Weekly Marketing Rundown - December 12, 2025

Weekly Marketing Rundown - August 29, 2025 Welcome to this week’s edition of Kavanah Media’s Weekly Marketing Rundown! In this issue, we explore the challenges surrounding Meta's ad budget underspending, the automatic activation of Advantage + Audience parameters, updates to Google Ads, and much more. Enjoying the Weekly Marketing Rundown? Support our work and keep it free for missions teams worldwide: https://www.kavanahmedia.com/donatetoKM Meta Underspending Ad Budgets? Recently, Kavanah Media team members have observed that several ad campaigns using Original Audiences are frequently underspending their daily budgets. While this typically balances out over the duration of the campaigns, teams have reported lower-than-average message rates as a result. Consequently, this has led to periods of inactivity for digital responders. Kavanah Media's initial hypothesis suggests that this issue may stem from not granting Meta's algorithms sufficient flexibility, particularly concerning Advantage+ Audience, campaign budgeting, and other related factors. For Mission Teams: Teams facing this issue are encouraged to try combining audiences, enabling Advanced Audience features, and minimizing restrictions on the algorithm to see if the issue improves. If you are encountering this problem, we would appreciate your feedback. Meta Expands Advantage+ Dynamic Media in API Meta is updating its Marketing API to bring it in line with Ads Manager. Starting September 1, 2025, Meta will automatically enable Dynamic Media for Advantage+ catalog ads. This means formats like Single Image, Carousel, and Collection will now default to Dynamic Media, allowing more flexibility and personalization. The rollout will finish by October 20, though advertisers can still opt out if they want manual control. For Mission Teams: Teams utilizing third party tools for marketing on Meta's platforms should experiment with these new tools in their context to see how they affect engagement. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-updates-marketing-api-advantage-plus-expansion/758685/ Meta Restricting Ads Related to English Classes Many advertisers have reportedly faced challenges with Meta flagging and restricting ads related to English classes and other educational categories. Although Meta has not addressed this issue, some marketers suspect it may be linked to the company's compliance with local laws governing educational entities or other related policies. For Mission Teams: Mission teams promoting educational events should ensure their advertisements comply with Meta's policies and best practices. This includes considerations such as marketing to minors and avoiding ascribing personal attributes in their advertising (see Meta's policy on that here). Furthermore, it is advisable to limit the amount of text and content in ad creatives, as the Kavnaah Media team has observed that excessive text can lead to ad restrictions. https://www.reddit.com/r/FacebookAds/comments/xhgy80/pages_for_schools_being_restricted_from/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Advantage + Audience Settings Auto Enabled The Kavanah Media team has reported a recent change to Meta's Ad Manager UI concerning Advantage + Audiences. Previously, missions teams could easily disable the Advantage + audience by toggling the 'Original audience' button at the bottom of the audience selection box. However, the new update requires users to select "Further Limit the Reach of Your Ads" and then deselect the "Use as a suggestion" options for age, gender, and location. Additionally, Kavanah Media team members noticed that Advantage + Audience targeting has been re-enabled on ads where it was previously disabled. For Mission Teams: For teams currently using Adv.+ audience parameters, no changes are required. However, teams employing Original Audience targeting to specify gender, age, or geographic location should verify that these changes have not been automatically applied to their existing ads. Necessary adjustments should be made for future advertisements. If you are experiencing this issue or require assistance with adjusting your ad targeting, please do not hesitate to contact us. Google Ads to Remove Language Targeting in Search Campaigns By the end of 2025, Google Ads will phase out manual language targeting in search campaigns. Instead, Google AI will automatically detect and match user languages, aiming to simplify campaign setup and increase precision. This update won’t impact non-search campaigns. For Mission Teams: For mission teams, this means less direct control over which languages your ads target. While automation could broaden reach, it may also bring unintended audiences. Teams should closely track performance metrics and be ready to refine ad copy or campaign structure to keep messaging aligned with the right audience. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-ads-news-week-34-adriaan-dekker-ftsce/ Meta Adjusts Ad Set Spending Limits Meta has changed how ad set spending limits function under Advantage+ Campaign Budget (formerly Campaign Budget Optimization). Instead of enforcing hard caps on spending, the limits now act as average targets. This means spending may fluctuate above or below the set amount, with Meta aiming to balance it over time. For Mission Teams: This update reduces control over strict budget allocation. To prevent overspending on a particular ad, teams should utilize Lifetime budget. As usual, teams should experiment with this in their context. https://www.jonloomer.com/qvt/ad-set-spending-limits-change/ Google Ads Adds Asset Studio and Prepares AI Mode Ads Google Ads is rolling out Asset Studio in beta, a built-in creative hub that allows users to generate images, videos, and voiceovers using AI. It also includes bulk editing, video trimming, and flags AI-generated content with a “SynthID.” Asset Studio is especially useful for Performance Max campaigns, helping teams produce high-quality assets faster and more efficiently. At the same time, Google is preparing a broad rollout of AI Mode ads in its conversational AI search interface before Q4. Unlike traditional keyword-based ads, these placements will appear based on the full conversation context. Performance Max and AI Max for search campaigns will automatically feed into these new placements, making careful monitoring of campaign performance essential. For Mission Teams: Asset Studio can save teams time and resources when creating visuals and videos. With AI Mode ads, expect ads to appear in new, context-driven placements. Monitor performance closely and keep data and feeds well-maintained. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-ads-news-week-34-adriaan-dekker-ftsce/ 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: August 29, 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