Those Poor, Unfortunate Goals

[00:00:00] Do you want someone who understands you like no other?

[00:00:03] Someone who can be your true wish and want to experience the most beautiful adventure of your life with you?

[00:00:10] The shopping platform Shopify revolutionizes millions of companies worldwide.

[00:00:15] With Shopify you only focus on your online shop, without programming or design knowledge.

[00:00:22] Thanks to the efficient education and intuitive social media and online marketplace integration

[00:00:27] you can buy and sell ebay, ebay and co-purchase via Instagram.

[00:00:32] It was never easy to reach new target groups.

[00:00:34] Shopify offers a single secure platform for all tools to build up your online business.

[00:00:40] You can test it for free and present your business to the world.

[00:00:44] www.shopify.de.try

[00:00:47] Simply enter shopify.de.try and start.

[00:00:52] Made for Germany, powered by Shopify.

[00:00:55] It is Friday, August 23rd. Today. Where did it all go?

[00:01:00] Marketers wake up to a huge gap in Google Analytics data.

[00:01:05] LinkedIn is changing its carousels, Amazon is having a bad week

[00:01:09] and the pizza promotion that lets you dance for your dinner is actually, secretly, a very clever Bogo deal.

[00:01:18] I'm Tod Maffin. That's ahead today in Digital Marketing.

[00:01:22] We start today with Google Analytics and many marketers reporting missing data in their overview reports for yesterday and today.

[00:01:31] The issue does appear to be widespread, with multiple users taking to the Google Analytics forum and social media to complain about the problem.

[00:01:39] Real-time reports seem to be working, but the main overview reports are coming up empty.

[00:01:45] It is likely that Google will be able to fix the issue and restore the missing data.

[00:01:49] The fact that real-time data is still working suggests the data is still being collected, just not displayed.

[00:01:55] But Google has yet to respond to the complaints or provide a timeline for a fix.

[00:01:59] A future me is jumping in here just before we put the podcast to bed at our deadline.

[00:02:03] Some users were reporting seeing their data reappearing.

[00:02:06] It looks like the issue was just a delay and the data is now flowing back in.

[00:02:16] Google is moving all merchants to its new version of its Merchant Center platform.

[00:02:20] The company made the announcement this week saying the switch will happen by September.

[00:02:24] The new platform is called Merchant Center Next.

[00:02:27] It has a simpler interface and new tools including AI-powered image creator and what the company says is better analytics.

[00:02:34] Google says the platform will make it easier for businesses to manage how their products appear on the site.

[00:02:40] One of the new features is called Product Studio.

[00:02:42] It uses AI to help businesses create marketing content.

[00:02:45] The platform also has a new analytics tab with pricing reports and competitive visibility tools.

[00:02:52] Google has already started notifying merchants about the change.

[00:02:55] The company will continue to send out emails over the next month.

[00:02:58] By September, all merchants should be using the new platform.

[00:03:02] We have a very detailed breakdown of what's in the classic Merchant Center compared to what's in Merchant Center Next.

[00:03:08] That is in today's email newsletter which you can subscribe to for free by tapping the link at the top of the show notes

[00:03:13] or going to today in digital.com slash newsletter.

[00:03:20] A nice new format on LinkedIn is bound to increase engagement for those marketers who choose to use it.

[00:03:26] Infeed carousels can now show multiple video clips that users can scroll through.

[00:03:31] The specific video displayed to users first will be based on what users do in the app and what's on their profile.

[00:03:37] So if you post two videos, one with a talking head and one with an animated infographic,

[00:03:43] people who've watched animated graphs in the past, lots would likely be shown that video in your carousel first.

[00:03:50] Tapping on a video opens a full screen video feed that looks kind of like TikTok.

[00:03:54] This feed was introduced in March to keep up with changing user consumption habits.

[00:03:58] LinkedIn wants to promote its growing collection of user-made videos.

[00:04:02] The goal, of course, is to attract younger users who prefer video updates.

[00:04:06] The site now gets one and a half million new content uploads every minute with video growing the fastest.

[00:04:14] Video uploads are up 34% from last year.

[00:04:18] But some think LinkedIn may have missed the point quoting Andrew Hutchinson from social media today,

[00:04:22] quote, personally I think that LinkedIn would be better off adding a dedicated video feed which prioritizes live streams

[00:04:29] in order to showcase live events and industry updates in the app.

[00:04:32] I'm not sure that TikTok style short form videos really work in the LinkedIn format because like stories,

[00:04:41] which LinkedIn also tried out, this more snackable content style isn't really conducive to the kind of engagement

[00:04:47] that professionals are seeking in the app, unquote.

[00:04:55] Google is making it easier for big advertisers to manage their ad campaigns across multiple and even competing search engines.

[00:05:02] The company is launching a new beta program that lets advertisers use Microsoft's automated bidding system within Google Search Ads 360.

[00:05:12] This means advertisers can now optimize their campaigns in real time using data from both Google and Microsoft.

[00:05:19] This uses Google's AI-powered bid strategies which can allocate budgets across different campaigns.

[00:05:25] According to Google, advertisers use this new system can expect to see about a 5% increase in conversions.

[00:05:31] To get started, advertisers need to check the box that shares floodlight data with linked Microsoft ad accounts

[00:05:38] and then enable Microsoft automated bidding in the bid strategy settings.

[00:05:47] A surprising ruling in an American court yesterday, an appeals court ruled that an antitrust case against Amazon can move forward.

[00:05:56] The case claims Amazon's pricing are unfair and hurt third-party sellers and consumers.

[00:06:02] The court's decision reverses a previous ruling that dismissed the case.

[00:06:08] The lawsuit alleges Amazon used contracts and policies to fix prices.

[00:06:12] This meant, says the lawsuit, that third-party sellers can't offer lower prices on other platforms even if they want to.

[00:06:19] The court found these allegations plausible enough to let the case continue.

[00:06:23] The Open Markets Institute, a progressive advocacy organization, endorsed the decision saying,

[00:06:29] quote, although Amazon charges third-party sellers substantial commissions and fees that amount to a tax of as high as 50% of their retail price,

[00:06:38] the corporation prohibits sellers from offering discounted price on lower-cost rival platforms and their own sites.

[00:06:46] In other words, online sellers must incorporate the Amazon tax into their prices wherever they market their goods.

[00:06:55] Further, Amazon compels suppliers to guarantee its profit margins on the sale of their goods.

[00:07:00] This conduct robs merchants and suppliers of pricing freedom, unfairly impedes the growth of competitors,

[00:07:06] and ultimately raises prices for consumers, unquote.

[00:07:09] Amazon says it disagrees with the allegations and claims its policies are good for consumers.

[00:07:20] Yesterday also brought some more bad news for the company.

[00:07:23] The National Labor Relations Board ruling that Amazon cannot claim that drivers and the companies that contract with Amazon for delivery

[00:07:29] are just independent contractors.

[00:07:32] It says Amazon is considered a joint employer of those drivers, quoting Ars Technica, quote,

[00:07:38] by rejecting its employer status.

[00:07:41] Amazon had previously argued that it had no duty to bargain with driver unions and no responsibility for alleged union busting.

[00:07:49] But now, after a year-long investigation, the NLRB has issued what Amazon Delivery Drivers Union has claimed was, quote,

[00:07:56] a groundbreaking decision that sets the stage for Amazon delivery drivers across the country to organize with the teamsters, unquote.

[00:08:11] Hey, it's Sean Nelson, founder and CEO of Love Sack and host of the Let Me Save You 25 Years podcast.

[00:08:16] Curious how successful people really made it?

[00:08:19] Tune in to hear from guests like Travis Mills, a true American hero, and Nate Checkits, co-founder of Roan.

[00:08:25] We dive deep into their stories and lessons that shape them so you can skip the trial and error and get straight to the good stuff.

[00:08:31] You can find me wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:08:34] That's Let Me Save You 25 Years with Sean Nelson.

[00:08:37] Listen now.

[00:08:40] Do you know someone who understands you like no other?

[00:08:42] Someone who can be your true wish and want to experience the most beautiful adventure of your life?

[00:08:49] The shopping platform Shopify revolutionizes millions of companies worldwide.

[00:08:55] With Shopify, you only get to shop online, without programming or design knowledge.

[00:09:01] Thanks to the efficient design and intuitive social media and online marketplace integration,

[00:09:06] you can sell and sell through Instagram, eBay and Co.

[00:09:10] It was never easy to reach new target groups.

[00:09:13] Shopify offers a single secure platform for all tools to build up your online business.

[00:09:19] You can test it for free and present your business to the world.

[00:09:23] www.shopify.de.try

[00:09:25] Just enter shopify.de.try and start.

[00:09:31] Made for Germany, powered by Shopify.

[00:09:34] And finally, would you dance for a free pizza?

[00:09:38] Well Pizza Hut hopes you will and is running a new promotion called Pay With Your Trend.

[00:09:44] It starts when you order a My Box Pizza.

[00:09:47] This is sort of like a bento box that contains a small pizza and two sides.

[00:09:51] Then you shoot a TikTok video featuring the pizza and any popular trend

[00:09:55] and publish it with a specific hashtag.

[00:09:58] Finally wait for a message from Pizza Hut with a promo code for a free My Box.

[00:10:03] This offer is open to anyone regardless of their TikTok follower count.

[00:10:09] This is a change from the usual influencer deals where only those with a large following get perks.

[00:10:14] But there is a catch, it's not a completely free meal.

[00:10:18] You have to buy a My Box first to participate.

[00:10:22] So this makes it more of a buy one get one free deal.

[00:10:26] Oh and it's probably not a promotion that you can participate in.

[00:10:29] This is only being run by Pizza Hut's division in the United Arab Emirates.

[00:10:36] And that will do it for the week.

[00:10:38] Today in digital marketing is produced by EngageQ Digital on the traditional territories of the Snunemic First Nation on Vancouver Island.

[00:10:45] Our production coordinator is Sarah Guild at Coordination by Red Circle.

[00:10:49] Mark Blavis is the smell of fresh rain hitting hot pavement.

[00:10:52] And in one week another name will be back here in the credits.

[00:10:56] It's a name you know.

[00:10:59] I'm Todd Maffin, have a restful weekend friends.

[00:11:02] I will see you on Tuesday.

[00:11:36] Contact the Unary team that's UNERRY by clicking the link in this episode's show notes.