Ep166 - Microsoft Launches AI-Powered Advertising Tool That Can Help You Increase Your Conversion Rates

Episode 166 contains the notable Digital Marketing News and Updates from the week of June 19 - 23, 2023. And the show notes for this episode was generated using generative AI. And like always, I curated the articles for the show.1. YouTube's New Thumbnail A/B Testing Tool - YouTube has launched a new thumbnail A/B testing tool that allows creators to test different variations of their thumbnail images to see which one performs best. The tool is currently in live testing with a small group of creators, but it is expected to be rolled out to more creators in the coming months.The thumbnail A/B testing tool is a valuable addition to YouTube's creator toolkit. By testing different thumbnail images, creators can ensure that they are using the most effective thumbnail to attract viewers and maximize their video views.2. TikTok Expands TikTok Shops to All Businesses In The US, UK, Canada, and France - TikTok is expanding access to its TikTok Shops eCommerce program to all businesses in the US, UK, Canada, and France. The program allows businesses to sell products directly through TikTok, and it has been growing rapidly in popularity. In the first quarter of 2023, TikTok Shops generated over $1 billion in GMV.To join the TikTok Shops program, businesses need to have a TikTok account and a Shopify or Ecwid store. Once they are approved, they can start adding products to their TikTok Shop and linking their product catalog to TikTok. Businesses can then tag products in their videos and create shopping posts that allow users to purchase products directly from TikTok.The expansion of TikTok Shops to all businesses in these four countries is a major step for the platform. It will allow more businesses to reach a wider audience and sell more products through TikTok. This is likely to further boost the growth of TikTok Shops in the coming months and years.3. Instagram Now Lets You Download Public Reels! - Instagram is now rolling out the ability for users to download publicly posted Reels content to their camera roll. This means that users can now save Reels to their devices for offline viewing, sharing, or editing. To download a Reel, simply tap on the share icon and then select the "Download" option.There are a few limitations to this feature. First, only Reels from public accounts can be downloaded. Second, creators can opt out of enabling downloads of their content in their Account Settings. Finally, some users have reported audio issues with some Reels content, which could be linked to Meta's music licensing agreements.Overall, this is a welcome addition to Instagram that will give users more flexibility with how they interact with Reels content. It will also make it easier for users to share Reels with others, even if they don't have Instagram.4. LinkedIn's New AI Image Detector Catches 99% of Fake Profiles - LinkedIn has developed a new AI image detector that has a 99% success rate in catching fake profile photos. The detector uses a variety of techniques to identify fake images, including analyzing the image's pixels, comparing it to other images in its database, and looking for inconsistencies in the image's metadata.The advent of AI-generated profile images has made it easier to create fake LinkedIn profiles, which has exacerbated an already huge problem. In the first half of 2022, LinkedIn detected and removed 21 million fake accounts.Anecdotal evidence suggests that LinkedIn's AI image detector is working well. An affiliate marketer who deployed fake LinkedIn profiles said that their success rate dropped significantly after LinkedIn implemented the new detector.5. Meta Expands Reels Ads To Instagram And Tests AI Features - Meta is expanding Reels ads to Instagram and testing AI features to boost engagement and broaden advertiser reach. Previously, Reels ads were only available on Facebook. Now, advertisers can run ads between Reels on Instagram, expanding beyond Facebook. Meta is also introducing app promotion ads to Reels to boost app downloads. Additionally, Meta is testing AI to optimize music in single-image Reels ads, aiming for better viewer engagement.6. Meta's New Speech-to-Text Translation Tool Can Translate Text into Audio in 6 Languages - Meta has announced a new AI system called Voicebox that can translate text to audio in a variety of styles and voices. The system is based on a new method called Flow Matching, which allows it to synthesize speech with fewer learning and processing requirements than other similar systems.Voicebox can translate text into audio in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. It can also perform noise removal, edit content, and transfer audio style.The system is still under development, but Meta plans to make it available to developers in the future.7. GA4 Update: Now You Can Control Conversion Credit - Google Analytics 4 has added a new feature that allows you to select which channels are eligible to receive conversion credit for web conversions shared with Google Ads. This means that you can now choose to give credit to organic and paid channels, even if the last non-direct click was not from a Google ad.This new feature can help you to get a more accurate picture of the impact of your marketing campaigns. For example, if you're running a paid campaign and you see that organic traffic is also converting, you can now give credit to both channels. This will help you to allocate your budget more effectively and improve your ROI.8. Google Sues Rank and Rent Marketer: What You Need to Know - Google is suing an online marketer for violating its terms of service and for engaging in activities that mislead users and violate both federal and state laws. The marketer, who was a member of a public Facebook group called "Rank and Rent – GMB Strategy & Domination," is accused of creating fake businesses and fake websites, and then associating them with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone numbers whose area codes correspond to the fake businesses' supposed locations. Google alleges that the marketer has been associated with over 350 fake Business Profiles listings since mid-2021.9. Google Launches New INP Report in Search Console to Help you Prepare for FID to INP Transition - Google has launched a new report in Google Search Console to help site owners prepare for the upcoming change of First Input Delay (FID) to Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as a Core Web Vital metric. The report, which can be accessed by clicking this link and selecting a property, shows how well your site performs with the INP metric.INP is a measure of how long it takes for a user to be able to interact with a page after it has loaded. It is a more accurate measure of user experience than FID, as it takes into account the time it takes for the browser to paint the first content on the page as well as the time it takes for the user to be able to interact with that content.The INP report in Google Search Console shows the following data for each page on your site:The average INP for the pageThe percentage of users who experienced an INP of 100 milliseconds or lessThe percentage of users who experienced an INP of 300 milliseconds or lessGoogle has not yet announced a specific date for the FID to INP transition, but it is expected to happen in March 2024. By using the INP report in Google Search Console, you can start preparing...