Google: AR + Commerce + Healthcare = Profit?

Today In Digital Marketing is a daily podcast showcasing the latest in marketing trends and updates. This week, Tod touches on:

• Microsoft's Edge Browser Goes For E-Commerce
• Twitter's Subscription Plan is Almost Here
• Social Platform Updates
• Google's AR Can Detect Skin Conditions
• Instagram Reels on Desktop... Because TikTok

Below is the transcription from this weeks topics

Microsoft's Edge Browser Goes For E-Commerce

Microsoft Edge, its new web browser, has always tried to position itself as the best browser for shopping. They've had built-in features like coupons that automatically look for available deals, and price comparisons across different websites.

This does work, but it's not particularly smart. I tried it again this morning on my Amazon account, looking at a 6TB backup drive I bought recently — sure enough, the address bar flashed "Better deals available" and when I clicked it, it showed me three cheaper prices for that drive on another retailers' site — but all three were sold out. Today, Microsoft added to that feature set — adding Bing Rebates to the Edge browser.

People just need to be signed into their Microsoft Rewards account and have Bing Rebates enabled. Then, they just shop and earn cashback from 1200 or so retailers in the program.

It tracks the price on a variety of shopping sites and shows users the historical online prices to help people see if there's a cheaper time to buy. Only 9 retailers are supported right now, but they include Amazon, Etsy, and Best Buy.

Twitter's Subscription Plan is Almost Here

We may be days or hours away from Twitter's new monthly subscription plan. Don't panic, this doesn't mean Twitter will cost money to use — but they will be charging for a kind of Twitter Plus, of sorts.

If the reverse-engineer people are right, it'll be called Twitter Blue, cost $2.99 US per month, and will include the ability to undo a tweet in the seconds after posting it, a reader mode, a way to organize saved tweets into collections, change the mobile app icon's colour, and a bit more.

One thing apparently not on that list — the one thing every user has been asking for: An Edit Tweet button.

Also on Twitter, this morning the company announced that they have once again stopped accepting applications for account verification. Apparently, that blue checkmark is so sought-after that they've been swamped by requests.

Social Platform Updates

Agorapulse: First, Agorapulse now has a Canva integration. You access it in the publish window. If you're already logged into Canva with your browser, that authentication will carry into Agorapulse. All your designs and assets from Canva will be there.

They've also upgraded their optional Power Reports add-on and Smart Label suggestions — in addition to speed improvements, you can now create custom reports with more than 5 social profiles.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social has also had some upgrades this month — they added Canva as well, you can now task incoming reviews to team members, and finally, they support surfacing comments that show up on the Facebook campaign types: Dynamic Creative Optimization, and Placement Asset Customization.

Google's AR Can Detect Skin Conditions: I'm tellin' ya. AR — augmented reality — is going to be the next big thing in our digital marketing landscape. And, if you sell products that treat skin conditions — check this out: Google AR can now identify common skin conditions.

And it's more than skin — it's been approved in Europe to detect diabetic eye disease or lung cancer in CT scans.

Instagram Reels on Desktop... Because TikTok

And finally, Instagram appears to be working on letting people view Reels on the web. You know, like TikTok does.

Credit to Tod Maffin and the Today In Digital Marketing podcast, Produced by engageQ.com.