Weekly Marketing Rundown - August 16th, 2024

Weekly Marketing Rundown - October 10th, 2024 Hi everyone, In this week's edition of Kavanah Media's Weekly Marketing Rundown we will discuss Meta's new AI tools, Tiktok's new search ads, Youtube Shorts and more. Meta Introduces AI-Edited Video Ads on Facebook and Instagram: Key Tools for Teams Meta has rolled out new AI-powered tools for video ads on Facebook and Instagram, making content creation more streamlined. These tools include automatic video trimming, scene selection, and format adjustments for different placements. Key features also include a video expansion tool, which resizes videos to fit various formats, an auto music tool that selects background music, and an image animation tool that brings static images to life with simple animations. Truth be told, Kavanah Media team members have seen these tools being quietly rolled out for some time. They have allowed for quicker creation of multiple ad variations, allowing images and videos to be shown in more ad placements. For more on this, click the link below: https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/8/24265065/meta-ai-edited-video-ads-facebook-instagram Google Faces Declining Search Share Amid AI Competition and TikTok's New Ads: Implications for Teams Google's search share is slipping as AI-driven competitors and TikTok's new search ads challenge its dominance. While Google remains the leading search engine, these rising alternatives are attracting users with innovative features that enhance search experiences. For teams, this trend emphasizes the need to diversify digital strategies. As users turn to platforms like TikTok for search, teams should adapt their SEO and content strategies to maintain visibility across various channels.  For more on this, click the link below: https://www.yahoo.com/?err=404&err_url YouTube Expands Shorts Length and Adds Templates: What Teams Should Know In order to compete with TikTok, YouTube is increasing the maximum length of Shorts and adding new video templates. This move allows creators to produce longer short-form content while using templates to streamline video creation. For teams, these updates mean greater flexibility in crafting short videos to engage audiences. With longer content and easy-to-use templates, creating videos should be even easier.  For more on this, click the link below:  https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/3/24260170/youtube-shorts-increased-length-templates-tiktok WhatsApp's New Contact-Saving Feature: What Teams Should Know WhatsApp is testing a feature that lets users save contacts directly within the app without storing them on their phone. If adopted this could simplify contact management for teams and offer some privacy benefits. For teams the advantages include: 1. Privacy: Contacts can be stored within the app, reducing the need to save personal numbers on your phone. 2. Efficiency: Easier access and management of contacts within WhatsApp itself. 3. Clutter-Free: Keep work-related contacts separate from personal ones without filling up your phone directory. This update can streamline communication and improve privacy, especially for teams in sensitive environments. For more on this, click the link below: https://x.com/ahmedghanem/status/1842100577255195049 EU Court Backs Activist in Privacy Dispute with Meta: Key Takeaways for Teams The EU's top court has ruled that Meta must limit its use of personal data for targeted advertising. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stated that platforms like Facebook cannot use all personal data without restrictions on time or type, meaning only a small portion of Meta's data pool will be permitted for advertising, even with user consent. Rulings like this are already affecting audience targeting. As data privacy laws tighten, advertisers will likely have less and less access for audience targeting. Teams may need to change their marketing strategies as a result. For more on this, click the link below: https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-top-court-sides-with-activist-schrems-privacy-dispute-with-meta-2024-10-04/ 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  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 Author: Cody Adams Article Published: Oct. 10th, 2024

Weekly Marketing Rundown - October 16, 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 changes to Google Ads and Tag Manager, a warning about fake GPT tools, Meta's Tiktok ad ban and more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Kavanah Analytics- Webinar You're invited to a free online webinar introducing Kavanah Analytics on October 20, offered at two times to fit your team's schedule: 8:00 AM Eastern and 8:00 PM Eastern.  If your team is using digital tools to reach the lost, you already know the hard part isn't running an ad or posting a video. It's answering the questions that matter: Who responded? Did that conversation lead to a Bible study, a baptism, a disciple? Kavanah Analytics is a free tool built specifically for mission teams that automatically pulls your Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, messaging, and follow-up data into one clear picture, so you can see the whole journey from first click to real spiritual conversation without stitching together spreadsheets or paying for enterprise software. In this one-hour session we'll show you how it works, walk through a live team dashboard, and explain how to get your own team set up at no cost.  Bring your questions, and bring whoever on your team is asking "is this actually working?"  Register at https://forms.gle/d2mLocY1MrcsazA28 and join us on October 20. kavanahanalytics.com WhatsApp AI Privacy Rumors and Group Security Members of the Kavanah Media team noticed a message circulating around several missions circles claiming that artificial intelligence will automatically read all WhatsApp chats unless admins change their privacy settings. According to Meta's own documentation your group messages remain encrypted and private and are not automatically scraped by Meta's AI systems. However, it is true that individual group members could still use AI to generate summaries of group chats and more. Turning on Advanced Chat Privacy remains a helpful way to block chat exports and disable AI features in the room. Additionally, Meta is changing the name "Advanced Chat Privacy," to "Restricted Chat." It is still recommended to turn this feature on and teams that previously had Advanced Chat Privacy enabled may have to manually turn on Restricted Chat after the change rolls out. For Mission Teams For online churches, discipleship groups, mission teams, and others leveraging WhatsApp Groups, Meta states that their conversations remain secure and are not being secretly scanned by AI. However, mission teams should still turn on Advanced Chat Privacy or Restricted Chat in sensitive groups to prevent chat histories from being exported or summarized by AI for users. See Meta's actual documentation below: https://faq.whatsapp.com/715385484388016 Meta's TikTok Ad Ban Turns Platform Rivalry Into a Traffic Fight Meta has reportedly stopped accepting ads from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, and may also be blocking third-party ads that link to TikTok or other ByteDance properties. This means that brands running campaigns on Facebook or Instagram can no longer use those ads to direct traffic to TikTok creators, product pages, or accounts. For Mission Teams While this change may not directly affect teams leveraging digital engagement, it does highlight the importance of not relying too heavily on one platform to drive traffic to another, as platform rules can change quickly. Mission teams should consider building independent websites or using platform-native features to ensure their digital evangelism campaigns remain accessible and effective. https://wersm.com/meta-tiktok-ad-ban-platform-rivalry-traffic-fight Fake ChatGPT Tools Trick Users into Downloading Malware Cybercriminals are creating fake ChatGPT websites and AI tools that imitate legitimate services. Some scams target Windows users by directing them to fraudulent security pages and persuading them to copy and run malicious commands on their computers. For Mission Teams Mission teams should be cautious when trying unfamiliar AI tools or clicking on sponsored search results for ChatGPT and AI summaries. Sponsored results are not necessarily malicious, but scammers can use online advertisements to promote fraudulent websites. Be especially alert if a website or tool instructs you to open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or another terminal and paste or run commands. https://www.esecurityplanet.com/news/news-chatgpt-clickfix-malware-windows/ The Impact of Call-to-Action Buttons on Ad Performance Teams using Meta for ads may start seeing a flag at the ad level, in the Call to Action section, suggesting that switching the button to “See Details” could improve engagement by around 2.3%. This suggests the button label can affect ad performance, but its impact is small compared to other factors. For Mission Teams For mission teams running digital evangelism ads on Meta, small adjustments like this can improve engagement, and small gains add up over time. Still, not all of Meta’s recommendations carry equal weight. They’re worth testing, but don’t obsess over them. The difference between button labels is usually minor compared to your creative, audience and messaging. https://www.jonloomer.com/qvt/cta-button/ Google Ads Rolls Out Five Updates to Engagement, Tracking, Video, and AI Tools Google Ads made four changes this week. A video now has to be watched for at least ten seconds, up from five, before it counts as an engagement, so reports may show fewer engagements even when viewer behavior hasn't changed. Google Tag Manager now starts containers automatically and logs setup commands as new data events, which could fire tracking tags you didn't mean to fire. Demand Gen videos now get automatic text overlays pulled from your ad assets. This is on by default, but you can turn it off in video optimization controls. Google also launched AI Asset Studio, which creates text, images, and video from your brand guidelines. In the European Union, any ad changed by AI will now carry an AI label. For Mission Teams Teams may see a drop in their engagement metrics with this change. Be sure to grab a seeker's attention in the first few seconds of a video so it holds them for the full ten. Check your Tag Manager settings to protect seeker privacy and keep your analytics accurate. Also, be sure to test automatic text overlays and check if they would cover gospel visuals or captions. AI-generated ads are worth testing, but think about how the AI generated content might appear in different languages and formats and be received by the intended audience. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-ads-news-week-41-adriaan-dekker-asfwe/ Turkey Bans Social Media for Young Teenagers Turkey passed a new law banning social media for all children under the age of fifteen. Existing under-15 accounts must be closed by March 31, 2027. Platforms must now use a government system to check ages and block targeted ads for older teenagers. Breaches risk 3% global-revenue fines, ad bans, and internet throttling. For Mission Teams Most mission teams already target ads to adults 18 and older, but it is worth double checking ad targeting to ensure compliance. This is also a good reminder that even massive social media platforms are beholden to the actions and decisions of local governments. Teams should assess their platforms for compliance to local regulations to help prevent fines, restrictions, and more. https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-bans-social-media-for-kids-under-15/ Meta Updates Ad Placement Controls for Advertisers Meta is slowly removing the ability for advertisers to choose exactly where their ads appear, such as in search results or between Reels. The company wants advertisers to trust its artificial intelligence to automatically decide the best places to show ads to get the most people to click. For Mission Teams As Meta takes over ad placement decisions, mission teams will be forced to trust the platform's artificial intelligence (labeled as Advantage+) to find seekers across different locations on Facebook and Instagram. Many of the targeting parameters marketers once had are mere suggestions now, but you can still guide the system by testing different images and videos, so focus your effort on creating strong visual messages that invite people to connect. As always, testing is recommended.  https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-offers-updated-ad-placement-control-guidance/832791/ https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1546753450586085/ WhatsApp Introduces Free Guest Video Calls WhatsApp now allows anyone to join free video calls through a web browser without needing to create an account. These secure meetings can host up to thirty-two people and include helpful tools like screen sharing and waiting rooms. For Mission Teams This update makes it easier to host online discipleship groups with seekers who are hesitant to share personal information or download new apps. Because guests can join without seeing other participants’ phone numbers, leaders can host meetings while protecting everyone’s privacy. However, this is a double-edged sword: anyone with the link could join anonymously, which raises security concerns. Leaders should still manage call access carefully, verify who is participating, and avoid sharing sensitive information in the group. https://blog.whatsapp.com/now-you-can-invite-anyone-to-a-whatsapp-call-no-account-needed-no-cost-no-time-limit 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 16, 2026