The Torch: August 2023 Recap

?? Fall is just around the corner, which means it’s (unfortunately) time to say our goodbyes to summer. With Q4 on the horizon, now is the time to prepare for the final push to meet year-end goals - and we're here to help. The August edition of The Torch summarizes recent changes to your favorite social media platforms, insights from our executive webinar, predictions on the future of working in the marketing industry, and more. Want to stay in the know? Subscribe below!?

WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED???

Poll question: Which of these emerging marketing roles do you believe will be the most impactful in the near future?

New technologies and industry practices are changing the marketing industry, bringing with them a wave of new roles and specializations. Given?the rise of these roles, we decided to ask our audience their opinions on which ones will have the biggest impact. The competition was tight! “Sustainability Strategist” may have won our poll, but “Data Ethics Officer” was only 10% behind. With their combined more than 70% of the vote, we believe this shows our audience’s orientation towards more ethical business operations and confidence in companies' abilities to usher in societal change.?

Poll question: What is your preferred method of assessing a candidate's suitability for Marketing and Communications roles?

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What exactly are those on the hiring side looking for when hiring for these new jobs? Our second poll of the month focused specifically on hiring managers, asking them what method they felt was most important when evaluating candidates. Almost 40% of responders voiced that they favor in-person interviews, while another 27% instead opted for work samples and portfolios. And what of the remaining third? All of the above! It seems a multi-pronged approach is the best way to go, combining a variety of different tactics to truly assess whether someone is right for the job. ?

WHAT’S SPARKING CHANGE????

Another month, another wave of online headlines telling you what is changing in the marketing industry. The TorchLight team sorted through the slew of relevant stories to highlight the top five must-know changes from the month. Here’s what sparked change in August:?

1. YouTube is cracking down on adblockers. Ad blockers have long served to prevent paid advertising from showing up on desktop versions of the popular video-hosting website YouTube. Those operating on certain browsers or with special extensions could eliminate ads altogether from their viewing experience without having to subscribe to the site’s ad-free YouTube Premium program. To encourage subscriptions, and to increase ad revenue, the company has started enforcing its anti-blocker policies. Most recently, a pop-up warning has started to appear before videos if YouTube detects a blocker; the warning reads that “Ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service,” giving viewers the option to either disable their adblockers or to “go ad-free with YouTube Premium.”?
2. X launches its job board. Verified Organizations (those accounts subscribed to X’s $1,000/month tier) can now apply for X’s Hiring Beta program, which enables them to share critical roles organically on the platform. If approved, said organizations can add job listings as “open roles” on timelines that users can then apply for. This attempt to compete with platforms like LinkedIn follows X’s new mantra of making itself the “everything app.”?
3. Excel incorporates Python. Microsoft introduced a preview of Python integration in Excel, which would allow users the ability to manipulate and analyze data using the programming language directly within the Excel software. This enables users to use libraries alongside PivotTables and Excel charts without having to switch data between the two or use other third parties. Partnership with Anaconda gives access to libraries like Pandas and Matplotlib. Marketing reports are about to get a whole lot easier!?
4. Meta introduces ad search. As of August 17, those advertising on Meta can now search for information about the kinds of branded content running across the entire any of Meta's platforms. Whether looking for competitor strategies or for industry trends, this new functionality will enhance your digital strategy. Enter keywords and advertiser names into the Meta Ads Library to research active campaigns, including those focused on social issues in politics within the past seven years or those running in the EU. ?

1. Threads makes its way to desktop. Meta’s Threads app, which launched last month, is finally introducing its web version. Until now, the Threads website existed solely as a way for users to launch the app on their phones rather than a standalone website.?More than 100 million users signed up for an account at launch, though many quickly lost interest and continued to search for the next best text-based social platform because they couldn’t login or post from their computers. Will this improve retention??

TRENDING BLOGS???

The TorchLight blog focused heavily on strategy and high-level operations in August, with clips from our CMO webinar to best practices for email and TikTok marketing campaigns. Take a look:?

• Beth Wallace on the Role of the CMO: Recently, CEO and founder of TorchLight Hire, Heidi Parsont , and President of TorchLight Marketing, Beth Wallace , hosted a webinar with Chief , “The Changing Role of CMOs.” Our company leaders share their thoughts on how successful CMOs should market themselves to leadership and ways they can effectively deliver on their promises.?
• Best Email Marketing Practices: Email marketing is a tried and true strategy, but there are still new ways to innovate and iterate. Looking for higher CTRs and conversions? Consider uniting data-driven insights with creativity with these 9 tips.
• Using TikTok Trends for Your Marketing Strategy: TikTok, the modern marketing powerhouse, has redefined the digital landscape through its unrivaled ability to shape trends and amplify influencer reach via its algorithmically powered “For You” Page. In this three-part series, our marketing team explores digital aesthetics and niche subcultures, the power of the dupe, and how best to take advantage of the power of user-generated content.

A WORD ABOUT OUR TEAM???

Congratulations to our Susan Mullin on her 8th TorchLight anniversary! Thank you for your outstanding work and your ability to fix everything - you are truly invaluable to our team.

We’re excited about our upcoming quarterly meeting with the TorchLight Hire and TorchLight Marketing teams in September— it’s always exciting to get some face-to-face time with an all-remote team!??

WHAT’S NEXT??

As always, be on the lookout for insights and strategies to use with your teams in the latter part of the year by keeping up with the official TorchLight Hire and TorchLight Marketing LinkedIn accounts. We’ll also be posting some interesting content from our offsite at the end of the month.??

What was your favorite newsletter takeaway from this month’s edition? Are you excited about anything in particular for Q4? Let us know in the comments!?

Looking for experienced marketing recruiters to meet your hiring or job search needs? We’re here to help!?

• Contact us about your marketing search & staffing needs?
• Search marketing, communications, and creative jobs?

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