Click Through Reads #72: Meta Quarterly Reports, TikTok Live Subscriptions

Welcome back, Readers 😊

This week, Meta dropped their quarterly reports and findings. There are several to sift through, but we consolidated the information and defined the key findings for you to review. 

Microsoft Ad’s new Vertical Ads have been bringing in noteworthy performance for advertisers. If you’re in one of the available verticals, it might be a good time to test them out.

Lastly, TikTok is joining the realm of subscriptions. This week, the platform will begin its beta testing of TikTok LIVE, where subscribers will have a front-row seat to all the entertainment that creators have to offer.  

Grab your popcorn, it’s time to get reading!  

Meta’s Community Standards Enforcement Report for Q1 2022

Meta’s commitment to transparency is in an effort to keep people safe, give advertisers control in creating suitable environments for their brands, and build confidence in businesses partnering with Meta for their advertising needs. They released several quarterly reports: 

• Community Standards Enforcement Report for Q1 2022
  
  
• Independent assessment of the Community Standards Enforcement Report for Q4 of 2021
• EY (Ernst & Young) assessed whether Meta calculated their metrics accurately and had effective internal controls in place. EY concluded that the calculation of the metrics reported within the Facebook and Instagram Community Standards Enforcement Report has been prepared based on the specified criteria and is fairly stated. 
  
  
• Bi-Annual Transparency Report
• This report is an estimate of how much violating content people see on the platforms. They concluded between Q4, 2021, and Q1, 2022, the prevalence of harmful content remains relatively consistent.
  
  
• Quarterly Oversight Board Report
  
  
• Quarterly Widely Viewed Content Report

Meta is prioritizing solutions to give businesses more control and insight on where ads appear.

First-party, content-based controls for Feed will provide pre-campaign content-based suitability controls—those that are aligned to the GARM Suitability Framework—to be tested in the second half of 2022 and launched in early 2023.

For third-party brand suitability verification in Feed, Meta has selected Zefr as the initial partner to provide independent post-campaign reporting on the context in which ads appear on Facebook Feed. This test is expected to roll out in Q3 of 2022 and become limitedly available in Q4 of 2022.

Additionally, Meta is currently working with MRC on the audit of their Content & Partner Monetization Policies and Brand Safety & Suitability Controls. They are currently focused on Facebook In-Stream and Instant Article Placements.

Microsoft Advertising Showcases ‘Vertical Ads’

Vertical Ads are spicing things up over at Microsoft Advertising. These ad types are shown across their search and audience network and offer stronger performance metrics than their traditional text ad counterpart. They’re often portrayed with an image along with headlines, descriptions, and price. What actually displays depends on where the ad is being shown and which vertical they're running in. 

There are currently three industries where Vertical Ads can be used. Within these three industries are several more breakouts for advertisers to feature their products within. Each breakout seems to have its own set of unique features. 

Here are the three industries Vertical Ads currently accommodate:

• Travel: Cruise Ads, Tours, Hotel Prices, and Property Promotion.
• Financial: Real Estate Ads, Health Insurance, Other Insurance, Tax Services, and Credit Cards.
• Automotive: Car ads featuring specific years, makes, and models. 

The initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Advertisers running Credit Card Ads have seen up to a 36% lift in conversion rate and 70% lower CPA than text ads. Advertisers running Automotive Ads saw a 6-15% incremental click rate lift, a 3-8% conversion rate lift, and a 28-40% lower cost-per-click than their corresponding non-brand targeted text ads.

TikTok Launches Live Subscriptions

The whispers in January of TikTok joining the subscriber space have come to fruition as the platform will begin beta testing LIVE Subscriptions on May 26, 2022. 

TikTok has selected several creators to participate in the beta, including gaming streamers, vloggers, beauty experts, Spanish-language creators, musicians, and more. 

The new program allows creators to “generate recurring revenue via payments from their top fans.” TikTok also announced creators can personalize their LIVE rooms, and subscribers will be able to control the cameras on creators’ live streams. Additionally, creators will have the option to turn their TikTok LIVE streams into a special “subscriber-only” mode, giving only paid subscribers the ability to comment, although anyone could watch. 

The details of owning a TikTok creator account also state that creators must be 18 years of age and have a minimum of 1,000 followers to access the LIVE subscriptions feature. Users must also be over 18 years of age to purchase a subscription and send or receive Coins and Gifts. Pricing is yet to be announced, but it has been compared to the pricing of Twitch.