Digital Marketing: latest News from the World – October Part 2
Welcome to our blog, where innovation meets strategy in the dynamic realm of digital marketing! In this post, we’ll examine the latest developments and emerging trends that are transforming the digital landscape. From recent updates in social media algorithms to AI-powered marketing techniques, these changes offer exciting possibilities for brands and marketers.
Get ready to learn how these advancements can revolutionize your campaigns, broaden your reach, and boost your ROI. We’ll analyze the key developments shaping the future of digital marketing, offering detailed insights to help you stay ahead in this rapidly evolving field. Don’t miss this comprehensive look at the current trends and news that are at the forefront of digital marketing!
Google tests checkmarks in search results
Google is testing check marks in search results to indicate the trustworthiness and authenticity of company websites. Thus, some users are starting to see blue checks next to company names and links, indicating that they are genuine and not copies pretending to benefit from recognisable brands.
In this way, the multinational company hopes to facilitate safe browsing and prevent users from visiting fake or fraudulent websites. ‘We periodically experiment with features that help shoppers identify trustworthy businesses online, and we’re currently running a small experiment that shows verification marks next to certain businesses on Google,’ a Google spokesperson told The Verge.
Microsoft, Meta, Epic Games, Apple, Amazon and HP are some of the companies that already have checkmarks, according to The Verge. However, only some users are seeing the new functionality in tests, so it is an experiment by the company that is not being widely implemented.
As some users have shared, hovering over the marks displays a message stating that Google’s signals suggest that the company in question is the one it claims to be, although it also makes a disclaimer stating that it cannot guarantee the reliability of the company or its products.
With this experiment, Google is expanding the check mark functionality, which it introduced in May last year in Gmail. Since then, all companies that have verified their identity via the BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) protocol can display a blue check next to their name and address to signal their authenticity.
social network
TikTok introduces Smart+, its AI-based solution
TikTok has announced the launch of Smart+, an AI-powered performance advertising solution that promises advertisers to make their entire campaign journey easier, thanks to automated performance tools, enhanced measurement capabilities and new privacy technologies.
David Kaufman, global head of monetisation product operations and solutions, said, ‘TikTok is building for the future. We have been listening, learning and innovating with our advertising partners to continually develop solutions that deliver performance.
TikTok is a unique ecosystem where culture, discovery and commerce come together. Our goal with these new solutions is to empower brands to engage their communities on TikTok and achieve business results.’
End-to-end automation
The Smart+ platform fully automates the entire advertising process through targeting, bidding and creative generation. This enables it to deliver ads to the right people at the right time, achieving the best performance.
According to TikTok, advertisers simply enter their campaign data (assets, budget and targeting objectives) into TikTok Ads Manager. After that, the platform will automatically create or select the best creative asset, choose the right audience and show the best ad at the right time. The creative assets are generated with the help of TikTok Symphony.
Moreover, TikTok claims that with Smart+ predictive AI can automate various elements of ads (video, text and CTA buttons), directing budgets towards the creative that generates the best and fastest results. All of this allows the campaign to be managed and optimised to deliver better performance, according to the KPIs to be achieved.
Advantages and campaign objectives
As explained by the Chinese platform, Smart+ offers three main benefits:
- Better performance: by creating campaigns based on machine learning and predictive AI to achieve their goals.
- Operational efficiency: as TikTok takes care of creating and managing ads.
- Simplified creativity: by automating ad creatives and how they are displayed to users, costs are reduced.
On the other hand, Smart+ has been launched to cover three specific campaign objectives:
- Smart+ web campaigns: aimed at stimulating traffic and promoting actions at the bottom of the funnel on the advertiser’s website, including sales.
- Smart+ catalogue ads: provide users with relevant recommendations based on their interests, intentions and actions, driving conversions at the bottom of the funnel.
- Smart+ app campaigns: designed to drive app installs and conversions by leveraging the discovery power of TikTok.
- Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns: aimed at converting users who have shown an interest in similar products or services into high-value customers. It employs TikTok’s next generation lead generation solutions.
Achieve 52% higher return with Smart
Although TikTok has only recently launched Smart+, it has provided a number of data points that make clear the effectiveness of its advertising platform. For example, advertisers who have used Smart+ web campaigns have seen a 52% improvement in their ROI.
In addition, Roberta Atzori, senior performance marketing manager at EssilorLuxottica, said that after using Smart+ they experienced an improvement in their advertising campaigns. ‘The adoption of a fully automated solution that optimises targeting, creative and campaign performance has resulted in a 50% reduction in cost per acquisition, a 47% increase in conversion rates and a 42% improvement in ROAS’.
YouTube
Meta also strengthens its advertising platform
Meta has introduced brand safety tools that give advertisers greater control over how their ads are displayed on Facebook and Instagram. One of the most notable updates allows brands to mute comments on ads before they go live, preventing unwanted or inappropriate feedback on sensitive campaigns.
- In addition to muting comments, Meta is expanding its ad placement controls, allowing advertisers to avoid having their ads appear on specific Facebook and Instagram profiles that don’t align with their brand image.
- Meta has also deepened its partnerships with Integral Ad Science (IAS) to provide third-party block lists to help businesses filter undesirable content categories, and will make it available to their other Meta Business Partners, including DoubleVerify and Zefr, in early 2025. This solution will allow advertisers to proactively avoid unsuitable content before ads are served.
Zooming out: These updates are part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to enhance brand safety and suitability after the collapse of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), which had previously worked with platforms on content standards.
Why it matters: Meta’s updates come as concern rises about misinformation, AI-generated content, and the protection of minors on social platforms.
- By giving advertisers more control over how their ads are displayed and where they appear, Meta is addressing a core issue in digital advertising: ensuring that ads do not appear next to inappropriate content.
- As social media becomes more of an entertainment platform, brands may welcome the option to avoid open comments, which have historically led to public ridicule or “clowning”—a cousin of trolling—on ads.
Our take: Meta’s updates reflect social media’s shift from engagement-focused platforms to controlled interactions. While platforms initially encouraged brands to mimic organic posts in their social media ads, advertisers now seek more control over messaging and ad placement.
- The ability to mute comments and block profiles represents an evolution of social media’s original purpose—encouraging interaction between consumers and brands. The move may seem defensive, but it offers brands the flexibility to protect their reputation in a chaotic environment.
- As social media grapples with misinformation and harmful content, these tools help safeguard brands without sacrificing reach. While this marks a decline in social interaction, it creates more secure and efficient advertising options for businesses navigating unpredictable platforms.
Latest Tech and Digital Marketing Updates
📌Castilla-La Mancha is promoted in Fortnite. They have announced the creation of a series of elements within the video game: places, characters, products to publicise its cultural wealth. Advertising campaign to reach the younger audience on point.
📌The resurrection of Paint? Microsoft has added AI to Paint with generative fill and erase functions, to remove or add elements in images with text instructions.
📌 Listen to Spotify offline. Until now you could do this as long as you downloaded your music or podcasts beforehand. Now the app will automatically generate a playlist of songs and podcasts based on your tastes.
📌The 100 most valuable brands in the world. Interbrand has published a new edition of the most valuable brands, and in the top 3 are Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. There are 2 Spanish brands: Zara and Santander. If you want to see the Top 100, click here.
📌X returns to Brazil. The suspension of the social network X, which had been closed since August for non-compliance with court rulings, has been lifted. The social network said it is proud to be back and will continue to defend freedom of expression within the limits of the law.
