X Rolls Out AI-Driven Ads to Empower SMBs 🤖

Ecommerce is buzzing with the latest AI innovations—can’t keep count? No worries, we’ve got it all covered!

In this week’s Ecom Press, we take a closer look at X’s AI-powered ad tools, putting small businesses in the driver’s seat 🚙. Plus, we explore Google Ads' new personalized asset features and cover the FTC’s latest stand against fake reviews 🤥.

By the way, word has it that Halloween is here 🕸️. So, we’ve brewed up the perfect potion of last-minute tricks to enchant your business this spooky season 🎃.

Let’s cut to the chase already, shall we 😏?

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🤖 X rolls out AI-driven ads to empower SMBs.

🚨FTC’s ban against fake reviews now in effect.

💻 Google Ads launches new Page-specific Assets to personalize campaigns.

🚀 Ecom Strategies: 5 Last-Minute Tricks for a Halloween Sales Treat 🎃

⚡️Worthy Mentions

🤖 X rolls out AI-driven ads to empower SMBs.

X (Twitter) is rolling out something big for small businesses! Last week, Sid Rao, Ads Engineering Team Lead at X, announced that the platform is utilizing AI to help small and midsize businesses advertise more easily and boost their reach without the usual setup headaches. 

As such, X promises that you don’t have to fiddle with the complexities of ad targeting, optimization, and manual settings because AI will get the job done for you 😌. 

What are the key features 🚀? 

🎯 AI Targeting: Utilizing advanced AI algorithms, this feature identifies and reaches relevant audiences without manual input, removing the need for users to tweak targeting settings themselves.

💸 Bid Optimization: Advertisers can set a target ROI, and the platform’s AI will continuously optimize bids to hit these goals, maximizing ad spend efficiency.

📈 Automatic Tracking: The platform creates and deploys tracking pixels for campaigns without any extra setup, helping advertisers monitor performance effortlessly.

📊 Streamlined Metrics Dashboard: This user-friendly dashboard consolidates key metrics in a single view, making it easy for SMBs to track campaign performance at a glance.

⚡️ Quick Campaign Setup: Designed for simplicity, the platform allows advertisers to launch their first campaign within minutes, ensuring minimal hassle.

💬 1-Click Customer Support: A dedicated support feature gives users quick access to help, providing timely assistance to manage and optimize their campaigns.

Why does it matter 🤷‍♂️? 

If this works out perfectly, it levels the playing field, especially for small businesses. By simplifying complex processes like targeting and bid optimization, SMBs can focus on growth rather than ad management. With AI-driven ads becoming the norm, smaller players can effectively compete and achieve higher returns without expert intervention.

🚨FTC’s ban against fake reviews now in effect.

The FTC’s new rule banning fake online reviews officially went into effect last week Monday, setting a strict standard to combat deceptive practices in online marketplaces. Issued in August, the rule now allows the FTC to seek civil penalties against companies knowingly involved in creating, selling, or disseminating misleading reviews. 

"Fake reviews not only waste people's time and money but also pollute the marketplace," said FTC Chair Lina Khan. This regulatory step aims to protect consumers, ensure fairness among businesses, and promote transparency, especially at a time when AI-generated content is increasingly prevalent.

What does the rule prohibit 🚫?

🤥 Fake or AI-Generated Reviews: Reviews from fictional characters or AI are a no-go. Businesses can’t create, sell, or even buy reviews from non-existent people or those with no actual experience with the product.

🤑 Incentivized Reviews: No more paying for glowing (or scathing) reviews. Offering any incentive to write a review based on specific sentiments—positive or negative—is now off-limits.

👥 Insider Reviews: Reviews from company insiders must be clearly disclosed. Managers, employees, or their relatives can’t write reviews unless there’s full transparency about their connection to the business.

⭐️ Controlled Review Websites: If a company owns a review site, it has to be clear about it. Pretending the site is independent and unbiased when it’s not? That’s prohibited.

🤫 Review Suppression: Using threats or false accusations to silence negative reviews is banned. Companies also can’t make it look like their review page displays “all” reviews if they’re hiding the bad ones.

📊 Fake Social Media Metrics: Buying or selling followers or views that inflate a brand’s influence is prohibited if it’s misleading to consumers.

As such, you can now report such violations to the FTC.

If you’re a business owner, simply play by the rules! Remember, it’s better to err on the side of caution.

💻 Google Ads launches new Page-specific Assets to personalize campaigns.

Google Ads just announced a powerful new feature for Performance Max campaigns called Page-specific Assets, designed to bring ads closer to the content audiences care about. With this tool, advertisers can select specific webpage URLs, allowing Google to auto-generate images and videos that reflect the page’s unique content. 

For example, if an online retailer has a “Winter Jackets” page, Google Ads will use the content from that page to create visuals tailored to those products, making ads even more relevant and likely to engage shoppers. Cool, right 😎? 

Here’s how it works:

👨‍💻 Input Specific URLs: Advertisers begin by submitting URLs of specific pages relevant to their campaign goals.

⚙️ Content-Driven Asset Creation: Google Ads uses these URLs to generate custom images, videos, and other creative assets that reflect the content of each page. 

​​🤖 Automatic Optimization: Once created, these assets are automatically optimized by Google Ads to perform effectively within the campaign, ensuring each creative element aligns with both page content and audience engagement.

With Google Ads’ Page-specific Assets for Performance Max, it’s a lot easier for advertisers to improve the relevance of an ad. Campaigns can feel more personalized and impactful since they are context-sensitive, resonating better with the targeted audience 😊.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Ecom Fact: In 2024, Halloween spending is expected to reach approximately $11.6 billion, with the average consumer projected to spend around $104 on costumes, candy, decorations, and party supplies. (Source: National Retail Federation)

At this rate, it seems like Halloween haunts our wallets just as much as our homes 🙊!

🚀 Ecom Strategies: 5 Last-Minute Tricks for a Halloween Sales Treat 🎃

Halloween is just a sleep away, and it’s already getting spook-tacular out there. If you’ve been caught off guard, no worries—there’s still time to make a splash. Here are five last-minute, high-impact ideas that can be set up in no time to drive sales 💰.

🦇 Halloween-Themed Discount Pop-Up: Add a quick pop-up on your site offering a Halloween discount. Use bold visuals like pumpkins or ghosts to catch attention, with a code like “BOO20” for 20% off. This can be set up in just an hour with most pop-up tools.

💀 Spooky Social Media Posts: Schedule a series of Halloween-themed posts on your social channels. Share behind-the-scenes photos, memes, or product highlights to capture attention. This takes only a few hours and adds festive fun to your feed.

🕷️ Limited-Time Flash Sale: Run a Halloween flash sale with a countdown timer on selected items. Choose a few popular products, add a limited-time discount, and watch the urgency drive sales. This is simple to set up on most e-commerce platforms.

🚚 Free Shipping for Halloween Orders: Offer free shipping on all Halloween orders for a day. Promote this on your website, emails, and social media to reduce cart abandonment.

🕸️ Spooky Product Bundles: Quickly bundle related Halloween items (like costumes and accessories) and offer a discounted price. This increases the average order value and makes shopping easier for customers looking for last-minute purchases.

Simple as that 🤪!

These tricks will definitely cast a spell on your customers 👻—exactly the treat your business needs.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

• Wayfair introduces paid loyalty program with free shipping and 5% rewards up for grabs.

• Walmart adds prescription delivery to same-day service, expands to 49 states by 2025.

• e.l.f. and Stanley collaboration brings quenchers and tumbler lip oil holders in bold shades.

• eBay invests $1.2 million in circular fashion to support green fashion start-ups worldwide.

• KFC releases exclusive new Cranberry-Pepsi drink menu.

Wrapping up… 

Whether it’s leveraging AI for ads or ensuring transparency with genuine reviews, these insights are here to keep you on top of your game ⛳️.

Here’s to another week of ecommerce wins 🥂—and with Halloween only a haunt away, it’s the perfect time to level up for the season 🚀. 

So, while you’re at it, stay curious, smash that Subscribe button, and we’ll catch you next week ⛷️