🌧️ Gloomy metaverse.

Google Ads and Meta are in the news, plus going on a shopping spree with Bill Gates level of wealth. October 17, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Hello, and welcome to a new week. Did you know that some people eat their milk and cereal with a fork? If that sounds weird, you should hear about the reason too… It’s because they eat their cereal mixed with the same milk from Monday to Friday… Yes, the same milk! At least that’s [what this Reddit user said they do](. Have we been doing it wrong by eating cereal with a spoon, and fresh milk? GOOGLE Your ads will get more visible on mobile, plus two policy updates [article-image] Fall cleaning seems to have started for Google. Tidying up the mobile SERPyard: The company is [adding more context to the top of the results pages](, making it easier to identify content with two new additions: - Sponsored replaces “Ad” on mobile: The “Ad” tag is being replaced by black, bolded “Sponsored” tag, allowing users to better distinguish organic posts from ads. - Business names and logos: Google Ads will look for these two assets on your landing page and [automatically add them to your campaign]( so they show on the SERP. You can add, edit, review or remove that information as well. The second update came immediately after Google [introduced site names for organic mobile search results]( in multiple countries. Plus, Google rolled out two policy updates you should be aware of: - New Business Information policy that will allow you to [complement your existing text ads with business]( assets such as Business Name and Logo that we just talked about. - New verification requirements for financial services advertisers targeting India, Brazil, and Portugal. You’re obliged to [complete the verification process]( by October 17th – that’s today! Why we care: The new “Sponsor” tag update may help you get higher intent users, but could also make your CTRs drop, as people may prefer organic results to paid. Also, make sure you comply with new policies or you may risk getting your account suspended. And with that settled, we can move over to Meta… META Gloomy days in the metaverse If Meta’s business was a TV show, it would probably be called Mark Zuckerberg’s Series of Unfortunate Events. [According to The Wall Street Journal](—who got a look into the company's internal documents—the Metaverse project is [failing to meet performance expectations](. No Sun at the horizon: The major Metaverse project Horizon Worlds expected to attract half a million users by the end of the year, but the current figure stands at less than 200,000. The retention also looks rough, showing most users didn’t return to Horizon after the first month and the number of users “steadily declined” since Spring. A big ouch! Going the Yahoo route? Early days, but according to experts, Zuckerberg might be [falling into the “Yahoo” trap](. Or — making an ambitious bet that may fail and undervalue the entire business. No more instant news: Additionally, Axios reports that Meta will be ending [support for Instant Articles](, which allows mobile users to quickly load news articles on the app. This is a signal that Facebook is cutting investments in text content and trying to “reinvent” themselves, leaning into short-form video format style. Why we care: It’s definitely a rollercoaster at Meta’s headquarters. As a marketer, you should closely follow the platforms’ transformation as it will look increasingly different than it was when you first started… SPONSORED BY ORBIO WORLD These DTC offers generated 2.2M customers—and you can promote them as an affiliate [article-image]( If you’re looking for affiliate offers with massive scaling power, a solid, consolidated brand, and fat commissions, you should look into Orbio World. Orbio World is quickly becoming a global leader in e-commerce and product development. [They get you access to tested products]( that truly make the lives of customers better—and they benefit your wallet, too. Curious about what this affiliate program has for ya? Take a look: - A long list of solid brands that people already trust like Nuubu, Tvidler, Enence, Huusk and others. - 190 different geos: You can either go for big, high-competition countries, or target smaller geos with fewer competitors. And you [don’t worry about translation](! - Creative materials and product samples. You’ll get everything you need to create your own unique and creative assets. - Cash-on-demand offers if you market to audiences not familiar with credit card payments. And, of course, competitive, timely payouts. [Dominate the market with these winning offers.]( MARKETING Looking to hire a chief marketing officer (CMO)? Here’s what you should know [article-image] Did you know that CMOs rarely last longer than 3 years in a single company? To illustrate – if you hire them before the upcoming FIFA World Cup, there’s a chance they won’t see the one after…as your employee. And that sounds like a bad investment. So what should you do? Obviously, don’t rush into hiring a below-par person to overlook one of your most important departments. According to [Samantha L’s insightful post](, you should focus on the following instead: Understand the common mistakes CEOs make when hiring CMOs. For instance: - Focusing too much on where they shine, be it growth, brand, or product marketing - Not understanding the amount of time required to serve the business - Overlooking strong leadership and operational abilities Once you tick these off, focus on the essentials. Think through CMO archetypes: Samantha lists five different CMO types that are all effective in specific environments and bring different skills to the table. - Chief storyteller is an architect. Promotes brand awareness and tells its story. - Capability builder is future-focused and utilize data to connect the dots and grow. - Innovation catalyst is agile. For example, they experiment with new platforms. - Growth driver plans out sustainable growth and has an enterprise-wide mindset. - Customer champion is focused on user needs and is the voice of the customer. Put on your two-year future lens: Don’t hire to solve current marketing problems. Instead, find someone capable of piloting around a longer timespan, solving obstacles that are yet to appear. Lose the “M”: In other words, don’t fixate on their marketing experience. Soft skills are equally, if not more important. The “C” skills include ability to lead, communicate, and inspire. The “O” skills include ability to organize, operate efficiently, and transform the company And you’re ready for the CMO hunt. Just remember – hire for the span of multiple World Cups, not just the time in-between. That’s your key to success. SPONSORED BY CHARTR Get smarter with the #1 visual newsletter [article-image]( When The Crew wants to understand the data underpinning major headlines – the deeper context that we can’t get from reading news – we turn to our friends at Chartr. [Their free, five-minute visual newsletter]( is packed with snackable charts and easy-to-remember insights into business, tech, and society. Join 300,000+ professionals and get the data, anecdotes, and visuals you need to take your office small talk to the next level. [Sign up today](. THE CREW’S INSIGHTS How YouTubers get people to watch their Q&As (and why you’ll care) [article-image] Ever watched a YouTuber do a Q&A? Almost every content creator does a Q&A at some point. It’s a win-win, because audiences want to know their creators better—and because it’s easy-peasy content for the creators to make. But there’s another reason these videos get so many views: The titles. Take [Abroad in Japan](, one of the most popular ‘English-speaking guy moves abroad and makes cool videos in his new country’ channels on YouTube. Here are two of his most popular Q&A titles: - What NO-ONE Tells You About Japan - When Will I Leave Japan? Instead of labeling the video as a Q&A, Abroad in Japan zeros in on novelty—he takes the most interesting question in his Q&A and uses that as the title of the video. Why? Because it’s more interesting that way. More people watch the video. The Crew’s insight: When you’re creating content, or advertising—or anything—remember that all it takes is one small, tiny, novel kernel of something interesting to hook people. It’s easy to feel as though you need to communicate everything, all at once. But you don’t. To get people interested in something big, start with something small. Focus on your most unique hook and build from there. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [PRODUCTIVITY:]( Struggling with unorganized workflows and too many disconnected apps? ClickUp brings all your work in one place. Hundreds of features to help maximize team productivity. [Get started today for free.](* [GOOGLE:]( Doctor says ad spend seems healthy. Advertisers have increased spending on the platform by 15% in Q3 year-on-year, with retail and e-commerce seeing the biggest growth. Keep an eye on those CPMs and CPCs… it’s stiff competition. [ADVERTISING:]( Netflix to show ads, Microsoft to handle them. The two companies made their partnership official – and announced that the new ad plan will launch in 12 markets, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the US. [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( Users are finding new creative ways to use AI art, now using it to create variations of selfies. Seems like it could also work to create variations of influencer model photos, product photos, and more. Exciting. [TIKTOK:]( TikTok Now—the platform’s response to BeReal—just passed 10M downloads on Google Play. Sounds like much, but still not enough to surpass the real deal… at least not yet. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER A bus driver was heading down a street in Colorado. He went right past a stop sign without stopping, turned left where there was a “no left turn” sign, and went the wrong way on a one-way street. Then he went on the left side of the road past a cop car. Yet, he didn’t break any traffic laws. Why not? You can find the [answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Shop like you’re Bill Gates [article-image] When you’re someone like Bill Gates, diamond rings, yachts and Ferraris are nothing but pocket money purchases. And since billionaire cash is sometimes hard to comprehend, someone came up with an awesome idea – [a shopping spree simulation]( where you choose how to spend all of Gates’ dough. For example, we bought: - An entire NBA league (both conferences) - 40 skyscrapers - Two cruise ships - Two ferraris - 67 M1 Abrams tanks …and still had $4M of change left. We threw it all on Google Ads, of course. SHARING IS CARING You know what’s a good way to start the week? Sharing today’s newsletter with other marketers! Not only that, it makes you look insanely well-informed in front of other marketers... it might even help you build rapport with the right executives. Plus, you earn great rewards. Every time you share your custom link—and your friends and coworkers subscribe—you earn points toward exclusive content, merch, and more. Get started by hitting the link below! [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistrasse 1/Top 0107, 1100 Wien, Austria