Meta’s Horizon Worlds Expand to Mobile & Web Via Closed Beta Test

Despite previous reports claiming that less than 1,000 DAUs are using Meta’s $36 billion virtual metaverse platform, the company has released a closed beta test of Horizon Worlds for cellphones. The tech behemoth continues to work on bringing Horizon Worlds to mobile and the web. Similar to Rec Room, it allows users to design their own VR social games and experiences by placing and rearranging shapes using controllers. In order to create fluid functionality, it also offers a visual coding system.

Joining a queue for the closed beta test will give people another entry point into Meta’s virtual reality social setting. Meta anticipates that soon users will interact with their avatars in a variety of brand-new ways for a growing number of activities. It will welcome them into the larger metaverse experience and promote more VR adoption. The firm explained on the registration site that “more worlds are coming soon,” adding that “we are slowly rolling out worlds to mobile and web users as we ensure a great experience on mobile and web.” The firm’s virtual reality world, named Super Rumble, will soon be available on both mobile and web, it added.

Read More: Meta Adopts Consent Policy for Targeted Ads Data in Europe

Horizon Worlds on Mobile and Web

More people will be able to interact in Meta’s cutting-edge digital world thanks to the release of Horizon Worlds on mobile. It is anticipated that it will serve as the starting point for advanced social interaction. It will work like smartphone gaming apps, allowing users to move their avatar around the screen and communicate with other VR players. Although the lack of legs in the VR avatars continues to cause players to despair, Meta is still ironing out some of the presentational quirks.

Horizon Worlds will be accessible on Android devices via the current Meta Quest app. However iPhone users can only utilize the web-based version. This is probably because of Apple’s policy prohibiting apps from serving as games.

A look at Meta Horizon Worlds Mobile (running on Pixel 6a) pic.twitter.com/c4eJHJJG7o

— Luna (@Lunayian) August 25, 2023

Read More: Advertise Your Brand in the Metaverse: The Future of Digital Advertising

Super Rumble – the only accessible game

Super Rumble is the debut arena-style shooter game to be made available on mobile devices by Meta’s first-party company Ouro Interactive. Additionally, it is the only Horizon World currently using TypeScript, 3D asset imports, and the platform’s anticipated next generation creator tools.

Meta on bringing games to mobile and the web

Mobile and online development for Meta’s virtual reality game platform is still in its infancy. They are also aiming to make more worlds accessible. As they keep testing the experience, Meta clarifies that not all content will be accessible to everyone. Meta will have a better chance of growing Horizon Worlds’ user base by bringing problematic apps to mobile and online devices. Additionally, it will have a chance to achieve its long-term objectives of increased metaverse development and broad VR acceptance.

Meta wants to tap into how the next cohort of consumers are used to conducting their regular social contacts through mobile connections in a game-like environment. Nowadays, kids don’t ride bicycles to a nearby park to meet up like they used to. Instead, they now connect with their buddies mostly online in game environments like Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft. According to Meta, the next gen will be eager to broaden such interactions into a wider range of activities. Consumers may eventually transition to bigger settings and immersive VR experiences thanks to the Horizon Worlds mobile experience.

Advancing to the next phase

Recent media attention has focused on Meta’s planned release of their Quest 3 VR headset. It is scheduled to go on sale this fall. Meta is attempting to attract curious mobile users and VR players. It is releasing the new generation headset concurrently with the Horizon smartphone application. It is a vital step towards promoting the metaverse. The metaverse may still be on the horizon even though it hasn’t yet attracted the attention of key adopters. Another bridge leading to the next level is this one.

Read More: Lemma and Maxamtech partner to offer real-world DOOH clients Metaverse Billboards

Advertise Your Brand in the Metaverse: The Future of Digital Advertising

The world is expanding beyond the physical boundaries of humans. Metaverse is one such example! Metaverse is a virtual world that can be accessed using augmented reality and virtual reality headsets.

Facebook Introduced Metaverse to make social interaction realistic. Although events happen in virtual reality, they feel natural. It has opened numerous doors of opportunities for businesses across the world. Users are purchasing lands, and building real estate by creating their avatars. Therefore, it opened a doorway of opportunities for brands to advertise their products.

Metaverse has generated numerous possibilities. Brands are eager to grab this opportunity and explore futuristic ways to create an everlasting impact on their audiences in this new virtual universe. Thus, the time is opportune to get started and establish a milestone in the metaverse.

The concept of the metaverse is not new. It was first coined in the year 1992 in a science fiction novel “Snow Crash”. The term was used to describe a fictional or advanced universe. A virtual land filled with opportunities!

Since then, the word creates an image in the mind of readers painted with the world of a sci-fi movie. It created an image of new possibilities and advancement. As we proceed, we will discuss the area of possibilities and opportunities of advertising in the metaverse.

Guide to getting started with advertising in the Metaverse

We have learned that the metaverse is an augmented reality designed by humans to expand the horizon of their experiences. Virtual reality promises far more than what we can experience in our physical reality. Therefore, it will not be false to say that advertising will require additional efforts in the virtual world.

Metaverse is a promise! It is a leap in the future beyond imagination. Therefore, to make your brand worthy of advertising in the Meta-universe, brands must re-invent. They must re-think and re-evaluate their brand following the new reality. Advertisers must design their campaigns following their virtual audiences.

Metaverse has been evaluated to be a trillion-dollar market. No one can have it all! Thus, everyone will get a chance to sustain the audience by using the best creative minds in the market.

 

Factors to be considered before advertising in Metaverse

Before we get started with our advertising endeavor in Metaworld, we must understand the area of opportunities. As every game has its own rules, so does metaverse. Here we are listing some key categories that one can try their hands on if they are planning to start their journey with advertising in Metaverse.

Expansible: Metaverse is a multi-million business due to the presence of millions of people on the platform. People are creating their avatars and coexisting in the metaverse.

Easy to access: The world is accessible to all without any boundaries. You can be of any age and ethnicity. You can belong to any region or background, metaverse will provide you with similar opportunities.

Social hive: Metaverse is the key attraction for people. Everyone in the metaverse is trying to explore possibilities. Therefore, this could be the best time for brands to step in and establish themselves through fine-crafted advertising in the virtual universe.

Unique content: Users are using interactive and immersive content. It is helping to shape the virtual reality of the metaverse. Users are exploring the boundaries of the Metaverse and trying to achieve goals that they find unattainable in the physical world.

Patching the gap: Metaverse gives their users a real-world experience where they can interact with one another, explore products and enjoy the services. Therefore, this makes the metaverse a perfect place for advertising.

Understanding Metaverse:

Before we start advertising in the metaverse, it is crucial to understand the basics. These basics will help advertisers to portray their products effectively. The word Metaverse is a combination of “Meta” meaning beyond, and “Verse” meaning universe. It is often defined as the land of opportunities and origin. Using the virtual world as a platform to portray their products, brands will no longer be enslaved or will feel bounded. They will have maximum opportunity to sell their products to the consumers.
The possibilities in the metaverse are endless, and users can multitask. It gives the virtual world an edge over the physical world. For example, users can purchase from their favorite brands while attending concerts or dining at their favorite restaurants.

Here are some terms that advertisers should familiarize themselves with as they start advertising in the metaverse.

Virtual Reality (VR): Virtual reality is a simulated reality created using a 3D technique. It is similar to a hologram. However, unlike a hologram, people can see their projected avatars and other avatars in a 360-degree virtual simulated environment. Using head-mounted devices (AR/VR) users can sense, feel, and get audio feedback. This experience is interactive and immersive.
The technology is still maturing, and we might get past the limitations of VR headsets in the future.

Augmented Reality (AR): AR is a technology that uses computer-generated imaging. These images are superimposed to achieve a single image. This image occupies physical space in the real world. To enhance the immersion, sound and visuals are added.

Mixed reality(MR): Using the technology of AR and VR, mixed reality is designed. Mixed reality lets users interact with artificial content in the real world. AR and VR are the components of mixed reality. These create a bridge between the real and digital worlds.

Extended Reality (XR): Extended reality is a step forward. It is created by immersion in AR, VR and MR technologies. XR enhances the experiences through a bridge between human and machine interaction.

Avatars: The word is self-explanatory, and most of us have already seen the movie “Avatar”. The phenomenon is the same as it was in the movie. In the metaverse, one can create an avatar and experience virtual reality using these avatars.

Blockchain: A method enabling digital security and storage of digital data. This data can be stored on a local server or over the cloud. The technology has been proven successful and empowers cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin. It has also proven to be helpful in the succession of NFTs in the metaverse.

Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrencies are virtual currencies. They are used for payments in the virtual world. These currencies are usually stored in digital wallets. To make the storage and transaction secure blockchain technology is used. Some common examples of cryptocurrencies are Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc.

 

Non-Fugible Tokens (NFTs): These are unique assets(digital) stored in blockchain. These represent real-life products/items such as art, music, and other collectible items. You will gain true ownership of these items in the digital world.

Trends Of Advertising In Metaverse

We have already understood the scope of opportunities and possibilities in the metaverse. However, it is crucial to understand the ways and trends that will help us to advertise in the virtual world. Metaverse is still at its inception. It will not be unjust to say that it is still a sampling, and calculating its true potential will not be justifiable. Therefore, in this evolving technology one must understand the ongoing traits and trends.

Virtual Influencers: We have already seen the power of influence marketing. Platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat have already proven the possibilities and impact of influence marketing. Similarly, metaverse empowers brands to choose their favorite influencers and create a high-impacting campaign. These campaigns are not only effective but also cost-efficient. Dior, Valentino, and Calvin Klien are using influencers like Imma, Shudu, and Lil Miquela to advertise their products in the virtual universe. R3 a marketing consultancy has already emphasized the impact of influencer marketing in the metaverse. Therefore, it is a proven technique to establish your brand in the virtual universe using influencer advertising.

Events In Metaverse: We all understand the value of advertising at major events. Concerts, summits, Super Bowl, and sports events gather huge audiences. Therefore, placing your products or campaigning with a full-time advertisement help to create an impact on consumers.
Ariana Grande, Lil Nas, and Travis Scott’s concerts gathered millions of fans. Hence, creating huge revenues for the brands.

MetaCommerce: People love to follow trends not just in the physical world but also in the metaverse. Users are spending money to recreate their avatars. They are spending money to purchase all types of products, clothing, and accessories with the help of the in-app purchase. The in-game purchase market has already seen huge success. The in-game purchase market is already predicted to surpass the milestone of 74.4 billion USD.

Similarly, Metaverse is also seeing a high demand for in-app products that users are purchasing to recreate the value of their avatars. Metaverse is also monetizing the products using its economic currency used to exchange goods. The currency used is NFTs, and brands like Coca-Cola, Tommy Hilfiger, Wendy’s, Samsung, and Gucci are offering their NFTs in the virtual world. Users can also the NFTs are non-fungible tokens supporting virtual economies. They can protect their ownership of products using NFTs.

Direct Advertising in Metaverse: One of the oldest and most eye-catching ways of advertising is digital advertising. We all can agree that this old and proven method is not going to vanish any time soon. Virtual platforms are already providing virtual billboards, and brands like Samsung, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Balenciaga are already trying to grab all the attention by capturing the maximum presence that they can get their hands on.

Wrap Up

1. Metaverse is at its primitive stage, and several developments are going to happen with time. People are still trying to figure out the most suitable ways to gain the best out of it. Therefore, creating a footprint in the metaverse is easy at this stage of its evolution.
2. Continuous study of the latest trends and areas of possibility will prove to be beneficial in the long run perspective.
3. The possibilities are endless! As there are no barriers to creativity one can explore multiple dimensions of opportunities and enhance the user experience by providing them with a hassle-free journey through their products and services.

 

 

Meta Consolidates Automated Ad Products Under Meta Advantage Portfolio

Meta is consolidating all of its automated products under the ‘Meta Advantage’ umbrella. The new suite is the home to Meta’s existing automated tools such as Detailed Targeting Expansion, Automatic Placements or Automated App Ads as well as future automated products in the works.

The new suite, Meta Advantage will help advertisers to easily identify and benefit from Meta’s ad offerings. Goksu Nebol-Perlman, VP of Product Marketing, Ads & Business Products Meta said in a blog post that 77% of advertisers testing its automated products saved several hours per week by using them. She further added,

“Automated ad products help to improve the performance of your ads by relying more on machine learning, such as automatically finding the most relevant audiences or ad placements. They also allow you to further simplify optimizing campaigns, so you can worry less about managing campaigns and get back to running your business.”

Interesting Read: Meta Taps Zefr For Brand Suitability And Improve Advertising Safety Tools

Still reticent and reluctant!

Despite Facebook, and now Meta, pushing advertisers to embrace automation (Google has also been doing so), there has been reluctance from advertisers along the way. The platform claims that machine-learning-powered ad products reduce manual work and yield better results at lower prices. However, some buyers are turned off by the lack of control and transparency.

Regardless, the trend toward greater automation is clear, and it’s best to go with it.

What’s new in Meta Advantage?

There are 2 kinds of Advantage products in the suite. First, those features marked “Advantage” help advertisers to enhance a specific aspect of manual campaign setup, such as the selected detailed targeting options within your target audience. Second, those products marked “Advantage+” allow automating an entire campaign flow or an entire core step of manual campaign setups, such as placements or creative.

Meta Advantage aims to provide three key benefits to advertisers- Optimization, Personalization, and Efficiency.

Features under the Meta Advantage umbrella include:

• Advantage Lookalikes: (currently known as Lookalike Expansion) It allows Meta to automatically reach a broader set of people beyond the set parameters in the advertiser’s lookalike audience. Meta studies show when using Advantage Lookalikes,  Website or Mobile Custom Audience seeds saw a 17.3% decrease in median CPA. On the other hand, Customer List Custom audience seeds saw a 10.1% decrease.
• Advantage Detailed Targeting: (currently known as Detailed Targeting Expansion) It uses the advertiser’s targeting preferences: demographics, interests, and behaviors as a guide to finding better performance opportunities outside of a defined audience.
• Advantage+ App Campaigns: (currently known as Automated App Ads) This product uses machine learning to deliver creative variations to the most appropriate audiences and placements based on Meta’s ad systems.
• Advantage+ Placements: (currently known as Automatic Placements) Meta algorithms find the most effective placement for a given ad in order to maximize performance. Showing ads across 6 or more Placements— such as Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Stories, Reels—gives Meta’s system more flexibility to control costs and provide better results.
• Advantage+ Creative: (currently known as Dynamic Experiences) It automatically bundles a set of creative optimizations into a single entry that can improve ad performance.
• Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns: (currently known as Automated Shopping Ads) Meta plans to add it to the suite by end of the year. It optimizes across multiple campaign levers- creative, targeting, placement, budget, and other campaign levers to find the best opportunities to drive conversions with minimal efforts.

 

The product is in the beta phase now.  Goksu Nebol-Perlman concluded, 

“Wherever you see the name Advantage, you can be sure you’re getting our most advanced automation and machine learning technology designed to help you create and deliver your most efficient campaigns. As we progress through 2022, we will continue to update you on how to increase your performance on our platforms and ensure that you’re able to build and grow your business.”

Interesting Read: The Ultimate A-Z Glossary Of Digital Advertising!

Facebook On TikTok With Verified Account

Social platforms setting up shop on other social platforms and the latest example is Facebook is on TikTok. Astonished? Is this your next thought – what’s Facebook doing on TikTok? Buying ads or just another social account on TikTok?

We’ll know soon enough because the social networking company has set up its own TikTok account. The account is verified and had roughly more than 15,000 followers at the time of this post, but it had not shared any videos or other content, save for a link to the Facebook application on Google Play.

A Meta spokesperson said, 

“Brands leverage a variety of channels, including some of our social media platforms, to reach and engage with the people using their products and services every day. “Our intent with establishing a brand presence and cultivating community on platforms like TikTok or others is no different.”

Don’t be surprised! 

The different social platforms often have accounts on each other’s sites and apps. For example, Meta on Twitter provides regular news and updates. A Pinterest account on Facebook promotes its ads in several languages. Well, TikTok also has an Instagram account with 26million followers to promote the content. 

Likewise, Facebook may be looking to boost its Gen Z user base by leveraging TikTok (or its ad platform) after recently reporting flat growth in monthly active users in its last quarter. With the decline in Facebook’s popularity, they might be building a content strategy, especially for the younger generation. 

Another likely factor is Facebook…Errr…Meta is delving deep into the metaverse, and the Roblox user base is primarily 25 and under, with a sizable proportion of people aged nine to sixteen. The fact that large brands utilize various channels for marketing and communication makes it a little amusing to see Facebook pop up on TikTok.  However, TikTok gives Meta a way to connect with younger users that aren’t on Facebook or Instagram today. 

It will be interesting to witness the content of Facebook on TikTok. Well, isn’t it Meta now?

 

Facebook Provides Advertisers More Safety Controls In The News Feed

Meta formerly known as Facebook is enabling brands with more control over the placement of their ads in the NewsFeed.  In a blog post, it said,

“We’re introducing a number of controls designed to give people and businesses the ability to tailor their News Feed experience.”

New News Feed Controls Added For Advertisers

As part of its NewsFeed updates, the company unveiled a brand suitability verification tool for advertisers. Additionally, it expanded the topic exclusion controls to a limited number of advertisers that advertise in English. 

The controls will be in the “Ads Preferences“ settings tab, which will allow advertisers to select a topic to help define the way ads appear on Facebook, including in News Feed. Advertisers can select three topic categories – News and Politics, Social Issues, and Crime & Tragedy. Advertisers who have selected one or more topics will not see their ads in the News Feed of people with recent engagements on those topics. 

Interesting Read: Facebook Changes Counting Policy For Ad Planning And Measurement

In early testing, Meta found that advertisers who excluded the News and Politics categories were able to avoid adjacency 94% of the time. Tragedies and conflicts (99%) and debated social issues (95%) saw similar results. The company said,

“From our conversations with the industry, we know that this solution may not solve the needs of every advertiser and that some advertisers are looking for content-level granularity.”

With this product, Meta intends to bridge the gap between what they offer today and hope to offer in the future – content-based controls. It is exploring and testing a new content-based suitability control that will be designed to address concerns advertisers have about their ads appearing in Facebook and Instagram feeds next to specific topics based on their preferences.

“We aim to design our exploration in line with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) Suitability Framework.”

According to the blog post, Meta expects to launch a new control in 2022 and to start updating them in Q1.

Interesting Read: Facebook Plans a Privacy-Focused Approach to Rebuilt Its Ad System

Third-Party Collaboration For Placement Verification 

Facebook plans to work with third-party brand safety partners before year-end to “develop a solution to verify whether content adjacent to an ad in News Feed aligns with a brand’s suitability preferences.” 

New And Customized News Feed Controls For Users

Meta allows users to have more control over what shows up in NewsFeeds, allowing them to minimize the content that they see from friends, relatives, groups, and pages. Also, using the unfollow, snooze, reconnect and disconnect buttons will be easier. Eventually, Meta plans to test the features globally on a small percentage of users. 

Also Read: Facebook Failed To Detect A Bug In Its Conversion Tool For A Year!

 

Facebook Changes Counting Policy For Ad Planning And Measurement

Facebook outlined a significant change in a new update to how it counts user accounts when planning and measuring ads. The tech giant will treat users who do not have their Facebook and Instagram accounts linked in Accounts Center separately for ad metrics. Whereas, accounts that are connected in the Accounts Center will be counted as one person. The new update will roll out in the next few weeks. The privacy-centric course correction is likely to help advertisers to reach more accounts.

Interesting Read: Facebook Advertisers Battle Ad Results After Apple’s Privacy Changes

Graham Mudd, Vice president of product marketing for ads explained in a blog post that before Facebook counted users with multiple accounts as a single person for ad purposes. They counted them only once if their Facebook and Instagram accounts were linked via those apps or believed that the same person used both. For instance, people who accessed Facebook and Instagram via the same device or shared the same email address across the two platforms were counted as one person when they interacted with ads.

It makes sense for Facebook to honor this choice for ad purposes proactively. As a result, it will not get called out later for linking accounts without the user’s knowledge. Graham Mudd wrote in the blog,

“This update aligns with trends of offering people more control over how their information is used for ads and is consistent with evolving advertising, privacy and regulatory environments.”

Interesting Read:  Why Facebook thinks Apple’s iOS 14 privacy push will have a severe impact on business

How Will This Affect The Advertisers?

Earlier in June, Facebook informed advertisers of how users will be counted, which includes in-product notifications. With this new update, Facebook will rely on preferences from the Accounts Center – like whether accounts are linked or unlinked – to inform advertisers’ planning and campaign measurement.

In the blog post, Graham Mudd said that advertisers won’t see a substantial impact on reported campaign reach. However, noted that keeping unlinked account holders separate for advertising purposes, advertisers may see an impact on campaign planning estimates and performance reporting for unique metrics. Advertisers can see increases in their pre-campaign estimates, including estimated audience size.

Facebook has recently retitled the ‘potential reach’ metric as ‘estimated audience size’. It will now display a range of numbers to advertisers for their marketing campaigns instead of a specific number. In this way, Facebook is responding to ongoing lawsuits over how it calculates potential reach.

Interesting Read: The New World Of TikTok Marketing, Everything You Need To Know!

Facebook Advertisers Battle Ad Results After Apple’s Privacy Changes

A reporting glitch in Facebook’s ad results on Apple iPhones has created trouble for brands. Apple’s new privacy rules are making it difficult for Facebook advertisers to even conduct basic analysis and send faulty data about the campaigns.

There is inaccuracy for a simple study like understanding whether the person who saw the ad and made the purchase is the same or different.

Facebook has been fixing its ad platform ever since Apple started cracking down on tracking on its iPhones. Last week, Apple reported a bug last week where some advertisers received incomplete information that affected in-app installs, also known as conversions. Apparently, Facebook underreported the downloads and how well the ads worked for the marketers that ran on certain iPhones.

Similar News: Facebook Failed To Detect A Bug In Its Conversion Tool For A Year!

Facebook Advertisers & Data Dilemma 

As stated to Adage, Jeff Richards, a paid media consultant who manages digital advertising for multiple brands explains the challenge for brands with an example: A brand recorded 20 conversions on their website and they correlated to the Facebook ad campaign.

However, Facebook Ads Manager reported zero conversions. This means no return on its ad dollars which was opposite to the reality. It was clear that consumers were shopping. A complete mismatch of data!

Facebook had earlier informed the marketers that the flaws in data reporting are fixed and advertisers can see high conversion values. A note obtained by Adage said, “We will be expanding modeled reporting for Website Purchases Conversion Value.”

Similar News: Apple In-app Purchase Policy – Understanding The Pros & Cons

Website Purchases Conversion Value is a system used by Facebook to track the total value of sales on an advertiser’s website after people viewed or clicked on a Facebook ad. This is invaluable data that is being inaccurately reported due to Apple’s privacy changes.

The exact reason Facebook was not able to see all the conversions was because Apple made recent changes to its operating system and implemented new privacy changes which led to less information from devices for developers like Facebook. Facebook’s note further stated,

With this update, statistical modeling will be used to estimate associated values of additional modeled conversions where events cannot be observed directly (for example, where conversion data may be partial or missing due to data transmission limitations)

As a result, you may see an increase in reported conversion values and other associated metrics like [Return on Ad Spend.] This update should help our bidding system learn from more representative data, which should then lead to more efficient performance

What’s The Way Out For Facebook Advertisers? 

In order to fix this, Facebook is constantly communicating with the advertisers and helping them navigate through the uncertainty, and working on new ad measurement programs using “privacy-enhancing technologies.”  Facebook’s fix of using statistical modeling is a ray of hope for many brands to regain brand visibility.

The measurement data is important for brands as it will help them to decide which campaigns to invest in and which to pause.

This is a highly crucial situation for Facebook and needs to find new ways to measure ads on iPhones as every single conversion matters. At the same time, Apple and Facebook should resolve their business differences for the betterment of all the parties involved.

Also Read: You Can Now Charge For Tweets With Twitter’s New ‘Super Follows’

Instagram Rolls Out Ad Feature To The Shops Tab Globally

Synopsis:

• Instagram launches the ad feature in the Shops tab globally
• Users can click on the Instagram Shop Advertisment to browse or view product details or save the product to the personal wishlist.
• This marks the latest update of Facebook’s ongoing commercialization strategy to monetize every segment of its social media empire.

 

Instagram announced the launch of ads in the Shop tab globally, rolling out in countries where Shop Tab has already been in operation. The aim is to earn more advertising dollars from brands hoping to reach new customers. The global roll-out allows brands to showcase their products to a larger audience who are already in a mood to browse. 

This marks Instagram’s latest update in the ever-evolving and booming social commerce space. The photo-sharing app already has adverts sprouting on Reels, Stories, individual feeds, or suggested posts. Instagram Shop is a photo and video sharing app tab that allows users to browse items like clothing and beauty products, and let them buy directly through the app.

In the new feature, advertisements will appear as tiles on the Shop Tab, enabling the user to click on the ad and directly navigate to the product detail page, from where the potential buyers can read up and check additional photographs. The user can also browse other products of the respective brand. If a user does not want to purchase the product immediately then can save the details on a personal wishlist or share them with friends.

Instagram has previously tested Shop ads with a few U.S advertisers like Away, Donny, Boo Oh, Clare paint but now is open to brands globally. As reported by Tech Crunch, these ads will launch with an auction-based model and only appear on mobile as Shops is not available on the desktop.

 

 

 

Facebook Tests ‘ Reels’, Similar To Short-Form Instagram Reels Video

Facebook is running a limited test ‘Facebook Reels’ in the U.S. The new feature is the parent company‘s version of the short-form Instagram Reels video. Facebook Reel will allow Facebook users to create and share short-video content directly within their News  Feed or Facebook Groups. 

The social media giant is already running a similar test in India, Mexico, and Canada whereas the limited rollout in the U.S is an extension of the test.  The test will enable Instagram users to cross-post their reels on Facebook.

Facebook Reels Creation Tools Similar To Instagram 

Facebook users in the test group can tap the ‘Create’ button from the reels section in their News Feed and access a standard set of tools similar to those on Instagram including video capture, camera roll import, music selection, and timed text.  

Audio options for Facebook Reels include Facebook Music Library, record original music, or using music from others Reels if set ‘public’. Other features comprise many augmented reality effects created by Facebook or third-party, editing tools like a timer for hands-free recording, tools to speed up or slow down a part of audio or video.

Even though ‘most’ of the Instagram reels features will be available on Facebook reels, the Remix feature will be added later. Also, the user interface of Facebook Reels will evolve  depending on the feedback to differentiate from Instagram Reels.

Facebook Reels Can Be Shared To All

After the creation of Facebook Reels, users can share it with Friends, specific audiences, or the public. It can also be shared with the members of Facebook Groups who share similar interests.

Users can check their past creations under the ‘My Reels’ option and can browse Reels created by others in the News Feed, Search, or Groups. Shared Facebook or Instagram Reels will be recommended to users based on popularity, interest, and engagement.

Why did Facebook Replicate Reels?

As a justification to the test, the company explained, “nearly half of time spent on the app is watching videos.” On Facebook’s earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that “Reels is growing quickly across all forms of videos and is the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram.”

It would be interesting to see whether people will dedicate the same time and effort to create content ‘Reels’ specially for Facebook. 

Also Read: Facebook Plans a Privacy-Focused Approach to Rebuilt Its Ad System

A Panoramic Perspective Of Amazon’s Advertising Business!

In the last five years, Amazon’s advertising business has boomed. It now has a DSP footprint that matches Google’s, and its SSP is the second most popular. In just the last year, the online retailer made more than $22 billion in ad income. Even for advertisers who spend a lot of money on the tech giant, Amazon’s advertising strategy and business remain inexplicable. 

If we just take the case of Amazon’s video advertising, it is notable that the company built Fire TV, its most ambitious video project, and also controls Twitch, which began testing direct programmatic partnerships last year; and also owns IMDb TV, a free streaming platform. The Amazon DSP provides programmatic video advertising across the web, and in-feed video spots appear in Amazon searches to evaluate or explain products.

Video isn’t the only kind of advertising that’s growing in popularity. A rising number of brands use the DSP even though they don’t sell on Amazon or even have an e-commerce presence. They simply want to use Amazon shopping data to target customers throughout the web.

If you pick instances from your life, you will notice that Amazon knows about everything you shop for, the brand you use, your spending bracket, and which products are you most likely to use. Advertisers use this information tactfully to get you to buy their product.

Amazon has grown to become the third-largest digital ad market in the United States, and a rising competitor to challenge Google and Facebook’s digital ad duopoly.

While it is a bit perplexing to untangle Amazon’s colossal advertising business, we have to go in-depth into its fabric to comprehend its adtech behavior. Keep reading below to get a bird’s eye view of Amazon’s advertising business model!

How Big Is Amazon’s Advertising Business? 

 

From Amazon DSP to Sponsored Display, there is an eclectic range of advertising solutions that Amazon offers to people. Want to know how far spread is Amazon’s ad business? Check these out: 

• Amazon Live – Allowing real-time brand interaction, Amazon Live offers the opportunity of contacting shoppers in real-time and engage in interactive shopping experiences.
• Amazon Attribution (Beta) – This solution provides marketers with an understanding of how their non-Amazon marketing portals impact shopping and sales activities on Amazon through search, social services, video, display and e-mails.
• Amazon DSP – Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) allows users to reach customers throughout the web, including on Amazon sites and applications, as well as through publishing partners and third-party exchanges.
• Sponsored Display – Amazon advertising platform offers this solution to help you target the perfect audience for your business both on and off Amazon with display ads that you can develop in no time.
• Sizmek Ad Suite – From creation to distribution, this ad server on Amazon will help you disseminate your campaign across a variety of screens.
• Sponsored Brands – With personalized ads that display in Amazon shopping results, you can increase brand recognition and product discovery for your brand and product portfolio.

• Post (Beta) – Posts in beta tell your brand’s narrative to relevant Amazon shoppers as they browse your categories. Shoppers may explore your brand’s feed by clicking through Posts and discovering product pages directly from your feed
• Custom Advertising Solutions – If you want to increase your brand awareness and conversation, Amazon’s Custom Advertising team will collaborate to create campaigns that engage customers at all phases of the marketing funnel.
• Audio Ads – Extend your brand’s reach beyond the screen with audio adverts. These ads are seen during commercial breaks while listening to Amazon Music’s free tier on Alexa-enabled devices, such as Echo and Fire TV, as well as on mobile and desktop.
• Stores – With a self-service store, you can create and design a unique brand destination on Amazon for no extra charge.
• OTT ( Over-The-Top) And Online Video Ads – This solution helps you reach a wider audience and engage them on Amazon-affiliated sites like IMDb.com and Twitch, as well as devices like the Fire TV and the web.
• Sponsored Products – With advertising that appears in shopping results and on product pages, you can help people discover and buy the things you sell on Amazon. There is no requirement for prior advertising experience.

Amazon Ad Business Growth

During the pandemic, ad spending saw a significant cut by marketers and we saw the rise of e-commerce advertising. As more and more people shopped from home, Amazon embraced this e-commerce advertising like no other company. 

According to EMarketer, Amazon controlled 10.3 per cent of the US digital ad market in 2020, up from 7.8 per cent in 2019, putting it in direct competition with Google and Facebook for ad dollars. Walmart, Instacart, Walgreens, and other businesses have also joined Amazon. 

Amazon made $21.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2020, up from $9.3 billion the previous year. While advertising accounts for a small portion of Amazon’s revenue from retail sales and Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud division, it is one of the company’s fastest-growing segments. Advertisers’ search spending, which is primarily directed to Google, are continuing to be slashed by the internet giant.

All of Amazon’s advertising strategy is well thought out and will contribute to a booming ad business growth in 2021 as well. 

What Is Amazon Advertising Business

Advertisers and sellers frequently cite a lack of data and tools as obstacles to advertising on Amazon, which has spawned a cottage industry of companies dedicated to assisting marketing on the platform. Meanwhile, Amazon’s OTT division, which sells adverts in select Amazon Fire TV apps, has pushed further into programmatic advertising.

The four key areas where Amazon’s advertising business model skyrockets include video, non-endemic advertisers, conquesting, and polished targeting and measurement. Let’s have a look at these areas: 

Video

Amazon’s advertising business is not just about Prime Video, but also Fire TV, where Amazon sells around a third of the inventory. Fire TV has a footprint of around 50 million US households and is the only platform where TV-style video commercials may be directly linked to sales. 

The only way one can get their hands on the Fire TV inventory is the Amazon DSP. Advertisers can still get on Fire TV without having to go via Amazon because programmers keep 70% of the inventory to sell themselves. However, only the Amazon DSP can use logged-in Amazon data to boost those purchases or attribute ads to online sales.

Although adding video to static sponsored product listings can be costly, Amazon finds it easier to sell because those units are offered per click, exactly like sponsored search. 

In comparison to the programmatic video, where companies pay per impression and views are counted at the second mark, the pay-per-click approach can appear to be a good deal.

Because Amazon is selective with its sponsored videos, only showing in-depth product videos on highly relevant searches and for reputable brands, sponsored video listings are becoming a key signal of brand reputation. 

Conquesting

Conquesting is actually a really intelligent way for the Amazon advertising platform to accommodate sponsored ads. When you do a product search on Amazon, there are sponsored products that show up. Here, advertisers bid on certain terms, and advertisements with greater bids have a better chance of being seen.

What happens on Amazon is that, because of this bidding, when you search for a product by a specific company, the products of a rival brand pops up first. This is what advertisers call, conquesting, or the buying of terms against search terms for rival products. 

Advertisers can also purchase “sponsored brands” listings, which display in search results to assist consumers in finding a specific brand.

Furthermore, because Amazon’s purchasing data is so thorough, marketers may save money by not advertising to consumers who have just purchased a product and will not be purchasing it again very soon.

Non-Endemic Business

Beyond its base of e-commerce marketers, Amazon is also looking for expansion. The Amazon DSP created a dedicated ad sales team for non-endemic brands. What this means is that hotels or resorts can use Amazon to target audiences on search terms such as “ travel stationery” or “ mini travel kits”. 

Targeting And Measurement

With a cloud-based data clean room in beta, Amazon is fine-tuning its targeting and measurement. Amazon’s cleanroom expands the possibilities for leveraging Amazon’s buying data.

The Amazon DSP, for example, has a 14-day attribution window. Advertisers can test longer attribution windows using Amazon’s marketing cloud.

Amazon has a plethora of data about how consumers shop and has made additional information available to advertising to help them buy and target adverts. Advertisers, on the other hand, claim that Amazon’s data is restricted and that they are constantly looking for new ways to measure ads. 

Amazon Ad Business Revenue

According to Loop Capital, Amazon’s advertising unit currently contributes 2.4 times as much revenue as Snap, Roku, Twitter and Pinterest combined, and it is growing at 1.7 times the rate.

According to Amazon, in the first quarter of 2021, its unit which is mostly made up of advertising but also includes sales connected to other service offerings, increased revenue by 77 per cent year over year to more than $6.9 billion. 

According to Loop, Amazon made $22.4 billion in ad income in the last 12 months, growing 65 per cent year over year. That was 2.4 times the combined income of middle-cap ad platforms Snap, Twitter, Roku, and Pinterest, which increased by 38% over the same time period to $9.3 billion.

Amazon Business Marketing Strategy

When it comes to Amazon advertising strategy for 2021, it is evident that the company has well thought of all the challenges and advantages of the same. Here are 4 such strategies: 

Optimized SEO

When buyers search for relevant search terms, optimizing your products for Amazon SEO will help them find them. Well-described product searches are prioritized by Amazon’s search engine and pinned to the top of the recommended searches. 

PPC Advertising

Your business will receive more visitors to your product listings if you use Amazon advertisements. You can ensure that these ads create sales by delivering them to the most appropriate shoppers, thanks to Amazon’s extensive targeting choices.

If you decide to use PPC (Pay-Per-Click) in your Amazon marketing strategy, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of ad types such as Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Products, and Sponsored Display.

Third-Party Advertising

Even if you sell on Amazon, your advertising doesn’t have to be limited to the platform. Increased clickthrough and conversion rates can be aided by third-party advertising. Make sure you use data to optimize your advertising at all times. This is greatly aided by automated data reporting.

Affiliate Marketing

Amazon has an affiliate programme that allows website owners to promote Amazon products on their own sites. A commission is earned when users click on these links and purchase a product. This is an effective Amazon marketing tactic because it brings in new customers to your Amazon website. Putting your products on other websites can bring in a whole new set of customers that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

Advertising: Amazon Vs Google Vs Facebook

When it comes to paid search advertising, Google Ads has been the standard for years. However, as its advertising powers develop, Amazon and Facebook are swiftly becoming a formidable force within their own right.

If you’re a digital marketer, marketing manager, or business owner, you’ll almost certainly be using Google for advertising or all of these platforms at some time in your career. But each time, there will be an inextinguishable dilemma as to which one suits your needs the best. So, we have curated something that will help you decide – keep reading! 

Google Ads

Retailers who sell a wide variety of products prefer Google Ads. The greater the number of products you have, the wider the net you can throw in Google. That’s a roundabout way of suggesting that you may bid low on a variety of keywords and yet get a lot of traffic.

Amazon Ads

Unlike the other shops, Amazon has made its platform available to third-party resellers, which means you won’t have to wait for a Target (or Amazon) customer to locate you. All you have to do is upload your products to Amazon and you’re set to go.

Facebook Ads

The Facebook Ads algorithm is fantastic at displaying the correct ads to the right individuals. This makes Facebook Ads ideal for startups with a specific product. It’s almost as if the fewer products you have, the better. 

Another significant benefit of Facebook Ads is the level of inventiveness available. 15–30 second videos, media-rich photos, comments, text, and more are all included. 

Is Google Advertising Worth It? 

Google advertisements, which are paid for by businesses, can be an exceptionally successful means of sending relevant, qualified visitors to your website at precisely the right time when people are searching for the items or services your company provides.

If you are using Google for advertising, then you can use various types of ads such as Search Ads, Shopping Ads, Display Ads, And Video Ads (YouTube). 

There are a plethora of Google advertising benefits for small businesses such as the ability to reach motivated and targeted audiences, as well as a pay-for-performance pricing mechanism and an easy-to-follow ROI. 

If your budget is an issue, you can dodge contending larger organizations by utilizing more longtail and local keywords, which will lower the cost of bidding on keywords that everyone wants. These keywords may not be as popular as the others, but they will still help you drive more high-converting traffic to your website. 

While talking about the Google advertising business model, it is also important to talk about the cost. 

Google Advertising costs vary depending on a variety of criteria, including the competitiveness of your keywords and industry, your geographic region, the quality of your advertising campaigns, and more. The average cost per click for Google search advertisements in the United States is $2.32 across all industries. The average cost of Google Ads in other countries is frequently substantially lower.

Facebook Advertising: Policies And Strategies

Facebook advertising is available in a variety of formats. You can advertise your Page, its content, user behaviors, or your website as a whole. Despite Facebook’s increased focus on native ads and keeping customers on the platform, you may still drive traffic to your website.

Facebook advertisements used to be more like display ads than search ads, but newer versions, such as product ads, allow advertisers to sell things directly to users. 

One of the major Facebook advertising benefits is that you can directly target users by using these components – location, age, gender, interests, connections, relationship status, languages, education, and workplace. 

Facebook also allows for detailed interest targeting. Users can be targeted using Detailed Interest Targeting based on information in their profile, such as “listed likes and interests, Pages they like, apps they use, and other profile (timeline) content they’ve provided” (according to Facebook). With Detailed Interest Targeting, you’ll get the best return on your investment.

Is Facebook Advertising Better Than Google? 

To answer this age-old question, we have to assess the strengths of both Google and Facebook advertising. Let’s get started. 

Advantages Of Google Ads

1. A wider audience – One of the biggest benefits of using Google as a platform for advertising is its massive reach. Google processes around 40,000 search requests each second, for a total of over 1.2 trillion web searches per year. It’s simple to see why AdWords is the most popular and frequently utilized PPC platform in the world, thanks to Google’s more accurate search results.

 

2. A vast range of ad formats – Advertisers can employ ad extensions, site links, social proofing like user reviews, location targeting, Shopping advertisements, and a variety of other capabilities, giving them an unrivalled level of personalization and control. Google has even created ad formats that are suited to the specific demands of different types of businesses.

Advantages Of Facebook Ads

1. A powerful visual medium – The greatest Facebook advertisements mix in perfectly with the videos, photographs, and other visual content in users’ News Feeds, allowing advertisers to take advantage of not only the visual ads’ strong persuasive capabilities but also the aspirational language that makes high-quality ads so appealing. 

 

2. Unmatched ROI – One aspect of Facebook Ads that frequently surprises newcomers is the potential return on investment that advertising on the network provides, as well as how far skilled advertisers can stretch a small ad spend.

So, to answer the question of which is better – Facebook or Google – the answer is both. Both the platforms serve differently to different businesses. 

Furthermore, many businesses are combining the benefits of Google Ads and Facebook Ads to gain maximum visibility, improve leads and sales, and attract new consumers, using diverse techniques that align with the functionality of each platform and generating impressive returns on their advertising expenditure. 

Conclusion

Having seen a panoramic perspective on Amazon’s advertising business along with Google Ads and Facebook Ads, it is safe to say that Amazon is right in leading the other two in this area. Here’s how – 

• Amazon is distinct from Google and Facebook in that it is primarily focused on a bottom-of-funnel audience, whereas Facebook and Google are more directed toward the top
• Amazon advertising has a higher CPC, conversion rate, and average rate of return than Google or Facebook advertising. Amazon is your greatest option if you want to maximize your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

With Amazon’s growing popularity, it is likely that it will shine as the best advertising business platform soon.