Weekly Marketing Rundown - July 4, 2025

Weekly Marketing Rundown - August 21, 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 Search Ad Language targeting, Youtube Picture ads, new data privacy laws and more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Google Ads Retires Campaign-Level Language Targeting Google is updating its search ads by removing the setting that lets advertisers manually choose specific languages. Instead, Google's automated systems will now match people to ads based on the languages they already read and speak. For Mission Teams Mission teams leveraging Search Campaigns must ensure their digital ad text and landing pages are perfectly translated into their target audience's exact language. Because automated delivery could expose outreach campaigns to unintended or hostile groups, ministries must closely monitor their search traffic to protect their security and digital engagement strategies. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-is-removing-language-targeting-from-search-campaigns/585592/ OpenAI Introduces Carousel Ads to ChatGPT OpenAI is now letting companies show a scrolling list of products in their ChatGPT ads. This new format helps businesses display multiple items side-by-side to catch the attention of users chatting with the AI. For Mission Teams Mission teams could use these scrolling ads to share a variety of outreach resources, like scripture links and videos, in one engaging placement. https://digiday.com/marketing/openai-brings-product-carousels-to-chatgpt-ads/ New AI Disclosure Laws Reshape Digital Marketing New laws in Europe and California now require businesses to clearly label any pictures, videos, or sounds created by artificial intelligence. This means marketers must use special digital tags so that people always know when online content is computer-generated. For Mission Teams To safely find seekers and make disciples, mission teams operating in these jurisdictions must follow these new transparency rules whenever using artificial intelligence to create media for their digital evangelism campaigns. By honestly labeling their outreach content, ministries can build vital trust with cautious audiences while protecting their operational security from legal penalties or platform bans. https://www.thedrum.com/news/ai-disclosure-laws-arrive-in-the-eu-and-california-what-do-they-mean-for-marketers YouTube Mobile Tests New Overlay Picture Ads YouTube is testing new picture ads that pop up over the screen while people watch videos sideways on their phones. These still images appear every few minutes without stopping the video, giving advertisers a new way to show their messages. For Mission Teams Mission teams can use these new picture ads to add even more creative diversity to their add strategies on YouTube. https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/youtube-tests-image-ads-horizontal-mobile-playback/ New WhatsApp Security Warning System for Unverified Messages WhatsApp is testing a warning system to alert users when receiving messages from unverified contacts. The alert helps users identify potential scams before replying to unfamiliar accounts. For Mission Teams This new safety alert helps protect field workers from falling for phishing attempts on WhatsApp. However, new seekers contacting your ministry account for the first time may also see this security prompt. https://engineering.fb.com/2026/08/12/security/how-were-building-scam-alert-whatsapp/ Apple Issues Critical Spyware Threat Notifications Apple is alerting targeted iPhone users about sophisticated spyware attacks that could compromise their devices. These push notifications serve as critical warnings that hackers are actively attempting to steal personal information from specific individuals. For Mission Teams Particularly important for teams operating in sensitive fields with a high risk of nation-state interference, Apple’s security alerts should be taken seriously to protect digital networks and sensitive contacts. By securing devices immediately when warned, ministries can help prevent hostile actors from accessing their outreach campaigns and compromising their disciple-making efforts. https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/13/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously/ Rise of Relatability Trends in Social Video Marketing Recent social media trends show that unpolished, relatable video content is outperforming high-budget advertisements. Audiences favor simple personal stories over formal corporate promotions. For Mission Teams Authentic videos recorded on a phone by real believers will likely connect better than expensive studio videos. Simple, honest video testimony builds trust faster with seekers browsing social media. https://bluehaloagency.com/news/social-media-trends-august-2026/ WhatsApp Introduces Usernames for Private Messaging WhatsApp is updating its app to let people save and use usernames instead of phone numbers. This change will soon allow users to chat with new contacts without sharing their personal phone details. For Mission Teams This is just the latest update related to WhatsApps' shift to usernames. Mission teams can use these new usernames to safely connect with seekers without revealing their real phone numbers. This update improves operational security while making it easier to share the gospel and disciple people in hostile areas. https://wabetainfo.com/whatsapp-launches-a-username-field-for-new-contacts/ YouTube Transforms Search with Conversational AI Chatbot YouTube is releasing a new tool across all devices that lets users ask questions and get helpful answers instead of just a list of videos. This smart chat feature remembers what you are talking about and acts more like a personal assistant than a regular search bar. For Mission Teams Ministries should closely monitor how their videos are tagged to ensure that artificial intelligence correctly identifies and recommends their biblical resources as potential seekers use the new integrated AI search feature. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-expands-access-to-its-in-app-ai-chatbot/827757/ Understanding Video View Counts Across Different Platforms Social media apps have very different rules for what they count as a video view. While some apps count a view the second a video starts, others require someone to watch for several seconds before it counts. Here are some examples: Facebook Reels: organic views count after just 1+ millisecond. Instagram Reels: organic views count as soon as a video starts or replays. YouTube: from 24 August, public views count from the first frame. YouTube Shorts: public views count immediately, including replays. TikTok: views count as soon as the video starts. YouTube ads: many only count after 30 seconds or an interaction. For Mission Teams Mission teams must understand these different rules so they can accurately track how many seekers are actually watching their digital evangelism videos. See the full list put together by Axios below: https://www.axios.com/media-trends-membership/2026/08/18/youtube-video-views Google Data Studio Adds New Reporting and Design Tools Google Data Studio updated its platform to make creating and viewing reports much easier. Users can now expand charts to full screen, copy visuals as pictures, and customize their report designs. For Mission Teams These design upgrades help ministry teams clearly track and evaluate how seekers engage with their online evangelism campaigns. Better visual reports allow leaders more options when reporting metrics. https://docs.cloud.google.com/data-studio/release-notes Polite Replies to Unknown Texts Can Cost You Replying to a text message from a stranger confirms that your phone number is active and monitored. Criminal syndicates use these polite responses to profile targets and sell verified numbers for higher prices on the dark web. For Mission Teams Workers should avoid responding to unexpected texts from unknown numbers while conducting online ministry. Maintaining strict boundary practices on mobile channels protects team members from targeted social engineering tactics and prevents ministry phone numbers from being further attacked and exploited. https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/threat-intel/2026/08/your-polite-reply-to-that-text-is-worth-2-on-the-dark-web Mission Media U Practitioner Fellowship We live in a digital world.  But our discipling mandate hasn't changed.  Join our partners at Mission Media U for a two-month practitioner fellowship from 24-September to 19-November-2026 with a focus on Personal Digital Disciple-Making.  Limited seats available.  Submit your application today.   Learn more here: https://www.missionmediau.org/fellowship/ Stay Equipped for Digital Engagement  Looking for ways to use digital tools to grow evangelism and disciple-making? Check out our other resources: Kavanah Media Blog – Learn from our experiences serving hundreds of mission teams worldwide. We share practical lessons, real stories, and best practices to help your team avoid mistakes and grow in digital outreach. Subscribe here. Jon Ralls' new book–  Check out Jon Ralls' new book 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 stumped? 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: August 21, 2026

Weekly Marketing Rundown - May 8, 2026 Welcome to this week's edition of Kavanah Media's Weekly Marketing Rundown! This week features significant updates from Meta, including AI connection usage rates and more. Additionally, there are changes to Google Ads, the latest developments regarding Turkey's social media restrictions, and other important news. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Meta AI Connectors for Ad Management Meta now allows advertisers to manage their ad campaigns using popular AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude. This new feature simplifies the process by removing the need for complex technical setups or developer credentials. For Mission Teams A few weeks ago there were widespread reports of marketers have their ad accounts disabled for integration AI tools through third party means. Meta appears to have made an official connection, but many still urge caution.  Missions team hoping to leverage AI tools for ads management would be wise to hold off or exclusively use the new built Meta AI Business Assistant for the time being https://www.jonloomer.com/meta-ads-ai-connectors-claude/ Meta Daily Active Users Decline For the first time Meta reported a slight drop in the total number of people using its apps for the first time. This decrease happened mostly because of internet shutdowns and app restrictions in specific countries like Iran and Russia. For Mission Teams Even though Meta reported this slight drop in app usage, their add revenue is still growing and is likely simple related to global events. However, a drop in users highlights the risk of relying on single platforms for digital evangelism. Teams should diversify their outreach strategies to ensure they can still reach seekers when specific apps are blocked. https://www.jonloomer.com/meta-ads-ai-connectors/ Vimeo Data Breach Exposes Personal Information A security breach at Vimeo recently exposed the personal data of over 100,000 users due to a vulnerability in their system. This leaked information included names and email addresses, though passwords and financial details were reportedly not compromised. For Mission Teams Missions teams leveraging Vimeo as part of their digital engagement strategies should verify if their accounts have been compromised or not. This also highlights the importance of practicing strong cybersecurity hygiene such as utilizing strong passwords and MFA. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/vimeo-data-breach-exposes-personal-information-of-119-000-people/ Google Analytics 4 Task Assistant Update Google Analytics has launched Task Assistant to provide a guided checklist for improving property setup and data collection. This feature, found in the left navigation menu, organizes tailored recommendations into categories like account connections and data troubleshooting. For Mission Teams This assistant could help simplify the setup and management of data collection in GA4. Using this tool helps teams identify and fix data gaps that could otherwise compromise the security or effectiveness of digital outreach. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16888318?hl=en ChatGPT Ads Expansion OpenAI has launched a self-service Ads Manager, significantly lowering the barrier for businesses to advertise within ChatGPT. The minimum spend has dropped from $250,000 to $50,000, and the platform is moving toward a cost-per-click (CPC) model. For Mission Teams While still out of the reach of missions teams ad budgets this significant price drop could be a good signal. If prices continue to fall ChatGPT ads could become a viable platform for teams to leverage in their digital engagement projects. Additionally, other AI platforms may follow suit.  https://www.searchenginejournal.com/openai-launches-self-serve-ads-manager-for-chatgpt/573971/ Turkey Social Media Restrictions- Update  Turkey has passed a law banning children under 15 from social media to increase online safety for minors. Platforms must now use strict age verification and give parents more control over what their children see. For Mission Teams  Thus far Turkiye’s response to social media is similar to many countries around the world- age restrictions. It is unclear what further restrictions may come. Teams leveraging digital engagement tools in Turkiye should keep apprised of local news and adjust their strategies accordingly.  https://apnews.com/article/turkey-social-media-children-restrictions-law-d88963a7446a12cf4963b73d455b5ef7 Google Search Integrates Reddit Quotes Google is updating its AI search summaries to include direct quotes and advice from Reddit and other social forums. This change aims to provide users with authentic, human-focused answers by highlighting real discussions and community expertise. For Mission Teams This update means seeker questions about faith may now surface organic community discussions alongside traditional search results. Teams could consider leveraging these platforms as these peer-to-peer conversations now have significantly higher visibility in digital outreach. https://www.theverge.com/tech/924993/google-ai-search-mode-overviews-update-reddit-links Rising Facebook Account Lockouts Facebook is experiencing a surge in account lockouts as automated AI systems mistakenly flag normal user behavior as suspicious activity. These aggressive security filters often leave users stuck in a difficult appeal process with very little human support available to fix the errors. Members of the Kavanah Team have also seem a similar surge in Meta Ad account restrictions as of late.  For Mission Teams Over-active AI policing is causing problems for many. Teams should exercise caution when making major changes to Meta Business Suite settings, and even logging in while traveling. If pages, accounts or systems are restricted successful recovery is rare. https://searchengineland.com/why-facebook-account-lockouts-are-rising-and-whats-driving-them-476546 Facebook Sees Massive Engagement Surge Even in the midst of lower reported app usage in Q1 Facebook is experiencing a sudden and dramatic increase in organic reach, with some brands seeing their views and clicks nearly double. Meta is achieving this by updating its algorithm to prioritize original content and better rewards for creators who post directly to the platform. For Mission Teams This shift could prove to be a strategic window for mission teams to reach significantly more seekers without increasing their paid advertising budget. Teams should experiment with posting authentic, original video content now to take advantage of this increased visibility before the platform's reach potentially stabilizes. https://open.substack.com/pub/milkkarten/p/something-is-happening-on-facebook Instagram Testing Text Swaps for Reels Instagram is testing a new feature called Swap that allows users to replace the text on someone else’s video. This tool could let people quickly remix popular content, although it may conflict with recent rules against unoriginal posts. For Mission Teams Teams could potentially use popular trending videos to share gospel messages by simply swapping in biblical text or seeker-focused questions. However, this strategy carries a risk because it would make it easier for bad actors to swap out texts on Gospel centered content to distort the messaging before sharing it again.  https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-tests-option-to-swap-out-text-in-someone-elses-reels/819153/ Stay Equipped for Digital Engagement  Looking for ways to use digital tools to grow evangelism and disciple-making? Check out our other resources: Kavanah Media Blog – Learn from our experiences serving hundreds of mission teams worldwide. We share practical lessons, real stories, and best practices to help your team avoid mistakes and grow in digital outreach. Subscribe here. Jon Ralls' new book–  Check out Jon Ralls' new book 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 stumped? 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.  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 A. and Cherry Messimer Article Published: May 8, 2026