Today in Digital Marketing

Talk to the Hand

Oct 11, 2024 | Newsletter Issues

"

Today in Digital Marketing

Listen to this issue • Subscribe free to podcast

Today's News

Ad Campaigns Can Finally Go Comment-Free

PayPal Turns Buyer Data into Digital Ad Dollars

DM-ing Your Way to Consumer Connection

The Sky Is Bluer on The Other Side

X Sidesteps EU Tech Regulations

TikTok Kicks Off Holiday Season with New Promotion

Reach {{active_subscriber_count}} marketers for just $10! Info/BookContact

Ad Campaigns Can Finally Go Comment-Free

At long last, Meta is letting brands turn off comments on ads from the get-go. Advertisers on Facebook and Instagram can now publish ads with comments disabled before the trolls arrive, something Reddit and TikTok marketers have been able to do for years.

The company announced several new brand safety controls for advertisers yesterday.

Turn off comments

First, Meta launched a live test that lets brands deactivate comments on ads before publishing during ad setup.

Previously, advertisers could only switch off comments on Facebook and Instagram campaigns after an ad was already running.

However, the new feature comes with limited options—you can either turn off comments entirely or leave them open to everyone, with no option to restrict comments to specific groups like followers.

And you can't play with it just yet… Meta says the feature is only available to “a limited number of businesses” for now.

Block specific profiles

Meta is also rolling out more ad placement controls.

Now, brands can block specific profiles on Instagram (and soon Facebook), preventing ads from being placed there. These are ads that show up when scrolling the personal profiles of people, not brand pages, on mobile — so this presumably is meant from brands to keep their ads from being associated with controversial figures.

Meta says businesses will be able to upload a list of any public profiles where they don’t want their ads to show.

Third-party filters step in

Meta is also adding support for third-party block lists for brands working with Meta Business Partners to ensure ads don’t appear in unsuitable content categories.

Finally, Meta is updating its Brand Safety and Suitability Center, giving brands more tools to control where and how their ads appear with an updated interface.

🎁 Everyone who guesses will be entered in our monthly draw for a full year of our Premium Newsletter free!

PayPal Turns Buyer Data into Digital Ad Dollars

PayPal just jumped on the ad network train, joining the growing list of retailers cashing in on user data.

The company launched PayPal Ads yesterday, its new ad platform that turns consumer shopping data into targeted ads for brands across the U.S.

This new division, led by a former Uber and Amazon ad executive, will sell digital ads based on the shopping habits of its 400 million active users in the U.S.

From display to video

PayPal is currently selling display ads on its own properties, but plans to expand with video ads and self-serve options in the next year.

Ads on merchant sites coming soon

It will also begin selling ad placements on merchants' websites next year.

In one example, PayPal Ads could include ads on order confirmation pages after a purchase is made.

In another example, Paypal says it will use its data to help brands that sell items at multiple stores—like fashion brands— grow their sales at specific retailers. This could include advising brands on where to spend their ad money and which groups of shoppers to target for better results.

The company says it expects that performance advertisers will be among the first to use PayPal Ads, with branding-focused campaigns likely following as the platform introduces more ad formats.

DM-ing Your Way to Consumer Connection

Instagram is on the brink of rolling out a new WhatsApp sticker for Stories to hopefully spark DM conversations — which could help brands drive connection with users in the messaging app.

This sticker will be available to businesses that have linked their WhatsApp Business accounts to Instagram, letting them prompt users to chat via DM.

Instagram is currently testing the new WhatsApp sticker with select users.

The Sky Is Bluer on The Other Side

As Meta tries to boost its DM game, Bluesky is capitalizing on the growing frustration among Threads users.

Bluesky, the decentralized platform and Threads competitor, now lets users pin posts to the top of their profile, apply language filters, and customize fonts and text sizes.

Bluesky

The platform announced these new features on the Threads account it created yesterday.

Seizing the moment

The move comes as Threads users voice concerns over excessive engagement-bait posts and reports of inaccurate moderation decisions, prompting many to seek alternatives.

In response, Bluesky, the company “not owned by a billionaire” is hoping to lure these frustrated Threads users to switch platforms.

New features

The update also includes some quality-of-life improvements like swiping to delete DM conversations, sharing videos directly from the camera roll, and muting specific words in notifications and search results.

Version 1.92 of the Bluesky app is rolling out now.

Follow us on Bluesky at @todayindigital@bsky.social

X Sidesteps EU Tech Regulations

X is dodging a regulatory bullet.

The European Commission ruled this week that X, formerly Twitter, isn’t important enough to be considered a “gatekeeper” platform under the Digital Markets Act, sparing it from strict regulations.

Under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), platforms designated as gatekeepers must let third party systems inter-operate with their services, let business users access their data, and provide ad performance info for independent verification.

It’s intended to promote fair competition in the market, preventing dominant platforms from overshadowing smaller players.

Following its investigation, the European Commission determined that X does not meet the criteria necessary for gatekeeper status.

TikTok Kicks Off Holiday Season with New Promotion

As we head into the holiday marketing season, TikTok has launched a new “Fall Deals For You” promotion this week to push more in-stream shopping.

Throughout October, the platform will offer discounts on thousands of trending products from a range of big brands, like Phillips, Dyson, and Keurig on TikTok Shop.

TikTok is also hosting several live shopping events where consumers can get discounts from popular brands.

Building momentum for in-app shopping

This campaign hopes to build momentum for TikTok’s in-app shopping push, which remains a key part of its plan to boost revenue.

This strategy has already proven effective in China, where in-stream sales have become the primary revenue driver for the app.

NOTE: Monday is Canadian thanksgiving, so we’ll see you Tuesday.

– 30 –

Upgrade Your Media Buying Skills:¹
Google Ads for Beginners
Inside Google Ads: Advanced
Foxwell Founders Community
Foxwell Digital Courses

Tools We Use and Recommend:¹
Marketing tools: Appsumo
Podcast recording: Remotely
Email newsletter: Beehiiv

¹ Some links provide affiliate revenue

📧 Prefer Email?

We’ve got you covered. We publish a daily email newsletter, covering all the day’s developments in social media, SEO, online advertising, and digital marketing. You can even get each Friday’s issue free!

Follow Us

About the Podcast

Every weekday, Tod Maffin brings you a fast-paced 8-minute rundown of what you missed in the world of digital marketing and social media. Thousands of senior marketers listen each day.

About the Host

Tod Maffin is a veteran tech-business journalist. He spent a decade as the National Technology Reporter for Canada’s public broadcaster, and has written for major publications like the New York Times, Globe and Mail, and more.

Besides hosting the podcast, Tod is president of engageQ digital, a social media engagement and moderation agency, and is author of several books, and spent 20+ years as a professional conference keynote speaker.

[more]

Get It By Email

Join the thousands of marketers who rely on this daily digest of the day's news in marketing, social media, SEO, and media buying.

Sent every weekday at 5pm ET.

Unsubscribe any time with a single click. Your information will never be shared.

Thank you! Please check your email to confirm.