Click Through Reads #20: Microsoft Audience Network Updates, and Expanded Text Ad Fade Out?

Happy September Click-Through-Readers! We have a long weekend coming up, remember to move your Monday meetings and cancel your morning alarm (unless any of you are in the same boat as me and have dog and tiny human alarms every day of the week). It makes me happy when I see co-workers and clients all tan on Zoom meetings. A simple reminder that we can leave our houses sometimes, and should enjoy some fresh air as the Summer days are getting low. 

This week in the news we cover a new way to create Instagram ads using existing organic content, Facebook’s reaction to Apple’s new iOS 14 release, new targeting options in the Microsoft Audience Network, and Google preparing to phase out Expanded Text Ads. 


Top News


Create Ads Directly from Organic IG Posts or Stories

You can now promote existing organic content from Instagram as ads. In the ads manager creation process, the “Use Existing Post” option will pull in your posts or Stories from Instagram. It will only let you create an ad from a single story. You can’t create ads from Stories that include interactive elements like @ mentions, hashtag stickers, location stickers, and question stickers. Avoid using emoji’s, GIFs, or stickers as they aren’t considered original content and the ad might not be approved.


Apple’s iOS 14 Could Cut Facebook’s Audience Advertising

Facebook said that Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 could lead to a more than 50% drop in its Audience Network advertising business. Facebook apps on iOS 14 will not collect IDFA, which is a unique device ID number that allows advertisers to better target ads and estimate their effectiveness. 

Apple has not said when iOS 14 will launch, but it’s expected to roll out this year. “We know this may severely impact publishers’ ability to monetize through Audience Network on iOS 14, and, despite our best efforts, may render Audience Network so ineffective on iOS 14 that it may not make sense to offer it on iOS14 in the future,” Facebook said in a blog post. 


Microsoft Audience Network & New Targeting Options

Microsoft unveils the Microsoft Audience Network consisting of native placements across a range of premium platforms including MSN, Outlook.com, and Microsoft Edge. Ads on the network are responsive and native by nature. Two ad formats are supported: image-based ads and feed-based ads. Microsoft explained that a combination of AI and it’s proprietary data allows advertisers to reach the right audiences at the right time. 

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