It has been a HUGE week of digital updates, with the major platforms bringing in some big (and kinda surprising) updates. There are a few in here *cough* TikTok *cough* that could very well change the way people shop and search. So, let’s get straight into it.

Meta has officially launched multiple profiles on Facebook

Meta recently announced that they have launched their multi-profile option for users. If this sounds familiar to you it’s probably because they have been testing this feature for about a year and have finally decided to make it available. According to Meta, you’ll be able to have up to four additional personal profiles and have a unique username and feed for each. Think one main profile, one for a specific interest, one professional, the list goes on. Meta says “Sometimes separate is simpler” but we’re not sure we agree. Would you switch between four different profiles just to see the different feeds?

TikTok’s new AI labels are here

Do you use AI to create your TikTok videos? Listen up! TikTok is cracking down on AI videos misleading viewers and has brought in in-stream labels that will show the audience your video has been created or heavily edited by AI (see below). And if you think you can slip through the cracks, we wouldn’t recommend risking it as TikTok can take down content that doesn’t disclose the use of AI.

X users aren’t happy with Elon Musk’s most recent suggestion

Well, he’s done it again. X users are up in arms about the suggestion from Elon Musk that the app might soon become a paid platform. During a livestream with Israel’s prime minister Elon said that “The single most important reason that we are moving to having a small monthly payment for the use of the X system, is it is the only way I could think of to combat vast armies of bots”. While he stressed that it will only be a small payment, users are not happy. The app has been historically free to use and this is just the latest of major changes to the platform.

Would you spend $34.99 USD a month to get a Meta verified badge?

Meta has expanded their paid verification program to include business accounts, but it comes with an increased price tag. You can’t sign up just yet (it is still coming soon) but business accounts will soon be able to join creators on the verified bandwagon. According to Meta, there are some exclusive benefits to becoming a verified account. These include:

• A verified badge for your accounts
• Extra protection from impersonation
• “Expanded” account support to help you with any account issues
• Improved discovery (aka reach)

To us, it seems like the biggest drawcard of this would be the improved discovery, but it isn’t made clear what this would actually look like so we’ll wait and see on that.

Getting overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the changes that Meta makes to your Instagram and Facebook accounts? Chat to us HERE about outsourcing your social media and we’ll let you know what you need to know, what the updates mean, and if you need to do anything.

TikTok has stepped up its reporting game with ‘attribution analytics’

TikTok has announced its first-party measurement tool which will give web advertisers the ability to dive much deeper into their analytics and follow their customer journey. If you run ads on TikTok (or have thought about it) we think you’ll LOVE this update. According to TikTok:

“To capture the holistic value driven by TikTok, we are excited to launch Attribution Analytics within TikTok Ads Manager to help advertisers measure the results of their TikTok advertising campaigns and gain deeper insight into users’ behaviour on TikTok.

Attribution Analytics is a first-party measurement solution that enables advertisers to understand the customer journey on TikTok—awareness, discovery and action — by providing a clearer view of the non-linear customers’ path to purchase”.

TikTok has said that there will be multiple features launched in a series for Attribution Analytics, the first being ‘performance comparison’ which “visualizes conversions across different time windows to help advertisers find an attribution strategy that works for their business”. We are so here for this update, conversions can be difficult to keep track of without the platform providing a real way to track them, so we can’t wait to see how this rolls out in practice.

Been thinking of running some TikTok ads? Or have you already started but could use a little help? Click HERE to chat with us about running paid ads together.

TikTok is leaning into its search capabilities with links to Wikipedia

The team at The Verge noticed something super interesting on TikTok recently. TikTok has become a search engine for more and more people (especially Gen Z) and it looks like they are taking this new reputation and running with it. The Verge reported that they spotted Wikipedia snippets when looking at search results. It doesn’t come up for everything, but TikTok confirmed that they did in fact partner with Wikipedia months ago! It looks like there was no official announcement of the partnership (read into that what you will) but it is real. If you click on the snippet that shows up alongside video results you’ll be taken to the relevant Wikipedia page.

Is TikTok and Google the next big partnership?

Well, we didn’t see this one coming. TikTok has become a search engine in its own right over the past year or so, with LOTS of people switching from Google to TikTok to find what they are looking for. And it looks like Google might have found a way to have the best of both worlds. There are reports that TikTok and Google are looking into a new partnership that would integrate Google search prompts into TikTok’s search tool. As you can see below some users have already spotted what looks like an early version of this, with TikTok confirming they are “…experimenting with third-party integrations within the TikTok app, including a test with Google”. If this goes ahead this would be an absolute game-changer for both platforms and open a new world of shopping and searching. TikTok continues to grow larger and larger and we for one are very excited to see how this goes.

Ready to make the most of TikTok for your business? Click HERE to chat with us about outsourcing your social media, let’s get you noticed on TikTok.

These Google ads features have had an upgrade

Earlier in the year Google announced that they were going to release new tools including automatically created assets and the conversational experience in Google Ads. Now, they have shared where they are at with these. Automatically created assets are getting an AI boost (for users in the US and UK) with Google bringing in AI to help advertisers create more tailored assets to search queries. The conversational experience is in earlier stages, just being tested with a few advertisers but it too is growing as it is now heading into beta testing. According to Google “Powered by the latest breakthroughs in large language models, the conversational experience in Google Ads helps you build Search campaigns that drive better performance with less effort. All you need is your website URL, and Google AI will help you generate everything your campaign needs—from keywords to headlines and images”. 

Well, that’s a wrap on this week! We can’t wait to see what comes next with these big updates, as always, we’ll keep you posted!

XOXO

OMD SQUAD