Meta Calls the Kettle Black

How will the switch to Google Analytics 4 affect your search ranking?... Snapchat restricts apps building on its developer platform... TikTok expands its Stories feature... And more!

Consumers Cut the Cord by 50%

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Are the days of traditional TV nearing their end? Recent cord-cutting statistics show that cable is plummeting, as streaming services are taking over. 

A new study has found that less than half of U.S. households will have a cable TV subscription by next year. The analysis expects the total number of pay TV households to drop by almost 5% from 2022.

What's most unsettling for cable companies is that in 2020, when more people than ever were stuck at home, there was an almost 8% drop.

Where is the industry headed? 

The study predicts that as pay TV continues to decline, virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) will be on the rise, and households will turn to services from providers like Hulu and YouTube TV. 

By the end of 2022, 15 million households will subscribe to a multichannel streaming platform, representing over 11% of all U.S. households.

The study notes that the streaming landscape is evolving as platforms strike deals for live sports programming and introduce subscription tiers that are ad-supported. As a result, cable TV consumers are increasingly enticed to cut the cord.

While cable TV isn't dead yet, the analysis suggests that it may be time to start shifting at least some of your budget to the new video platforms.

The study was done by Insider Intelligence.

How Will GA4 Affect Your Ranking?

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There has been a lot of noise in the industry this week about Google Analytics 4 as a result of Google's official announcement to kill its current Universal Analytics code. And maybe you are wondering how the pivot to GA4 will affect your ranking?

Well, we can confirm that switching to GA4 will NOT boost your search rankings. 

Sometimes, the search giant uses a ranking boost as a way to motivate site owners to make a change. For example, it added ranking boosts for mobile friendly design, page experience, and many others.

But when it comes to giving site owners incentive to switch to GA4, Google Search advocate John Mueller said "that's not going to happen."

Mueller stated years ago that there is no ranking benefit to using Google Analytics, and that will continue to be the case for GA4. 

Can Negative Reviews HELP Your Sales?

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You've heard the advice: Avoid getting negative reviews on your product or company at all costs. Sometimes, that leads to shady practices like bribing or suing web sites that publish them. 

But are negative reviews ALWAYS detrimental? 

A new study has found how social distance between a brand and consumer can change the effect of a bad review. 

Tod spoke with the study authors earlier. Here's a portion of their conversation:

Dr. Nailya Ordabayeva: Conventional wisdom would say that negative reviews are always bad. Interestingly, this wisdom has been based on past research that did not consider the identity of the brand and the meaning of the brand for consumers in the implications of these negative reviews. 

What we found was that these deep connections that consumers have with their brands can actually protect brands from negative feedback that these brands receive from different other customers that consumers might wish to push away...

Tod: Your research found that if someone connects their identity to a brand, the negative reviews don't matter as much. But could they be beneficial somehow?

Dr. Nailya Ordabayeva: More specifically, what we found was that when consumers encounter these negative reviews of these brands to which they feel deeply connected, they start to scrutinize who [the reviewer is], in order to look for reasons to potentially discount the the review and their purchase decisions. 

So when they find that the review comes from somebody who is very different from them — demographic characteristics and purchasing patterns, etc — they actually use that as an excuse to discount that review as being less informative and legitimate. As a result, they stick to the brand, they protect the brand, and in some situations they even are more willing to buy that brand.

Their full conversation was about a half-hour long, and also covered things like:

  • How marketers can increase that feeling of identity connection

  • What putting small reviewer profiles on product pages does for conversion rates

  • If the opposite is true — in other words, are POSITIVE reviews discarded by brand-connected consumers?

  • And much more.

That full interview is coming exclusively to the Premium Podcast Feed tomorrow. 

The Premium Feed contains deep-dive expert interviews like that, plus it erases all ads from the daily podcast, you get more stories than the free version, story links in the show notes, and a lot more.

New Policies for Snap’s Developer Platform

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Some changes are coming to Snapchat's platform, and it could impact the apps that brands are using to reach young people.

Snap Inc. is bucking down on its safety measures and adding new app development policies.

Last year, a lawsuit raised allegations about the social media app not doing enough to protect its young users after a teen died by suicide. In response, the company banned the two integrated messaging apps that had facilitated online bullying and conducted a review of the program's policies. 

As a result of the review, Snap has announced its revised policies.

First, it will prohibit apps that facilitate anonymous messaging from integrating with its platform.

The company acknowledged that during its review, it found that even with safeguards in place, anonymous apps pose risks for abuse that are "impossible to mitigate at an acceptable level."

The platform also announced that developers building friend-finding apps will not be allowed unless they are age-gated and restricted to Snapchatters over 18.

Existing developers have 30 days to come into compliance with the new policies.

TikTok Expanding Stories Feature

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You might be able to start repurposing Instagram Stories to TikTok to expand your audience. 

TikTok is rolling out its Stories feature to more users. Upon launching the app, you will see a new banner asking you to try out the new format if you have the feature.

Like Instagram, TikTok Stories last for 24 hours before they are deleted, and can be viewed by visiting a brand's profile and clicking on the profile picture. 

However, compared to Instagram, TikTok’s Stories lack one major feature: you cannot see who has viewed your story. But users can like a story, and leave a public comment, whereas on Instagram commenters reply in a DM. 

While I was scrolling TikTok today, I noticed a few Stories appear in my FYP, so it could be a nice new way for your content to get more reach. 

Here's how to post a story if the feature is rolled out to you: 

  1. Click the “post” button on the bottom center navigation bar of the app. 

  2. Then, select the “quick” camera mode, which lets you post a photo or a video to your story. 

Creating videos for a story is the same as creating normal TikTok videos, with the ability to reply to comments, use filters, etc.

Is Google Business Profile Getting Text Support... Again?

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Your Google Business Profile might be getting a feature that the company killed years ago… text support. 

When the search giant first launched messaging within Google Business Profiles, it was done through SMS, text messaging. Then Google removed the SMS portion and added it to the mobile app and the web interface. But, it might be making a comeback.

A Local SEO spotted the update and tweeted a screenshot of their Google Business Profile that says "You can now get SMS alerts when customers message your business through chat. Add your phone number to try it out."

Google has not released a statement about the update, so it's unclear if it is a test or slowly rolling out to merchants.

Meta Files Lawsuit Over Fake Reviews

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Meta has filed a lawsuit in California over the use of fake reviews on Facebook.

In its complaint, the company alleges that the seller operating as Customer Feedback Score Solutions provided fake reviews and feedback for businesses with the intention of artificially boosting their Facebook Customer Feedback Score.

Meta sends surveys to some users who click on ads on its platform, asking for feedback on customer service, the product, and shipping times. A business that receives a significant amount of negative feedback may be subject to enforcement measures, such as ad restrictions, financial penalties, or account suspension. Customer Feedback Solutions is alleged to have manipulated this process to benefit its clients.

Now, Meta is seeking damages and injunctive relief for these alleged violations of its policies, as well as halting fake reviews.

Twitter Spaces is Testing Audio Clips

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Twitter's Clubhouse clone, Spaces, is testing a new way to promote content, with the ability to create audio clips up to 30 seconds from past Spaces streams.

The new clipping tool on Spaces will enable users to create audio clips from a recorded Space, which can then be shared via tweet, with a link back to the full recording. 

Some hosts on iOS will be able to test creating clips, while everyone on iOS will be able to see and listen to clips on the Timeline. The platform said it will be rolling out to Android and web soon.

The announcement comes only about 6 months after Clubhouse rolled out this exact same feature. 

Google Testing Feature in Local Listings

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Google appears to be testing a new feature in Local Listings.

Some web sites have lists of topics like "10 best restaurants in New York City''. Well, now those lists might show up in the local panel on the Google Map listing in a new section called "on these lists".

An SEO analyst posted a screenshot on Twitter of the update, which shows the search for "Drayton Manor Theme Park," the Local Listing displays the new section, with all of the lists that the theme park is on such as "Top 10 UK Theme Parks".

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