🚩Ad controls.

Amazon’s feed just became more TikTok-y, Twitter launches new ad controls, and more. December 12, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning, happy new-week day. Not sure about you, but our feeds have been blowing up with chat AI screenshots, debates, and predictions. What’s your take? Hit reply to share your prediction about AI and the future of marketing. We’ll feature the most interesting one in tomorrow’s intro. AMAZON Introducing: another TikTok-like feed [article-image] Et tu, Amazon? The platform seems to be [adding a new scrollable and shoppable feed]( to the app that looks really familiar… Straight outta TikTok: The new feed—which Amazon is calling Inspire— will showcase photos and short videos of product recommendations users can purchase on the platform. Inspire tab will appear as a lightbulb icon, and will display categories such as pet, skincare, interior design, and more. When it’s available: The feature is rolling out to select US shoppers sometime this month. Why we care: This helps Amazon integrate product discovery with a smooth shopping experience in one feed. Hey, it worked for TikTok. The question is… will it be a success for Amazon, which technically isn’t a social app? Guess we’ll find out. Oh, and there’s an ad update: Amazon Marketing Stream is now offering Sponsored Display in North America, allowing you to gather performance metrics and campaign changes in near real-time through the Amazon Ads API. And speaking of ads… TWITTER More controls for ad placements, new @handles, and the return of Blue Say what you want about Twitter, you can’t deny it’s been crazy productive over at HQ. The blue bird announced a boatload of updates over the weekend… Hooray, more control: Twitter is rolling out an option that [helps you prevent your ads from appearing between tweets]( that contain certain keywords. Basically it lets you “flag” tweets that don’t align with your brand values. Sounds useful. Free handles: Twitter is making up to 1.5B @handles available again, [Elon Musk said in a Tweet](. These handles mostly belong to dormant accounts, bot accounts, and deceased users. Apparently Twitter is trying to find ways to memorialize deceased users in some way, too. Interesting. I’m blue, da ba dee: Finally, Twitter Blue [officially relaunched today](. You can subscribe for $8/month on the web or $11/month on iOS and get subscriber-only features. Additions include the option to Edit tweet, 1080p video uploads, reader mode, and the famed blue “verified” check mark, which you’ll see after you pass review. You’ll also be able to change the handle, display name, and profile photo, but you will temporarily lose the checkmark until you’ve been “re-verified.” Why we care: Twitter giving greater control over placements may help advertisers feel more secure despite the platform’s moderation concerns. Also, your ideal brand handle might have been taken by an inactive account and now there’s a chance you can claim it for your business. And you can get verified. Not bad! SPONSORED BY CLEARBIT A B2B marketer’s cheat sheet: how to leverage your data for insights and revenue [article-image]( There’s one thing your marketing stack needs to get you results more than anything else… Yep, we’re talking about data. Because when you have data available across all touchpoints, including ads, emails, and website visits, you can identify which customers are good revenue generators – and find more like them. [Clearbit’s cheat sheet]( shows you how to build a solid marketing foundation from the ground up, and it’s packed with concrete examples. [Let their free expert guide show you how to:]( - Better understand your customers and prospects by combining data from multiple places, tools, and providers. - Reach, engage, and close prospects that resemble your most valuable customers. - Apply 11 tactical ways to reach, engage, and convert buyers at each stage of the funnel – with examples from real B2B SaaS companies. [Learn how to build a solid marketing foundation now.]( MARKETING Expert tips to improve your marketing and PR in 2023 [article-image] Most of the year is behind us and, phew… what a ride it’s been, eh? With the holiday season coming, it seems like a good time to slow down and come up with new opportunities to promote your business in the coming months. Michelle Garret [interviewed 23 marketing and PR experts]( to get advice about getting brands more exposure. Let’s hear what they have to say… Invest in your brand. According to the experts, word-of-mouth is getting bigger in digital. Recommendations in communities, Slack, or Discord groups can bring you a plethora of new customers. The problem is they’re mostly untrackable. So how do you market in these communities? By improving your own brand. Reinforce your customer loyalty, build unbreakable bonds, participate in communities, and more. Be agile. If you feel like you lack stamina, you better start working out. The marketing landscape is changing at a rapid pace every day – and it’s up to you to embrace the change. It’s not only important to stay on top of industry shifts. You also have to stay in the loop about platform changes, trends, even geopolitical situations. You’re a student, always. Collect “voice of the customer” data. Nothing enhances that customer bond like the feeling that you’re listening and taking action. So create a feedback loop you can track. Tracking is becoming more unreliable, so make sure you’re proactive. Create surveys, build a review section, offer incentives for genuine feedback via email, and so on. Be surgical with your PR. 2023 is the year to put maximum effort into targeted storytelling. Research quality journalists you can build relationships with. Also, invest in your own content. Thought leadership posts on your blog or social media can be turned into little publications you can pitch, then re-share on platforms again. Finally, it’s the year to invest in marketing. Don’t cut your budgets unless you really need to. With so many other companies cutting their marketing, it’s the perfect opportunity to invest in ads, PR, and even new talent. Oh, and if you want more tips, [don’t forget there are 18 more takeaways]( in the original article! See you “out there.” SPONSORED BY SEMRUSH Uncover your competitors' SEO strategies at the snap of a finger [article-image]( You can learn a lot from your rivals… like which online strategies are helping them attract new customers, and which aren’t. But getting a clear look at their strategies—and tracking and analyzing all of that data—can be tough. [Enter Semrush’s Domain Overview tool.]( It makes it easy to find, organize, and analyze key performance metrics for any website. [Get a bird’s eye view of your competitors now.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Responsive Search Ads are frustrating. Here are two ways to get more out of them [article-image] When Google got rid of Expanded Text Ads back in June in favor of Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), hearts shattered across the digital advertising world. Why? Well, RSAs have problems: namely that they automatically rotate and test headlines and descriptions for us. Fortunately, there are still a couple of ways you can test RSAs against each other. Our jobs haven’t been taken over—at least, not yet. Here’s how you can manually test RSAs: - Play with pinning. Although it’s always a good idea to pin a relevant headline at position 1, you can also pin multiple headlines in the same position. Use this to test different discount angles. For example: percent off vs. dollar amount off. - Test different messages that are still related to the ad group. Test a new angle. This could be an indicator of how you can position yourself in the market. For example: create one ad highlighting the natural ingredients used in your product, and another centered around how clean your packaging is. Great! Now what? It’s time to determine your winning ad! In the “asset” report, check how many impressions a certain headline (or combination of headlines) had. Should I keep testing? Not necessarily. It’s always a good idea to think of new angles to test your ad copy, but don’t rush a test that has no true value intent behind it. RSAs test themselves inherently, anyway. Let your winning ad run solo for a while! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [KEY INSIGHTS:]( There’s another newsletter for your must-read list. Marketing Dive provides free news coverage from award-winning business journalists. From analyzing best-performing ads on YouTube, to what’s working for top brands, you can get a Daily email or topic-based Weekly insights. [Subscribe for free](.* [TIKTOK:]( Location tagging for videos just became available to most users. Sounds like great news for local brands and businesses to us, seeing as so many people visit stores and restaurants after seeing them on TikTok. Time to place some pins… [STREAMING](: Disney+ officially launched its ad-supported tier. And the new $8/month option comes at the same time the company raised their ad-free option to $11/month… What timing, huh? [TIKTOK:]( Where’s Gen Z getting their news from? Hint: it’s definitely not newspapers. According to reports, young users are turning to TikTok to stay informed about news and trends – and not by following publications or journalists, but “ordinary people.” Interesting. [APPS:]( Speaking of TikTok, the app is absolutely dominating downloads in November, with 50M combined downloads on Play Store and App Store. CapCut, TikTok’s freemium video editor, is in fourth place with 39M overall downloads. Crazy numbers. [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( If you want to get more done with Sheets, just sprinkle in some artificial intelligence. Google just launched a free tool called Simple ML, which should help you automatically fill empty fields and identify data errors. Sounds great! *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER What can be driven although it doesn't have wheels, sliced but stays whole? You can find [the answer here]([.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Law and Order: The food edition [article-image] Don’t mess with people’s food, or they’ll take you to court. For real. We recently came across [18 of the most interesting](—and bizarre—legal cases, including: - A lawsuit against Barilla for—contrary to popular belief—not being made in Italy. - Fake food festivals being sued for… wait for it… serving fake food. - Popeyes getting “served” for running out of a particular sandwich. Apparently, the unspoken rule isn’t to call the manager… it’s to call your lawyer. Makes us glad we serve news instead of fries! SHARING IS CARING Hey. Did you know you can join Stacked Marketer Pro… for $0? Yep, when you get to 100 newsletter referrals, you get one month of Stacked Marketer Pro membership for free. It’s like getting paid $99 just for clicking links! And you unlock other rewards along the way, like: - The Crew’s Top 10 Insights (2 referrals) - Access to the growing library of The Crew’s Insights (4 referrals) Hit your custom link below to unlock exclusive content, merch, and membership! [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