??? Halloween-Worthy Trends in Digital Marketing: Changes in Search, Ad Market Fragmentation, and Surviving Holiday Shopping Season 2024
Whales Marketing
A full-service digital marketing agency that helps companies grow their online performance and boost revenue. ??
Hello! Whales are back with the latest industry updates and trends in Digital Marketing and AI. In this month's newsletter, you'll find:
Let's dive in!???
This is Halloween????
The whole current holiday shopping season, which has already begun, is shaping up to be a bit spooky for marketers. Multiple surveys indicate consumers are becoming more cost-conscious due to high inflation and stagnant income. According to Bankrate's study, 33% of consumers plan to spend less on holiday shopping than the previous year. In contrast, Klaviyo's "2024 Consumer Spending Report" shows that 8 in 10 consumers plan to spend as much or more than last year (but pay attention that pricing is identified as the top factor influencing holiday spending.) 58% see fall and winter sales as an opportunity to complete most of their holiday shopping. As shopping online reduces the stress consumers experience in holiday preparations, the share of online spending is likely to grow not only in the US, as predicted by Adobe, but also in most parts of the world.?
What strategies help maintain business success in the current economic climate? A recent publication by McKinsey shows how companies can succeed against tougher competition by using digital marketing channels. Research indicates that market leaders are expanding their customer touchpoints and prioritizing investments in developing online marketplaces, direct-to-customer sites, and social commerce. Speaking of the latter, TikTok facilitates holiday social commerce with its specialized deals sections, such as this one for Halloween. On the tactical level, we can already observe what market leaders are doing for Halloween and use a similar approach for upcoming holidays and sales events this year. Companies launch special editions, adjust packaging, adapt website design, and double down on SMM.
In addition to promoting your holiday offers, themed ad campaigns can greatly enhance your brand, like in the cases of Opendoor Vampire campaign or Halloween costume lookbook by Aritzia.?
iOS 18
Apple iOS 18 promises customers to make their iPhones “more personal and capable than ever.” The new iOS is important not only for Apple fans but also for marketers, as it features three important developments that will impact the outcomes of direct-to-consumer communication: Inbox Tabs and AI Summaries in Apple Mail, and RCS Support in Apple Messages. Some marketers have started to stress out over a potential decrease in email open rates due to inbox tabbing, but that will impact mostly incidental opens. Marketers can focus on down-funnel metrics and anticipate that subscribers will regularly check their Promotions tab, potentially leading to longer list tenures and increased subscriber LTV. Check out this article for advice on improving email deliverability under new conditions.
The spooky future of Google search ads business
Due to tightening competition, Google's share of the US search advertising market may drop below 50% for the first time in over 10 years. In addition to Amazon, which already holds 22.3% of the US search advertising market, we now have TikTok, with its newly introduced search-based advertising, and Perplexity, which has found a sustainable ad-based monetization strategy.?
Now, let’s quickly go through digital marketing updates you don’t want to miss this month!
What’s new in social media marketing?
Meta finally takes an important step toward advertiser image safety by introducing a feature allowing brands to turn off comments on Facebook and Instagram ads, ensuring the ad's message remains focused and controlled. They also announced new generative AI video creation tools and expanded AI-powered business chatbots to brands on WhatsApp and Messenger using click-to-message ads. Instagram tests WhatsApp stickers for Stories to help brands connect with users through DMs on WhatsApp. Facebook's app updates continue the trend of curated content by adding Local and Explore tabs, which will bring together content from Marketplace, Groups, Reels, and Events.
Snapchat begins testing Sponsored Posts and Promoted Places.
YouTube Shorts extended video length to 3 minutes starting October 15, 2024.
A bit of statistics: a survey by Adobe Express revealed that TikTok triggers the most impulse purchases, and a research conducted by Piper Sandler showed that TikTok and Instagram remain the most popular social apps among teens.
What’s new in search?
Google has completely revamped Google Shopping (currently only for the US market) to help users search more quickly and efficiently. The use of AI technology will help users get more relevant, personalized information, product listings, and deals. The new AI-organized search results, which contain articles, videos, forums, and more, are now also rolling out in the US, offering users more diverse content formats and sites. Ecommerce search results were also updated and now resemble Amazon-style category pages. Store ratings in search results were expanded to Australia, Canada, India, and the UK.?
Google has also updated some important documentation, such as spam policies and guidance on product markup. Different company representatives clarified Some important questions and concerns, including brand bias concerns, advice on the defense against bot attacks, and warning against the use of generic server or CMS holding pages.?
Google Analytics adds a Realtime pages report, offering instant insights on page views, user engagement, and website performance.
Microsoft is actively working on simplifying Bing, while expanding generative search experience and Deep Search. They also announced updates to Copilot and its advertising platform to enhance user experience and ad performance. New ad features include streamlined display, improved relevancy, ad voice, and contextual triggering.
Amazon now allows users to enhance visual searches with text, upload an image and circle the item they want to search for, or tap a “More like this” button on any product image in Amazon’s search results to find similar products.
ChatGPT plans to fully integrate SearchGPT by the end of 2024 and promises that publishers will be fairly compensated with an “opportunity to gain incremental traffic and new audiences.”
What’s new in paid advertising?
Google has rolled out ads in AI Overviews on mobile in the US and embedded Shopping Ads into Google Lens results. Two new features were announced for Google Merchant Center: Video generation in Product Studio and Amazon MCF integration with Merchant Center.
Google Ads have quite a few updates: a negative keyword tab in Keyword Planner, a new Google P-Max campaign modification request form, video enhancement for P-Max, and gross profit optimization campaign setting (these latter two developments are considered controversial, and many professionals advise proceeding with caution.) To run Local Service Ads, businesses now must have a matching Google Business Profile. Starting in November, Google will enforce severe penalties for third-party policy violations to maintain the integrity of its advertising ecosystem.
Pinterest introduced a new lineup of AI and automation lower-funnel ad products, the Pinterest Performance+ suite, at a noteworthy pre-recorded event that was as interesting as the updates presented.??
Reddit has introduced new features for its Ads Manager, such as an ads inspiration library, AI copywriter, and image auto-cropper. These tools are designed to assist advertisers, particularly small businesses, in creating more effective ads that resonate with Reddit’s unique community.
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TikTok updated the Search Ads Toggle, allowing advertisers to extend in-feed video campaigns with additional ad placement within the TikTok search engine results page (SERP.)
PayPal has officially launched PayPal Ads for the current holiday shopping season. This move signifies PayPal's entry into the competitive digital advertising space, utilizing its extensive user base and transaction data.
The rideshare company Lyft has enhanced its ad platform, Lyft Media, by adding advanced measurement and targeting capabilities. Partnerships with key adtech companies allow Lyft Media advertisers to connect ad exposures during the use of the company’s services to outcomes like store visits and in-app purchases.
?? Free reports, research & self-education
Events to help you master the spooky season and Black Friday surge
?? Inside the Modern Marketing Data Stack - Americas | Snowflake Virtual Event, scheduled for: October 22, 2024
?? Mastering Modern Data Practices for Marketers, scheduled for: October 24, 2024
?? Privacy Beyond Compliance: Driving Business Value Through Responsible Data Use Webinar | OneTrust, scheduled for: October 24, 2024
?? The Ultimate Consent Strategy for Maximizing Customer Opt-Ins | Third Door Media, scheduled for: October 24, 2024
?? AI for Personalization Blueprint Webinar, scheduled for: October 24, 2024
?? How eCommerce CEOs are Expanding and Keeping Up in a Time of Tech Transformation, scheduled for: October 29, 2024
?? How to Harness AI for Effective Marketing, scheduled for: October 30, 2024
?? EMARKETER Virtual Summit (2024), scheduled for: November 1, 2024
?? 5 B2B Customer Retention Strategies To Drive Repeat Business | Search Engine Journal, scheduled for: November 6, 2024
?? Official Reddit AMA: Exclusive Chance to Ask Reddit Your Questions!, scheduled for: November 7, 2024
Reports: fright-free insights to boost your Black Friday sales
Whitepapers or scary-good marketing success
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Don’t let your digital marketing be a trick – treat your strategy for the end of 2024 with expert advice on AI, E-commerce, and Social Media updates.?
?? Don't get spooked by the competition – contact us today and let’s craft a winning Black Friday strategy!?
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