87% of UK public wants stricter political ad regulations, Facebook bug removes political ads ahead of UK election, media prices are on the rise, Twitter announces new team to explore decentralized social media networks and YouTube updates its harassment policy

New research has revealed that the majority of the British public wants stricter rules around political advertising. Facebook's political ad transparency tools saw a failure a few days before the UK general election, removing a large number of political ads. Falling audiences are seeing media prices increases as more brands go digital. Twitter has announced that it is exploring a decentralized social media network model with the creation of a new independent team. YouTube has updated its harassment policy, introducing stricter rules and harsher punishments in a bid to make the platform a safer place. We've looked at all the details in our news roundup.

UK public wants stricter rules on political advertising

Following weeks of political…

Instagram introduces age check, creative professionals more productive 'on-the-go', Facebook suing over malicious ads, YouTube updates on borderline content efforts, Facebook announces new anti-discrimination ad measures

This week has seen Instagram change its policy to bring it in-line with Facebook. The platform will now request the date of birth of those signing up, in a bid to limit younger users from accessing inappropriate content. New research from Vodafone has revealed that the office is not the place for creative individuals, with many saying they are more productive when working flexibly. Facebook is making sure that those who break its rules face real-world consequences, starting with a company and two individuals who are accused of creating malicious adverts on the platform. [si_blog_banner_cta] YouTube has provided an update on its efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation and borderline content, just in time for the 2020 US election campaigns to heat up. Finally, Facebook has introduced two new…

Programmatic advertising to grow in 2020, Google faces new lawsuit, Aldi has top Christmas ad and TV ads are "least risky" option

New forecasts have suggested that programmatic advertising could reach record investment this year, with its popularity continuing in 2020. Google is back in court with a company suing for damages due to the tech giant's anti-competition rules. UK consumers have named Aldi's Kevin the Carrot as the top Christmas advert this year. A new study has revealed that TV could offer the least amount of risk when it comes to advertising channels. We've got all the details for each of these stories with this week's news roundup.

Programmatic advertising expected to grow in 2020

Despite rising concerns over digital ad fraud and brand safety, it seems as though programmatic ad spend is going to continue to increase in 2020. The latest forecast from Zenith shows that around 69% of media will be traded programmatically by…

Google updating political advertising policies, Snapchat announces all political ads are fact-checked, Instagram further roles out like count ban, Twitter testing tweet scheduling in-app, Snapchat introducing longer un-skippable ads, Twitter launches new Conversation Insights

As pressure mounts for Facebook to make changes to its political ad policies, it might finally be listening following Google announces its own changes and Snapchat giving details on how it fact-checks all political ads. This week has also seen Instagram announce that it is rolling out its ban on like counts to more countries as it continues to test the change to the platform. Twitter is also testing a new feature, this time scheduling within its tweet composer via its app and website, which could reduce the need for third-party tools. Snapchat is changing up its ad formats, allowing advertisers to create ads that are up to three minutes long, keeping part of its un-skippable functionality in the mix. Finally,…

Google adding warning badge to slow sites, Facebook's new fundraising tools, influencers and big brands lacking credibility, traditional TV ad spend declining and Instagram's new feature takes on TikTok

Following the addition of a new Speed Report in Google Search Console, Google has announced that it is set to start adding warning badges to sites with slow load speeds as a signal to users. This could ultimately lead to other 'badges' rewarding sites that offer good experiences. Facebook is aiming to make donating and fundraising on its platforms easier ahead of the holiday season by releasing several new tools. A new report has found that consumers don't believe that big brands or social media influencers have any credibility and that they support social issues purely for profit. New data reveals that spend on traditional TV advertising is declining with more people switching to streaming services. However, this could provide some…

Twitter VP reveals new features for 2020, Pinterest posts positive Q3 results, Facebook reveals Groups data breach, YouTube launches new desktop look

This week's marketing news mostly revolves around social media platform updates. To start with, Twitter's VP of Design and Research has revealed five new features that could be added to the platform in the new year. Pinterest has posted its Q3 results, which show massive growth in active users and revenue, showing that the platform is going from strength to strength. Facebook reveals an issue with data from its Groups, which is likely to lower trust in the platform even more. Finally, YouTube is launching a new look for its homepage for desktop and tablet users, which should improve usability. We've explored all of these stories in detail with this week's roundup.

Twitter VP announces new features for 2020

Usually, we don’t get a…

Google's BERT update, Twitter's political ad ban, Snapchat's new 'share to Snapchat' button, $65m of influencer campaigns reaching fake accounts, ACCC sues Google over location data, Facebook updates video ad metrics

The last week has been a fairly busy one in the marketing world and there have been plenty of updates to explore. The biggest of these is arguably Google's new BERT update, which is apparently the biggest update of the last five years. On top of this, Twitter is taking the step to ban all political advertising on the platform from November 22nd, despite Facebook deciding not to do the same. A large portion of the money spent on Instagram influencer campaigns is reportedly being wasted as posts continue to reach fake accounts. Google is being sued by an Australian regulator over claims it misled smartphone users over how their location was being used. Finally, Facebook has updated its video ad metrics to make…

Marketers too focused on transactions, Snapchat's strong Q3 results, Amazon's new News app, Twitter's poor Q3 results, New adaptive Google banner ads, Instagram testing new feature

Almost half of marketers have admitted to being too focused on getting money in the bank at the expense of building customer relationships. Snapchat reports strong Q3 results and announces a new focus on advertising buyability. Amazon is launching a new News app to compete with Google News and Apple News +. Twitter sees stocks plummet as it posts disappointing Q3 results, with targeting bugs partly to blame. Google announces new adaptive banner ads designed to improve mobile viewability. Instagram is testing a new feature that sees the accounts your following split into different categories. [si_blog_banner_cta]

43% of marketers focused on transactions rather than relationships

Almost half (43%) of marketers are focused more on ‘transactional’ relationships rather than encouraging a deeper level of engagement from their audience, according to new research. The…

Google is stopping pixel tracking on YouTube, marketing budgets have declined, Facebook testing new scheduling option, Instagram offering more data control and Facebook changing how organic reach is calculated

Google has announced changes to third-party pixels on YouTube, which will be rolled out next year. Quarter 3's Bellwether Report has shown that economic and political uncertainty has had an effect on marketing budgets. Facebook seems to be testing a new scheduling option that could improve organic impressions, although it is also changing how it calculates these impressions. Instagram is ensuring users have more data control by adding new features that allow more visibility over third-party permissions. Get all the details with this week's news roundup.

Google removing pixel tracking from YouTube

Google will no longer allow third-party pixel tracking on YouTube from next year. The internet giant made the announcement in a blog,…

Twitter admits ad targeting data bug, digital media provides best ROI, TikTok under fire or using Creators' videos, Facebook testing new multi-image layouts.

Twitter has admitted that a 'bug' has allowed data submitted for safety purposes to be used for ad targeting, prompting many in the industry to blast the platform. A new survey of chief marketing officers has revealed that premium digital media provides the best ROI for companies. TikTok has come under fire as it is revealed that it is using Creators' videos for advertising purposes without informing them. Facebook seems to be testing new layouts for those uploading multiple images to one post. We've got more info on all of these stories below.

Twitter announces ad targeting ‘data bug’

Twitter has admitted that it has been using data submitted for security reasons to target ads. In a statement released by…