With the advertising and marketing world witnessing changes frequently it becomes fairly obvious that the tools for this versatile industry keep evolving too. In this age of digital and social media, where each brand maker and advertiser is concerned on how to make their long-lasting impressions on target audiences, social media platforms serve as the basis to reach these audiences.
With ever-evolving social media and digital platforms, brands have more opportunities to come to the spotlight by employing the right tools and strategies. To assist the brands in their mission to be visible, these platforms also roll out updates regularly, these updates are such that they can benefit many folds if systematically planned. Whether it is a viral meme moment, a perfectly timed comment, or an engaging story, every brand’s social media success is the result of carefully coordinated efforts.
In this edition of Marketing Mind’s fortnightly updates, we will delve deeper into the fresh updates of many platforms. From Google bringing updates to Google Lens keeping advertisers in mind, to YouTube Shorts increasing its time limit, this has been an update-filled fortnight. On a different note, as per reports, Meta has acquired the ‘Threads.com’ domain name, what a rush.
So, let’s dive into what is new and explore how the latest social media updates can help brands and content creators shine brighter than ever. Following is a breakdown of some of the key updates of the fortnight-
Sonic identity, a brand’s unique signature sound that aims to forge an emotional connection with its audience. When we hear a certain sound, we are reminded of a particular brand, an auditory element that takes us back; it could be a jingle, sound effects, any background music, or all working together to take us on an auditory experience.
With sonic identities, brands try to create an auditory connection with the audiences with the aim that whenever they hear that sound they are reminded of them. What a bond building exercise! With that said, Instagram has introduced a new Reels’ ‘sound’, as a sonic identity. Few weeks back, the platform also added the feature ‘Add Your Music’ in the Bio section on User Profiles. All these add up to one conclusion, that it is time for brands to buckle up and join in with their sonic identities featuring in their Bio.
Also Read: From Telegram To YouTube, Here Are The ‘Unmissable’ Social Media Updates From The Fortnight
Furthermore, Instagram has also introduced Best Practices, an in-app destination that guides the creators with best practices, personalised tips and educational reels to help them understand how to grow their audience and strengthen content on Instagram.
As per the platform, the creators can find best practices on topics such as creation, engagement, reach, monetisation and guidelines. It will also provide personalised tips to give an idea of how their account is doing across each topic.
In a blog post, the platform wrote, “Though anyone can be a creator, succeeding as one takes effort, time and the right information. That’s why we’re excited to introduce best practices- our new in-app destination that guides you with best practices, personalised tips and educational reels to help you understand how to grow your audience and strengthen your content on Instagram.”
The tech giant, Google, offers an interesting feature that often comes in handy when we want to compare products, know more about them or simply understand something, the feature is- Google Lens.
As per the platform, “Every month, people use Lens for nearly 20 billion visual searches, and 20 percent of all Lens searches are shopping-related. Advertisers can tap into these high-intent consumers, as Shopping ads will appear above and alongside visual search results by the end of the year.”
Google Lens can use advanced AI models and Google’s Shopping Graph to identify the exact item that the user is searching for. Now it has also added a better results page that shows key information about the product they are looking for, including reviews, price comparisons across retailers and where to buy. This has been made available for Android and iOS devices in select countries, as per the platform.
Further it stated, “This presents a unique opportunity for advertisers- 75% of US consumers get excited when they come across a new product perfectly aligned with their needs. With Shopping ads, you can connect with motivated shoppers at the moment their interest is piqued. And because your product listing ad will show up for visual searches the same way it does for query searches, shoppers will already be familiar with the format. You can showcase your business to a highly engaged audience and attract shoppers looking for your product, or products similar to yours- creating a seamless experience from inspiration to purchase. Learn more about shopping with Lens here.”
As per the platforms, advertisers can show ads in these experiences with existing AI-powered Search ads, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. There’s no additional action required.
Building on their Google Pay offering, the platform in a blog post wrote, “We’re soon piloting enhanced fraud protection within Google Play Protect in India. This feature will analyse and automatically block the installation of apps from outside the Play Store, such as a web browser, messaging app or file manager, that request sensitive permissions often abused in financial scams.”
“To further strengthen our commitment to online safety in India, we’re establishing a new Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) in India in 2025, a significant step in enhancing online safety and security in the country,” it added.
Continuing on their initiatives in India, the platform wrote, “We’re launching a new initiative, AI Skills House, designed to further accelerate India’s journey towards an AI-ready future.”
“Through this initiative, we aim to empower 10 million Indians with AI literacy and unlock India’s digital dividend, enabling students, job seekers, educators, developers, and public administrators to seize new opportunities and shape India’s AI-powered future.”
On another note, in a different development, Snapchat has deployed Google’s Gemini within its ‘My AI’ chatbot and this move aims to make the experience on the chatbot better.
Youtube
Going out on a big note, we have saved one of the biggest developments for the last. As per reports, YouTube has increased the time limit of Youtube Shorts up to 3 minutes long and the update will be effective starting October 15, 2024.
Furthermore, in a blog post the platform mentioned, “See a Short you like? Now you can easily recreate the magic with templates! Jump on the latest trends, match your clips to the hottest sounds, and add your own unique flair. You can try templates by tapping “Remix” on a Short that inspires you and select “Use this template” to give your own spin.”
In the upcoming months, creators will be able to access the YouTube content right from their Shorts camera, it aims to make it simpler to remix clips from videos, music videos, and more. In addition, Google DeepMind’s model for generating video, Veo, will be available on YouTube Shorts. This will give creators a chance to breathe life into their ideas with better video backgrounds and video clips.
