Instagram addresses on-platform bias, Snapchat educates marketers, and Bumble combines Pride and BLM initiatives.
Your weekly digital marketing matchbox to kindle creative content.
June 18, 2020
Snap Into Focus
Summer is here, but Snapchat wants us to go back to school. At Snap’s Partner Summit last week, the company announced a range of new features, including advances in AR, increased listings on Snap Map, and expanded original programming. If you want to incorporate Snap’s snazzy new ad options into your marketing mix, but don’t know where to begin, look no further than Snap Focus. This new education platform offers courses on the various Snapchat tools, including advertising formats and opportunities, how to deploy media and creative campaigns in Ads Manager, and best practices. Even if you already consider yourself a Snapping pro, the courses might help you to look at Snap ads differently and spark new content ideas. As Snapchat now reaches more people in the US than Twitter and TikTok combined, Snap Focus could help us all get an A+ in digital marketing summer school.
Dolla Makes You Holla
It's no secret that when budgets are tight, advertising dollars are among the first to get slashed. But if there’s anything we’ve learned in 2020, it’s that nothing is happening like it usually does. While most marketing budgets have dived this year, a recent CMO survey from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business tells a more nuanced story. The report found these budgets increased as a percentage of a business’s overall spending, from an average of 11.3% in January to 12.6% in May. Working with limited cash is a challenge, but marketers have impressively met customers in the middle, working overtime to guide traffic to omnichannel and online sales. So, another thing we’ve learned this year? Digital marketing teams are crucial to success — and brands that prioritize them are going to reap the benefits during our new, now, and next normal.
Platform Power
You've likely noticed brands and people alike using their social platforms to share valuable #BlackLivesMatter resources recently. But it’s long been noted that the algorithms on social media tend to carry racial bias themselves. This week, Instagram announced how it plans to work within the platform and behind the scenes to promote social equality by addressing harassment policies, account verification, content distribution, and algorithmic bias. IG has a lot of work to do to ensure racial representation on the platform, and it’ll be a long-term process to investigate and implement changes. But its commitment to doing so serves as a reminder that promoting equality requires work at all levels — from regular ole people to brands and influencers to the platforms that house them.
WHAT LIT US UP THIS WEEK
United With Pride
As the ongoing effects of coronavirus have forced the cancellation of festivals and parades, Pride Month looks a lot different in 2020. And in light of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, some brands have opted to postpone their scheduled Pride campaigns. But others, like Bumble, have chosen to merge initiatives for Pride and BLM to support equality for all LGBTQ+ BIPOC communities. Bumble’s campaign encourages more than 5 million users across three apps — Bumble Date, Bumble BFF, and Bumble Bizz — to nominate organizations that support these communities. In addition to a $1 million donation across several organizations in May, Bumble has pledged $5,000 to select groups chosen by users.
Bumble’s campaign highlights that Pride and racial justice aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s imperative to acknowledge and support intersectionality. And by allowing users to be part of its mission, Bumble admits it’s not an expert in this space and isn’t aware of all the potential organizations that can benefit from a donation. However, by providing an inclusive movement that welcomes all colors and expressions, the brand creates a chance to amplify oft-forgotten voices at the core of both movements, united by change. And, as brands work to educate and diversify themselves, now is a time to open up — not shy away — from conversations with audiences.
