Weekly Marketing Rundown - May 31st, 2024

Weekly Marketing Rundown - March 28, 2025 Hi everyone! In this week's edition of Kavanah Media's Weekly Marketing Rundown we discuss WhatsApp's security flaw, Meta's new branding tools for Ads Manager, important metrics for advertiser to monitor and more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM WhatsApp Patches Critical Security Flaw WhatsApp has fixed a serious vulnerability that allowed hackers to install spyware on devices remotely. The flaw, which involved specially crafted video calls, could have exposed users to surveillance and data theft. Meta has urged all users to update their apps immediately to stay protected. https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/whatsapp-patches-security-flaw-which-let-hackers-install-spyware Facebook Stops Using Personal Data for Ad Targeting After Lawsuit A UK woman, Tanya O’Carroll, successfully sued Meta to stop Facebook from using her personal data for targeted ads. She argued that Meta’s advertising practices violated direct marketing laws under GDPR, allowing individuals to object to their data being used this way. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office supported her stance, disagreeing with Meta’s claim that its ads target groups, not individuals. For mission teams using Facebook ads, this case signals growing scrutiny over personalized advertising. It may lead to stronger privacy regulations and more user control over data, impacting how ads reach specific audiences. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1en1yjv4dpo Meta Introduces Branding Definition in Ads Manager Meta is rolling out a feature allowing brands to define brand colors, fonts, and even upload logos. Previously, this was possible through Overlays, but the system was buggy and often did not function at all. For mission teams, this could make adding branding to ads a much more efficient process, potentially replacing burning logos onto creatives prior to uploading them into ads manager. https://www.jonloomer.com/define-branding-in-ads-manager/ Why Brand-Owned Communities Are the Future of Growth Some brands are shifting toward building their own online communities rather than relying solely on social media platforms. These owned communities allow direct engagement, better data control, and long-term customer loyalty without the risks of algorithm changes or platform policies. Companies are using forums, apps, and exclusive groups to nurture deeper connections. For mission teams, this highlights the importance of creating dedicated online spaces for seekers and disciples rather than relying only on social platforms. Private groups, websites, or apps could provide more stability, deeper engagement, and better discipleship pathways. It is worth some experimentation. https://martech.org/why-brand-owned-communities-are-the-future-of-growth/?utm_source=tldrmarketing   CPM, CTR, and CPC- What Metrics Are the Most Important? Metrics like cost per mille (1000 impression), click through rate, and cost per click are important metrics in digital marketing, but marketers should be careful to not ONLY focus on those metrics. It is very easy for these metrics to look good, but not reflect reality. In the world of sales, your most important stats are actual conversions, or sales. It is possible to have an incredibly high click through rate, for example, but have no sales. Even though mission teams may not have sales, they do have conversions such as messages, leads forms and more. It is a reminder that we need to look deeper when trying to determine if an ad was successful. If a team's goal is messages, and their ad has a high CTR or lower CPC, it still may not be considered successful if it brings no messages or all negative messages. Teams should look beyond their ads metrics to determine if an ad strategy or campaign is successful, and let that data drive adjustments. https://www.jonloomer.com/qvt/the-most-important-ads-metrics/ Intentional - Kavanah Media's Newsletter Subscribe to Intentional, Kavanah’s monthly newsletter, and stay inspired by stories of lives transformed, ministry milestones, and the latest business updates on how we’re intentionally leveraging digital platforms to make God known across the globe. Join us on this journey of purposeful digital engagement and global impact! For more on this, click the link below: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/sign-up  Christian Media Marketing Podcast Looking for more in depth information regarding all things digital engagement? Look no further than the Christian Media Marketing Podcast. For 5 years Kavanah Media CEO Jon Ralls has gone in depth on everything from websites to online messaging. Subscribe here ( https://www.kavanahmedia.com/podcast) or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks for reading this edition of Kavanah Media's Weekly Marketing Rundown! For more up-to-date insights in digital marketing, make sure to follow us on Instagram @kavanah_media and stay connected through all our social media channels via the link below. https://linktr.ee/kavanah_media Authors: Cody Adams and Cherry Messimer Article Published: March 28, 2025

Weekly Marketing Rundown - October 30, 2026 Welcome to this week’s edition of Kavanah Media’s Weekly Marketing Rundown! We’re diving into the latest updates you need to know including a Signal security patch, Meta's latest advice regarding ad performance, Google's new Translate Ad feature, and more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Meta Says to Stop Changing Ad Campaigns So Often Meta says each ad set needs about 50 conversions per week for its system to learn whom to show ads to. Before reaching that threshold, any edits to a campaign or its targeting are merely guesswork. According to Meta’s analysis, ad sets below that threshold paid about 28% more per purchase, and frequent edits make it harder to reach that level. For Mission Teams Small ministry budgets may make reaching 50 conversions a week challenging, but volume is key. If an ad does not seem to be performing well, teams should consider increasing the ad budget to generate more conversions rather than over-tweaking the creative. A/B testing can help provide the algorithm with clearer signals, but simply leaving things alone for a while and giving the algorithm time to work often proves fruitful. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-says-advertisers-should-let-campaigns-gather-data/833906/ Advertisers Now Responsible for Meta’s AI Changes Starting October 30, Meta’s new ad terms say advertisers are “solely responsible” for anything Meta’s AI creates or changes in their ads. Some advertisers have found AI-added images, translations, and links in live ads they never approved. For Mission Teams An automatic translation or AI-generated image could alter a gospel message in ways that are inaccurate or culturally offensive, and your ministry would be held responsible. Teams should review every Advantage+ creative output before publishing ads and turn off any tools that produce awkward or inaccurate creative content. https://www.adweek.com/media/advertisers-pull-meta-ads-that-had-unwanted-ai-glow-ups/ Facebook Limits Link Posts for Some Nonprofit Pages Facebook is testing a limit of two link posts per month for some Pages, with paid plans starting around $50 a month for more. Meta says nonprofits should not be affected, but several charities and a public library were limited anyway. For Mission Teams Ministry Pages that share links to websites, Bible resources, or donation pages could suddenly hit this cap. To avoid it, make sure your Page category lists “nonprofit,” since Meta says that is how its system decides who is exempt. https://www.engadget.com/2295422/meta-is-charging-government-and-nonprofit-pages-to-post-links-on-facebook/ Discord Public Chats Coming to Web Search Starting November 16, Discord will create public web pages for large “Discoverable” servers, featuring AI-generated summaries of public channel conversations. Starting in mid-December, messages from public channels may also appear in web search results, without usernames or profile pictures. For Mission Teams Teams that run or participate in large public Discord servers should check which channels will be visible, as conversations could become searchable even without names attached. Admins can opt channels out under Server Settings > Web Presence, while members can turn off sharing in their Data and Privacy settings. https://discord.com/blog/making-content-from-discoverable-servers-easier-to-discover Critical Signal Bug Could Keep Calls Open After Hanging Up A critical flaw in Signal’s calling system could let a caller keep a call running after you think you have hung up. The bug could leave your microphone, and possibly your camera, active, but it has been fixed in the latest version of the app. For Mission Teams Many teams rely on Signal for sensitive calls, so this flaw could expose private conversations about seekers, partners, or locations. Every team member should update Signal on their phones and computers right away and avoid discussing sensitive topics immediately after a call ends until they have updated the app. https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/10/21/signal-bug-could-keep-your-mic-and-camera-on-after-hangup/5304528 AI Email Summaries and Reader Engagement Email apps are now using artificial intelligence to read your newsletters and create short summaries for your subscribers. This means a machine might replace your subject line and decide which parts of your message are most important. For Mission Teams This shift impacts digital engagement because seekers will likely read a machine-generated summary first, requiring your primary discipleship message, missionary newsletters, or support raising campaign emails to be obvious from the start. https://www.audiencebridge.io/p/your-newsletter-has-two-readers-now?utm_source=tldrmarketing Meta Advertising Features Explained Meta recently introduced three new ad features: “Ads Super Burst,” which offers category-exclusive ad windows that other advertisers cannot book; “First Impression Ads,” which places an ad at the top of the feed; and “Aggregated View Time,” which measures total weekly video views. While the first two are likely aimed at big brands with large budgets, the new video metric will affect how all advertisers track their performance. For Mission Teams While large-scale burst features might not fit typical budgets, ministries or projects with larger budgets could use them to have ad spot exclusivity for events or launches. Additionally, First Impression ads could ensure your ads have the first ad serve, but this will likely come at a higher price tag. Understanding the shift toward aggregated video metrics is critical for digital evangelism. It implies that consistent, engaging video content over time will be key to safely connecting with seekers and guiding them into online discipleship pathways. https://www.jonloomer.com/qvt/ads-super-burst-first-impression-ads-aggregated-view-time/?utm_source=video_alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10262026&inf_contact_key=02839d451437ea562610e3da8a639abe7e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09 ChatGPT Ads Creative Enhancements OpenAI is turning on a feature that automatically lets AI rewrite your ad headlines, change images, translate text, and switch destination URLs in ChatGPT Ads without your approval. Advertisers who want to keep control over exactly what their ads say must manually opt out in their account settings before October 30. For Mission Teams This automation could inadvertently alter your carefully written messages, which might change the tone or direct seekers to the wrong online resources. To keep your digital outreach secure and accurate, you should review these settings and opt out if you need strict control over your discipleship materials and landing pages. https://mean.ceo/tpost/chatgpt-ads-creative-enhancements Google Ads AI Campaign Localization Tool Google has a new tool that can quickly duplicate a Search campaign and translate its keywords, text, and landing pages into ten different languages. However, you must carefully review the translations before starting the campaign because the AI might misinterpret brand names, legal terms, or numbers. For Mission Teams This translation feature makes it easier to reach non-English speakers, allowing you to share the gospel with diverse communities more efficiently. However, you must have a native speaker review the translated ads to ensure the theological message is accurate and culturally appropriate before launching the campaign. https://miraflow.ai/blog/google-ads-ai-campaign-localization-tool-search-2026 AI Max in Google Ad Grants Google is automatically turning on a feature called "AI Max" in some Ad Grants accounts, which helps campaigns spend more by showing ads in AI search overviews and expanding keyword matches. This feature gives the AI more freedom to decide where and how your ads appear, including showing ads for different pages on your website than you originally chose. For Mission Teams While this tool can expand your digital ministry’s reach by finding new ways to spend your grant money, it could also display your ads to irrelevant audiences or direct users to unintended pages. You should monitor your Ad Grants account closely and turn off AI Max if you need precise control over which seekers see your ads and which pages they are directed to. https://support.google.com/nonprofits/community-video/406833041/ai-max-in-google-ad-grants?hl=en Stay Equipped for Digital Engagement  Looking for ways to use digital tools to grow evangelism and disciple-making? Check out our other resources: Jon Ralls' new book–  Check out The Reluctant Whisper on Amazon, where he talks of evangelism from a sales pitch into an authentic act of presence—sharing faith through story, not scripts! Check it out here. Ad Resource Store- Stumped on what ads to run next? Check out Kavanah Media's Ad Resource Store for ideas, templates and more! Digital Strategies got you confused?- Reach out anytime—we’re ready to help. Contact Us Church GAP Analysis Tool- Uncover hidden risks before they become problems. Use our Free GAP Analysis Tool to evaluate your church or non-profit’s cybersecurity, compliance, and governance today.  Kavanah Analytics- How is your digital content truly impacting lives? We created Kavanah Analytics to help churches and mission teams answer that question. Learn More Thanks for reading this edition of Kavanah Media's Weekly Marketing Rundown! For more up-to-date insights in digital marketing, make sure to follow us on Instagram @kavanah_media and stay connected through all our social media channels via the link below. https://linktr.ee/kavanah_media Authors: Jon Ralls, Cody A. and Cherry Messimer Article Published: October 30, 2026