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Industry News: Apple’s New Privacy Update Takes Center Stage

 

In today’s fast-paced digital world, it can be challenging to keep up with the latest industry news. It seems like local search and social platforms are consistently rolling out new updates and tools to help both users and marketers. It’s hard to believe that it’s already time for another industry news blog, but it’s needed with so many recent platform updates.

 

As a multi-location marketer, it can seem overwhelming to keep up with all the industry news and trends, but we’re here to help. Within this blog, we’ll break down the most recent industry news relevant to multi-location marketers and explain how you can incorporate them into your localized marketing efforts. From various updates on Google My Business to notable news from Apple, there’s a lot you won’t want to miss!

 

Introducing Apple’s New iOS14 Privacy Update

 

To get started, we’ll look at the arrival of Apple’s new iOS14 privacy update and its potential impact on digital marketing. The iOS14’s updates, one of the most significant releases to date, include changes to its privacy and sharing policies, also known as Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework (AATTF). This update will give Apple users more transparency—and control—with sharing their information. With this new update, ad-tracking permission pop-ups will prompt Apple users to decide if they want to share their personal information when they download an app.

 

When it comes to target audiences on Facebook Ads, Facebook primarily uses information collected from activity across apps. If users start opting out, Facebook will have less behavior data available to measure ad campaigns’ efficacy and target specific audiences. While this new update might not impact your multi-location business directly, it’s something to keep an eye on if you’re utilizing Facebook Ads. Because this update is unknown, it’s unclear how much this update will affect Facebook’s targeting. As a multi-location marketer, it’s essential always to be ready. If this update does have a significant impact, what are other ways your multi-location business can break through to your target audience through localized marketing?

 

Google Announces New Tool to Manage Your Reviews 

 

Google’s newest feature is exciting for all multi-location marketers! In the world of multi-location marketing, reputation management is key. Previously, there was no way your multi-location business could keep track of the reviews you flagged. GMB’s latest tool allows multi-location marketers to see recent reviews their business received along with the status of reviews that your business has asked to be removed or taken down – all in one space.

 

The update can help multi-location marketers stay on top of their reputation management. To access the tool, go to the Google Help Center and click on “Manage My Reviews.” You can then select your business and choose if you want to see the status of a flagged review or flag a new review your business received. The tool is currently being tested and may not be available for all GMB profiles with a large number of listings.

 

If you’re looking for other options to manage your reviews across 100s or 1,000s of business locations on GMB, Facebook, and other sites where it’s vital to manage your reputation. SOCi’s streamlined reputation management software is here to help. Through SOCi, users can view every action taken on reviews and monitor every activity on social media. Now, your local, regional, and corporate teams will always know which reviews and social engagements to address and which ones still require attention to ensure the prompt responses consumers expect.

 

 

Facebook Launches New Ways for Content Creators to Make Money 

 

We’ve got another exciting update – this one coming from Facebook. Facebook has recently expanded its options for content creators to make money.  Creators can now earn money from short videos, a change from the past when videos had to be at least three minutes to be monetized. Multi-location marketers can now add pre, mid, and post-roll image ads to videos that are a minute or longer. Facebook will also begin beta-testing the monetization of Facebook stories that will include ads that look like stickers. Marketers can find all of these options in Facebook’s Creator Studio, as seen below.

 

 

In addition to making money off short videos and potentially Facebook Stories, the platform has updated eligibility requirements, expanding the necessary criteria to qualify for the revenue program. Your multi-location business must have more than 600,000 total minutes of videos viewed to be eligible for in-stream ads. This viewing time can come from any combination of video views over the past two months.

 

If your multi-location business qualifies, this new feature is worth testing.  To get the most out of your marketing dollars, it may be worth exploring the use of image ads to highlight your products or services in short videos.

 

Yelp and Gold House Announce Partnership 

 

Our last update comes from Yelp, in response to the recent rise in anti-Asian violence since the start of the pandemic. Through research, Yelp determined consumers are increasingly looking for ways to support the Asian community. To help make it easier, Yelp partnered with Gold House, a nonprofit organization that forges inclusive unity, representation, and success of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Through this partnership, businesses on Yelp can self-identify as Asian-owned if they choose to do so. This new attribute will be searchable on Yelp and help consumers looking for Asian-owned companies to support.

 

Although this update does not affect all multi-location businesses, it’s good to be aware of the change. Yelp consistently strives to provide opportunities for populations that are going through tough times. For instance, Yelp previously created a similar attribute that allowed businesses to select if they were Black-owned and operated. You can find more details on this feature here. Your multi-location business needs to keep its local profiles as updated and accurate as possible, and that includes selecting these attributes Yelp has provided if applicable.

 

Now that we’ve gone through all of the latest industry news, it’s time to implement them into your localized marketing efforts. To stay ahead of the competition and stand out in today’s digital-first world, staying on top of the latest industry trends is essential. While managing localized marketing efforts across all of your business locations might seem daunting, SOCi is here to help! SOCi is the all-in-one platform for your localized marketing needs and the central command for multi-location marketers. From reputation management to local social efforts to chatbots and more, SOCi has you covered. For more information on how SOCi can give your localized marketing efforts the boost it deserves, request a demo today!