SOCIAL
YouTube Looks to Improve Live Shopping with Scheduled Product Drops
YouTube’s looking to improve its live-stream product listings with a new process for uploading product details that can be scheduled to appear at a set time, as opposed to uploading all of your product info ahead of the actual stream.
As it stands right now, if a creator wants to showcase a product within a live stream, they have to upload the product details before going live, which makes it difficult to maximize interest and excitement for the stream itself.
With this new process, creators will be able to schedule a time, within YouTube Studio, for the product to appear, which will help to feed into this element.
As explained by YouTube:
“With Product Drops, creators will be able to release products for the first time during a livestream, without disclosing them before the drop moment. Creators with connected Shopify stores or direct access to the Google Merchant Center of their connected stores will be able to set up Product Drops on YouTube using the Live Control Room.”
As you can see in the above screenshot, creators will be able to set-up the relevant product details in the YouTube Live Control Room, including the date and time when you want a product listing to go live.
“Viewers will be able to see a mystery product tagged at the product shelf and product list until it gets revealed. As the product gets close to its availability date and time, you’ll see a timer bar under the drop title and description. You’ll be able to pin the product to the chat at or after the drop time.”
It could be a good way to maximize hype, while also getting more people tuning into your live streams, and sticking around for the big reveal.
It’s hard to tell as yet whether live shopping is going to become a bigger deal for western consumers. Live shopping is huge in China, bringing in close to $400 billion in the region in 2022 alone, which is equivalent to almost half of all eCommerce spending in the US last year.
Yet, it hasn’t resonated with western users, with Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all scaling back their live shopping ambitions of late.
But Pinterest is still pushing ahead, and YouTube has seen some good indicators – and maybe, with the right tools in place, it could still become a thing.
YouTube’s product scheduling option will be available to all YouTube channels that meet its shopping eligibility criteria, while all live-stream viewers in shopping-enabled regions will be able to purchase a product drop from a creator with access.
You can find more details about the setup process in the Google Merchant Center.
SOCIAL
Snapchat Explores New Messaging Retention Feature: A Game-Changer or Risky Move?
In a recent announcement, Snapchat revealed a groundbreaking update that challenges its traditional design ethos. The platform is experimenting with an option that allows users to defy the 24-hour auto-delete rule, a feature synonymous with Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging model.
The proposed change aims to introduce a “Never delete” option in messaging retention settings, aligning Snapchat more closely with conventional messaging apps. While this move may blur Snapchat’s distinctive selling point, Snap appears convinced of its necessity.
According to Snap, the decision stems from user feedback and a commitment to innovation based on user needs. The company aims to provide greater flexibility and control over conversations, catering to the preferences of its community.
Currently undergoing trials in select markets, the new feature empowers users to adjust retention settings on a conversation-by-conversation basis. Flexibility remains paramount, with participants able to modify settings within chats and receive in-chat notifications to ensure transparency.
Snapchat underscores that the default auto-delete feature will persist, reinforcing its design philosophy centered on ephemerality. However, with the app gaining traction as a primary messaging platform, the option offers users a means to preserve longer chat histories.
The update marks a pivotal moment for Snapchat, renowned for its disappearing message premise, especially popular among younger demographics. Retaining this focus has been pivotal to Snapchat’s identity, but the shift suggests a broader strategy aimed at diversifying its user base.
This strategy may appeal particularly to older demographics, potentially extending Snapchat’s relevance as users age. By emulating features of conventional messaging platforms, Snapchat seeks to enhance its appeal and broaden its reach.
Yet, the introduction of message retention poses questions about Snapchat’s uniqueness. While addressing user demands, the risk of diluting Snapchat’s distinctiveness looms large.
As Snapchat ventures into uncharted territory, the outcome of this experiment remains uncertain. Will message retention propel Snapchat to new heights, or will it compromise the platform’s uniqueness?
Only time will tell.
SOCIAL
Catering to specific audience boosts your business, says accountant turned coach
While it is tempting to try to appeal to a broad audience, the founder of alcohol-free coaching service Just the Tonic, Sandra Parker, believes the best thing you can do for your business is focus on your niche. Here’s how she did just that.
When running a business, reaching out to as many clients as possible can be tempting. But it also risks making your marketing “too generic,” warns Sandra Parker, the founder of Just The Tonic Coaching.
“From the very start of my business, I knew exactly who I could help and who I couldn’t,” Parker told My Biggest Lessons.
Parker struggled with alcohol dependence as a young professional. Today, her business targets high-achieving individuals who face challenges similar to those she had early in her career.
“I understand their frustrations, I understand their fears, and I understand their coping mechanisms and the stories they’re telling themselves,” Parker said. “Because of that, I’m able to market very effectively, to speak in a language that they understand, and am able to reach them.”Â
“I believe that it’s really important that you know exactly who your customer or your client is, and you target them, and you resist the temptation to make your marketing too generic to try and reach everyone,” she explained.
“If you speak specifically to your target clients, you will reach them, and I believe that’s the way that you’re going to be more successful.
Watch the video for more of Sandra Parker’s biggest lessons.
SOCIAL
Instagram Tests Live-Stream Games to Enhance Engagement
Instagram’s testing out some new options to help spice up your live-streams in the app, with some live broadcasters now able to select a game that they can play with viewers in-stream.
As you can see in these example screens, posted by Ahmed Ghanem, some creators now have the option to play either “This or That”, a question and answer prompt that you can share with your viewers, or “Trivia”, to generate more engagement within your IG live-streams.
That could be a simple way to spark more conversation and interaction, which could then lead into further engagement opportunities from your live audience.
Meta’s been exploring more ways to make live-streaming a bigger consideration for IG creators, with a view to live-streams potentially catching on with more users.
That includes the gradual expansion of its “Stars” live-stream donation program, giving more creators in more regions a means to accept donations from live-stream viewers, while back in December, Instagram also added some new options to make it easier to go live using third-party tools via desktop PCs.
Live streaming has been a major shift in China, where shopping live-streams, in particular, have led to massive opportunities for streaming platforms. They haven’t caught on in the same way in Western regions, but as TikTok and YouTube look to push live-stream adoption, there is still a chance that they will become a much bigger element in future.
Which is why IG is also trying to stay in touch, and add more ways for its creators to engage via streams. Live-stream games is another element within this, which could make this a better community-building, and potentially sales-driving option.
We’ve asked Instagram for more information on this test, and we’ll update this post if/when we hear back.
Google Core Update Volatility, Helpful Content Update Gone, Dangerous Google Search Results & Google Ads Confusion
10 Paid Search & PPC Planning Best Practices
2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 2
5 Psychological Tactics to Write Better Emails
Weekend Google Core Ranking Volatility
The power of program management in martech
WordPress Releases A Performance Plugin For “Near-Instant Load Times”
Critical Display Error in Brand Safety Metrics On Twitter/X Corrected
Daily Search Forum Recap: April 15, 2024
20 Neuromarketing Techniques & Triggers for Better-Converting Copy
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days agoGoogle Core Update Volatility, Helpful Content Update Gone, Dangerous Google Search Results & Google Ads Confusion
-
SEO6 days ago10 Paid Search & PPC Planning Best Practices
-
MARKETING7 days ago2 Ways to Take Back the Power in Your Business: Part 2
-
MARKETING5 days ago5 Psychological Tactics to Write Better Emails
-
SEARCHENGINES5 days agoWeekend Google Core Ranking Volatility
-
MARKETING6 days agoThe power of program management in martech
-
SEO5 days agoWordPress Releases A Performance Plugin For “Near-Instant Load Times”
-
PPC7 days agoCritical Display Error in Brand Safety Metrics On Twitter/X Corrected
