Digital Intelligence Report Q1 Review

Written By James Arnold

The U.S. House’s passing of the “TikTok ban bill” grabbed the top headline for digital marketing and sales during the first quarter of 2024. It was a shot across the bow from the government in its efforts to force changes for the Chinese social/video powerhouse. How it will ultimately play out is unclear. The Senate is investigating, but it will likely get through to President Biden, who has already said he would sign it. 

After that, it would likely take months to enact any sort of ban, which would give the parties further opportunity to negotiate … and hackers and others to find ways around the ban. 

Meanwhile, TikTok has continued its growth around the world and in the U.S. and has even started seeing success in longer form videos. Brands, however, continue to come up against engagement declines and instability. 

Here is the latest on TikTok’s argument against a ban.

Beyond the TikTok news, digital marketing and sales was abuzz with the topics that drew our attention throughout 2023. 

  • The cookie depreciation has been happening for a while now, and many remain mostly disinterested, since most of the tools marketers have been using continue to work the same. Programmatic continues to work well as the various players work around the many moguls. 

  • X continues to limp along, although a touch more quietly in 2024. One significant note was Elon Musk’s desire to have X be a video-first platform sometime in 2024. 

  • Google made another major algorithmic change in March, primarily designed to thwart websites made for advertising. 

Tensions Mount Around AI

For every advancement AI brings, there is apparently an equal and opposite reaction that curbs our collective enthusiasm. 

We have the amazing graphical and video builds of generative AI offset by artists and publishers filing suit when their materials are included without agreements in place. 

AI is prevalent in every aspect of digital, but pinning down in-market examples can be challenging. Mostly, we are seeing it in personalized customer experiences, voice search optimization and enhanced data analytics.

We have Google, the undisputed leader in digital, advancing from Bard to Gemini while also acknowledging its ability to master AI will determine its entire future. 

Here’s a nice guide on the world of generative AI.

The Challenge of Email Has Increased

The second-most used email platform, Gmail, in the United States put into place standards for bulk email providers. The standards, requiring single-click opting out and specific protocols to be in use, will further challenge marketers to get emails into the inboxes of recipients. By July, emails not allowing a one-click opt-out will be rejected.

While the typical best practices for email marketing protect marketers in most cases, harsher measures like this push more to the mainstream email service providers.

Another newer best practice that is forming into a standard, although not an enforced one as yet, is the avoiding artificial intelligence to write your email copy. While AI is a fantastic support for email content, the inbox is cluttered and busy. Emails that are more segmented and personalized – not the more generalized approach AI often takes – are drawing greater engagement. 

Assess your email strategy with this checklist.

James Arnold
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Trends / Google / X