Brian Meert's Blog, page 122

Facebook Increases Transparency for Pages and Ads

April 13, 2018
Anna Hubbel

Dishonest, manipulative activity seems nearly impossible to prevent. With the deceptive collection of user information by Cambridge Analytica, as well as the politically divisive ads disseminated by Russian troll accounts during the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook users are feeling used and abused. And Facebook is doing its best to change that.

Facebook is trying to make ads and pages more accountable and transparent. As part of this effort, Facebook recently announced in a post the various actions it’s taking. These actions involve new features focused on transparency.

Electoral and Issue Ads

Facebook says it’s expanding its authorization rule for electoral ads to “issue” ads. Issue ads are any ads containing nationally controversial topics, such as gun control. Third parties will help Facebook identify which topics are considered issue topics. Any advertiser who wants to distribute electoral or issue ads has to attain authorization from Facebook first.

Additionally, Facebook says any electoral or issue ads will be labeled “Political Ad” in users’ feeds. Next to this label will be “paid for by” information. These changes will be in effect throughout the United States this spring.

But what about advertisers who try to deceive the system like Cambridge Analytica? Facebook says it’s investing more in artificial intelligence and employees to catch advertisers trying to slip through the cracks.

“We realize we won’t catch every ad that should be labeled, and we encourage anyone who sees an unlabeled political ad to report it,” Facebook said in the post. “People can do this by tapping the three dots at the top right corner of the ad and selecting ‘Report Ad.’”

View Ads

If users are curious about a particular advertiser’s history, coming this June, they’ll have access to a new feature called “View Ads.” Regardless of whether a page’s ads appear in users’ feeds or not, users can still see all the ads the page runs by using this new feature. It’s important to note that this feature will be active for all pages, not just those running political ads. Facebook says this feature will be in effect globally.

Searchable Political Ads Archive

Also coming this June is Facebook’s feature “Searchable Political Ads Archive.” This archive will contain all ads with the “Political Ad” label. Users can search or browse through this archive for information about political ads, including how much advertisers have spent on each, as well as the audience demographics being used.

Verification

Last but not least, Facebook is requiring verification from pages with a big following. If a page fails to complete this verification, it will no longer be able to post.

“This will make it much harder for people to administer a Page using a fake account, which is strictly against our policies,” said Facebook. “We will also show you additional context about Pages to effectively assess their content.”

In addition to these new features, Facebook is boosting security for the midterm elections through efforts such as photo and video fact-checks.

It’s a long and bumpy road to a more secure online existence. But Facebook has its big tires on.

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Mozilla Firefox’s Facebook Container Stops Facebook from Tracking Web Activity

April 12, 2018
Anna Hubbel

We’re all still in the aftershock from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. When the world discovered that the data firm harvested personal information from over 50 million user profiles to inform the Trump presidential campaign, we all desperately improved our profiles’ privacy settings. In response, Facebook has been relentlessly making its platform safer for users.

But Facebook isn’t the only company taking action. Mozilla recently announced that it has been working on a tool over the last couple of years that it’s releasing now amidst the online privacy push. The new tool, called Facebook Container, can be installed on Firefox to isolate your Facebook behaviors from any web activity you do outside of the platform. With the Facebook Container, you can continue using Facebook as you normally would, and Facebook can continue to deliver ads to your feed based on your activity on the platform. However, the activity you do outside of Facebook is kept separate.

“The difference is that it will be much harder for Facebook to use your activity collected off Facebook to send you ads and other targeted messages,” Mozilla explains in a post.

Mozilla says it’s important to note that the Facebook Container would not have been able to protect us from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. “But troves of data are being collected on your behavior on the internet,” Mozilla said in the same post, “and so giving users a choice to limit what they share in a way that is under their control is important.”

From an advertiser perspective, the existence of Facebook Container brings up an important question: Will this new tool affect the use of the Facebook Pixel? The Facebook Pixel allows advertisers to track users’ activity outside of Facebook. Since Facebook Container isolates outside web activity, you can see why advertisers might be concerned.

Chad Kramer, Facebook’s Partner Manager, told AdvertiseMint that as far as Facebook Pixel is concerned, the new Mozilla tool will have minimal effect, but an effect nonetheless.

“While this extension does not block the Facebook Pixel from firing,” said Kramer, “you could see a small decrease in events measured by Facebook Pixel from people who use Firefox and have installed this browser extension.”

How much this small decrease in events will affect advertising efforts will likely vary from business to business.

Mozilla’s Facebook Container will not, in all likelihood, be the only privacy tool we’ll see coming from major Internet companies. In fact, earlier this year, Google announced a new tool that allows you to mute ads for 90 days. So we can all hold onto the promising hope of a safer online existence.

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Facebook Boosts Security for Midterm Elections, Including Photo and Video Fact-Checks

April 11, 2018
Anna Hubbel
Photo Reutuers/Danny Moloshok

With the world now closely watching, Facebook is feeling the pressure as it prepares for this year’s US midterm elections. The stakes are high as the most popular social platform continues to recover from the negative press it’s been receiving after it was discovered that Russian trolls misused it to deliver divisive political messages during the 2016 US Presidential Election.

According to CNet, part of Facebook’s plan for the upcoming US midterm elections includes fact-checking photos and videos in addition to links. Facebook has never done this before, but hopes it will make a difference in the crackdown on fake news.

In a Facebook blog post, Guy Rosen, vice president of product management, said, “Now, none of us can turn back the clock, but we are all responsible for making sure the same kind of attack our democracy [sic] does not happen again. And we are taking our role in that effort very, very seriously.”

To guide its efforts in preventing misconduct during elections, Facebook says there are four main security areas the company is focusing on: combating foreign interference, removing fake accounts, increasing ad transparency, and reducing the spread of fake news.

Facebook’s efforts will reportedly extend to elections outside of the US as well. The company intends to zero in on security issues at the local level to prevent misuse before it can grow at a national level.

CNet says Facebook has partnered with Agence France-Presse, a news provider, to get the fact-checking process up and going in France. The process will, however, be expanding to other countries in the near future.

Fighting fake news and misuse of its platform is more important than ever for Facebook. Just when the Russian interference was getting to be old news, the Cambridge Analytica scandal took center stage. The analytics firm was recently discovered to have manipulated campaign messages during Trump’s presidential campaign using personal information deceitfully harvested from over 50 million users. As a result, Facebook’s credibility has taken a major hit.

Perhaps a new day is dawning, however, as the company continues to demonstrate its intent to protect the security of its platform and those who use it.

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Answers Hard, Frank Questions at Hearing

April 10, 2018
Anne Felicitas

Watch @facebook CEO #MarkZuckerberg testify before Congress. #cambridgeanalytica #databreach
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Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress.

Appearing grim and thoroughly chastised, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sits before a panel of senators in the highly anticipated congressional hearing. The CEO listened intently and quietly, occasionally nodding in somber agreement as senators Dianne Feinstein, Bill Nelson, and Chuck Grassley presented their opening statements.

“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake,” said Zuckerberg in his testimony. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens next.”

Zuckerberg doesn’t frequent Washington often. In fact, this is the first time Zuckerberg has ever testified before Congress.

During the four gruelling hours of discussion, Zuckerberg answered hard and frank questions about the scandals that plague his social media company. Having only five minutes to question the CEO, each senator asked Zuckerberg questions about the Cambridge Analytica data breach, the Russian interference during the 2016 US presidential election, discriminatory practices using Facebook’s ad targeting options, and many more.

Repeatedly Zuckerberg claims responsibility, and repeatedly he highlights the steps his company is taking to make its platform safer for users.

“My top priority has always been our social mission of connecting people, building community, and bringing the world closer together,” said Zuckerberg. “Advertisers and developers will never take priority over that as long as I’m running Facebook.”

You can watch the full hearing from Bloomberg below.

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Snapchat Launches 2 New Location-Based Ad Targeting Options

April 10, 2018
Anna Hubbel

Snapchat launches 2 new location-based ad targeting options. #snapchat #digitaladvertising #socialmedia
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It’s all about the “where.” In addition to its vertical camera format, Snapchat’s niche has been its location-driven advertising features, such as geofilters, Snap Map, and Context Cards. Now, the app has two new location-based targeting features meant to help advertisers reach their Snapchat audience: Location Categories and Radius Targeting.

Location Categories

With Location Categories, advertisers can reach Snapchatters who are in a specific type of location as a way of driving action in the right place at the right time. For example, to reach Snapchatters at colleges or universities, a retailer can use Location Categories to advertise dorm room supplies to that audience. Location Categories can range from beaches to movie theaters to state and city.

This new feature hits audiences at the place and moment they’re most likely to be receptive to relevant ad messages. It’s also a convenient way to organize audience types as they relate to relevant products or services.

Radius Targeting

With Radius Targeting, advertisers (for businesses both big and small) can add or exclude an area or radius surrounding a specified address, city center, pin, or point of interest. For example, a sports brand may choose to reach Snapchatters within a radius around Yankee Stadium.

Snap provided a specific success example of Radius Targeting in action by Hopper, a traveling app. Hopper specified a radius around airports to market a flight deal to Snapchatters within that radius.

“This perfect match of radius targeting and relevant creative has cut our [cost per install] in half, and bumped our booking rate on Snapchat to four times what it is on other paid social platforms,” Qasim Mian, Hopper’s user acquisition manager, said in a Snapchat Ads post. “With this consistently strong performance, we’ve confidently scaled our investment in Snapchat to make it one of our primary acquisition channels.”

Why Is Location Such a Big Deal?

So why is Snapchat driving location as a primary advertising focus? It all comes down to relevance. Snapchatters’ locations reflect interests. For example, if a user is at a movie theater, that user probably likes movies. When you serve movie trailers to that user, that user will be more likely to respond. The more advertisers know about their audiences, the more relevant ads they can serve and the more likely they will receive conversions.

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Instagram Tests “New Posts” Button for Users Who Miss the Old Algorithm

April 9, 2018
Anna Hubbel

Instagram Tests New Posts Button from users who miss the old algorithm. #socialmedia #tech #instagram
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You’re scrolling through your Instagram feed when you come across a photo of a friend with her boyfriend. You like the photo, but you soon discover that the post is two days old and that she has since broken up with the boyfriend from the photo. #Awkward.

Instagram heeds users’ feedback about its latest algorithm by testing a “New Posts” button. By tapping the button, users’ feeds refresh and display the most recent posts. Leaving the button untapped allows users to continue scrolling their feeds uninterrupted.

The current algorithm prioritizes content that Instagram perceives to be the most meaningful to each user. Before 2016, the algorithm displayed posts chronologically. However, Instagram decided to change it when it appeared that users were missing relevant content that was pushed down by incoming new content.

Since then, users have been frustrated with missing new incoming content. Additionally, some are annoyed when Instagram refreshes and automatically pushes them back to the top of the feed.

According to a company blog post, Instagram plans to make changes “to give you more control over your feed and ensure the posts you see are timely.”

“We hope this makes browsing Instagram much more enjoyable,” the company added.

Additionally, Instagram is making changes to make newer posts more likely to appear first in users’ feeds.

“With these changes, your feed will feel more fresh, and you won’t miss the moments you care about,” the company explained. “So if your best friend shares a selfie from her vacation in Australia, it will be waiting for you when you wake up.”

And you’ll be able to keep better tabs on your friend’s ever-changing relationship status.

What This Means for Advertising

If creators use frequency as their posting strategy, their content can appear more frequently in people’s feeds. Note, however, that because Instagram will share more information over the next few months, the company could still throw a curveball. For example, the company may launch an algorithm that only displays newer posts from users’ Instagram friends, excluding posts by advertisers or brands altogether. This possibility is unlikely, however.

If a brand works with influencers with strong followings, the changes are likely to work in their favor. Instagram’s algorithm still takes into account engagement numbers when deciding which content to prioritize on its feed.

When considering these changes Instagram plans to implement, one can’t help but wonder if Snapchat will follow suit. The latter platform announced not long ago that it too had changed its algorithm to prioritize more relevant and meaningful content. Are Snapchatters giving similar feedback to that of Instagrammers? Will Snapchat return to the chronological algorithm? Only time will tell.

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Facebook Removes Ad Targeting by Sexual Orientation to Prevent Discrimination

April 6, 2018
Anna Hubbel

Facebook removes ad targeting by sexual orientation to prevent discrimination. #lgbt #facebookads #facebook
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Image by Quintin Gellar

It’s one change after another for Facebook as the company continues to improve the security of its platform and prevent misuse. However, not all the changes are considered good by some organizations. According to BuzzFeed News, Facebook recently (and quietly) took away ad targeting by sexual orientation, leaving some LGBT community support organizations very unhappy.

In particular, The Trevor Project, a national organization that offers 24/7 contact support for suicidal LGBT teens, worries it won’t be able to reach its intended audience. The change could prove detrimental to its worldwide support efforts.

“It’s really important to have that targeting be available,” Trevor Project’s chief growth officer Calvin Stowell said in a BuzzFeed News article. “We’re advertising our services — obviously they’re life saving.”

The ad targeting option in question uses gender and “interested in” information from users’ Facebook profiles to deliver ads based on sexual orientation. This ad targeting option is currently only available to dating apps but only until the end of April. BuzzFeed explained that Facebook is simply delaying the block for dating apps to give them time to “wind down” their use of it.

The sexual orientation ad targeting option is no longer available.

Why take away this targeting option now? Because Facebook has been in the hot seat lately for advertisers’ misuse of its platform for discriminatory purposes. Back in September 2017, Facebook removed self-reported targeting because some advertisers used the fields to target “Jew haters.” Additionally, the platform was misused for Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign when the data firm Cambridge Analytica harvested personal information from 50 million users’ profiles to deliver manipulated campaign messages.

By removing sexual orientation from its targeting options, Facebook aims to prevent discrimination, such as offering products or services to an audience identifying as one sexual orientation while excluding another.

The sexual orientation targeting option is available to dating apps for a limited time.

The Trevor Project, however, is trying to convince Facebook to make an exception for its organization based on the crucial nature of its services. The organization believes that blindly attempting to target individuals based solely on their interests could accidentally exclude individuals who have not yet publicly shared their sexual orientation.

Not all LGBT support organizations are against Facebook’s decision to remove this ad targeting option, however. According to BuzzFeed, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) believes it’s an understandable measure that will hopefully crack down on any discriminatory or unethical intent. But GLAAD doesn’t have as much at stake as The Trevor Project.

Whether Facebook eventually considers The Trevor Project’s request for an exception is a waiting game. Right now, the platform is focusing on taking serious action against misuse.

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Facebook to Inform Users If Cambridge Analytica Took Their Data

April 5, 2018
Anne Felicitas

Facebook to Inform Users If Cambridge Analytica Took Their Data. #cambridgeanalytica #databreach #facebook
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Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP/REX/Shutterstock

In a statement posted to Facebook Newsroom, Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer announced that Facebook will soon inform users if their data was scraped by Cambridge Analytica.

This announcement will occur alongside the launch of a new News Feed tool on Monday, April 9. The News Feed tool will appear as a link on top of users’ feeds, containing all the apps they have used and all the information they have shared with those apps. From there, users can remove the apps they no longer want, effectively revoking access to their data.

This past week, the social media company has been implementing one change after another in an attempt to extinguish public outrage over the Cambridge Analytica data breach. Yesterday, the company announced that up to 87 million users were affected by the breach.

The changes Facebook made so far includes limiting apps’ access to user data, pausing app review, rewriting privacy terms, and stopping advertisers’ access to third-party data. Schroepfer announced that Facebook will also disable search and account discovery, a tool that allows people to find friends and family using their phone numbers or email addresses. According to Schroepfer, Facebook is discontinuing this feature because malicious actors have abused the future in the past, scraping public profile information by submitting phone numbers and email addresses they obtained through search and account recovery.

In addition to implementing changes to better protect user data, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress on April 11.

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Soon Advertisers Must Verify Their Leads Were Rightfully Attained

April 5, 2018

Anna Hubbel

New policy requires advertisers to verify that their leads were rightfully obtained. #facebook #digitaladvertising #facebookads
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Photo courtesy of Bloomberg. Photo by David Paul Morris.

Lately it’s been a whirlwind of news and headlines for Facebook as the social network makes its platform safer from scandals like the Cambridge Analytica data breach. As part of this pursuit, Facebook will launch a Custom Audience tool that requires advertisers to verify whether the customer email addresses for ad targeting use were rightfully attained.

TechCrunch shared a notification message from a Facebook rep to a client about the new certification tool:

“Coming soon a new Custom Audiences certification tool and process for any Custom Audience data imported into Facebook. Advertisers will be required to represent and warrant that proper user consent has been obtained for the use of any data uploaded.”

Although Facebook’s terms already required advertisers to attain proper consent for targeting data, this new tool avoids future data breaches. In the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Dr. Aleksandr Kogan collected personal information from 50 million Facebook users and gave the information to Cambridge Analytica. The firm, which worked for Trump’s campaign, used the information to target users for political ads, violating Facebook’s terms.

Since Custom Audiences allows advertisers to upload lists of email addresses and phone numbers to target specific customers, it’s appropriate that Facebook would now crack down on this particular targeting option. The company wants to make sure users’ information are protected.

It’s unclear exactly how Facebook will enforce advertisers to rightfully attain every single one of their leads with this new certification tool. However, it is clear that users want advertisers to do more than just check a box to confirm rightful use. Users want complete transparency, as well as consequential action taken against advertisers even slightly suspected of misuse.

But will advertisers be willing to take extra steps to confirm they’ve legally obtained their targeting leads? If a bulk of advertisers have been sliding under the radar up until this point, Facebook could see a notable drop in advertising partners, depending on any new processes it enacts. If so, it’s a small price to pay to ensure users’ information is protected and that Facebook can maintain its status as the largest social media platform.

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3 Uses of Facebook Messenger Bots to Improve Your Business

April 4, 2018
Alexandra Hayes

3 uses of #facebook #messenger #chatbots to improve your business. #digitalmarketing #digitaladvertising #facebookads.
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Social media channels are too important to neglect. In today’s digital marketing environment, most webmasters, marketers, and entrepreneurs constantly look for the big, shiny new thing, the new update, the new feature, and the new product that will change the marketing game forever.

If you’re in that mindset, you must quickly realize that what you’re looking for is already here. Facebook is currently the strongest and most popular social channel. Its app, Messenger, is the most used instant messaging platform, reaching over 1.74 mobile monthly active users by the end 2017.

As Messenger gained huge popularity over the last years, the so-called Messenger bots have started to appear. A Messenger bot is a complex software that allows you to customize and automate instant responses in the Messenger app, so whenever your followers and customers want to get in touch, they’ll receive an immediate, helpful answer.

Why Use Facebook Messenger Bots?

This is a very good question to ask. Why are Facebook bots necessary and important for your business, and how can they improve different areas of performance?

First, most of your customers are likely using Facebook Messenger to communicate with their friends and family. Therefore, they’ll be constantly present and ready to notice and reply to your message. Second, Messenger bots happen to be true time savers because they allow you to automate more aspects of your brand-to-customer communication.

In today’s post, you’ll learn the three ways you can use Facebook Messenger bots to improve your business. Pay attention and apply these tips.

Photo Courtesy of Messenger Developer Blog
3 Uses of Messenger Bots for Different Needs

Take a close look at several chatbot strategies that you may use to reap different business results.

1. Improve UX by Creating a Content Marketing Bot

The ultimate purpose of every business is to generate more profits. However, before you can gain more profit, you must first improve your social engagement and boost your sales by improving UX (user experience). You can do that through effective content marketing.

Improving the experience of your customers can only be possible if you know them very well. You need to understand their thoughts and behaviors, their deepest fears, their problems and needs. Only if you’re aware of these aspects will you be able to personalize users’ experience and design a Messenger bot for a personalized content marketing campaign. As Haley Watson, a social media marketing specialist at Superior Papers, said:

Messenger bots can serve as a truly useful tool for delivering personalized content for different segments of your audience. The purpose is to educate the user, giving him more information on the needs/problems he wishes to solve. Once trust is established, your Messenger bot should lead the prospect to your website, email newsletter, or product pages.

When you develop a personalized content marketing bot, you must do the following:

Treat it like you treat content marketing. This means you shouldn’t rush to sell your products because you’ll sound intrusive. Instead, develop campaigns that educate your customers on different matters. Warm them up, make them trust you, and then they’ll buy.
Use browsing menus. Most Messenger bots allow you to create browsing menus, a feature that helps your customers explore and find the content they’re looking for.
Make certain that your site has a responsive design. Make sure all tabs, buttons, and links are clickable.
Let all your prospects know where they can find you. Provide the necessary contact details that people will need to get in touch with you.

2. Provide Immediate Solutions with Instant, 24/7 Automated Customer Service

Another brilliant use of Facebook Messenger chatbots is to offer instant, 24/7, and automated customer service. Generally, people ask the same questions again and again. Using a chatbot, you can write down all of the most frequently asked questions and program a personalized response for each. This way, every time customers ask a question that has been already asked, you won’t have to waste any more time or effort.

If you decide to develop a Facebook messenger chatbot to improve your customer service, you must do the following:

You must offer customers the opportunity to get in touch with a real customer service employee.
You should let your customers know that they’re talking to a bot.
You should create a customer service bot only if you believe it’s truly necessary.

3. Increase Sales by Selling Products through Messenger

Did you know that you can customize Messenger bots to make direct sales? Your customers don’t even have to leave Messenger because they can pay inside the app. There are many brands that already use this strategy to improve their revenues, for example, Domino’s Pizza and 1-800-Flowers. For the latter service, customers can purchase flowers and send gifts to their loved ones by adding the name, the phone number, and the phone number of the recipient.

Developing a selling chatbot is not rocket science. If you decide to sell your products through a Messenger bot, you must do the following:

Ensure that your bot can answer your users’ FAQ. Because lack of knowledge is the first barrier to purchase, offer all the relevant information that will help your potential customers make the purchase decision.
Use a chatbot builder to accept payments on Messenger. This tool allows you to accept payments through different channels and service such as PayPal and Stripe.
Always provide additional suggestions. Your customers may want to buy more products at once. Add the “Anything else?” option at the end of your sales process to encourage them to make additional purchases.

Takeaways

If you’re still thinking whether or not implementing and customizing Facebook Messenger bots for your own business will yield productive outcomes, I’m urging you to stop thinking and start acting. This is the future of automated chatting. To stay up to speed with your competitors, you should immediately implement, test, measure, optimize, and scale your Messenger bots.

Alexandra Hayes is a creative writer interested in digital marketing and PR. She enjoys visual arts and ashtanga yoga. Besides, Alexandra is a starting photographer. Meet her on Twitter and Facebook!

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