If June is a harbinger of what’s to come, then this is going to be one wild, hold-on-to-your-hat summer. Change is in the air for digital marketers.
Here are just a few of the top stories you can’t afford to miss:
- MUM is the new word in the world of AI
- AMP is no longer necessary (and maybe not desirable)
- Google isn’t afraid of the Cookie Monster
Let’s stop talking about it and get into it. Here’s the latest news you can use from Stukent.
- Youtube Offering $100M To Shorts Creators
- Introducing MUM: An AI Milestone
- Google Amp No Longer Required
- Shopify Has a New Partner
- Welcome to Twitter Spaces
- Google Gets Ready for Cookie Depreciation
- LinkedIn Launches Boost Option for Posts
- Replaced: Structured Data Testing Tool
Youtube Offering $100M To Shorts Creators
Topic: E-commerce | Social Media Advertising
Key Point: YouTube is promoting the new “Shorts” feature with a $100M payout set aside for creators. Who is eligible to participate? YOU ARE. All you need to do is launch a Short viewers love and share. Thousands of creators will get tapped monthly (chosen by the amount of engagement and views) for a “reward.”
You can find out how to get started with the new short-form video rage via this YouTube Help page. Check to see what others are doing via the YouTube mobile app. Right now, the Shorts link is on the bottom menu bar. If you don’t see it there, keep looking. Shorts is in beta, so sudden changes should be expected.
Read all about it on the YouTube Blog.
Alternatively, watch the announcement on YouTube Creator Insider channel.
Discussion Idea
Is it really possible for a non-celebrity to qualify for a Shorts reward? What would a higher-probability Short look like? What topic would it cover?
ALSO SEE: YouTube Shorts Take On TikTok
Introducing MUM: An AI Milestone
Topic: Search Technology | Digital Marketing Developments
Key Point: Google says a new technology known as MUM (Multitask Unified Model) can potentially “transform how Google helps you with complex tasks.” At the current development level, MUM can understand and generate 75 different languages.
From helping a search engine deliver better results when complex questions are asked to making information written in a language foreign to the researcher more accessible, MUM may certainly be, as Google says, “A new AI milestone.”
To find out more about MUM, check this Google Blog announcement.
Then check the John Lincoln video below.
Discussion Idea
Is Google’s excitement about MUM technology a bit overhyped, or is it justified? Brainstorm to think of additional applications for MUM.
Google AMP No Longer Required
Topic: SEO | E-commerce
Key Point: With the Core Web Vitals update plan underway, Google says AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) markup is no longer required for a page to appear in the Top Stories carousel or in the Google News app. Nor will Google display the AMP icon in Search or give special recognition to AMP-powered pages.
The Plausible Blog reported on that story recently and made a rather eye-opening claim: “Your site can be faster than AMP without using AMP.” If you’re one of those digital marketers who never liked AMP in the first place, this development should be welcome news.
Discussion Idea
What is AMP? Why will the new update render AMP unnecessary for many websites?
Shopify Has A New Partner
Topic: E-commerce
Key Point: Google teamed up with Spotify to provide ready access for Shopify users to Google Search and other Google-owned channels. The plan is for the Google Shopping Graph to pull data directly from Shopify sellers. On the Shopify side of the plan, Smart Shopping campaigns connect merchants with Google properties, YouTube included.
Question: Why did Google choose Shopify for this special relationship? To put the heat on Amazon, says AndroidCentral.
The news prompted Forbes to issue a warning to Amazon and Walmart, saying “Google’s new partnership with Shopify SHOP +1% is a direct challenge to both Amazon’s and Walmart’s marketplaces.”
Discussion Idea
Why do you think Google chose Shopify as a partner? Will the move be a giant win or a major flop?
ALSO SEE: Hey Google, Install Shopify Payments
Welcome To Twitter Spaces
Topic: Social Media Marketing
Key Point: Twitter says the new Spaces feature enables users to “have live audio conversations on Twitter.” Others say Spaces is Twitter’s response to the rapid growth and popularity of the Clubhouse app.
Either way, Spaces is now in the early launch phase and accessible via the Twitter app for both Android and iOS users.
Non-mobile users can listen, but not participate, in a Space right now, but that could change rapidly. You can find out how to use Spaces and gain access to the Twitter Spaces FAQ by visiting this page in the Twitter Help Center.
Google Gets Ready For Cookie Depreciation
Topic: SEO | E-commerce
Key Point: Posts from the recent Google Marketing Livestream stress the actions Google is taking to “prepare for what’s next.” And a big part of the foreseeable future is the rush towards “privacy-safe advertising technology.”
There is “good news,” says this post on the Google Ads & Commerce Blog. Privacy enhancement doesn’t mean loss of business. Marketing Dive picked up on that mantra to consider how Google is helping keep e-commerce alive despite ad cookie crackdowns.
Discussion Idea
Given the cookie crackdown, what can businesses that rely on e-commerce do to maintain their ability to reach customers online?
LinkedIn Launches Boost Option For Posts
Topic: Social Media Marketing | E-commerce
Key Point: Facebook isn’t the only place you can “boost” a post. LinkedIn now offers a Boost feature you can access from your LinkedIn Page. Create a post you think could gain traction, click the Boost button above the post, pay for the service, and watch your audience reach grow.
The Boost option is still in the rollout stage, so there are some restrictions in place: your post can contain just one image, campaigns are billed by number of impressions only (no pay-per-click), and you can boost any particular post just one time. Like Facebook, LinkedIn gives you some fairly robust targeting options to work with.
Here’s where to get further information: Reach more people with Boosting.
ALSO SEE: Mind-Blowing LinkedIn Stats
Replaces: Structured Data Testing Tool
Topic: SEO
Key Point: Google announced the retirement of the Structured Data Testing Tool (SDTT), but it appears the tool has come back to life on Schema.org with the beta launch of the new Schema Markup Validator (SMV).
After discussing the history of the move, the reason for the move, and then giving a bit of information concerning strategy, this Coywolf article pronounced the new SMV simpler to use than the SDTT.
What’s your vote? Will the SMV really be easier to use, or is this primarily a way for Google to hand some of the heavy lifting over to Schema.org?
Discussion Idea
Why is schema markup important in the first place? Will the new tool make the process easier?
ALSO SEE: A Schema.org replacement for the SDTT
Here Comes the Summer of 2021!
We may be in for a hot, hot summer (weather aside). It’s “Out with the old, and in with the new” time, and digital marketers are leading the charge.
Are you with them?
Can you stand the heat?
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