From FYP to ROI?

[00:00:01] Today is Friday, September 6th. Today, TikTok's last stand, the platform pushes a PDF it hopes

[00:00:08] will finally get you on board. Also numbers tick up for the media buying business, Google

[00:00:13] vs the US Part 2, and Augmented Reality comes for a high sales category. I'm Tod Maffin,

[00:00:21] that's ahead today in digital marketing. Well if your brand sells physical products,

[00:00:28] there are lots of places to sell them, on your own website, Amazon, Shopify, and TikTok

[00:00:34] desperately wants to be on that list. To that end, the platform has released a surprisingly

[00:00:39] comprehensive guide detailing all the inner mechanics of selling products on TikTok. The

[00:00:45] guide is 93 pages long, it covers the basics of setting up a store on TikTok, but it also

[00:00:50] offers some pretty detailed tips on creating ads, it has details on how to set up a live

[00:00:55] commerce stream, and a bunch more. It is a PDF it is free to download of course. TikTok

[00:01:00] has been pushing for brands to get on board, and it seemed even sometimes a little frustrated

[00:01:05] that the uptake isn't more impressive, especially in Western markets where consumers have proven

[00:01:10] themselves to be lukewarm to the idea. Quoting social media today, quote, Western consumers

[00:01:16] remain wary likely due to the preference for in-store sales as well as concerns

[00:01:21] about TikTok's links back to the Chinese government. But even so, TikTok's overall sales volume is rising

[00:01:28] even at a lower rate. TikTok's users spend $3.8 billion in the app throughout 2023,

[00:01:35] up 15% year over year, and while a lot of that has gone toward in-stream donations for creators,

[00:01:41] there is rising potential for sellers as well, unquote. We have a link to the full

[00:01:46] TikTok guide in today's email newsletter which you can sign up to by tapping the link at

[00:01:50] the top of the show notes or going to todayindigital.com slash newsletter.

[00:01:58] American ad buyers are feeling more optimistic about this year's landscape. In a new survey,

[00:02:03] the Interactive Advertising Bureau boosted its ad spending forecast to nearly 12% growth.

[00:02:10] The main reason for the unexpected jump in confidence was that media buyers reported

[00:02:14] being more confident in the overall economy. They also expect the upcoming U.S. elections

[00:02:19] to drive ad spending, of course. As for what they're buying, digital ad spending is expected

[00:02:25] to grow more than 13% this year. Buyers are shifting more of their budgets to digital channels,

[00:02:30] particularly video and social media. TV ad spending is also expected to grow,

[00:02:37] but at a slower rate at about 6%. The boosted forecast is good news for brands. It means

[00:02:43] they'll have more opportunities to reach their target audiences across multiple channels.

[00:02:49] But it also means they'll face more competition for ad space, which could drive up prices.

[00:02:58] Another salvo in the endless, perhaps pointless war of duplication between Instagram and TikTok,

[00:03:04] the latter adding a new feature to its inboxes, basically Instagram notes.

[00:03:10] Notes are short messages that show up as a thought bubble above profile avatars

[00:03:15] at the top of the Stories page row and on the Profile page.

[00:03:18] They disappear after a day. They can be up to 100 characters long and can include text emojis and

[00:03:24] gifs. And yes, this is basically the same as the feature that Instagram introduced last year.

[00:03:31] One sort of hilarious bit is that TikTok can't copy the name and call the feature TikTok notes

[00:03:37] after Instagram notes. And that's because TikTok has its own spin-off app called TikTok

[00:03:43] Notes, which itself is pretty much a direct ripoff of the main Instagram app.

[00:03:49] I've never understood why they chose to name their photos only app after a format for text,

[00:03:55] but whatever. This of course gives users another way to communicate with friends on TikTok,

[00:04:00] if brief and fleeting. And in the end, it is another way for TikTok to try to keep

[00:04:05] users engaged and in the app longer. Google is heading back to court this time to defend

[00:04:15] its ad tech business. The American Department of Justice is suing the company claiming it has

[00:04:20] a monopoly on the ad tech market. This is different than the antitrust case the company lost last month.

[00:04:28] That case focused on its search engine. The DOJ alleges that Google's dominance in ad tech

[00:04:33] hurts competition and drives up prices for advertisers, quoting the Verge.

[00:04:38] Quote, the government says that Google exerted a campaign to condition control and tax

[00:04:43] digital advertising transactions over 15 years by illegally tying its tools together

[00:04:51] and excluding rivals from being able to fairly compete. The suit describes it as a ripple effect

[00:04:57] that began when Google built advertiser demand through its dominance in search. Then Google bought

[00:05:03] publisher ad server DoubleClick in 2009, giving it a large publisher base that sought to connect

[00:05:08] with advertisers in its ad network, plus a nascent ad exchange. Once Google controlled all sides of

[00:05:15] the market, the DOJ alleges it took exclusionary action to mutually reinforce its monopolies,

[00:05:21] including manipulating ad auctions to give itself an advantage and placing unfair conditions on accessing

[00:05:29] its tools. Quote, Google denies the claims saying its ad tech business is fair and competitive.

[00:05:36] The trial could have major implications for Google's core business model.

[00:05:41] If the DOJ wins, Google might be forced to break up its ad tech business or change how it operates.

[00:05:47] This could of course impact the broader online ad industry. Watch this space.

[00:05:56] A U.S. bill that would force TikTok to sell off its American operations is losing support.

[00:06:02] The bill introduced earlier this year aims to address concerns about TikTok's ties to China.

[00:06:07] Lawmakers are reportedly hesitant to support the bill due to concerns about its impact

[00:06:11] on the U.S. economy. Some also question whether a sell-off would actually address

[00:06:16] national security concerns. Quoting the Pew Research Center, quote,

[00:06:21] Even amid the decline in support for banning TikTok, views remain divided by political party.

[00:06:27] Support for a TikTok ban continues to fall in both parties, but Republicans remain more likely

[00:06:33] to back this than Democrats, unquote. Instead of a sell-off, lawmakers are now said to be exploring

[00:06:38] alternative solutions like stricter regulations on TikTok's data collection and storage practices.

[00:06:45] This approach could address security concerns without requiring a full transfer of ownership.

[00:06:50] The loss of momentum for the sell-off bill is, of course, good news for TikTok.

[00:06:55] The company has maintained it does not pose a national security risk

[00:06:58] and has taken steps to address concerns about its data practices.

[00:07:07] Google is expanding its virtual try-on tools to more brands and products. The feature uses

[00:07:12] augmented reality to let users try on products virtually. Last year, Google launched the tech

[00:07:17] but restricted it to men's and women's shirts and tops. It was impressive and included showing

[00:07:23] what the fabric would look like when it draped, when it was in shadow, even with wrinkles.

[00:07:28] Now Google says it's expanding the technology to include dresses.

[00:07:33] Quoting social media today, quote, it is a significant advance in Google's virtual

[00:07:37] depictions which ideally will help people when making purchases online by better displaying

[00:07:43] what the item looks like in reality. Though it's not reality and that's why in-store

[00:07:49] shopping will remain the go-to for many consumers on certain purchases. But ideally, virtual try-on

[00:07:56] tools like this will make it a little easier to shop online and avoid the annoying process

[00:08:02] of having to manage returns in the mail, unquote. Be sure to follow us on social media. We are almost

[00:08:10] everywhere. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, threads, mastodon, blue sky,

[00:08:15] even Snapchat and Pinterest. Go to todayindigital.com slash social or tap the link at the top

[00:08:21] of the show notes. That will do it for the week. Today in digital marketing is produced by EngageQ

[00:08:26] Digital on the traditional territories of the Sunamik First Nation on Vancouver Island. Our

[00:08:31] associate producer is the intrepid Steph Gunn. Our production coordinator is Sarah Gild,

[00:08:36] ad coordination by Red Circle. Mark Blevis is the redo button on an AI prompt that went off

[00:08:42] the rails. I'm Todd Maffin. Have a restful weekend friends. I will see you on Monday.

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