SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook’s feed algorithm is about to get more “TikTok-y”
If imitation is a form of flattery, TikTok is probably blushing.
Meta already stole their short video format and named it Reels…
Now they’re rethinking the feed: Going by a Facebook memo obtained by The Verge, Meta plans to revamp their feed algorithm so that it focuses on interests instead of connections.
That means the feed algorithm would start recommending posts as long as they fit your interests.
Nothing against mom and dad, but… It also means the platform would stop prioritizing posts from the accounts you follow, like friends or family.
Plus, Messenger and Facebook apps will once again merge, replicating TikTok’s messaging feature.
Meanwhile, TikTok is focused on shopping: They just released a report that outlines how users behave based on the stages of the customer’s journey.
TikTok also added a Shops tab allowing you to manage your online commerce on the platform… another step toward a full-fledged online marketplace.
Why we care: TikTok seems to be in the driving seat when it comes to platform features and e-commerce, while other social media giants are playing catch up.
As if e-commerce marketers needed another reason to use this channel…
BUSINESS
Is it time to start raising prices?
Telling customers you’re raising prices is right up there with saying “no” to being in a friend’s wedding party.
Awkward.
But US inflation has hit a 40-year record high, raising costs of goods and services across the board.
For some online retailers, it might be time to have “the talk.” For others? Not so much.
What’s going up: Groceries, pet products, and clothes. According to Adobe’s Digital Price Index, the price of groceries went up almost 12% compared to last year.
Flowers and gifts increased by 11%, while apparel and pet products went up by 9%.
Considering all these industries do well during holiday seasons—and with Q4 approaching—this might be a signal to test an increase in your pricing.
What’s going down: Electronics prices (around 7%), toys (6.5%), jewelry (3.2%), and books (1.42%).
If you’re in these industries, be careful with raising the prices. You don’t want to overprice your products!
Why we care: Making the right pricing decisions can help you maintain stability long-term.
So before you bump prices, make sure your counterparts are doing the same, or you might lose to the competition.
SPONSORED BY ATTEST
Making smart marketing decisions is easier and faster when you know your audience
The market has never been as unpredictable as it is now.
64% of marketers say it’s harder to keep up with consumer trends. And 78% of marketers claim expectations for their team are higher than ever before.
The first, essential step to gaining an edge over your competitors? Understanding your market inside out.
When you know your customer, it’s easier to:
- Come up with strong advertising hooks.
- Unlock new audience segments.
- Predict what they’re going to buy next.
This is where Attest comes in.
Attest gives you the best of both worlds in consumer research: cutting-edge tech and dedicated research expertise.
You’ll finally get access to deep market insights with ease so you can make key business decisions with confidence.
Trustpilot, Unilever, Wise, Organic Valley and other industry leading brands use Attest to “hear the voice” of consumers and run efficient marketing campaigns.
Gain a deep understanding of your audience now.
SEO
4 issues you won’t find with SEO auditing tools
Yes, SEO tools continue to improve, but there are some issues they still can’t identify.
In Search Engine Land, John McAlpin shows you exactly what they are, and how to detect and solve them.
Let’s go…
1) Canonical to redirect loop: This happens when a page has a canonical tag pointing to a different URL that then redirects to the first URL.
While Google allows you to have a redirected page as a canonical, having it loop back to the previous page sends a confusing signal. So the page may not rank as high as you’d like.
2) Hacked pages: Hacking websites for profit is nothing new. Some of the most common practices are:
- Site search manipulation. When a website’s search pages are indexable, a malicious person hacks it to send tons of backlinks to their search results page.
- 301 redirect manipulation. This happens when someone redirects traffic with 301 redirects.
- Site takedowns. A classic, straightforward attack. The hacker manipulates your code to make your website unusable or non-indexable.
3) Identifying JS links: Most of us know that Google does not crawl internal links generated by JavaScript. And unfortunately, neither do SEO auditing tools.
4) Content hidden by JavaScript: This happens when some content is hidden behind a user action. Google doesn’t click on anything on web pages, which means it won’t find the content.
So there you go… Four issues that standalone SEO auditing tools won’t find.
The good news is, by combining the web crawling tool of your choice and Google Search Console, you can identify these mistakes. And when you do, John’s post shows you how to fix each one.
SPONSORED BY INSIGHTS
Proven e-commerce growth tactics to implement now
Did you know, every month, we spend hundreds of hours on research to find strategies that are being used right now to maximize growth?
We do that for Insights. We discover the strategies and growth hacks that other businesses – your competitors – are using to grow.
Here’s a sneak peek of what we recently unveiled:
- The TikTok video grew the revenue of a shaving cream store from $54k to $146k
- How Athletic Greens makes podcast ads work
- Google’s recently released “ad spying” tool
- How YouTube Audio Ads beat Video Ads
Head over here, and discover how Insights can accelerate your growth.
THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
Need to hire actors for your social media ads?
Here’s a tip: If you want video content for your social media ads, you don’t always need to hire an expensive influencer.
You can achieve the same results by hiring an actor from popular freelance and gig platforms.
Why it’s smart: Many brands want influencer or customer-created content so they can repurpose the videos for their own social media advertising.
So they hire influencers to create content, then use that content for ads of their own.
But there’s no reason you can’t hire an actor instead. The process is easier, faster, and often cheaper.
And you don’t have to invent fire. Brands have been using actors in advertising for ages.
Truth is, most social proof video ads on social media don’t work because customers recognize the person in the video… They work because there is a person in the video.
Showing living, breathing humans makes your ads feel real.
The exception, of course, is when your audience members are already avid fans of an existing influencer.
In that case, there is a material difference between hiring an influencer and an actor for your social media ads.
But if audience recognition isn’t important, hire actors!
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
COPYWRITING: Meet Peggy, an AI who crafts high-converting copy, quickly and easily for hundreds of companies. She says she’s one of the world’s best copywriters and you can put her to the test – just describe the product in at least 50 characters. Try Peggy for free.*
MICROSOFT: Want to get in? You have to get past the bouncer. Microsoft is requiring advertisers to go through a verification process to confirm their identity. Hopefully this means fewer scammers.
META: Wow. Based on the decision made by France’s antitrust authority, Facebook will make the past five years of their platform’s advertising data available! Does this mean we’ll be able to explore more of our ad campaign’s historical data?
AMAZON: Hooray for data points. Amazon added new columns to their ad platform—Add to cart, Branded searches, and Cumulative reach metrics. Nice!
EBAY: Selling collectibles? eBay is launching a Live Shopping for Collectibles feature that will let customers “discover, chat, and purchase collectibles instantly” on the platform. Could be a useful channel for niche e-commerce brands…
*This is a sponsored post.
BRAIN TEASER
George, Helen, and Steve are drinking coffee. Bert, Karen, and Dave are drinking soda.
Using logic, is Elizabeth drinking coffee or soda?
You can find the answer here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Attack of the emus
Mount your mowers and raise your noodles, because there’s a tussle going on.
A brave lawnmower recently had to defend himself from a mob of territorial emus… And if your lawn needs mowing, you might be next.
Just kidding, just kidding.
These emu-tional birds are actually the man’s pets!
And even if they weren’t, it would appear the emus are only fighting against machines, not people. At least for now…