Digital Debrief | August 2024

Welcome to the August edition of Digital Debrief! In this month’s newsletter, I’ve gathered the most important digital marketing and tech updates to keep you in the know. Whether you’re a marketer or business owner, this digest is designed to give you a quick skim of the latest trends and changes.?

TL;DR - Here’s a peek at what’s inside this month:?

Facebook introduces new ad measurement and targeting tools to improve conversion tracking and customer prioritization.?

TikTok unveils AI voice simulations and group chat features, plus a new partnership with Amazon for in-app purchases.?

Instagram launches comments on Stories and tests cross-posting between Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.?

Google rolls out the August Core Update, promoting high-quality content while targeting low-value SEO tactics.?

LinkedIn debuts video carousels and a shift away from hashtags, while allowing brands to sponsor individual users’ newsletters.??

Facebook: ?

New ad measurement and targeting tools?

Meta is updating its ad measurement and targeting to improve conversion tracking and campaign optimization. New features like “Conversion Value Rules” will let businesses prioritize valuable customer segments, while an opt-in setting will optimize for incremental conversions. Additionally, CRM data integration will enhance targeting accuracy. These changes aim to better align ad performance with business goals.?

TikTok:?

AI voice simulations are here?

TikTok now allows users to create AI simulations of their own voice for video voiceovers , replacing the generic voices in the app. Users can speak into their device to create a digital version of their voice, which can also be translated into other languages. This feature is part of ByteDance’s AI push, using its “StreamVoice” system to replicate voices with minimal input. While the feature has benefits like language translation, concerns about deepfakes and reduced human interaction raise questions about its overall value. The long-term usefulness of such AI tools remains uncertain.?

Group chats come to TikTok ?

TikTok is expanding its direct messaging features to tap into growing DM engagement , especially seen on Instagram. New updates include stickers in DMs, including video stickers from TikTok clips and user-created sticker sets, along with a sticker management platform. TikTok is also introducing group chats for up to 32 participants, available only to mutual followers. While these features aim to boost TikTok as a social tool, its focus has traditionally been entertainment, making it unclear if users will embrace DMs. The updates may appeal to younger users, but widespread adoption remains uncertain.?

New Amazon partnership?

TikTok has partnered with Amazon to enable in-app purchases , allowing users to buy products directly from their TikTok feed without leaving the app. After linking their TikTok profile to their Amazon account, users can see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, and delivery info, making the shopping process seamless. This integration follows similar partnerships Amazon has with Meta and Snapchat, aiming to tap into social shopping habits. However, social commerce is still growing slowly in Western markets compared to its rapid rise in China, but TikTok is continuing to push for wider adoption.?

Instagram: ?

You can now comment on Stories?

Instagram is introducing a new feature that lets users comment on Stories , visible to everyone who views the Story. Comments appear unobtrusively at the bottom of the screen, encouraging more interaction. This move is part of Instagram’s efforts to boost engagement, as more users switch to DMs for sharing. Similar to the popular Notes feature, which has resonated with teens, Stories comments aim to spark more discussion. Creators can disable comments if they prefer, but allowing them could help increase reach and engagement. Meta officially launched the feature, with default settings limiting comments to mutual followers.?

A collages feature is coming ?

Instagram is testing a new “Collages” feature that automatically creates collages from your Camera Roll for sharing in the app. Some users have received prompts to create custom collages to send in Instagram chats, but the functionality isn’t fully working yet. This feature may use generative AI to arrange photos into artistic layouts, similar to Pinterest’s popular collage tools, which have resonated with younger users. While the specific look of these Instagram collages is unclear, the feature could make it easier to share multiple images creatively in one frame.?

Cross-post between Threads, Instagram and Facebook?

Meta now allows users to cross-post updates from Instagram and Facebook to Threads , making it easier to share content across all three platforms simultaneously. You can enable this option in your post settings, but it’s limited—Reels and Facebook videos can’t be cross-posted, and Instagram captions are converted to text on Threads. While this feature saves time, each platform has different user behaviors, so unique content tailored to each app typically performs better. Crossposting can be useful for efficiency, but for optimal engagement, individual posts are recommended.?

?Not the grid! ?

Instagram is testing a new vertical grid display on user profiles , replacing the traditional square thumbnails with longer images that better align with video content like Reels. As seen in examples shared by users, this updated format essentially mirrors the Reels grid but applies to all posts in the main feed. Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri hinted that this change, or a variation of it, will likely roll out to all users soon. This shift could impact your posting strategy, making vertical, video-friendly content even more important on the platform.?

A friend map might be coming?

Instagram has begun testing its new “Friend Map” feature , allowing users to see the location of their friends within the app. The map displays locations tagged in posts or Stories, and users can add notes about their experiences at certain places. The feature is limited to close friends or mutual followers, similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map, to address privacy concerns. While aimed at younger users who are more active in DMs, the feature carries risks of location sharing. Instagram is closely monitoring the test to see if it boosts social interaction among its audience.??

More confirmation of the shift from followers ?

Instagram is shifting its focus from followers and likes to “Views” as the primary metric for creators. This change aligns with Instagram’s push for creators to prioritize reach over follower counts. Now, views will be the key metric across all formats, including Reels, photos, carousels, and Stories, with repeat views counted as well. Instagram’s algorithm increasingly curates content for users, making follower counts less influential. As users rely more on AI-driven recommendations, creators should focus on maximizing reach and engagement, especially through metrics like “Sends per Reach” and views, to boost content performance.?

?Exclusions cause Meta campaigns to underperform?

Meta has removed the option for detailed targeting exclusions in new ad campaigns , a feature that allowed advertisers to exclude specific demographics, interests, or behaviors. Meta found that these exclusions often limited ad effectiveness, and its AI-driven targeting systems now perform better without them. In testing, campaigns saw a 22.6% improvement in cost per conversion when exclusions were removed. While existing campaigns using exclusions will continue until January 31, 2025, Meta encourages advertisers to trust its automated systems for better targeting results. This aligns with Meta’s future vision of fully automated ad creation.?

X?

X TV? ?

X has officially launched the beta version of X TV (not Taylor's Version) , aiming to position itself as a video-first platform. The app, which resembles YouTube’s Connected TV interface, showcases trending content on big screens, powered by X’s AI. While X TV hopes to boost video consumption, its current exclusive content lineup, including shows from Khloe Kardashian, Tucker Carlson, and WWE, lacks mainstream appeal. X has struggled in the past with combining live commentary and video viewing, but if it can master this balance, it could unlock new engagement opportunities.

Finally, long-form third party publishing?

X is expanding its publishing options by updating its API to allow external apps to create and schedule posts up to 4,000 characters . This aligns with X’s February 2023 update for Premium subscribers, enabling longer posts in the feed with a “Show more” option. However, this differs from the longer X Articles feature, which allows up to 100,000 characters but isn’t yet supported by the API. ?

Advanced analytics are available for Premium users?

X has launched an updated Audience Insights tab for X Premium users , offering detailed analytics on audience demographics like age, gender, and country, along with insights into active user times. The revamped chart formats make the data more accessible for strategic planning. These features, similar to those available in third-party apps, aim to provide X’s own native analytics tools to help marketers better target their audience.

Ad free for Premium users?

?X is expanding its ad-free experience for Premium+ subscribers , now allowing them to avoid ads across most areas of the platform, including post replies and profiles. Previously, Premium+ only removed ads from timelines, but users still saw ads in search pages, profiles, and post replies. This change aligns with Elon Musk’s goal to reduce reliance on ads as a revenue stream and shift focus to subscriptions, aiming to generate 50% of X’s income from paid users. However, this could impact creators, as X’s creator monetization relies on ad revenue from post replies. As more users opt for ad-free subscriptions, creators may see reduced ad revenue, complicating the platform’s monetization strategy.?

LinkedIn: ?

Video carousels are here ?

LinkedIn is making a push for more video content by introducing in-feed video carousels . These side-scrolling displays show algorithmically selected videos based on user activity, and tapping on a video opens LinkedIn’s TikTok-like vertical video feed, launched earlier this year. LinkedIn is aiming to boost video engagement, especially among younger users, with video uploads up 34% year-over-year. While video is the fastest-growing content type on the platform, some question whether short-form video aligns with LinkedIn’s professional focus. Still, LinkedIn is experimenting with this format to capitalize on the rise in video content.?

Search update =?declining hashtag usage ?

LinkedIn has evolved its approach to hashtags , and they may no longer be as necessary for discovery as before. While hashtags were reintroduced in 2018 to aid in search visibility, LinkedIn’s new semantic matching capabilities focus more on understanding the context of a query, not just keywords. This shift allows LinkedIn’s search engine to deliver better results, even if posts don’t contain all the exact keywords. As a result, LinkedIn’s discovery system now matches posts to searches based on a broader range of factors. So, using hashtags is less crucial, especially if the keyword is already in the post.?

Brands can now sponsor individual user’s newsletters?

LinkedIn is expanding its sponsored newsletters feature, allowing brands to sponsor newsletters created by thought leaders , not just company pages. Brands can now promote any newsletter on LinkedIn through paid boosts in Campaign Manager, extending their reach. This new feature builds on LinkedIn’s existing Sponsored Articles and aims to help brands tap into established audiences via popular newsletters. Sponsored newsletters can also include a gated “Unlock Article” CTA for lead generation. With newsletter engagement rising by 47% in the past year, this offers brands a valuable tool to increase exposure, though creators won’t earn ad revenue yet. So... who wants to sponsor the Digital Debrief??

Search Engines: ?

?New bot, who this? ?

Google introduced a new bot, Google-CloudVertexBot , which crawls websites for Vertex AI clients at the request of site owners. Unlike Google’s search bots, it only operates when asked by site owners and helps gather data for AI projects. There’s no need to block it with robots.txt since it doesn’t crawl public sites automatically.?

New optimization recommendations ?

Google recently revamped its documentation on optimizing web pages with video content for better search rankings. The update includes clearer video indexing criteria, technical requirements, and a new section on creating dedicated watch pages for videos.?

This serves as a case study for digital marketers, highlighting four key content refresh strategies:?

1. Remove outdated content to maintain relevance.?

2. Improve information density by making content concise and clear.?

3. Add fresh information to reflect evolving topics.?

4. Update for brevity and clarity, using consistent, simplified language.?

August Core update ?

Google’s August 2024 core update boosts high-quality content and demotes low-value, SEO-driven material. The rollout, taking up to a month, encourages webmasters to focus on user value. SEOs should monitor rankings and align content with Google’s updated guidance.?

URL parameter guidance ?

Google’s Gary Illyes warns that URL parameters can cause crawling inefficiencies , especially for e-commerce sites. These parameters can create infinite URL variations, wasting crawl resources. While Google is exploring solutions like new algorithms and improved communication, website owners should monitor their URL structures and use tools like robots.txt and canonical tags to guide crawlers and manage crawl budget.?

Roboto.txt doesn’t block all access?

Google’s Gary Illyes confirmed that robots.txt cannot prevent unauthorized access to websites, as it only requests that crawlers avoid certain pages, but doesn’t enforce it. Illyes emphasized that proper security measures, such as firewalls and password protection, are needed for true access control. Robots.txt alone cannot block scrapers, hackers, or unauthorized crawlers, and site owners should use tools like web application firewalls (WAF) to protect sensitive content effectively.?

Tech?

?AR glasses incoming ?

Snap and Meta are set to preview their next-generation AR glasses soon , with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel unveiling the fifth generation of Spectacles on September 17 at the Partner Summit, followed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcasing Meta’s first AR glasses, code-named Orion, on September 25 at the Connect conference. While Snap has been working on AR glasses for years, recent cost-cutting had raised doubts about its progress. Meta, with its partnership with EssilorLuxottica, has seen success with Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, positioning both companies to compete in the emerging AR market, which could revolutionize digital interaction.?

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