The Revolution Will Be Vertical

[00:00:00] It is Thursday, April 4th.

[00:00:03] Today, Google's new ad format might hide your ad behind a scroll, but it's not as bad

[00:00:09] as you think.

[00:00:10] Your LinkedIn campaigns can now run on TV, everything is going vertical on Facebook, and

[00:00:16] the massive company thinking of buying HubSpot would be its biggest deal ever.

[00:00:22] I'm Tod Maffin, that's ahead, today in Digital Marketing.

[00:00:27] Google is testing taking your ad, the one that runs at the top of search results, and dumping

[00:00:33] it into a carousel slider with a whole bunch of other ads.

[00:00:36] Marketer Alexander Hattala spotted this in the wild and posted about it on social media.

[00:00:40] The screenshot shows sponsored listings in a slider which appear to be for review discussion

[00:00:46] type sites.

[00:00:47] Before you dust the pitchforks and torches off, a few things for context.

[00:00:51] First, this isn't actually a new use of a sponsored carousel.

[00:00:55] Google has displayed shopping ads in carousels before and tested others.

[00:01:00] And no advertisers will lose money if this launches.

[00:01:03] Our Google Ads correspondent Jill Saskin-Gales, who spent six years working in the Google

[00:01:07] Ads division, reminded me, quote, remember that you don't pay unless people click.

[00:01:12] And you don't even get an impression unless you actually get eyeballs.

[00:01:17] This carousel looks to be ads for review sites, so it's possible that this

[00:01:21] is some kind of new discovery placement for forum type content, perhaps a new placement

[00:01:26] for demand gen, or more likely from Pmax, unquote.

[00:01:32] No official reply from Google about it.

[00:01:33] I bet I know what they'll say though, something about they're always testing things many

[00:01:37] of which never make it live, which is true, and something about how their AI will put

[00:01:41] the most relevant ads at the front of the carousel for each person, which will probably

[00:01:45] be true some of the time.

[00:01:48] We'll update this story if we learn more.

[00:01:51] Speaking of new ad formats, LinkedIn today staked its flag into the connected TV space.

[00:02:00] Advertisers can now add CTV to their LinkedIn campaigns.

[00:02:04] The ads will be delivered through LinkedIn's partners like Paramount, Roku and Samsung.

[00:02:09] This is going to be found inside the self-service campaign manager, but if you prefer to go

[00:02:13] with a more bespoke setup, they will set you up with a managed offering run by NBC

[00:02:18] Universal, quoting MarTech, quote, connected TV.

[00:02:21] CTV is a growing channel for many marketers, including B2B businesses.

[00:02:25] As part of the rationale for introducing connected TV, LinkedIn cited a study from

[00:02:30] Demandbase that found 90% of B2B marketers who used it in 2023 believed it helped

[00:02:36] reach customers.

[00:02:38] A LinkedIn representative told MarTech, quote, since only 5% of buyers are in

[00:02:43] market for a new purchase at any given time, it's important for B2B marketers to

[00:02:48] consistently engage with their audiences to ensure their brand is memorable when it's

[00:02:52] time to buy.

[00:02:54] We launched LinkedIn CTV to help our customers continue to reach and engage

[00:02:58] new audiences across streaming television content, unquote.

[00:03:06] Facebook is getting a big makeover for its video player taking a page right out of

[00:03:11] TikTok's playbook, of course.

[00:03:13] All videos on Facebook will soon sport a vertical full screen look.

[00:03:18] Yes, all videos, including stories, traditional long form videos and even

[00:03:23] live streams.

[00:03:25] It will roll out first in the US and Canada on both iOS and Android platforms

[00:03:29] in the coming weeks with a global launch planned in the months ahead.

[00:03:33] This marks a significant shift from the past where Facebook juggled

[00:03:36] multiple video formats, including traditional horizontal videos and those

[00:03:41] playing in the app's feed.

[00:03:42] With this update, videos will automatically present in vertical format,

[00:03:46] although there will be an option to watch horizontal videos in full screen by

[00:03:50] flipping your phone around.

[00:03:52] For many marketers, this could mean putting vertical video production on a

[00:03:56] higher priority, especially considering even your landscape videos will come

[00:04:01] out vertical on Facebook.

[00:04:04] Threads might soon start to see more content and maybe better content.

[00:04:11] Meta is launching a content reward program, which, like we've seen on other

[00:04:15] apps, will pay creators for their content based on view count.

[00:04:19] TikTok has had a couple of variations of these programs, as have LinkedIn

[00:04:23] and Instagram and others.

[00:04:25] For now, creators are being invited to the program individually and earn

[00:04:29] money on any video that gets more than 2,500 views, which seems to be an

[00:04:35] awfully low bar to me.

[00:04:37] And Meta says the details of the program may vary by participant, which

[00:04:41] certainly sounds like they're cutting different payout deals with different

[00:04:45] creators.

[00:04:46] Also, that invitation will actually show up in your attached Instagram account

[00:04:50] in the professional dashboard.

[00:04:51] That's because Threads used Instagram's code base to get off the

[00:04:55] ground quickly, quoting social media today.

[00:04:58] Right now, Threads probably does need a boost.

[00:05:01] While the app has seen rapid growth rising to 130 million users after its

[00:05:06] launch last July, that momentum has slowed.

[00:05:09] Threads hasn't really made a dent in the real time social market, despite

[00:05:13] early interest.

[00:05:14] Indeed, while Threads is up to 130 million active monthly users, it

[00:05:18] reached 100 million in October, just three months after launch.

[00:05:23] We're now nine months in and within that time, Threads has become

[00:05:27] available in more regions, most notably Europe, where my estimate suggests

[00:05:32] that Threads should have added an extra 25 million users.

[00:05:36] So while there are people using the app, it's not exactly seeing rapid

[00:05:40] expansion.

[00:05:41] While piggybacking off of Instagram has also given Threads a

[00:05:44] significant leg up on other new platforms, which dilutes its

[00:05:48] comparative performance, unquote.

[00:05:51] You have one unheard message.

[00:05:59] Hi, I was calling current the influencer marketing platform, but I

[00:06:04] think I just got redirected to a bunch of people listening to a

[00:06:07] podcast.

[00:06:09] Well, anyways, I was calling current because I was told they could

[00:06:12] help get my brand set up on TikTok shop and even build out an

[00:06:16] affiliate program of content creators promoting my brand.

[00:06:20] And even have those content creators go on live streams and

[00:06:23] promote my product there.

[00:06:26] Wow, I could really use current.

[00:06:30] I also heard that the brands they work with are making millions

[00:06:33] in sales.

[00:06:34] I guess I'll just go to their website at current.tech.

[00:06:40] At Parker, our purpose is simple.

[00:06:42] We want to make the world a better place by working more

[00:06:46] efficiently, by using more sustainable practices, by

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[00:06:52] We keep moving forward with each new idea, innovation and

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[00:07:02] To find out more, visit parker.com slash purpose Parker

[00:07:07] engineering your success.

[00:07:10] And finally today reports are circulating that alphabet Google's

[00:07:13] parent company is thinking about buying HubSpot, the large

[00:07:16] CRM platform.

[00:07:18] HubSpot is public and has a market valuation of about

[00:07:21] $32 billion.

[00:07:22] Its stock has been on a climb since about mid November or

[00:07:25] so.

[00:07:26] Alphabet executives have apparently met with bankers to

[00:07:28] flesh out what a deal would look like.

[00:07:30] Nobody's talking on the record, of course.

[00:07:32] And analysts are skeptical, quoting Reuters.

[00:07:36] If alphabet moves ahead with a bid, it would be a rare

[00:07:39] example of a major technology company attempting a

[00:07:42] mega deal amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of the

[00:07:46] sector.

[00:07:48] The potential acquisition would be Alphabet's largest

[00:07:51] ever and allow it to put some of its cash pile, which reached

[00:07:54] almost $111 billion at the end of December to work.

[00:07:59] Alphabet's CEO is looking for avenues to boost growth

[00:08:02] after the company disclosed in January that fourth quarter

[00:08:05] ad sales came in below expectations.

[00:08:09] Unquote.

[00:08:10] We will keep you updated if there is a development there.

[00:08:13] Well, if you've got a marketing position you're trying to

[00:08:18] fill or maybe you're looking for that next great gig,

[00:08:21] consider a classified ad right here.

[00:08:23] It's not just limited to HR.

[00:08:25] You can use it to advertise pretty much whatever you

[00:08:26] like.

[00:08:26] It's just 20 bucks and you can book it online.

[00:08:29] Link in the show notes or go to today in digital.com

[00:08:32] slash ads.

[00:08:34] I'm Todd Maffin.

[00:08:35] Thanks for listening.

[00:08:36] See you tomorrow.