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2022 was a rocky year for social media. Economic headwinds and increasing consumer privacy demands collided with shifting user behavior and new and emerging players to upend the status quo. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy also severely diminished social platforms’ targeting and measuring capabilities and, consequently, cut into their bottom lines. And all the while, rumbling in the background, regulatory pressure is building while a pair of Supreme Court cases could significantly affect the power and responsibilities of Big Tech behemoths.
All this has led to a great deal of media hyperbole around the so-called demise of social media in recent months. But as Mark Twain may have tweeted were he around today: “The reports of social media’s death are greatly exaggerated.” A whole generation of people don’t know of a world without social platforms, and crises or not, social still commands a quarter of US digital ad spend. But—and this is a big but—social media is undoubtedly evolving rapidly, making it harder and harder for advertisers to keep up and optimize their social budgets.
Fortunately, we’re here to help. Let’s dive into the latest from the worlds of Meta, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube and consider how events unfolding today will impact the landscape tomorrow, including channel-specific perspective from Basis Technologies’ SVP of Paid Search & Social, Amy Rumpler:
As we begin 2023, Meta is no longer the titan of innovation it once was. Sixteen months after rebranding alongside Mark Zuckerberg’s gamble on the metaverse, Meta is facing mounting losses, declining revenues, staff reductions, growing competition, increased privacy-related investigations, and minimal consumer adoption of VR. To say it’s been a tough transitional year would be putting it lightly.
The silver lining for this social giant is that despite all those challenges, its ad business remains the envy of almost every other digital media company across the globe. Meta is expected to generate $51.34 billion in US ad revenue this year, a number that only Google can beat and one that dwarfs its social media counterparts. By all accounts, this is a huge moment for Meta, so every decision it makes will be closely scrutinized by analysists and advertisers alike. Starting with its plans for Facebook...
Facebook advertising—the foundation of Meta’s business today—is running aground. Ad revenues on the platform dropped by 8.5% in 2022 and are expected to fall another 1.2% in 2023. To try and right the metaphorical ship, Facebook is concentrating on areas of the app that are most resonating with users—namely, Groups and Reels. It introduced several enhancements to both features in the last quarter, all in a bid to spur more engagement within the platform and offer creators more ways to monetize their content. It’s a sensible move at a time when influencer marketing is in high demand across the social spectrum, but only time will tell if it can help Facebook correct its course.
Like its Meta sibling, Instagram is also working overtime to retain its creator community.After a series of missteps with creators and its commerce offerings, chief among them its decisions to eliminate its affiliate commerce program and remove the shopping tab from the main navigation bar, Instagram appears to be pivoting away from social commerce. Instead, it’s hunkering down and getting back to its key strength—advertising—while paying particular attention to incentivizing content creation and massively enhancing its Creator Marketplace. Instagram needs influencers to keep posting original material on the app to continue attracting new audiences, and these moves are designed to encourage just that.
Meta’s advertising power is the result of their massive reach, high user engagement, well-developed targeting capabilities and ad products, and ability to generate ROI. Historically, they’ve far outmatched the competition in nearly all areas (especially when you take into account the full ecosystem of Meta ad placements and the mature automated ad tools available through their network). Recent developments might mean a slowdown in ad revenue growth for Meta, but it’s still a safe bet for most advertisers, and no one is better positioned to pivot quickly than Meta. Yes, the door is open for other platforms to claim advertising share, but don’t expect Meta to lose their seat at the head of the table in 2023. - Amy Rumpler
A trendsetter and a trailblazer, TikTok is fundamentally changing the way consumers digest content. But there seems to be a double-edged narrative around the app these days.
On one side, this video-sharing juggernaut looks like it’s in a tremendous place—it coasted along relatively unscathed last year amidst the larger social media tumult and it’s fast becoming a pillar of many brands’ media plans. US ad revenues increased 139.9% in 2022 and are expected to grow a further 36.0% this year. User numbers are increasing, and average time spent with the app is also on the rise.
But then there’s the other side to this platform. TikTok’s ascension is not happening in a vacuum, and it’s currently facing scrutiny on multiple fronts. Areas of contention include its effect on young users, its management of data, its dissemination of misinformation, and the one that just won’t go away: its links to China. The biggest threat to TikTok’s US growth may very well be government legislation seeking to ban the app because of mounting security fears. In a bid to assuage those concerns, TikTok is playing the transparency card, proposing to give US officials some degree of oversight into its famed algorithms.
For now, these issues are unlikely to deter consumers and advertisers, but they’re certainly worth watching.
The challenges TikTok faces in 2023 are not new. Since its arrival on US soil, the app has lived in the shadow of all of the concerns mentioned, ever-present alongside any positive outcomes or mentions covered in the news. Advertisers and users, however, don’t seem to care. As things stand, the risks aren’t enough to outweigh the benefits for brands, and they certainly haven’t convinced young Americans to spend less time in the app or delete it altogether en masse. As long as users continue to embrace the app, so too will advertisers. 2023 should be a banner year for TikTok, with more new brands than ever before testing the platform, and spend from brands already investing in the app continues to rise in response to campaign success, new feature releases, and increasing comfort levels with creating TikTok-worthy ad content. - Amy Rumpler
Ah, Twitter! Where do we even begin?
Suffice it to say, Twitter’s future remains a source of constant speculation. It was only in October 2022 that Elon Musk took the reins following a tumultuous, protracted takeover saga, and ever since he’s been rewriting rules and loosening content moderation on what seems like a whim. He’s also laid off half the workforce, feuded publicly with Apple, overseen chaotic policy rollouts, and already promised to resign as CEO based on the results of a Twitter poll—and that’s barely scratching the surface.
Altogether, the unpredictability and radical changes are making stakeholders uncomfortable, and it’s scaring off Twitter’s main source of revenue: Advertisers. US ad spend on Twitter fell a massive 46% in November 2022 from a year earlier, and user numbers are also predicted to drop 6.2% in 2023 to 48.3 million.
Can Musk turn things around and make Twitter into a success? Who knows, but don’t expect the turmoil to end anytime soon. In its current state, it’s clear that many brands see Twitter as a risk not worth taking.
I’m not sure this is the horse I’d recommend betting on in the race for 2023 ad dollars, even with high-stakes odds on the table. Without a clear vision for the future, a conceivable plan for shorter-term advertiser support, or glaring advantages in ad cost compared to results produced, most advertisers will continue to steer clear of Twitter in 2023. There are just too many more compelling options available elsewhere. That said: as long as users continue to rely on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news and information, some brands (maybe challenger brands, for example, or those in emerging verticals) will still be willing to invest. - Amy Rumpler
On to Snapchat—the one-time darling of the ad industry that’s now facing an uphill battle to get its stagnating ads business back on track after a seriously shaky 2022.
The good news is that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel seems to have something that Meta and Twitter do not: a transparent and crystal-clear vision for the future. And that vision involves doubling down on its augmented reality capabilities as a differentiator.
The biggest challenge facing Snapchat over the years has been that brands have seen it as a non-essential player in the digital ad market—a platform without a firm identity and one that many advertisers have failed to fully appreciate. By paving this new course dedicated to AR, Snapchat can start to carve out a niche space for itself in 360-degree campaigns alongside the other major social channels. It’s also recently struck partnerships with a series of ad industry heavyweights (Disney, Adidas, Amazon, HBO Max, and Kroger, to name but five), a promising sign for the future. The fact that Snapchat can also act as a testing ground for metaverse-based activations may further work in its favor as brands look for soft entryways into that space.
Snapchat is a great play for the future-forward brand marketer who desires to be on the cutting edge of metaverse-applicable advertising. Of all of the partners poised to make a splash in a more or fully virtual environment, Snapchat is paving the way through their AR capabilities (which are still often copied by other platforms). If you’re looking to create fully immersive customer experiences, and can embrace the latest technological and creative applications to truly engage users in new ways, then Snapchat is the place to play. Whether this strategy will pay off in 2023 is speculative, but brands that are willing to go out on a limb with Snapchat today may very well end up ahead of the competition by embracing marketing strategies of tomorrow. - Amy Rumpler
As digital video consumption hits overdrive, YouTube is locked in battle on multiple fronts: Its ad business under attack from streaming platforms on one side, and social media rivalries with TikTok and Instagram on the other. The platform’s ad revenues are still projected to climb, though—9.6% this year to $8.06 billion before jumping another 14.2% in 2024—with an ever-increasing share of those dollars coming from connected TV.
This estimated growth comes as YouTube has been making some pretty big moves. In just the last six months, it has launched a dedicated page for podcasts, nudged itself into Amazon Prime Video and Roku’s market by offering streaming subscriptions, snagged the coveted NFL Sunday Ticket, and begun testing a new hub of free, ad-supported streaming channels. Put it all together and YouTube is looking to become a central video-fueled destination across various formats and genres, which should provide some exciting opportunities for advertisers.
Of all partners on this list, YouTube may be in the best position to capitalize on momentum in 2023 and beyond. They sit perfectly balanced between traditional and digital TV/streaming and social/engagement networks, allowing them all the advantages and ability to tap into upward trajectory trends of both sides of the advertising coin. Backed by Google data and dollars, and chock full of content that hits on a deeper level than what we tend to see on social networks, the appeal for both advertisers and users will remain undeniably strong. If YouTube isn’t part of your 2023 marketing strategy, I’d reconsider. - Amy Rumpler
The wild world of social media is undergoing deep, disruptive change, and there’s little evidence to suggest things will settle down anytime soon. For advertisers looking to chart a path through the chaos, staying agile and regularly revisiting the basics will be key, and that starts by making sure messaging is native to the medium and the target audience. Marketers that establish those firm foundations will be better positioned to weather social storms and pivot accordingly.
Looking for advice about how to get your social campaigns off the ground, but don’t know where to begin? Our Media Strategy & Activation team can point you in the right direction
Imagine this: You’re online shopping on your lunch break and see a pair of running shoes that catches your eye. On sale, in your size—and aren’t your old ones getting a bit worn-out? “Noted,” you think as you click to another website.
Later that night, you grab your phone to pull up the recipe you’re making for dinner. And voilà! There’s an ad for those exact running shoes from earlier displayed alongside the recipe.
While some may be tempted to think it’s a coincidence (or even a sign that they’re meant to buy those new shoes), this is an example of ad retargeting at play.
Few website visitors convert on their first visit. But that doesn’t mean that advertisers should (or do) give up on them! Just think about the number of times you’ve visited a website, added items to your cart, and forgot about said cart, only to return later on to make a purchase. Rather than giving up on would-be customers who don’t complete a conversion the first time around (fill out a form, buy a product, etc.), marketers can re-engage them through retargeting advertising.
Retargeting is a digital strategy in which advertisers serve targeted ads to consumers who have visited their website or who are contacts within their database. Retargeting ads allow marketers to reconnect with potential consumers who have not yet completed a conversion, thus building brand awareness, expanding product recognition, and increasing the likelihood that those people convert.
When set up correctly, retargeting ads are a cost-effective way for advertisers to reach interested buyers who already have some familiarity with their brand and/or product.
We provide an in-depth look at how retargeting ads work (and share a host of solutions for retargeting in privacy-friendly ways!) in this piece, so we’ll keep this part brief. Here are the basics:
In pixel-based retargeting, a small piece of code (aka a pixel or “cookie”) is attached to a consumer’s browser when they visit your website. Later, when they’re browsing online, the pixel allows your advertising team to serve them personalized, retargeted ads based on the interactions on your website.
Other types of retargeting allow marketers to leverage first-party data to serve personalized ads. This could mean retargeting them on a different device, aggregating first-party buyer intent data to create audience segments, or serving an ad for a specific product that was left sitting in their shopping cart.
So, how can marketers create effective retargeting ads? Though there’s no secret sauce or magic ingredient that guarantees retargeting success, there are some proven strategies that marketers can employ:
Users want personalization: a recent study found that 56% of consumers expect all marketing offers to be personalized. So, once you’ve leveraged available data to create basic audience segments (i.e., groups of people who have taken the same actions online or who share a common demographic, interest, etc.), tailor your ads to those segments.
Keep in mind that those users have already demonstrated interest in your site and/or product, so serving the same messaging that you’d use for a more general, potentially unaware audience likely won’t have the same impact. Advertisers should leverage available data to incorporate customization and personalization into retargeting ads, as well as feature a strong call-to-action to prompt users to take the next step.
If you shuddered at the thought of having to manually craft personalized variations of creative for individual audience segments, we get it. Advertisers today face an increasingly complex digital media environment, and adding another factor like ad personalization can feel overwhelming.
Fortunately, technologies like dynamic creative optimization (DCO) can eliminate some of that manual labor. DCO is a highly automated approach that uses customer data to create thousands of variations of personalized ads automatically, based on individual customers or groups of customers. It’s more efficient, less error-prone, and ensures your customers are getting the personalized ads they want without you having to create each one individually.
People spend a lot of time with digital media. In 2022, US adults dedicated a whopping 8 hours and 28 minutes to digital every single day (that’s more than the average US adult sleeps each night!)
Importantly, consumers don’t spend all that time in one place. From watching video on connected TV devices, to scrolling through TikTok or Instagram on mobile phones, to browsing the internet on a second computer screen while working from home, people are increasingly engaging with many different devices and channels throughout the day.
For marketers keen on creating an effective retargeting strategy, cross-device retargeting is a powerful tactic. It allows brands not only to re-engage potential customers, but also to do it across their devices. For example, a person might first encounter your brand as they browse on their phone while on-the-go, and, through the power of cross-device retargeting, could later be served a more personalized ad on their tablet or laptop to move them further down the purchase funnel.
Retargeting marketing offers the opportunity to provide a personalized experience to customers, increase brand awareness, and re-engage with consumers who already have some knowledge of their product or brand. And, by taking a cross-device approach, leveraging available automation tech, and leaning into ad personalization, advertisers can ensure they’re using retargeting ads effectively within their campaigns.
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Interested in learning even more about retargeting? Take AdTech Academy’s retargeting course to learn even more about this digital marketing essential!
To improve revenue and increase sales, Popl—the leading digital business card platform—adopted artificial intelligence for its dynamic retargeting campaigns. ROAS increased by 133%.
Popl wanted to find a sustainable strategy that would support scaling both its B2C business and B2B product, Popl Teams, while efficiently improving revenue, product sales, and return on ad spend.
Working with its growth marketing agency, Accelerated Digital Media, Popl improved its dynamic retargeting performance by:
Through this new strategy, Popl saw how artificial intelligence could unlock a deeper understanding of their audience, which it leveraged to run more efficient targeting campaigns. The team achieved:
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 2/3/23 - 2/9/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
If you've felt inundated with content about ChatGPT recently, brace yourself: this is just the start of how generative artificial intelligence products will impact the advertising world. This piece explores the various ways generative AI might address some of the ad industry’s biggest challenges.
It’s been a tough go for the world of tech. But for Microsoft, this week was a “moment for swagger” as the company unveiled a new version of their Bing search engine that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to enhance the web browsing experience. (Seems like a missed opportunity to bring Clippy back, but oh well...)
Consumers have increasingly (and understandably!) made it clear that they want more control over their personal data. But do they actually know how that data is being used? A new study from the University of Pennsylvania indicates that few consumers understand how their data is collected, and where and when consent to that usage takes place.
We get it: in times of upheaval, it’s extremely tempting to go for short-term wins. But when quick fixes curb long-term marketing success, who really comes out on top? This recent podcast explores strategies for generating sustainable and scalable results for agencies and brands.
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These days, there’s no escaping digital video. In fact, research shows that US adults spend nearly over three hours per day watching digital video, and that number is only going to grow in the years ahead. There’s even a decent chance that before, after, or possibly even while you read this blog post, you will find yourself watching some digital video (like, say, this one of a turtle eating a strawberry).
For advertisers, this voraciousness for video represents an incredible opportunity to reach audiences in the form of digital video advertising. To help you on your journey, here are some useful digital video-related facts and tips for creating effective digital video ads:
On average, US adults spend 24 minutes of video a day watching videos on their laptops or desktops, an hour and six minutes per day viewing videos on their mobile devices, and over an hour and a half streaming on connected devices such as CTVs.
There are three primary types of digital video ad units: in-stream, out-stream, and interstitial. Let's take a closer look at each:
In-stream video ads are ads that run before, during, or after other video content (aka pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll). In-stream video ads are displayed within the context of streaming video and often used to monetize video content delivered by the publisher. In other words, think of them as the digital video equivalent of a TV commercial.
Out-stream video ads show up outside of video player environments. This type of ad unit typically includes less traditional video placements, such as in-article, native, in-feed, or interstitial videos. For example, a site visitor may be reading a cooking recipe article on a lifestyle website, and then a video ad may load in-feed or alongside the content. Depending on the environment, out-stream video ads can be auto-play or viewer-enabled play.
Interstitial ads are a type of high-impact, full-screen video advertising that cover the interface of the host app or website. Interstitial ads are typically displayed at natural transition points within the flow of an appear website—such as between activities or as a screen takeover when opening an app or web page— and they usually auto-retract after a short period of time (say, 15 seconds) or via a close button.
Typically, an in-stream video ad is either 15 or 30 seconds, with 15 seconds the oft-recommended length. However, there is some flexibility depending on the channel— we’ve seen successful ads that are as short as five seconds and as long as several minutes.
Well, as you might guess from the name, in-banner video ads are digital video advertisements that play “within” a banner advertisement. You might see one at the top of a webpage, in the middle of an article, or on a sidebar.
Honestly, at this point, it’s probably more practical to ask where you can’t place a digital video ad (inside a medical textbook, maybe?) Digital video ads are widely used on streaming video platforms like YouTube and Hulu, social media giants like Facebook and Instagram, gaming and streaming audio platforms like Twitch or Pandora, news and information sites, and seemingly everywhere in between. In short, if a website has video content, it almost certainly has the ability to show digital video advertisements.
Want to create ads that will appeal to and engage digital video viewers? Here are five tips to inform and inspire:
According to both YouTube and Facebook, among others, it’s absolutely critical to grab a viewer’s attention in the first five seconds of an ad—before they either tune out or skip the remainder of the advertisement. This is especially important for mobile users and younger audiences (who, incidentally, are often one and the same.) Think of it as the new “five second rule”—only instead of determining the safety of food that you should probably just throw away because the floor is covered in pet hair, it’s about determining the effectiveness of digital video advertising.
Video is a unique medium in its ability to quite literally show someone your product, service and/or organization in action. Don’t let that opportunity go to waste! After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, and 4K video captures 60 frames per second...well, you get the idea. One thing you absolutely need to show? Your brand name/logo. This is particularly important in coordination with tip #1: a Facebook study found that consumers were 23% more likely to remember which brand made a given video ad if the brand was featured in the first three seconds of that ad. So don’t be modest: give yourself an early shoutout!
Remember: your ad has to work and feel native on any device, so keep mobile users in mind when developing your video. Additionally, mobile users are likely to have their sound off if they come across your ad on many platforms—particularly social media—so make sure the ad is compelling and that the core message still “translates,” regardless of whether the audio is on.
When making a digital video ad, be sure to take the channel/platform into account for that particular cut of the video. Your ad should ideally match the “vibe” of a specific channel, with the video feeling native to that platform, while staying mindful of what likely brought a viewer there in the first place. For example, a video ad that shows up in the middle of a Facebook feed should feel a little different to, say, one running in the middle of a bingeable show on Hulu.
Lastly, before you advertise anywhere—be it with digital video or otherwise—take the time to get to know your audience as much as you can, and then take advantage of any platform-based targeting at your disposal to better reach them. And it’s a digital video, after all, so be sure to use the digital CTAs at your disposal to send viewers directly to your website or app of choice.
Want to dig deeper? Download our Video Unleashed guide to see tips for how to run a strategic video campaign, gain more digital video advertising insights, and a whole lot more.
Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don't have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 1/27/23– 2/2/23 to stay ahead of the curve:
The programmatic open marketplace is in a precarious position, and Q1 data shows it. Which begs the question: Could private marketplace deals (such as programmatic direct and programmatic guaranteed) be having a moment to start 2023?
Reality TV isn’t the only place to get your daily dose of drama! Earlier this month, four major TV networks came together to form a committee focused on TV measurement solutions—this just two days before the launch of Nielson’s long awaited cross-platform measurement product, One Ads. Stay tuned for which measurement currencies will gain traction in the year to come.
What the heck is going on in the turbulent technology sector? And how can advertisers in the sector adapt? Read on to learn strategies tech marketers can use to ride out turbulent times.
What would a government breakup of Google’s advertising business do to the $500 billion online ad market? And what companies might want to gobble up any spun-off business units? The DOJ’s antitrust case may be years from concluding, but the speculation surrounding any long-term impacts has already begun.
Several years after Google introduced Fledge to the world as one of a suite of cookie replacements—and nearly nine months after Google opened up the product to testing for the wider industry—the retargeting solution is emerging as a favorite. Learn more about the cookieless solution in this deep dive.
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What’s new in the realms of paid search and social media? Basis’ Senior Vice President of Paid Search and Social Amy Rumpler compiles all the latest news, trends, and resources each month for easy access.
As a result of the full-contact spectator sport that was (and continues to be) Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the platform is likely to lose more than 30 million users by 2024. However, several bright spots remain across social media: New product and ad features abound, and better automation tools aim to drive performance. This report from eMarketer also features predictions for each platform in the calendar year.
Anyone else spending more time on LinkedIn than ever before? Here, Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer, shares some new and innovative plans on the platform’s 2023 roadmap. These include efforts to make the platform more accessible (cheers to that!), ways for users to explore career opportunities more “casually,” Product Pages to help business professionals make smarter purchasing decisions, and the ability to schedule posts in advance.
With the 2023 advertising environment shaping up to be, let’s say, “tricky” to navigate, Search Engine Land compiled a few quick tips to help guide 2023 search strategies. In summary: take a heightened and deeper look at performance relative to campaigns and tactics, balance the power of automation with other data inputs, and consider alternative platforms outside of Google that can help increase market share.
Snap’s new “Virtual Try-on” partnership with Amazon gives its 363 million daily active users the ability to try on products from eyewear brands including Maui Jim, Person, and Oakley, all from the comfort of their own homes. The partnership pairs Amazon-powered 3D Asset technology and Snap’s Lenses to dynamically update shoppers with real-time product details, availability, and try-on experiences. Both companies plan to expand the partnership into additional categories, in hopes of tapping into the $142 billion AR and VR technology market.
Speaking of AR: A new Meta-commissioned study with GWI recently found that 64% of early e-commerce adopters still prefer the in-store experience, saying that finding the right product online is time-consuming, and reviews aren’t a great substitute for experiencing a product live and in person. (We feel you, half-size shoe wearers.) Fortunately, AR is helping brands meld online convenience with in-store experiences in a way that’s shaping e-commerce for the better. Brands like Walmart, Wendy’s, and Coachella have embraced this technology and seen impressive results.
As the ad industry migrates away from third-party cookies, advertisers like Albertsons are exploring ways to bring their own first-party data and Pinterest platform data together in a secure (i.e. private and anonymized) environment. Neither party’s personally identifiable sales and campaign data are visible to the other, but crucial metrics like Return on Ad Spend can still be monitored and reported on. This is the first partnership in a program that Pinterest says will expand to other Retail Media Networks in the future.
Based on recent survey results from more than 300 marketers and agency executives, Marketing Dive says 49% of advertisers are looking to work with more social platforms in 2023. More than half of respondents also said they increased their social media budgets in Q4 as a result of the macroeconomic environment. Only 15% paused or reduced spending on the channel—an improvement over Q3 when 29% reported pausing or reducing social spending. Also among the top platforms on marketers’ radars in 2023: BeReal.
Speaking of BeReal, the app garnered more than 72.1 million downloads in 2022, according to Sensory Tower. This opinion piece discusses what led BeReal to gain so much attention last year, and how its effort to reinforce more authentic connections (by, you know, being real) may reshape social media in 2023. Side note: In case you missed it, Instagram released a new feature called “Candid Stories” to compete with BeReal.
Here, eMarketer covers key trends on creator marketing from 2023’s CES event. Top themes include the influence of AI in augmenting creator-led content, what tools and technologies will help brands and creators to build stronger connections, and the importance of sharing data with creators to help them craft more impactful stories that connect with consumers. “The world of the creator economy is just the new economy,” said creator Samir Chaundry, reflecting on the stat that 1 in every 4 U.S. consumers aged 16-25 say they plan to be a social media influencer in the future.
Also showing up in a big way at this year’s CES event were Pinterest and Reddit, with both companies sharing their stances on content moderation and the role their users play in keeping these platforms out of controversy. With Meta and TikTok facing challenges surrounding privacy and brand safety, eMarketer believes these other platforms have room to gain market share.
Here’s some tea with GaryVee: 2022 data from VaynerMedia shows that CPMs on TikTok video advertising are almost half that of Instagram Reels, a third less than Twitter, and 62% less than Snapchat. Engagement rates and other KPIs aside, with CPMs on other platforms rising or comparatively higher, it makes sense that advertisers are looking more seriously at TikTok as part of their 2023 plans.
With many analysts still pointing to social commerce as an opportunity in 2023, Instagram’s recent announcement that the Shop tab will be removed from its main navigation bar in February seems surprising. After all, Meta leaned heavily into social commerce in 2022, with several new feature releases and ad units aimed at making it easier for users to discover and purchase products within the app. But, with revenue on the decline in recent quarters, this may mean that Meta will focus on monetizing its more mature offerings.
The latest annual wrap report from App Annie reveals key trends across social apps last year. BeReal was specifically called out (again!) as a “popular social sensation,” although it didn’t crack the list of top downloads overall in most regions. And TikTok was highlighted in 2022 as having generated the most in-app revenue of all major platforms covered. Most of that revenue came from in-app coins, which lets users donate money to buy items in-stream and to support creators.
ChatGPT has been all over the news for a variety of reasons, but when it comes to search, analysts say there’s a very good chance Microsoft will soon get a return on its $1 billion investment in ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI by integrating it into its search queries engine. In essence, ChatGPT would return actual responses to search queries instead of showing users a list of links where answers might be found. Also of note: Google is reportedly exploring development of an AI engine of its own (Instagram’s BeReal-ish Candid Stories, Google’s own AI engine… what’s next, music on the radio?!).
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As folks in the technology industry know all too well, the past few years have been a wild ride. Though factors like economic uncertainty, inflation, and supply chain disruptions have affected many sectors, the tech industry has been especially hard-hit. Couple these challenges with skyrocketing layoffs, and advertisers in tech might be left questioning whether working in an industry that’s supposed to be on the cutting edge of innovation is all it’s cracked up to be.
Today, we’re exploring the most significant challenges that tech advertisers are facing, as well as some key strategies for weathering this storm of uncertainty.
To understand what tech marketers can do to adapt to the unpredictability of today’s landscape, let’s first explore what they’re up against. Though there are many factors contributing to industry upheaval, here are some of the most significant:
Handling one of these factors alone would likely feel overwhelming. But trying to handle all of them at once? It’s easy to see how a tech marketer could end up feeling like they’re stuck in an endless, unbeatable game of Whac-A-Mole.
Luckily, there are some proven strategies that tech advertisers can use to adapt to tumultuous times. Though conditions and solutions will differ depending on the type of “tech” you’re in—EdTech, FinTech, software tech, etc.—the following three strategies can make an impact across the board:
Extensive layoffs, increased workload, economic uncertainty: these are just a few of the factors that contribute to burnout. And, if this list looks familiar, it’s because many of these are the same forces impacting the tech industry today.
To say the threat of burnout is real for tech workers feels like an understatement—just take a look at these findings from Yerbo’s The State of Burnout in Tech report:
Coupled with the level of burnout experienced throughout the digital advertising world? Many tech marketers face an even higher risk of the physical and emotional exhaustion that is characteristic of burnout.
So, what can tech marketing leaders do? First and foremost, don’t ignore the elephant in the room. Pretending that burnout doesn’t exist merely leads to—you guessed it!—more burnout. Once leaders acknowledge the risks and realities of burnout, they can take action to combat it head-on.
In the face of short-staffed and burnt-out teams, embracing technological innovations that save your people time is a no brainer. Advertising automation tools that offer features like automated billing, automated reporting, and workflow automation can not only free up time for marketers by reducing manual labor, but also make their jobs more enjoyable by automating tedious tasks.
Leaders can also address burnout by acknowledging the difficulties that tech marketers face. This validation legitimizes team members’ experiences and helps to build trust, which is essential for navigating difficult times successfully. Employers can also provide resources like mental health days, wellness events, or free memberships to health apps (whether physical, mental, financial, or emotional) to help tech marketers prioritize their overall wellbeing.
Even during “normal” times, consumer habits and behaviors shift. And during times of uncertainty? They do so in a big way. Take, for example, the growth of connected TV (CTV) viewership, the rise of TikTok, or the increasing popularity of e-commerce over the past few years. These are just a few of many recent—and drastic—changes in consumer behavior.
While the number and scale of these shifts can feel overwhelming, the best way to manage them is to go back to marketing basics. Specifically, re-invest your team’s time and energy into tracking and understanding consumer behavior, and in using insights from that data to make strategic campaign decisions.
By setting up robust systems to regularly collect and dig into consumer data, tech advertisers can ensure that they are meeting customers where they’re at. Revisiting the basics in this way can help tech advertisers reach consumers, even when the marketing landscape—not to mention, the broader social and economic landscapes—shift.
Often, part of tracking consumer behaviors is discovering that they’re using their time in new ways. And here’s a hot(ish) take: when things change drastically, people tend to fall into one of two camps:
We hope that, by now, you can tell that we aren’t in favor of stubbornly resisting change. It’s exhausting and can lead to burnout.
But, at the same time, we aren’t fully in camp two. There’s a reason that certain solutions, such as tracking shifts in consumer behaviors, have stood the test of time.
The solution? Marketers should embrace a healthy mix of the two: stay flexible and try new things, but not at the cost of abandoning proven tools. We’ve already addressed the importance of revisiting the basics, which is why our final strategy for tech advertisers is to embrace opportunities for innovation.
So, what might this look like in practice? For those in EdTech, it might mean experimenting with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology to better connect with students in ways that excite them. For marketers in FinTech, it might mean trying out new(er) channels like CTV to elevate your unique story (and adding in a QR code to quickly connect customers with your products or services). For advertisers in the software as a service (SaaS) field, innovation might include using artificial intelligence (AI) tech like dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to personalize your ads—in real time—based on the prospective customers you’re targeting.
By using consumer insights to make campaign decisions and embracing innovation, tech marketers can meet the moment—no matter how complex that moment is.
To adapt to the challenges of today’s landscape, tech marketers need to be on the cutting edge. As trends shift, news breaks, and intel surfaces, advertisers need to be in the know so they can act flexibly and strategically.
But, as explored earlier, tech marketers’ plates are already quite full. Researching and finding what’s most important in the world of digital advertising can take time and resources that many don’t have.
That’s where we can help. Each month, our team puts together Basis Scout, a digest of top digital content and news, and delivers it straight to advertisers’ inboxes. It’s a great way to stay informed on all the trends impacting the world of digital advertising, especially for those in the tech industry.
California: land of sun, surf, Redwoods, Hollywood and, of course, consumer privacy regulations.
The Golden State was a US pioneer when it passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) back in 2018, giving California residents the right to know what personal information a business collects about them and how it is used and shared, the right to delete personal information collected from them (with some exceptions), the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.
But today, there’s a new regulatory act in town: the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Building upon the CCPA, the CPRA adds some new rules, clarifies some old ones, and introduces dedicated resources for regulatory enforcement to help ensure California consumers’ control over their personal data. The CPRA also ushers in a year that will see five new state-level data privacy acts take effect, with regulations also debuting in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah.
To get a better understanding of the latest laws and see how they could impact the digital advertising industry, we spoke with Derek Zolner, General Counsel at Basis Technologies, about the CPRA—the most expansive of the acts.
Here are some highlights from that conversation, including how the CPRA builds off the CCPA, what companies have to do to comply, and how it will impact the programmatic advertising industry:
California’s initial foray into the world of consumer privacy regulation was 2018’s California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). That was really the first stake in the ground for privacy legislation here in the US. Prior to that, we had some self-regulation for our industry, and good citizens were already doing a lot of the stuff that the CCPA required—for example, in our ads and on our website, we have long allowed people to opt out of targeted ads based on cookie use—but the CCPA requires you to give people a right to opt out.
And now we have the CPRA, aka the California Privacy Rights Act, and that does a couple of things. One, it gives California some broader enforcement rights, creating a California Privacy Protection Agency that's dedicated to (and responsible for) enforcing the act. That, to me, indicates we're probably going to see more enforcement actions coming down the pike.
But it also builds upon the foundation laid by the CCPA in a few ways. The biggest part for our industry? The CCPA had a requirement that if you were selling data, then you had to have an opt-out on your website that said “Do Not Sell My Personal Information.” A lot of people in the digital advertising industry read this definition of “sale” very technically, arguing that if you weren't actually bundling up data, giving it to somebody, and saying “Pay me for this data,” then it wasn't a sale. At Basis, we didn't take that point of view, electing instead to honor the spirit of the law—i.e. giving consumers the right to opt out of things like what we do with cookie data, mobile ID data, and IP address data.
But the CPRA eliminates any ambiguity around how to interpret this aspect of the law by now requiring companies to give consumers the opportunity to not only opt out of the sale of their personal information, but also of giving or sharing that data with someone else, including a third party that might use it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Essentially, the CCPA, CPRA, and the other data privacy acts that are popping up around the US are establishing legal enforcement mechanisms around personal control of one’s personal data and codifying many of the core principals of our industry—namely, transparency, notice, and the right to opt out. Only now, instead of the industry self-regulating these matters, state governments are intervening to take control of that enforcement.
The aforementioned opt-out message (ex. “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information”, “Opt Out”, “Your Privacy Rights”) has to be conspicuous on a company’s website and easy for consumers to access/use. Since any company currently operating in California should already have a “Do Not Sell” option on their site, many are choosing to simply add “or Sell” to the same link and give consumers the option to do both on the same page.
At Basis, we made updates to our website so that visitors from California have enhanced opt-out rights. One of the main thrusts of CCPA and CPRA is that California consumers can come to organizations like Basis and say, “Hey, what personal information do you have about me? What are you doing with it? And, if I want you to, please delete it or correct it or limit your use of it.” So we offer that to visitors from California through a link on our website, and then we then have 45 days to respond and let them know we're doing so. Additionally, for CPRA, there are some enhanced requirements for contracts between parties that clarify what their relationship is, and so we've retooled some of our contracts with customers and vendors to include what we believe to be those necessary requirements. It’s all about being clear, accurate, and truthful about what your relationship is.
The truth is, we were already doing most of what CCPA required—which was, in essence, having a privacy policy that tells people what you're doing with data in clear and understandable language, and then giving people the right to opt out of the use of that personal data. We’ve been doing those things for a really long time, and so I didn't see CCPA as a huge shift or change for us.
But even with any of the minor changes that we might have to make, I don't view them as changing anything core or fundamental to how we operate, nor do I view it as unnecessarily burdensome for to us to allow people to have access to information about what's going on with personal data for them.
When CCPA came into effect, there was some concern that the sky was going to fall. The fear was that everybody was going to click on that “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link and that cross-contextual behavioral advertising was going to go kaput—at least as it related to California consumers—because everybody was going to opt out.
In fact, that's not been the case. The opt-out rates are very, very low, because (and this is not a legal explanation, but just sort of my intuitive opinion) people tend to take the easy way. What people want when they visit a website is the content, and whatever they think is the easiest way to get to that content, they're going to do. I think people are conditioned to just click accept on the website or whatever it is they need to get to the page they want so they can either watch the video that they're looking for or read the article or whatever it is. And so I don't perceive that these requirements are going to have a significant impact on our ability to continue to conduct cross-contextual behavioral advertising with programmatic buying.
If anything, I think the main impact of this is on compliance teams and lawyers, in that everybody that operates a website in California with any amount of volume is going have to do some compliance work to make sure they're adhering to the regulations. But beyond that, I don't think it's going to result in a in a meaningful economic change to how our business operates and works.
Until you have a fundamental change like you have in the EU, where you require “Opt-In” consent (vs. somewhere like California that only requires an “Opt-Out”), I don't think it's going to have a material impact on the amount of data that companies can use for behavioral advertising. What's likely to have a much greater impact is a technical change, like if third-party cookies ever go away from Google Chrome. That, in my opinion, would be a much more significant event than this legal change.
I would say our general guidance always is to be clear about what you're doing and give people the right to opt out of it. That means explaining as much as you can in your privacy policy, detailing what data you’re collecting and what you're doing with data, and then giving people the right to opt out of that usage in some meaningful and conspicuous way.
Generally speaking, at Basis, we we're in favor of anything that gives consumers more control of their personal data. Personally, I would be strongly in favor of having one point of reference for that—namely, a federal act—rather than 50 state acts that set up this sort of regional patchwork of compliance, and I think that aligns with where we sit as a company.
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Looking for guidance on how to effectively connect with consumers while respecting their privacy rights? Check out Beyond Third-Party Cookies: Your Guide to Overcoming the Identity Crisis.