The last quarter of the year is in full swing
Therefore, there is also extra pressure in the marketing world to make the most of the last few months.
We’ve tried to take some of the pressure off your shoulders by digging up 5 digital news for you:
Instagram increases security with “teenage profiles”, Reddit introduces AI features for ads manager, and virtual influencers gain more traction.
You get this and more, right here in the October issue of Xtracts, your digital news overview.
1. Instagram adds ‘Teen Profiles’ to increase security
Soon there will be big changes on Instagram for children and young people under 18 years. Instagram is rolling out their so-called teenage profiles.
The profiles come as an attempt to increase the safety of children and young people, so that they can browse the platform safely. The changes are an automatic set of protections added to both new and old Instagram profiles of users under the age of 18. It is based on the biggest concerns of parents and young people. They include, among other things:
- The profile is private by default – and can only be changed with permission from a parent.
- It will only be possible to send messages to people they follow or are friends with.
- Parents get the opportunity to see who their children have send messages with.
- Teenagers can select age-appropriate topics that they want to see more of – and parents can see the selected topics.
- Parents can adjust time settings and restrict access completely.
- The app goes into ‘Sleep Mode’ at 22-7.
To ensure that young people do not lie about their age, Instagram requires them to verify their age.
The new profiles should reportedly be fully rolled out in the beginning of 2025.
Source: TV2
2. Meta updates its ad options for the holidays
Not only do the cold temperatures remind us that winter and the holidays are fast approaching, but Meta is also doing the same with its new advertising options. These should give companies greater opportunity to reach their goals and target groups in the run up to Christmas.
The updates and additions include, among other things, that discount codes will be automatically added at checkout if the ad notification is clicked – and in general it will be possible to make your discount codes more visible in the ads.
It has also become possible to clarify when an offer, sale or similar ends with new prompts.
In addition, you can also add links to several different landing pages on the same post. And for those of you who would like to attract more people to the company’s physical store, there is a new campaign type that targets the users who are most likely to shop in these locations. It’s also possible to target tourists who are considering Christmas activities in your local area.
Small updates that can potentially make a big difference to your Christmas sales.
Source: Social Media Today
3. Virtual influencers are becoming more and more popular
AI is to be found pretty much everywhere – also in the world of influencers. Not just as a tool for influencers, but as definite influencers. If you haven’t come across one of these virtual influencers, visit Lil Miquela on Instagram. She currently has 2.5 million followers and regularly shares her (AI) life – just like any other influencer.
For several years, it has been popular among companies to use human influencers to promote their brand or product. And gradually this has developed to the point that some also use the virtual ones.
The advantages of these are that they are not limited by working hours, are more cost-effective and can be tailored to the individual company – and as the technology advances, quality, price and speed only get better. However, there are also disadvantages: they are easy to manipulate, are biased, can face copyright problems and have difficulty demonstrating more complex products.
It’s all still a very new concept, and when it comes to trust, the human influencer takes the first place.
Source: Marketing Dive
4. Reddit adds AI features to Ads Manager
Reddit just announced new AI and automation tools aimed at making it easier to market on the platform, streamlining ad creation and improving performance.
The first tool is an inspiration library based on AI and automation that can generate a collection of the best performing ads and practices in your industry.
Another tool is an AI copywriting tool that can write ad copy for you – based on target audience and other campaign inputs.
Finally, there is an auto-crop tool that automatically crops your images to fit the recommended viewing ratio.
The tools are especially beneficial for new users of Reddit ads – but anyone can benefit from them if you want to streamline the time you spend on campaigns.
Source: Search Engine Journal
5. TikTok introduces new misinformation measurement
To ensure advertisers that their content is not displayed alongside misleading content, TikTok has expanded their third-party misinformation measurement.
Their three third-party brand safety and suitability measurement partners now can offer advertisers post-campaign misinformation reporting regarding the content that appears before and after their ads in the For You Feed.
The extension must ensure advertisers that their brands remain credible and are not associated with misinformation.
The tracking of such information has become more advanced in recent years using AI as well as optimized processes – and through initial tests, TikTok concludes that their misinformation rate is low when it comes to the content that appears next to advertisers.
The major social media tend to infect each other – so it will be interesting to see if other players, such as Meta, are going down the same lane.
Source: Social Media Today