Platform Updates you Need to Know: March 2019 Edition
Is it summer yet? While a warmer forecast is near, these platform updates will be sure to distract you from those winter chills. Think about ditching that winter jacket as you shop through Pinterest’s new shoppable pins, or watch the waves roll over the sand on Facebook’s new premium video’s or flip through Twitter’s 2019 Moment’s calendar to see how you can prepare for the warmer days ahead.
Spring shopping? Pinterest is ready for you!
Inspiring users to take action, Pinterest released updates for a more desirable shopping destination. Already a go-to for
Pinterest’s, head of retail strategy shared, “The more we’re able to give consumers the path to actually buying the item [that] they just got excited about, the easier it is for retailers to use their current attribution or measurement tools to see that path.”
How does it work? Users will now be served personalized ads, showing them items based on what they’re saving, shopping results at the top of a search page and a new section for retailers like Room and Board, showcasing even more items from brands.
Here are some other helpful tips when preparing your Pinterest Campaign:
- Starting your Pinterest Campaign or wanting to improve current performance? Check out these Five essential tips for great pins
- Pinterest is inherently visual—so it’s important to get your images right. You’ll see better performance if you follow these guidelines for image sizing and quality.
Introducing Facebook Showcase
Facebook’s video ecosystem is growing (again). Facebook Showcase is a new premium video ad program offering an opportunity to accurately reach audiences who are becoming harder to find on TV. Campaigns can be targeted by demographic and content category and are found within high quality long-form video content.
Available for campaign targeting (US audiences only) and includes three different products:
- In-stream Reserve: A selection of engaging high-quality videos
- In-stream Reserve Categories: Think contextually relevant content like sports, food, and news
- Sponsorships: Offering exclusive programs within specific shows
YouTube
YouTube clarifies their online giveaway policies.
Don’t worry, YouTube isn’t banning giveaways, but they are cracking down on inflated engagement metrics. Over the past few weeks, the YouTube community has noticed that giveaway videos on YouTube are being flagged. Interested in learning more? Check out the latest on YouTube’s
Google moves to first-price auction
Over the next few months Google’s Ad Manager is moving to a ‘first-price’ auction. Knowing this will change in buyers and sellers’ programmatic strategies, rest assure, Google will be giving everyone time to prepare before they start testing over the next few months.
What does this mean for advertisers within the Google ecosystem?
Here’s what we know from Google, “Every offer from programmatic buyers will compete in the same unified auction, alongside inventory which is directly negotiated with advertisers. An advertising buyer’s bid will not be shared with another buyer before the auction or be able to set the price for another buyer. The buyer that wins the auction pays the price they bid. By simplifying our auction in Ad Manager, we can help make it easier for publishers and app developers to manage and get fair value for their inventory.”
New lingo update
Introducing a simpler name for Google’s app ad solution. Previously known as “Universal App campaigns”. Google has decided to simplify the name to “App campaigns”. The change in name will not affect features or functionality, and no action is required.
App campaigns will join, Search, Display, Video, Shopping and Smart as the top-level campaign names available in Google Ads.
Content planning Calendar
If you haven’t downloaded the 2019 Twitter Moments Calendar, there’s still time. While you may have missed out on National Popcorn Day or National Love Your Pet Day (hard to believe this isn’t every day 
), there’s always time for content inspiration.
Objective-Based Advertising
We all knew that with the marriage of Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn, platform changes would follow. While some accounts were given a sneak peek at what’s to come, the testing has come to an end and as of March 4th
Not only is the platform upgrade sleek in design and usability, but its main purpose is to ultimately deliver better results for you as an advertiser.
Here are some new look and feels:
An embedded Objective S
A Forecasting Results window built right into Campaign Manager. The window generates expected campaign performance details in real time as you select various campaign details during campaign set-up. The Forecasted Results provide an estimate of target audience size, projected spend, impressions, clicks and estimated KPIs related to your selected objective.
New Audience Targeting
Interest targeting on LinkedIn is now available for all! Allowing you to market to members who show interest in specific topic categories. Also coming soon, lookalikes. The initial rollout will be based on Matched Audiences. So, if you’re already familiar with Matched Audiences’, you’ll soon be able to find high-value in creating a lookalike audience.
Quick Recap
- Pinterest = More shopping capabilities for all
- Facebook = Introduces Showcase for premium video advertisers
- YouTube = Giveaways are still alive and well
- Google = Pivots to a first-price auction
- Twitter = Get inspired with 2019 Twitter Moments Calendar
- LinkedIn = Campaign Manager now Objective-Based Advertising
If you are looking to get inspired for spring, improve your current social results or have
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