September 2021: What's new in the world of digital

As we approach the end of a week where we saw the world of Social Media turned upside down with 6 hours downtime of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, we reflect back at some of the latest changes in the digital marketing landscape in September. 

What is it?: September has been an extremely busy month for Reddit as they continue to invest in their ad platform, with further changes including a bulk edit functionality to assist advertising managing multiple campaigns and bid recommendations features, similar to that of Google and Facebook. 

 

Why is it important?: It has been just over 12 months since Reddit opened its first ad sales office in the UK, driven by the fact that the UK is home to the 2nd largest user base and is growing at 48% Year on Year. Whilst it's user base has a long way to go to matching other digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, the investment that they are putting into both their advertising campaigns and their technology suggests it's one for consideration. 

 

What action should you take?: Whilst it may be too late to introduce Reddit into your digital plans in 2021, we strongly advise that this is part of your paid and owned media plans for 2022. 

 

Discover more:  

What is it?: Facebook have made the change to automatically opt in certain campaigns to their detailed targeting expansion setting, in an attempt to help advertisers get over the challenges that advertisers have seen since Apple's ATT (App Tracking Transparency) updates. 

 

Why is it important?: Since the various iOS updates, resulting in less people declaring their data to be available to be used for advertising campaigns, SME's and larger advertisers have strugged to generate as much reach and return from their Facebook campaigns. As a result, advertisers have either stopped or reduced their investment, moving to other paid media channels. With the threat of reduced investment, Facebook are under more pressure than ever to ensure that they are able to deliver the best returns for their advertisers. 

 

What action should you take?: Whilst we would always advocate testing, we have historically seen that giving the control to Facebook hasn't necessarily aided in delivering business performance especially with 'Targeting Expansion'. We therefore wouldn't recommend this targeting feature to be used. With Android also following the same path as Apple, we see a more challenging period ahead for campaigns on Facebook. 

 

Discover more: Facebook's response to targeting challenges 

What is it?: On Tuesday 28th September, TikTok announced a partnership with DoubleVerify, to measure ad viewability, fraud and in-geo impressions.  

 

Why is it important?: The growth of popularity of TikTok has meant that more brands have started to test the waters with promoting content either created by themselves or their influencers via the platform. This has been especially the case for eCommerce brands, who are benefitting from the partnership between TikTok and Shopify. There has been some hesitation from some brands to invest, due in part to the infancy of the platform in addition to the trust that surrounds the quality of the views and traffic. The move to partner with a highly credible and trusted MRC-accredited third party should take some of these concerns away, 

 

What action should you take?: TikTok is clearly not a brand that will work for every brand. It however shouldn't be stereotyped into a set target audience either. We see that there is a high usage rate and opportunity to reach audiences outside of the Gen X and Gen Z demographic. If you are looking to understand what content may work for you or are exploring opportunities to amplify your content, we will be able to advise on the best steps to take. 

 

Whilst Facebook were in turmoil, suffering from six hours worth of downtime, other publishers benefitted, with a reported 40% increase in traffic across other sites. As the saying goes 'dont put your eggs all in one basket'. This is the same for the digital marketing budget and plans, especially for retailers who have now entered the Golden Quarter. 

 

If any of the above has peaked your interest, don't hesitate to get in touch to understand how we can help you.