Marketing Recap – March

India is a social-savvy marketing executive at Affinity, where she specialises in building winning strategies & creating engaging content.

As we wrap up March, let’s take a look back at the whirlwind of changes that swept through the digital marketing world. From platform breakdowns to revamps, the past month certainly kept us on our toes.

So here are our top 10 marketing updates that had everyone talking in March 2024. 

YouTube’s New AI Requirements

YouTube has officially rolled out its new rules on requiring creators to disclose if their content is generated by AI. This step is all about being upfront viewers, making sure they know when content is synthetic. 

By being transparent about how content is made and where it’s coming from, creators can build a more trusting relationship with their viewers. 

Google Ads’ New ‘Solutions’

Google Ads just rolled out a new customisable automation tool called ‘Solutions’. This tool gives advertisers more control over their campaigns, helping fine-tune strategies and create customisable templates for various tasks.

Overall, this should hopefully make marketing much easier and more effective on the platform.

Facebook, Threads and Instagram’s Global Outage

The Meta platforms all went down majorly at the start of the month, causing chaos across the world. Many users went to X as a last resort, and marketers everywhere were left stranded. 

This down period goes to show you always need a backup plan for when things go south! 

TikTok’s New Creator Rewards Programme

TikTok has upped its creator programme, which prioritises high-quality, search-optimised content. It gives creators an incentive to create engaging, discoverable content by rewarding ‘good’ content. 

They’ve also launched a new Creator Search Insightreddit tool to help you discover trending search topics.

Reddit Launches New Ad Format

Reddit’s just launched a new ad format which looks exactly like regular user posts. Now, your ads can blend right into the natural flow of content on the platform, improving your chance in connecting with users. 

This offers a new way of engaging with your audience more authentically, creating more trust in your consumer relationships.

Microsoft’s New Interface

According to Search Engine Land, Microsoft Advertising is trying out a brand-new interface that looks a lot like Google Ads. They’re aiming to create an easier experience, similar to that of Google and other popular sites.

This change, if successful, could potentially bring more people over to Microsoft Advertising. It’s one to keep an eye on!

TikTok Banned In the US?

The U.S. House essentially just gave TikTok a massive ultimatum; have the owner divest or face a nationwide ban. This move comes amid worries about privacy and national security, as TikTok is owned by a Chinese company and operates under their cybersecurity laws. 

If the ban does come into effect, this could present huge problems for advertisers, losing 150 million users across the States from their audience. 

TikTok has expressed their disappointment in this decision, stating the ban strips Americans’ right to free expression.

Meta’s Major Updates

Meta has dropped even more updates for advertisers. These are in its Advantage+ and Shopping Ads features, giving marketers more tools to improve engagement, conversions and personalisation. 

The platform claims this update will make users more confident in their purchasing decisions. If this is the case, we’re all on board!

TikTok’s New Instagram Rival App

According to a few reports, TikTok could be working on a new photo app to go toe-to-toe with Instagram. This could be a great opportunity for marketers to reach more Gen Z audiences through photos rather than video if the app’s demographic stays the same.

Google Ads is Limiting Exclusions

Google Ads has recently made some limitations regarding country-level location exclusions. This means you can only limit up to 120 countries. This is meant to simplify targeting and put more emphasis on positive targeting, as according to Google “your ads won’t be shown in places unless you explicitly target them.” 

All these developments are a natural part of the digital marketing world. Constantly changing and shifting, it’s always interesting.

Google Announces Cookie Consent Mode V2

Google has recently updated their consent policy requirements for sites that are using ad personalisation. This is a brand new update in light of some recent privacy law changes, in particular the Digital Markets Act.

The update will likely require many to update their current cookie banner with additional parameters. We recommend this article from TDMP explains the changes in depth. 

Last month we mentioned about the eventual elimination of 3rd party cookies altogether, so this may be the first round of action…

Need help navigating any of these changes? Get in touch with a member of our team today for guidance.