Happy Tuesday, all!
We’re back again with some exciting internet marketing news and updates. This week, we’re covering the latest headlines in internet marketing. We'll help you improve your digital marketing skills and stay updated on the marketing game during these tough times.
We have some major updates, starting from Google making their premium video conferencing product free to all. Secondly, Youtube is bringing new features to their ads. As well, we’ll give you some tips on how to use Google trends during the pandemic. Finally, there’s some big news on Google Advertising.
Let's dive right in!
Google Meet is Now Free for all Users
Google has made Google Meet, their premium video conferencing tool, now available to everyone for free! The product, previously known as “Google Hangout Meet,” was only limited to G Suite customers at first. But last month, the premium version of Meet became free to all existing G Suite users.
Although people could meet on the platform without paying for the product, the call still had to be started by someone with a G Suite account. However, that is changing, and people can now start calls on Meet without having to pay for anything!
Many businesses, teams, organizations, schools, and higher-ed learning institutes can now start using Meet for their meetings and conferences. As well, all the existing G Suite customers will get a few additional perks.
To learn more about how different categories of users can benefit from this now-free video conferencing product from Google, click here!
Twitter Opens Up Data for Researchers to Study COVID-19 Tweets
With more fake rumours about COVID-19 and theories, Twitter has found a new way to solve this problem. The social media giant has granted access to researchers and developers to the millions of public tweets about COVID-19. The company said that the data could be used to study the spread of the disease and help track misinformation.
More social media platforms bringing in new policies to stop misinformation and helping communities. The latest initiative from Twitter could help the scientific community better understand COVID-19.
Twitter stated that access could be used by approved applicants working on crisis management, emergency response, or related workers within the community.
YouTube's Running a New Test That Will Provide more Info on Products Featured in a Video
Over the last few months, Youtube has brought in many features to their platform, sharpening their focus on ads. They have now taken even further steps to test a new “Products in this Video” tool. This is where viewers will get more details about the products featured in the video they are watching.
As explained by YouTube's Tom Leung:
"We are running a small experiment in the US that shows some viewers of specific videos which products are discussed in those videos. For example, on a video about smartphones, you might see a list of phones being discussed. We're testing to see how viewers engage with these new features. The test will be running for a limited time."
The details about the test are also updated in Google’s community thread:
The reports suggest that this could be something similar to Youtube’s TrueView for shopping ads. This is where the viewers will get the product details below the frame of the video.
Although YouTube hasn't provided much insight into how it operates at this stage, the experiment seems a little more in-depth. This could be another consideration for marketers on YouTube looking to leverage the platform to showcase specific products.
Google Trends in COVID-19 Times and How to Use them in Your Content Strategy
The pandemic has brought many changes to the search trends and is rapidly evolving in ways marketers have never seen before. In the article, John Morabito takes a closer look at how Google Trends can be used to help understand customer behaviour post-pandemic. As well, they suggest how businesses can adopt it in their content strategy.
Google Trends offer daily trends with data analysis of what is trending in search. The tool helps to uncover opportunities for eCommerce brands, publishers, and local businesses.
Marketers can predict consumer behaviour post-pandemic and see what keywords have the highest search during this time. This opens a lot of opportunities to create content for the target audience based on their search intent. Marketers can also research what products need to be focused on based on the reports.
To get a better understanding of how to use the tool for discovering opportunities in today's fast-moving landscape, read the article here!
Facebook Expands Test for In-Stream Ads on Live
Facebook announced this week about expanding its test of in-stream ads on Facebook Live to more verticals. This includes "pre-vetted entertainment, news, and sports partners. The test can help them assess the effectiveness of the ad format before the launch.
As of now, Facebook is managing these in-stream ads with only a selected number of publishers. The limited test will assist them in determining whether creators can successfully monetize their live video streams with in-stream ads.
So, how does it work?
While watching the live content put in by the creator in the test, viewers will get to see a range of ad formats, including:
- A pre-roll that will run before the live stream
- An image appearing below the live stream
- A mid-roll ad playing in the main video player during the live stream while it continues to play in the minimized window
While setting up campaigns in ads manager, advertisers will get an option to eliminate ad placements from live streams.
Facebook has been testing the new in-stream product with gaming developers. Since it's rolling out to more verticals (news, entertainment, and sports), advertisers will see an increase in impressions with the in-stream live format!
Conclusion
So far, we have seen various updates rolling out to help internet marketers cope with the pandemic. From Google opening its premium platform, to social media platforms bringing up new features, online marketing has taken a big leap into bringing new strategies in recent weeks. More than being a platform to market things, there's been a positive response from tech giants to help the community during the pandemic.
Another positive is that Facebook recently announced that they would be making a $2 million investment. This is to train and coach the publishers covering COVID-19 reports in Australia and NewZealand.
Tune into our updates on internet marketing news every Tuesday. In the meantime, stay safe and check out our latest blogs!
