Weekly Digital Breakdown – 8.27.20
Weekly Digital Breakdown
Aug 27 2020
Facebook Makes Shopping Easier
This week, Facebook officially launched a tab within its app for Facebook Shop, which was previously debuted as an upcoming feature in May, as they continue to boost their ecommerce initiative offerings. The Shops tab will be similar to the Instagram Shop tab and allows users to find and purchase products without leaving the app. A dedicated Shopping tab will be housed in the options menu and will be customized with products from brands the user follows or similar options that may be of interest.
Shop displays are also getting an update with new customization options for design layout and product feature abilities, messaging features, and additional measurement tools for performance. These advancements come in addition to Facebook now enabling shop owners to host and monetize virtual events as a means to drive additional exposure and revenue.
Facebook’s continued focus on ecommerce features highlight the next major push for the social media giant. As shopping online becomes more essential, Facebook is working to be a reliable resource for consumer confidence.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/25/21399858/facebook-shop-app-update-sell-product-instagram
YouTube Relies on Automated Technology For Content Violations
YouTube released a Community Guidelines Enforcement report to specifically address violations and content removals from April to June 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, the company noted that in order to protect employees and extended workforce due to health concerns, they relied more heavily on technology for content monitoring to quickly identify and remove anything that was deemed inappropriate. The automated process resulted in the highest removal of videos in a single quarter from YouTube.
They continued to explain while some decisions were made in error with the lack of human judgement, they chose to err on the side of caution and remove any potential violative content as quickly as possible as a necessary precaution. As a result, the total videos removed in Q2 was nearly double those removed in Q1 and 75% were flagged before 10 views. However the number of channels terminated stayed consistent.
YouTube noted that despite the known issues with the process, they will continue to rely on this system while COVID-19 concerns remain in place.
Facebook Warns of Apple Updates Impact on Advertisers
Apple and Facebook are at odds over impending iOS 14 updates expected next month and they are making their contention public. Facebook issued a statement specifically addressing how Apple’s changes could limit the platform’s ability to deliver targeted ads with accuracy or possibly at all for Audience Network advertisers. The increased inaccuracy would result in lower available inventory, unreliable reporting and lower CPMs. Based on initial testing, Facebook predicts more than a 50% drop in Audience Network publisher revenue.
The specific iOS 14 update that causes concern is the Identifier for Advertisers (IDAF) which enables app owners to track user data within an app with the exclusion of their personal details. While users have always had the ability to opt-out of IDFA tracking, iOS 14 will change the process to instead require opt-in. With many unlikely to do so, app developers that rely on user data could be significantly impacted as well as those that advertise on their platforms.
Facebook concluded their statement with a commitment of time and resources into the situation as they help navigate this hurdle. However, it appears the impact is out of their control for the foreseeable future.
