Influencer Marketing Goes Programmatic; The Times Bans Social Pixels

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Automating Influence

Influencer marketing is going programmatic. As marketers work with more micro-influencers, social accounts with smaller followings but specific interests, they need technology to scale. Scores of influencer platforms that promise to do just that have popped up in recent years, as marketers have become accustomed to the ease of buying an automated ad on Facebook or Google, Adweek reports. Some platforms are able to predict influencer performance and pricing with algorithms that cut down on the negotiation process. Other platforms make it easy to parlay high-performing influencer posts into creative for programmatic campaigns. “Now we’re able to get all sorts of data automatically, which really helps take some time off of our hands,” said Danielle Wiley, CEO of influencer agency Sway Group. More.

NYT Bans Social Pixels

The New York Times is removing Facebook and Twitter tracking pixels from its pages, Sara Fischer reports for Axios. “We’re moving away from tracking analytics on people and towards tracking analytics on stories,” according to Chris Wiggins, chief data scientist at The Times. In place of this data source, he notes the publisher has developed a new marketing tool to help reach prospective subscribers on social platforms. “Most websites are giving up all of their users’ browsing history to Facebook. The Times no longer does that.” But wait! The story clarifies that The Times will continue to use trackers “on a limited number of marketing pages.” Read on.

Vestager’s Second Act

Despite being regarded as the world’s top tech watchdog, EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager wants to go further. Vestager, who recently signed on for a rare second five-year term as the head of the European Commission’s antitrust division, sees public backlash against big tech as leeway to take an even tougher approach. Vestager has laid out a new agenda that weighs ideas like making internet platforms liable for content, investigating how companies use data to stamp out competitors and raising taxes on tech giants in Europe. She’s also trying to speed up investigations into tech companies, which can often drag on, and will play a leading role in the EU’s Digital Services Act, which could fundamentally change the way content spreads on the internet. “She has these accomplishments, but she didn’t get as much as she wanted,” David Balto, a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer, told The New York Times. “Now she can be more aggressive.” More.

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