Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Will.
1. Google puts emphasis on shopping deals
Google is taking another step towards helping retailers (and themselves) by highlighting promotions in search results in order to maximise clicks. This feature now adds an annotation (such as showing when something is on sale, or is included in a promotion) to Shopping Ads in search results in an attempt to boost retailers visibility and display the best prices to shoppers.
Additionally, a new ‘on-sale’ filter is being added to the Shopping tab on both mobile and desktop which will make it much easier for consumers to find the best price. While promotions are only available in the US currently, it will be interesting to see how they impact shopping behaviour over the holiday period. Overall, the new features seem very beneficial to all parties, so hopefully, they will become more widely available soon.
2. LinkedIn sees record levels of engagement
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has left many searching for new job opportunities, however, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom for everyone. Microsoft reported that the professional social network LinkedIn, has seen record levels of engagement, with an increase of 31%.
Furthermore, LinkedIn’s revenue has increased by 16%, mostly driven from a rise in ad spend. In addition to this, Microsoft also reported that LinkedIn now has over 722 million members across the world – a significant increase from 675 million in January 2020. It’s important to remember that total members are not the same as daily active users, but the growth in both members and engagement is a huge positive for the platform.
3. TikTok partners with Shopify
Earlier this week, TikTok announced a global partnership with ecommerce platform Shopify that will allow it to expand into in-app shopping. This agreement will allow over a million Shopify merchants to create TikTok marketing campaigns, and target specific audiences depending on various demographics.
TikTok has seen a monumental rise recently, with over 17 million users in the UK spending over an hour on the platform daily. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the social network looked at ways for brands to capture this audience, without having to leave the app. The app does already have a variety of its own shopping features, such as a ‘Shop Now’ button for brands and shoppable components. This partnership with Shopify is building upon these features and streamlining the process for both merchants and consumers.
4. The future of Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a platform that is used by millions of businesses across the world. Quite simply, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without it. With more and more businesses moving online, insights from platforms such as Google Analytics are more important than they’ve ever been.
Google has released the latest version of its web analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. So, what’s new?
New AI-powered insight and predictions will now send alerts to users about data trends, such as an increase in demand for certain products. Deeper audience integration with Google ads helps to stop users from being retargeted with ads once they have completed a purchase. Through updated report features, the new Analytics aims to give marketers a wide view of how customers are engaging with their business over different devices, as well as channels.
Above is an example of the new trends predictions feature.
For a more detailed breakdown of the new features that are available with Google Analytics 4, check out Google’s introduction to the new platform here.
5. Super spoopy pumpkins
Spooky season is officially underway with Halloween taking place this weekend. To help get you in the spirit, here are some of our favourite pumpkin designs for this year.
Reliving the binge watching Netflix during lockdown.
Pumpkins perfect for the 2020 home office.
A pumpkin to sum up how coronavirus has been dealt with.
For even more inspiration check out The Poke’s list for some spooky inspiration.
