[Ep65/12Jul21] - Google Launches Free Tools For Travel Marketers & Other Digital Marketing Updates from the Week of Jul 12, 2021

#TWIMshow - This Week in Marketing

1. Facebook Announces $1 Billion Funding for Content Creators - Facebook has launched its latest offensive in the escalating digital creator war, with the announcement that it will invest more than $1 billion in programs for creators over the next 18 months, with a prime focus on providing more ways for creators to earn money for the content that they share on Facebook and Instagram.

2. Facebook Pay is Now Available as a Payment Option on Third Party Websites - "Starting this August, businesses in the US who use participating platforms will have the ability to enable Facebook Pay as a payment option directly on their websites, giving their customers the ability to speed through checkout without having to re-enter their payment information. We’re starting the rollout with Shopify merchants and expect to expand availability with more platforms and payment service providers over time."

3. 🔊 Facebook Rolls Out Soundmojis on Messenger for 🌎 Emoji Day 🥳 - Facebook welcomed World Emoji Day July 17 with its introduction of Soundmojis, a new feature that enables people to share short sound clips in chats.Messenger users who want to get started with Soundmojis can start a chat, tap the smiley face to open the expressions menu and select the loudspeaker icon, at which point they can preview and send Soundmojis.

4. Facebook Group Admin can Now Designate Subject Matter Experts - Group administrators can now recognize specific members in their communities by designating them as group experts. Those members will see badges displayed next to their names, making it easier for group members to discover informative posts and comments from experts on certain topics. Facebook is not part of the process of designating people as experts, with full control going to the group admins. There are no requirements, such as credentials or degrees, for being named an expert. Group admins can also team up with group experts to host question-and-answer sessions, respond to questions and share perspectives on topics.

5. YouTube Launches Shorts Beta in All Regions - On July 12, YouTube announced that YouTube Shorts beta will be available everywhere where YouTube is available.

6. TikTok Announces 'Small Biz Block Party' Event Series to Provide Marketing Tips and Insights - TikTok is looking to help small businesses across the US make best use of its platform for their promotions by running what it's calling a 'Small Biz Block Party', a nationwide, 20-event virtual workshop series which will bring together business owners and TikTok experts, in order to share knowledge, tips and insights.. The Small Biz Block Party kicks off on August 5, 2021, with an event designed for businesses of all sizes and co-hosted by Main Street America, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development. RSVP here: https://www.tiktok-smallbizblockparty.com/

7. Bye Bye Twitter Fleets - Twitter is giving up on Fleets nine months after rolling it out to everyone, saying the feature didn’t accomplish what the company hoped it would. As of August 3, Fleets will no longer be available on Twitter. Twitter launched Fleets in hopes that its ephemeral nature would encourage more people to “join the conversation.” In other words, the company wanted to see a noticeable uptick in new users and increased activity among existing users. Fleets accomplished neither of those goals, Twitter says:

8. Microsoft Advertising Announces Video Extensions - It is available for all advertisers globally. This is a unique opportunity only available on Microsoft Advertising. With Video Extensions, advertisers have the flexibility to combine video with other ad extensions. This is a great way to provide enriching content to those searching for your offerings. Advertisers can set up an action link on the video overlay which will take users to your website or a specific page of choice where conversions occur.

9. GoDaddy Merchants Can Now Easily Show Inventory Across Google - GoDaddy merchants can add products ‘to Google’ from their online store and either promote them via a Smart Shopping campaign or make them eligible for free listings. Merchants aren’t the only ones who will benefit from this partnership. Google has specified that they want searchers to have more choice when it comes to finding unique products from new and smaller businesses online.

10. Google Launches Free Tools For Travel Marketers - Google is launching free tools designed to help travel marketers make more informed decisions based on search data for destinations and hotels. To ensure travel businesses and tourism officials have the information they need to recover from the pandemic, Google has created a set of tools that provide insight into real-time travel demand. Google began testing these travel insights tools last December in the Asia Pacific region. Now, Travel Insights with Google is being launched in the United States. Travel Insights with Google includes four tools in total: following tools:

Destination Insights : Destination Insights provides a clear picture of top sources of demand per destination. The tool allows you to input an original country, a destination country, and date range, and view data related to travel demand for that destination. This data can help marketers understand where potential travelers may be coming from and adjust campaigns accordingly. For example, if you set the origin country to “Worldwide” and the destination country to “United States” you can find out where demand is coming from and which cities they’re looking to visit.

Hotel Insights : Hotel Insights analyzes search trends to help travel marketers understand where interest is coming from and attract new guests by creating a stronger digital presence. Simply input a destination and get an overview of recent search trends.

Focusing Facts : Focusing Facts is a tool nested within the Destination Insights tool that displays a set of quick insights such as “Fastest growing destination globally,” “Country with the most inbound interest” and “Top city in demand.” Focusing Facts are based on the previous 84 days of data which provides a well-rounded vantage point. This data appears at the top of the Destination Insights tool.

Demand Sizing : The Demand Sizing Tool is also found within Destination Insights. It allows you to apply distinct filters to compare inbound and outbound interest between one primary country and up to ten comparison countries.