Social Media Marketing Talk Show: Facebook Updates – Live Video Changes, Ads Features, and More

Host: Jerry Potter
Guest: Ali Bloyd, Host of the Marketing Inc. Podcast and Founder of Ali Bloyd Media
Release Date: March 3, 2025

In the latest episode of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, host Jerry Potter welcomes Ali Bloyd to dissect Facebook’s recent updates that significantly impact marketers. The discussion spans crucial changes to Facebook Live videos, advancements in AI-driven advertising, privacy law implications, and updates to Facebook Marketplace. Below is a comprehensive summary of their insightful conversation.

1. Major Changes to Facebook Live Videos

Timestamp [00:52]:
Jerry Potter opens the discussion by highlighting Facebook’s announcement that Live videos will no longer be stored permanently. Instead, these videos will only remain available for 30 days post-broadcast.

Ali Bloyd elaborates on the implications of this update:

“Starting about a week ago, they rolled out the change that live videos are only going to be available for 30 days after, otherwise they're going to be deleted. So your older live videos that you've already posted for a long time will be deleted in waves.” [02:13]

Key Takeaways:

• Action Required: Marketers need to download or save any Live videos they wish to preserve before they are removed from Facebook.
• New Features: Facebook is introducing options to transfer videos directly to Dropbox and Google Drive, and to create clips and reels from Live videos, allowing parts of the content to remain on the platform even after the original Live video is deleted.
• Strategic Use: Ali suggests repurposing Live videos into clips for continued engagement:

  “You can convert longer live videos into clips and reels, which will remain visible on the platform.” [02:13]

2. Updates in Facebook Advertising

a. Removal of Detailed Audience Targeting Exclusions

Timestamp [07:24]:
The conversation shifts to Facebook’s decision to eliminate detailed audience targeting exclusions. This means marketers can no longer exclude specific interest groups (e.g., excluding cat enthusiasts when targeting dog lovers).

Ali Bloyd explains:

“They are removing detailed audience targeting exclusions... The only one that is going to remain is employers. So you will be able to exclude certain employers, but you're not going to be able to exclude other groups of people.” [07:24]

Implications:

• Shift to AI: Facebook is pushing for more reliance on AI and machine learning for audience targeting, reducing manual exclusions.
• Custom Audiences: While detailed exclusions are removed, custom audiences (e.g., excluding past customers) remain available.
• Performance Considerations: Ali reassures that many may not rely heavily on exclusions and that AI-driven targeting could enhance ad performance:

  “If the targeting works really well with the changes they made, people are going to be happy about it.” [09:05]

b. Advancements in Advantage Plus Campaigns

Timestamp [16:22]:
The duo delves into the latest Advantage Plus enhancements, highlighting both favorable and contentious updates.

Positive Changes:

• Renaming of Shopping Campaigns:

  “Plus shopping campaigns... are now classified under the Advantage Plus Sales campaign.” [13:20]

• Opportunity Score:

  “They are adding something called Opportunity Score that's going to rank your campaigns on a scale of 0 to 100 based on Meta's recommendations.” [13:20]

Critical Insights:

• Opportunity Score Caution: Ali cautions against over-reliance on this score as Facebook’s recommendations may not always align with effective strategies:

  “If your Opportunity Score is on the lower end, don't let that make you feel like it won't succeed.” [15:12]

• Creative Enhancements Concerns:

  “Advantage Plus Creative enhancements are not going to keep these on by default anymore... these options were hurting campaign performance.” [16:27]

Deprecation of AB Testing:

“They are depreciating the AB testing feature... but I encourage people to test things manually because it ends up being more successful anyway.” [19:26]

Overall Advice:
Ali emphasizes flexibility and adaptation, urging marketers to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on the removal of traditional tools:

“We just have to be flexible and go with the flow... focus on solutions, not problems.” [11:00]

3. Transparency in AI-Generated Ads

Timestamp [19:58]:
With AI becoming integral to ad creation, Facebook is introducing transparency labels for AI-generated content. These labels will appear next to the sponsored tag on ads, indicating the use of AI in content creation.

Ali Bloyd’s Perspective:

“AI generated ads are going to have a transparency label. It will show up right next to the sponsored... I don't mind if there's a label that says AI generated, if it is AI generated for my ads or for anybody else's ads.” [20:25]

Key Points:

• Trust Factor: The transparency labels aim to maintain consumer trust by clearly indicating AI involvement in ad creation.
• Creative vs. Copy: The focus is primarily on AI-generated creatives rather than copy, ensuring that the visual aspects are authentic.
• Potential Challenges: Ali anticipates questions about the extent of AI usage in mixed-content ads and the criteria for labeling:

  “How is that going to be labeled? Is it going to be labeled as AI or not?... They are just wanting to make sure that people are more transparent.” [21:57]

4. Privacy Law Implications and Facebook Marketplace Updates

Timestamp [23:34]:
Addressing the impact of stringent European privacy laws, Ali discusses Facebook’s response through an update to the Facebook Marketplace Partner Program.

Ali Bloyd’s Insights:

“They are opening up the Facebook Marketplace partner program and they're going to have third party listing providers able to post ads on the platform.” [24:23]

Impact on Marketers:

• Increased Competition: More third-party listings could drive up advertising costs due to heightened competition.
• Enhanced Opportunities: Local businesses may benefit from increased visibility and additional placement options without needing to launch separate campaigns:

  “If you are already marketing and advertising on some of these third party platforms, it's potentially another placement without having to run an entire new campaign.” [25:32]

Strategic Considerations:

• Optimizing Listings: Businesses should optimize their marketplace listings to leverage the new partner integrations effectively.
• Monitoring Costs: Marketers need to monitor advertising costs and adjust strategies accordingly to maintain ROI amidst increased competition.

Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Jerry Potter and Ali Bloyd provide valuable insights into Facebook’s evolving landscape, emphasizing the necessity for marketers to stay adaptable. Whether it’s managing ephemeral Live videos, navigating AI-driven advertising changes, or leveraging new marketplace opportunities, the key takeaway is to embrace flexibility and continuously seek innovative solutions.

Ali concludes with a forward-looking statement, encouraging marketers to proactively engage with these changes:

“Whatever changes happen, we have to identify what the solution is... focus on solutions, not problems.” [11:00]

For further learning and updates, Ali directs listeners to her Marketing Inc. Podcast, YouTube channel, and website at alibloid.com.

Note: This summary omits promotional segments about upcoming conferences and other podcasts to focus solely on the content-driven discussion between Jerry and Ali.