Weekly Marketing Rundown - October 3, 2025

Weekly Marketing Rundown - November 14, 2025 Welcome to this week’s edition of Kavanah Media’s Weekly Marketing Rundown! This week we review Creative Diversity on Meta, social media trends, EU regulation, and more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Flexible Ad Formats: Maximizing Outreach Through Meta's Creative Tools Flexible Format is a special tool in social media advertising that lets you put many different photos, videos, and captions into one ad. This tool is designed to allow the platform to automatically mix and match these pieces to show each user the best possible, customized version of your message, ensuring maximum personalization. For Mission Teams: With Meta's roll out of Andromeda and push towards creative diversification, mission teams could use Flexible Format to provide up to 10 separate pictures and videos. This gives Meta's algorithm more 'ingredients' to work with, potentially extending an ad's runtime, increasing engagement, and more. https://www.jonloomer.com/qvt/flexible-format-creative-diversification/ 3 Social Media Stats Mission Teams Can't Ignore in 2026 A Meltwater report reveals three critical trends shaping the digital landscape: Social is the New Research Tool (72.3%): Platforms now play a central role in the purchase decisions of 72.3% of online audiences. This suggests that seekers likewise use them to digital engagement gbrands before engaging further. Cross-Platform Audience (80%+): High overlap exists between platforms: e.g., over 80% of TikTok and Snapchat users are also on Facebook. Mobile is King (96%): With 96% of users browsing on phones, mobile-first design is non-negotiable. For Mission Teams: To maximize digital outreach, teams must prioritize mobile optimization and adopt a coherent, multi-platform content strategy. Platform usage is not exclusive, so mission teams may not need to worry about being on every platform. Users often research your brand before engaging further, highlighting the importance of brand-specific, actively managed websites, mobile SEO optimization, and organic marketing campaigns. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/spons/3-stats-defining-social-media-in-2026/804459/ WhatsApp to Launch Optional Usernames for Better Privacy WhatsApp is planning a big update that will soon let you choose a special username, so you no longer have to share your phone number with everyone you talk to. This new option, which is confirmed to start rolling out next year, means people and organizations can connect while keeping their private contact details hidden. For Mission Teams: This new feature offers a massive boost to security and reach for teams operating in sensitive areas by allowing them to shield their phone numbers from potential threats.  https://www.androidpolice.com/meta-wants-you-to-gear-up-for-whatsapp-username-support/ The Quiet Digital Shift: Why Low Follower Counts Are the New Social Status People online are starting to think that having fewer followers is cooler than having millions because it suggests they are more private and authentic. This new trend shows that being real and having a small, close-knit community matters more to everyone than striving to go viral. For Mission Teams: This shift validates a core mission strategy: prioritizing deep, niche engagement with seekers over chasing mass, superficial reach on public platforms. Historically, building large audiences has been difficult for mission teams using digital strategies due to security concerns and the generally lower popularity of religious themes. However, if this trend continues, evangelism accounts could see increased engagement. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/its-cool-to-have-no-followers-now The Ultimate Digital Strategy Guide is Here: The Digital 2026 Global Overview Report The massive Digital 2026 Global Overview Report has been released, providing over 700 slides of data covering the latest global trends in internet usage, social media, mobile adoption, and the rise of AI. This comprehensive guide, published in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social, confirms momentous milestones, including over 6 billion people now using the internet and social media users reaching "supermajority" status globally. For Mission Teams: The immense depth of this report is invaluable for refining mission strategies, especially for persona research, content targeting, and more. Teams can leverage the localized, detailed data to understand which platforms seekers in specific regions use, how they consume content, and the state of internet adoption, enabling them to design the most effective and secure digital outreach plans. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-global-overview-report Meta's Next-Gen AI Ad Targeting: Fewer Inputs, Better Results Meta has detailed its evolving ad system, powered by the Generative Ads Recommendation Model (GEM), an advanced, LLM-inspired foundation model for ads. The key takeaway is that this AI drives better ad performance by requiring less manual targeting input from the advertiser. The system processes massive amounts of user and creative data to automatically find and match ads to relevant seekers, often identifying audiences that advertisers might overlook. For Mission Teams: This shift empowers teams to prioritize high-quality, diverse creatives over complex, manual targeting. Given Meta's push toward AI systems and creative diversification, it is recommended, whenever possible, that teams leverage Meta's Advantage+ systems to avoid unnecessarily restricting the algorithm and negatively impacting ad performance. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-outlines-evolving-ai-powered-ad-targeting-systems/805164/ EU Content Moderation Rules Target WhatsApp Channels The European Union plans to designate WhatsApp Channels (the public feature, not private chats) as a "Very Large Online Platform" (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This imposes the toughest rules for moderating harmful content, carrying potential fines of up to 6% of Meta's global revenue. For Mission Teams As Meta adapts to this change, teams utilizing WhatsApp channels in their digital engagement strategies may be affected. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-11/whatsapp-set-to-face-stricter-content-moderation-rules-in-the-eu 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. YouVersion Reading Plan– Jon Ralls, CEO of Kavanah Media, just launched a powerful 8-day devotional on YouVersion called "Living in Tension." Subscribe here Digital Strategies got you stumped? Reach out anytime—we’re ready to help. Contact Us 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: November 14, 2025

Weekly Marketing Rundown - October 24, 2025 Welcome to this week’s edition of Kavanah Media’s Weekly Marketing Rundown! In this issue, we explore the Meta's new Andromeda system, the AWS outage, predictions for social media's future and more.  Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Meta AI Conversations Will Be Used for Ads Meta announced that starting December 16th, it will use your chats with Meta AI to help decide what content and ads you see. These AI conversations won’t directly create new ad targeting categories, but they will add to the data Meta already uses to personalize your experience. This move has sparked debate about whether AI chats should be treated like private messages or more like search history. For Mission Teams: Meta will have even more data to help match ads with the right people. It could improve ad performance, but teams should also be aware of privacy concerns and how users might react. Marketers may need to adjust strategies to stay transparent and build trust as AI becomes part of the ad targeting process. http://jonloomer.com/qvt/meta-ai-conversations-target-ads/ Big AWS Outage Shuts Down Websites and Apps Amazon Web Services (AWS) had a major outage that caused many websites and apps to stop working for several hours. The problem came from a network glitch, and it affected things like banking apps, streaming services, and company tools. AWS fixed the issue, but it showed how much the internet depends on their cloud system. For Mission Teams: If those tools go down, campaigns can pause, data can be lost, and users might have a bad experience. Teams should think about backup systems, check service status often, and plan for what to do if something like this happens again. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-aws-outage-2025/ Meta Andromeda: Why Mixing Up Your Ads Matters Meta’s new Andromeda system (the new ad delivery system) doesn’t just pick one “best” ad—it spreads out delivery across different versions to learn what works. Jon Loomer explains that advertisers should use a mix of creative types like different images, videos, headlines, primary text, calls-to-action, and formats (like single image vs. carousel). This helps Meta gather better data and avoid showing the same ad too often, which can make people stop paying attention. For Mission Teams: Teams should leverage different creative types and formats, enable Creative+ Enhancements and leveraging Adv.+ optimizations whenever possible as this approach can improve long-term ad performance and reach more people effectively. https://www.jonloomer.com/meta-andromeda-creative-diversification/ Meta Lead Ads: What’s Changing in October 2025 Meta is updating its Lead Ads system to give users more control over how their data is collected and used. Starting October 2025, advertisers must clearly explain why they’re asking for personal info and how it will be used. Meta will also require more transparency in lead forms and may limit how much data advertisers can collect without a clear reason. For Mission Teams: This matters for marketing teams because it changes how lead generation campaigns are built and approved. Teams will need to update their forms, rethink what data they really need, and make sure everything is easy for users to understand. It could also affect how quickly leads are collected and how much targeting data is available. https://giovanniperilli.com/en/blog/meta-lead-ads-october-2025-the-new-rules-and-what-really-changes/ No Consent, No Ads: Google’s New Privacy Rule Google now requires websites to follow the EU Consent Policy if you have end users in the EU—even for non-personalized ads. If your site doesn’t send proper consent signals, Google can suspend your entire ad account. To stay compliant, you should use a certified Consent Management Platform (CMP), check your consent setup in Google Tag Manager, and test it using GA4 DebugView and Ads consent mode reports. For Mission Teams: This is important for marketing teams because ignoring consent rules could shut down all ad activity. Teams should check their emails or Google Ads accounts to see if they have new Action Required notifications and also make sure their websites collect and send the right privacy signals, or risk losing access to Google Ads. Please reach out to us here at Kavanah Media if you need assistance with GDPR compliance. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-ads-news-week-42-adriaan-dekker-rn3qe/ Facebook’s “Group Highlights” Make Private Posts More Public Facebook’s new “Group Highlights” feature lets private groups share selected member posts outside the group. Members must give permission before their content is shown, and highlights can appear on the group’s front page, in Facebook search, or even on Google. AI may help pick which posts to show, but names and profile pictures are hidden for now. For Mission Teams: Missionaries utilizing Facebook groups in their digital engagement strategies can experiment with this feature to broaden their reach. However, they must proceed with caution, ensuring user consent and addressing security concerns. Furthermore, missionaries operating in secure areas should reassess the groups they follow to confirm that their sensitive information is not being shared publicly on the platform. https://www.facebook.com/help/970710061848673?cms_platform=iphone-app&helpref=platform_switcher What Social Media Might Look Like in 2026 This article from Social Media Today shares 36 predictions about how social media could change by 2026. Experts think platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook will focus more on AI, short videos, and private messaging. There’s also talk about more rules for content, better tools for creators, and new ways for people to shop directly through social apps. For Mission Teams: Some examples from the list include: AI-generated content becoming normal, private messaging replacing public posts, creators getting paid directly through platforms, and social apps becoming shopping hubs. These changes could affect how brands and mission teams handle digital security, ad targeting, and customer engagement. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/36-predictions-social-media-marketing-2026/802195/ Instagram Reels Tries Skippable Ads Like YouTube Meta is testing skippable ads on Instagram Reels, similar to how YouTube does it. Users will see a countdown before the ad starts and then get a “skip” button. Right now, creators won’t earn money from these ads, and Meta says the goal is to help businesses get noticed without annoying viewers. For Mission Teams: This test could change how ads are made and placed on Reels. It may push brands to create more engaging content quickly, since users can skip. https://www.adweek.com/media/meta-is-testing-skippable-ads-on-instagram-reels-borrowing-from-youtubes-playbook/ Marketers Still Trust Real People Over AI User-generated content (UGC)—like videos, reviews, and posts made by everyday people—is still the top choice for marketers. A recent report shows that 36% of marketers say UGC is extremely important, while only 2% feel that way about AI-generated content. Gen Z spends a lot of time watching UGC, showing that people want real, relatable content—not computer-made stuff. For Mission Teams: This suggests teams should consider pulling back on using AI to make content and leaning into user generated content. Localized authentic content is best, but teams working in secure fields should be cautious. As always, these findings are primarily based in Western markets. Teams should experiment in their own locations. https://content-naf.emarketer.com/social-media-strategists-value-ugc-over-ai Social Media Stops Sending Traffic to News Sites Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram are sending way fewer clicks to news websites—down 30% since 2022. That’s a drop from 1.75 billion to 1.22 billion referrals. While platforms test new ways to boost link engagement, short videos and algorithm changes are making it harder for traditional news posts to get seen. Link-in-bio tools are growing, but they mostly help online shopping. For Mission Teams: Because social media platforms may limit the visibility of posts containing external links, marketing teams should think about alternative ways to share links — like putting them in bios or comments — to maintain reach and avoid algorithmic penalties. https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-a6e42ba0-ae85-11f0-87d6-3dbac628b68f.html Stay Equipped for Digital Engagement  At Kavanah Media, we’re committed to helping mission teams use digital tools to make God known around the world. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, practical insights, or in-depth strategy, we’ve got resources to help: 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. YouVersion Reading Plan– Jon Ralls, CEO of Kavanah Media, just launched a powerful 8-day devotional on YouVersion called "Living in Tension." Subscribe here Digital Strategies got you stumped? Reach out anytime—we’re ready to help. Contact Us 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: October 24, 2025