Marketing In Asia brings to you a weekly curated round-up of important digital marketing updates.
Weekly Digital marketing updates
YouTube Expands Shorts To More Surfaces On Mobile & Desktop
YouTube begins displaying Shorts videos on more surfaces on mobile and desktop, including a dedicated carousel in the trending section. Expanding the visibility of Shorts has the potential to amplify their reach, as they can now be discovered in more places throughout the YouTube website and app.
This marks the first meaningful update to Shorts this year, which is notable as there’s been a lull when it comes to rolling out new features. YouTube Shorts launched in 2020 with much hype behind it, followed by a series of rapid updates through the following year. Read more
TikTok’s In-Feed Ads get more visual with Interactive Add-Ons
A handful of new Interactive Add-Ons have arrived within TikTok’s “For Your Page.” These new additions are available globally for In-Feed Ads and will be unique creative additions that will allow for more customized, engaging ads.
These new features come in two different flavors, Standard or Premium. According to TikTok, standard Add-Ons are made to “reach lower-funnel marketing goals, like driving clicks and conversions” while Premium Ads move up the funnel to aid in “brand awareness and community building.” Read more
Instagram Launches Live Test of Pinned Posts on User Profiles
Instagram’s been hinting at it for a while, and now, it’s launched a live test of a new option to pin images on your profile for selected users. Some Instagram users are now able to select a ‘Pin to Your Profile’ option on their IG posts, which enables you to then dock your chosen updates to the top of your post grid on your profile display. Read more
Pinterest introduces a new extension for WooCommerce users
The new Pinterest for WooCommerce extension gives merchants the power to turn their product catalogues into shoppable Product Pins on Pinterest. Shoes, home decor, apparel, appliances – with this new integration, each product listing becomes a shoppable Pin.
Once the WooCommerce Pinterest extension is installed, the entire product catalogue uploads to Pinterest. The shoppable Pins will show up in people’s feeds as they search and browse for things to buy. The extension also logs when customers interact with the products on Pinterest, so merchants can track their best-selling or most saved items. Read more
Twitter Tests New Closed Caption Button to Switch on Captions in Video Clips
Twitter is making it easier to utilize closed captions in the app with the addition of a new ‘CC’ button on videos where captions are available.
you’ll soon see a new ‘CC’ option in the top right of the video player screen to switch on captions in certain clips.
The new button essentially serves a double purpose, in both enabling you to switch captions on (where possible) while also letting you know which clips actually have captions available. Read more
Instagram Wants To Make Hashtags More Valuable
Instagram is testing out ways to make hashtags more valuable by adjusting how top posts are ranked on hashtag pages.
In an announcement from Instagram’s communications team, the company explains what’s changing and why:
“We’re trying out some new things to make hashtags as valuable as possible for people. A few weeks ago, we rolled out Destinations which helps connect people to more information around social causes, and now, we’re going to try something new.
For a small group, we’re testing more recent and timely content in ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs in hashtags, and removing the ‘Recent’ tab. We want to see if this helps people connect with more interesting and relevant content on hashtags, while also keeping them across what’s current.” Read more
Reddit Updates: Comment Search, Updated Search Design, & more
Reddit has been steadily improving and updating search experiences over the last year to support the millions of posts, communities, and users, now the platform has launched more updates and features to help users find and engage in the topics that matter most to them. Read more
Snapchat Adds New Assistive Device Animations for Bitmoji Characters to Maximize Inclusion
Snapchat has taken more steps to maximize inclusion in its Bitmoji avatars, with the addition of new types of assistive devices for Bitmoji characters.
As explained by Snapchat:
“Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve expanded our representation options by adding the top three most requested assistive devices to Bitmoji and Snapchat: hearing aids, cane stickers, and wheelchair poses for Profiles. Now, in the latest version of Snapchat, our community can see themselves in 3D poses with a wheelchair on their Profile – or choose a hearing aid in a variety of colors, with flexible options to be worn on one ear or both. We’ve also added a selection of our most popular Bitmoji stickers featuring the avatar with a cane.” Read more
Instagram Updates: Products Tagging & Ranking For Originality
Instagram has released two updates significantly changing the user experience – ranking algorithms that prioritize original content and enabling product tagging on posts that improve product discovery.
Product tagging only works for public accounts; Instagram is also working on a feature to tag products in Stories. Another one of the updates by Instagram, Ranking For Originality, has already been active, and the platform has shared more information on the development. Read more
Google Adds New Publisher Verification Badges to Extension Listings in the Google Web Store
The right Google Chrome extensions can revolutionize your workflow, and Google’s looking to make it easier for people to find the best, most trusted Chrome additions, with new badges in Google Store listings to highlight great extensions and developers.
As per Google:
“Today, we’re announcing two new extension badges: the Featured badge and the Established Publisher badge. Both badges are live on the Chrome Web Store today.” Read more
