Welcome
Stay ahead of the game when it comes to digital advertising, learn how to maximize your Meta performance, and understand how X can help you achieve results this holiday season.
AI and Privacy Drive Change
Digital advertising has been with us for over 30 years – and during this time, it has evolved to meet emerging digital habits, multimedia trends, and new channels. Each year, new features are introduced, and older features are optimized, with an intention to provide the most results-driven experience.
Here are some of the top developments of 2024 – which provide excellent inspiration as you engage your 2025 planning:
- All About Privacy: We’ve noted in previous editions of Strategic Shifts that a transition to increasingly privacy-compliant digital advertisements is the future. The prioritization of first-party data, data collection transparency, and alternate targeting are paving the way. Our campaigns have benefitted from contextual targeting inclusions – which align relevant ads to similar content for a boost in engagement metrics that meet individuals in the right mindset.
- The Rise of AI: From audience targeting and data analysis to content suggestions and A/B testing automations, AI is here to stay and having quite the impact on delivering hyper-personalized advertising experiences and elevated metrics. Meta has been leading the charge with its Meta Advantage+, a suite of features designed to automate and enhance ads. Updates include enhanced targeting options, creative optimizations, performance predictions, dynamic ads, and automated budget allocation.
- Leveraging Influence: Influencer marketing offers brands a valuable way to engage niche networks through trusted voices. Longer-term brand and influencer relationships, a shift to micro and nano-influencers, and the need for authenticity are at the forefront of influencer marketing trends in 2024. For public sector marketing, collaborating with micro and nano-influencers in aligning industries is at the core of an impactful program. These small but mighty followings can have a significant influence on organization objectives and outcomes. Additionally, there has also been a shift in the channels influencers are leveraging – creating more opportunities in the public affairs world to connect with key audiences.
- In On Audio: Audio advertising has been growing significantly in recent years, including streaming radio, podcasts, and sports channels. With more than two-thirds of Americans listening to podcasts, it has become a premiere advertising opportunity, connecting with active and engaged listeners during their nearly five hours of digital audio each day.
Meta has unveiled brand safety updates for Facebook and Instagram, offering advertisers greater control over ad placement and engagement. Advertisers can now disable comments on ads before they go live, perfect for managing sensitive campaigns. Plus, ad placement can be managed by blocking certain profiles to enhance brand safety. Meta also allows collaboration with partners to create custom block lists, providing peace of mind and more strategic control over future ad partnerships.
Innovate with Creative Features
Meta turned heads at Advertising Week with its latest ad innovations aimed to enhance creative engagement and expand reach. Here’s a list of new features:
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The “Image Animation” tool allows advertisers to transform static images into dynamic Instagram Reels.
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The “Video Expansion” tool enables brands to boost reach by reformatting video assets, a feature that has been refined for over a year.
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“Collection ads” now feature creator content to connect marketers with a wider audience.
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The “Partnership Ads Hub” offers advertisers an overview of all partner promotions, ensuring a comprehensive view and seamless coordination.
At its recent Restaurants Summit in Chicago, Meta dished out some tasty advertising insights:
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The increase in “Webrooming,” where consumers research online before buying, has nearly doubled, signaling a shift in buyer behavior.
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74 percent of adults prefer to chat with businesses via DMs, similar to chatting with friends.
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Meta’s AI-powered “Advantage+” campaigns are enhancing revenue, offering $4.52 for every dollar spent.
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Restaurant ads featuring human connections and vibrant packaging are 81 percent more effective than their competitors.
Your digital advertising just got a whole lot smarter with these updated tools and marketing insights. Happy campaigning!
Maximizing LinkedIn: CEOs Build Trust and Community
To elevate their online profiles and meet rising demand for regular communications with their digital communities, CEOs are increasingly turning to LinkedIn. There has been a 35 percent increase in C-suite professionals in the U.S. on LinkedIn in the past five years and a 23 percent increase in their posts. The results are promising: CEOs experience four times the engagement compared to other LinkedIn members and can anticipate a 39 percent boost in followers after posting, as the Financial Times reported. The article continues to describe the impact of using LinkedIn to build trust and connection, while carefully balancing personal and professional life highlights. Video stands out as the most engaging medium for creating genuine connections, and we are here to help with your overall executive social strategy and video creation needs.
Trimming Templates on LinkedIn
To ensure a continued personalized experience on LinkedIn, they have removed less popular “celebrate an occasion” templated posts. While popular celebrations like New Position, Work Anniversary, and Project Launch remain – here is the list of templates that are no longer available: Appreciation, Welcome, Milestone, Award, Celebrate Event, Graduation, Skill Assessment Badge, and Product/Service Announcement. Previous posts with these templates will no longer be accessible either. Users can continue to share their own posts to acknowledge these milestones, without the templates.
Lead Gen Objective Added to Quick Boosts
A lead generation objective has been added to LinkedIn’s quick boost feature – though the objective has long been available in the standard campaign setup. Previously restricted to only reach or engagement with the boost, adding lead generation allows for a form template to be added to an organic post to build your contact list. This increased functionality provides a snappy way for LinkedIn marketing to be maximized on the fly.
X followed through with their September announcement to change how users can (or can’t) “block” others on the platform. X marks the move as pro-transparency, while critics say it puts some at risk, like victims of abuse or stalking. To make sure your X’s are kept off the map, make your posts and profile private.
Are you wondering how you’ll reach the roughly 500 million monthly users on X this holiday season? Well, X has your back. If your brand’s audience is on X, chances are you know a bit about how to effectively engage users on the platform – but now you have the real deal playbook. This guide gives you the what, when, and why behind optimized X content.
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What digital advertising features are you planning to implement in 2025?
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