Snap and Meta grow users but slump in revenue, Google’s surprising cookies announcement, and more. February 2, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning. Ever seen a “mother of pearl” cloud? Neither have we… [until today](. It appeared in Scotland, apparently, and it’s a rare sighting. We’ll take that as a good sign. ADVERTISING The big shrug: Meta and Snap drop earnings reports, and things are meh [article-image] Well, the first two Q4 2022 reports are in, and… no one’s particularly surprised by the results. Sort of a pyrrhic victory: Meta’s combined platform profits [fell a whopping 55%]( during the final quarter of 2022, though the company exceeded expectations in other areas: - Quarterly revenue beat expectations, reaching $32.17B vs. the $31.53B expected.
- Active users on the platform went up 4%, hitting two billion.
- Ad impressions went up 23% year over year, while the price per ad went down by 22%. Snap is spinning its wheels: The platform added 12M new users during last year’s final quarter, but [reported only a slight revenue increase]( compared to last year. Unfortunately, Snap’s revenue per user is stagnating, which makes its slight revenue bump obsolete. Right now, the company hopes that Snapchat+ subscriptions keep growing. It has two million paying subscribers currently. But apparently [CEO Evan Spiegel’s earnings call was “reassuring.”]( Snap is planning to rebuild its ad infrastructure by including data cleanrooms, developing a pixel for e-commerce, and more. Why we care: Both platforms reported user growth, so clearly social media apps aren’t “dying.” But the advertising architecture might need a little refreshment… just so you know. Of course, with revenue drops being a combination of many factors, it’s too early to predict what’s in store for 2023. Meanwhile, certain platforms are already living in 2024… GOOGLE Is Cookie cutting finally happening? Plus new Analytics 4 updates You might not believe this, but it seems cookies finally have an expiration date. Google is [planning to seal the cookie jar once and for all by Q3 2024](, based on a document provided to the UK Competition and Market Authority. How it’s crumbling: At first, Google planned to scrap third-party cookies by the end of 2022… then by 2023… and most recently, in the first half of 2024. Now Google is promising that “in Q3 2024, Chrome will phase out support for third-party cookies over a two month period.” That sounds like a definite decision… but let’s see what happens. Google has been [happy to maintain the status quo so far](. Smash that search bar: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) added three updates to the search bar to help you find information about your property or account more easily. These updates should help you do things like: - Find data stream details by typing your keyword “Tracking,” web stream measurement, or an app stream ID.
- Find the current property and account settings with the keyword “Property” and the keyword “Account,” as well as their IDs or names.
- Navigate to other GA4 properties by typing their name, ID, web stream measurement, or app stream ID. You can see the [full list and examples here.]( Same, but different: Also, Google [reorganized its Ad Destination Requirements policy]( to be clearer and easier to read. So if you don’t find things quite where you expected to, well, now you know why. Why we care: The end of cookies might be the advertising equivalent of Godot, but maybe Google is planning to put things into motion for real. Guess we’ll find out eventually. Also, the new GA4 data should help you get better insight into your properties, accounts, and streams. Which is good, because when cookies are officially gone, we’ll need any data we can get. SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO Hard truth: customers look at you differently during a recession. Here’s how you can get inside their heads… [article-image]( In recessions, successful companies learn how to identify customers' needs, then adjust their communications, strategies and offerings accordingly. And the companies that don’t? They lose market share, customers, and business. [Our new Stacked Marketer Pro Report]( reveals how you can position yourself to gain market share and profit margin when the economy recovers. You’ll discover: - How to segment customers according to their recession psychology, from fearful to carefree.
- How customers categorize their purchases—and how this affects the way they view your product.
- What drives priorities, how customers allocate funds, switch brands, and redefine value. … And more. The takeaway: brands that focus on connecting emotionally with consumers will perform better now and in the long run vs. brands that make cuts across the board. [See a preview and join Stacked Marketer Pro for $7 to get the report.]( MARKETING Looking for an assistant? Call ChatGPT [article-image] Cold emails, keyword lists, outlining… if only someone else could do the legwork that takes up so much time for free. Yep, you know where this is going. Matt Gray posted an [interesting thread]( on how to make ChatGPT your “free employee” to save yourself a bunch of time, money, and generally make your and your employees’ lives easier. So let’s do some prompting… #1 – Generate new ideas. ChatGPT can help you brainstorm a list of ideas for any topic which you can then pick up and dissect. Prompt: “On the topic of [your topic] give examples of [outcome].Generate an outline for content that supports this point.” [Here’s a sample answer.]( #2 – Accelerate your SEO process. You can’t make ChatGPT your SEO consultant, but it can still help you with basics like making keyword lists, meta descriptions, and similar. Prompt: “List 10 keywords I can use for my blog surrounding [topic].” [You’ll find a sample list here](. #3 – Create marketing materials. Know what copywriters hate the most? Starting with a blank page and not enough data or creative inspiration. Chat GPT helps you fix that.Type “learn” and paste the link. It can be a blog post, news article, landing page, etc.. This will provide context to [generate ad copy](, blog headlines, TikTok scripts, and anything else you need. Then, just pass it to your copy team to refine it, adjust the tone, and polish the branding. #4 – Help write landing page copy. Headlines, emotional benefits, target audience, CTAs… Urgh, so many things to think about when building a landing page. ChatGPT makes it easier. Just explain what type of landing page you’re building, who it’s for, and then prompt it to generate a few ideas about a specific part of the landing page. Matt shares an [example of above the fold copy]( for a course landing page. #5 – Automate your outreach. With ChatGPT you can create emails for any industry (e.g. healthcare, travel, hospitality, fintech) and for any experience level (VPs, consultants, CEOs). No more wasting time on manual writing. Prompt: “I’m looking to connect with [role/position] at [industry] about understanding their sales process. Write me a cold email I can send them. Please use a friendly, clear tone.” [Here’s the result](. Stellar. Of course, this is just a demo. It seems you can automate the better part of your operations with smart prompts, so give it a try for a few minutes. You might just save days! SPONSORED BY GROWTH SPRINTS This newsletter is curing CMO FOMO for current and future marketing leaders [article-image]( 4600+ SaaS marketers just got insights into the future of MarTech, including the eight companies to watch, a marketing gamechanger, and more. That’s what you can expect from Growing Up, the newsletter created by Growth Sprints founder Brendan Hufford that [shares everything you need]( to be a better SaaS marketer today. Want to know what SaaS marketers are doing to thrive in their careers? You’ll get a lot from Growing Up. [Subscribe for free.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS You’ll get more ROI from Google Ads if you avoid these mistakes [article-image] If Google Ads is any part of your advertising strategy, you know it’s important to find the right keywords—and negative keywords—to fuel your campaigns. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. Finding keywords seems like the easiest step in setting up your campaign… but there are lots of costly mistakes you can make along the way. Especially if your campaign has already been running for some time. Here’s a list of extremely common—and commonly overlooked—keyword mistakes you can fix right now: - Not routinely cleaning your search terms report. Most people add keywords and negative keywords when setting up their campaigns, but then forget to check their search term report regularly for new keyword ideas. Don’t set it and forget it!
- Blocking keywords in your account. Make sure your negative keywords aren’t negating keywords in your account. For example, if your competitor is called Red Hotel, having the phrase “Red Hotel Booking” as a negative keyword will block any keyword in your account that includes “Hotel Booking” in it.
- Including competing keywords in your campaign. Using the same keywords in multiple ad groups in your campaign can cause those keywords to bid against each other. Not good. There you go… three mistakes to avoid as you run Google Ads. If you’re making them, log into your account now and make a few quick fixes. You’ll free up your campaigns to work smarter—and better. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [GROWTH MARKETING:]( This newsletter isn't from one person… it's from 60,000. The Demand Curve community shares advanced growth tactics that people are actually implementing. You’ll get actionable advice on e-commerce growth, video, email, and everything you do everyday. [See samples and subscribe here.](* [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( Imagine ChatGPT, only stronger and integrated with a search engine… because that’s what’s coming. Microsoft announced it’s looking to incorporate GPT-4 into Bing in the coming weeks, and apparently the AI replies already seem even more human. Whoa. [TIKTOK:]( Time to dissect some videos. TikTok released a Video Insights analytics element that gives you an in-depth understanding of how your TikToks perform, from keyframes, to audience, to comments. Sounds like a great addition. [YOUTUBE:]( AdBlitz, YouTube’s hub for the biggest, most expensive Super Bowl ads in one place, just launched its 2023 edition. And it already has a few 2023 ads and picks from last year. Take a look… it’s always good to see what angles work. [PAYMENTS:]( Heads up, European-based businesses – Stripe is increasing fees. Starting April 10, the fee for international card transactions is bumping from 2.9% to 3.25%, and all USD payouts will come with a 1% fee, even if you have a US account. Sigh… [SEO:]( Disavowing links, selling links, negative SEO… that’s all irrelevant, according to Google’s Jon Muller. He says agencies providing these services are just “making stuff up.” Instead, you should focus on building your own domain. Seems logical, no? [TWITTER:]( Remember the CoTweets feature that Twitter announced last summer? The one that allows you to post a tweet together with another user? Well, it was shut off at the end of January. It’s gone – just like that. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER You have a drawer with 10 pairs of black socks and 10 pairs of white socks. How many times do you need to blindly reach inside the drawer and take out a sock, so that you get a matching pair? You can find [the answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Space bourbon [article-image] Dusty cellars are charming, for sure. [But the future of whiskey aging might be headed for space](. Yep. One liquor company, Mystic Farm & Distillery, announced a new ambitious project: a whiskey that will age for one year in lower-earth orbit after aging three years on earth. If that sounds complicated… well, it is. The distillery said it plans to work with SpaceX, Rocketlab, and others to engineer the entire process… which ends with you picking up the bottle in person. There are only going to be 1,000 of these bottles, too. That makes it all worth it, right? SHARING IS CARING Psst. Did you know you can join Stacked Marketer Pro… for $0? Yep, when you get to 100 newsletter referrals, you get to enjoy the full benefits of Stacked Marketer Pro membership for one month for free. It’s like getting $99 in your pocket just for sharing links! And you unlock other rewards along the way, like: - The Crew’s Top 10 Insights (2 referrals)
- The Ultimate Holiday Marketing Deep Dive (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