through the Google Ads Dashboard. If, on the contrary, that wasn’t your case, your Local campaigns won’t update to Max Performance until 2023.

Now, the next big question is: What happens with the old campaigns?

We do recommend that you use the self-upgrade option as soon as you are eligible. The reason is that all the old self-upgraded campaigns will keep all the historical performance data and your chosen settings.  

Although having this option is great for analysis and reporting purposes, all old campaigns will be automatically set to “Removed” status. This means that no edits, nor reactivation, will be allowed.

 

• Do you have an international SEO strategy in place? Google Search Console will remove its International Targeting report

 

The International Targeting report has been deprecated, and will be removed from Search Console soon. We continue to support hreflang and our recommendations for managing multilingual and multiregional sites still stand. https://t.co/yz4lsHhXhO

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) August 24, 2022

If you own a multilingual or multi-regional website, stay tuned because Google has officially announced that its International Targeting report will be removed from Search Console by September 22nd.

Many are the questions that have arisen with this announcement, such as:

• Where will the hreflang-tags errors be found?
• Can you target a specific country manually with a .com domain?
• Will hreflang continue to be supported?

While Google hasn’t announced what will happen with the hreflang errors found in websites through the report, they have stated that hreflang tags will continue to be supported by Google Search Console. In fact, as they quoted in their tweet, Google will continue to support multilingual and multi-regional sites with their standard recommendations still. 

So, how can you help Google understand your site if you support different languages or locations?

1. If you are managing a multilingual or multi-regional site, you can optimise Google Search results directly from your website
   
2. If you manage multiple sites for different languages, make sure you are reporting and telling Google about each of these variations. By doing this, Google will appoint the corresponding variation to the right user.
3. If your website shows certain content based on the location or language of the user, Google might not be able to crawl, index or rank all the content for the specific locale.

With this update, certainly, manually targeting countries or the preference of the language from users might become a harder practice. We believe that by doing this, Google continues to strive in its fight against SEO-done content and keeps moving towards a more human navigation experience.

 

Marketing Tech

• Introducing Shopify Collabs: the new digital solution to connecting creators with Shopify businesses.

With creators and brand experiences in mind, Shopify has rolled out its Collabs. It’s a win-win for both creators that can sustain their activities with brands they love, and for brands that can reach new audiences.

Influential marketing has played a big part in the development of brands. In most cases, it helps to boost the awareness of a brand or increase the sales of a product or service. We can agree that nowadays, it is a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy.

This is a free initiative in which brands can:

• Communicate that they are open to collabs
• Detail the brief and description of the brand to match with the perfect creator
• Build stronger and real partnerships with creators
• Announce specific products to be promoted by collabs 
• Send gifts to creators
• Track reports and analytics by the performance of the influencer

Collabs will work on an application basis to ensure that brands connect with the right audience. 

As stated by Kabbara, its Director of Product, in the article of the company:

“For Shopify merchants, Collabs is a new way to find potential customers at a time when it’s never been more difficult or expensive,” Kabbara continued. “By giving merchants the ability to discover and partner with creators that align with their brand, they can tap into the power of community-driven commerce to reach consumers in new and meaningful ways.” 

For the time being, Shopify Collabs will be available only in the US and Canada.

 

 Canva gets one step closer to becoming the one-stop-shop for visual needs with Whiteboard

Canva is living up to its name with its newest product release. The online visual and creative platform surprised everyone with the brand-new feature Whiteboards.

This feature includes pre-made templates to brainstorm and express ideas visually by non-designers. It’s bringing creativity to the fingertips of the day-to-day user. 

One of the most loved features is the possibility of collaborating online with others. This property comes in handy nowadays that remote working is more common. 

From Kanban templates to all types of diagrams and mapping options, Canva is building limitless spaces to bring your ideas to life.

What are some of the best usages you can have with the new rollout?

• Create dynamic presentations that expand in a limitless space.

• Conduct workshops with experience and timing in mind.

• Create Customer Journey and general mind-maps while collaborating online with others.

As Canva states in their blog:

“Great things happen when people come together to bring their ideas to life. There’s truly no limit to what you can do with Canva Whiteboards, which is free for our global community and available on the web, desktop and mobile.”

 

 Social Media Marketing

• LinkedIn introduces the ability to pin comments under posts

LinkedIn has rolled out a new feature that enables all users, both company pages and personal profiles, to pin comments under a thread. To pin a response, simply access the three dots menu, and become ready to place the best responses on the top.

How can this update be useful to you?

With LinkedIn being a social media platform in which getting awareness and visibility tends to be easier than other channels, this new functionality has the potential to elevate the engagement of your publications and get seen by many others.

We firmly believe that this new update will boost interactions and can become a great tool to build personal branding in this social network.

 

Podcasts steps firmly into the YouTube platform

 

The long-format video platform is slowly introducing a dedicated section for podcasts. YouTube is updating itself to provide podcasts with its own dedicated section. 

YouTube has decided to make the best out of a common malpractice of users publishing static content on a dynamic and video-based platform (A.KA. Podcast videos on YouTube). Truth be told, most podcast producers would update their episodes despite sometimes displaying only a picture with the audio behind it. 

Although YouTube hasn’t formally announced the new platform changes, many users have found it while navigating within the platform. Some have even documented how to access the dedicated section.

To access the update, just go to the Explore tab, which will display the menu options, including the podcast. Then click the option of ‘Podcast’ and get ready to support your favourite content creators. 

 

Does this mean YouTube will also raise the fight for podcasts in the industry? 

What we know about this update is that it is slowly being tested and rolled out by countries. It is also known that podcasts are being displayed by subcategories to ease the navigation of the user.

There are 9 podcast categories to suit the need of the customers and help them explore the vast content. These categories are:

1. Popular episodes
2. Popular podcast playlists
3. Recommended (Based on your Subscriptions and History)
4. Popular podcast creators
5. Comedy
6. True Crime
7. Sports
8. Music
9. TV & Film

It does seem that this rollout is the start of something bigger than merely performing changes in the layout of the platform. YouTube knows its market advantage and has taken the first steps into the podcast industry.

 

• Twitter is testing professional account options, which includes shopping & link features

 

These sure are exciting times for professional accounts on Twitter. The platform has announced that a new set of features are being unlocked exclusively for professional accounts. 

Twitter is committed to helping businesses, brands, and creators to have a strong online presence and this new shopping and custom links functionality seems to be hitting off the ground.

 

? We’re going global! Now, any professional around the world can add a Location Spotlight to their profile to help customers find their biz location and get in touch faster. And☝️it has a new Google Maps integration to help customers with directions. pic.twitter.com/Uw5oLdJWXU

— Twitter Business (@TwitterBusiness) August 4, 2022

 

Let’s review what these two new profile spotlights are about. The first one would be the Location Spotlight has rolled out globally. This update aims to help any business owner to become visible to their customers with even a Google Maps integration for directions. 

 

But this isn’t all this new spotlight feature can do for your business. It also includes updates such as displaying business hours and direct contact methods to bring customers closer to businesses. Among the contact options, you can set up to be contacted by phone call, text message, direct Twitter message, and email.

 

 

Last but not least, the Shopping Spotlight is perhaps the most exciting update for professionals and their sales goals. Unlike the previous update, this functionality is available only to qualified accounts, mainly in the US. 

So what’s exciting about this update?

Those qualifying accounts will be entitled to a dedicated section at the top of their account profiles to display their products. The spotlight will act as a catalogue for easy access to purchase products without having to leave Twitter.

As Twitter describes this update:

“This is a feature that allows us to explore how shoppable profiles can create a pathway from talking about and discovering products on Twitter to actually purchasing them. “

The update doesn’t stop here. Twitter is actually developing a product management platform to create a seamless experience in showcasing products. This development will mainly assist business owners to create their own catalogues in-line with the right display in the app.

 

About Frizbit

• Save the date, a new workshop is coming up on September 22nd [Event held in Spanish]

 

We are delighted to announce that we are back with our offline events in Barcelona after a well-deserved summer break. In this event held in Spanish, we will review the strategies to perform retargeting without using third-party cookies.

Despite the delays from Google in fully implementing the cookieless era, we know the change and upcoming challenges are imminent. So, what better way than to actually get your hands on a theory-practical workshop to get ahead of the game?

If this event already sounds like you, keep reading to find out the details about this exciting workshop. 

During the event, you will learn what these types of alerts really are, and you will discover everything they can do for your e-Commerce to bring your customers back. 

In addition, you will explore this channel, which besides being innovative, is aligned with the new data privacy restrictions and third-party cookie limitations that will come into force by 2024.

Of course, after-work, and networking could not be missing in this workshop, so besides learning about best practices and tips to implement them, you will also be invited to enjoy some free beers on a nice terrace in Barcelona.

If you are not in Barcelona but still would love to attend the event, we got you covered! For those who can’t make it physically to the event, we will have a live broadcast for the workshop. To access the broadcast, register through the link below and choose “Watch Online – Remote”.  We will email you the live link on the day of the event.

The details:

When: September 22nd

Time: 18:30 (registration opens) until 21:00 

Where: Aticco Verdaguer, Barcelona

Workshop Facilitator:  Ata Gur, CEO & Co-founder of Frizbit

 

You can register for free here

Digital Marketing News and Updates | May 2022

The digital marketing industry as we know it is ever-evolving. And this month is no different. So the relevance of staying up to date is essential for any digital marketing professional.

 

Today, we want to present you with the latest news, trends and updates from May 2022. Let’s dive in!

 

Content:

1. Search Marketing Updates

   • Google enables users to delete their information from Google Search.

   • Google aims to conquer the eCommerce space. 

   • Google Search Console tracks new desktop features in its experience report.

2. Marketing Tech Updates

   • Meta rolls out Whatsapp Cloud: a monetisation strategy for Whatsapp. 

   • Stripe supports Bitcoin payments.

3. Social Media Updates
   

   • Instagram introduces a new Feed.

   • Twitter launches Twitter Circle. 
   • TikTok Pulse. 

4. About Frizbit

   • Frizbit at the datathon of @Reach Incubator

1. Search Marketing Updates
   

   • Google enables users to delete their information from Google Search.

      

Pexels/PhotoMIX Company

 

Nowadays, as users, navigating through the internet means having to share our personal data. Users are exposed to revealing their full name, email address, phone number and even more personal information such as banking details. We can say that maintaining one’s privacy gets more challenging by the day.

With the recent events regarding the privacy of users, it isn’t surprising that Google is making changes to protect its users. To tackle this issue, the search giant is expanding its options to enable users to be in control of their personal information.

If you do not wish for your information to appear on the google search page, there’s only one action you need to do. You must complete the request on this form, and after the corresponding approval, the platform will take down your personal information.

Now, what does this mean for marketers?

As we have perceived, getting closer to potential customers is getting tougher. As marketers, it is clear that relying on third-party cookies to reach users isn’t a streamlined solution anymore.

Having said this, we advise marketers to start looking out for different strategies. These new tactics should be aligned to the preferences of the users, and the better way is using first-party cookies. 

 

1. • Google aims to conquer the eCommerce space.

     

     Unsplash / Austin Distel

     
     As Bloomberg states, Google is putting efforts again to step strong in the eCommerce landscape. And this time, it seems that Google is willing to step up against its biggest competitor: Amazon.

     What is Google doing differently this time to overcome its competitor?

     While retailers at Amazon are required to pay the company for using the platform as a storefront, Google has started offering free shopping ads and product listings for its users.  

     With a 43% increase in search revenue in eCommerce advertising, statistics forecast success for this new initiative from Google.

     How can retailers prepare to position themselves in the upcoming eCommerce takeover successfully? 

     We suggest retailers start by being present at the Google Merchant Center. At this time, it won’t represent an extra cost for eCommerce businesses, presenting itself as a compelling opportunity. Then, we suggest setting up the product feed using the free product listing feature.

     Once the product feed is set up, the retailer will be able to display free shopping listings and run free shopping ads.

     Developing spaces and conditions that benefit online retailers is undoubtedly a leading step for Google to conquer this landscape.
     
     

   • Google Search Console tracks new desktop features in its experience report.
   • 
     

     Google Developers

     Google has announced that its Google Search Console will start tracking additional desktop features. As stated by the company:

     “Search Console now logs impressions in the Page Experience report for additional desktop features, such as Top Stories. As a result, you may see an increase in your desktop impressions in the Page Experience report and the Search and News performance reports when filtering by the “Good Page Experience” search appearance.”
     
     What does this mean for website owners?
     
     With the new log, you may see an increase in the desktop impressions on the experience report page. This change might also affect the performance reports when using the “Good Page Experience” filter.
     
     Possible spikes or increases should be visible after May 13th in your reports. Look out for any drastic changes and evaluate through the “Good Page Experience” if the rise shown is related to the new logging of the additional desktop features.

     2. Marketing Tech Updates

   • Meta rolls out Whatsapp Cloud: a monetisation strategy for Whatsapp.
     

     Pexels / Anton

      

     Whatsapp introduces its Cloud API to all businesses worldwide hosted in its parent company: Meta. This new feature becomes one of the key ways the app would finally start monetising itself.

      

     So, how does it work?

      

     Whatsapp Business Accounts will pay on a per-message basis. The rates will vary depending on the number of messages sent per month and your region.

      

     This new API targets smaller businesses and eases the third-party channel integrations process. This integration process usually would take up to weeks, and thanks to this tool, it would only take a few minutes.

      

     Through the Cloud API, businesses can have a better CRM experience. The tool will enable account owners to store private data through the app seamlessly. You will be able to integrate all tickets through one channel, increasing efficiency and productivity. This feature becomes relevant for larger businesses.

      

     The API is compatible with Zendesk and MessageBird, which truly facilitates communication operations for small and big businesses to connect with more people.

      

     Whastapp API Cloud isn’t the only change the platform will have. The regular Whatsapp Business app will also get an upgrade offering premium paid features.

      

     What’s included in the paid version?

      

     You will enjoy:

     • The ability to manage up to 10 chats across multiple devices.
     • Customised ‘Click-to-Chat’ links
     • Statistics

     More updates and features, as well as pricing information, will be available later during the year.
     This also enables online stores to send WhatsApp messages to their users who leave without completing a purchase via WhatsApp. If you have an e-commerce and are looking for a solution to run WhatsApp cart abandonment campaigns you can request a demo with Frizbit.

      

   • Stripe supports Bitcoin payments.
     

     Stripe
     

     Stripe is one of the largest online payment gateways in the world. It is known for revolutionising the eCommerce ecosystem, and this time it isn’t the exception. Now, the latest update the company wants to implement is partnering with Bitcoin and offering it as a payment method.

      

     The company valued above 100,000,000 USD has teamed up with the crypto startup OpenNode. This incursion into the cryptocurrency landscape will allow users to convert balances and payments directly into Bitcoin.

      

     What’s the impact on eCommerce owners?

      

     Thanks to millions of users, broadening the usage of cryptocurrencies can increase transactions. This is certainly a positive shift in the eCommerce landscape by easing the online purchase customer journey experience.

     3. Social Media Updates

   •  Instagram introduces a new Feed

     
     Instagram

   • As Adam Mosseri stated in his official publication, the video experience is taking more relevance in the future of Instagram. The ever-changing app has announced that it has started testing a more immersive layout in its visual feed.

     This change will take place for both images and videos with a 16:9 proportion. This new update makes the posts appear in a full-screen format on your device.

      

     In the light of creating immersive experiences, the app is elevating its reels consumption. The platform will start recommending more reels in its suggested section of the Home Page. This shift aligns with the so-desired trend of ranking video content at the front store of the app.

      

     How does this affect your content strategy?

      

     More and more, the platform is trying to stay upfront with its largest competitor: TikTok. They have been studying what makes TikTok so engaging, and this new shift comes as a consequence.

      

     Definitely, video content will keep being prioritised by the algorithm. Therefore, adapting your content to the Reels format is essential. Instagram has mentioned that the so-loved stories might start appearing in the home feed, similar to the current TikTok experience.

      

     Lastly, the platform has announced the option of pinning content to the feed to make the experience of the users smoother and more engaging.

   •  Twitter launches Twitter Circle.

     Twitter 

     Similar to the “Close Friends” Instagram feature, Twitter is rolling out its “Twitter Circle” feature to share exclusive content with a selected audience.

      

     This innovation allows users to select up to 150 profiles to interact with private content, whether they are followers or not. Twitter Circle is now in its beta phase. However, it will only be available for limited accounts worldwide when it is fully released.

      

     We will have to see how this new feature integrates with the app and its new owner Elon Musk, who didn’t include this in his new proposals for the platform.

   •   TikTok Pulse

     

     TikTok 

     TikTok has announced that they are launching a new programme called “Pulse” to bring brands closer to its customers through advertisement.

     Using the “For you” section, the platform plans to add advertisements that are relevant to the brands users consume the most. They have carefully designed the experience by placing the volume of advertisements in proportion to the usage of the app. The more time you spend in the app equals more relevant ads.

     TikTok Pulse allows advertisers to put their brand next to the main content of their feed. Specifically, TikTok highlights 4% of the posts to be shown in the ‘For you’ section. The advertising will be displayed within this range, becoming widely seen and relevant to users.

     “We are focused on developing monetisation solutions in available markets so that creators feel valued and rewarded on TikTok,” the company explained.

     The beta phase will begin with the participation of creators, public figures and media channels that should have at least 100,000 followers.

     4. About Frizbit

   • Frizbit at the datathon of @Reach Incubator

     
     Frizbit team

     The Frizbit team visited Paris earlier in May!

     Reach Incubator is a European incubator for startups specialising in AI & data management products and services.

     This year, the datathon took place at the École Polytechnique in Paris. For two days, more than 30 companies exposed their data management solutions. 

     Frizbit was selected to participate in the “Explore” phase of the program. 

Digital marketing news from March 2021 cover updates from Google Search to important social media new features. It’s amazing to witness how, every month, marketing technology changes and takes a step forward into making marketers jobs easier with new features added to existing platforms and new tech being developed.  

As we do it every month, we have gathered the most relevant marketing news and information worth revising for search marketing, tech marketing and social media marketing. you never know which new feature of technology will help you improve your digital marketing strategy. So keep on reading for the:

Digital Marketing News, Insights and Updates from March 2021

1. Search Marketing Updates

Google puts to the test displaying a cost estimate for local search queries

Google has announced that the company will be testing a new feature to show cost estimates in local search results. The feature is inspired by an alliance between Google and Homewyse, a site that provides contractors a system to calculate accurate quotes for their clients. They provide cost and pricing estimates for common houseworks, such as maintenance, repairs or remodelings. 

The new costs feature will show an estimate of the price range. Google says “The price information provided should be used as a guide only. The actual cost of service may vary widely based on the provider you choose and the specific details of your job.”

 

The results will show a price range for the service the users search for in the local area near their homes. According to Google, “Knowing the typical prices for a service in your ZIP code can help you estimate the cost of your job before booking it with a Local Services provider.” This feature is limited to the U.S. for the moment.

Google brings Full Coverage news to search results

Another marketing news by Google is that they’re bringing the Full Coverage feature to show on search results. This feature was already available for Google News since 2018, but the company has decided to now add it to Search Results as well with an announcement on their blog last March 8th.  

According to Google, the reasoning behind this decision is that “People are hungry for context that helps them break down and understand (…) complicated stories from multiple perspectives.” This decision has been inspired because of how important and ongoing news and stories, such as Covid-19 or the U.S. elections are “consumed” by people. 

The “Full Coverage” page will show next to the carousel of articles that appear at the top of the Search results page when users introduce a query. If users want to dig a little deeper on any big developing news, they just have to click Full Coverage.

With this launch, we’re introducing new technology that is able to detect long-running news stories that span many days, like the Super Bowl, to many weeks or months like the COVID-19 pandemic. We then organize the Full Coverage page to help people easily find top news along with additional content like explainers and local coverage that are helpful to understanding these complex stories.

Right now the Full Coverage feature is only available for mobile devices in English and limited to U.S. users. Google says they intend to roll it out to more countries and languages in the upcoming months. 

Microsoft Bing updates search results interface

There are several updates coming up for Microsoft Bing interface. Recipe results, carousels, infographics and local answers are getting a revamp with the purpose of making the search experience more “visually immersive” for users. 

• Infographic-like search panel experience: one of the first changes is a new, knowledge panel design. The objective was to make it more visually appealing and “provide both style and substance”. 

 

• Local answers with more information: when users search for anything on local answer, they’ll get more information. Microsoft Bing added more than just a single images carousel, they added more to Bing Maps, top images and reviews.

 

• Expandable search carousels: they also added a feature with expandable carousels that show high-level information results in order to avoid a crowded results page. A user can hover an specific result and it will expand showcasing more detailed information.

• Similar looking items feature: when users make a search on Microsoft Bing Image Search, they can now click on it and use the “similar looking items” feature to highlight a portion of said image and get more results of images similar to that specific portion and can even directly go to a retailer’s site to purchase an item if that the case. 

• Recipes result with more information: when looking for a recipe, users will get a list and have the option to expand them to see more. The information can go from nutritional information to, users reviews and ingredients list and possible substitutions. 

2. Marketing Tech Updates

Google Chrome can now caption audio and video

Google rolled out the Live Caption Feature for Chrome. This allows users to automatically generate real-time captions for media on their browsers. The feature works for social media, podcasts, radio, personal video libraries, embedded video players and most web-based video and chat services. 

Captions make online content more accessible. If you’re in a noisy environment, trying to keep the volume down, or are part of the 466 million people in the world who are deaf or hard of hearing, having captions lets you follow along to whatever content you are watching — whether it’s viral feta pasta videos, breaking news or a scientist discussing their latest research. – Google Blog

One of the most interesting features of the new Live Caption, is that the captions are generated on real-time. This means that they appear as content plays and they work offline as well. 

To turn on the Live Caption Feature, users just need to go to Chrome Settings, click on Advanced and then go to Accessibility. The captions currently only support English and are available worldwide on the latest update of Chrome on Windows, Mac and Linux. 

Google My Business report shows how people found your business

If there’s an important piece of information for every business, is definitely how people found them. Google’s aware of this and has rolled out an update for Google My Business that shows how users got to you. 

The new performance report insights upgrade shows a section of people who viewed your business and how they found it, whether through desktop, mobile or either Search Results or Google Maps.

Businesses can access these new reports by logging to their My Business accounts and selecting the Insights tab. From there, go to the top of the page to access the new performance reports and scroll down to the section that shows “how people discovered you”. 

The reports breakdown the information by device and type of search. This feature has been available as a beta since late January and Google pointed out a few details:

• The metric represents the number of unique users so it might be lower than the number of views found on Google My Business and in email notifications. 
• The metric focuses on views of the Business Profile, not overall views of the Business in Google. 

Hootsuite adds new “best time to publish” feature

The social media management web platform has rolled out a new feature that shows you the best time to publish on your different social media channels. These suggestions are completely personalised based on your own publishing history of the last 30 days. 

The new feature aims into helping content creators “build awareness, boost engagement and drive traffic”. Knowing when to post is so important to reach as many people as possible on social media, and this feature has the objective of helping with that. 

This month, Hoostsuite also included an update that allows you to add Magento into your dashboard. This will allow you to:

• Add streams of your products to Hootsuite
• Share to multiple networks, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• Schedule when posts are sent
• Respond to users on Twitter with product information
• Use templates for frequently used posts/replies

3. Social Media Marketing Updates

Instagram is testing new auto-caption feature in stories

Instagram is testing a new auto-caption feature for stories. It’s called “Closed Captions” and shown in the stickers tab. A social media consultant shared a video showcasing how it works and it seems the captions are really accurate.

After recording a video with voice, you just have to open the stickers tab and select the Caption one and the app will automatically generate a transcription. There are different options for styling the captions, very similar to the ones available for the transcription of lyrics from the music sticker. 

The feature is just under test by Instagram and not available to the public yet. However, we can expect it to be launched very soon. 

Twitter is testing new e-commerce features

Twitter is testing a new feature that links to e-commerce product pages. It displays the tweet with a different card format design that includes a big “Shop” button and showcases details about the product directly into the tweet.

The information displayed on these new tweets format for e-commerce show:

• Product name
• Shop name
• Product price
• Shop button

Twitter confirmed that these new e-commerce tweets are an example of a new “organic” type of tweet. The social media platform is aiming into helping content creators monetize their work with many new features. Joining forces with newsletter platform Revue a few months ago and a new Super Follow feature that will allow creators to charge followers for “exclusive content” , are definitely aiming in that direction. 

Facebook looking to launch audio-only rooms

All the world has been on a hype since the popularisation of the new audio-only social media Clubhouse. Other social media platforms don’t want to be left behind and Facebook has started working on its own version of audio-only chat rooms. 

In May last year, Facebook rolled out a feature called Rooms that allowed users to create private video chats others can join. So, creating a new one that’s audio-based only wouldn’t be a major work or effort for Facebook.

The new feature will allow users to create public or private audio group rooms. It’s basically the same thing as Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces. Maybe this would suppose a threat to Clubhouse since the app still works just for iOS and it’s based on invites only. 

We can expect Facebook to roll out the new feature very soon, since the amount of work behind it is basically ready. 

Summary

This is it for the most important digital marketing news from November covering everything from search marketing, tech marketing and social media marketing. Which news caught your attention more?

Bonus Material

We’ve recently created the Digital Marketing & E-commerce Experts group on Linkedin for all of you marketing professionals and enthusiasts. Here you’ll find all sorts of content related to digital marketing and e-commerce, you can share your own experiences, questions and just rub shoulders with other marketers on a daily basis.

Since you’re already here, you might want to check out:

• Cart Abandonment Recovery Strategies for E-commerce – Recover Lost Sales
• How to Orchestrate your Marketing Strategy on Multi-Channel?
• Troubleshooting Web Push Notifications: Why I’m I not Getting Notifications

February is a very short month. With only 28 days, there seems not to be enough time for things to change in the digital marketing world. However, there are some remarkable events to take note of and we have gathered the most important digital marketing insights and updates from February 2021 just for you. 

Digital Marketing Insights and Updates from February 2021

1. Search Marketing Updates

Responsive search ads now the default in Google ads

Responsive search ads are ads adaptable to show more text and relevant information to customers. When creating one, you can enter multiple descriptions and headlines that Google will automatically test with different combinations and, in time, learn which ones perform better. The goal is to discover what type of messages adapts better to customer’s searches and ultimately improve the performance of your paid search ad campaigns. 

Google recommends to have at least one responsive search ad per ad group. Very recently, they announced that they’re making responsive search ads now the default in Google ads, based on how promising result are:

Using machine learning, responsive search ads automatically identify the best combination of headlines and descriptions to deliver the right ad to the right person. In fact, we’ve seen advertisers that add responsive search ads in their ad groups achieve up to 10% more clicks and conversions. – Sylvanus Bent, Product Manager, Google Ads

Google claims that Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way consumers conduct online searches, thus accelerating the need to change how those results are presented to them. According to Google responsive search ads (RSAs) are the answer to that need and they can offer much better results for businesses.

They have shared a list of best practices to optimise RSAs as much as possible:

• Use Ad strength when writing headlines and descriptions to understand the effectiveness of your ads. 
• Take advantage of location insertion and countdown customizers to show ads that are relevant and meaningful.
• Use Smart Bidding and broad match keywords.
• Review cross-campaign asset reporting to understand which creative assets resonate most with your customers.

New association functionality added to Search Console

Google also announced they’ve added a new association functionality to Search Console that will allow to connect a Search Console property with another Google property such as Analytics, a Youtube channel or a Google Chrome Web Store. 

This new feature allows sites to access and unlock other functions:

• Google Analytics: View your Search Console data, such as organic search queries, in your Google Analytics property. 
• Google Ads account: View the paid and organic report in Google Ads.
• YouTube channel: Link your videos to your associated website.
• Play Console app: Use App Indexing.
• Actions Console project: Verify your brand and enable cross-platform functionality.
• Chrome Web Store account: Publish apps and extensions to the Chrome Web Store on behalf of your site.

The association features depend on the association type and you can access them through the Association Page via the settings menu in your Search Console account. 

2. Marketing Tech Updates 

Microsoft announced limited access to neural text speech AI

The Microsoft Custom Neural Voice text-to-speech AI allows developers to create custom synthetic voices. The recently announced limited access to this technology.

The Custom Neural Voice is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature of Speech in Azure Cognitive Services that allows users to create a one-of-a-kind customized synthetic voice for their brand.  – Azure Microsoft

The neural speech AI has many possible applications for different brands and industries that can benefit both customers and businesses. Chatbots, voice assistants, audio books, online learning and translations can take advantage of this technology and improve customer experience by customising their synthetic voices. 

The technology consists of three main components that improve results: text analyser, neural acoustic model, and neural vocoder. These three elements work together to reduce by 50% pronunciation errors and optimise workflow. 

Interested brands must apply and be approved by Microsoft to access it. “Alternatively, developers can add text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities to their apps quickly by creating an Azure Speech instance and selecting from a rich choice of over 200 voices” stated de Microsoft announcement.

Magento released Magento Commerce 2.4.2 for Digital E-commerce Growth

Magento recognizes the importance of digital businesses, especially since 2020 and the migration of many stores to a digital environment. That’s why they keep focusing on offering their customers the best service and experience possible. 

Early this month Magento released Magento Commerce 2.4.2 along with security-only patches 2.3.6-p1 and 2.4.1-p1 that focus on enhancing performance and increasing security. 

Magento Commerce 2.4.2 assists merchants in maximizing their opportunities with enhancements to B2B purchase approvals, expanded PWA and GraphQL support, and improvements to the Page Builder and Media Gallery performance and developer experience.  

The update includes improvements to:

• B2B capabilities for purchase approvals
• Image optimisation
• Faster time to market
• In-product guidance
• Several enhancements to platform quality

3. Social Media Updates

Twitter develops “Spaces” a competitor for Clubhouse app

If by now you don’t know what Clubhouse is, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re living under a rock. The popular only-voice based app has been causing a bit of a stir in the social media world. It’s gaining popularity and subscribers by the second and everyone wants to get invited.

No wonder competitors are starting to raise and Twitter has rolled out Spaces. This new feature allows Twitter users to create audio-only chat rooms with up to 10 speakers at a time with no limit on number of participants. To create a Space, the users has to long press the compose icon and tap a new Spaces button that will show on the far left. 

The user that creates the room gets to decide who has permission to speak, choosing from everyone, people you follow or specific individuals. Spaces requires users’ permission to access the microphone and it will activate automatically as soon as the “Start your Space” button is clicked. 

To this moment, this new feature is only available for a small group of iOS users while Twitter gathers feedback from users. They claim that soon, Spaces will be available for more people and for Android devices as well. 

LinkedIn is developing a new freelance marketplace

As an effort to help professionals face the working crisis created by Covid-19 pandemic, LinkedIn is rolling out a new Freelancers Marketplace. The objective is to help professional freelancers and businesses to find each other, connect and work together. 

LinkedIn’s network counts with over 740 million users and the new Freelancers Marketplace will compete with similar websites like Upwork, Freelancer of Fiverr. It will count with a digital wallet through which businesses can pay professionals, facilitating the transactions and offering some type of insurance to all parties. 

The general opinion is that this is a very smart move from LinkedIn as it will revalue the platform for many professionals. Due to the pandemic, this new feature could open the door to professional freelancers to work from home to any part of the world and for businesses to find the perfect candidate for the job anywhere around the globe. 

Instagram to launch multi-participant live stream 

Digital meetings and e-gatherings have never been so popular (and necessary) as they have since last year. The appearance of softwares that allows groups of people to join video chats is on the rise and, so far, Instagram has been a little behind on the run, until now.

Earlier February, Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri, revealed that the popular social media platform was working on a multi-participant live stream feature to be launched at the end of the month. 

“We have been working on live groups – finally. […] We’re releasing the ability to go live with more than one other person, so with up to four other people, in the next couple of weeks, which we’re really excited about.”

Instagram has been working on this feature for a while now. Since last December they rolled out a version in India as an attempt to capitalize on the ban on TikTok. They had very promising results with a rise of 60% of views. 

While there’s still no official date for the new multi-participant live stream release on Instagram, from what we’ve read, it doesn’t seem like we will have to wait much longer. 

If you’re interested in digital marketing trends, tips and updates keep track of our blog: 

• Web Push Notifications: A Complete Guide for all Levels
• How to Conduct Successful A/B Testing: Go from Beginner to Pro
• The Future of Digital Marketing Without 3rd Party Cookies

It’s hard to believe that December is over. Even though 2020 was a very strange and difficult year due to Covid-19 pandemic, time flew by and the end of the year is upon us. As we do it every month, we have kept track of everything that happens in the digital marketing world and we have gathered the most important and relevant marketing updates and events for you. Here you have the:

Digital Marketing Insights from December 2020:

1. Search Marketing Updates December 2020

Google tests interactive search results

As the ever-improvement platform they are, Google has been experimenting with interactive search results pages. The newest tests add a very discrete and small icon next to the search results that, when hovered by users, show images from the respective site. 

This new feature is promising in terms of enriching user experience when browsing online. Offering the opportunity to have a preview of the content, will help users know if that site is actually relevant for them before clicking on it.

Digital marketers have their doubts and concerns about how it will affect click-through rates. The interactive search result feature can have a major impact on sites that offer very descriptive images about their content against those that don’t. 

Even though Google hasn’t offered any official documentation so far, marketers should start thinking about their content strategy and how to adapt to this new feature. Carefully selecting descriptive images that show what the site’s about and help users know what type of content they´ll find there will be key. 

The feature even allows search results to show more than one image when hovering over the small icon. Google’s testing will provide information and insights about how images can offer more relevant and accurate information to users about the content of a page.

Google Maps searches incorporate 4 new features

Google definitely knows how to keep us on our toes every month adding new features to all of their services and platforms (this article might as well be a “Google Updates from December” one). 

Let’s talk about the 4 new changes to Google Maps: 

1. Messaging from Maps and Search

The first and most exciting feature is the new messaging service. Google is bringing messaging capabilities into Maps and Search with the purpose of facilitating communication between local businesses and their customers. 

Every business with a verified profile can now message directly with clients from the Google Maps app. The messages will show in a “messages section” in business the updates tab.

This new feature is only available in-app at the moment, but Google plans on bringing it to desktop as well. The messaging option can be turned on or off in the setting panels of Google Maps and Google My Business apps. 

2. New Performance Insights

Google is also adding new metrics to help local businesses track their performance by measuring the number of customers engaged via Maps and Search. The update includes insights that show queries clients are using to find their business in Maps and Search. 

The information provided will cover:

• Amount of searches that triggered the business listing
• Performance comparison from previous year
• Search terms customers used to find the profile of the business
• Time of each search term triggered the profile

With all this new data added to their performance insights, businesses will be able to know exactly how customers reached them. This is very valuable information that can help them adapt their marketing strategy and make the most out of the use of Google Maps.

4. Community feed

Google is adding a community feature to Google Maps Explore tab. Here, users will find the latest reviews, photos and posts added to Maps by other community members they follow and local experts.

This update gives local businesses more reason to keep their information up to date. With regular posting, they’ll have the chance to show up in people’s feed and engage with customers. 

4. Street View photos added by users

The Street View feature is getting a very exciting update in which users will be able to upload their own photos to the platform using their phones. Using the app, contributors can take and record a series of photos while they move through a street and upload them to Street View.

Google will take care of rotating, connecting and creating the sequence of images. 

2. Marketing Tech Updates December 2020

Whatsapp introduces in-app shopping 

Whatsapp introduced a new shopping cart feature to their platform. Now users have the possibility to buy products from business through direct messages. With a small shopping button, customers can access a store’s catalog directly from their chat screen.

 

Users can browse the entire range of products, select multiple options and place their order as one unique message. Customers can access information about their order details by tapping the “View Cart” button on the chat and keep track of the process. 

This new Whatsapp shopping feature is aimed at helping out small businesses. Making the purchasing experience as seamlessly as possible, for both shoppers and businesses, is a direct bet on supporting small commerce. 

Google launches ads for Web Stories

We’ve talked about Web stories before on our Digital Marketing Updates from November 2020. They’re rapidly becoming a must to include in any digital marketing strategy. They present a conveying format to communicate and engage users. Just until now, publishers didn’t really have means to monetize web stories, other than sold ads or affiliate links.

Google is about to change that by launching a programmatic ads solution for web stories. The new added feature opens the door for content creators, publishers and marketers to easily earn money from their web stories. 

Story ads are available for everyone that uses Ad Manager and AdSense. The ad will show in between Web Story content to optimize user experience:

“The frequency and position of Story ads in the context of your Web Story is dynamically determined to optimize both user experience and monetization potential.” – AMP

3. Social Media Marketing Updates December 2020

Pinterest boards upgraded with 3 new features

The mothership of inspiration is getting 3 new features to help you keep that creativity flowing. Pinterest boards are getting upgraded with new options to help users make a more productive use of their time in the platform. 

1. Notes to self feature

Pinterest has added a new section where users can create private notes for themselves. When saving a new pin, they can add a short comment with reminders about why they saved said pin or any type of information they want.

2. New board toolbar

A new toolbar has been added with the purpose of making a more simpler navigation experience. It’s located at the top of the screen and it shows all the actions that can be taken on a board:

• Exploring related pin ideas
• Organizing existing pins
• To-do lists
• Viewing notes

This new feature will surely be thanked for by Pinterest users that save an average of 150 pins in one board. 

3. Board favorites

Pinterest is adding a function that allows users to mark pins as favorites. Given the number of pins a board can have, this feature might be long overdue. 

Once a user has created a board, they can mark some of those pins with a star making them a favorite. This feature makes it so easy to revisit and find the best pins on each board without having to lose lots of time browsing through hundreds of pins. 

LinkedIn launches Product Pages

LinkedIn announced the rollout of Product Pages: a tab dedicated to showcasing company’s products. The aim here is to “help companies build conversation and community around their products”, according to LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. 

 

They state that 70% of customers do an online research of the products they want before purchasing. Visibility and easy- to-access information is key in the decision making process of customers: your product needs to be within users’ reach. 

The new LinkedIn Product Pages promise to help businesses create awareness around their solutions, generating more valuable leads and contributing to overall company growth. The new feature allows brands to spotlight product endorsements, share testimonials and gather user feedback.

We hope our digital marketing updates from December 2020 shade some light on to what’s new in the industry. Make sure you check out our latest blog posts and Happy New Year!

Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2021