Digital Debrief | October 2023

The 2023 Digital Debrief is here! Welcome to my by marketers for marketers (and business owners) skim of all the digital marketing and technology news. In this month's edition, LinkedIn introduces a "Top Job" feature for Premium subscribers, allowing them to mark three roles as their "Top Choice," boosting visibility to recruiters. Google completes its mobile-first indexing initiative, prioritizing mobile content for search. The September Google algorithm update significantly impacts the SEO community, favoring user-focused, high-quality content. Social media platforms like Meta and TikTok are launching their premium, ad-free subscriptions, while Meta expands Broadcast Channels across Facebook and Messenger, offering creators a more intimate connection with their audience.

LinkedIn ?

LinkedIn adds Top Choice on job applications ?

LinkedIn is introducing a new feature called "Top Job" for LinkedIn Premium subscribers. This feature allows users to mark three roles per month as their "Top Choice," signaling their strong interest to recruiters. LinkedIn found that those who used "Top Choice" were 43% more likely to receive a response from recruiters. This update enhances the visibility of job seekers and provides recruiters with deeper intent signals from passionate applicants. ?

Collaborative Articles are a key traffic driver ?

LinkedIn is boosting its Collaborative Articles feature, which has become a major engagement driver. Users are enticed by the chance to earn a Community Top Voice badge, enhancing their profile visibility in key skill areas. LinkedIn is also improving the layout of Collaborative Articles, emphasizing user contributions over AI prompts. They're also streamlining the user interface, making it easier to navigate and respond to posts with emojis.?

Fully automated “Accelerate” ad campaigns are coming ?

LinkedIn is introducing "Accelerate," an AI-powered tool that automates the ad creation process. In just five minutes, it recommends a complete campaign, adjusting bids, budget, and placements using AI. You provide a product URL, and the AI handles the rest. This hands-off approach has already improved cost-per-conversion and cost-per-lead for many brands. While it may seem like a big step toward automation, it's worth trying for efficient campaign setup.?

Display of CTA button expands ?

LinkedIn is extending the use of custom CTA buttons on profiles to search results and in-stream posts. These buttons, originally for Premium subscribers, help creators boost engagement and their presence on the platform. This expansion aligns with LinkedIn's efforts to empower creators and increase user engagement, especially in light of a 41% increase in original content sharing in 2022. It provides more opportunities for creators to grow their presence on the platform.?

X?

Option to restrict post replies is here ?

X now offers an option to limit post replies to verified accounts, a move that caters to a niche audience, given the low number of Premium subscribers. The feature may not align with the goal of maximizing engagement, as most users prefer broad interactions. It's part of X's strategy to promote Premium subscriptions by offering exclusive features.

?Longer profile bios for web users ?

X has introduced expanded profile bios for X Premium users on the web. This feature allows users to provide more information about themselves or their businesses, potentially including personal mission statements. It offers more customization options and could influence algorithmic matching and recommendations. Currently, it's available to X Premium and Verification for Business subscribers on the web, but a wider release may follow.

Community membership entry questions ?

X has introduced membership questions for its Communities feature, enabling group admins to filter potential members. Admins can set up questions to gauge a user's suitability before allowing them to join a group. This feature helps prevent spam and irrelevant content in X Communities.

X will now charge $1 for new users to join the platform ?

X is testing a new program in New Zealand and the Philippines where new, unverified accounts must pay a $1 annual subscription to post and interact with content. Reading posts remains free. While this might deter bot activity, especially in developing regions where bot armies often originate, it could discourage new users. Also, since a majority of X users don't post content, it's unclear how valuable this new approach will be. This move is part of X's efforts to combat spam and manipulation but might not have a significant impact on coordinated misinformation campaigns by government groups.?

New Price tiers for X Premium + an ad free option ?

X has introduced two new tiers for its X Premium subscription service, signaling Elon Musk's efforts to encourage more users to pay for the app. "X Premium+" comes with a $16 monthly fee and offers an ad-free experience, while "X Premium Basic," at $3 monthly, provides some additional features like post-editing, longer posts, and encrypted direct messages. ?

New link preview format is rolling out – and it’s ugly! ?

X is making changes to the way link previews are displayed in-stream, removing the headline and preview text and only showing the header image from your post with the domain address superimposed over the image. This change, aimed at discouraging users from posting off-platform links in their updates, has raised concerns as it could affect news content sharing, which has been a significant part of the platform. This alteration may require social media managers to adjust their posting approach and include more context in their posts instead of relying on the headline and preview copy.

Subscriber-only DMs are here ?

X has introduced a feature that allows creators to enable direct messages (DMs) from their paying subscribers only. This feature enables deeper engagement between creators and their subscribers, providing a way for subscribers to send direct messages to creators, regardless of their other DM settings.

Meta?

Broadcast channels available on Facebook and Messenger?

Meta is expanding its Broadcast Channels feature from Instagram to Facebook and Messenger. This one-way group chat option enables users to follow creators and receive updates via direct messages. It provides creators with a way to maintain a more intimate connection with their audience without concerns about algorithmic suppression. Broadcast Channels will be highlighted on creator pages in the app, and creators can promote their channels in-feed.

More control of personal data?

Meta has updated its Accounts Center management platform to streamline data control options for Facebook and Instagram in a single interface. Users can now download all of their Facebook and Instagram information from one place, making it more accessible. Meta is also expanding its "Activity Off-Meta Technologies" and "Transfer Your Information" features to cover Instagram activity, making it easier to manage data use across apps. The move simplifies account management and provides a single hub for controlling cross-platform settings, ultimately benefitting users.

TikTok ?

New partnership with Disney ?

TikTok is partnering with Disney to celebrate the entertainment giant's 100th anniversary, offering fans a range of interactive experiences. This limited-time activation includes video clips from Disney brands, the ability to create videos with Disney music and effects, daily Disney trivia, collecting and trading digital character cards, and more. With over 48 Disney-affiliated channels on TikTok, the four-week activation aims to engage Disney enthusiasts and create a unique interactive destination on the platform.

TikTok’s ad-free subscription offering is coming ?

TikTok is reportedly exploring an ad-free subscription option, as seen in its app's code. Users might pay around $4.99 per month to enjoy an ad-free TikTok experience. This move follows a similar experiment by Meta for Facebook and Instagram, driven partly by evolving EU digital privacy regulations. Under the EU's new Digital Services Act, European users can opt out of personalized ads, which could impact ad targeting and user experiences. Offering a paid, ad-free version becomes an alternative to maintain user experience while adhering to EU regulations.

Instagram ?

Reminder ads are here ?

Instagram is rolling out updates to its Reminder Ads, allowing users to sign up for reminders for upcoming events and launches. Originally, Reminder Ads were only available for in-feed placements, but now they are being expanded to Stories as well. Additionally, advertisers can now create Reminder Ads in Ads Manager, streamlining the process. Reminder Ads can send users three alerts: one the day before the event, another 15 minutes before, and a final one as the event begins.

Instagram is testing a new “Nearby” feed for localized content?

Instagram is reportedly testing a "Nearby" feed for Stories that would display public content from users and businesses in a user's vicinity. This feature seems to draw inspiration from TikTok's Chinese version, Douyin, which uses a similar local content feed to promote nearby businesses. TikTok has also experimented with a "Nearby" feed in its app. The introduction of such a feed on Instagram could provide a new way for local brands to reach users based on their location, potentially helping Instagram expand its local ad offerings and compete with TikTok's in-app commerce initiatives.

Polls are now available in comments and reels ?

Instagram is testing the ability for users to add interactive polls within the comment streams on feed posts and Reels clips, expanding on the existing poll feature available in Stories and direct messages. Polls have been a popular engagement tool in various apps, providing a simple and effective way for viewers to interact with content and offer feedback.

Share stories with multiple group lists at once ?

Instagram is introducing a feature that enables users to share a single Story with multiple group lists at once, enhancing content sharing within specific audiences. In addition to the "Close Friends" list, Instagram now displays other user-created lists, allowing individuals to choose which groups they want to share their content with. This aligns with the evolving way people use social media, as users increasingly prefer sharing content with select groups in a more intimate manner, rather than broadly posting.

Search Engines and Technology ?

7 years later, mobile indexing is done?

Google has officially completed its mobile-first indexing initiative, which began over seven years ago. Mobile-first indexing involves Google crawling websites from the perspective of a mobile browser and using the mobile version for indexing and ranking. As of May, Google had already transitioned all websites to mobile-first indexing, except for a very small number of sites that don't function on mobile devices. Google will continue to crawl these sites with its legacy desktop Googlebot and re-evaluate the list periodically. Google is also discontinuing indexing crawler information in the settings page of Google Search Console since all mobile-compatible websites are primarily crawled with its mobile crawler. This marks the culmination of Google's efforts to prioritize mobile content for search indexing.?

Photos matter more than ever for your local listing ?

Google is launching a "photo-first" search results interface on Google Maps that emphasizes photos associated with Google Business Profile listings. This interface will prioritize photos at the top of the search results, making it more visually engaging. Google will use AI and advanced image recognition models to select the photos that best represent the business. This feature is rolling out initially in France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.

Bard now responds in real time ?

Google Bard, the conversational AI tool, now offers real-time responses by default. This means you can see Bard typing out the response as it generates it, so you don't have to wait for the full answer to appear. This feature aims to accelerate your creative process, allowing you to start reading responses while they are being generated, helping you stay in a creative flow and iterate on your ideas more quickly. The setting can be adjusted in the settings section, giving you the option for real-time or non-real-time responses.

New AI-powered Demand Gen tool rolls out on Google Ads?

Google Ads has globally rolled out Demand Gen, described as the "next generation of Discovery campaigns." This new tool offers more features, inventory, and insights compared to its predecessor, and provides an enhanced ad creation process. Demand Gen is designed to streamline the process of discovering and converting consumers through visually engaging content. It allows advertisers to use videos, including both regular YouTube videos and Shorts, expanding creative possibilities. The tool can help businesses discover new potential customers through Lookalike segments, and it offers a range of ad formats to tailor content to the audience.

New “disabled-owned” attribute on business listings ?

Google has introduced a new attribute for business listings in Google Business Profiles: "disabled-owned." Businesses owned by disabled business owners can now add this attribute to their profiles to highlight their ownership status. This new feature joins existing attributes such as Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latino-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned. The "disabled-owned" badge will be visible in Google Search and Google Maps listings.

The impact of the September Helpful Content update ?

Google's September 2023 helpful content update made a substantial impact on the SEO community. Unlike previous updates, this one was felt more by websites that prioritize search engine rankings over user assistance. Data from SEO tools, such as Semrush, seoClarity, and RankRanger, indicated higher fluctuations, with different niches seeing varying degrees of impact. Some websites experienced visibility declines due to this shift toward rewarding high-quality content that genuinely assists users, reflecting Google's focus on content created for users rather than search engines.?

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