Weekly Digital Marketing Roundup

January 22, 2017 – By Aaron Hockel

Here are the biggest announcements, product updates, and news stories impacting the digital marketing industry last week:

Snapchat Rolls Out A Search Bar

In a redesign, Snapchat has added a search bar to the app, which is definitely a win for digital marketers. Right now, it is extremely challenging for brands to be discovered on Snapchat (mainly because there is no easy search function). By adding a search feature, it is likely that marketers will eventually be able to pay to promote video content to larger audiences via search result placements.

This trend makes sense, especially as Snapchat prepares for its 2017 IPO, which will place additional demands on the company to produce revenue streams. Checkout this write up from Ad Age for more on Snapchat’s new search function or watch this 30 second video from TechCrunch:
 

Google+ Shutting Down

Hyped as a possible “Facebook Killer” when it debuted in 2011, Google+ was supposed to be the next major social network. Despite reports of rapid user growth, the network never really took off, and has been an afterthought at Google for at least the past 2 years.

Google announced it will be shutting down the classic version of Google+ (while simultaneously rolling out a new version heavily based on user feedback) on January 24, 2017. For all the details on the new features, checkout Matt Southern’s summary on Search Engine Journal.

Facebook Kills Payments For Exclusive Live Content

Over the past year, Facebook has invested heavily in Facebook Live as the next great way to share content on the network. This included an aggressive national media ad campaign and spending more than $50 million with publishers and celebrities to produce exclusive content shared via Facebook Live. Facebook has now announced it is killing off these payments.

Facebook will now begin pushing for publishers to create premium long format content that users will find and view in their News Feed. Imagine Netflix style content from high end publishers on Facebook. Click here to read the full story from Kurt Wagner on Recode.

Pintrest Announces Ad Groups For Campaigns

In a move that follows suit with other social media advertising platforms, Pintrest is rolling out ad groups within marketing campaigns. This will allow for better split testing of ads and creatives within a particular campaign. Users of Facebook’s ad manager will find the structure (pictured below) familiar.

This move makes sense for Pintrest as they continue to expand their advertising options and is an important upgrade for advertisers. Pintrest surpassed 150 million users in October 2016 and reported a 50% active audience increase over the past 12 months, meaning it is a platform that advertisers should keep an eye on. For more on this announcement, click here to read the full story on Social Media Today.

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Aaron Hockel

Aaron Hockel is a Partner and the VP of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) alumnus, Aaron expertly crafts digital marketing strategies that drive success for clients, leveraging his deep industry knowledge and innovative approach.