[Ep115] - Warby Parker vs 1-800 Contact Lawsuit Over Branded Keywords

1. Snapchat Launches ‘Snapchat+’ Subscription Program - Snapchat has officially launched its new Snapchat+ subscription service which will initially be made available to users in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. 

“Today we’re launching Snapchat+, a collection of exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features available in Snapchat for $3.99/month.  This subscription will allow us to deliver new Snapchat features to some of the most passionate members of our community and allow us to provide prioritized support.”

The new subscription program will include:

Access to exclusive Snapchat iconsA new profile badge to show that you’re a Snapchat+ userNew data insights, including the capacity to see your friends’ location history (over the last 24 hours) and info on who’s rewatched your Story The capacity to pin a user in the app as ‘your #1 best friend’

If SnapChat can convert 1% of their active user base then they stand to make about $13.2 million in recurring monthly revenue. This is a similar program to Twitter’s Twitter Blue which is not faring well. Don’t take our word for it, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has also said that Twitter has not hit ‘intermediate milestones that enable confidence’ with its new revenue and growth projects, like Twitter Blue.

2. Twitter Launches #BrandedLikes To Select Advertisers - After previewing the #BrandedLikes features at the Cannes Lions event, Twitter has now launched it officially to businesses with managed advertisers in US, UK, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

#BrandedLikes lets advertisers customize Twitter’s Like button animation for 24 hours. Branded Likes will appear on any organic or promoted Tweets that contain the advertiser selected hashtags after an individual has liked that Tweet.

Branded Likes are being built into Twitter’s Timeline Takeover ad offering, which ensures a brand’s ad is the first ad to appear when someone opens Twitter for the first time that day. Twitter hasn’t provided a specific price range for Timeline Takeover ads, but Promoted Trends, which are somewhat similar, cost around $200k per day. This is not ideal for promoting your upcoming sales promotion unless you are a brand such as Nordstrom announcing and drawing attention to your annual sales event.

Click here, if you are interested to check out what #BrandedLikes in action.

3. Instagram Now Allows Third-Party Platforms To Access Reels API - Beginning June 28, 2022 Meta has allowed 3rd Party platform to access Instagram Reels API. This allows platforms such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social and etc to post reels on your behalf. I am excited because it can be much simpler to manage all of your social media posts and schedules in one location thanks to services like Hootsuite and Sprout Social that offer cross-platform publishing and analytics capabilities.

Announcement here.

4. Tips From Instagram To Create Engaging Reels - Instagram’s parent company Meta has published an article giving us tips on how to create engaging reels. Here are the tips:

Nail the hook: Keep brand objectives in mind—if brand lift is your aim, highlight your brand in the first few seconds of your Reels. If the intent is conversions, showcase your product or service in action. Also, keep your storytelling short and sweet. Short-form videos mean short time limits and even shorter attention spans! Use your content wisely.Get creative with transitions: Experiment with transitions in your Reels to entertain your viewers and show off your brand’s personality. You can also use creative features like augmented reality effects, custom audio and timers to keep things fresh.Match the rhythm: Sync your music. Don’t underestimate the power of using sound to grab and retain the audience’s attention. Reels is already the biggest engagement growth driver on Instagram, and over 80% of Reels are viewed with sound on. Also, try to use auto-captions.Keep it on trend: Stay in touch with the latest, and use the newest effects on Reels. Take part in cultural moments, trending topics and popular challenges that are relevant to your brand. Create and encourage your audience to remix your Reels, or spark a conversation with them in the comments section. Try adding relevant hashtags to optimize exposure for your content.Explore collaborations: Partner with creators to tell your brand story in new and fresh ways. Collaborating with influencer voices drives more engagement, authenticity and awareness.Be authentic: Reels is a place where authenticity thrives, so create Reels that are true to you and that reflect your brand values.

5. TikTok Releases A New ‘Attribution Manager’ - Attribution is a big thing in the digital marketing world. TikTok has released its new Attribution Manager tool, which enables advertisers to set custom attribution windows within TikTok campaigns.

“For web and app campaigns, TikTok Attribution Manager enables marketers to select a specific time period to measure success: the click-through attribution (CTA) window can range from one day to 28 days, while view-through attribution (VTA) window options range from off to up to seven days.”

TikTok attribution, by default, will show you 7-day click and 1-day view data, based on TikTok Pixel and/or Events API response. This will give you more accurate info on how people respond to your ads in the app – though there will be some limitations based on in-app tracking, with Apple’s ATT update giving users the capacity to opt-out of in-app tracking tools, which could impact insight.

6. YouTube Disables Option To Hide Subscriber Counts - Currently, YouTube channels can opt to hide their subscriber numbers, which some users might prefer if they think it might scare off visitors or diminish their reputation.

However, YouTube has discovered that channels impersonating platform stars frequently use this function as well. So now these scammers will have fewer options to hide their identity. Per YouTube:

“While we’re aware that some creators find this feature valuable, as YouTube grows, we found it is often used to impersonate channels. Bad actors often lure people to their channel page by impersonating other creators in comments. And now, channels will no longer be able to hide their subscriber pens on YouTube.”

On the other hand, if you’ve been telling people that you have more subscribers than you do, maybe it’s time to shut down your YouTube account. Just claim that you were banned for your controversial opinions or something.

Finally, YouTube’s also implementing new limits on the amount of special characters that people can use within their Channel name.

“Using special characters in channel names is another way that bad actors impersonate established channels. So we’re reducing the character set that creators can choose from when updating their name moving forward.”

7. 8 SEO Tips For E-commerce Sites From Google - Alan Kent from Google published a ...