Social Media Examiner - Diversifying beyond Facebook...

Well Reader, today is National Blasé Day. 

😐 I could take it or leave it. How do you feel about it?

This newsletter is brought to you by Social Media Marketing World.

In this edition:

We’re also covering decentralized social media.

But first, a word from our sponsor:

Level Up Your Social Marketing
Get everything you need to take things to the next level by attending Social Media Marketing World. Explore four core learning tracks and actionable advice from experts you trust. You won’t find this breadth of training anywhere else!

See what tools and apps we recommend to support your marketing strategy.

Google Performance Max: What Marketers Need to Know

Google Performance Max is a new campaign type from Google Ads. It’s a major update because it combines machine learning with multiple ad types.

In the past, Google had lots of separate campaign types: search ads, shopping ads, display ads, discovery ads, and local ads. Performance Max can potentially work with all of those formats at once. It uses machine learning to decide which placements work best for your campaign as it goes along. 

Let’s break down those categories a bit to show you just how much Performance Max covers.

• Search and shopping ads include text ads and ad banners in search results.
• Display ads appear all over the internet for users who don’t have ad blockers.
• Discovery ads include high-traffic placements such as YouTube, the Google mobile app, and Gmail.
• Local ads include placements such as Google Maps, which can be invaluable for businesses with a physical presence. 

In case it wasn’t already obvious from that list, Google’s ad network is colossal. The Display network alone covers about 80% of the internet.

But there’s one fatal flaw in the existing ad system: it’s complex, confusing, and not especially user-friendly. 

Performance Max aims to change that. As well as offering a wide range of placements, it’s very simple. All you have to do is set up the bidding, creative assets, and audience signals, and then let the algorithms do the rest.

You might be wondering why we’re talking about this on Social Media Examiner. Google hasn’t been social since Google+... or has it? 

There’s less of a difference between Google ads and social marketing than you might think. The formats have become more similar in style; for example, you can now create display ads with photo carousels just like Instagram sponsored posts. 

Search and social ads are also closely connected on the buyer’s journey. Imagine you see a product advertised on Instagram a few times. You don’t tap on it but the brand name stays in your mind. When you decide you want that product a few weeks later, where do you go? 

For most people, the answer is Google. While social media might be the first touchpoint on the buyer’s journey, it often ends with a conversion from Google. 

Social marketers need to use Google as part of a holistic ad mix. Performance Max makes that easier to do than ever before because you only have to set up one ad campaign to cover the whole Google network. 

Another major selling point for Performance Max is that it’s genuinely good at discovering new customers and new markets. Many direct-to-consumer brands have already found that they attract more first-time customers with Performance Max than with shopping ads alone. 

Performance Max won’t be the perfect fit for every brand but if you:

• Market to customers across multiple social networks and platforms…
• Are focused on making eCommerce sales…
• And/or want to be able to scale ad campaigns up and down quickly…

… then it’s worth giving Performance Max a try. 

To learn how to use Google Performance Max, click below:

• Read the Article.
• Watch on YouTube.
• Listen on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

Here is some more great content you won't want to miss:

Decentralized Social: The Next Frontier for Creators
Curious about the future of social media? Wondering how Web3 will impact social platforms? Discover how decentralized social media is changing the way creators and audiences connect. 

• Read the Article.
• Watch on YouTube.
• Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify.