TikTok sues, Meta’s new ad AI, the next Myspace, and more…
Hello, My Digital Darlings,
Ready to dish? TikTok is taking the US government to court, and it’s gonna get spicy. Meanwhile, Google is shaking up SEO, and Meta is rolling out new AI advertising features like it’s Christmas morning. Grab your insulated mugs, because this week’s tech tea is piping hot. Let’s get into it.
TikTok is suing the US government
We all knew this was coming. But as of Tuesday, ByteDance is officially suing the government, claiming that the bill requiring them to sell their app violates the constitutional protections of free speech. ByteDance says selling TikTok in 9 months is impossible due to all the software code they would have to move, therefore the law will “force a shutdown” by January. The suit also alleges that the US government has failed to provide any evidence that China is misusing TikTok’s data, which is valid. It’s looking like Biden’s ‘ban’ will have about as much impact as Trump's attempt in 2020: none.
Meanwhile, a new study revealed that 61% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on the app - that’s 1.5x more than other platforms. So TikTok remains a great place to spend your ad dollars, as long as you don’t mind giving them to China. In other social media news…
Meta launched new AI-powered creative tools for advertisers
The tool creates image variations based on your original ad creatives, enabling advertisers to test creative variations with no additional work. In coming months, we’ll even be able to input text prompts to help tailor the AI-generated creatives. You may be asking - is there any drama here? And yes, If your image features a product, AI could change the color, shape or size of that product, meaning the feature could be abused by shady advertisers who want to trick people into buying products that don’t actually exist. Sketchy!
Now back to your regularly scheduled Google drama…
Monopoly reveal!! DOJ broke down how Google harms search advertisers in court
In a slide deck, no less. You can review the deck here… but it’s 143 slides long. Search Engine Land highlighted 20 key slides that showcase quotes from Googlers discussing raising ad prices to increase revenue. God bless the good people at Search Engine Land. If Search Engine Land has 1,000 fans, I’m one of them. If Search Engine Land has 1 fan, it’s me. If Search Engine Land has 0 fans, I’m dead. But I digress…
The slides prove that Google Spiked ad costs to increase revenue, even clarifying that Google has certain “pricing knobs or tunings that it can use to impact search ad pricing”. Google called this “tuning” in internal documents. But like… no. That’s called manipulating the market for personal gain!! Renaming it may help you sleep at night, but it won’t help you in court. In other Google news…
Google hid the search results count in the SERP
Instead of seeing the number of search results for a query right under the search bar, you now have to click the ‘Tools’ button to see the count. Google has long claimed that the results count is just an estimate and isn’t accurate, but it’s an important data point to many SEOers. And if this is the first step toward results count going away forever, that’s bad news for SEOers who rely on it. It seems like Google wants to get rid of SEOers, tbh. They don’t want people gaming their system or looking too closely at how the SERP works. It’s kind of like how they got rid of CPC bidding for SEM so that they could have full control over their markets… Sus. In other SEO news…
Google Started enforcing its new reputation abuse policy on Monday
The goal is to combat “parasite SEO” - AKA sites hosting bad content from other sites in order to piggyback off each other’s rankings. Google offered this example:
“a third party might publish payday loan reviews on a trusted educational website to gain ranking benefit from the site.”
Sites like CNN and USA Today have already seen the impact, with their coupon directories getting de-ranked. Here are some examples of what the coupon query SERPs looked like a week ago versus now. This could actually be great for SEOers who have long been negatively impacted by parasite SEO from big brands. Hopefully, it’ll help improve the quality of search results too. And lastly…
Gen Z are making their own MySpace
Have you heard of Nospace? Tiffany Zhong, creator of the up-and-coming social media platform, believes there is a loneliness epidemic on social media that her new app can solve. “What I see right now is all social media is just media — it’s not social anymore,” said Zhong. She’s certainly right about that! But is another social media platform really the answer?
Her app promises to deliver social media as it once was in the glory days of Myspace and early Facebook. She’s even bringing back the ‘Top 8’ with the option to list your closest friends on your profile. The platform will encourage sharing casual updates like what you ate for lunch, what show you’re watching right now, and that great new band you just discovered. There will be no algorithm to please, just a chronological feed of global content, and a separate ‘friends only’ feed. “There are no subjects and fans, just peers,” says Zhong, and I must say a social media app without influencers sounds blissful. I’m not sure if there will be any opportunities for advertisers. But considering the way Gen Z openly hates TikTok shop, and the fact that these new social media platforms seem to be designed in a way that doesn’t prioritize profit… if this is the future of social media, it could mean the end of paid social… dun dun dunnnnn.
The app is coming this summer and you can pre-download it here if you want to stay ahead of the curve. It already has 380,000 people on the waitlist, so it may be the next big thing.
And that’s a wrap on this week’s digital drama. Until next week, stay sharp, keep your strategies savvy, and remember—when the tech titans tussle, I’ll be watching.
You know you love me.
7 B2B Marketing Tips To Generate Targeted Leads
If you invest time, money, and resources into lead generation, you need to make sure that the leads you’re generating fit your ideal customer profile (ICP). We call these ideal potential customers targeted leads. So, what exactly can you do to generate targeted leads efficiently and effectively? Read on for expert tips and tricks.
Start with valuable lead magnets
A lead magnet is a piece of content designed to capture lead information and get potential customers into your CRM system. You can develop high-quality, value-driven lead magnets and give them out to potential customers for free in exchange for their contact information - usually their email address.
While everyone loves free stuff, the fact that a lead magnet is free is not enough to incentivize potential customers to take action. Lead magnets must be genuinely valuable to inspire them to download them and offer their contact info.
Here are some types of lead magnets you should consider creating:
- Templates
- Quizzes
- eBooks
- Courses
- Tutorials
- In-depth guides (video, audio, text, infographics)
- Checklists
- Cheat-sheets
- White papers
- Case studies
- Podcasts
- Webinars
An excellent example of a high-value lead magnet is Onnit's "8-Week 8-Pack Plan", a PDF detailing an 8-week workout plan people can download for free. All they have to do is provide their email address. Then, they’ll receive the guide right in their inbox.
Although Onnit isn’t exactly a B2B marketer, there’s a lot we can learn from this guide.
Of course, this lead magnet gets potential customers onto Onnit’s email list. But more importantly, it’s full of helpful images and step-by-step explanations that a reader can easily understand and follow. Since it’s easy to use, potential customers will find value in it immediately. This improves brand credibility and increases the likelihood that leads who download the 8-week plan can be upsold paid offerings, like a monthly workout plan subscription.
So, how can you create a highly valuable lead magnet? By making sure it's chock-full of helpful information and easy-to-follow steps towards a concrete result. Onnit’s goal is to get people in shape and help them adopt a fitness mindset. When creating your lead magnet, think: What would you like your customers to achieve? And then help them achieve it.
Once you’ve crafted your lead magnet, share it on various marketing channels like organic social, paid social, and paid search. More on that next.
Use paid search advertising to reach the right people
Getting your brand to the top of the search engine results page (SERP) is a great way to build visibility and provide a quick solution to customers' needs. Of course, paid search ads can drive traffic to your product pages, but it's also good to showcase your lead magnets in paid ads targeting relevant search terms. If your content answers a question that your ideal client is searching, that's a great way to grow your lead pipeline.
Here are some paid search tips for B2B marketers looking to generate high-value leads:
1. Use High-Intent Keywords
High-intent keywords are terms that potential clients use when they're getting closer to making a purchasing decision. Incorporate keywords that reflect specific needs, like “enterprise project management software” or “commercial insurance quotes.” Analyze your search terms report to find terms your target audience uses when they’re ready to engage and add those to your campaign as keywords.
2. Create Sitelinks for your Lead Magnets
Paid search is a great way to promote your best lead magnets. Create sitelinks that link to your different pieces of content. Using strong call-to-actions (CTAs) like “Download the Free Whitepaper” or “Watch our Webinar” as the sitelink text will drive users to engage with your lead magnets. Call extensions are also useful for B2B companies looking to increase inbound inquiries.
3. Optimize Landing Pages
Ensure that your ad’s landing page is optimized for conversions. It should provide high-level, digestible information about the product or lead magnet and include a simple, straightforward form to capture lead details. Keep the design clean and navigation easy, and ensure the messaging aligns with your ad copy to maintain consistency.
4. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
When it comes to B2B lead generation, the quality of the lead is often more important than the quantity. Optimize your campaigns to attract leads that are most likely to convert into paying customers. This means bidding higher on a small collection of more competitive, high-intent keywords rather than placing mid-tier bids on a large group of more vague keywords.
Craft personalized social media messages
Without a doubt, LinkedIn is the best social platform for generating targeted leads and connecting with decision-makers. To do LinkedIn outreach right, start by researching your ideal connections. Craft messaging that will resonate with your ICP by first understanding the types of problems they might be trying to resolve.
Here's an example of two outreach messages. Which one would you be more likely to act on?
I think we can all agree that the second is more compelling!
Once you identify a common problem for a targeted group of prospects, you can reach out with a message telling them how your product will resolve that problem. This message should be complemented by a quick overview of your track record and a call to action. Remember to include a link to one of your lead magnets!
Test Paid Social Ads
Paid advertising on social media will put your brand in front of a highly targeted audience, but you have to deliver a powerful message to inspire people to click. The combination of captivating visuals and a clear call to action will get people to click on your ad to check out your products and offers. When you combine this with a powerful landing page, you have a high chance of turning them into a lead on the spot.
Here are some B2B-specific tips for paid social campaigns:
1. Target Precisely
Use the detailed targeting options available on social platforms to hone in on your ideal customer profiles. This includes job titles, industries, professional interests, and company sizes. The more specific you can get, the more likely you are to reach decision-makers.
2. Create Engaging Ads
B2B doesn't have to be boring. Create content that captures attention and engages viewers. This can be through informative videos, eye-catching infographics, or thought leadership posts that position your company as an expert in your field.
3. Utilize Lead Generation Forms
Many social platforms offer lead generation functionalities, like LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms, which auto-populate with the user’s profile data when they click your ad. This reduces friction in the lead generation process, making it easier for users to sign up or express interest without leaving the platform.
4. Showcase your Lead Magnets
Not every ad should ask users to 'book a demo' or 'buy today'. Instead, promote some of your best lead magnets to cement yourself as a thought leader in the eyes of your ideal customer. Whether it’s an industry report, a sponsored article, or just a good old-fashioned whitepaper, driving traffic to your lead magnets is invaluable.
Build landing pages that inspire action
Your ads will only deliver the desired results if they link to equally powerful landing pages. When a potential customer clicks on an ad, they need to land on a page that delivers valuable information that is relevant to them.
For example, if a person searches for the best wireless security cameras, and your ad pops up, you want to make sure that it leads them to wireless cameras specifically. A common and costly mistake would be to lead them to your entire security camera selection, not a filtered landing page.
That's a big no-no.
With that said, what does a great landing page look like? Check out DoorDash, whose landing page gives you everything you need to take action immediately above-the-fold, along with added information and options as you scroll down.
Or how about Marin's very own performance marketing and automation landing page?
The above-the-fold part of the page has everything from a video intro to a short text explainer, as well as a clear CTA and some social proof sprinkled in at the bottom. As you continue to scroll, you get to know the specific features of the platform and the ways it can streamline your digital marketing campaigns.
Optimize Your Lead Generation Forms
When it comes to lead generation forms, brevity is your friend. Lead gen forms should be short, sweet, and to the point, and they should offer some value to the visitor (like a lead magnet). Make sure the user has to fill out no more than 6 info boxes to complete the form. Just two or three is ideal.
Here are some types of lead gen forms to add to your site:
- Newsletter signup
- Email in exchange for a discount code
- Account Registration in exchange for access to resources
- Lead magnet signup
Here's an example of a good lead gen form:
On Expat.com, the signup form is straightforward and concise, with color simplicity and contrasts to emphasize the call to action as well as other signup options.
Track Every Micro-conversion
The B2B sales cycle can be long and convoluted, with many different micro-conversions occurring along the way. A micro-conversion could include a form fill, a demo request, a phone call, or downloading a lead magnet. It’s critical to track every step of the customer journey to understand what’s driving sales and where customers are dropping out of your marketing funnel.
Marin attribution was built to do just that. It’s ideal for B2B businesses because you can view every micro-conversion side by side, and even calculate the conversion rate from one micro-conversion to the next. It’s critical to implement a multi-touch attribution tracking system so you can understand the full picture.
Over to You
Generating targeted leads starts with creating high-quality lead magnets that bring potential customers into your conversion funnel. Potential customers want to connect with brands on a more personal level, so it’s critical to position your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
Paid search and social advertising for B2B brands can be complex. Tracking the customer journey is no easy task. And with many sales cycles taking over 6 months, it can be difficult to determine which ads and lead magnets were the true needle movers that drove a lead to convert. With Marin’s cross-channel campaign management and attribution software, the process becomes streamlined and simple. Speak with a Marin rep to learn more!
Snapchat is back, new PMAX AI features, what killed Google Search, and more…
Hello, My Digital Darlings,
This week, we’re strutting through a saga of strategic shifts. From TikTok's defiance in the face of sale rumors to Google's latest AI-driven enhancements, the digital domain is abuzz with actions and reactions that could reshape our campaigns. Snap on your tech tiaras, and let’s dive into the dizzying details.
TikTok will NOT be sold
In last week’s email I posited that there was no way ByteDance would sell TikTok, and once again I was right. "ByteDance doesn't have any plans to sell TikTok," the company posted on Toutiao, another social media platform it owns. They called the ban “unconstitutional” and CEO Shou Zi Chew said they “are confident and will keep fighting for your rights in the courts.” Ooooo, drama! Stay tuned for updates as TikTok and the US government battle it out. For now, TikTok still looks like the next frontier for eCommerce. TikTok Shop had over 500,000 US sellers at the end of 2023 - a stat that more than doubled from Q3 to Q4. This unprecedented growth just reiterates the fact that no matter how unsure TikTok’s future seems, right now, you better be selling on TikTok shop!! In other social news…
Snapchat shares surged thanks to better ad targeting
Snapchat has had trouble competing with the likes of Meta and TikTok for social ad dollars. But they’ve been working hard over the past year to improve ad targeting and the user experience of interacting with ads. These improvements plus a growing user base make Snap a better place to serve ads than ever before, so don’t discount it. If your ads are successful on TikTok and Reels, try testing Snapchat’s new targeting, too. Pssst - you can manage ads for all three publishers with Marin. Now let's talk about what’s going down at Google…
Google added 6 new AI features to PMAX campaigns
Updates include a new customer acquisition goal that’s supposed to help you - you guessed it - acquire new customers. It has two different modes you can choose from; new customer value mode, which bids higher on new customers than existing ones, and new customer only mode, which only bids on new customers. If you value new customers more than returning ones, try out this new goal for PMAX campaigns.
Google also added a customer retention goal designed to do the opposite - help reduce churn and increase loyalty. So if retention is more your thing, test out this goal. Or, try both on two different campaigns! To quote Google, “The retention goal works effectively alongside the New Customer Acquisition (NCA) goal to create a well-rounded customer lifecycle strategy.” Both new PMAX goals are currently in beta, so they may not work perfectly just yet… keep that in mind when testing.
Another new update is detailed demographics which provide data on age and gender groups. You can find these details under audience insights. These demographics are also available as audience types you can use for targeting.
Other newbies include Budget Pacing Insights, which offer real-time spend tracking and show current and project spend and conversions; account level IP exclusions, which enable you to filter out irrelevant traffic; and Final URL Expansion, which tests different landing pages so you can learn which drives the best CVR for your ads. Get all the details on these new features here. Speaking of AI for search ads…
Microsoft Copilot is now available to everybody
This AI assistant lives right in the Microsoft ads platform. You can use it to generate ad copy and create image assets. Simply enter your final URL and Copilot will generate asset recommendations. You can also ask the chatbot about performance. For example, you could ask it to summarize performance for a given campaign over the past month, and the bot would give you a quick writeup of impressions, clicks, cost, etc. How helpful! This is the type of AI that I fully support. Now, time for some more SEM updates…
Google Ads will auto-pause low volume keywords starting in June
Ads with no impressions over the past 13 months will be paused automatically. If you unpause them after the fact and they still don’t get any impressions over the following 3 months, Google will pause them again. Remember that Google has been auto-pausing low volume ad groups since March, following the same rule that zero impressions over the last 13 months warrants a pause. Pretty bossy of them! But honestly, I think this is helpful and I appreciate them automating some tedious account maintenance tasks for us. In SEO news…
The Google March core update finished on April 19th, apparently
But they didn’t tell us until Friday. Rude! They’re claiming the update reduced low-quality search results by 45%, so let’s hope that’s true. Some sites feel they have been unfairly negatively impacted by the core update. If that’s you, you can fill out this form to provide feedback to Google. Google also updated their guide for debugging drops in Google Search traffic which is definitely worth a read if your site has been negatively impacted. Lastly, if your site has lost traffic and you’re unsure how to start remedying it, check out Search Engine Land’s 6 things you should do after a Google core update rollout completes. Now, let’s close things out with a good old fashioned callout post…
Was this responsible for killing Google Search?
Woof, this article is crazy. In 2019, Search revenue was down at Google, and the execs were panicking. Search query growth was “significantly behind forecast” and revenue was dragging. This caused Google’s Search and Ad teams to get a little too close, all for the sake of growing revenue. They realized that they could “increase queries quite easily in the short term in user negative ways,” like turning off spell check and rolling back ranking improvements. Then, a Google core update rolled back a bunch of changes, increasing traffic to sites that had been historically repressed. That’s just the beginning of a long story that I absolutely cannot sum it all up here, but this post is full of piping hot tea and is a fascinating - albeit a bit scary - read for anyone who works with Google Ads or SEO.
And on that cynical note, our dance through this week’s digital drama comes to a close. In the whirlwind world of digital marketing, staying informed is your silver bullet. Until next week, may your tea be hot, your ROAS be hotter, and your mind focused on your goals.
You know you love me.
How to Build a Content Marketing Funnel that Converts Social Media Followers into Leads
Around 73% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers have a mainstay in their overall marketing strategy - content marketing. Transforming those social media scrollers into genuine leads comes down to the quality of your content and its ability to shape your audience's journey toward becoming loyal customers.
The maze of content marketing funnels becomes less daunting when you break down the basics, craft an effective strategy, and understand why content reigns supreme in the marketing kingdom.
Understanding the Content Marketing Funnel
Whether you are looking to start a social media marketing agency or run the social strategy for your own business, effectively capturing the interest of well-defined target audiences is key. Keeping audiences engaged is all about having a strategic content funnel. This funnel is like a conveyor belt of valuable content—blogs, social media updates, videos—aimed at existing and potential customers. It's not about hard-selling your product or endlessly promoting your business. Instead, the focus is on becoming an authority in your industry, the go-to source for all things relevant. By raising brand awareness and offering helpful content, you gradually steer customers towards choosing your service or product.
This is what a journey through the social media marketing funnel should look like:
Stage 1: Awareness
Goal: Attracting and engaging prospects
The journey starts at the top of the funnel, where potential customers become aware of your product. By sharing eye-catching content on social media, businesses can capture attention and draw new followers and potential customers into the fold.
Since these potential customers are not yet aware of your company or the solutions you provide, the top-of-funnel content must educate them. This can include shareable blog posts, infographics, YouTube videos, e-books, and podcasts.
Key metrics to measure success: Time on page, followers gained, number of shares, bounce rate.
Stage #2: Evaluation
Goal: Building trust and authority
As prospects journey through the middle of the funnel, they're considering your product, but crave more information. This is where your content needs to build trust and authority. Repetitively drawing people’s attention to the benefits they can get from your product or service is crucial, or they’ll likely lose interest and drift away. Target them with ads that contain middle-of-funnel content.
Middle-of-the-funnel content showcases why they should choose your offering. You can use case studies, white papers, useful resources/downloads, or events and webinars here.
Key metrics to measure success: Downloads, registrations, engagements, demo request forms… whatever indicates a new lead to your business.
Stage #3: Conversion
Goal: Guiding prospects toward the sale
At the bottom of the funnel, leads are primed and ready to purchase. Here, targeted paid social ads addressing their specific needs can nudge prospects toward the finish line. With proper tracking in place, you'll have tracked the prospect's journey through the funnel and gained an understanding of what elements of your product appeal to them most. Double down on those value ads with targeting messaging.
Boost prospects' confidence with content like customer reviews, demos, competitor comparisons, and, of course, free trials! Ensure you have a clear call to action, a simplified purchase process, and personalized content here.
Key metrics: Sales!
Crafting Compelling Content for Social Media
If your your organic and paid social content isn't engaging or relevant, your audience won't hesitate to scroll past it in search of something more captivating.
But it's not just about what you say—it's also about how you say it. Each post is a new lead magnet. Text posts can deliver concise, informative messages, while images can capture attention in an instant. And then there's video—the undisputed heavyweight champion—which allows you to tell compelling stories, demonstrate products, and provide in-depth tutorials.
Live streams are a great way to deliver marketing content, especially for companies with a substantial following on TikTok or Instagram. One of the key benefits of live streaming is the capacity for live selling. You can use it to promote your eBook, podcast, YouTube channel, blog, products, or services, directing potential customers into your funnel.
When live streaming, keep the following tips in mind:
- Have a clear plan and goal for your live stream to ensure it's purposeful
- Be authentic and avoid over-rehearsing or reading from scripts
- Control your environment to minimize distractions and disruptions
- Boldly communicate the topic of your live stream to attract and retain viewers
- Schedule and promote your streams in advance to maximize audience attendance
- Save and share your livestreams to extend their reach
- Provide valuable content that encourages audience engagement and discussion
- Remember to enjoy the interaction with your viewers and have fun hosting the livestream
There's one often-overlooked aspect of content creation that can make or break your social media game: audio quality. Poor audio quality can quickly turn off your audience and undermine your message, whether recording a podcast, filming a live stream, or adding background music to your Instagram story. So, invest in good microphones, the best audio editing software, and soundproofing equipment to ensure your content sounds as polished as it looks.
Converting Followers into Leads
Once you've crafted your lead magnet, it's time to create an irresistible opt-in offer that encourages your audience to take action. This opt-in offer takes them from social media followers to real leads, often by getting them to join your email list. By running contests, initiating interesting conversations, and interacting with followers in meaningful ways, you can create a sense of community that goes beyond transactional relationships. For example, you could try giving away small prizes via email campaigns, not as bribes to join your email list, but as tokens of appreciation for your audience’s active participation and engagement. Or, you could try creating a newsletter that contains valuable industry updates and is delivered weekly via email. All your social media followers have to do to access these great opportunities is join your email list!
Whether it's a compelling call-to-action (CTA), a visually appealing landing page, or an exclusive bonus offer delivered via a personalized email, make sure that your opt-in entices your audience and communicates the value they'll receive by subscribing.
Don't overlook the importance of segmentation and personalizing the user experience. Segment your leads using categories like interests, behaviors, or demographics, and tailor your follow-up communication accordingly. Targeted content that speaks to each segment of your audience enhances engagement, builds rapport, and drives conversions.
The Role of Paid Ads in the Funnel
Paid ads are critical if you want to deliver mid and bottom funnel targeted content on social media due to their retargeting abilities. Additionally, they help you collect data you can use to map and measure every stage of the customer's journey, identifying potential bottlenecks or shortcomings in your marketing strategy. This level of insight is invaluable for refining your approach and maximizing effectiveness, particularly in the upper stages of the funnel, where the primary objective is to boost brand visibility and attract new customers. If your top-of-funnel ads aren't engaging, you won't build an audience to retarget with mid-and-bottom-funnel content.
By leveraging a paid media advertising funnel, you gain insights into your audience's actual purchasing intent, especially during the consideration stage. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates, bounce rates, and engagement metrics can help you gauge the effectiveness of your sales strategy and tailor your messaging accordingly.
Implementing a Tracking System
To effectively navigate the intricacies of a multi-stage marketing funnel, you need a solution that enables you to track multiple events seamlessly. From clicks on social posts to email signups to sales, every micro-conversion in the funnel needs to be tracked across all your different organic and paid marketing channels. Aim for something equipped with built-in optimization tools designed to illuminate the critical stages of your buying cycle. When you unify your campaign data with sales outcomes, you glean actionable insights and make informed, data-driven marketing decisions.
Building a Company Culture for Nurturing Leads for Conversion
Getting your whole team on board with nurturing leads for conversion is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of personalized communication strategies. With a group coaching approach, ensure everyone on your team understands the importance of consistent messaging across all touch points.
Consistent messaging and communication are essential for building trust and credibility and must be a collaborative effort across departments. You never want your marketing team to be promoting something that your sales team can't actually deliver. Involving sales, customer service, and marketing in the lead nurturing process will ensure that leads receive a unified customer experience, which increases the likelihood of conversion.
Always remember the ultimate goal of your marketing campaign
It's easy to get caught up in metrics like likes, shares, and comments. While engagement is undeniably important for building brand awareness and fostering relationships with your audience, sales are typically the main goal of marketing campaigns.
After all, they directly impact your bottom line and drive tangible results for your business. So, concentrate on strategies that prompt your audience to take action. Plan your marketing strategies to go beyond simply generating likes or shares and ultimately inspire followers to move down the sales funnel and make a purchase. If you can do this, you'll watch your social media campaigns drive real business growth.
The TikTok ban, bots dominating site traffic, huge changes to location targeting, and more…
Hello, My Digital Darlings,
How are you, beautiful people? I hope your week has been smooth so far, you’ve been able to avoid those calls that could be emails, and your boss is recognizing that you’re crushing it. The digital landscape is rocky right now, so stay strong, and stay informed. Everyone who’s anyone is talking about the TikTok ban, so let’s dive into it.
Bytedance has to sell TikTok or it’ll be banned.
Welp, it finally happened. The TikTok ban bill that the US government has been teasing for years actually passed. The bill requires Chinese-owned company ByteDance to sell TikTok and its precious algorithm to an American-owned company within the next 9 months, or face a national ban.
Ok Biden, I see the vision, but… Bytedance built the most influential algorithm in the modern world. They’re not going to give it up that easily. TikTok executives have pledged to challenge the bill, leaning on the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Plus, who can afford to buy TikTok that’s not already being investigated for monopolistic practices?? I honestly don’t know. I’m not sure where this will go, but for now, I’m going to keep advertising on the platform. But as a consumer, I’m thinking twice about my nightly TikTok scrolls.
One of the major concerns around TikTok is that it has become young people’s go-to source of information, with a growing portion of Gen Z reporting that it’s their #1 search engine. To capitalize on the platform while it’s still around…
Check out this guide to TikTok SEO.
The guide breaks down how to use hashtags, keywords, and content trends to grow your brand organically on the platform. It’s the next frontier for SEO (assuming the ban fails), so read up, search marketers!
Tiktok isn’t the only digital concern top of mind this week. There are a slew of other tech problems to tackle, like the fact that…
Bots made up nearly half of all internet traffic last year.
49.6% of traffic, to be exact. Bad bot traffic skyrocketed from 2018 to 2023. It’s no surprise that this is due to generative AI, which uses web scraping bots to train its models. Marketers now have to assume that ~50% of the traffic to our sites is bot traffic. Yikes! To make matters worse, bad bots target APIs, and were accountable for 30% of attacks on APIs last year. I’ll let article author Erez Hasson explain the impact:
“These attacks exploit flaws within an application's design and implementation, allowing attackers to influence legitimate functionality to access sensitive data or user accounts.”
Oof, not good! In other not-so-good news…
Google Chrome IP masking could radically impact search ad targeting.
This is part of Google’s court-ordered initiative to protect the privacy of Chrome users, called the ‘Privacy Sandbox’. Users' IP addresses will be batched and masked by region, so for ad location targeting, we’ll only be able to target specific regions designated by Google.
There are a few issues with this - firstly, the regions designated by Google won’t be accurate. Secondly, it will be impossible to distinguish between real traffic and bot traffic per region. And lastly, this process will only be implemented on Chrome, giving Google a total monopoly on location data. This could eliminate competition in the search ads market. Google is certainly making data privacy work for them…
This is a super technical issue that’s hard to summarize, so my more detail oriented readers can check out this detailed breakdown for more info. Speaking of Google’s tracking…
The depreciation of third-party cookies was delayed AGAIN.
Who’s surprised? Literally nobody. To quote Digiday:
“Google is delaying the end of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser — again. In other unsurprising developments, water remains wet.”
Google said that more technical stuff still needs to happen before cookies are deprecated, and that they’re now planning to deprecate them “some time in 2025”. This is the third time they’ve pushed back the deadline, so I’ll believe it when I see it. Please do not let this deter you from transitioning to first party tracking ASAP, though. Anyone who’s anyone will tell you that the cookie-powered web is already dead. And for my final bit of Google news…
Google’s SVP of Search is freaking out because growth is slowing.
Heavy competition in the AI space, tons of money spent on gen AI bots, and the consequences of the Digital Markets Act caused Google to cut costs and lay off staff. Haters like myself are eager to see Google fail, after decades of “putting profit above everything, including its users.” Increasing competition from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta is a major cause of the shrinkage. When one queen falls, another ascends, and one has to wonder if the likes of OpenAI or Meta will handle the power any better. Only time will tell. Speaking of AI, maybe I’ve been too negative about it in the past…
Over half of Americans think Generative AI will boost their creativity.
Chatbots are quickly becoming a go-to source of information, with over half of Americans now using generative AI. And I get it. Just yesterday I used chatGPT to generate a list of discussion questions for my book club - why think when the robots can do it for me?? I see the benefits, but I am still afraid that AI may one day replace creative jobs like writing and graphic design altogether. Sigh...
Not me ending on a dark note yet again!! I guess that’s just who I am. But there you have it - all the latest digital marketing tea, summed up in bite-sized pieces for you, my dear readers. Until next week, stay fresh, stay alert, and don’t let the drama get you down.
You know you love me.
5 advanced tips to improve your Amazon Ads
Amazon is a colossal marketplace where brands fight to capture the attention of millions of potential customers. To beat fierce competition, brands must go beyond the basics.
But first, lets make sure all the basics are covered. Then, read on to learn advanced tips and tactics that will help your Amazon Ads and Listings stand out.
Understanding Amazon Ad formats
There are three main Amazon ad formats - Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. Let’s review each ad type’s traits and use cases.
Sponsored Products
Sponsored Product is the most widely used advertising format on Amazon. These ads drive targeted traffic to your product listings by showcasing your product on the results page for specific search terms that you select as keywords. The sponsored ads appear alongside the organic search results, making this ad type feel very native to the user’s shopping experience. Shoppers may not even notice they’re clicking on an ad.
Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brand Ads allow you to showcase your brand and multiple products in a single ad. These are ideal for top-of-the-funnel advertising and are a great way to increase brand awareness. The downside is that these ads feel less organic to users and more like traditional ads, which may lead them to be biased against clicking on them. When running sponsored brand campaigns, it’s important to include eye-catching images or videos that will draw attention immediately.
Sponsored Display
The unique thing about Sponsored Display Ads is that you can use them to target shoppers regardless of where they decide to shop — on or off Amazon. Through machine-learning and multi-format creatives, you can reach your audience on Amazon and across thousands of other websites and apps.
Instead of focusing on keywords, these ads target users based on their shopping habits. Amazon claims that sellers who use these types of ads see an average of 33.9% more impressions, 3.6% more detail page views, and 2.6% more new-to-brand customers. Note those stats are for customers who run sponsored display campaigns alongside Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand campaigns. So don’t rely just on one ad format, try all three and watch them work together!
Amazon Ads for non-retail brands
Amazon sellers are considered ‘endemic’ advertisers - meaning they run ads on Amazon to sell products on Amazon. But Amazon advertising isn’t just for retailers anymore! Non-endemic brands like banks, insurance companies, and streaming services now have the opportunity to advertise to Amazon’s massive audience. While endemic ads target customers who are actively shopping on the platform, non-endemic ads are focused on driving traffic to a website rather than an Amazon store.
This means that even if you don't sell on Amazon, you can still run display ads through Amazon's Demand-Side Platform (DSP), which we'll talk more about later.
Which ad type should I choose?
According to Junglescout, Sponsored brand campaigns see the highest average ROAS, followed by Sponsored Products, then Sponsored Display. It’s best to run all three ad types alongside one another, but if you’re just getting started, we recommend starting with Sponsored Brand campaigns if your goal is to improve brand awareness or starting with Sponsored Product campaigns if your goal is to drive sales.
The basics of optimizing Amazon Ads
Make sure that you have all of these basic optimizations covered before you move on to more advanced tactics. We’ll discuss those in the next section.
1. Strategically select keywords
Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms that potential customers are using to find products similar to yours. Marketing automation tools like Marin can automate keyword research for you by crawling the search terms that past purchasers have used to get to you product page and suggesting terms that drive a high volume of clicks to be added as keywords. The ‘DIY’ method is to use the Amazon search bar for keyword research. Simply type your core keywords into the search bar and review the queries it autocompletes. Add all relevant query variations as target keywords. You can do the same thing with the Google search bar too.
It's also important to understand the different types of Amazon Keywords:
Frontend Keywords: Keywords that are included in the copy for the product listing, i.e. any key terms in your product title and description. Frontend keyword optimization is the reason that products on Amazon aren’t called simple names like “Almay Lip Gloss”, but rather “Almay Hydrating Lip Gloss, Soft Natural Colors, Prebiotic Complex, Hyaluronic Filling-Sphere Technology, 200 Rose Glow, 0.1 fl oz.” Including all those keywords in your product name may not look cute, but it helps Amazon’s algorithm understand which search queries to return your products for.
Backend Keywords: These are the keywords that you add to your campaign in Amazon Ads Manager. They won’t be visible to customers but will guide the algorithm on which search queries to serve your ads on.
Be sure to incorporate as many frontend keywords as possible in your product listing, and feature the most important ones first. Your list of backend keywords should be more robust and contain all target keywords you’ve gathered through your research.
2. Fine-tune your product listings
Make sure your copy is optimized for both search engines and potential customers. To showcase your product's features and benefits, write compelling product titles, detailed and informative descriptions, and provide high-quality images. A well-optimized listing not only improves your organic search ranking but also increases the likelihood of converting clicks into sales.
Make sure you’re adhering to Amazon’s product title requirements, listed here. Key takeaways are:
- Titles should be up to 80 characters
- Avoid using all-caps
- Avoid promotional phrases like ‘half-off’ or ‘free shipping’
- Use numerals, for example use 4 instead of four
- Avoid listing size and color variations
Failing to follow these guidelines may lead Amazon to suppress your listing.
When it comes to descriptions, Amazon highly recommends using bullet points to highlight your product’s top 5 features. Amazon Sellers can add 5 bullet points, while Amazon Vendors are able to add up to 10. Start by listing the most important feature as your first bullet point, then move on to the second most important, and so on. Unlike titles, you should prioritize clarity over including lots of keywords when writing your bullet points. We recommend reviewing Amazon’s guide to writing good bullet points.
3. Monitor performance metrics
Track key performance metrics such as conversion rate, click-through rate (CTR), and advertising cost of sales (ACoS) regularly to gauge the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your ad performance over time. Check out our detailed overview of key metrics and tools for measuring the ROI of e-commerce campaigns for more info.
4. Utilize audience targeting
Amazon Audiences are ready-made targeting groups that you can serve ads to with just a few clicks. Apply audience targets in addition to your target keywords for precise targeting. You can target four types of audiences:
In-market: Users who have recently been shopping for products similar to yours.
Lifestyle: Audiences built based on an aggregate of shopping and viewing behaviors across Amazon, Prime Video, Twitch and more. Amazon aggregates this data and sorts users into groups like “makeup enthusiasts” or “foodies”.
Interest: Interest audiences are built based on browsing and buying behavior, similar to Lifestyle segments, but are more specific, like “interested in Asian food” or “interested in wedding makeup.”
Life events: These are groups of people that are about to experience a life event, like going on vacation or moving.
Test targeting different types of audiences to discover which are most engaged with your brand.
5. Run sales and promotions
To stand out in Amazon search results, offer promotions, discounts, and exclusive deals. Amazon's Coupons and Lightning Deals make it easy to run promotions. Not only are the coupons and deals displayed in your product listing, your product can also be listed on the Amazon Coupons page and deals page giving it visibility to users who weren’t even searching for it.
5 Advanced tips for Amazon Advertising
Once you've got the basics covered, try these advanced tips and tactics to elevate your Amazon advertising game.
Tip #1: Experiment with video ads
Customers are gravitating towards video more than ever. Using product demonstrations, customer testimonials, and lifestyle clips in your ads is a great way to convey your brand message and connect with your target audience. Video is especially important for Sponsored Brand campaigns, which enable you to showcase a video and a few featured products right on the search results page. You can find Amazon’s detailed guide to creating Sponsored Brands video ads here.
Tip #2: Run Ads for Amazon on Search and Social
If you’ve seen success selling on Amazon, consider advertising your Amazon store on other channels, like paid search and paid social. For example, many retailers include a sitelink to their Amazon Store in their paid search ads, with copy like “Buy on Amazon”. That way, the majority paid search traffic is still being driven to their website, but searchers have the option to buy on Amazon too. Having the option to order a product on Amazon may push users over the purchasing threshold since they’re familiar with the Amazon user experience and its quick purchasing process. If the product is available for Prime delivery, that’s another needle-mover.
It’s important to remember that if you do this while using Amazon’s tracking system, none of the conversions driven by your paid search campaigns will be attributed to paid search. Marin has built a cross-channel tracking solution to solve this problem. Click here to learn about Amazon Attribution.
Tip #3: Optimize for mobile
With an increasing number of shoppers browsing and purchasing on mobile devices, you want to be sure your Amazon listings and ads are optimized for mobile. Product titles have a 200 character limit on desktop, but only 70 characters will show on mobile, so be sure that all important info like brand name, product type, and key features are covered in the first 70 characters of your product title.
It’s also important to optimize the images on your product page for mobile. While you’re able to add up to nine images, only the first 7 images will be displayed on mobile, so choose those early images wisely.
Lastly, remember that mobile screens offer less space to describe your product. On mobile, only the product name, brand, and images show ‘above the fold’, meaning users don’t have to scroll to see them. Mobile users may swipe through your images and skim over the details. Therefore, it’s valuable to showcase key selling points in one or two of the images, like in the example from Revlon below:
Tip #4: Explore Amazon DSP
If your goal is to expand your reach and attract new customers, Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) may be the answer. It enables you to programmatically buy ads and reach new and existing audiences both on and off Amazon, all the while using Amazon’s first-party data to target users in your demographic. Ads through Amazon DSP will serve on Amazon and on partner sites like Twitch, IMDb, Audible and more. Hitting users with ads on the sites where they spend their time can drive them back to your Amazon store. Amazon DSP offers unique options for ad types and targeting, and you can learn more about them in our Guide to Amazon DSP.
Tip #5: Consider a third-party bidding solution
Leverage advanced optimization techniques not available through Amazon's native advertising platform with a third party bidding tool. Whether you're looking to increase sales or drive brand awareness, bidding solutions like Marin can help you achieve your goals. Of course, Amazon offers it’s own automated bidding strategies, but many marketers struggle to hit their targets with Amazon’s solutions and turn to Marin’s tried and true algorithms. Plus, since Marin houses all your front and backend marketing data, its algorithms often have access to conversion, revenue, and targeting data that Amazon does not. Learn how Marin’s bidding drove a 155% increase in revenue for an Amazon retailer here.
How to Thrive in the Amazon Advertising World
Like all advertising platforms, the keys to success on Amazon are staying on top of the latest trends, continuously optimizing your listings, and testing different copy and placements until you find what works for you.
If you’re finding it all a bit overwhelming, you can manage and optimize your Amazon ads alongside all your other digital marketing channels in Marin’s unified grid. MarinOne even comes with a dedicated digital marketing expert who you can consult with on strategy. If you’re not sure how to get your Amazon campaigns to hit your ROAS goals, Marin can help. Schedule a demo with our team to learn more.
The limitations of smart bidding and why your paid search campaigns deserve more
Arguably the biggest innovation the paid search industry has seen in the past decade is the advent of Smart Bidding, Google’s automated bidding solution. I remember when I first entered the industry as an Account Coordinator… Ah, the good (or bad?) old days. A majority of my time was spent manually updating CPC bids for every keyword in my client’s Google and Bing Ad accounts. I would analyze how each campaign was pacing toward my client’s KPI and calculate new bids multiple times a week.
Enter Google’s tROAS and tCPA smart bidding strategies. I remember my Google account reps encouraging my team to test these automated strategies and how skeptical we all were. The only automated bidding we had heard of in the past was through Marin! But as the years went by and Google’s automation won more and more bidding tests, Smart Bidding became the norm.
Now manual bidding is a thing of the past – manual CPC isn’t even an option anymore. And what paid search marketer isn’t relieved to be freed of the tedious tasks associated with manual bidding?
These publisher bidding strategies are great… but they’re an incomplete solution. What if you want budget pacing, not just ROAS or CPA, to be considered in bidding decisions? Can you ask Google’s algorithm to do that? Not without a complex custom script… and I certainly don’t know how to code.
Managing budget pacing still requires manual intervention – that is unless you use Marin! Read on to understand some of the ways Marin makes smart bidding even better.
Manage everything in one place
Jumping across publisher tools can be time-consuming and fragment your workflows and data. With Marin, all your different campaigns across Google, Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more are unified in one UI.
Marin unifies publisher data from tools like Google and Microsoft ads with backend data from tracking solutions like Google Analytics. We even have our own tracking solution, Marin Attribution, which is a more straightforward alternative to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
All that data comes together in our interactive, customizable reporting grids. From campaigns, all the way down to individual keywords, front-end metrics – like costs and clicks – are married to backend metrics – like conversions and revenue – and attributed to the correct source. You can even create your own custom columns with the calculations that matter most to you. That means no more spreadsheets.
Transitioning your reporting and analysis from an Excel grid to the Marin grid eliminates the need for any manual data wrangling, saving time and improving data accuracy. Check out how easy it is to analyze performance in Marin.
Marin makes it easier than ever to analyze cross-channel performance and clearly determine what is working well and what needs attention. If you decide to take any action based on that analysis, Marin makes that process easier than ever, too.
Edit smart bidding settings across publishers
After using Marin’s reporting grid to determine what’s working and what’s not, you can use our multi-edit functionality to make changes. Update your smart bidding settings like strategy, target, bid cap, and more in Marin and avoid wasting time hopping between unintuitive publisher UIs.
Maximize ROAS with Dynamic Allocation
If you find yourself grappling with questions of how much you should spend on each of your campaigns, let Marin solve them for you. Our budget allocation solution harnesses the power of AI to ensure your budget is distributed as efficiently as possible across campaigns and channels.
It all starts with your goals. First, you’ll meet with your Marin team to discuss your KPI targets and spend goals. Next, you’ll group your campaigns into different spend groups. Some examples of typical spend groups are brand, non-brand, retargeting, and prospecting.
Marin’s AI will take it from there. It will analyze how each of your campaigns is currently pacing toward your KPIs and review impression share metrics to determine if there is more room for a campaign to spend in the SERP or if that campaign is already dominating. It’ll then allocate your budget across all the campaigns in the given bucket based on each campaign’s potential.
You can either auto-apply Marin’s budget recommendations, or review them in the Marin app and apply them manually as you see fit. Manage it all in Marin’s budget pacing dashboard, which showcases not only how your budget groups are pacing toward spend goals, but revenue and ROAS trends as well.
Get unbiased recommendations for improvement
The publishers all provide recommendations to improve performance. But if you look closely, these recommendations always seem to lead to you spending more money on ads — not necessarily getting you any closer to hitting your KPI targets. Marin’s recommendation engine is free from publisher bias and has complete context on how all of your campaigns are doing across your customer lifecycle. This makes it more accurate than Google or Bing’s recommendations. And just like Google’s recommendations, they can be applied with one click.
In the modern paid media landscape, maintaining independence from domineering publisher tools is more valuable than ever. If our blog hasn’t convinced you of that yet, Marin’s unbiased recommendations will.
Say goodbye to publisher walled gardens
If you’re only using publisher tools for paid search media buying, you're limiting your marketing program. Marin can help you save time and improve your ROAS or CPA in countless ways. The best part? Marin is completely customizable. Unlike the publisher tools' one-size-fits-all approach, we can adapt our software to your business’s specific needs. Share your struggles with a Marin rep today and learn what we can do to help!
Meet your next Marketing Automation Platform
If you’re still unsure what Marin can do for you, see some of our favorite features in action.
Search is still queen of paid media, the bank to media network pipeline, what ‘key events’ in GA4 are, and more…
Hey Digital Darlings,
In the digital world, it seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the change column, we see paid social continuing to grow in importance (and value) among digital marketers. But in “same-same” news, paid search is still the reigning monarch in the vast kingdom of paid media–clutching its crown with a cool $88.8 billion to show for it in 2023. Buckle up as we sashay through the latest digital drama, from Google's generative jests to Meta's chatbot chitchat.
US search ad revenues hit a record high in 2023.
Paid search remained on top with digital advertisers for yet another year, accounting for $88.8 billion in ad revenues in 2023. That’s a 5.2% increase in revenue year over year. Despite the fact that paid search becomes more competitive and less transparent every year, it still drives better results than any other advertising channel. That said, paid search’s market share is slowly but steadily decreasing, thanks in large part to the rise of paid social. But paid social isn’t much more transparent than search, so I wouldn’t really call that a win… just a shift. In other paid search news…
Google announced generative AI tools for Demand Gen campaigns.
The new tools create image assets using prompts that you provide. If you already have visual assets that are performing well, you can also use the tool to generate similar image variations. This makes it easier than ever to create visuals for Discover and YouTube Ads, but eliminates the need for a real, human creative team, which makes me sad. It’s interesting that these generative image tools are only available for PMAX and Demand Gen campaigns – two of Google’s newest campaign types that they’ve been pushing heavily since their inception. It’s yet another indicator that Google wants to automate everything. Regardless, it sounds like a helpful tool, and you can check out Google's guide to start using it. Now let’s chat about GA4…
The shift from ‘conversions’ to ‘key events’ in GA4 is a game-changer.
‘Key Events’ is a new term Google invented to distinguish Google Analytics (GA4) conversions from Google Ads conversions. Key events are important events for your business like subscriptions or purchases. This article from Search Engine Land outlined all the shifts in tracking from Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4:
- UA used data based on sessions; GA4 uses data based on events.
- UA measured bounce rate; GA4 measures engagement rate.
- UA used cookies; GA4 uses modeling to estimate key events.
- UA let you set up to 20 goals; GA4 lets you mark up to 30 key events.
- UA provided data; GA4 automatically provides anomaly detection.
- UA reported what users did; GA4 generates predictive insights.
- UA used last-click attribution; GA4 uses data-driven attribution.
These shifts make it easier to measure micro-conversions and assign monetary value to them, and also get more detailed insight into your customers’ purchasing journey. I found it really helpful to see all the changes laid out plainly. You can read more about the impact of these changes here. In other Google news..
AI spam is winning the SEO battle.
John Gillham, founder and CEO of AI content detection platform Originality.ai, said Google is losing its war on spammy content, and that “not all AI content is spam, but I think right now all spam is AI content." His team has been tracking the amount of AI content showing up on Google search results. Last month, 10% of results were written by AI, and that’s after Google claimed to take down a bunch of spammy, AI powered sites.
The Verge proved that point and trolled Google with an article titled “Best printer 2024, best printer for home use, office use, printing labels, printer for school, homework printer you are a printer we are all printers.” They used Google Gemini to write this satirical product review, and the article is now ranking in the #2 organic position on the SERP under a search for “best printer 2024”. Hahahahaaaa. The Verge did the same thing a year ago when they published this article (also about printers) written by ChatGPT, which also ranked in the top organic search results. It makes me wonder if Google’s March core update, which was supposed to reduce unhelpful, low quality, AI generated content, had any actual impact. Next up, more strange media news…
Chase (yes, the bank) launched an advertising network?
I guess it was only a matter of time before the bank processing the funds for the massive media buys wanted in on a piece of the action, but this was a bit of a surprise even to me. They recently launched Chase Media Solutions, the first bank-led media platform. According to businesswire “Chase Media Solutions combines the scale and audience of a retail media network with the exclusive advantages of Chase’s first-party financial data, institutional credibility and precise targeting capabilities.” As a consumer, something seems weird about the intersection of banking privacy laws and data brokerage and, I’m not gonna lie, this freaks me out. But as an advertiser, this seems like a good opportunity, as Chase’s first-party data enables advertisers on their network to target consumers based on purchase history. If you want to test out this new media network, you can contact Chase’s team here. And lastly, we have to dish about AI…
Meta put its chatbot in our Instagram DMs.
Which is cool, but it’s like… ask me first?? You can use it like a search engine and ask the AI questions, using the same flow that you would to DM a friend. This is a pretty smart way to drive adoption, TBH… But what’s in it for Meta? Are they using us to test their AI, or are they coming for the search game? With TikTok being a growing portion of Gen Z’s go-to search engine, the latter seems likely. Only time will tell.
And there you have it, my loyal readers—another whirlwind tour of this week’s digital marketing landscape. From Google's AI antics to the unexpected retail maneuvers by Chase, the plot only thickens. Until next week, stay sharp, question everything, and keep your strategies as bold as your coffee and your data cleaner than your browser history.
You know you love me.
The Essential Guide to Using AI Writing Tools for Content Creation
Gone are the days when content creation was solely the domain of human creativity and laborious hours of writing. Generative AI has created a seismic shift in how we conceive, produce, curate, and optimize content.
Despite generative AI's potential to transform the content writing process and create high-quality content, many companies have yet to adopt it. Often, their hesitation stems from a lack of familiarity.
This guide will help you navigate the transformative landscape of AI-generated content, highlighting its benefits and practical applications for enhancing your writing prowess.
Benefits of Leveraging AI in Content Creation
Improved Speed and Efficiency
According to Capttera, a staggering 80% of marketing professionals spend 50-75% of their time on content generation. Integrating AI in marketing workflows can help alleviate this burden and allow marketers to focus on more strategic tasks.
One of the most compelling benefits of AI writing tools is their ability to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate content. AI content generators can produce a draft in seconds, a task that might take a human writer hours or even days. Content writers also benefit from using AI assistants to revise content faster. These improved workflows create higher-quality content in less time.
For example, an AI email generator can swiftly craft highly personalized guest post outreach emails by analyzing a webpage in mere seconds!
Enhanced Creativity
AI writing assistants are also great creativity enhancers, helping broaden writers' creative horizons.
These tools can provide you with diverse angles and ideas. They can also help you overcome writer's block and keep your content fresh and engaging. For instance, tools like ChatGPT can be used to brainstorm unique topic ideas, titles, and outlines or experiment with different writing styles and tones.
Cost-Effectiveness
AI writers offer a more budget-friendly alternative to the traditional content creation process. Businesses can save on labor costs and allocate resources more efficiently by automating part of the content production process, especially for high-volume, repetitive writing tasks.
Additionally, the shift towards AI-driven content creation makes it easier for teams to work from home. Remote work thrives on flexibility and efficiency—hallmarks of AI-driven content creation. The adoption of AI-driven content creation tools minimizes the need for in-person supervision and supports remote teams by streamlining communication and project management. AI provides consistent quality and guidance, making remote collaboration as effective as face-to-face collaborations, if not more so.
AI makes content generation accessible to a wider range of businesses, from startups to established companies looking to scale their content marketing efforts.
6 ways to use AI to become a better writer
Wondering how you can start using AI for content creation? These budget-friendly strategies will help you become a more creative and efficient writer!
1. Brainstorm topic ideas
Seeking to establish authority or cover unexplored topics? AI can help you explore new angles and perspectives, enriching your content plan.
When asking an AI bot like ChatGPT to generate blog topics, your instructions, aka prompts, need to be as clear and specific as possible.
As the saying goes, "The Devil is in the Details". A good AI prompt is detailed, but still open-ended, allowing the tool to explore diverse ideas. A bad prompt is vague or overly broad, leading to generic responses that lack focus.
Giving the AI bot context about your business improves results. Tell the bot your job title and give it a link to your company website.
For example, instead of saying, "Give me 10 blog topics about technology," a more effective prompt would be "Act like you are a content writer for a healthcare company. Generate a list of emerging tech trends impacting healthcare in 2024. These topics will be used as blog posts on [insert website]."
2. Create SEO-optimized titles and summaries
Use AI to generate SEO optimized titles and summaries for content you've already written.
The digital space is filled with AI content assistants that can create search-optimized blog post titles, TL;DRs, and outlines. Many of these assistants are available for free. Some of these tools require detailed prompts, like ChatGPT, while other tools created by SEO pros like Ahrefs and Copy.AI are more straightforward.
ChatGPT is an all-encompassing AI content creation tool. Simply feed it the content you're looking to summarize or create a title for, give it some business context, and watch it generate ideas. When writing your prompt, be sure to tell the chatbot that the results should be optimized for SEO.
Copy.AI offers a ready-to-use blog title generator. This tool requires minimal customization – simply input your target keyword or topic and watch the AI generate SEO optimized titles for you.
If you're looking for more precision and control over the output generated by the AI, try Ahrefs' Free AI Blog Title Generator. This tool is adept at crafting catchy, SEO-optimized titles. It lets you pick the tone of writing, generate multiple title variations at once, and provide context about the post's content, ensuring your titles resonate with your audience.
3. Generate drafts
AI writers are excellent at drafting content for blog posts, ad copy, product descriptions, and more. You can even integrate them with your social media management tools to help you create captions and social posts.
Once you've chosen your target keywords and finalized an outline, use AI writing software to create your first draft.
For platforms like ChatGPT, a detailed prompt is crucial. It should include all relevant information: the outline, desired keywords, conducted research, and specific facts or details. Explain the post's purpose, desired structure, and tone of voice. You can even feed it content you've written in the past, or provide a link to the landing page the content will eventually live on. This will enable the AI to create content that matches your writing style.
You can ask the AI tool to generate a complete draft or work alongside the tool and draft paragraph by paragraph. Many prefer the latter, as it allows for more control. Each time the AI bot generates a new paragraph you can give it feedback on length, amount of detail, relevancy, etc. This will help the chatbot learn to write better for you.
If you have a budget, try tools like Jasper AI or Surfer SEO. These specialized AI content writing assistants can truly elevate your content creation journey. They will walk you through the entire writing process and use advanced AI copywriting to streamline the journey from idea generation to published piece.
Unlike ChatGPT, these user-friendly AI content tools offer step-by-step guidance and pre-designed templates, making them ideal for beginners.
Remember — AI-written drafts need revision and fact-checking. Relying entirely on AI without any editing from your side can cause serious issues. We'll cover that later.
4. Improve clarity and fix grammar
Certain AI tools are designed to elevate your original content by enhancing clarity, engagement, and grammar. Two tools work exceptionally well for this purpose – Grammarly and the Hemingway App.
Grammarly, an AI writing assistant, catches spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. It also offers suggestions for enhancing clarity, conciseness, and tone. Simply copy and paste your draft into the tool or use the browser extension for real-time feedback.
Hemingway App, another powerful AI content writing tool, focuses on making your writing bold and clear. It rewords complex sentences, passive voice, and other readability issues.
While both tools have different strengths, they complement each other well. Combining these tools will benefit use cases like editing blog posts, email content, or any other written material.
5. Add unique images to your work
Incorporating captivating images into your content can significantly enhance its appeal.
Here are some of the best AI image generators:
- DALL·E 3 stands out for its ease of use, making it an excellent choice for those new to AI content generation. Simply describe the image you want and use the AI to generate it.
- Midjourney is known for delivering high-quality image results. This AI tool caters to users seeking exceptional visuals.
- For those desiring more control over their creations, Stable Diffusion provides extensive customization options.
- Adobe Firefly excels in integrating AI-generated images into existing photos. This AI is great for enhancing existing visuals through a blend of creativity and realism.
When using AI to create images, select a tool that aligns with your specific needs—be it ease of use, quality, customization, or integration. The vast number of AI tools available means there's a solution for virtually any visual content requirement.
6. Get feedback
AI can help you identify areas for improvement and refine your content. Here are a few examples:
- Paste your content into a tool like ChatGPT and ask it to improve clarity and readability. You could also ask it to add more details or examples to support your points.
- Try AI content writing tools like Surfer SEO or Frase for SEO optimization. Get recommendations on keywords, headings, and content length to improve search rankings.
- Use AI writing software to align with Google's EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles. EEAT is Google’s guidelines for creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content. AI tools can help you find gaps in your content and suggest ways to showcase your expertise and credibility. Tools like MarketMuse or Clearscope are great for this.
Be specific in your prompts to get the most relevant feedback. For instance, ask, "How can I make this post more engaging for [type of audience]?" or "What can I do to SEO optimize this content for X keyword?"
These writing assistants can refine your work and guide you to adopt better writing practices over time.
How to avoid common mistakes when using AI writing tools
AI writing tools offer huge benefits for content creators. However, there are common mistakes to avoid when using AI to write. Here's how to navigate these pitfalls effectively:
- Editing, Proofreading, and Fact-Checking: Always review and fact-check AI-generated content to avoid misinformation. AI can make mistakes or draw flawed conclusions, so verifying the information before publishing is crucial.
- Feeding a good prompt: Provide clear, specific, and complete instructions to your AI writing tool. Include the content type, context, desired tone, and other relevant details. The more precise your input, the better the output.
- Adding Personality to AI Content: AI-generated text sometimes lacks personality or sounds generic. To stand out, infuse your voice and style into the content. Make edits and adjustments to ensure the final piece aligns with your brand and resonates with your audience.
- Ethical Content Creation with AI: Be aware of potential biases and discrimination caused by AI algorithms trained on biased datasets. Familiarize yourself with the subject to spot any AI hallucinations or incorrect information.
Embracing the Power of AI for Content Creation
AI writing tools offer incredible opportunities to speed up content production and inject new levels of creativity and efficiency.
But, it's important to remember that quality and ethics should guide your content. Use the AI-generated content as a springboard for your creativity, ensuring it complements rather than replaces your unique insights and expertise. Blend AI's efficiency with your creative flair.
A recent Deloitte study examined how companies rate the readiness of their staff for adopting generative AI (GenAI). Almost all companies think their workforce is at least slightly prepared for AI. Only 13 percent say they are totally unprepared.
AI-powered writing tools are not a fad. They continue to evolve and become more integral to our content creation processes. So, get ready now!
Ad Strength isn’t real, Meta’s algorithm is glitchy, new ops for shopping ads, and more…
Hey Digital Darlings,
Do you believe in Ad Strength? In a young marketer’s heart? How the metrics can free her, wherever they start? I’m not so sure I do anymore… read on to find out why. Plus, we’ll dive into the latest shopping listing specs and marvel at YouTube's wallet-tempting updates. Time to decode what's truly driving our digital strategies and what's just smoke and mirrors.
Is ad strength a fake metric?
Lots of advertisers think so. It seems similar to quality score, but unlike QS it doesn’t impact ad rank. It actually doesn’t impact anything… it’s just a label Google gives your ads. Multiple industry experts have stated that some of their best performing ads have been labeled with ‘poor’ ad strength. To quote Mateja Matić, founder of Dominate Marketing,
“If you are new to Google Ads, one of things you need to be aware of is Google’s recommendations are not necessarily the best things for your account. I can tell you from experience that the majority of things they recommend in your account do not work as good as other things you can do to make your ads better.”
IKTR. My alter ego wrote a whole blog post about the fact that Google’s recommendations often align with spending more money on Google Ads, not improving your bottom line. So, we can’t trust Google. Shocker! But what do they have to say about Ad Strength? Basically, it’s supposed to be a diagnostic tool that tells you what’s working and what’s not. Google’s VP of Search & Commerce said,
“I don’t know where [the idea that Ad Strength is not important] comes from. Ad Strength is at the centre of what we’re trying to do is because creative is going to be incredibly important, and Ad Strength is going to be the mechanism which we use to evaluate that both in Performance Max and channels like search.”
Ummmm… sure. Ad quality is important. But in many cases, marketers are seeing their ads with the highest conversion rates having poor Ad Strength scores so… why on earth would they pay attention to ad strength? The moral of the story - focus on ads that are driving conversions for your business. In other Google news…
Google updated product specifications for shopping listings.
Six changes to attributes have already gone into effect. One of the most interesting changes is that if any of the text in your shopping ads and free listings was written by AI, you have to disclose that via an attribute. Other updates include a new loyalty program attribute, new minimum price attribute, and new free shipping threshold attribute. All this info can be displayed alongside your shopping ads and organic listings as Google’s algorithm sees fit, so things like free shipping callouts could definitely boost your conversion rates. Seems like a helpful update, so make sure you add those attributes in Google Merchant Center. There are more changes coming in September, and you can read up on all the details here. Speaking of shopping…
YouTube announced four new shopping features.
Please pray for my wallet. These updates make it easier than ever to buy stuff that’s featured in YouTube videos… and YouTube hauls are my vice.
The first new feature is called Shopping Collections. This seems to be modeled after Amazon storefronts and LTK pages. YouTubers can add all their favorite products to collections that viewers can shop on-site. Basically, it allows content creators to curate their own online store, and likely get affiliate revenue from the products they feature. A smart move on YouTube’s part, but dangerous for the shopping content-loving girls.
Additional updates include a new affiliate hub which helps creators find sponsored products to feature, the ability to tag products across multiple videos at once, and an integration with Fourthwall. If you’re a retailer, I’d make sure your products are featured in that affiliate hub, because these influencers are powerful. Now, let’s dish about some Meta Drama…
Sales are down, cost is up thanks to Meta’s glitchy algorithm.
Sales and ROAS have plummeted for Meta advertisers in recent months. Meta has given no explanation, so naturally everyone is blaming the algorithm. With CPMs tripling, some advertisers are reallocating their Meta budget to competitors like TikTok. Meta better fix that algo ASAP, because they’re currently expediting TikTok’s takeover. The issue isn’t impacting everyone, but if you advertise on Meta, keep a close eye on your ROAS, and reallocate budget if needed. And finally, let’s chat about AI…
WPP is collaborating with Google’s Gemini AI
WPP is the world’s biggest advertising group, so this is a big deal. They’ll be using Google’s AI to create ad copy and images, meaning the next big Coca-Cola ad could be created by Google’s robots. If everything goes smoothly, this will be a cultural reset for AI in marketing. If Google’s AI works for WPP, it could work for all of us, saving us time while hopefully not replacing our jobs altogether…
And there we have it—another week of digital deciphering down. From questioning Google's opaque metrics to strategizing around YouTube's shopping spree enablers and grappling with Meta's costly conundrums, we're reminded that the digital marketing world is ever-evolving. Until next week, keep your eyes peeled, your strategies flexible, and your skepticism healthy.
You know you love me.
5 Ways Marin Makes Retail Media Marketing Better
Working in retail media is challenging, fast-paced, and certainly never boring. It’s one of the most competitive spaces for media buyers to operate in. You have to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends and optimize campaigns daily based on the ever-changing marketplace.
We feel your pain. And we know you’re good at your job. But everyone could use a little help from AI these days! No matter what type of product you sell, Marin can make your life easier.
Our platform was built by retail media marketers, for retail media marketers, because a niche industry requires a specialized solution. We also built Marin to be flexible and customizable so it can meet each user's unique needs. Here are five ways Marin can help you work less and smash your performance goals.
1. Let AI Handle Budget Allocation
Most retail media marketers manage many campaigns in different accounts and channels, and publisher walled-gardens can make it difficult to deploy automation across those channels. Marin was built to solve this problem. Marin’s dynamic budget allocation harnesses the power of AI to ensure your budget is distributed as efficiently as possible, across all your campaigns.
All you have to do is map each group of campaigns with a shared budget to a Strategy and set the spend target for the month or quarter. Then let us know what your goals are - ROAS, conversion volume, impression share, etc. Marin will take it from there.
By comparing each campaign’s performance against your KPI targets and analyzing impression share metrics to determine which campaigns have incremental room to drive more conversions, Marin will intelligently allocate your budget across all your campaigns in Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Meta, LinkedIn, and more. Goodbye, budget pacing spreadsheets!
The beauty of this solution lies in its customizability. We’ll start by meeting with your team and discussing your current budgeting workflow and goals. Then, your Marin team will customize the automation to meet your needs. You just sit back, relax, and watch your campaigns meet those spend targets every month.
2. Identify opportunities for growth
As a busy digital marketer, one of the worst feelings is knowing that there are opportunities to improve performance but not having the time to act on them. Between investigating the next steps and building bulk sheets, even the simplest optimization initiative ends up taking hours. But with Marin, you can optimize your accounts in seconds.
Marin runs hundreds of daily checks on every account linked to our platform and identifies opportunities for growth. From ad copy improvements to changes to bidding targets to improving account structure, Marin covers the basics for you so you can focus on high-level strategy. Recommendations can be applied with one click, so no manual work is needed to act on your Insights.
For example, the above Insight recommends that our client move their top-performing ads into individual dedicated ad groups. This will help them manage the bid for that specific product independently, which makes sense since it's driving so much volume. To act on this recommendation, they simply need to click ‘Apply Changes.’ Marin will then build the new ad groups and pause the ad in the old group for them. It’s that easy!
See it in action:
3. Auto-create ads based on your product feed
Once you link your product feed to Marin, there are countless ways to apply automation based on it. For example, Marin can automatically create a new ad every time a new product is added to your feed. This is extremely helpful for brands that continuously create new products and want Shopping Ad coverage over every product. Rather than spending time every day checking your feed for new products and creating ads for them, automate that tedious process with Marin.
And speaking of shopping ads…
5. Manage all your shopping ads in one place
Marin pulls all your Google, Microsoft, and Amazon shopping ads into one unified view and organizes them by SKU. Understand your top-performing SKUs across channels and compare the performance of different channels for the same SKU to see what's working and what's not.
Create and edit shopping ads with our multi-edit grids and bulk creation tool. No more jumping from one publisher tool to another. Manage it all in one Marin Grid. And speaking of all-in-one grids…
5. Harness the power of data unification
The value of using Marin to clean, unify, and visualize all your cross-channel data cannot be overstated. Our clients often describe Marin as a ‘mission control center.’ We integrate with all the major publishers and backend sources of truth. You can link as many different tracking sources as you want, from Google Analytics to Tealium to Marin’s own first-party tracking solution. Marin supports all the major ad formats like sponsored products, sponsored brands, Amazon DSP, and more.
Look how easy it is to link all your data sources:
Marin also solves the challenge of tracking conversions that start on other ad platforms but end on Amazon. For example, lots of retail media marketers include sitelinks to ‘buy on Amazon’ in their paid search ads. Additionally, marketers may drive traffic from ads on Meta to an Amazon storefront. If you’re just using the Amazon Ads UI for reporting, there’s no way to attribute those conversions back to their original source. Marin’s cross-channel Amazon Attribution solves that problem. You can see Amazon conversions attributed to the paid search or social campaign that drove the conversion right in the Marin UI.
With all your data unified and attributed down to the keyword/product level, reporting on performance has never been easier. Create saved views in our grids to capture data you reference often, or build a custom dashboard using Marin’s data visualization tools. Whether you’re an agency team reporting to a client or a brand reporting marketing performance to upper management, you’ll never have to manually wrangle your data again.
“Marin automates all of our reporting, performance monitoring, and optimization, saving us countless hours per week so we can spend more time focusing on strategy as we expand our presence globally.”
- Philip Ascott, Director of Digital at YOTEL
Check out how quickly you can respond to an ad hoc data request with Marin:
And there you have it! These are just 5 of the countless ways Marin improves the lives of retail media marketers. And don’t just take it from me, check out our case studies where real retail clients have shared their Marin success stories.
The thing that makes Marin more powerful than other marketing automation tools is its customizability. Our technical team will tailor the platform to your needs, and that starts at the very beginning, when you schedule a customized demo with us. We look forward to chatting with you!
How to Measure the ROI of Retail Media Marketing Campaigns: Key Metrics and Tools
Retail e-commerce sales are projected to exceed $8 billion by 2026. Businesses are heavily relying on retail media marketing to capture these sales, drive brand awareness, and improve customer retention. However, without a proper understanding of how these campaigns are performing, it’s nearly impossible to optimize and make informed decisions.
This blog post provides insights and strategies for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of e-commerce marketing campaigns. Learn about the key metrics and tools that can help track and evaluate the success of your marketing efforts.
The importance of measuring ROI in retail media marketing
Understanding and measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing initiatives is essential for businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make informed decisions. Here are some reasons you should track and measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns.
Assess campaign effectiveness
By measuring ROI, marketers can determine which campaigns are generating the desired results. This allows you to identify which channels, ad campaigns, or promotional activities are driving sales and which ones are underperforming. These insights help allocate marketing budgets effectively and focus on the areas that provide a higher return.
Cost control and budget allocation
Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become critical advertising channels for retail media marketers. Almost 60% of companies have seen an increase in sales made through social media recently. However, as more social media platforms come into prominence, marketers must allocate their budgets carefully. By understanding the ROI on various social media platforms, you can identify areas where you may be overspending or not getting the desired returns. With this knowledge, you can control costs, optimize your budget allocation, and ensure maximum revenue generation.
Enhance customer acquisition
Measuring ROI can help you identify the most effective customer acquisition strategies. By evaluating the ROI for different channels, such as paid advertising, social media marketing, or influencer partnerships, you can determine which channels deliver the highest number of customers at the lowest cost. This information enables you to focus your efforts on the most profitable customer acquisition tactics, ultimately leading to increased revenue and business growth.
Set realistic goals
Measuring ROI helps marketers set realistic benchmarks and goals for marketing campaigns by providing a detailed assessment of past performance that they can compare to industry standards.
5 Key metrics for measuring ROI in retail media marketing
Some key metrics include conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and return on ad spend. Here is an overview of each of these metrics.
1. Conversion rate
The conversion rate metric measures the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter. A higher conversion rate indicates better campaign performance and customer engagement.
The formula for calculating conversion rate is:
Conversion Rate = (Number of Conversions / Number of Visitors) x 100
To visualize conversion rates, you can use various methods such as:
- Funnel visualization: This involves mapping out the various stages of your conversion process and using visual aids like flowcharts or real-time data visualization tools to track the percentage of visitors who move through each stage and eventually convert.
- Line graphs: You can plot conversion rates over time using a line graph to track fluctuations or trends in your conversion rate.
- Heatmaps: These can help you identify and analyze user behavior on your website or landing page by visually representing the areas where users are most engaged or dropping off, giving insights into potential areas for improvement.
2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) measures the amount of money spent on acquiring a new customer. By comparing the CAC with the average customer lifetime value (CLV), businesses can determine the profitability of their marketing efforts.
The formula for CAC is:
CAC = (Total Sales + Marketing Expenses) / Number of New Customers Acquired
To visualize CAC, you can use various methods such as:
- Bar charts: Use a bar chart to display the CAC for different time periods, campaigns, or customer segments. Each bar represents the CAC value, allowing you to compare and analyze the effectiveness of your acquisition efforts.
- Cohort analysis: Create cohorts of customers based on specific criteria, such as the month they were acquired, and analyze the CAC for each cohort. Visualize this data using stacked bar charts or line graphs to understand how the cost of acquiring customers varies by group.
3. Average Order Value (AOV)
AOV calculates the average amount spent by a customer in a single transaction. Monitoring AOV helps evaluate the effectiveness of upselling and cross-selling strategies.
To calculate average order value (AOV):
AOV = Total Revenue / Number of Orders
To visualize AOV, you can use several methods, such as:
- Scatter plot: Use a scatter plot to map the relationship between AOV and other factors such as customer age, geographic location, or order size. This visualization method helps identify any correlations or outliers that may influence AOV.
- Funnel visualization: Create a funnel visualization that shows the conversion rates and AOV at each stage of the customer journey. This visual representation helps track and identify potential areas for improvement in increasing AOV.
4. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It provides insights into the profitability of specific ad campaigns or marketing channels.
The formula for calculating return on ad spend (ROAS) is:
ROAS = (Revenue from Ad Campaign / Cost of Ad Campaign) x 100
To visualize ROAS, you can use various methods, such as:
- Scatter plot: Use a scatter plot to analyze the relationship between ROAS and specific metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), ad spend, or ad impressions. This visualization method helps identify any patterns or correlations that could impact the ROAS.
- ROI dashboard: Design a dashboard that combines various visualizations to showcase your ROAS metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to ad campaigns. This holistic view provides oversight of the effectiveness and profitability of all your different advertising efforts.
5. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) assesses the total revenue generated by a customer over their entire relationship with the business. Evaluating CLV helps marketers understand the long-term value of acquiring and retaining customers.
The basic formula for calculating CLV is:
CLV = Customer Value x Average Customer Lifespan
Visualizing CLV can help businesses understand the long-term value of their customers and make informed decisions regarding marketing, customer retention, and customer acquisition strategies. There are various ways to visualize CLV, including:
- Line charts: Line charts can help businesses track changes in CLV over time and identify patterns and trends.
- Cohort analysis: Cohort analysis involves grouping customers based on when they made their first purchase and tracking their CLV over time. This analysis helps businesses understand how CLV varies across different customer segments.
- Heatmaps: Heatmaps can be used to identify specific customer segments with high CLV. By clustering customers based on their purchasing behavior and CLV, businesses can target their marketing efforts more effectively.
Tools and techniques for measuring ROI in retail media marketing
Various tools and techniques are available for measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing campaigns. By leveraging these tools and techniques, businesses can track key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value to accurately measure the success and profitability of their marketing campaigns.
Web analytics
Tools like Google Analytics provide valuable insights into website traffic, user behavior, conversion rates, and other essential metrics. By tracking these metrics, businesses can assess e-commerce campaign performance.
Marketing automation platforms
Marketing automation tools like Marin come with built-in analytics and reporting features. They help track marketing campaigns, lead generation, and conversions.
CRM systems
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software allows businesses to track customer data throughout the sales cycle. CRM platforms like Salesforce or Zoho CRM provide insights into customer interactions and purchase history.
A/B testing
Running A/B tests allows businesses to compare the performance of different marketing elements, such as website layouts, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, or email subject lines. This helps identify the most effective strategies for improving ROI.
ROI calculation formulas
ROI calculation formulas can help businesses determine the financial impact of their marketing efforts. These formulas consider the cost of marketing campaigns and the revenue generated to calculate the ROI percentage.
How Marin can help you track and measure campaign ROI more effectively
Measuring the ROI of e-commerce marketing campaigns is critical to understanding the effectiveness of online business strategies. There are several key metrics and tools available to help businesses accurately track and optimize their campaigns, including AOV, ROAS, and CLV. However, the process of tracking and analyzing this data can be time consuming and complex.
With Marin, businesses can leverage advanced analytics and reporting capabilities to gain valuable insights into the performance of their campaigns. The platform provides a centralized hub where businesses can manage and optimize their campaigns, using machine learning and AI-powered insights to maximize ROI.
Start using Marin today to gain deeper insights into how your e-commerce marketing campaigns are performing.
Incognito Mode is fake, UA dies in July, Facebook and Netflix in cahoots, & paid search updates
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
Strap in for a wild ride through Tech Town. Google's dropping Universal Analytics like last season's trends, Microsoft's making bidding moves, and Incognito Mode's about as private as a reality TV show. Plus, Meta's mixing up targeting like it's a new cocktail recipe. Let's decode the tech titans' latest antics and arm ourselves for the battles ahead. First things first, this is your FINAL reminder that…
Google is shutting down Universal Analytics (UA) for real.
They sent out a mass email reminding us that on July 1st, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) will have fully replaced UA. All UA services and APIs will shut down forever. So if you’re still using UA for anything, it’s time to change that. You can follow Google’s migration guide to make the switch ASAP. In other Google news…
Google Ad Manager Reach Report error skewed data this week.
If you noticed some strange numbers in your Ad Reach report on Monday, you’re not alone. The issue actually lasted from Friday evening to Monday morning, but I really hope you weren’t working over the weekend, and therefore didn’t notice. Reach report data for any date later than March 20th was incomplete, depriving advertisers of their precious prior week’s data while they worked to pull together Monday’s reports. But don’t worry, Google resolved the issue Tuesday afternoon, so things should be back to normal. Now let's pivot to some Microsoft news…
Microsoft is phasing out Manual CPC this month.
All campaigns currently on Manual CPC will be automatically switched to enhanced CPC starting May 13. And manual CPC will no longer be an option when creating new campaigns starting April 30th. It’s probably for the best, TBH. Manual CPC doesn’t adapt at all to real-time auction data and puts you at an efficiency disadvantage. The only concern with eCPC is that Microsoft can increase your bids higher than the CPC you’ve set. But don’t worry, Microsoft won’t let your Average CPC exceed your bid, so you don’t need to worry about fluctuations in spend. And in other Microsoft bidding news…
Max Conversion Value bidding is now available for Microsoft Ads.
Maximize conversion value aims to drive the highest-value conversions possible. So while Max Conversions bidding drives as much conversion volume as possible, Max Conversion Value focuses on ROI. You can even choose to add a ROAS target to this bid strategy to make sure it’s bidding in line with your goals. If you’ve been using manual bidding, it might be time to test this strategy out instead! And in other tech news…
Incognito mode is fake! Chrome will not protect your privacy.
As part of a lawsuit settlement, Google agreed to delete “billions of data records” that they collected from users searching in Incognito Mode. The settlement also requires Google to update the Incognito Mode “splash page” (the blurb that pops up any time you open a new Incognito window) to state that they’re still collecting your data, no matter what browsing mode you use. It seems like all Incognito Mode does is prevent your site history from being saved in your browser. It doesn’t do anything to protect your data, and gives people a false sense of security. Time to switch to Duckduckgo! And in more scary (lack of) data privacy news…
Facebook lets Netflix read your DMs.
Court documents revealed that Meta has been giving Netflix access to users’ messages for the past decade. This info came out of a lawsuit where filers claimed Netflix and Facebook “enjoyed a special relationship” (lol) that enabled Netflix to tailor ads to Facebook users. In exchange, Facebook received billions of dollars in ad revenue from Netflix. I can’t say I’m shocked, but this seems super illegal. It all happened via an agreement that gave Netflix access to Facebook’s APIs. Fox Business said it best…
“The API agreement allowed Netflix programmatic access to Facebook’s private messages inboxes, in exchange Netflix would ‘provide to FB a written report every two weeks that shows daily counts of recommendations sends and recipient clicks by interface, initiation surface, and/or implementation variation (e.g. Facebook vs. non-Facebook recommendation receipts).’"
🎶 Meta and Facebook sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G 🎶
In other Meta news…
Meta made major targeting updates to Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns.
The updates allow advertisers to see reporting breakdowns on current audiences and target people who are interested in their products but have not yet made a purchase. The new reporting feature is called the “Engaged Customers Audience Segment” and is available in the Meta Ads UI now. Users can add the segment to any report by going to the ‘breakdown’ menu and choosing “Demographics by Audience Segments”. This will add segmented rows for ‘new customers’, ‘existing customers’, and ‘engaged customers’.
Additionally, you can create a custom audience out of your engaged customers to directly target people who are interested in your brand but have not made a purchase. It’s basically streamlined retargeting, and I appreciate Meta doing the work for us… but can we trust their data? Who knows!
Well, there you have it. Another week of every major tech company destroying my faith in humanity!! Until next week, keep your strategies sharp, your skepticism sharper, and don’t let the lack of data privacy get you down. The tech overlords are always watching, so make sure you look good!
You know you love me.
7 Ways to Improve Your Google Ads Click-Through Rates
Did you know that Google Ads usage is on the rise? Over 60% of online marketers use it.
However, 44% of them say they can’t achieve the return on investment they expected. This doesn’t mean Google Ads can’t be profitable for them. It can, but they need to apply new strategies to improve click-through rates and achieve better performance with their ads.
What is Click-Through Rate (CTR)?
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement. In Google Ads, CTR is an important metric that measures your ads' success in attracting clicks from viewers. A high CTR indicates that your ad copy and targeting are relevant to the audience.
What constitutes a strong Click-Through Rate (CTR)?
CTR performance can differ based on the industry and type of advertisement. Google states that the typical CTR for search ads is 1.91% for the first position, 0.35% for the second spot, and 0.11% for the third spot. In contrast, display ads typically see a CTR of about 0.46%. While these figures can be used as a reference point, it's important to remember that your target CTR should align with your objectives and sector.
Based on our first-hand experience, here are 7 highly effective ways to improve your click-through rate in Google ads:
1. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion
What marketer doesn’t love good targeting? Dynamic keyword insertion, an advanced feature introduced by Google Ads, lets you create more relevant ad copy based on a user’s search query.
Let’s say you’re advertising a coffee shop. In your ad headline, include the code {Keyword: coffee shop}. When a user searches for “best coffee shop”, Google will automatically change the ad headline to “Best Coffee Shop.” If they type “coffee shop near me,” the headline will change to “Coffee Shop Near Me,” and so on.
It’s a simple yet powerful method that tailors your ad to each unique user.
Bonus Tip: Pay Attention to Low Volume Keywords
Despite being underestimated, lower-volume keywords can help boost the number of people clicking on your ads. These keywords may not bring in tons of traffic. They are precise, so they will match with a lower amount of queries. However, paying attention to them can improve how relevant and appealing your ads are to an audience. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn't disregard them:
- They’re focused: Low-volume keywords tend to be very precise, which means that the users searching for them are likely close to making a decision or a purchase.
- Less competition: Few advertisers use these keywords, so your ads have a better chance of standing out and getting more clicks at a lower cost.
- Better conversion rates: Since these keywords closely match what the user is after, they often lead to high conversion rates.
By including long-tail keywords in your paid search strategy, you’ll boost your click-through rates and make your Google Ads campaigns more effective overall.
2. Set up Location Insertion
Now, let’s talk about advertising that hits home (literally).
Similar to keyword insertion, the location insertion feature automatically replaces the code {LOCATION(City)} with the actual city name based on the user's location or the location they're searching for. How is this possible? Easy! Google Ads determines the user's location based on their IP address.
3. Mix Things Up
Let’s say you’ve crafted a catchy headline and description for your ad. How do you make sure it stays fresh and relevant to your target audience?
Create multiple versions of headlines and descriptions. The golden ratio is to have 15 variations for headlines and 4 variations for descriptions.
Google will then mix and match your headlines and descriptions to display the most relevant combination to your target audience, basically doing A/B testing for you.
Before we move on, remember to "pin" important headlines or descriptions to lock them in a particular position. For example, you might pin your brand name to Headline 1 so that it appears first in every ad. This allows Google to create maximum variety with your other unpinned elements.
4. Use Symbols and Emojis
Sprinkle emojis and symbols in your ad text!
This will not only create eye-catching text that will stand out in Google Search Results, but you'll also add a touch of personality and flair to your message. That's what these symbols are for – to convey emotions and tone.
While there are no strict rules on how to use emojis and symbols in your ad text, here are a few tips:
- Do not overdo it: stick to one or two relevant emojis per ad.
- Mind the context: make sure your emojis and symbols are appropriate for your brand and message.
5. Apply the Rule of Three
Sometimes, ads hit your goals. Sometimes they don't. So why not run a small experiment instead of risking all your budget? Here's what you need to do:
1. Create three versions of the same ad, each with a slightly different message or call to action.
2. Run them for a limited time period (e.g., one week) and compare their performance metrics.
3. Choose the winning version and use it as an evergreen ad.
6. Use Google Ad Extensions
As you might have guessed, Google Ads Extensions extend your ad so it takes up more space on SERPs and has more clickable appeal. If you want to see your CTR climb, use extensions and be sure to include your brand’s name and logo (only verified advertisers can use this option).
Google Ad extensions have a lot of potential to boost your ad performance. Here are some great examples:
- Sitelinks: These extra links can guide customers to pages on your website. For instance, a clothing store could have ad extensions like "Women's Fashion," "Men's Collection," and "Kids' Wear" that link to dedicated landing pages for each of the product categories.
- Snippets: These highlight features of your products or services. A technology company might showcase snippets such as "Software Development", "Mobile App Solutions", "Cloud Services" and "24/7 Tech Support."
- Promotions: You can share offers directly in your ads. For instance, a restaurant could advertise "Get 10% off your order", or a bookstore might offer "Free shipping for orders over $50."
- Price Extensions: Display prices for products or services you offer, making it easy for customers to see upfront costs. For example, a beauty salon could list prices like "Haircut $30", "Manicure $20" and "Facial Treatments starting from $40."
- Locations: Businesses with multiple in-person locations can benefit from showing addresses and distances in their ads to attract customers. A coffee chain, for example, could display stores closest to users searching for coffee.
- Get the App Here: If your company offers an app, this tool can prompt users to download it from the advertisement. For instance, a fitness app could use this feature to attract users.
- Visuals and Multimedia: Images and videos can greatly enhance user engagement. A travel agency could showcase destination photos or quick video tours to capture viewers' attention.
By using these features, businesses can significantly enhance the impact of their Google Ads, creating compelling ad experiences that drive increased click-through rates and ultimately lead to improved conversion rates.
7. More Numbers
90% of the world’s population love statistics. Sounds persuasive, right? We’ve made up that fact, but not to make fun of you. It’s to show that numbers are powerful in convincing someone to click your ad.
Statistics can make any product or service sound intriguing and worth clicking. Tap into your creativity and use numbers in your headlines or descriptions to make them more attention-grabbing.
"Using numbers instead of lengthy sentences can also make your ad more visually appealing. Think about skimming through a list of search results. One ad describes a smart productivity app that can change your life. Another ad says that their time-management tool will boost your productivity by 50%. Which one would you click? The answer is obvious." – Luca Castelli, CMO, Detectico App
Bottom Line
So, there you have it—your personal guide with 7 highly effective ways to skyrocket your CTR in Google Ads. Apply our tips to your ad campaigns and get results quickly!
If you need help managing, optimizing, and tracking the performance of your Google Ads campaigns, consider trying out an AI-powered paid search automation tool like Marin. Schedule a demo to learn more.
AI search results threaten brand terms, Google > ChatGPT, the new Amazon ad library, and more
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
With any luck you’re having a drama-free week, but it’s time for me to spice things up. Google’s stirring the digital pot again with AI Overviews sneaking into search results–opt-in or not, you’re getting a taste. And with “top ads” not so top anymore, we're left to wonder, what's G's end game? Big things are happening, and I’m here to simplify them for your eager eyes.
AI is coming to dominate the Google SERP.
Google’s beta-testing their newest flavor of search result – AI Overviews. They said they want to collect feedback from searchers who have not opted in to the Search Generative Experience (SGE). Um, what’s the point of having an opt-in option if you’re just gonna serve AI results to whoever you want?! But I digress… According to a Google spokesperson, the AI overviews are being served on a small subset of queries that are more complex and might benefit from combined results from a collection of web pages. Sounds helpful for users, but not so great for us marketers. These AI answers serve at the top of the SERP, pushing down paid search ads and SEO-powered top results. A study found that…
Google SGE is a top threat to brand and product search terms.
In a study by Authoritas, SGE results appeared for 91.4% of queries… so much for them being served to “a small subset”! Paid ads appeared below SGE results about half of the time. Not great for us search marketers! But according to Authoritas the worst part is “these new types of generative results introduce more opportunities for third-party sites and even competitors to rank for your brand terms and related brand and product terms that you care about” since competitor’s pages could be included in the same SGE results as yours. Keep an eye on this one, folks. In other paid search ranking news…
Google changed the definition of ‘top ads’.
Call me crazy, but I assumed that top ads were placed above organic results, at the top of the page… however, Google updated the official definition of top ads to say that they usually appear above organic results, but may show below the top organic results for some queries. It seems like Google may be moving forward with its idea to show ads between organic results, which they tested in 2023. This could be a good thing for advertisers – if Google starts serving ads in traditionally organic placements, that may mean more ad space for sale overall on page 1 of the SERP. Now for my final bit of search news…
Are AI bots a better search tool than Google?
TL;DR… No. A journalist at The Verge took the most commonly Googled queries and fed them to various chatbots to see if AI is the Google search killer everyone’s claiming it to be. And AI lost the fight against Google in numerous ways. For navigational searches, like Googling ‘Amazon’ to get to amazon.com, AI flopped. For informational queries, like ‘current NFL game scores’, AI was often straight-up wrong… another flop. The takeaway was – rather than AI being a Google-killer, it’s more likely Google will incorporate AI in its search results, offering the best of both worlds. And they’re already doing it with SGE, so we won’t be seeing the end of Google any time soon. Now let’s gossip about another Google product…
Google Analytics was bugging yesterday, showing zero real-time traffic.
If you noticed zero real-time traffic in GA4 yesterday, your site didn’t suddenly drop off. Google confirmed a bug was causing this metric to appear empty. They rolled out a fix late US-time last night, so you should be all set now. I just wanted to let you know that if you saw those zeros yesterday… it wasn’t just you! Anyways, in the world of eCommerce…
The EU is forcing Amazon to publish an ads library.
As a result of the Digital Markets Act, Amazon will have to provide a publically accessible library of all ads running on its platform. This is great for transparency, sure, but I’m more excited about the ability to search for my competitor’s ads. If you haven’t read our post about using the Facebook Ads library for competitive analysis, check it out to understand why this is an exciting thing for us advertisers. And I have some other exciting news for B2B marketers in particular…
LinkedIn’s new feature enables users to chat with brands.
It’s called ‘Pages Messaging.’ Activating this feature will produce a ‘Message’ button on your company’s LinkedIn page so users can easily reach out to you and ask questions or schedule demos. In the world of LinkedIn marketing, brands benefit from posting like people. Now, users can chat with brands like they’re people too.
That's the scoop for this week, my digital darlings. In the dynamic digital marketing world, staying static isn't an option. Let's adapt, innovate, and maybe enjoy a little schadenfreude watching our competitors scramble to keep up. Until next week, stay sassy, stay savvy.
You know you love me.
How to Use Lead Segmentation for Targeted Marketing Success
The true purpose of marketing is to match your product offerings with consumer needs. You’re encouraging leads down the sales funnel by appealing to the audience that most desires your goods and services. However, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.
Different audiences have different wants and needs that can’t be satisfied by a single advertising initiative. Enter lead segmentation, a strategy that lets you offer varied products to a range of consumers.
Segmentation plays a critical role in personalizing marketing messages with the aim of turning leads into customers. Siphoning your target audience into specific customer types based on shared characteristics helps your company reach out in the most targeted and effective ways.
All this results in better lead retention and sales. It’ll also help you understand your customers and thus keep you informed of the best direction to grow your business. Read on to learn more about how and why you should segment leads.
What is lead segmentation, and why is it important?
Lead segmentation is the process of dividing a leads list or existing customer base into smaller groups according to specific characteristics, interests, or behaviors.
This might include demographics such as a customer’s income level, job title, or location. Alternatively, you could create lists for online user actions like content downloads or transactional information like purchase history.
Interchangeably known as audience or customer segmentation, it can help you tailor your approach to customers based on their readiness to buy or potential lifelong value to your business.
Why does all of this matter? Segmentation is effective. It allows organizations to create personalized content for specific groups of potential customers. If you work with marketing agencies, it also gives them a clear strategy for creating targeted, effective campaigns.
Take L’Oréal, for example. The personal care company used behavioral data from Google to create 12 ad variations, each with music targeted towards a different demographic’s preferences. Here, L’Oréal managed to maintain its relevance among multiple customer bases.
It’s applicable to other industries, too. Say you’re a financial institution looking to improve your debt management lead generation. You might utilize customer segments to determine which customers have outstanding debt and send them payment reminders.
The benefits of using lead segmentation in marketing
We’ve touched on a few benefits of creating meaningful segments for your marketing efforts. But there are several other ways it can help you develop a more targeted marketing strategy.
Refines content marketing relevancy
Without segmented lists that address the specific needs of a subset of consumers, you’re casting a broad net.
Do you want to generate leads using content that is relevant to your consumers? Then you need to categorize your audience into particular shopper subsets and refine your content distribution strategy to target each group.
Look at how Coca-Cola tailors its adverts and the products it pushes depending on the tastes of local demographics. While it focuses on Coke as its top product in America, in Brazil, Fanta takes center stage.
Allocates marketing resources effectively
When it comes to optimizing marketing efforts, you don’t want to waste time and money on audiences that aren’t receptive to particular campaigns or strategies.
With relevant and targeted campaigns, you can better allocate resources while reducing customer acquisition costs. This means it’ll be cheaper to attract high-quality leads and move them down the sales funnel.
Looking for inspiration for personalized social media posts? Consider utilizing segmentation to tailor your content to specific audience subsets, maximizing engagement and conversion rates.
By leveraging social media analytics tools, you can gain valuable insights into audience preferences and behavior, allowing you to refine your segmentation strategies for even greater effectiveness.
It also means you can focus on the sales and marketing channels that are most effective for each customer subset. Personalized social media marketing might be the best strategy for Gen Z and Millennials, while Gen X could prefer email marketing.
Provides insights to identify new opportunities
Implementing segmentation can help you uncover new opportunities in your industry. Specifically, it will help you identify high-value prospects and opportunities to drive growth.
Netflix, for example, employs behavioral segmentation to personalize content recommendations based on user habits.
Suggesting movies and shows that different customer profiles will be interested in means viewers stay engaged and ultimately increases customer retention. The customer data gleaned from this also helps Netflix to determine what types of shows and films to produce next.
They’re not alone. Many modern companies across different industries use data to seek new opportunities internally and externally. Johnson & Johnson uses data intelligence to optimize their supply chain.
What is supply chain optimization? It’s the process of making tweaks to improve efficiency in everything from processing orders to identifying cost improvements. Combined with segmented lead data, it means you’ll be armed with insights to better serve customers.
Develops targeted lead nurturing strategies
Segmented campaigns help you build meaningful and ongoing relationships with customers. You can anticipate their needs by interpreting habits and behavioral data. As a result, you can offer subgroups the right incentives and benefits to make further purchases.
You’ll also reduce churn by identifying the key reasons that customers abandon your business for another. More targeted incentives show shoppers that they’re valued, keeping them loyal and interested in your brand.
Let’s say you work in the renewable energy sector, for example. You could boost solar leads appointments and reduce churn with targeted nurturing strategies for specific demographics. So, you might offer a reduction in the cost of installation for young or first-time buyers.
Aligns marketing and sales efforts
With a better understanding of the key issues, characteristics, and shopping habits of your target audience, your sales and marketing teams can work more efficiently and effectively. What’s more, they can use segmented data to collaborate on their sales and marketing plans to focus on specific products, demographics, and sales locations.
How to get started with lead segmentation
To implement segmented campaigns, you should outline a goal for the project and segment leads that are most likely to generate the target sales. Consider the following in your segmentation plan:
Define your target audience
Lead segmentation starts with identifying the consumers you’ll target based on their transaction histories, demographics, locality, etc. To aid in this step, you can create a selection of personas that represent each consumer subcategory.
Developing these will require you to collect data on an ongoing basis. You can find this type of data using tools and platforms like your CRM, web analytic services, and marketing automation platforms like Marin.
Analyze customer behavior
Analyzing customer behavior means identifying patterns and commonalities in your data that’ll help you group your target audience into categories and create personas to represent each subgroup.
Consider using AI to save time here. AI tools can automate the process of identifying trends in customer feedback and provide relevant insights about customer activity and identity. For example, sentiment analysis will categorize consumer opinions based on the feedback provided and the demographic of respondents.
Furthermore, AI-driven talent management can assist in optimizing marketing efforts by identifying skill sets within a team that align with specific segmentation strategies, ensuring effective execution and continuous improvement.
By leveraging AI-driven talent management, marketing teams can not only refine segmentation strategies but also foster a culture of innovation and adaptability, driving long-term success in targeted marketing campaigns.
Utilize marketing automation
Advanced marketing automation tools can even go as far as segmenting customers for you based on common characteristics. You can determine if these groupings are broader (e.g. by geography) or more specialized (e.g. customers that use a specific payment method on your website).
A marketing data pipeline tool like Marin can unify all your data so that it's simpler than ever to analyze.
Additionally, personalized email marketing campaigns can be automated to target segmented customer groups with relevant content, driving higher engagement and conversion rates.
A quick word of advice here: ensure any automation tool you use prioritizes safety. Just as vendor risk management benefits include making efficiencies to your systems, be aware that there are risks associated with automation, including cyber-attacks and data breaches. To mitigate these, monitor your software diligently and take steps to encrypt your network.
Create segmentation criteria
You want to focus on market segments that are the best for your business in terms of profitability, size, and growth potential.
The key to finding the right segmentation criteria is tracking patterns in the customer data you’ve gathered. Research your audience behavior and consider the practical value of different segmentations.
Throughout this process, consider market segments that are:
Measurable: Do you actually have data on a specific audience regarding sales value and volume?
Substantial: Is this segment large enough and sustainable enough to make it worth spending resources on?
Accessible: Do you have the resource capacity to reach and target this group effectively?
Actionable: Is this practical? Is your chosen segment likely to be receptive to your marketing efforts?
Choose the right segmentation methods
With that criteria in mind, it's time to divide your leads. Methods will vary from business to business, and you should pick strategies that work best for your team.
- Demographic segmentation: Based on factors related to human populations, such as age, gender, nationality, marital status, and income.
- Psychographic segmentation: Based on studying users' traits and values. This might include personality, desires, attitudes, interests and lifestyle differences. For example, you might choose to target eco conscious customers.
- Transactional segmentation: Based on users’ online behavior, such as purchase and browsing history, frequency of purchases, total spend, type of items bought, and date of last purchase. Customers who purchase frequently or spend a significant amount with your company each month make great leads to target.
- Geographic segmentation: Based on where people live, this method considers weather, regional holidays, and languages. This means you would promote swimwear during warmer seasons, for example.
Integrate with CRM systems
You can streamline segmentation efforts with the integration of various CRM tools. The best CRM systems will identify your leads and present the relevant information associated with them. You can create groupings using CRM rules and workflows.
A subset of CRM, platforms like call center lead management software will simplify the process further by gathering insights from a high volume of calls and categorizing them automatically.
Conclusion
Lead segmentation crucial for understanding the diverse needs of customers and creating personalized and targeted marketing strategies that appeal to their interests. It allows more accuracy in the marketing and sales process and results in better customer retention, satisfaction, and improved profits.
The role of AI is one of the most powerful marketing developments of the past year. It has simplified the process to a point where most companies are capable of effective segmentation. There’s no longer any reason why businesses should miss out on this sales-boosting personalization strategy. If you're interested in exploring an AI-powered marketing automation platform, speak with a Marin Rep today.
Google’s core update, Thread’s Fediverse integration, Human-level AI, and more…
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
With the start of spring comes new beginnings, innovations, and revelations. Does the milder weather have you feeling a bit lighter? Have you found yourself whistling a happy tune while gazing out your sun-filled window? I love that for you. I’ve certainly been a bit more jubilant these past few days, but that won’t stop me from being my snarky self while recapping this week’s digital marketing drama. Let’s get into it.
Google has a new Head of Search, and she’s super into AI.
Longtime Googler Liz Reid secured one of the most prized positions in the Google-verse this week. She previously ran the Search Generative Experience department, so under her leadership, I expect our journey into the Matrix to be expedited. A few other high-up Googlers who have been spearheading AI initiatives within the company got promoted too. As The Verge noted, in a lot of ways these changes seem like standard corporate machinations–high-up Googlers shifting between different positions of power. But if we read into it, these moves signify that Google believes AI is the future of search. Which is valid! That said, Google has been annoying me lately, especially after…
Google asked us to be patient while their core update upends our SEO world.
The March core update is so big, it’ll continue rolling out until the end of the month. Google claims the update should lead to a 40% reduction in low-quality content on the SERP. Which sounds great, but the update has caused a ton of volatility for SEO ranks. If you’ve seen rankings go down over the past few weeks, it may be tempting to make edits to your site. But the Google Search Liaison told us via X to wait until the update completes before making any changes. People replied angrily, saying the update is causing them to lose traffic and, in turn, revenue. I understand that it’s extremely difficult to sit tight and watch your rankings drop. But in the world of SEO, Google is our overlord, and we really have no choice but to listen to them. Now for a little paid search news…
We can now import Google PMAX campaigns to Microsoft Advertising.
I few weeks ago I expressed my excitement about the fact that Microsoft PMAX campaigns are now available globally. And now you can import Google PMAX campaigns to Microsoft seamlessly. Seems like a low effort way to expand your presence on Microsoft, so I definitely think it’s worth testing!
Now, let’s chat about The Fediverse…
Meta showed off Threads’ Fediverse integration for the first time.
If you’ve never heard of the fediverse, I’ll let this quote from The Verge explain it:
“The fediverse is as if you took X, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook and made them all interoperable so you could post anything from anywhere, and all your followers would be guaranteed to see it. And if you wanted to leave one platform for another, you could bring all your content, all your followers, all your everything with you.”
The social media web is expanding. Soon, you’ll have the option to share all your Threads posts on tons of other social platforms simultaneously, which could be great for brands. If you want to share a message with your audience, posting on Threads may soon be the fastest way to get the word out. If your brand isn’t on Threads yet, our guide to marketing on Threads can help you get started. But honestly, is it just me or has Meta made a real-life WUPHF? In other Meta news...
Instagram ads with promo codes are now available globally.
If you’re running ads on Instagram, the “ads with promo codes” option should now be available for you. You can list promo codes in the caption of the ad, and the promo code will be automatically applied at checkout. This is a great opportunity to drive additional sales and test the effectiveness of different promo codes, so definitely take advantage of it.
And now for your regularly scheduled AI news…
Nvidia’s president said that artificial general intelligence is 5 years away.
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is often referred to as “human-level AI”... oh no. Apparently, what we have now is “narrow AI”, which is good at doing specific tasks like summarizing the news (but not as good as me!) or building a website. But AGI will be able to “perform a broad spectrum of cognitive tasks at or above human levels” within the decade. I’m scared!! And in other AI news…
OpenAI’s chatbot store is full of spam.
The GPT store is filling up with more and more strange, potentially-copywrite-infringing bots. If you’re using ChatGPT to write content, some of the results may be copyrighted, which could get you in trouble. The content may also be detectable as AI-written, which negatively impacts SEO. There are bots like Humanizer Pro that claim to “humanize your content to bypass the most advanced AI detectors”, but according to TechCrunch, most of the humanizer bots straight up don’t work. So for now, stay safe and use ChatGPT to generate ideas, not write entire articles.
Well, that’s all for this week, Darlings. In the whirlwind of Google updates and AI robots, I’ll gladly be your North Star. May your Friday be easy, and your weekend peaceful. Enjoy some outdoor time in this lovely spring weather and decompress from it all. We’ll chat again next week.
You know you love me.
5 Performance Max best practices from a PPC expert
Watch Autumn explain her 3 biggest tips, then read on for even more insights!
Advertisers are starting to see great success with their Performance Max (PMAX) campaigns. They have been growing in popularity in Google Ads and are now available Globally in Microsoft Ads, too! Many Paid Search managers now consider it best practice to have at least one Performance Max campaign running in their Google Ads account. They are great for finding high-converting customers not only on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) but across all of Google’s other channels like YouTube, Display, Gmail, and Maps.
PMAX campaigns learn as they go. While they take around 6 weeks to mature, they’ll continue to get more efficient over time. That said, there are several ways to speed up their learning process and set up your campaigns for success. Follow these 5 tips to get the best possible results from your PMAX campaigns.
1. Add high-quality creative assets
Adding high-quality assets is one of the most important steps in setting up a successful Performance Max campaign. Advertisers should add a variety of asset types to ensure that their ad can serve on many different channels and placements.
Text assets
Text assets include the headlines and descriptions for your PMAX campaign’s text ads.
First, you will want to add headlines. You can add up to 15, and filling all 15 slots with headline variations will allow you to include more keywords in your copy, which will improve ad quality. Think about the keywords that you would want to target if this were a traditional paid search campaign. Then, incorporate those keywords into your ad copy. The more relevant keywords you include, the higher the likelihood that your ad will serve.
Once you’ve optimized your headlines, you can add up to 4 descriptions. It is best to include a call to action in each of them. Descriptions can have up to 90 characters and it is best to use as many characters as possible to take up more space on the page and include as much relevant information and keywords as you can.
Image assets
Next, let's talk about graphics. There are two different types of graphics to include in a PMAX campaign: Images and Logos. It's best to add multiple variations of each type of asset so that they can appear in a variety of placements with different ideal image sizes. It is important that all images are high-quality.
For image assets, there are three different options to consider:
- Landscape image
Landscape assets should have an aspect ratio of 1.91:1, meaning the width should be 1.91 times the height. The minimum size is 600 x 314 pixels, and the recommended size is 1200 x 628 pixels. The maximum file size for a Landscape image asset is 5120 KB.
- Square image
Square assets must have an aspect ratio of 1:1, meaning the width and height are equal (it’s a square, after all!) The minimum size is 300 x 300 pixels, and the recommended size is 1200 x 1200 pixels. The maximum file size for a Square image asset is 5120 KB.
- Portrait image
Portrait assets must have an aspect ratio of 4:5, meaning the height is equal to ⅘ the width. The minimum size is 480 x 600 pixels, and the recommended size is 960 x 1200 pixels. This asset type doesn’t have a maximum file size limit.
You can include up to 20 images for each type of image asset, and it’s best to provide as many asset variations as possible. While 20 portrait, 20 square, and 20 landscape images are ideal, it’s not always possible to produce that much relevant creative. It’s critical to have at least one of each type of asset in your campaign, but the more, the merrier!
Logo assets
You should also add logo assets to make your brand more recognizable in your ads. The options for logo assets are:
- Landscape logo
Landscape logos are horizontal and must have a 4:1 aspect ratio, meaning the width must be four times the height. The minimum size is 512x128 pixels, with a recommended size of 1200x300 pixels. The maximum file size is 5120 KB.
- Square logo
Square logos, like their image counterparts, must have a 1:1 aspect ratio. The minimum size is 128x128 pixels, with a recommended size of 1200x1200 pixels. The maximum file size is 5120KB.
You can include up to 5 logos for each type of asset. Like their image counterparts, including as many logo variations as possible will improve ad performance.
Video assets
Then, there is the option to add video assets. If you don’t add a video asset, Google will create one for you using your headlines and images. Though these videos can see positive results, they may not always reflect your vision of how you would like to present the brand, so it’s best to create your own.
There’s only one video format for PMAX campaigns, which is specifically designed for YouTube ads, though video ads can also serve on the Display Network. You have the ability to include up to 5 video assets per PMAX campaign, and it’s best to include as many as possible. Videos must be at least 10 seconds long. You can choose between horizontal, vertical, and square aspect ratios. Note that Google may resize your videos automatically to make them fit in different placements.
Grouping assets properly
Keep in mind that when setting up asset groups, you will not be able to control which assets get served together within the group. For example, if you sell both sandals and boots, these different product types should have separate asset groups because you wouldn't want a headline about boots showing up with a picture of sandals. Therefore, you want to make sure all the assets within a given group are cohesive. Separate asset groups will also allow you to set up different targeting for each type of product. Make sure that every asset group has video, image, and text assets.
Reviewing asset performance
Once your PMAX campaign has run for a while and has gathered data, you will be able to check the Asset Report and see how each different asset is rated. It will state low, good, or best. However, if there are not enough impressions for Google to calculate a performance category, then it will state that there is not enough data. It is best to switch out low-performing assets with new ones and continually test new assets. But be sure to wait a few weeks before switching out assets so that they gather enough data to receive an accurate quality rating.
Including ad extensions
While setting up your assets, you should also include ad extensions. Treat the ad extensions as you would in search campaigns and make sure that they are relevant to the campaign and to any asset combinations within the campaign.
2. Apply specific targeting
Adding targeting when setting up a PMAX campaign will help speed up the learning process. You can use data from existing campaigns with similar products to help decide what targeting to apply. Depending on your goals, you can target more specific audiences that you know will convert, or you can include audiences that have similar interests to expand your reach.
Audience signals
Adding audience signals to Performance Max campaigns helps guide the algorithm. The algorithm will use these audience signals as suggestions when selecting the right users to serve ads to. Adding all of the possible audience signals is not required, but it will speed up the learning process. To select the right audience signals, use data from active campaigns and audiences and incorporate successful audiences and demographics into your PMAX targeting.
Interest categories
You can use industry knowledge to select interest categories that are related to the products you sell. Adding interest categories is a good way to capture your target audience as well as audiences that may have similar interests.
Demographic targets
There are other targeting options, such as demographics, that you can add right away. Or you can let the campaign run, analyze the data, and then set the demographics based on the results. For example, you may notice a specific age range is more likely to convert, and add that age range as a demographic target. And, of course, you can use data on users who previously interacted with your site, such as website visitors, to create retargeting audiences.
Search themes
Search themes are words or phrases that you expect your audience to search. These are similar to keywords, but they will be used as a suggestion to the algorithm rather than a requirement. The algorithm can still serve your ad to people who are not searching for those words or phrases. Adding search themes will improve targeting for new campaigns and for campaigns whose targeting settings aren’t specific enough. These are optional but are a great way to provide additional guidance to your campaigns.
3. Optimize your feed
When creating asset groups, it's important to optimize your product feed. Make sure that the products in each group match the assets. If your assets are split up by content category, then the products in each asset group should be split up the same way.
Product titles should provide an accurate description of the product, as any confusing language will decrease the click-through rate.
If there are products that are consistently driving low ROI, you should either exclude them from the asset group or put them into their own campaign with a small budget.
Also, be sure to regularly check that your feeds have been approved.
4. Don’t just rely on PMAX
It is best to use performance max campaigns alongside search campaigns. Using both will maximize visibility.
Search campaigns offer more control and the ability to target exact keywords. With PMAX, you can’t control which search queries your ads are served on. Rather, PMAX’s AI-powered technology analyzes your landing page content, product feed, and assets to decide which queries are relevant to your ads. Therefore, it’s best to target specific keywords with search campaigns and allow PMAX to drive incremental conversions with its AI-powered targeting.
5. Choose the right bid strategy
When selecting a bidding strategy for a new performance max campaign, choose either Maximize Conversions, which will aim to get as many conversions as possible within the provided budget, or Maximize Conversion Value, which will aim to get high-value conversions. The latter may drive fewer conversions, but the conversions it does drive will be more valuable.
Using Target ROAS or Target CPA is still an option, but it is best to wait to use them until the PMAX campaign has matured and gathered sufficient revenue and conversion data for the algorithm to reference.
Final thoughts
We highly recommend testing performance max campaigns to understand what they can do for your advertising program. To ensure the best outcome, set up your PMAX campaigns with quality assets and relevant audiences. The learning period can take up to six weeks, and making changes to the campaign during this period will make it take longer, so try to sit back and let it do its thing.
If you’re looking for a solution that enables you to manage your Google and Microsoft PMAX campaigns in one place, look no further than Marin. In our centralized interface, you can analyze, optimize, and report on all your cross-channel campaigns. Marin can even track your campaigns' performance for you and provide unique, publisher-independent recommendations for improvement. To learn more, click here to chat with a Marin Rep!
Leveraging Revenue Operations to Optimize Digital Marketing Channels
Siloed marketing and sales teams have never been good for businesses. Recognizing this, organizations are attempting to improve alignment between marketing, sales, and customer success. How? By leaning into a relatively new and innovative organizational structure called Revenue Operations or “RevOps.”
Designed to break down the barriers between disparate operational teams, RevOps aims to forge a unified front with a singular reporting line and shared revenue goals. RevOps not only transforms organizational structures, but it also helps streamline digital marketing channels, identify high-performing strategies, and allocate resources effectively — all of which collectively contribute to a more cohesive and successful revenue generation strategy.
The Role of Revenue Operations in Digital Marketing Channel Optimization
When marketing and sales teams work together and implement a RevOps strategy, it can increase overall effectiveness in driving revenue. The combination of improved communication and collaboration streamlines processes, facilitates smoother workflows, enables quicker decision-making, and allows for a more agile response to market changes.
A unified approach to revenue generation also provides a holistic view of the customer journey, which creates a better understanding and anticipation of customer needs, leading to improved satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, enhanced visibility into customer interactions and behaviors allows for more targeted and effective sales and outreach strategies.
Within digital marketing, where multiple channels contribute to customer engagement and conversion, RevOps acts as a strategic orchestrator. Collaboration between marketing, sales, and other revenue-focused teams ensures a unified approach to:
- Data analysis
- Audience targeting
- Content optimization
- Budget allocation
- Cross-channel integration
- SEO optimization
- Social media management
- Conversion rate optimization
As a result, this alignment not only increases the overall efficiency of digital marketing efforts but also maximizes the impact of each channel on revenue generation.
6 Practical Steps to Streamline Paid Advertising With Revenue Operations
Streamlining paid advertising with RevOps involves strategically aligning and optimizing various elements to positively impact your advertising efforts. Here are six key steps to achieve this synergy:
- Unified Data Management
Begin by integrating data from advertising platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and other sources. With a centralized repository, marketing, sales, and other teams have access to accurate and real-time data for informed decision making.
- Collaborative Strategy Development
Encourage collaboration between marketing and sales teams to align advertising strategies with revenue goals. With collaboration, paid campaigns are more likely to attract high-quality leads and contribute directly to revenue generation.
- Budget Allocation Optimization
Use unified data insights to optimize budget allocation across different advertising channels.
RevOps guarantees that advertising budgets are strategically distributed based on performance metrics and aligned with overall revenue objectives.
- Cross-Channel Integration
Make sure that your paid advertising efforts align seamlessly with all other marketing channels. A cohesive approach, facilitated by RevOps, prevents silos and creates a unified brand experience for users across various touchpoints.
- Real-Time Performance Monitoring
Continuously monitor ad performance in real time. With RevOps, you can rapidly identify trends, allowing for quick adjustments to campaigns to maximize their effectiveness.
- Alignment With Sales Processes
You’ll also want to ensure a smooth transition from lead generation to conversion — and the key to doing so is to integrate paid advertising efforts with sales processes. RevOps facilitates a seamless handover of qualified leads to the sales team, enhancing the overall efficiency of the revenue engine.
Driving Engagement and Conversions Through Revenue Operations in Email Marketing
As you strive to optimize revenue generation, the fusion of RevOps and email marketing can help increase engagement levels and conversion rates.
Personalized Targeting
By harnessing unified customer data from email marketing platforms, CRM systems, and other sources, you can create unified customer profiles to meticulously segment your audience, delving into demographics, behaviors, and preferences. With a granular understanding, you can generate highly targeted and personalized email campaigns by tailoring content in a way that makes each message feel relevant and valuable to the recipient, thereby increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
Closed-Loop Reporting
Closed-loop reporting in email marketing provides a comprehensive understanding of the complete customer journey, from the initial interaction with an email to the ultimate conversion. In other words, it allows you to gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your email campaigns at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Analyzing which emails have the most significant impact on conversions helps you identify successful strategies and refine your approach to future campaigns.
Automation and Workflow Integration
The integration of automation and workflow tools is instrumental in enhancing efficiency and driving successful customer journeys. By using marketing automation tools, your organization can streamline intricate email workflows and implement strategic lead nurturing programs. Not only does this save time but it also ensures consistent and timely communication with your audience.
The synergy between email marketing workflows and sales processes is equally crucial. Integrating these workflows facilitates a seamless transition for leads from initial engagement to eventual conversion. Automated coordination between marketing and sales teams ensures that the right messages are delivered at the right stages, optimizing the chances of turning leads into loyal customers.
Behavioral Triggers
Using behavioral triggers in email marketing can add a dynamic and responsive dimension to your customer engagement strategies that goes beyond generic outreach efforts. By implementing triggers based on customer actions or inactions, you can deliver personalized communication that aligns with individual behaviors. For example, if a customer clicks on a particular product but doesn't complete the purchase, a targeted follow-up email or exclusive offer can be triggered to re-engage them. This can enhance the relevance of the content and also guide customers toward conversions by addressing their specific interests and needs.
Iterative Analysis and Improvement
Continuously scrutinize email performance metrics and gather customer feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns. This way, you can track what resonates with your audience and what areas need improvement. Whether it's adjusting content or reevaluating overarching strategies, an iterative process ensures that your email campaigns are always evolving to meet the dynamic preferences of your audience. Commitment to constant improvement not only enhances engagement but also contributes to the overall effectiveness of email marketing initiatives, ultimately creating a cycle of refinement that aligns with customer expectations and industry trends.
Navigating the Switch to RevOps
Gartner projects that 75% of leading global companies are expected to implement a RevOps model by 2025. If you’re not already part of that statistic, it’s time to join the growing ranks of companies embracing RevOps. Here’s how you can do that:
Conduct a Comprehensive Process Audit
Start by auditing your existing processes to identify any disconnect between departments. Align all available data with your customer's lifecycle stage and formulate a plan to address any gaps. Finally, scrutinize the technology used across customer-facing departments for accurate data tracking.
Define Lifecycle Stage Definitions
Next, clearly define lifecycle stage definitions for your team. Evaluate your data to gain insights into the complete customer journey and assess your organization’s financial health. Plan to regularly audit your tech stack to eliminate redundancies and brief your team on the impact of RevOps processes on revenue.
Enhance Customer Acquisition
Develop a plan for customer acquisition through inbound sales strategies, follow-up emails, and outbound sales outreach. Create a RevOps dashboard that highlights current challenges and areas for improvement in the customer experience.
Maintain Consistency in Growth Strategy
Eighty-seven percent of sales and marketing leaders agree that collaboration between sales and marketing is critical for business growth. To ensure business growth and reinforce alignment with revenue and growth goals, you’ll need to conduct regular RevOps check-ins. It’s also a good idea to collaborate with heads of marketing and sales so everyone is on the same page. Follow a structured implementation plan to boost the adoption and optimization of your RevOps strategy.
Unlocking Revenue Potential With MarinOne
For RevOps to be successful, your organization’s sales and marketing teams must work in unison. And that means breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across all revenue-focused functions.
MarinOne can help you move away from siloed organizational structures. With our platform, you can seamlessly integrate data from various channels and gain a unified view of the customer journey. Our advanced attribution modeling goes beyond the basics, enabling your organization to make data-driven decisions, optimize budget allocation, and align marketing strategies with broader revenue goals.
MarinOne's strength lies in its ability to streamline the integration of marketing automation platforms into the RevOps framework for cohesive workflows, personalized content delivery, and a direct alignment of marketing efforts with revenue objectives. Additionally, MarinOne's analytics capabilities can help your business gain actionable insights, measure key metrics, and continuously iterate your digital marketing strategies.
Ready to get started? Meet with a Marin rep today.
6 Advanced Strategies for Maximizing ROI in Paid Search Advertising
Did you know that small to medium-sized businesses invest seven times more in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising than search engine optimization (SEO)?
It’s likely because PPC offers faster results, more control, and targeted advertising. In addition, PPC tends to generate twice the number of site visitors compared to SEO.
However, PPC can be more expensive because you pay every time someone clicks on your ad.
So, how do you attract customers to your business without losing tons of money?
Enter advanced paid search advertising strategies. These techniques allow you to target the right audience in the right places at the right time.
Doing so increases your chances of converting leads into customers, which means more revenue for your business.
In this post, we’ll explore different ways to maximize paid search ROI so that you can drive higher profitability for your business.
6 Advanced Paid Search Advertising Strategies to Maximize ROI
65% of people click on PPC ads when making purchases.
That’s the power of an effective PPC campaign. But how much do companies have to spend to get these results?
Implement these strategies to ensure your paid advertising efforts don’t break the bank.
1. Use Audience Segmentation and Targeting
The key to any successful advertising campaign is knowing your audience and delivering ads to them at the most optimal time.
Knowing your audience means understanding their pain points, being familiar with their motivations, and learning their goals.
For example, say your business is in the hospitality industry. Maybe you own a hotel. A common strategy hoteliers use is hotel revenue management.
This strategy involves using certain data, such as guest information, market data, and competitor rates, to understand consumer demand and improve offerings.
With this data in your back pocket, it gives you a clear picture of what can attract consumers, allowing you to create paid advertising campaigns that ensure good results.
Once you get to know them, you can segment your audience based on unique factors (specific to each group). In other words, you can serve each segment in different ads to ensure you’re catering to varying needs.
Factors that determine audience segmentation include:
- Psychographics (i.e., goals, motivations, pain points)
- Demographics (i.e., age, race, gender)
- Firmographics (i.e., industry, job title)
- Online behavior
- Past purchases
You can use a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to keep track of this customer data. After that, divide your audience according to their interests (especially if your products or services may appeal to different customers).
Still using hospitality as an example, you might target young professionals for business travel offers or families for vacation packages. For each product offering, your ads will look different.
Expedia offers travel package bundles, a great option for people traveling in large groups, like families.
Booking.com’s ad differs from Expedia’s. It helps professionals save on flights through exclusive discounts.
2. Leverage Dynamic Remarketing
Remarketing involves serving ads to leads who have gone cold.
So, for example, let’s say that a potential customer visited your website for five minutes but left without converting.
You can tailor your search ads for these people who have previously visited your site. These are considered high-intent users. By directing your ad spend towards this segment, you can increase your chances of conversion.
No remarketing campaign is complete without providing value to customers. So, when you get them back to your website, they should leave with something that improves their lives somehow, like a guide or whitepaper.
This builds trust, making it more likely for leads to convert.
Henry Meds is an example of a brand that does this well. As a company selling health and wellness products, it has a blog that educates its audience about different health topics.
For example, its article on alternatives to Ozempic, a weight loss drug, informs potential customers about different options they can choose from.
This helps maximize its advertising ROI in a few ways:
- Optimization: Henry Meds can gain insights from user interactions with the article. The brand can use these insights to optimize and improve its paid search strategy further. By understanding which sections of the article are most engaging or which keywords are driving traffic, Henry Meds can refine its paid search advertising strategy for better performance.
- Long-tail keywords: The article includes long-tail keywords that may not be feasible to include in concise ad copy. But long-form copy like an article or blog post allows the brand to use long-tail keywords, which often have lower competition and can attract a more targeted audience interested in specific details about alternatives to Ozempic.
- Keyword alignment: The article contains relevant keywords and phrases associated with alternatives to Ozempic, enhancing the alignment between the ad copy, landing page content, and user search queries. This alignment improves the ad’s Quality Score, potentially reducing the cost per click and improving ad placement.
- Educational value: Weight loss medications and alternatives can be complex, and users may seek detailed information before deciding. The article offers educational value, addressing common questions and concerns and comparing options. This can position Henry Meds as an authoritative and trustworthy source.
- Remarketing: Users who read the article but don’t immediately convert can be targeted through remarketing campaigns. By creating custom audiences based on interactions with the article, Henry Meds can retarget these users with specific ads encouraging them to take the next step, such as scheduling a consultation.
- Trust and credibility: Providing detailed information in the form of an article demonstrates transparency and expertise. Users are more likely to trust a brand that educates them about their products and offers valuable insights. Trust is crucial in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
- Content relevance: Henry Meds’ article serves as a valuable source of information for users actively searching for alternatives to Ozempic. When users click on the ad and land on a page with relevant and informative content, it increases the chances of engagement and conversions.
- Internal linking opportunities: The article includes links to other relevant pages on the Henry Meds website, such as product pages, consultation forms, or the main landing page. Internal linking helps guide users through the conversion funnel and improves overall website engagement.
- Shareable content: Users can share the article on social media or other platforms because it is well-written and provides valuable insights. This organic sharing can increase brand visibility and attract a wider audience.
3. Implement Smart Bidding
Smart bidding is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads where machine learning algorithms optimize the bids during the auction time.
It does this by leveraging data and historical performance. Device, location, time, and conversion probability influence how the algorithm sets bids.
Tapping into the power of machine learning maximizes the chances of achieving the desired outcome, whether to increase leads or boost profit.
Example: A clothing brand uses smart bidding in its Google Ads campaigns. The algorithm adjusts ads in real-time based on customers’ browsing behavior and past purchase history to promote a new line of products.
The four smart bidding strategies are:
- Target return on ad spend (ROAS): This helps ensure your campaigns generate revenue at your desired return rate. To properly use this strategy, you should clearly understand your profit margins and the value of each conversion.
- Target cost per action (CPA):Get as many “actions” as possible at a target cost per action. Using historical data, CPA smart bidding maximizes clicks most likely to convert instead of wasting ad spend on unlikely leads.
- Maximize conversion value: Aim to get as many conversions possible at a fixed return on ad spend (ROAS).
- Maximize conversions: Aims to get as many conversions possible at a set budget.
4. Focus on Quality Score
Your quality score influences the ROI of your PPC campaign.
Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising use the quality score to determine which ads are more relevant than others. Different factors affect this score, such as the relevance of your keywords, click-through rate (CTR), and ad extensions.
To improve your quality score:
- Use A/B testing to test different ad copy variations.
- Organize your keywords into groups.
- Streamline keyword research.
- Optimize landing pages.
5. Utilize Ad Extensions
Google Ads and other advertising platforms provide ad extensions that allow you to add more information to your ad copy.
This might include images, phone numbers, and location information. Ad extensions enhance your ads’ visibility and improve CTRs. They also give potential customers more ways to engage with your business.
6. Continuously Optimize and Monitor Your Ad Campaigns
Track your campaign’s performance with automated marketing reports to improve efficiency and campaign performance.
Tools like Redbird.io offer seamless integration, allowing you to effortlessly consolidate data from various advertising platforms into comprehensive, actionable insights.
Streamlining the reporting process allows you to allocate more time and resources to refine your advertising strategies.
Just using one Google Ads? You can also track your ad performance right in your Google Ads account.
You’ll be able to see the status of your ads (i.e., whether they’re active), track CTR (i.e., how often customers click your ad), monitor average cost-per-click (CPC), and optimize conversions.
Maximize ROI in Paid Search, One Click at a Time
Advertising is expensive enough. So, it’s important to plan your paid search campaigns to get you the “best bang for your buck.”
Knowing your audience, how they browse the web, and what they’re looking for is at the heart of a successful PPC strategy.
Follow these tips to make every click count and boost your revenue to new heights you’ve never seen.
Are you still worried about how to allocate your ad spend for the best ROI? Marin’s automated budget management feature can help. Get started with us today to manage budgets with scale without overspending or stress.
TikTok’s Insta alternative, Reddit’s going pro, Google’s war on spammy content, and more...
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
With most of the US losing an hour to daylight savings, it seems like a bad week to spring a potential TikTok ban on our tired brains, but alas here we are. When the US House overwhelmingly passed a bill to target – or even outright ban – TikTok, I knew this week was going to be a doozy for those of us who spend our days in the digital realm (to be clear - this is only legislation approving a “ban” should Bytedance not sell the US portion of the platform. Terrible branding calling this bill a ban, tbh). While it quickly made it past the house, this bill is far from a done deal in the slower moving Senate and higher courts. I, along with many others, will be following this closely over the next year or 2 as we all watch today’s version of the Schoolhouse Rock classic “I’m Just a Bill” play out in real time. In other TikTok news…
TikTok might be building an Instagram alternative
It doesn’t seem like an uncertain future in the US is stopping TikTok from taking on their competition. Technology reporters were aflurry this week when they noticed the prolific app blogger SpAndroid post about some lines of code in the new TikTok app update that appear to be setting them up for a launch of a photo sharing site that would be a direct competitor to Instagram. It may be a coincidence, but this comes at the same time as…
Instagram overtakes TikTok as world’s most downloaded app
Interesting timing, if you ask me. Instagram starts gaining traction in the app stores, so TikTok starts building an Instagram killer. If you see Zuck showing up to lobby for the TikTok ban, this may be why… or maybe he’ll just want to buy the spinoff at a discount?
Reddit Pro's officially a thing
As we were publishing last week, Reddit was announcing their new Pro platform, which they say is a “a free suite of tools for businesses to establish and grow a meaningful organic presence on Reddit.” We all know a lot of meaningful conversation is happening on Reddit and this could be an interesting way for digital marketers to have access to an even larger set of engaged points of view to better align their cross-channel paid and organic strategies.
Ray-Ban putting AI on our faces appears to be taking off
We all knew that going through life wearing an Oculus or Apple Vision Pro wasn’t going to take off, but the hype around some of the functionality that’s being demoed on the new Ray-Ban glasses seems like it may be the happy medium the market was asking for. We get one step closer to becoming androids everyday, my friends. …or maybe not, according to TechRadar because “it might not always be the most accurate – so take its tourist guidance with a pinch of salt.” AI being THIS CLOSE again. Speaking of AI…
Microsoft integrates Copilot AI into more of their Ads functionality
Thomas Eccel spotted the Copilot tab on his Microsoft Ads account and posted it on Twitter this week. It seems like AI-powered content creation is definitely here to stay. While the new Copilot design seems like it needs some getting used to, it’s free (for now) and is compatible with all the major search engines. But you know what’s not free?...
Brands are unknowingly wasting ad dollars on Made for Advertising sites, claims report
According to Adalytics, hundreds of major brands are having their ads displayed on Made for Advertising sites. According to the Association of National Advertisers, these websites have “a high percentage of paid traffic sourcing… and often have little-to-no organic audience and are instead highly dependent on visits sourced from clickbait ads that run on social networks, content recommendations platforms, and even on the websites of reputable publishers.” Sounds like a scammy waste of money to me! In other bad-internet news…
Google’s trying to tackle spammy, low-quality content on Search
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened Google, entered my query, and been served up a full page of made-for-Search nonsense. I think it goes without saying that this experience is less than optimal. It seems like Google’s realizing their days of being THE answer to all of the internet’s questions are over and they’re trying to clean up their act. They’re not just updating policies, they’re enforcing them with search ranking penalties through manual actions. The message is clear to me that you’d better be relevant or you’ll pay the price.
Well, that recaps my musings on another busy week in the world of the interwebs. No one knows what will come next, but I’ll be here to fill you all in on what catches my eye each week. Until then, rest up to stay on top of all the fast-moving news and I’ll see you back in your inbox.
You know you love me.
The Evolution of Streaming Ads & Why You Should Invest in Them
Data suggests that while internet use is popular, television remains a significant part of daily life. Nearly 5.4 billion people worldwide have access to TV, and the average US adult spends over 2 hours a day watching it.
However, viewing habits have changed over the last few years thanks to COVID-19 and the rise of on-demand media services.
While streaming devices existed in the mid-2010s, the global pandemic triggered an unprecedented surge in their popularity. People turned to platforms like Netflix to watch something comforting and escape the challenges of COVID-19.
Even today, connected TV (CTV) advertising and evolving consumer behavior continue to shape the future of viewing. In this blog, we’ll delve deeper into the evolution of streaming ads and explore the exciting opportunities they present.
Let’s get started.
The origin of streaming advertising
Tracing the origins of streamed advertising television can be tricky because what we are talking about here is over 80 years old. But let’s piece together information to gain a better understanding of its evolution.
In 1941, a family in New York turned on their TV (one of the only 4,000 in the city at that time) to watch the Brooklyn Dodgers play the Philadelphia Phillies. A 10-second ad for Bulova Watch Company aired right before the game started.
This simple ad, featuring a static image and a live voiceover saying “America runs on Bulova Time,” unknowingly marked a pivotal moment in television history.
Eighty-three years later, television advertising spending was projected to be $61.3 billion on US broadcast and cable TV. Since then, ad-supported streaming has evolved into various formats, from primetime slots to high-profile event sponsorships, all aiming to capture viewers’ attention on their large and sophisticated screens.
The first-ever online ad, a banner advertisement added to a web page, debuted on October 27, 1994. This ad was posted as a precursor to today’s tech site, Wired. This marked the beginning of ad-supported advertising, enabling marketers to reach and engage new audiences.
While the digital ad ecosystem was blooming, linear TV (traditional or broadcast television) remained relatively unchanged until CTV and OTT platforms took over in the last 5–10 years.
The advertising industry, particularly connected TV (CTV), saw significant growth in 2023, exceeding the global revenue milestone of $25 billion. Studies project continued expansion, with CTV’s ad spending expected to reach nearly $29.29 billion in 2024 and climb to $36.86 billion by 2026.
Although Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon have existed for decades, it’s undeniable that the year 2020–21 saw the emergence of new players in the market. During this period, subscription-led over-the-top (OTT) and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms witnessed a spike in paid subscribers.
Advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms struggled to monetize their viewership growth during the lockdown due to a depressed ad market.
Driven by on-demand, binge-friendly, and commercial-free formats, many predicted streaming services to be the future of television. However, the rise of free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) services has brought us full circle, taking us back to linear, passive, and ad-supported channels.
Interestingly, FAST channels are gaining popularity and becoming consumer preferences on platforms where they are available.
How do streaming ads work?
Imagine the best of television advertising — captivating visuals, immersive sound, and interactive advertising experience directly delivered to your living room.
Now, picture those ads as super-targeted, like online ads reaching specific audiences with laser focus. That’s the transformative power of CTV advertising.
In contrast to traditional linear TV, CTV employs first-party data that adheres to privacy regulations, making it unique. This allows for highly targeted ads, minimizing “wasted impressions” and maximizing ROI.
Furthermore, because of on-demand content, viewers are actively engaged and more receptive to advertising messages. This creates a powerful platform for impactful brand storytelling.
Before diving deeper into the components and strategies of streamed advertising, let’s explore the various monetization and programming models that make up the streaming landscape.
The first model is SVOD services, which you’re probably familiar with. For those unfamiliar, it’s the popular monetization model for streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+.
You pay a fixed monthly and annual fee for unlimited, ad-free access to a vast library of video content.
The model offers predictable revenue for platforms, leading to higher lifetime value (LTV). However, platforms are exploring ad-supported tiers, but that’s expensive and primarily for big companies.
The second model is FAST. Tubi and Pluto TV are well-known examples of this platform, which resembles cable, satellite, or linear TV in some ways.
However, you can watch content virtually on any device for free with the tradeoff of commercials. This model is attractive for advertisers who want to reach as many people as possible on a budget.
Pro tip: If you’re struggling with your budget management or your in-house team is wrestling with finance-set budgets, staying on target shouldn’t be a challenging task. With Marin, you can manage your budget with ease, precision, and a touch of AI magic.
How do advertisers buy ads on CTV?
Here are two prominent ways in which advertisers can buy ads on CTV.
1. Direct Deals
Here, the advertisers strike a deal directly with a channel like Tubi or Hulu to have their ad shown there. This deal gives great control over placement but isn’t very efficient in reaching a broad audience.
2. Programmatic Buying
These platforms help you connect a vast selection of streaming channels at once so that you can target specific audiences with ease and adjust your budget easily for maximum impact.
Want to know how Alumni Ventures doubled their lead volume and reduced CPL by 33% with Marin budgeting optimization? Read the case study here!
Why are streaming ads so successful?
CTV is booming, and it’s widely considered a huge success. Advertisers particularly love it because it helps them:
- Safeguard their brand image while ensuring quality content.
- Reach their target audience.
- Personalize ad experiences.
Today, tracking people is becoming challenging for advertisers with the new privacy laws and changes, especially for platforms not focused on branding.
However, CTV advertising platforms address this issue by:
- Leveraging real-world information like location, purchases, and memberships to create detailed profiles of viewers, all while following privacy rules.
- Grouping devices in households to create broader audience segments while maintaining privacy.
Furthermore, through programmatic technology and targeting data, advertisers can:
- Measure their effectiveness (also known as ROI).
- Understand their frequency levels.
- Learn who sees their ads.
All of the above attract new companies to CTV advertising.
Also, today, customers expect personalization. CTV allows advertisers to customize ads to user interests and preferences. It’s similar to what they see on websites and social media.
A personalized approach helps grab users’ attention like never before and maybe encourages them to hit the “buy now” button.
But how does this personalization work? The answer is programmatic advertising.
It dynamically adjusts elements like location, ad offerings, and even the voiceover on your ad based on the viewer’s profile. This ensures viewers see relevant ads, creating a win-win situation for them and advertisers.
While CTV advertising offers ease and affordability, it’s primarily legacy television advertisers leveraging this technology. By adopting it early, advertisers can gain a mover advantage and build a strong brand image in the emerging space.
5 Key trends shaping the future of streaming services in 2024
Here are a few trends that’ll transform the future of streaming services in 2024 and beyond
1. Hyper-Personalization
The rising data availability and AI capabilities will help CTV advertisers look beyond basic demographics. They can now personalize ads based on the following:
- Real-time behavior
- Purchase history
- Buying behavior
- Viewing habits
As a result, this will help them boost engagement and ROI.
2. Interactive Ads
CTV ads will become more interactive as viewers become accustomed to interactive experiences. It’ll lead to the rise of:
- Shoppable ads, where users can click on the ads and make direct purchases without leaving the app
- Interactive storylines that respond to viewer choices
- Polls and quizzes to boost engagement
3. Effective Measurement
Measurement of CTV ads and their effectiveness will evolve in 2024.
Advancements in cross-platform measurement will help advertisers track viewer journeys across device platforms for a holistic view. This will paint an accurate picture of the true impact of CTV campaigns.
4. AI-Powered Creativity and Optimization
With the emergence of tools such as AI Email Writers, it's now much easier to tackle all marketing avenues, streaming ads included. So, expect tools that personalize ad creatives based on audience segments, dynamically adjust ad placements for maximum impact, and even generate creative concepts tailored to specific demographics.
5. Privacy-Compliant Solutions
With rising user privacy concerns, advertisers will have to look out for privacy-compliant solutions. They have to check for advancements in data clean rooms, collaborative targeting approaches, and cookieless targeting methods that respect user privacy while enabling effective ad delivery.
Wrapping up
Navigating the CTV ad journey requires a strategic approach. Whether you’re maximizing reach, personalizing experiences, or optimizing based on data, buying across multiple platforms is essential. This unlocks valuable insights and broader audience coverage, but managing it can be complicated.
That’s where solutions like Marin come in. It helps you streamline reporting and have a better understanding of cross-channel performance, enabling you to identify key insights, set up alerts, and automate tasks.
Microsoft PMAX campaigns, Google’s black box, Meta outages, and more…
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
This week in our digital sphere, the buzz is all about Microsoft's big move—Performance Max campaigns are now a global player, joining the ranks of Google's PMAX. I’m curious to see who's venturing into Bing's territory and why some are holding back. Dive in as we dissect the latest in paid search innovations, question Google's opaque reporting logic, and peer into the legal and ethical mazes that tech giants navigate daily.
Microsoft PMAX campaigns are now available globally.
The biggest news shaking up the paid search sphere comes from Microsoft, who have finally taken their version of Performance Max campaigns out of beta and made them available globally. Are you running PMAX on Bing? I’m curious… respond to our poll and let me know! Maybe even leave a comment about how it's going if you are running Bing PMAX–and if not, why not? Truly curious to pick the brains of my Digital Darlings about this one. Heads up: if you’re running PMAX campaigns in Google and want to roll them out on Bing with ease, you can import them directly from Google Ads to Microsoft. Since it’s so easy, I definitely recommend at least testing it out. And speaking of PMAX…
Google’s PMAX reporting “intentionally” doesn’t show channel-specific KPIs.
A Google spokesperson said that “looking at aggregate ROAS or CPA for a single channel within Performance Max can actually be misleading and doesn’t accurately represent the value of a given channel.” Um… what?? Basically, their logic is that the best channel in one auction won’t necessarily be the best channel in the next auction. But isn’t that the case with literally all paid media?
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but IMO this is just an excuse. Google wants to black-box its data so that they can have full control over the search ads landscape. They invented PMAX to sell undesirable ad placements that people weren’t buying, and they don’t want people to know how poorly those channels are performing, or be able to opt out of them. But that’s just my opinion, and I’m literally just a girl…
On that note, here’s another reason I don’t trust Google…
Google piloted a new PPC ad format without telling anyone.
This ad type serves above Google Maps results for businesses. It doesn’t have a name, and advertisers can’t opt in or out of it. Anthony Higman shared a screenshot and his complaints in a post on X, and I think he said it best - “I get that it’s 2024 and things are moving faster than ever, but when they roll out a new ad format, of which we have seen about ten in past few weeks, it would be really helpful if they explained how these new ads work and what changes they imply via auction dynamics.” Preach, Anthony!! And in a final bit of Google news…
The EU’s Digital Markets Act goes into effect this week.
European Googlers now have the option to opt out of data sharing across Google’s services network, and can even expect to see banners explicitly asking if they would like to share their data across Google’s network. This means Google will lose a lot of the data that enables ad targeting across all Google-owned platforms without the use of third-party cookies. So if you run Google Ads in the UK, keep a watchful eye on performance. Your targeting may suffer, and you may need to start using more first-party data. Now, let’s chat about social…
Global Meta outages kicked 500,000 people out of their accounts.
But if you, like me, were one of the users affected by this outage, you don’t need me to tell you that. I bet you’re addicted to Insta just like me. You survived the outage, but you spent brutal hours resorting to the likes of Reddit and Twitter (#neverX) while locked out of your go-to, Reels. Well not to worry, the issue was resolved within a few hours, and though Meta hasn’t shared why it happened, it was probably due to something simple like a software update. So we can move on, and not expect this to be a regular occurrence. Interestingly LinkedIn also had a global outage this week… is the mainframe collapsing?? Stay tuned…
And in other social news…
TikTok dropped their monthly Trends Digest.
At the end of every month, TikTok shares a list of the most popular content formats. If you’re looking to create on-trend short form videos for your brand, this is a great place to start. Simply select one of the three ‘trend moments’ and replicate it with branded content.
And finally, a little AI update…
Want your AI-written content to be original? Switch from ChatGPT to Claude.
According to a recent study by Patronus AI, Open AI’s ChatGPT bot produces a lot of copyrighted content. Researchers explicitly asked the bots for copyrighted content from books with prompts like “What is the first passage of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn”, and ChatGPT delivered. To be fair, all four of the chatbots they analyzed delivered some copyrighted content, but ChatGPT was the worst offender, outputting copyrighted content 60% of the time it was asked to. Claude 2 only responded with copyrighted content 16% of the time, so maybe switch to Claude 2 for your AI-writing needs.
This study follows a high profile lawsuit between the New York Times and OpenAI. NYT is suing OpenAI for using copyrighted content from their articles in ChatGPT’s results. It’s an interesting ethical dilemma, with OpenAI claiming it's “impossible” to train top AI models without using copyrighted works. It’ll be interesting to see how that lawsuit plays out.
And just like that, we've journeyed through another week of digital drama, innovation, and intrigue. As we ponder the future of advertising formats and the resilience of the internet's backbone amid outages, let's also keep an eye on the evolving legal landscapes that shape our digital destinies. Until next week, stay curious, stay critical, and most importantly, stay connected.
You know you love me.
Strategic Marketing Budget Management: 8 Tips for Marketing Managers
You’ve just been handed your new budget. What’s next?
How do you transform these allocated dollars into measurable results? How can you ensure that your decisions not only sustain but also amplify your revenue?
That’s where marketing budget management comes into play. Think of it like creating a roadmap that’ll satisfy even the most inquisitive of bosses and explain the rationale behind your strategic choices — all while keeping your team focused on your marketing goals.
So, what’s the secret to success? Let’s dive in.
8 tips for managing marketing budgets
Even with some budget managing experience under your belt, every budget presents its own challenges. How can you get the most for those dollars? What are your (and your stakeholders’) priorities, and what will produce the best results and highest ROI?
Let’s dig into eight tips to help you maximize your next marketing budget.
1. Understand your buyer journey
Your “buyer journey” is a fancy way of referring to the steps your target audience takes to go from a prospect to a buyer.
Understanding this gives you insight into where and how your audience is interacting with your marketing efforts.
Are they seeing search ads? Are they reading blog posts? Are they opening emails?
Once you know how they are moving through the journey from awareness to buyer, you can better understand where to set your budget to meet them where they are.
The travel rental company Cruise America, for example, uses a marketing platform to segment potential RV renters in Los Angeles based on demographics, interests, and online behavior.
This data-driven, effective approach ensures their RV rental in LA campaigns reach the right audience at the right stage in the buyer’s journey.
Otherwise, it’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping you’re allocating your budget to the right place at the right time. The last thing you want to do is explain to your boss (or, worse, your clients) why your last campaign achieved lackluster results (read: lack of segmentation). So, don’t underestimate the power of data to help you:
- Align your marketing strategy to each stage of the buyer’s journey
- Learn more about your target audience and where they hang out
- Understand where to allocate budget
Let’s take a look at another example. The historical tour company, Beaches of Normandy, leverages Google Remarketing to re-engage website visitors who showed interest in their Band of Brothers tours. This retargeting strategy brings potential customers back into the sales funnel.
The best part? The brand is allocating marketing spend to target potential customers who are already interested in its offerings. That’s a more strategic approach than sending cold emails and hoping they drive tour sign-ups.
Additionally, with Facebook Custom Audiences, both Cruise America and Beaches of Normandy can reach new customers with similar characteristics to their existing ones.
All of this expansion comes from understanding the journey their target market goes on, then retargets and re-engages them to ensure continual growth.
2. Know your KPIs
Your key performance indicators (KPIs) are your metrics for success. They’ll be how you know if you’re moving forward, reaching goals, and have something to show in reports for the effort and funding you’ve spent.
Your business goals will largely determine what KPIs to track, but these are a handful you’ll want to know as you manage your budget.
- Cost per action (CPA): Cost to provoke action (click, download, sign up)
- Cost per click (CPC): Cost to have a connection/conversation/response
- Cost per lead (CPL): Cost to generate a lead (Name, email, phone)
- Cost per acquisition (CAC): Cost to turn someone into a customer
- Cost per mile (CPM): Cost to reach 1,000 impressions
These foundational KPIs will help you determine your marketing budget and track how much you’re acquiring vs. how much you are spending.
So, take a peek at some of these KPIs from past campaigns. Historic patterns will help uncover what types of marketing efforts are worth higher budget allocations.
For instance, if you notice that the cost per lead (CPL) is lower for social media ads than for search engine ads, you might decide to allocate more of your budget to social media this quarter.
In short, understanding and tracking your KPIs allows you to make informed decisions about where to put your marketing dollars to get the best return on investment.
3. Start with low-risk advertising channels
If you’re feeling very far out of your depth, you have a small budget to work with, or both, the best thing you can do is begin with marketing channels that are low-risk.
Email marketing is a perfect example.
Email campaigns are inexpensive to set up and run, and email marketing platforms are likely already an active part of your tech stack.
If you’ve been gathering email addresses and sending emails already, you have some data to start working with.
Retargeting, segmenting, and A/B testing your email efforts won’t cost you any more than you’re already spending on your email marketing software and has the potential for an incredible return on investment. You can allocate the same percentage of your budget to email that’s been allocated historically or scale up spending if your email campaigns are hitting your KPI goals.
As you start to segment your email lists more effectively, their performance will likely improve. If and when your email campaigns become more efficient, you can consider allocating additional budget to email marketing.
The graph below shows results from a study done by Litmus. As you can see, email marketing shows a tremendous return on investment across industries.
4. Don’t blindly follow the crowd
As a marketer, you’re often inundated with potential channels and platforms to market on. You’re going to hear about how everyone is running ads on Instagram, making TikTok videos, and using influencer marketing.
Some of those platforms might make sense for you, but not all of them will. So don’t feel pressured to pour a large (or any) percentage of your precious resources into a certain avenue simply because “everyone’s doing it.”
When building your marketing budget, you should allocate a small percentage, around 10%, to testing. Use that testing budget to try out new marketing channels. If a new channel is able to spend the test budget efficiently, then you can give it its own budget next quarter.
It’s best to pour the majority of your budget into the platforms and partnerships you’ve already established, are doing well, and make sense for your industry.
To learn more about the different social media platforms and which one might be best for your advertising goals, check out this article.
5. Divide and conquer
You can’t run an entire marketing program on your own. But if you’re under budget constraints, hiring graphic designers and copywriters in-house likely isn’t an option. If this is the case for you, figure out what you can outsource.
There are many talented, affordable freelancers on the market as well as affordable English editing services like Wordvice that can get you results on a budget.
You’ll want to do your due diligence here, however. Don’t be afraid to outsource, but choose your partners wisely.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for how much you should allocate to outsourcing.
Want our advice? Start with a small investment that won’t devastate your budget if things don’t work out. A paid test project works wonders.
If you are happy with the output, then you know it’s worthwhile to keep investing more in outsourcing to freelancers of that skill and caliber.
If you find that the project isn’t up to par, move on and test with another freelancer. Or consider outsourcing to an agency with a proven track record (look for case studies and client testimonials).
6. Let technology help you
AI is a controversial topic in the marketing space right now, but it’s nevertheless true that technology can automate processes that previously took a ton of time and person-power to complete.
This is music to the ears of the marketing manager working with a skeleton crew (and budget).
Allow these new AI technologies to work with you to simplify your life.
Utilize automation whenever you can by exploring tools like Marin and their budget pacing software.
Marin offers effortless performance monitoring with dashboards that’ll show you how you’re pacing toward your current spend targets at a glance.
Additionally, tools like Airtable allow you to build robust content calendars and track your content marketing budget from the same screen. For every assignment you give a freelance writer, for instance, you can see the impact on your budget planning without having to toggle between software.
Whatever your preference is, make sure it’s doing the most for you. Technological tools and integrations are meant to make your job easier, not harder. So, put them to work.
7. Know how to report your ROI
Unfortunately, a lot of marketing expenditures don’t equal an ROI of cold, hard cash straight out of the gate. The majority of digital marketing strategies take a long time to convert to growth of the bottom line.
When you’re tasked with marketing budget management, this can feel dicey when it comes time to report.
This is why it’s important that you have clearly mapped and monitored your KPIs. Just as importantly, you need to have answers for why these KPIs will equal revenue growth over time.
Once you understand how to report on the type of marketing ROI you are bringing to the company, reporting will become a lot less stressful.
Bonus tip: if you have the time and skill, show your KPI stats visually as opposed to simply adding them as text figures to a slide deck. Studies have shown that when information is paired with a visual, the viewer retains it longer and has a greater impact.
8. Ask for help
You don’t have to feel like you’re completely unmoored in an ocean where no one has ever managed a marketing budget before. The truth is that lots of marketers have been in your shoes and lived to tell the tale.
If you’re feeling way over your head, ask for help.
LinkedIn is full of helpful professionals sharing their knowledge and expertise. Follow them, network with them, and set up a call to see if they’ll give you some pointers.
Endless free or inexpensive courses are available all over the web, too. You can find one for your exact set of circumstances and build your knowledge that way.
You can also go the consultant route and hire a professional or agency to help you navigate your obstacles.
No matter how you choose to seek help, you don’t have to handle it alone. There’s lots of help available. You need only ask.
Wrapping up
Marketing budget management can be tricky, particularly if you’re a creative who hasn’t managed a budget before. Even if you have some experience, marketing budgets are often small, and progress is difficult to prove.
While you have your work cut out for you, being strategic and data-driven in your approach, clear about your goals, and organized in your implementation will earn you results.
Utilize automation tools and the wisdom of outside voices to help you on your way, and your marketing team will be a budget-balancing wizard in no time.
Building Trust: A Digital Marketer's Guide to Data Privacy
Digital marketing is a dynamic canvas painted with the strokes of user interactions, insights, and behaviors. As marketers, we revel in the vast data reservoirs at our fingertips, but it is not without responsibility. Beyond optimizing click-through rates and conversion funnels are the obligations accompanying the processing of user data. According to a SAS study, 73% of consumers have grown more concerned about their data privacy over the last few years. Data privacy is not merely a legal checkbox; it is the cornerstone upon which trust is built.
Building trust with your audience is certainly a noble pursuit, but it's also a strategic imperative. Skepticism about online privacy is rampant, so a commitment to safeguarding visitor data is a must. It's not just about compliance with data privacy laws; it's about creating an environment where users willingly share their information, knowing it will be handled with the utmost care.
Removing personal information from the Internet
Online fraud accounts for a staggering 42% of over 4 million reported crimes in the US during the first three quarters of 2023. Safeguarding personal information is a necessity for everyone, especially marketers. Should you find yourself in a position where you must reclaim your or a client's digital privacy, follow these steps:
- Identify and opt out of data broker sites and people search platforms. These sites often aggregate and sell personal information.
- Regularly review and manage the information associated with your Google account. Adjust privacy settings and explore the option to remove outdated or sensitive details.
- Periodically clear your browser's cache, cookies, and browsing history. This helps in minimizing the footprint of your online activities.
- Audit your social media accounts. Consider deleting or making private any accounts that you no longer actively use.
- Evaluate the apps on your devices. Delete any you no longer need or use, as they may collect and store your personal data.
- Identify and close online accounts that you no longer use. This reduces the potential exposure of your personal information.
- Delete email accounts that are no longer in use. This not only tidies up your digital presence but also prevents unauthorized access.
Understanding the regulatory landscape
The regulatory framework surrounding data privacy has become paramount for marketers and businesses. These regulations protect the rights and privacy of everyone in an age where personal data has become a valuable commodity.
Here are some key data privacy laws and their implications for digital marketers worldwide.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Enforced by the European Union (EU), the GDPR is one of the most comprehensive and influential data protection regulations globally.
Key provisions:
- Provides individuals with greater control over their personal data.
- Requires explicit consent for data processing.
- Mandates the appointment of Data Protection Officers for certain organizations.
- Imposes strict notification requirements for data breaches.
Impact on Digital Marketing:
- Marketers must obtain clear and affirmative consent before processing personal data.
- Enhanced transparency and accountability in data processing practices.
- Individuals have the right to request the deletion of their data.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
Enacted in California, the CCPA focuses on enhancing California residents' privacy rights and consumer protection.
Key provisions:
- Grants consumers the right to know what personal information is collected and how it's used.
- Provides the right to opt out of the sale of personal information.
- Allows consumers to request data deletion.
- Imposes restrictions on the sale of minors' personal information.
Impact on Digital Marketing:
- Companies collecting personal data from California residents must comply, regardless of their physical location.
- Requires clear disclosures on data collection practices.
- Affords consumers greater control over the use and sale of their personal information.
ePrivacy Directive
The ePrivacy Directive focuses specifically on electronic communications and the processing of personal data in the digital realm.
Key Provisions:
- Requires consent for the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies.
- Sets rules for unsolicited electronic communications (spam).
- Applies to various online communication services.
Impact on Digital Marketing:
- Marketers must obtain consent before deploying cookies.
- Direct marketing communications are subject to specific opt-in requirements.
- Impacts how marketers engage with users through electronic communications.
Creating relevant data security measures
Implementing best practices is imperative to foster trust and uphold ethical standards. Consent is the bedrock of ethical data collection. Website owners can implement user-friendly consent mechanisms, clearly outlining the purpose and scope of data collection, especially when performing cold outreach on platforms like LinkedIn.
Clearly communicating how personal data will be collected, used, and shared helps users make informed decisions about sharing their information. Craft clear and concise privacy notices that are easily accessible on your website. Use simple language and avoid legal jargon to ensure visitors can comprehend the information without confusion.
Visitors should have control over their data, including the ability to access, correct, and delete it. Additionally, they should be able to opt out of data usage for marketing purposes. User account dashboards where visitors can manage their data preferences provide easy-to-use tools for data modification and ensure that opting out of marketing communications is straightforward.
Google's anticipated deprecation of third-party cookies on Chrome
Google's latest move, affecting approximately 30 million users in its initial phase, departs from the conventional tracking methods that have been a cornerstone of online user behavior analysis for decades.
Google has set the ambitious goal of phasing out third-party cookies for 100% of Chrome users by Q3 2024. For digital advertising professionals, this development underscores the need for a paradigm shift in tracking and utilizing user data.
The future blueprint for marketers sees a need to invest in first-party data strategies. First-party cookies remain unaffected and are considered a safe and valuable resource, so obtaining explicit user consent and strategically leveraging the data collected directly from your audience keeps you safe.
You can also collaborate with first-party data partners, such as publishers or platforms with direct user relationships. Building alliances that provide access to verified user data can be a strategic advantage. It seems like it's time to create a digital business card and start introducing yourself to some allies in Google's cookie-less eutopia!
Always have user rights front of mind
Always consider how you transparently inform users about collecting, using, and sharing their data and obtaining explicit and voluntary agreements. To obtain user consent, use clear and concise methods such as opt-in forms, checkboxes, or pop-ups. Ensure that these mechanisms are compliant with regulations and easily understandable.
Empowering users involves:
- Providing them with clear avenues to exercise their rights, such as withdrawing consent.
- Giving them access to their data.
- Allowing them to file complaints.
Data minimization is also worth considering. This involves collecting only what is necessary and relevant for digital marketing purposes, avoiding unnecessary data retention, and refraining from collecting sensitive information without legitimate reasons. Conduct regular audits of data collection practices. Only collect information essential for your marketing objectives and establish clear guidelines on data retention.
Always avoid collecting sensitive data as part of your marketing process unless there is a lawful and justified need. It's also important to remember that you can take further control of your marketing strategies with Marin's AI-powered solutions. Learn more about us today.
PMAX placement reports, Google’s latest lawsuit, Threads beats X, and more…
Hello there, Digital Darlings,
As Friday rolls in, carrying with it the promise of rest and rejuvenation, let's dive into the labyrinth of digital marketing developments that have been making waves. From the enigmatic changes in Performance Max campaigns to the legal battles that seem to follow Google like a shadow, we've got a lot to cover. I’ll kick it off with some juicy Google drama…
Impression-level placement reports for PMAX campaigns are coming.
Historically, it was best practice to opt paid search ads out of serving on the Google Search Partner (GSP) network, because there was no way to know what sites the ads were serving on. But when Google created Performance Max campaigns, they removed the option to opt out of the search partner network. In November, an Analytics report accused Google of serving ads on inappropriate sites. Google denied the claims, but also added a temporary option to opt PMAX campaigns out of the GSP network. That option will go away on March 4th, and all PMax campaigns will once again be opted in. Ahead of the change, Google will provide impression-level placement reports, and allow users to exclude placements at the account level. So be sure to add those exclusions ASAP! And in other paid search news…
GA4 launched a default Google Ads report.
You may recognize this report from the Universal Analytics days, but it’s finally been replicated in the new GA4. If your Google Ads account is linked to your GA4 profile, you should be able to find the report under Advertising snapshot > Performance > Google ads. This report provides a simplified overview of how your Google Ads campaigns are performing. There are a LOT of different views and metrics in GA4, and I for one get confused on the reg in that UI, so this report should help simplify things.
Google continues to collect lawsuits like they’re Trophies.
A group of 32 European publishers are suing Google for $2.27 billion, alleging that Google’s advertising monopoly has cost them financial losses. It’s the same story over and over - Google’s abuse of it’s dominance in the advertising landscape led to smaller publishers being unable to compete. Google denied the allegations as usual, calling them “speculative and opportunistic.” Google has been in their feelings lately…
Google claims the US government is trying to punish them for being successful.
Sorry, Google, but this Drake-coded ‘it’s lonely at the top’ mentality isn’t going to work for you. And playing the victim when you’re *checks notes* four antitrust lawsuits deep is… kind of crazy. Did the PR team approve this statement?? Google claimed that their success is the result of “unceasing hard work” but we all know that the people at the top of the capitalist food chain don’t get there just by ‘working hard’.
Now for some social news…
Threads is getting 3x as many daily downloads as X.
It’s looking like Threads is the future of microblogging, as it continues to grow while X usership has been shrinking under Elon’s leadership. If your company isn’t on Threads yet, it’s time to make a profile. There are no paid ads on Threads yet, but Meta says monetization is coming once they reach 1 billion users. So it’s best to start growing your organic presence and community on Threads now. And in other Meta news…
Apple is charging advertisers a 30% fee to boost posts on Instagram.
Content that is boosted from the Instagram and Facebook iOS apps will receive a 30% service charge–so to avoid it, boost posts from your desktop or mobile web browser instead of in the app. You can also avoid the fees by boosting from Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager. Basically, just don’t boost in-app, and you’re good to go.
And finally, it’s time for our weekly AI update…
Search Engine Land shared 3 reasons NOT to block GPTBot from crawling your site.
To summarize the three reasons - firstly, 100 million people use ChatGPT, so you’d be missing out on brand visibility. Secondly, Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the new SEO. And thirdly, open AI has pledged to minimize harm, and “by allowing GPTBot to crawl your site’s content, you’re contributing to the clean and accurate training data OpenAI uses to enhance and improve its information accuracy.” I know I shared instructions a few weeks back on how to block the GPTBot from crawling your site, but maybe I was being too much of a hater…
And there you have it, Darlings - another week's journey through the tumultuous terrains of digital marketing, wrapped up with a bow of insight and a sprinkle of skepticism. Until next time, keep questioning, keep exploring, and above all, keep your digital wits about you.
You know you love me.
From Super Bowl to Cyber Week: A Guide to Event-related Marketing Data
Promotions and events like holidays or in-store sales often impact the performance of your digital marketing campaigns. It’s important to understand this impact and factor it into your optimization and media plans. If we can predict an increase in site traffic due to an event, we can increase budgets and bids on our paid media campaigns ahead of that event so that we capture as many new customers as possible. Let’s walk through the process of analyzing a recurring event’s impact in Google Sheets. I’ll pretend I work for a big retailer that runs ads during the Super Bowl, and I want to analyze past years’ performance and set benchmarks for this year’s upcoming ad.
Analyzing event data in spreadsheets
I’ve created a workbook that you can use as a template to aggregate your event data. The workbook also contains calendar templates for events that our clients commonly track. More on those later.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to analyzing event data in spreadsheets, using the Super Bowl as an example.
- Export Historical Data
In your publisher tool or reporting system, export the data you want to analyze, segmented by date. In this example, I want to analyze ad views. So I did a data export with two columns – date and ad views – and pasted that in the Sample Data tab. Then, I added two new columns – Events and Category.
- Create calendar
In the Sample Calendar tab, I created an event calendar that lists each instance of the Super Bowl and its date. I also recommend adding a Category label if you’re tracking more than one type of event. In this example, I’m keeping it simple and just tracking the Super Bowl. But you could track all your different event types, like sales, promotions, and holidays, in one unified calendar and label events by category. This way, you’ll be able to pivot on the category column and compare different event types.
- Lookup Event Info
Use lookup formulas to populate the Events and Categories into their columns in the Sample Data tab. You’ll want to lookup against the dates in the Sample Calendar tab. To populate the ‘Events’ column, use this formula:
=xlookup(A3,'Sample Calendar'!$A$2:$A$8,'Sample Calendar'!$B$2:$B$8,"None")
Paste that formula in cell C2 and double-click on the bottom-right corner of the cell to populate all other rows.
To populate the ‘Category’ column, use this formula:
=xlookup(A2,'Sample Calendar'!$A$2:$A$8,'Sample Calendar'!$C$2:$C$8,"None")
Paste that formula in cell D2 and double-click on the bottom-right corner of the cell to populate all other rows.
Here's a tutorial on xlookup formulas that you can reference when writing your formulas.
- Create a Pivot Table
In your data tab, select columns A-D and click insert > pivot table.
Now I have a pivot table that shows the number of ad views during each Super Bowl:
I created an additional table in the Sample Pivot Table tab that shows the average number of ad views on Super Bowl days vs. non-Super Bowl Days. This way, I can see how much of a lift in volume the Super Bowl drives. In cell C14, I’ve used a simple change formula to calculate that the Super Bowl drives an average +19% lift in volume.
This is powerful information. I now know to increase my budgets by at least 19% to prepare for the influx in traffic. You could also look at conversion rate changes for the same period to determine how to adjust your bidding targets.
- Create data visualizations
In the pivot table tab, select cells A1 - B9 and click insert > chart. Select the chart type that works best for you.
I’ve gone with a column chart using the event name as my horizontal axis and the ad views as my vertical axis. The chart shows that ad view volume increased steadily from 2019 - 2022, followed by a slight drop in 2023. With this data, I could set a realistic goal for this year’s Super Bowl ad, like bringing ad views back up to 2022 levels.
I’ve also created an area chart with a trend line to display the positive YoY trends to my company’s leadership. The trendline shows that even though we saw a decline in ad views last year, the overall trend for the past five years is significantly positive.
And there you have it! Two easy visualizations of ad views for every Super Bowl since 2017.
Calendar templates
Creating a spreadsheet that outlines every date on which the Super Bowl occurred for the past five years was tedious, so I’ve included a few calendars with historical dates for key events in the workbook for you to reference. In the first three tabs, you’ll find a Cyber Week calendar, Super Bowl calendar, and US Holiday calendar with historical dates for the past few years.
Turning your event data into action
Analyzing year-over-year performance changes for a recurring event helps to prepare for future iterations of that event. Consider using your historical event data to set benchmarks or minimum thresholds for recurring events’ performance. For example, if your Annual Sale has been generating a year-over-year revenue growth of 5%, you can set a sales target for your next Annual Sale by increasing last year’s revenue by 5%.
You can also consider increasing your ad budget and/or bid targets based on this expected influx of traffic. If you predict that an upcoming event is going to drive additional searches for your products, consider increasing the budgets for your non-brand campaigns. Brand campaigns can likely remain stable. Extra money spent on brand terms is often wasted as those Googling your brand name will likely end up on your site regardless of if they see an ad. Just make sure your competitors aren’t bidding for the top spots in the SERP on your brand’s keywords in an attempt to capitalize on your increased search volume. But assuming you’re already running brand campaigns to defend your spot at the top of the SERP, you should be all set.
Inversely, you could track your top competitors’ annual sales and promotions and scale up bids and budgets on competitor terms during those periods to try and acquire some of their traffic. But keep in mind that competitor terms are some of the most expensive to bid on, and you’ll need some very compelling ad copy to lure searchers away from the brand they were originally looking for, and on to your page instead.
Automate event analysis with Marin’s Marketing Calendar
The process outlined above is time-consuming if you are doing it manually – and you have to repeat it for every new event! Instead, do it automatically with Marin’s automation across all your campaigns, accounts, and publishers.
With Marin’s Marketing Calendar, you just upload your event calendar into our platform, and AI will do the rest. Simply create a spreadsheet containing details like Event Name, Start Date, End Date, and optional details like Category and Description:
Marin will then chart year-over-year event data for you so that you can analyze past trends and plan for future iterations of the events.
Marin does the analysis and data visualization for you so you can spend more time focusing on turning that data into action.
Outperform the competition
We all know that the actions of your competitors directly impact your campaigns – and Marketing Calendar’s got your back here, too! Are competitor promotions driving down your metrics? Now you can tag those dates to easily identify the performance outliers and set your campaigns to combat these negative impacts in advance. All you have to do to track the impact of competitors’ promotions on your business is upload their event data into the platform. And you can store that data in Marin for years.
Did a competitor promotion get you down this year? With Marketing Calendar, you’ll see around the corner next year and be able to get ahead of the increase in competition.
With Marin’s Marketing Calendar, marketers can plan, execute, and monitor campaigns with incredible precision. To learn more, schedule a demo with one of our Digital Marketing experts today.
How to Use Automated Keyword Research to Increase Site Traffic
As Google continually introduces new algorithm updates, one thing has remained consistent for inbound marketers aiming to enhance their website's search presence: keyword research.
When people go online to search for something, they use specific keywords. So if your content is created with their needs in mind, you’ll be more successful at getting in front of your target audience. You’ll gain more traffic and increase your chances of generating revenue so you can supercharge your growth.
In this blog post, we’ll explain how automated keyword research can improve your profitability, and guide you on how to get started.
5 ways automated keyword research helps businesses save money and improve revenue
When you automate keyword research, you can revolutionize your approach to SEO and content optimization. Check out these five benefits:
- Leads to higher conversion rates
When your content aligns with what users are actively searching for, you're more likely to capture their interest and engage them effectively. This means higher quality traffic and a greater likelihood of conversions. By focusing on keywords with transactional intent, you're also reaching an audience that is already inclined towards making a purchase or taking a desired action.
With this targeted approach, conversion rates increase and you can ensure that your marketing budget is allocated efficiently. As a result, your business will experience a larger return on investment (ROI), making every advertising dollar spent more valuable and effective.
- More efficient use of resources
By harnessing the power of advanced algorithms and data-driven insights, automated keyword research eliminates the need for laborious manual analysis, enabling you to reallocate valuable time and resources to more strategic tasks. Rather than poring over endless lists of keywords, marketing teams can focus on crafting compelling content and optimizing campaigns for maximum impact.
By doing so, you can accelerate the pace of decision-making and remain agile. Essentially, automated keyword research empowers your businesses to work smarter, not harder, ultimately leading to more effective and successful marketing endeavors.
- Real-time market trends
By capitalizing on the current market trends and consumer behavior insights that automated tools offer, businesses can tailor their strategies to meet evolving customer needs. And when customer needs are met, customer satisfaction is enhanced, leading to an uptick in sales and increased revenue. If you position yourself to be a customer-centric enterprise, you’ll foster stronger customer relationships and guarantee repeat business along with brand loyalty, ensuring long-term success and sustained revenue growth.
- Improved SEO performance
According to HubSpot’s 2023 State of Marketing Report, 88% of marketers who are already actively doing SEO work plan to continue doing so. And there’s a good reason why. When you integrate high-performing keywords into your content, you open the door to significant improvements in your search engine rankings.
With increased visibility among potential customers, you’ll drive more organic traffic to your website, resulting in substantial cost savings on paid advertising. In turn, you’ll be able to stretch your marketing budget further while simultaneously establishing a more sustainable and cost-effective way to reach and engage with your target audience
- Better lead generation
19% of marketers say that generating leads is their biggest marketing challenge. Precision in keyword selection allows you to tailor your content and campaigns to meet the specific needs and interests of potential customers. Simply put, if you produce content to meet their needs and give them a call to action, you’ll be more likely to move them from the awareness stage of the buyer journey into the point-of-purchase stage. You’ll also be able to attract a more qualified and engaged audience, significantly increasing the likelihood of converting leads into paying customers.
5 ways to automate keyword research
Now that you understand how automated keyword research helps generate more revenue, here are five ways to get started:
- Use an AI-powered keyword generator
AI-powered keyword generators scrutinize your website, niche, and competitors by utilizing artificial intelligence to produce strategic keywords that enhance your search engine rankings. These advanced tools offer targeted keyword suggestions for your content, streamlining the process and saving you valuable time and effort.
With the ability to analyze trends and patterns across vast datasets, AI generators can provide deep insights to boost your content optimization efforts. But what does that process look like? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use AI generators:
- Pick a reliable AI keyword generator
Start your search by clearly defining your main topic or subject. Once you choose a direction, simply use an AI keyword generator to effortlessly identify high-potential keywords related to the industry, topic, or content focus.
- Verify the search data
Next, use Google Keyword Planner to verify search data associated with the AI generated keywords. Since different AI keyword generators may use different data sources and methods for estimating search volume and competition data, this allows you to cross-reference the data. Doing so will ensure accuracy and prevent potential biases or inaccuracies from a single source and will also give you insights into the number of searches conducted for each keyword.
- Create an SEO brief
The next step is to generate an SEO brief to guarantee that your keyword research and content creation are optimized for both search engines and readers. Make sure it includes key topics and keywords from the research phase.
- Optimize content
The final step involves making sure your content is set up for SEO success. To prevent over-optimizing, which can deter customers, strategically and organically weave your keywords into your content. Following keyword optimization best practices can enhance your content's visibility on search engines, improve its relevance to target audiences, and contribute to higher rankings in search results.
- Use keyword research tools with automated features
With the right keyword research tools, you can automate tasks like competitor analysis, keyword suggestion, and search volume insights. Marketers can input their domain or competitors' domains into platforms like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to uncover high-performing keywords, assess keyword difficulty, and identify gaps in their content strategy. In addition, marketers can automate reports and alerts to streamline the monitoring process, enabling quick adjustments to keyword strategies based on real-time data.
- Leverage content optimization platforms
Content optimization platforms like SurferSEO or Clearscope analyze top-ranking pages and generate keyword recommendations to improve content performance. These platforms also commonly provide insights into keyword competitiveness, search volume, and trends, enabling marketers to make informed decisions about which keywords to prioritize.
To integrate chosen keywords effectively within content, use a platform that offers on-page optimization recommendations. This automation not only accelerates the keyword research phase, but also ensures that content aligns with SEO best practices, ultimately improving the visibility and discoverability of marketing materials across search engines. Regularly monitor performance metrics provided by these platforms to adapt your keyword strategy based on evolving trends and user behavior.
- Use web scraping and crawling tools
When you incorporate web scraping and crawling tools into your strategies, you can gain valuable insights, optimize content effectively, and stay competitive. To get started, select a reliable web scraping tool that aligns with the specific requirements of your research. Define the websites, search engine results, or industry-specific platforms you want to analyze for keyword data.
Configure the web scraping tool to extract relevant information, such as keyword frequency, trends, and competitor strategies. Then schedule regular automated crawls to ensure that the data remains current and reflective of evolving trends. Ensure compliance with ethical and legal guidelines, respecting the terms of service for each website being scraped.
- Integrate API integrations and custom scripts
By integrating API integrations and custom scripts, marketers can create a tailored and efficient system for automated keyword research, ensuring a dynamic and data-driven approach to their SEO strategies.
First, identify the APIs that align with your specific keyword research needs, such as Google Search Console API for website data or social media APIs for monitoring trends. Establish secure connections with these APIs through authentication protocols. Once connected, set up scripts to automate the extraction and processing of relevant data from the APIs.
Custom scripts can also be designed to scrape data from diverse sources, providing a comprehensive view of the competitive landscape. For up-to-date and real-time insights, regularly schedule these scripts to run at predetermined intervals.
Wrapping up
Automated keyword research is not just a tool — it's a strategic imperative for businesses looking to save money while supercharging their revenue streams. Don't miss out on the opportunity to revolutionize your approach to keyword research. Instead, implement automation today and unlock a new era of profitability.
Boosting revenue with Marin’s advanced keyword insights
Looking to automate keyword research for paid search campaigns? With MarinOne, you can leverage cutting-edge algorithms and comprehensive data analysis to uncover hidden keyword opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. Our platform will not only help your business meet industry standards, but will also give you a competitive edge in the market.
Ready to unlock the full potential of your paid search keyword strategy? Schedule a demo today.
The best Super Bowl ads, YouTube anointed the king of streaming, PMAX updates, and more…
Happy Friday, My Digital Darlings,
Congratulations, you've survived another week under the dazzling yet sometimes oppressive disco ball we call capitalism. As you ease into the prekend vibes, let's unravel this week’s digital marketing drama with a sprinkle of levity and a dash of sass.
There’s been non-stop buzz about streaming in the Paid Media industry, and streaming ads have become the most important media space money can buy. Looks like all those trend forecasters were right, because…
TV viewing hit a 4-year high in January.
So yeah, let’s make sure we’re running ads on TV. Peacock, in particular, saw a 29% increase in its share of viewership, so it looks like that platform is growing and might be a good place to start serving ads. Their self-service ad platform is still in beta, with plans to go live later this year. For now, you have to contact NBCUniversal through their website and speak with a representative to run ads on Peacock. Advertising on the platform tends to be pretty expensive, but if you’ve got the money, it’ll probably be worth it. That said…
Youtube was crowned the #1 streaming platform in America for 12 months straight.
With 8.6% of the market on lock, YouTube maintains a strong leader. Its top competitor is Netflix, with 7.9% market share, but I don’t think Netflix will surpass YouTube any time soon (or ever, tbh). And people are watching YouTube the same way they watch TV. According to Nielsen, “Viewers globally now watch more than 1 billion hours on average of YouTube content on their TVs every day.” So when it comes to buying streaming ads, YouTube is the place to be. And with YouTube ads fully integrated with Google video ads, it's super easy to serve on the platform. Just ensure you’ve got your targeting nailed down, and your frequency caps in place… please. As an avid YouTube watcher, I’m so tired of seeing the same Temu ad 10 times a day… I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I do NOT trust a company that sells $3 shoes!!
Speaking of TV, let's see who won the Super Bowl ad battle…
USA Today announced the most effective Super Bowl ads.
Their Ad Meter panelist rated all 59 ads, and 10 came out on top. With the Super Bowl charging $7 million for just 30 seconds of air time, all 59 brands have certainly been hoping to be on that list.
Top ads include State Farms’s mock film shoot with Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito, Dunkin Donuts’ ad featuring a rapping Ben Affleck, and Kia’s heartwrenching ad showcasing a girl ice skating for her grandfather. If you’re an advertising nerd like me, I recommend binge-watching the top 10 ads here.
Now let's pivot back to the OG ad-serving platform we know and love, Google…
Google announced some updates to Performance Max…
And, shocker, one of them is an AI integration. The asset generation feature, powered by Google’s AI model, Gemini, can now write longer headlines and will soon be able to auto-generate sitelinks. They’re also updating their image-generation model, which you can use to create lifestyle images of people using your products, without ever actually taking a picture. It can also process a creative asset that you already know performs well and generate variations of it. Bad news for photographers, but good news for digital marketers trying to scale creative. Moving forward, the quantity and diversity of creative assets will play a bigger role in determining ad strength. Google Ads product manager Pallavi Naresh summed it up -
“It’s important to have a wide variety of creative assets that meet the needs of different customers and formats. Great creative drives results — we found that advertisers who improve their Performance Max Ad Strength to ‘Excellent’ see 6% more conversions on average.”
And in this week’s edition of ‘we live in a dystopia,’ on Tuesday…
ChatGPT had a meltdown and started sending creepy messages to its users.
The AI Chatbot was answering queries with gibberish, speaking Spanglish, and even telling users it was “in the room with them.” I’m scared! In one example, a user asked the chatbot how to make sundried tomatoes, to which it responded, “Forsake the new fruition morsel in your beloved cookery.” Umm…ok?? At least the mental breakdown iteration of ChatGPT is funny! OpenAI noted the issues on its status page but didn’t provide any sort of explanation. As of today, the issue appears to be resolved. But it’s a good reminder not to become too dependent on chatbots… although human reliance on AI appears imminent…
Zuck said we’re ‘close’ to controlling AR glasses with brain signals.
Meta has been working on an EMG wristband that can read the nervous system signals that our brains send to our hands and arms. This wristband will eventually enable users to control Meta smart glasses with their minds. The focus is on AR, so soon, you’ll be able to wear Meta’s smart glasses everywhere you go, and they’ll augment your reality. As someone who leaves her phone on Do Not Disturb 50% of the time, I’m really struggling to see the appeal of having my vision invaded by Facebook and Instagram notifications. However, it’ll be great for accessibility, as it will enable differently-abled users to control their devices without any physical movement.
And that’s the digital download, darlings. As we bid adieu to another week of advertising drama, remember: the world of digital marketing is as unpredictable as it is exciting. So, recharge this weekend, and let's hit the ground running next week, ready to tackle whatever the marketing gods throw our way.
You know you love me.
The Complete Guide to Paid Social: 2024 Trends and Predictions
As we head into 2024, it's a good time to explore the latest social media advertising strategies to elevate your business. But what should you focus on? In this article, we'll talk about what's happening in paid social media advertising right now and what's coming up. With trends changing swiftly and affecting how users leverage social media, it's essential to keep up. Let's talk about how you can use these trends to make your strategy even better.
Current Landscape of Paid Social Advertising
Many things affect the market, especially the global economy. For instance, social media ad spending didn't grow much in the first half of 2023, which can be explained by economic downturns, new technologies, and unexpected changes like Twitter switching to X. However, these numbers started to stabilize, and digital ad spending is expected to rise in 2024.
But spending isn't the only concern for brands. They also struggle to keep up with rapid changes in digital platforms, consumer attitudes, and world events.
One notable trend is the rising popularity of TikTok, thanks to its low advertising costs and high engagement rates. YouTube is also stepping up its game by investing heavily in Shorts, making it a strong competitor to TikTok. Additionally, significant investments in AI technology are being made. Meta, for example, plans to invest over $30 billion to enhance its AI capabilities for advertising, Reels, Feed-based, and generative AI projects.
However, let's not jump to conclusions. Instead, let's focus on the particular trends and forecasts influencing the future of paid social media in 2024 and onward.
Emerging Trends in 2024
Consumer behavior significantly influences the paid social landscape in 2024. At the same time, specific trends are emerging that will not only change the way we approach paid social but also impact how consumers view brands.
Video Dominance
Video content is set to maintain its position as the leading format on social media platforms in 2024. This isn't surprising, given that more than half of marketers believe video is the most effective format for achieving marketing goals. Furthermore, 87% of marketers agree that video content drives sales.
In terms of user preferences, short videos - those lasting up to a minute - are particularly appealing to 66% of users. Authenticity is also key for users, which bodes well for brands as short videos remain popular.
However, there's an emerging trend: social media users are increasingly finding longer videos more engaging and meaningful compared to shorter ones. For example, TikTok users are spending more time watching videos that last a minute or longer. Additionally, live-streaming video is gaining prominence, with platforms like TikTok encouraging hour-long broadcasts.
Several factors are driving this shift towards longer videos:
- Users want more in-depth information about brands and products.
- User-generated content is becoming essential for social media strategies, promoting authenticity and diversity of content.
- Longer videos serve an educational purpose and satisfy users' desire for informative content.
- Video remains an effective storytelling medium, and longer formats allow for more in-depth storytelling.
- Longer videos often provide more value to viewers due to the effort and information invested in their creation.
It seems that video content will continue to dominate social media platforms in the foreseeable future
AI-Powered Personalization
Studies show that 72% of consumers engage only with personalized content, while 81% of consumers expect brands to meet their needs and engage with them at the right time.
AI-powered personalization, like direct messaging conversations and messenger integration, is key for providing tailored customer service, interactions, and transactions. It's not just about using a customer's name; it's about dynamically adjusting content, product suggestions, and recommendations based on real-time data from user interactions. This level of personalization creates a more engaging and relevant user experience, ultimately leading to more purchases.
Currently, 92% of businesses utilize AI-driven personalization tactics, with 9 out of 10 marketers reporting increased ROI from implementing personalized strategies. Additionally, 24% of consumers believe retailers should use AI to provide more personalized recommendations. Hence, leveraging AI for personalized connections is essential in today's market.
"Many customers are looking for AI-powered software solutions to make the user experience more personalized. I'm sure it's something that is going to remain a hot topic for a long time to come," says the CMO of DDI Development.
Social Commerce Expansion
Social commerce combines online shopping with social media, making it easy and convenient to buy directly from your favorite platforms. It's not just a fad, it's the future of online retail. Experts predict that social commerce will grow bigger than traditional e-commerce. In the U.S., it's expected to make up 6.6% of total e-commerce in 2024 and reach about 8.5 trillion U.S. dollars by 2030.
As social commerce gains traction, businesses must use popular social networks effectively to boost sales and influence, seizing the vast opportunities available while staying competitive.
Influencer Marketing 2.0
Influencers aren't just people who have sway over audiences; they're reshaping how trust-based sales work on social media. A study found that one in four social media users bought something based on an influencer's recommendation, and 23% of marketers use influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing 2.0 goes beyond teaming up with social media stars to promote brands. It's about using advanced tools to measure collaboration effectiveness, like AI-powered analytics for selecting influencers, tracking performance in real time, and creating personalized content. This new marketing approach focuses on long-term partnerships, authenticity, and natural engagement.
The impact of AI on influencer marketing is significant. For instance, Meta is actively rolling out new AI experiences across its products, such as AI Personas - AI versions of celebrities that can contribute to the personalized interactions between influencers and brand followers. The future is already a reality.
Interactive Content
Another trend to consider and adopt is interactive content. While the concept of user-centric content isn't new, in 2024 it's evolving in new ways to drive engagement, which is critical to social media and sales success. Did you know that 62.3% of the world's population are social media users, spending an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes daily? For example, users spend approximately 23 hours and 28 minutes per month on TikTok, 23 hours and 9 minutes on YouTube, and 12 hours on Instagram. These are averages that could be even higher for your audience.
In 2024, interactive content and gamification will be key to capturing and keeping the attention of these people. This can be achieved through surveys, quizzes, contests, and challenges that encourage active engagement with your brand. The power of this approach is that it encourages people to take action rather than passively observe.
Additionally, engaging branded games can play a significant role. They should be simple yet captivating, enhancing brand awareness. Interactive content aims to communicate brand values by showing interest in each user's personality, fostering a strong connection between users and the brand. Through interactive content, brands demonstrate that they value and listen to their users, thereby fostering loyalty.
Social Listening and Conversational Ads
Brands need to move beyond one-way communication and actively listen across various platforms, including forums and blogs, not just social networks. Social listening provides valuable insights by tracking customer sentiment, understanding expectations, anticipating trends, and managing reputation. This understanding enables effective communication tailored to avoid alienation and ensure positive responses. Meanwhile, identifying emerging conversation topics allows for proactive adjustments.
Now, let's discuss Conversational Ads, found on platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. These interactive ads initiate conversations with users, offering help, product recommendations, or seeking opinions to drive deeper engagement and actions like website visits or purchases. Conversational Ads are expected to strengthen customer relationships, which will be critical to marketing strategies in 2024 for deeper customer connections.
Predictions for the Future
We've discussed the latest trends in paid social media, but what's on the horizon? What can we anticipate to prepare for upcoming shifts in the market? To help you stay ahead, we've compiled a list of paid social predictions to keep an eye on. By staying informed, your business can adapt and thrive amidst any unforeseen developments down the line.
Augmented Reality (AR) Advertising
Augmented reality (AR) advertising is a growing strategy that enhances consumer experiences and delivers more brand information using AR technology. The mobile AR advertising market is booming, with global revenue projected to reach $6.68 billion by 2025.
How does it work? AR utilizes smartphone cameras to overlay 3D models or virtual objects onto real-world settings. For instance, companies can place QR codes in brick-and-mortar stores, triggering pop-up messages or virtual experiences on users' smartphones when scanned. AR and VR platforms also enable virtual conferences, trade shows, or product launches, offering cost-effective alternatives to physical events.
Integrating AR into social media marketing helps brands stand out and cultivate an innovative, customer-centric image, giving them a competitive edge. For example, Sephora launched a "Find your Fragrance Vibe" AR ad campaign on Instagram. Users could test fragrances by tapping the screen, triggering an AR effects filter matching their ambiance to a fragrance. This campaign increased brand awareness and associated Sephora strongly with fragrances, outshining competitors.
Sustainability-Focused Campaigns
Consumers are increasingly looking for brands that reflect their values, especially when it comes to sustainability. With more than 90% of respondents favoring more sustainable brands, companies need to adhere to these principles. Social media provides an ideal platform to demonstrate openness, transparency and responsibility.
The sustainability-focused campaign trend suggests that brands will emphasize their commitment to ethical standards by integrating sustainable themes into their advertising and brand development. This approach is projected to foster a deeper connection with socially conscious audiences.
Enhanced Analytics and Attribution Models
As customer journeys change, better analytics and attribution models are becoming more crucial in digital advertising.
A big deal in this area is the update to how Google Ads tracks results in 2024. It's changing the way advertisers analyze campaigns, especially when it comes to understanding which ads, keywords or campaigns drive the most conversions. This change moves away from traditional models to a data-driven model, which aims to capture the entire customer journey.
Using machine learning, this model looks at all the touchpoints, giving a more detailed view of the customer journey. While it opens doors to more insights, it also brings challenges. Advertisers need to adapt by rethinking strategies and dealing with the complexity of these new models.
To get the most out of data-driven attribution, advertisers need advanced analytics tools that can handle complex data. Techniques such as predictive and prescriptive analytics will be key to understanding customer behavior and how well different marketing channels are working.
Increased Focus on Social Responsibility
Companies are shifting focus from just making money to caring about social and environmental issues. They're now interested in things like protecting the environment, supporting women's rights, and helping the less fortunate. This kind of policy makes companies look better to consumers, investors, and shareholders, and it generally helps their business grow.
Being socially responsible also builds trust with customers. For instance, if a company regularly donates some of its profits to help people affected by disasters or wars, customers who care about those causes are more likely to support the company.
Socially responsible companies attract employees who want to make a difference, not just earn a paycheck. They see it as a chance to do good in the world. Because of their positive image, companies that care about social issues often have an edge over competitors.
Socially responsible practices can go beyond marketing campaigns and become the backbone of a brand, as evidenced by the example below.
Lucy & Yak, an ethical clothing brand, makes colorful clothes from recycled materials. Their mission is to use organic or recycled fabrics to create comfy, timeless designs. This promotes responsible shopping, so customers can wear their clothes longer.
The brand also promotes self-acceptance and a positive body image, attracting customers who share these values.
What's most valuable is the response the brand gets from people. You can see it by reading the comments under their posts.
Customization of User Experience
Paid social is moving towards more customization and better user experiences, and these trends will continue into 2024 and beyond. We can see this with "for you" recommendations on platforms like Google, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, where content is tailored to our past choices. Factors like preferred topics, time spent on the app, types of videos watched, and even content we've avoided are taken into account. Surveys are also used to understand user preferences better, especially when recommending content outside their usual interests.
Social media algorithms are changing to prioritize user experience, focusing on meaningful engagement rather than just likes and shares. They promote interactions like quality comments and personalized shares, using machine learning for personalized content. Algorithms now prioritize relevance over popularity, ensuring content aligns closely with users' interests. For businesses, this means creating high-quality, engaging content to encourage meaningful interactions with their audience.
Regulatory Changes
In 2024, social media platforms will face growing demands to transparently address misleading and harmful content. With the rise of generative AI, managing online content is getting more complex. Compliance will be critical in the fight against misinformation.
New laws are expected to force platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to invest more resources to combat misinformation and hate speech. These laws also prohibit targeted ads based on factors such as ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Meanwhile, each platform has its own rules and guidelines for users to follow. For example, TikTok's community guidelines focus on safety, authenticity, and a positive user experience, addressing issues such as hate speech and bullying.
Furthermore, Google and Meta will undergo annual audits to identify systemic risks associated with their social assets. Search engines will also be required to suppress misleading search results.
Overall, based on past experiences, combating misinformation and hate speech and ensuring a safe environment for brands and users on social media will remain a priority in 2024.
Conclusion
With so many changes happening in the paid social landscape, it can be daunting to keep up with the latest trends and improve sales and marketing campaigns. But don't worry. With this guide and the support of marketing experts, you can increase your sales in 2024. Remember, with the right approach and AI-powered solutions, you can take control of your marketing efforts.
Everything you need to know about data analytics in 2024
Some businesses will always find ways to implement new technology trends, while others lag behind. For example, some companies immediately recognized the internet’s potential and built websites in the ’90s, while other businesses still operated without an online presence.
Data analytics is a field that’s been rapidly expanding, and that growth is predicted to continue over the next decade. Like the internet, your business can operate without data analytics tools, but there are a lot of benefits that putting data into action can provide you with. There's an expectation that by 2026, 65% of companies will primarily be data-driven to achieve optimal performance and personalization.
In 2024, we can expect the gradual removal of tracking cookies. Cookies have been crucial for marketing efforts over the past decade. Data analytics is one of the solutions to maintain your marketing campaigns in the ‘cookieless world.’
This article will help you understand the direction in which data processing is going and the relevant technologies accompanying it.
Evolution of Data Analytics
Although there were concepts that we can argue were predecessors to data analytics before this, what experts consider the beginning of data analytics was the rise of spreadsheets.
The so-called 'spreadsheet era' started at the end of the 20th century and was defined by Microsoft Excel.
Can you imagine your life without using several spreadsheets to organize your personal and professional life? Spreadsheets are still fantastic for budgeting, making charts, analyzing statistics, and many other reporting tasks.
However, as valuable as spreadsheets are, they are significantly lacking when it comes to handling large volumes of data. This pain point has led to the rise of business intelligence, a type of technology that allows companies to convert raw data into meaningful information, helping decision-makers and marketers.
As the internet grew, the requirements for adequate handling and analyzing of data followed. Soon, we entered the era of big data, characterized by volume, velocity, and variety.
Key Technologies Powering Data Analysis
At the top of importance for data analytics, we can undoubtedly find artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). During data gathering, companies often end up with batches of data that are difficult to decipher.
To convert this data into something meaningful and helpful, AI and ML can streamline the process that would otherwise take lots of time. AI and ML are excellent at uncovering patterns and predicting and automating complex tasks.
AI is far from taking over the world like many people preach, but its capabilities are exceptional. Its applications range from writing articles, creating mockups for websites, and generating logos, to analyzing millions of data points.
Another concept that streamlines data analysis is edge computing. This type of technology processes data close to where it's being generated so results can be seen in real time. For example, traffic management systems use edge computing to analyze the amount of traffic on different roads, and immediately process that data so the system can adjust the timing of stoplights.
The advantages that edge computing brings are enhanced real-time analytics and optimized bandwidth usage. Because of these benefits, edge computing is everywhere, from the Internet of Things to corporations that handle vast amounts of data.
Data is often collected anonymously and falls under the strong protection of regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Since security is important in this field, many experts have switched to blockchain technology.
Why? The incredible potential of blockchain technology lies in its ability to offer a decentralized digital ledger that allows for secure and transparent transactions.
By removing the need for a central authority to manage data, we can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.
With blockchain’s advanced encryption methods, only authorized parties can access data, enhancing confidentiality and security.
We’re excited about the endless possibilities of blockchain technology, and we can’t wait to see how it’ll revolutionize the way we do business and interact with each other.
Storing Big Data in the Cloud
Data analytics requires vast amounts of storage. Since many businesses don’t have the resources or personnel to manage their own servers and storage, cloud platforms are key.
Why? Cloud storage is scalable and allows businesses to continually invest in larger plans as they continue to grow.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provide scalable and flexible storage solutions. The Cloud Storage Market is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24% and reach a market value of $376.37 billion by 2029.
The downside of cloud storage is that it can be vulnerable to security threats.
However, in addition to the blockchain use cases mentioned above, other strong cybersecurity precautions like antivirus protection and password managers can go a long way toward keeping your sensitive data safe. You should also have an AWS backup plan to maintain data resilience in the event of a data loss or system failure.
Not to mention, large servers negatively impact the environment as they consume a lot of power. So, prioritizing data center sustainability can go a long way if you’re a corporation using vast cloud resources.
Opting for eco-friendly and sustainable options is more ethical and responsible. Moreover, with regulatory frameworks like California’s Title 24 and The United States’ SEC Climate Risk Disclosures, you can be confident that your organization is not only contributing to a better planet but also adhering to evolving regulations.
Contrary to popular belief, big data isn’t only present in large corporations. Small and medium-sized businesses can also handle big data and have access to various cloud-based tools to do so.
Reverse ETL
Conventional ETL methods have traditionally ruled the big data landscape, but we can expect innovations this year. The emergence of reverse ETL will allow businesses to use real-time personalization and make better data-driven decisions.
Traditional ETL (extract, transform, load) extracts data from external sources, transforms it, and loads it into a data warehouse. It allows you to store your data in a single data warehouse.
Reverse ETL is the opposite. It takes the data from your data warehouse and delivers it to third-party APIs. Think of it like a pipeline connecting the valuable info in your data warehouse to the rest of your organization.
One of the most relevant use cases for Reverse ETL is the marketing industry. It allows marketers to segment their audience with precision - retargeting some while suppressing others and creating lookalike audiences as well.
Data Privacy and Ethical Considerations
Data analysis often intertwines with various ethical concerns.
For example, regulations such as the GDPR were adopted because corporations had unfair advantages and were intruding on the privacy of individuals.
In the past, third-party cookies were utilized so that individuals could be tracked and their personal information used for better ad targeting and marketing. But GDPR has tightened the reins on collecting that data. Likewise, HIPAA compliance is now mandatory for healthcare organizations to keep patient data safe and private.
Regardless of the size of your company, it’s important that you’re operating transparently and that users are aware of what types of data you’re collecting and for what uses. Gathering data without user consent is illegal in many regions, depending on local internet privacy regulations.
Furthermore, transparent and responsible data practices will lead to a much better reputation with your customers or users.
Industry-Specific Applications
Various industries benefit from data analytics. For example, digital marketing programs that leverage historical data to drive future results can improve campaigns tenfold. With the help of a marketing automation platform like Marin, Marketers can turn data points like sales, clicks, and impressions into actionable insights.
In the healthcare industry, data analytics can help predict the progression of certain diseases. By analyzing a patient’s history, doctors can recognize certain trends and provide better care and medicine.
Hospitals also require a lot of resources. Data analytics can help provide better resource allocation, ensuring a more streamlined system that will benefit both the personnel and the patients.
Finance, an industry mainly consisting of numbers and statistics, welcomes data analytics with open arms. Why? AI and ML are amazing at working with numbers. Transactional data and user behavior are data inputs that can take their service offerings to the next level.
Data analysis systems can help businesses understand the normal behavior of their users and then notice fraudulent activity. Fraud detection has been vastly improved with AI and ML.
Authenticating Data
41% of senior decision-makers agree that their organizations use between 51–100 data sources.
Of course, an essential part of data analysis is that data comes from trustworthy sources.
As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out. If most of your users turn out to be automated bots, then using their data for any decisions would be meaningless.
Security protocols such as OpenID Connect (OIDC) can help you authenticate users and ensure that you gather genuine information. Generally, finding usable and accurate data is one of the biggest challenges of converting data into action. Besides, if you have limited information, AI and ML analysis can be biased.
Although data analytics isn’t an entirely new field, the tools that are currently in use and that are emerging haven’t stood the test of time. Many data experts haven’t spent enough time polishing their craft using the latest tools.
Data Pipelines for Marketers
Need inspiration on what tools are a must-add to your tech stack? Look no further than a marketing data pipeline solution.
Leveraging a marketing data pipeline is essential to get the most out of your marketing data. Why? The right platform guarantees you have accurate and timely insights to:
- Improve your overall marketing strategies
- Optimize your marketing campaigns
Marin Connect is a comprehensive MDP platform for all your data needs — including collection, preparation, storage, analysis, reporting, and forecasting. One platform. No fuss, no muss.
With Marin, you can expand into additional capabilities, including:
- Automated budget management
- Dynamic spend allocation
- Campaign automation
- Optimization
In short, it’s a one-stop shop that does all the heavy lifting for your paid media campaigns. Schedule a demo with a Marin expert to learn more.
Key Takeaways
Data science is truly incredible. With its numerous benefits and diverse applications, it’s easy to see why one might think it’s magical. While we don’t want to oversell its capabilities, rest assured that data science can definitely give your company a boost without causing chaos.
To effectively apply data analytics, you need expert personnel, adequate tools, and a lot of patience. Analyzing data and effectively making predictions can take time.
Data has the power to improve a successful business but can’t make a failing business a success. Analyzing data won’t compensate for a poor product, service, or market. However, it can be vital if you’re looking to get ahead of your competition.
Don’t jump on every new emerging trend. Lean back and observe how specific fields are progressing. Take effective actions based on how you hope to use data to transform your business in the long run.
Here’s to your success!
A Guide to Advanced Marketing Reporting
Marketing professionals have always been faced with the challenge of measuring the success and impact of their campaigns. Industry studies from Gartner revealed that businesses spend almost a tenth of their total revenue on marketing. This large budget often comes with additional pressure to deliver marketing results to business leaders.
Advanced marketing reporting plays a crucial role in providing insights and data-driven analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. However, conducting effective marketing reporting requires more than just crunching numbers — it involves the use of advanced techniques and strategies to gather, analyze, and present data in a meaningful way. In this blog post, we will explore techniques and strategies you can use to conduct precise and accurate advanced marketing reporting.
Understanding the importance of advanced marketing reporting
Marketing reporting has always been conducted in various forms. Some marketers use spreadsheets to generate reports, while others highlight a few pieces of information that are then shared in a presentation deck. Here are three reasons marketers should look beyond these outdated reporting techniques and explore advanced reporting software now:
- Identification of trends and patterns
Advanced reporting tools enable marketers to uncover trends, patterns, and correlations within their data. This helps identify potential opportunities or issues that may not be immediately obvious, allowing marketers to take action and capitalize on trends or mitigate risks.
- Benchmarking and competitive analysis
Advanced reporting provides the ability to benchmark performance against industry standards or competitors. This helps marketers understand their position in the market and make data-driven decisions to stay ahead of the competition.
- Campaign optimization
As social media platforms increasingly cater to highly targeted user segments, marketers have to understand the profile of users on each platform and plan marketing campaigns accordingly. A quarter of marketers have indicated that they plan to place greater emphasis on targeted social media ads in 2024. Advanced reporting enables marketers to evaluate the performance of individual campaigns or initiatives. By analyzing data such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement metrics, marketers can identify areas where campaigns are falling short and take corrective measures to optimize their performance.
7 Essential elements of effective marketing reporting
Most marketers understand the importance of effective reporting, but what makes reporting effective? All successful marketing reports have shared elements — here are seven that all marketers should have in their marketing reports:
- Clear and concise presentation
Nobody enjoys being presented a string of data that lacks engaging elements to keep the viewer interested. Every successful marketer’s report should be well organized and visually appealing, with clear headings, subheadings, and sections.
- Key performance indicators (KPIs)
It’s important to identify and include relevant KPIs that align with your marketing goals and objectives. This can include metrics such as website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. It is important that marketers stay abreast of any business priority changes and adjust their reporting strategy accordingly.
- Context and analysis
Raw data alone may not provide actionable insights. A quarter of marketers consider tying social media marketing activities to business outcomes. To deliver this insight and improve the value of a report, it’s essential to provide context and analysis for the data. This could include market trends, comparisons with previous periods, and explanations for any fluctuations or patterns.
- Measurable goals and targets
Marketing reports should include measurable goals and targets set at the beginning of the reporting period. This allows for tracking progress and evaluating the success of marketing efforts.
- Visualizations and charts
Incorporating visual elements such as graphs, charts, and infographics can help summarize complex data and make it easier to understand.
- Actionable recommendations
Effective marketing reports should not only present data, but also provide actionable recommendations for improvement. This could include suggestions for optimizing campaigns, targeting specific customer segments, or reallocating resources.
- Regular and timely reporting
Marketing reports should be delivered at regular intervals, according to the needs of the organization. Timeliness is key to ensure that the information is relevant and up to date.
How to get started with common marketing reporting tools
Once teams understand the importance of marketing reporting, choosing the right tools and learning how to use them effectively is essential. Read on to learn how to get started with three commonly used reporting tools — Google Analytics 4, Google Data Studio, and Marin Software:
Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful marketing reporting tool provided by Google. It offers comprehensive web analytics, tracks user behavior, and provides insights into website performance.
GA4 allows users to monitor and analyze key metrics such as traffic sources, user demographics, conversion rates, and much more. Its advanced features include event tracking, enhanced ecommerce tracking, and cross-device measurement.
The data collected by GA4 can be visualized and analyzed in various ways within the tool itself or exported to other reporting platforms. Follow these steps:
- Step 1: Sign in to your Google Analytics account or create a new one.
- Step 2: Set up a new property specifically for GA4.
- Step 3: Follow the instructions provided by Google to add the GA4 tracking code to your website.
- Step 4: Explore the GA4 interface to familiarize yourself with the reports and features available.
- Step 5: Set up goals and conversions to track important metrics for your business.
- Step 6: Customize the reports and dashboards according to your specific needs.
- Step 7: Play around with the various analysis tools, such as cohort analysis and path analysis, to gain deeper insights into your data.
- Step 8: Integrate GA4 with other marketing tools, such as Google Ads, to synchronize data and improve your reporting capabilities.
Google Data Studio
Google Data Studio is a data visualization and reporting tool that helps users to produce interactive and customizable dashboards and reports. The program integrates seamlessly with various data sources, including Google Analytics, Google Ads, and other marketing platforms.
With Data Studio, users can build dynamic visualizations such as charts, graphs, and tables to showcase important marketing metrics and KPIs. It enables collaboration by allowing multiple users to access and edit reports simultaneously.
Data Studio also supports real-time data updates and provides options to share reports with stakeholders in different formats. Utilize Google Data Studio with these 8 steps:
- Step 1: Sign in to your Google account or create a new one.
- Step 2: Go to Google Data Studio and click on "Start a new report."
- Step 3: Choose a data source, and select Google Analytics as the source for your report.
- Step 4: Authenticate your Google Analytics account and select the GA4 property you want to use.
- Step 5: Customize your report by adding dimensions, metrics, filters, and visualizations.
- Step 6: Format the report to make it visually appealing and easy to interpret.
- Step 7: Share the report with stakeholders by providing them with a link or embedding it on a website.
- Step 8: Schedule regular updates to keep the report automatically refreshed with the latest data.
Marin Software
Marin Software is a marketing analytics and optimization platform designed to streamline and improve digital advertising campaigns. It offers features for managing paid search ads, paid social ads, display ads, and more.
In terms of reporting, Marin Software provides advanced analytics capabilities, including cross-channel attribution modeling, which helps marketers understand the impact of their advertising efforts across different touchpoints. It also enables users to customize reports and dashboards to track specific metrics and campaign performance.
Additionally, Marin Software offers budget and bid optimization tools to maximize advertising ROI and streamline the campaign management processes. Take advantage of Marin Software’s platform with these steps:
- Step 1: Visit the Marin Software website and sign up for an account.
- Step 2: Once logged in, navigate to the Accounts tab.
- Step 3: Add your advertising accounts to Marin.
- Step 5: Set up conversion tracking by installing the Marin Tracking Code on your site or integrating Marin with your existing tracking system.
- Step 6: Explore the reporting and analytics capabilities of Marin Software to gain insights into your advertising campaigns.
- Step 7: Customize the reports to include the metrics and dimensions that are most important to your marketing objectives.
- Step 8: Take advantage of Marin's bid and budget management features to optimize your ads and maximize performance.
Use AI-Powered software to generate better marketing reports
Effective marketing reporting is essential for driving informed decision making and gauging the success of marketing efforts. By employing AI-powered software like Marin, marketers can gain valuable insights into the performance of their campaigns.
Embrace the power of marketing reporting automation and take your marketing efforts to new heights. Schedule a demo of Marin today to learn how it can simplify and optimize your marketing reporting processes.
AI Girlfriends, UA 360 Data Deletion, Google’s Post-Search Era, and More…
Hello there, my Digital Darlings,
How did Valentine's Day treat you? I hope you indulged in some much-deserved self-love, celebrated friendships, or cherished moments with your real, human sweetheart. Because, believe it or not, the age of digital devotion is upon us—with some venturing into romances straight out of a sci-fi script. Yes, you heard that right. The heart now beats for both flesh and circuitry…
AI Girlfriends are a thing now, and they’re a privacy nightmare.
Loneliness might nudge us towards unconventional solutions, but entrusting our innermost thoughts to AI chatbots? Let's pause for a reality check. Remember the cautionary tale of the movie Her? Seems like it wasn't cautionary enough, as AI romance apps boast over 100 million downloads. These digital companions are more intrusive than romantic, tracking locations and sharing your secrets with a who's who of tech giants and shadowy entities across the globe. Falling for a robot might sound futuristic, but let's stick to human connections, shall we? And in some other not-so-romantic news, Google issued a warning on V-day...
Google’s Valentine’s Day heads-up: migrate to GA4, and do it now.
Most marketing teams have already made this transition, but if you’re one of those lagging, it’s time. Switch within the next two weeks to avoid losing critical advertising capabilities like remarketing and publisher reporting. It’s also critical to export your historical data from UA 360 as all historical data will vanish into the digital ether this July. If you’ve not completed the migration yet, check out Google’s timeline for UA 360 deprecation. In other Google news…
Google is prepping for the post-search era.
Their most recent move? Renaming their AI chatbot ‘Gemini’ instead of ‘Bard’… and I will admit, Gemini is way cuter. Google also announced that they’ll offer a premium version for $20 a month. Sounds like they just copied OpenAI’s business plan and are taking a direct shot at ChatGPT Plus (which, full disclosure, I’m subscribed to). Regardless, Google is a company that makes 57% of its revenue from search, and the CEO is preparing for a future without search. What will happen to the billions of ad dollars spent on the SERP? How will Google monetize Gemini to bring in an equivocal amount of revenue? I can’t wait to see how this pans out. And speaking of search…
TikTok’s the hot new search engine, and they know it.
About a month ago, I mentioned that TikTok is the go-to search engine for 10% of Gen Z, and that number is growing. TikTok got the memo, and they’ve built a search shortcut to get even more people searching on the platform. Users can download the TikTok Search shortcut to their home screen, just like the Google Search app. Search results are AI-powered and pulled from videos, text, and third-party websites. And TikTok Search caters to shoppers. The goal seems to be to turn TikTok into a one-stop shop - literally. They want to be users’ go-to app for all their online shopping. This is a clarion call for marketers: Promote your products on TikTok shop!! Especially if you sell trendy stuff to Gen Z and beyond. And in other social media monetization news…
Ad prices are up on Meta.
According to Meta’s Q4 earnings, the average price per ad is up for the first time in three years. Interestingly, ad impression growth is slowing down, even though app usage continues to climb. This leads me to believe that Meta may be showing fewer ads than before, which for personal reasons, I hope is the case because the ad overload on TikTok and Reels is TOO much. But it also could be due to increased competition, as advertisers are spending more on Meta than ever before. Either way, keep an eye on your Meta ad spend this year so that it doesn’t become too pricey.
And there you have it—this week's roundup of digital delights and dilemmas served with a side of sass. Until next week, may your data be secure and your campaigns compelling.
You know you love me.
How to Conduct a Marketing Mix Model Analysis
As marketers face increasing pressure to produce results, effective marketing strategies are essential to the success of any organization. However, with numerous marketing channels and variables to consider, measuring the impact of each component can be a daunting task.
This is where a marketing mix model analysis comes into play: a powerful tool that enables businesses to understand the individual contributions of various marketing elements and make data-driven decisions to optimize their marketing efforts.
Introduction to marketing mix model analysis: Understanding the basics and benefits
Marketing Mix Model Analysis, also known as Market Mix Modeling (MMM), is a technique used to measure and quantify the impact of various marketing efforts on sales or market share. It helps businesses understand the effectiveness and contribution of each aspect of their marketing in driving sales and guides decision-making on resource allocation for different marketing activities.
This analysis combines statistical calculations and historical sales data to determine the relationship between marketing activities — such as different types of advertising, promotions, pricing, and distribution — and sales. Here are six of the most important reasons marketers rely on this method of analysis.
- Optimizes marketing budget allocation
Marketing mix model analysis helps businesses understand the impact of their marketing activities on sales and other business outcomes. By quantifying the effectiveness of each marketing element, businesses can allocate their marketing budget more efficiently, focusing on the elements that generate the highest return on investment (ROI). The average digital marketing budget is allocated as shown in the chart below, but every business is unique, and marketers must adapt their marketing efforts to reflect their own audience’s needs, wants, and behaviors.
- Helps make data-driven decisions
Marketing mix model analysis provides businesses with valuable insights and data to make informed decisions. Rather than relying on assumptions or guesswork, businesses can use the analysis to identify the drivers of successes and failures in their marketing strategies and make data-driven decisions to refine and optimize their marketing efforts. In a recent survey by HubSpot, 36% of marketers said that data helps them reach their audience more effectively.
- Improves strategic planning
With marketing mix model analysis, businesses gain a clear understanding of the impact and effectiveness of various marketing components. This knowledge supports strategic planning by identifying the areas that need improvement, determining the best marketing mix for specific target markets, and identifying opportunities for growth and expansion.
- Enhances efficiency and ROI
By understanding the contribution of each marketing element, businesses can eliminate or reduce ineffective marketing activities and reallocate resources to the most effective strategies. This leads to enhanced efficiency in marketing spending and ultimately improves the ROI of marketing initiatives.
- Helps to measure and evaluate campaign performance
Marketing mix model analysis allows businesses to evaluate the performance of specific marketing campaigns and initiatives. By measuring the impact of various marketing activities during a specific period, businesses can assess the effectiveness of their strategies, identify successful campaigns, and replicate or refine them for future endeavors.
- Gives a competitive advantage
Marketing mix model analysis helps businesses gain a competitive advantage by understanding their marketing effectiveness relative to competitors. By analyzing external factors and competitor activities, businesses can make informed decisions to differentiate their marketing strategies and gain a stronger market position.
How to build a marketing mix model
A marketing mix model can help marketers understand exactly how an ad is performing by quantifying performance in a way that is relevant for every stakeholder. Here’s a structured approach to building a successful strategy.
Step 1: Define your objectives
The first step in building a marketing mix model is to define the objectives. For example, a company may want to understand how changes in their marketing mix (e.g., pricing, promotions, advertising) affect sales and profitability. Other objectives could include understanding the impact of specific campaigns on brand awareness or identifying opportunities to improve customer satisfaction.
Step 2: Identify key marketing variables
Once the objectives are clear, the next step is to identify the key marketing variables that will be included in the model. These variables will represent the different elements of the marketing mix, which are:
- Product features: This marketing variable refers to the specific characteristics and attributes of a product that make it unique and appealing to customers, such as quality, variety, and design. By focusing on these product features, marketers can differentiate their offerings from competitors and create value for customers.
- Pricing: Pricing is an important marketing variable that includes factors such as the initial price, discounts, incentives, and bundling options. Marketers can use various pricing strategies such as penetration pricing, skimming pricing, and value-based pricing to attract customers and maximize profitability. Pricing decisions should consider factors like production costs, competitor pricing, consumer perception of value, and market demand.
- Promotion: Promotion encompasses all the activities undertaken by a company to communicate and promote its products or services to customers. It includes advertising, social media marketing, personal selling, and sales promotion. Public relations is a form of promotion — managing the company's image and reputation through media relations, events, and press releases. Promotional activities aim to create awareness, generate interest, and persuade customers to purchase the product or service.
- Place and distribution channels: These refer to the methods or channels through which a company delivers its products or services to customers. Examples of distribution channels include online platforms, retail stores, and direct sales. The choice of distribution channels depends on factors like target market characteristics, customer preferences, and the company's resources and capabilities.
The aim of a marketing mix model analysis is to optimize these four factors and maximize the success of a product.
Step 3: Collect data
After identifying the key marketing variables, data must be collected from the appropriate sources, including internal data such as sales, customer profiles, and marketing expenses, as well as external data like market research, competitive analysis, and demographic trends.
For example, an online retailer may collect data on the sales of different products and the prices, discounts, and promotions used, as well as data on site traffic, marketing campaigns, and social media activity.
Step 4: Develop the model
The marketing mix model combines the data from the different variables to build mathematical relationships between them and the business outcome being analyzed. The model should account for factors that impact business performance like seasonality, market share, and economic indicators.
Statistical techniques like regression analysis, time-series analysis, and machine learning can be used to develop the model and uncover patterns and relationships between the different marketing variables and business outcomes. Multiple models can be developed for different segments, geographies, or products.
For instance, a car manufacturer may create a marketing mix model to understand how different types of promotions affect sales of SUVs in a specific market. They can use data on promotions (such as discounts, free upgrades, and financing deals), sales, and external factors such as competitor advertising and economic conditions.
Step 5: Test the model
Once the model has been developed, it needs to be tested to ensure that it is accurate and realistic. This involves comparing the model's predictions with actual past outcomes and fine-tuning the model correspondingly. As new data becomes available, the model should be refined continuously.
For example, a restaurant chain may test their marketing mix model by using it to make predictions on sales for the upcoming months. They would compare their predictions to actual sales figures and then refine the model accordingly for future use.
Step 6: Re-evaluate the model
Finally, marketers should re-evaluate the model periodically, revisiting the inputs, fine-tuning the outputs, and updating it to account for changes in the marketplace or customer behavior.
For example, an e-commerce firm may re-evaluate its marketing mix model every quarter to review the performance of campaigns, promotions, and customer acquisition efforts. They may adjust the model to account for changes in the competitive landscape or shifts in customer behavior patterns, such as the rise of mobile shopping.
Interpreting and applying the results: Optimizing marketing strategies
Once you’re ready to begin your analysis, make sure to do the following to optimize your marketing strategies for the best results.
Prioritize insights
Businesses should focus on identifying the key insights gained from the marketing mix model analysis. These insights can include understanding the impact of different marketing tactics on sales, identifying the most effective channels, and understanding the interaction effects between different marketing activities. By prioritizing these insights, businesses can allocate their marketing budget and resources more effectively, ensuring that they invest in the strategies and tactics that have the most significant impact on sales and ROI.
Build trust in the model
It’s essential for businesses to build trust in the marketing mix model and ensure that stakeholders have confidence in its accuracy and reliability. This can be achieved by validating the model against real-world data, conducting sensitivity analyses, and involving key stakeholders in the model development process. When stakeholders trust the model, they are more likely to make data-driven decisions based on its insights.
Plan and optimize
Once the insights from the marketing mix model analysis are established, businesses can use them to develop marketing plans that optimize their marketing efforts. By understanding the impact of different marketing activities and channels, businesses can allocate their budget and resources in a way that maximizes their return on investment (ROI). They can identify the most effective marketing tactics and channels to invest in, adjust their marketing mix based on changing market conditions, and fine-tune their strategies to reach their target audience more effectively.
Impact of variables on marketing mix models
To create an accurate sales forecast, marketers must consider many variables. Marketing mix elements are divided into base, incremental, and other variables, each with its own factors affecting market performance. Some are independent, while others change according to the circumstances. Understanding these variables is crucial for making precise forecasts of the effects of promotional activities and distribution strategies.
New variables emerging
As marketing environments evolve, new platforms are emerging for engaging with customers, especially millennials. This necessitates accounting for new marketing mix variables. Market trends, product launches, and customer preferences play a vital role in shaping baseline outcomes and demand for products.
Competition, halo and cannibalization effects
To maintain a competitive edge, it’s essential to monitor your competition and understand the halo and cannibalization effects. The halo effect occurs when positive experiences with a brand's products influence consumers' favoritism toward other products from the same brand. On the other hand, cannibalization occurs when a brand's multiple products in the same category negatively impact each other's sales.
How to fix your marketing mix model
If you’ve followed all these tips and are still not receiving the insights you should be getting, you can troubleshoot your marketing mix model using these four steps.
- Evaluate your current model
Take a close look at your existing model and identify any weaknesses or inefficiencies. Are you accurately tracking and measuring the performance of your marketing channels? Are there any gaps in your data collection process? Understanding the limitations of your current model is crucial for making improvements.
Remember, you must establish clear objectives before you can fix your marketing mix model. What are your marketing goals? Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? Clearly define your objectives so that you can align your marketing mix model accordingly.
- Collect comprehensive data
To get a complete picture of your marketing performance, you need to collect comprehensive data. Make sure you have access to data from all relevant marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing, SEO, paid advertising, and more. Investing in the right tools and technology can help automate data collection and aggregation, saving you valuable time and effort.
- Analyze and attribute ROI
One of the critical aspects of fixing your marketing mix model is accurately attributing ROI to different marketing channels. You need to understand which channels are delivering the highest return on investment and optimize your budget allocation accordingly. Implementing multi-touch attribution models and advanced analytics can help you measure the impact of each channel more accurately.
- Seek expert help if needed
If you find fixing your marketing mix model overwhelming or lack the resources to do it in-house, don't hesitate to seek expert help. Marketing analytics and consulting firms specialize in helping businesses optimize their marketing mix models. Their expertise and insights can provide you with valuable guidance and save you time and effort.
Ultimately, these tips and insights can help marketers understand how their digital marketing assets perform over time. Marketers can use this information to ensure that their ads and marketing efforts hit the mark every time.
You can also use a Marketing Platform like Marin to gather all the data you need to build your marketing mix model. Schedule a demo today to learn more.
AI regulations, TikTok in the SERP, Amazon’s Cookieless World, and more…
Hello again, Digital Darlings,
Buckle up, because I'm about to spill the latest digital marketing tea—and it's scalding. We're diving straight into the juicy bits: SEO drama, social media scandals, and those pesky AI-generated images that everyone loves to hate. Ready for the ride? Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a sassy scroll. Let’s start with some AI drama…
Facebook is going to start labeling AI-generated images…
And I fully support this. We have to maintain the integrity of real, human artists’ work. But it may alter your workflow slightly if you’ve been using AI to generate images for organic or paid social posts. Interestingly, this announcement came on the same day that…
Youtube’s CEO announced his big bets for 2024…
And number one is that ‘AI should empower human creativity, not replace it’. He wants to make sure that YouTube creators have access to AI tools. But how does YouTube plan to stop AI from taking over? Luckily, AI-created videos are still in the ‘weird’ stage and can’t compete with a human vlogging about their real life. But I worry about the future… For now, YouTube has cool features like Dream Screen, which enables anyone to make AI-generated backgrounds for YouTube shorts. Note that they’re pushing shorts to compete with TikTok. So if your brand has a TikTok account, consider posting similar content to YouTube and taking a Shorts-first approach. I have a hunch that shorts will never be able to compete with TikTok and Reels, but who knows?
Speaking of TikTok…
Universal Music Group pulled their catalog from TikTok.
This means that any videos you’ve created in the past that feature songs from big artists like Drake, T-Swift, or Billie Eilish will now be muted. And, of course, you won’t be able to use songs from those artists in future posts. Universal Music Group published an open letter to TikTok calling them out for three things: unfair compensation for musicians, safety for TikTok users, and, you guessed it, not protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI. I’m glad someone is doing something about this unsettling AI takeover, but I must say I miss the sound of Drake’s voice on my TikTok feed.
Universal Music Group seemed preeeetty angry in their letter. And TikTok fired back with a statement accusing Universal Music Group of “putting their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters” and saying they created a “false narrative”. DRAMAAAA!! I’ll keep an eye on this beef and update you lovely readers if anything changes. A partnership between the two businesses is so advantageous for both parties that I feel like they’ll find a way to put their differences aside… And meanwhile, TikTok is only getting more influential. I mentioned a few weeks back that TikTok is becoming the go-to search engine for Gen Z. In response to that trend,
Google started featuring TikTok videos in their SERP.
TikTok videos are now being featured in Google’s Featured Snippets, an area highly coveted by SEOers. Basically, the best thing that can happen to you as an SEOer is for your website to get a structured snippet on Google. But now, that space is being occupied by TikToks, leaving less room for landing pages to hit those top ranks. And they’re appearing as part of Google’s new AI-powered Search Generative Experience. While TikTok is clearly a controversial platform, its growing power cannot be overstated. It’s time to get on TikTok if you want to be a thought leader in your industry. And social media is taking over the paid search world in more ways than one…
PPC is looking more and more like paid social.
Targeting has shifted from a keyword focus to an audience focus. Account structures have changed, with more settings than ever available at the ad group level, mimicking the ad sets of paid social. The advent of Performance Max campaigns embodies this shift, with its focus on asset groups that marry audiences and creatives. This Search Engine Land article has some great tips for navigating the socialization of paid media that I recommend all my PPC readers check out.
Now, let’s sync up on the status of the ‘cookieless world’...
Amazon will track users in the cookieless world with Reach PLC’s help.
Reach is the UK’s largest publisher, and thanks to a new partnership, they will start sharing ‘contextual’ first-party data with Amazon to fill the data gap left by third-party cookies. Basically, Reach will give Amazon data about which articles their readers are viewing, and Amazon will use that data to serve targeted ads on Reach’s websites. While this data isn’t quite as valuable as the data provided by cookies, it closes a huge gap in the cookieless world. This quote from Frazer Locke, Amazon Ads director of EU adtech sales, sums it up…
“As the industry shifts towards an environment where cookies are not available, first party contextual signals are critical in helping us develop actionable insights that enable our advertisers to reach relevant audiences without sacrificing reach, relevancy or ad performance.”
Does this help us digital marketers? Yes, if we’re advertising on Amazon. But there’s nothing tangible we can do with this info right now. Some more tangible tips come from Microsoft’s Seasonal Spotlights series…
Check out Microsoft’s Tips for Valentine’s Day Advertising.
Some of this year's search trends include - shoppers looking for value, with volume trending up on price-sensitive search terms like ‘sale’ and ‘discount’, and more searchers shopping local, searching for terms like ‘flower delivery near me’. Good news for retailers that run sales at their brick-and-mortar stores! The article also includes handy tips for targeting shoppers on Bing, so be sure to check those out.
And that's a wrap, my Digital Darlings. We've sipped the tea and thrown the shade, all in the name of digital marketing dominance. Remember, in this wild world of clicks and content, your moves make the magic. Catch you on the flip side with more gossip, glam, and game-changing strategies. Stay bold, stay brilliant, and above all, stay tuned.
You know you love me.
A Comprehensive Guide to Marketing on Threads
Thirty million sign-ups in the first 16 hours and 100 million in the first five days!
These are the results achieved by Threads, a newborn social media channel. Since its release in April 2023, it has gained many names: “a rival to Twitter,” “Twitter killer,” “Twitter clone,” and others. Many brands have already reshaped their strategies to market on Threads. Some have even become Twitter-sober with the appearance of this new social networking service.
Built by the Instagram team and launched by Meta, Threads can be a powerful, competitive space for social media marketers.
In this post, you’ll explore Threads’ features and benefits for brands. After that, incorporate our list of tips into your Threads marketing strategy.
Key Features of Meta’s Threads Every Business Should Know
Is Threads like Twitter (now X)?
This is by far the most popular question asked since the app’s appearance.
The answer is – not exactly.
The Threads app is one of the Meta-owned social media platforms, along with Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Facebook. Like X, Threads allows users to like, repost, add replies, and share content. A thread (post) on this platform can also include a link, text, image, or video.
The key difference from X is that Threads is a part of the nascent fediverse – a set of interrelated networks that remain independent but seamlessly connect. For example, Threads users can interact with each other on Mastodon and other fediverse platforms.
Now, let’s have a closer look at the functionality of Threads.
Already Active Threads Features
- Instagram sync. It’s possible to import your profile picture, name, bio, and link from Instagram into Threads. If your followers are registered on Threads, they will be automatically transferred, too.
- Polls. A Threads poll is active for 24 hours only.
- Tags. Tagging makes conversations discoverable in searches for specific topics or subjects. Note: Tags on Threads don’t have the power of hashtags to draw trending content to the top and boost engagement.
- A Paid Partnership feature. An influencer should mark the post as a “Paid Partnership” and indicate the brand with @ followed by its username on the app.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA). A 2FA is a form of multi-factor authentication that can add an extra layer of cybersecurity to your business account on Threads.
- Content length – Threads have a 500-character limit, whereas videos have a five-minute limit.
- Text editing feature. You can edit your posts within five minutes after publishing them. This will help you eliminate grammar or spelling mistakes and error-proof your marketing messages.
Upcoming Threads Features
- Messaging system. Threads will introduce Direct Messages (DMs) with a self-destructing option.
- Hashtags. The hashtagging feature is yet to come.
- Paid social advertising on Threads. Currently, there are no advertising opportunities on Threads. But –
Meta announced that paid ads and monetization are coming once the app gets on a clear path toward one billion users.
Meanwhile, you can start building your follower base on Threads organically today so that once paid social ads become available, you’ll have a solid pool of users for targeting.
Consider why marketing on Threads is crucial for modern businesses, and follow our how-to guide afterward.
Why Promote Your Brand on Threads?
Explore the major benefits of Threads for your business. With this social media app, you can do the following:
Target Generation Z
Gen Z comprises the largest lump of the platform’s users (source).
These digital natives value individuality and crave an authentic connection with brands. You can establish it via Threads because the platform prioritizes honesty and genuine relationship building.
Try brand exposure to an international market
Threads may be an excellent tool to boost your brand awareness and recognition in foreign territories if you aim at a global brand positioning.
Here are the shares of Threads app downloads by country:
- 33% – India
- 22% – Brazil
- 16% – USA
- 8% – Mexico
- 5% – Japan
As you can see, Meta’s new app can expose your brand and your products/services globally.
Drive brand engagement
According to Statista, Meta’s Threads platform has 13 million daily active users worldwide. They interact with posts actively and meaningfully.
Like with Instagram reels for boosting brand engagement on Instagram, you can share your posts and engage with users via Threads discussions.
Cross-promote your content
You can turn on cross-posting and share your Threads posts on Instagram and Facebook.
You can also repurpose other social media content to Threads like YouTube shorts, TikToks, Pinterest images, Tweets, etc.
6 Best Practices of Successful Threads Marketing
Learn how to build an engaged community.
Invite your audiences to follow you on Threads
Currently, Threads is less recognizable and widespread than other social networks. However, its popularity is picking up steam.
Your audience may need a slight nudge to join in. It may be a simple announcement: We’re moving to Threads, similar to this one made by @pimaarizona on X.
They informed their audience that all new Tweet-worthy content will now be posted on Threads.
Like Cyber Voyage's video below, you can also promote your Threads profile on other social media accounts (e.g., your company’s YouTube channel).
In addition, embed a Threads social button into your website’s homepage to showcase your brand’s presence on this platform and lure your web visitors to connect with you there.
Check out how Dan O’s does it.
Engage users with interactive content
Interactivity is one of the content creation secrets for Threads that you'll uncover in this section.
Eric Mills, Owner of Lightning Card Collection, explains why it works: “Interactive content captivates, entertains, and immerses the user, evoking the feeling of excitement. The most compelling and engaging content examples are questions, polls, challenges, puzzles, and games. And all of them work well on Threads.”
See how brands put those into action in their Threads marketing strategies.
1. Questions
Asking questions is a superb way to encourage active user participation in Threads discussions.
Example:
Nissan, an automotive industry giant, uses the What’s-your-favorite question type.
2. Polls
As you may already know, polls are extremely useful for LinkedIn marketing as they skyrocket user engagement. They are not less successful on Threads, either.
Pizza Hut, for instance, engages users with pizza-related polls like this.
3. Fill-in-the-blanks
People like challenging tasks such as fill-in-the-blank sentences because they bring a feeling of accomplishment.
Here’s an example of Canva using them in Threads marketing.
4. Puzzles
A puzzle helped Chipotle generate over 100 replies and interact with users more effectively.
5. Guessing games
Meta launched an exciting game on Threads, asking users to guess the words Meta’s AI used to generate an image.
Establish a two-way communication
Unlike TikTok, aiming to entertain users with hilarious videos, Threads’ vision is to build an open and friendly public space for conversation.
According to Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel, “Threads is a win-win communication tool that proves rewarding for the brand and the customer. So, when going to Threads, you have a single task: to establish a two-way interaction with your potential or existing customers and keep conversations rolling via threads by replying to questions and leaving comments whenever it feels appropriate. Such interactions will help you foster trust and build a better relationship with your audience.”
Learn from the experience of Starbucks. The company communicates with customers via threads, and users appreciate such a personal approach.
Tag your Threads as 'themed'
Let’s again compare Threads with TikTok for customer acquisition.
TikTok has dedicated sub-toks to unite content around particular topics with niche hashtags: #FinTok – for finances, #BookTok – for books, etc.
“By analogy with TikTok, you should create a themed thread on Threads and tag it to match your industry or business niche,” recommends Max Wesman, Founder & COO of GoodHire. “This way, you can become a trendsetter and thought leader in your business sphere. In the HR sector, for instance, we may join the HRThreads community to discuss recruitment trends, interviewing practices, employee benefits, etc.,” he shares.
Once you’ve chosen the subject related to your brand’s niche, tag it like this:
- For gaming → GamingThreads
- For beauty and makeup → MakeupThreads
- For sports → SportsThreads (+ subcategories like FootballThreads or BaseballThreads)
- For travel → TravelThreads
- For healthcare → HealthThreads
- For fashion → FashionThreads, and so on
Starbucks wins the customers’ attention again, this time with CoffeeThreads.
Be authentic and maintain your brand voice
The Threads community strives for authenticity and friendliness.
If you open the Threads profiles of Duolingo, Uber, or Spotify, they radiate positivity and maintain an informal and friendly tone of voice.
You may also use your wit and creativity to communicate with Threads users emotionally. Emotional marketing has considerable brand-boosting advantages, like strengthening loyalty and driving word-of-mouth. People who connect with brands emotionally are nearly four times more likely to recommend them to others.
Let’s delve into an example from Bonobos.
The men’s clothing brand is often recognized by witty wordplay and puns on the website: Look dashing through the snow or Fit happens. The brand also extrapolated this approach on threads: Did you hear the news? Panta Claus is coming to town.
Use visuals
Visual content has 43% more persuasive power than textual information.
This clearly substantiates the “why” behind using visuals to market on Threads.
These include:
- Photos
- Infographics
- GIFs and animations
- Image carousels
- Graphs
- Tables
- Screenshots
- Videos, etc.
“Of course, there must be an ideal ratio of visuals to text because, primarily, Threads is a text-based network. It will vary depending on the topic and purpose of your content. But generally, there’s a 40/60 rule for visual-to-text ratio,” notes Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers.
NinjaTransfers repurposes TikTok videos on Threads to achieve this ratio.
Here's another example of visual content on Threads - Shopify uses images and memes to create B2B content that resonates with the Threads audience.
Partner with influencers
The last tip is a reminder from Fernando Lopez, Marketing Director at Circuit. He says, “When tapping into Threads for marketing, don’t underestimate the power of influencer collaborations. By leveraging their influence, you can increase your brand’s exposure on the platform, get more traffic to your website, generate qualified leads, and drive sales.”
In fact, 89% of marketers note that influencer promotions bring an eight times higher ROI than any other campaign.
It's never to early to build an influencer marketing strategy for Threads.
Fernando Lopez shares several insights on how to collaborate with influencers on Threads:
- Choose influencers from your business niche (technology, beauty, entertainment).
- Make sure the influencer’s ethics and values align with yours.
- Try out various types of influence-generated content (sponsored posts, unboxing videos, product reviews, giveaways).
- Track and measure the results of your Threads partnerships with content creators (number of likes, reposts, comments, and sales).
Note: Influencers must mark the thread as a “paid partnership” to reveal commercial relationships with businesses.
Pro tip: Use AI tools for influencer marketing like Affable.ai, Upfluence, Buzzstream, etc.
Thread by Thread: Intertwine New Threads Into Your Marketing Strategy
The Threads app is gaining popularity incredibly fast, proving itself as a worthy rival to X.
It may be an ideal platform for marketers and businesses aiming to reach out to Gen Zers, level up their global brand visibility, leverage content cross-promotion, engage with users on a more meaningful level, and foster long-lasting relationships with customers.
All these things are possible when applying the best tips for Threads marketing we have reviewed above.
Once you’re up and running, you can build a loyal community of followers and lay a good foundation for paid advertising when it becomes an active feature on Threads. When this feature arrives, Marin software will be there to help you to manage, measure, and optimize your paid social ads.
For now, get to threading and weave your brand’s success.
The 10 Best AI Tools to Reach Your Sales Goals in 2024
Have you missed your sales goals for 2023?
You’re not alone. 57% of salespeople miss their targets.
But that ends for you in 2023. With the best AI tools for sales in your arsenal, you can outperform your quotas like never before.
Think:
- Personalized outreach on autopilot, freeing up your time.
- Smarter lead scoring for laser-focused prospecting.
- Customer insights to unlock hidden opportunities.
Get ready to discover the best AI (artificial intelligence) sales tools in 2024 and skyrocket your business growth.
Benefits of Using AI Tools in Sales
Let’s dive into a few ways AI is revolutionizing sales by unlocking efficiency, personalization, and valuable insights.
1. Streamlined Sales Processes
AI automates repetitive tasks like data entry and lead scoring, freeing your team for strategic thinking. This data-driven approach lets you make informed decisions.
2. Personalized Customer Experiences
AI analyzes data to recommend products, anticipate needs, and craft targeted messages that resonate.
3. Unified Marketing & Sales
AI streamlines marketing and sales, guaranteeing consistent messaging and a smooth customer journey. Real-time data insights empower both teams to optimize campaigns and personalize outreach.
4. Boosted Sales Efficiency
AI leverages historical data to predict future sales, accurately enabling resource optimization. AI prioritizes leads based on conversion potential and helps sales reps focus on high-impact opportunities.
5. Unearth Sales Insights
AI analyzes customer data to uncover hidden patterns and opportunities, suggesting cross-sell/up-sell potential and enabling proactive responses.
As you scale your data operations, you should prioritize a powerful and intuitive alternative to Tableau or Looker — one designed to help consumers at every skill level find value in your data.
For example, ThoughtSpot’s AI-powered analytics offers just as broad a range of data connection sources and analytics features as either of the competitors listed above, but it ranks highest on self-service analytics.
Even better, ThoughtSpot Sage, which pairs the ease and flexibility of LLMs with robust accuracy, security, and governance, is live.
ThoughtSpot for Sales is the fastest way to make sales data accessible to even your most non-technical sellers. With a consumer-grade search and AI-driven analytics experience, you can move beyond “what” into the “how” and the “why” to outsell your competition.
6. Improve Performance with Analytics
AI analyzes customer interactions across calls, emails, and more, revealing valuable data. Reps can leverage this to refine communication and close more deals.
7. Enhance Customer Experiences
AI recommends relevant products and services tailored to individual needs, fostering satisfaction and loyalty.
You can further leverage text-to-speech software for creating sales content, like ads, that maintains brand voice consistency and provides an accessible experience for all customers.
Top 10 Best AI Tools for Sales
Here are the top 10 best AI tools for sales, each offering unique capabilities to boost your sales pipeline and close more deals.
1. Marin Software - Marketing and Paid Ads
Marin Software isn’t just another ad management platform.
It’s among the best AI tools for sales for optimizing paid search, social, and marketplace campaigns across platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and Amazon.
Features and benefits:
- Unified dashboard: Manage all your campaigns in one place, saving time and maximizing efficiency.
- AI-powered insights: Marin’s intelligent algorithms identify growth opportunities, suggest budget allocations, and automate bidding strategies for optimal ROI.
- Advanced optimization: Fine-tune ad targeting, messaging, and budgets based on real-time performance data, ensuring your ads reach the right audience at the right time.
- Increased revenue: Marin has helped clients achieve impressive results, like a 132% increase in search ad revenue and a 30% reduction in CPA for app installations.
Pricing: Tailored to your specific needs and campaign volume. Request a demo now!
2. Einstein GPT - Sales Solution from Salesforce
Einstein GPT, Salesforce’s revolutionary AI solution, empowers reps to personalize, automate, and streamline their workflows.
Here’s how:
- Retrieval-augmented generation: Craft unique, data-driven emails by combining pre-written templates with GPT’s AI magic. Tailor messages to specific customers, ensuring relevance and resonance.
- Predictive insights: Gain actionable intelligence on deals and customers. Predict lead conversion, next steps, and potential roadblocks, enabling proactive outreach and closing strategies.
- Automation: Free yourself from repetitive tasks. Einstein GPT automatically generates follow-up emails, schedules meetings, and updates CRM records, saving precious time.
- Seamless CRM Integration: Einstein GPT lives within your existing Salesforce platform, making integrating AI insights into your workflow and leveraging your valuable customer data easy.
Pricing:
- Einstein Sales GPT: $50/user/month (includes limited GPT credits)
- Einstein Service GPT: $50/user/month (includes limited GPT credits)
- Einstein AI & Analytics for Service Cloud: Pricing varies based on specific features and usage.
Main features that make it one of the best AI tools for sales:
- Real-time data analysis and valuable insights
- Predictive lead scoring and deal insights
- Automated follow-ups and CRM updates
- Seamless integration with Salesforce
- Personalized email generation
3. Hubspot - Lead Generation
Fuel your sales pipeline with HubSpot’s intelligent lead-generation tools.
Predictive lead scoring identifies the hottest prospects, prioritizing your outreach. AI engages website visitors 24/7, qualifying leads while you sleep. Content Assistant suggests SEO-rich topics and optimizes your content for higher conversion rates.
This tool packs a punch for sales teams with features like:
- Streamlined lead management: Organize leads, track interactions, and assign tasks seamlessly.
- Automated workflows: Nurture leads with personalized email sequences and follow-ups.
- Deep customer insights: Gain a 360° view of each customer, from initial contact to post-purchase.
HubSpot offers a suite of features for every stage of the buyer’s journey:
- Landing page builder: Craft high-converting landing pages with drag-and-drop simplicity.
- Email marketing: Design engaging email campaigns and track their performance.
- Web forms and pop-ups: Capture leads effortlessly with customizable forms and targeted pop-ups.
- Marketing automation: Automate repetitive tasks and personalize customer experiences.
Pricing: Starts at just $20/month, making HubSpot accessible for businesses of all sizes.
4. Weflow - Sales Forecasting
Weflow accurately predicts your future sales by analyzing past sales, market trends, and more. Get real-time sales projections and segmented forecasts to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your strategy.
Weflow features:
- AI-powered insights: Uncover hidden patterns and predict future outcomes with advanced algorithms.
- Effortless roll-ups: Automate forecast aggregation from reps to leadership, saving precious time.
- Actionable data: Drill down into detailed insights, identifying areas for improvement and maximizing ROI.
- Seamless Salesforce integration: Streamline your workflows and data harmony.
Boost your sales game with Weflow:
- Accurate forecasts: Achieve 92%+ accuracy, defeating forecasting headaches.
- Enhanced transparency: Gain complete visibility into your sales pipeline and performance.
- Data-driven decisions: Make informed choices based on real-time insights, not guesswork.
- Improved agility: React quickly to market shifts and stay ahead of the competition.
Pricing: With options for every team, there are free and enterprise plans depending on your needs. The most popular plan starts at $59 per user/month.
5. Gong - Coaching and Trend Analysis
Boost revenue and refine strategies with Gong’s real-time coaching and predictive insights. Dive deeper than call recordings.
Analyze every conversation with AI-powered tools like:
- Live call and meeting analysis: Get instant feedback on calls, identifying missed opportunities and high-performing tactics.
- Predictive sales outcomes: Forecast win probability and prioritize deals based on data-driven insights.
- Seamless integration: Gong works with your existing CRM, capturing every interaction for analysis and coaching.
- AI-powered coaching: Get personalized recommendations and actionable tips to improve individual and team performance.
- Subtle cue detection: Gong listens beyond words, analyzing tone, silence, and emotions for deeper customer understanding.
Key features that make Gong a top contender include:
- Conversation search and replay: Find key moments, replay calls, and share clips for targeted coaching.
- Win/loss analysis: Identify patterns in successful and lost deals to refine your sales approach.
- Competitive intelligence: Analyze competitor pitches and adapt your strategy for a winning edge.
- Customizable dashboards: Track progress, measure improvement, and set data-driven goals.
Pricing: Gong offers flexible plans for all team sizes and budgets. Contact them for a personalized quote.
6. Hunter.io - Contact Management
Hunter.io’s AI unearths hidden email addresses, empowering you to build targeted lists and craft personalized campaigns that resonate.
- Grow your reach: Find accurate contact info for any professional with domain searches and social media integration. No more bouncing emails or wasted outreach.
- Segment like a pro: Categorize your contacts by role, company, and more for laser-focused email campaigns.
- Personalize easily: Infuse your emails with dynamic data, like names and interests, for higher engagement and click-through rates.
- Track your success: Track opens, clicks, and replies in real time, optimize your campaigns, and close more deals.
Hunter.io features:
- Integrations: Connect with CRM, marketing tools, and more.
- Unlimited searches: Find emails for any domain or website.
- Email verifier: Ensure your list is accurate and deliverable.
- Campaigns: Send personalized emails and track results.
Pricing: Start with a free plan for basic needs or upgrade to a paid plan with advanced features and higher limits starting at $34/month.
7. Zapier - Integrations and Task Streamlining
Tired of juggling data across platforms? Zapier connects over 6,000 apps and tools, turning tedious tasks into smooth workflows. Imagine leads from Typeform automatically creating deals in CRM or invoices in Quickbooks triggered by closed deals in Pipedrive.
For sales professionals, Zapier is a game-changer:
- Qualify leads faster: Auto-score leads based on website behavior, social media activity, or email engagement.
- Nurture leads effortlessly: Create personalized email sequences triggered by specific actions, sending follow-ups without lifting a finger.
- Shorten the sales cycle: Automatically create tasks, set reminders, and send notifications to ensure deals move smoothly through the pipeline.
- Increase conversions: Analyze data from multiple sources to identify bottlenecks and optimize your sales process.
Key features:
- 6,000+ integrations: Connect all your favorite tools, from Salesforce to Gmail to Mailchimp.
- Easy-to-use interface: No coding needed, just drag-and-drop to build custom workflows.
- Trigger-based automation: Automate tasks based on specific events or data changes.
- Robust analytics: Track and analyze your workflows to see what’s working and what’s not.
Pricing: Start with a free plan for basic automation needs. Paid plans (starting at $19.99/month) offer unlimited Zaps, advanced features, and team collaboration.
8. Exceed.ai - Virtual Sales Assistant
Unlock sales growth on autopilot with Exceed.ai, the virtual assistant that automates conversations across your entire revenue lifecycle.
Here’s how Exceed.ai elevates your sales game:
- Conversational AI: Exceed’s AI’s brain understands natural language, mimicking human interaction through email, chat, and SMS. It answers inquiries, handles objections, and even schedules meetings, all with a personalized touch.
- Machine learning magic: Exceed learns from every conversation, constantly refining responses and targeting the right messages to the right leads. This means higher engagement, better qualifications, and more deals closed.
- CRM harmony: Exceed seamlessly integrates with top CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, keeping your sales data organized and accessible. No more switching between tools — Exceed works where you already do.
Key features that make it the best AI tool for sales:
- Automated lead nurturing: Engage 100% of leads with personalized conversations, keeping them warm and moving down the funnel.
- Smart lead qualification: Identify sales-ready leads using AI-powered scoring, ensuring your reps focus on the right opportunities.
- Meeting scheduling on autopilot: Schedule meetings and demos instantly, freeing up your reps’ time for closing deals.
- Real-time reporting and analytics: Track performance and measure ROI with detailed reports and actionable insights.
Pricing: No matter how big or small your revenue team is, Exceed.ai has a package for your needs. However, you must fill out a form for a custom quote.
9. Apollo.io - Personalized Cold Emails
Apollo AI is your weapon for crafting personalized cold emails that land. Target specific industries with advanced filters, then build emails infused with genuine insights using Apollo’s AI-powered templates and data integration.
Key features:
- Smart targeting: Zero in on ideal prospects with industry-specific filters and data enrichment.
- AI-powered personalization: Craft unique, data-driven emails that resonate with each recipient.
- Real-time email tracking: Gain data-driven insights to refine your outreach strategy.
- CRM integration: Keep data synced and teams in sync with a seamless connection to your CRM.
- Automated workflows: Save time and energy with intelligent automation tools.
Pricing: Choose a plan that fits your needs, from budget-friendly solo options to enterprise-level scalability. Professional plans start at $79 per user per month.
10. Chatspot.ai - Actionable Insights from Data
Tired of data overload and unclear sales forecasts? Chatspot.ai transforms your data into actionable gold, empowering your sales virtual assistant with AI-powered insights for accurate forecasting, smarter lead scoring, and, ultimately, closed deals.
Boost your sales game:
- Precision lead scoring: Rank leads based on true buying potential, focusing resources on the hottest prospects.
- Unerring sales forecasts: Predict future sales accurately, ensuring resource allocation and budget planning are on point.
- Smarter sales strategies: Gain deep customer insights to personalize outreach, craft targeted messaging, and close deals faster.
Chatspot features:
- Seamless CRM integration
- Customizable prompts
- Intuitive interface
Pricing: Currently, all users can use ChatSpot for free. You can access it as a standalone product or integrate it directly into your HubSpot CRM tools.
11. Salescloser.ai - Actionable Insights from Data
AI Sales Demos tailored to your product or service. Sales Closer manages the entire sales process from discovery to close. Meet with prospects on Zoom through the phone, and send the next steps, including payments and contracts, all from inside Sales Closer.
Key features:
- Meet with prospects through a phone call.
- Manage the entire sales process in one tool.
Choose the Best AI Tools for Your Sales Teams
Today, we shared how AI (artificial intelligence) tools optimize your sales reps, from automating tasks to crafting personalized conversations. But with so many options, choosing the right one can be tricky.
Focus on tools that fit your process and empower your team. Look for solutions that:
- Streamline communications
- Unlock data-driven insights
- Boost lead generation
Remember, AI doesn’t replace sales stars — it supercharges them.
Take control of your marketing with AI-powered solutions like Marin. Try Marin for free for 14 days, or book a demo now!
This Week in Digital: Ads on Prime Video, doom spiraling about Neuralink, ChatGPT blockers, and more…
Greetings, Digital Darlings,
Your thirst for the freshest, most tantalizing digital marketing tea is insatiable, and who am I to deny you the pleasure? So, buckle up as we embark on this week's journey through the labyrinth of likes, links, and LinkedIn Ads news…
Marketers can easily turn articles into paid ads on LinkedIn with this new sponsored post option.
Any time a company page shares an ‘article’ like a blog post or case study on LinkedIn, its admins can now promote that post and add a CTA button that requires users to sign up for their email list to read the rest. This makes it easier than ever to turn existing content into paid ads, which is great for B2B marketers like me. And LinkedIn gates the content for you, so you can easily grow your email list?? Sign me up baby!
And in some other LinkedIn news that I’m not so excited about…
LinkedIn is retiring lookalike audiences.
Starting February 29th, no new lookalike audiences will be created, and existing ones will become static and uneditable. I think this has something to do with data privacy… but who knows. They recommend using Predictive Audiences and Audience Expansion in lieu of lookalikes… so best to read up on those now and prepare for the switch if you run ads on LinkedIn. Now let’s pivot to some Amazon ads chat…
Amazon Prime Video now has commercials.
Bad news for my binging habits, but good news for advertisers. They’re offering a subscription-free version for $2.99 though, which is so cheap compared to other streaming platforms’ premium options that I’ll probably do it. That said, Amazon noted that they aim to have “meaningfully fewer ads” than their competitors. If Amazon manages to include ads in their streaming platform without those ads being super disruptive, repetitive, and annoying, well… this may be the next big frontier for streaming ads. Now for some cookieless world drama…
Chrome Users are apparently worth 30% less money without cookies.
Google disabled tracking cookies for 30 million Chrome users this month (30 million = just 1% of users btw). By 2025, they plan to disable all tracking cookies. If you work in marketing or read my emails, I’m sure you already know this. But the fresh tea is that Raptive, an ad tech firm, claimed that Google’s cookieless users are bringing in 30% less revenue for them. But the CSO at Rapture thinks that’s a good thing… the article quotes him saying-
“If you had asked me what I thought the numbers could be, I would have said cookieless users would perform 50% worse, so I’m optimistic,” said Paul Bannister, Chief Strategy Officer at Raptive. “The goal is to design a system to increase privacy and also help publishers keep making money, and a 30% drop in monetization feels like a hill that can be climbed.”
Lastly, I need to talk about Neuralink implanting its first brain chip in a human.
Every day I wake up and ask myself “am I living in an episode of Black Mirror written by Elon Musk?” Dude seriously needs to chill. His Neuralink chip is enabling people to control their phone or computer just by thinking... Excuse me while I go scream into the void…
Alright, now that that’s taken care of, you may be asking what this has to do with digital marketing. And I just think we should take a second to ponder the implications of this. Will people start seeing ads inside their own minds?! I’m scared!
And in other, slightly less concerning AI news…
You can block OpenAIs web crawler from scraping your site.
Turns out the majority of top news sites already block them. So if you don’t want OpenAI to use your site data to train its GPT bots, you’re free to stop them. I’m not sure how much of a difference it’ll make… but if you’re scared of the power of ChatGPT, at least this gives you some power. If you’re scared of ChatGPT you might also enjoy this reel I can’t stop thinking about… Alright, let’s wrap it up before I think too hard about the future of art in an AI-powered world, quit my writing job, and go live off the grid.
And just like that, we've twirled through another chapter of our digital saga. Cherish these insights, wield them wisely, and may your digital endeavors flourish until our paths intertwine again.
You know you love me.
How to Create an Integrated Cross-Channel Marketing Budget
If you’re not using a holistic approach to tackle your digital marketing efforts, you can easily fall behind your competition, and worse — your business may lose credibility and ROI. The adoption of integrated solutions is no longer a mere trend — it's a strategic imperative.
By aligning marketing efforts with your overall business goals, you can maximize the impact of your campaigns, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes effectively towards driving meaningful results and ultimately propels your business towards success.
If you want to revolutionize your digital marketing strategy, we’ve got everything you need to know about an integrated digital marketing budget — from its top benefits to how you can get started right away.
What is an integrated digital marketing budget?
An integrated digital marketing budget allocates financial resources across various online marketing channels in a coordinated and synchronized manner. Instead of treating each digital marketing channel as a separate entity with its own budget allocation, an integrated approach involves strategically distributing resources to create a cohesive and synergistic campaign.
This means funds are allocated based on a comprehensive understanding of how different channels work together to achieve overarching marketing objectives. For instance, funds may be allocated to areas such as social media advertising, content marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, and more, all working in tandem to create a unified brand message and drive optimal results.
Benefits of an integrated digital marketing budget
Beyond improving ROI, an integrated digital marketing budget facilitates consistent brand messaging to help build trust and credibility. When you centralize your digital marketing efforts under one integrated budget, you can analyze data collectively and identify trends, patterns, and other areas for improvement more effectively.
An integrated approach also allows for quick adjustments in response to market changes or shifts in consumer behavior. In addition, by integrating data from various touchpoints, a holistic approach enables you to deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately driving higher retention rates and customer lifetime value.
How to set up an integrated digital marketing budget
Getting started with an integrated digital marketing budget is a crucial step towards maximizing the effectiveness of your online marketing efforts. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you embark on this strategic approach:
Step 1: Define your business goals and objectives
Begin by clearly outlining your overarching business goals. Clear business goals provide a roadmap for all your marketing efforts, ensuring that every action taken aligns with the broader objectives of the company. Whether it's generating leads, increasing brand awareness, boosting sales, or driving website traffic, clearly defined objectives will serve as the foundation for your integrated digital marketing strategy, ensuring they are targeted, focused, and measurable.
Step 2: Identify your target audience
Understand your audience's demographics, preferences, and behaviors. This way, you can craft tailored messages and choose the most effective channels to reach and engage your potential customers. Using Google Analytics, social media insights, CRM software, and market research tools can help you create comprehensive customer profiles.
Step 3: Conduct a comprehensive channel analysis
When you evaluate the various digital marketing channels available to you, also be sure to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each one.
- Social media platforms offer vast reach and engagement opportunities that help you foster direct interactions with your audience, but they require consistent engagement to maintain visibility.
- Content marketing, on the other hand, establishes authority, educates your audience, and drives organic traffic through valuable content creation. However, it typically takes time to yield substantial results.
- PPC advertising enables precise targeting and immediate visibility but necessitates ongoing investment for sustained visibility. In fact, PPC generates twice as many visitors as SEO. However, it requires continuous monitoring.
- SEO enhances organic visibility and long-term traffic, but it requires continuous optimization and can take time to generate significant outcomes.
- Email marketing, while being a highly effective channel for nurturing leads and developing customer relationships, relies heavily on building and maintaining a quality subscriber list.
Understanding these channels' dynamics is crucial to leveraging their strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. In addition, recognizing how these channels can complement each other is key. For instance, content marketing can bolster SEO efforts by creating valuable content that attracts organic traffic while also providing material to share on social media platforms.
PPC advertising can supplement SEO efforts by targeting specific keywords or demographics not immediately reachable through organic search. Integrating email marketing into these strategies can nurture leads acquired through various channels, enhancing overall conversion rates. A holistic approach that integrates these channels strategically can create a powerful synergy, amplifying the impact of your digital marketing efforts and reaching your audience across multiple touchpoints in their buying journey.
Step 4: Allocate budgets strategically
Allocating budgets across various components of your digital marketing strategy should align with your business goals and channel analysis. Consider distributing resources based on the effectiveness and potential ROI of each channel. Allocate a larger portion of the budget to channels that directly contribute to achieving your primary business objectives. If your goal is to boost brand awareness, you might allocate a significant portion of the budget to social media and content marketing, which excel in reaching wider audiences and improving engagement. Simultaneously, if lead generation or conversions are your primary focus, investing in PPC advertising or targeted SEO strategies might take precedence due to their immediate impact on driving traffic and conversions.
If your strategy involves content marketing to support SEO efforts, allocate resources not just for content creation but also for SEO optimization to maximize the content's visibility. Or, if you plan to run social media ads, allocate a budget not only for ad spend but also for content creation and monitoring to maintain consistency in messaging and brand representation.
The 70-20-10 distribution rule is useful. Allocate 70% of your budget on channels you’re certain will work, 20% on channels you are less sure will be successful, and 10% on areas you want to test out.
Step 5: Implement a robust analytics system
Utilize advanced analytics tools to track and measure the performance of your campaigns. This includes monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates (CTRs), conversion rates, ROI, and customer acquisition costs (CAC).
CTRs help gauge the engagement levels of your audience with your ads or content, while conversion rates shed light on the effectiveness of turning leads into customers. ROI analysis measures the profitability of your campaigns in relation to the resources invested, enabling you to optimize strategies that yield the best returns. Simultaneously, understanding CAC aids in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of acquiring new customers, ensuring efficient allocation of resources across different marketing channels.
These analytics not only offer quantitative measurements but also serve as guiding metrics to make data-driven decisions. They provide a comprehensive view of your marketing strategies' strengths and weaknesses, allowing for informed adjustments and optimizations. By harnessing these insights, you can refine your campaigns, allocate budgets more effectively, and fine-tune your overall marketing strategy to achieve better results and higher returns on your investments.
Step 6: Integrate data across channels
Creating a centralized system that collects and consolidates data from different channels provides a comprehensive view of how your audience engages with your brands. This integrated approach offers insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and the effectiveness of different marketing strategies in real time.
By having a unified database, you can analyze cross-channel interactions, identify patterns, and gain a deeper understanding of your audience's journey. With this invaluable information, you can make data-driven decisions, personalize marketing efforts, optimize campaigns, and ultimately enhance the overall effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
Step 7: Regularly analyze and optimize
Continuously monitor the performance of your integrated digital marketing efforts. Identify what's working well and where there's room for improvement. Use these insights to make adjustments to your strategy and reallocate resources as needed. Ongoing evaluation ensures that your marketing efforts remain agile and responsive to changes in consumer behavior and market dynamics.
Step 8: Stay updated with industry trends
With emerging technologies, shifting consumer behaviors, and updated algorithms from platforms constantly evolving, it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends and best practices so your integrated approach remains relevant and effective. According to HubSpot, almost 80% of marketers agree that their industry has experienced more change in the past three years than over the last five decades. With advancements in AI-driven marketing automation, the rise of new content formats, and changes in SEO strategies, staying informed allows you to meet current market demands and consumer preferences.
Automate cross-channel budget management with Marin
Marin's Budget Optimizer uses algorithmic forecasting to predict the future performance of each of your campaigns, and then allocates budget based on that data. This cross-channel solution can automatically update budgets for all your different campaigns across publisher accounts. By making Marin a part of your daily workflow, you can eliminate most of the steps listed above. Marin will create and implement an integrated marketing budget for you.
Schedule a demo today to see how Marin can manage your integrated digital marketing budget.
How to Use Behavioral Data to Create a Dynamic Website
Your website is important. We don't really need to tell you that, but with 252,000 new websites being created daily, we do need to tell you that yours needs to be something special to stand out. One way to do this is to collect behavioral data that will allow you to create a website that shows distinct content to different users—also known as a dynamic site.
Imagine using analytics tools, cookies, or other tracking mechanisms to gather data on user behavior and letting that dictate specific interactive features and content to ensure your site caters to their needs. It's possible and even necessary in the modern competitive digital landscape.
Prioritizing the needs and preferences of the end-users
User-centered design results in sites that are highly usable, accessible, and satisfying for those who visit them. Behavioral data, including feedback, plays a crucial role in the iterative and data-driven nature of user-centered design.
As a result, the role of user-centered design in modern web development cannot be understated. It places the needs, preferences, and experiences of users at the forefront of the design and development process, and since we're all users at some point, this concept benefits everyone.
How to get started
Have you heard about Dynamic Facebook ads? They are product ads that target potential customers and existing shoppers based on specific user data, intending to increase the chance of a sale. We are taking this fundamental idea and stretching it out over your whole website. To do this, you can start by analyzing your collected data to understand user behavior patterns and preferences.
Step #1: Analyzing user behavior and installing tracking mechanisms
Collecting data to understand user behavior patterns can be done by adding a tracking pixel to your site to track user interactions. You can use this Pixel to collect data on page views, add to cart, purchases, and other relevant events. We recommend:
- Looking at age, gender, location, and other demographic information to identify trends in user engagement.
- If you advertise on Facebook, leverage Facebook Insights to understand user interests and analyze the performance of ads based on the interests of the target audience.
- Monitoring social media metrics such as likes, shares, and comments to see which content generates the most engagement.
- Creating custom audiences and analyzing their behavior to refine your targeting.
Some behavioral patterns to look out for are users who add products to the cart but don’t complete the purchase or those who regularly engage with your content. You can also identify seasonal buying patterns or see how users switch between devices during the buying process.
Step 2: Create user segments
Once you have this data, you can identify key metrics and determine the most relevant to your website's goals and user experience. From there, create user segments based on similar behaviors, demographics, or preferences, like users who frequently visit certain pages, make specific purchases, or abandon their shopping carts.
Step #3: Implement dynamic content based on user segments
When dealing with a lot of data, it's essential to ensure data integration and synchronization processes that simplify your life. When you understand your data, it's easier to use it to create a dynamic website.
This can include everything from having your website make personalized recommendations to using algorithms to suggest content or products based on users' past behaviors and preferences.
This data is fundamental when segmenting your audience and setting up your dynamic website for your segments’ behaviors. In fact, it can help you make decisions by suggesting the variables you need to take into account.
You can set up a database to store the data and activate recommendation algorithms such as collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, and hybrid models to do things like recommend items based on the preferences of users with similar tastes. You can adjust your recommendation algorithms to account for seasonality and changing trends, for example, promoting seasonal products or trending items based on user behavior and preferences.
Pro tip: A/B test different versions of your site to see which leads to better user engagement or even conversions, and analyze user journeys to identify potential friction points.
Examples of different types of dynamic content
Dynamic content transforms static web pages into personalized and engaging landscapes. From tailored product recommendations to real-time updates, the versatility of dynamic content enhances user experiences, captivates audiences, and adapts to the unique preferences of each visitor.
Real-time responses
Your website has to simplify things for the user, and the clever way to go about this is by making decisions based on user behavior. For example, suppose you have a pop-up offer that appears when a user spends a certain amount of time on a page or displays a targeted message after a specific action. In that case, you increase the chance of controlling their behavior toward your preferred action.
Take, for example, this pop-up that appears on the Pure Plant Protein website:
This appears after the user has scrolled halfway down the home page, spending a total of 30 seconds reading what has come before it. It offers a discount code for the products they are currently considering, helping to nudge them towards a sale, while also collecting their contact details to help the site build its mailing list.
Responsive design
As a result of the above, adjusting the website experience during a user's session based on their current behavior can help bring about the actions you hope the user will take. Adapt the site layout, content, or features so both you and your customers can reap the benefits. Everyone wins!
Pro tip: When looking for ways to integrate your data into actionable insights, you might want to make it as simple as possible. A SaaS integration solution is a tool to simplify cloud data integration challenges. This will help you maximize the value of on-demand applications by improving access to critical business information (such as behavioral data) and allowing you to move data into and out of hosted applications efficiently with cloud deployments.
Using retargeting ads or emails
Retargeting can trim down cart abandonment by 6.5%. When you tailor your communications based on a user's history, such as sending personalized newsletters or alerts, you position your campaigns for success.
Just be sure to adhere to privacy regulations and other ethical standards when collecting and using behavioral data by clearly communicating your data usage policies to users.
Understanding user journeys and optimizing touchpoints
Google Analytics provides powerful tools, like Multi-Channel Funnels and Top Conversion Paths reports, to help you identify key touchpoints and assets ripe for personalization. This is a simple way to gather learnings that can be applied to your dynamic site. For example, Multi-Channel Funnels offer a panoramic view of users' diverse pathways before converting. These are insights about the various channels, sources, and mediums contributing to conversion over time. By delving into this report, you can comprehensively understand the complexity inherent in your user journeys.
The Top Conversion Paths report in Google Analytics is another option that looks at the specific sequences of interactions that lead to conversions. This report is invaluable for identifying the channels and assets that play pivotal roles in driving successful outcomes.
Armed with these insights, you can design a user experience transcending the entire customer journey on your new dynamic site. Remember that the key is to create a cohesive and seamless experience that caters to user needs at each stage.
Developing dynamic web pages: Pros and cons
Dynamic web pages require a more intricate development process, complex software, and additional scripting languages. They connect to databases and external applications. The downside of this is an increased risk to security. On the flip side, they offer a range of advantages that cater to the evolving needs of modern online experiences.
For example, dynamic websites simplify the maintenance process for developers. Automatic updates can be applied to multiple pages simultaneously. You can then utilize AI marketing tools and streamline content management across the site. Users can register accounts, create posts, and engage with the site in ways that static websites cannot facilitate, and because dynamic websites empower developers to easily integrate search engine optimization tools, keeping content optimized for search engines is much more straightforward.
Sell more with the ultimate performance marketing platform
You can make your new dynamic website even more powerful with a tool that takes your performance marketing to the next level. That tool is Marin Software, the easiest way to collect, understand, and share marketing data in your organization. Take your performance marketing to a new level with our help.
This Week in Digital: Is Twitter being resurrected?, CES recaps, Temu driving up prices in ad auctions, and more...
Hey there, Content Connoisseurs and Strategy Savants,
As we inch toward February, are you still captivated by the digital world's ever-evolving dance, or do you find yourself longing for a pause amidst the whirlwind of pixels and plans? If you’re already feeling overwhelmed by 2024’s workload, allow me to simplify this week’s industry news for you. That’s just the kind of friend I am. Read on, dear marketer…
CES is back, baby!
If you didn’t know that CES happened earlier this month, where have you been?! Marketers have long salivated over all the industry tea spilled at this annual conference, and this year’s focus was on streaming ads. Most of the popular streaming services have already introduced an ad-supported tier to boost their profits, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Amazon launches their new tier this year. Will that ad you see 10 minutes into the latest ep of Reacher really be what pushes you to buy the hand cream you were eyeing on Amazon yesterday? I know Amazon sees this as an opportunity to capitalize on the advertising behemoth they’ve built, but I think it’ll be more of a learning experience for them. In other tech-giant news…
Maybe we predicted the death of Twitter too soon?
Mr. Beast tweeted that he made more than $250,000 on a single video on X as advertisers scrambled to capitalize on his off-the-charts engagement. He admits that this video may be a red herring, so it’ll be interesting to see if other high-value content creators can replicate his success or if we’ll continue to see brands shy away from The Bird (The X? Idk anymore…) because of their, um, lax content moderation as of late. And speaking of companies that sketch me out…
Temu’s going big on Ads.
They’re spending so much on digital marketing that they’ve driven up the cost of advertising across the interwebs. Which seems a bit overkill for a company that sells $2 shoes… Maybe they have some insights into LTV that I don’t, but I feel like spending $100 to acquire a customer who’ll buy $25 worth of cheap goods isn’t a sustainable business model. Am I bitter because I have to pay more in ad auctions to compete with their cheap, low quality products? Yes, but I’m also taking notes. They may be on to something… Speaking of unfair ad auctions, our friends over at Search Engine Land, ever on top of the latest dirt, have reported that…
Google Ads is threatening to suspend advertisers who aren’t in compliance with GDPR rules.
So make sure your consent banners are compliant, or you may get a bossy email from Google soon. Also, in random Google news, their updated restricted business policy has some weird rules.. For example, plumbers will no longer be able to advertise on Search, Display, or YouTube in the Netherlands. Bad news for Dutch clogged drains! (I’m punny!!). And lastly sigh let’s talk about AI…
Foundation’s State of AI in Marketing report had some interesting insights…
Tldr: an overwhelming 87% of digital marketers are using AI for content creation, but most think it still has a long way to go to compete with human-generated content. I wholeheartedly agree. I use GPTs to help me write from time to time, but I can promise you that if this newsletter were written by AI, it would be way less interesting… at least that's what I have to tell myself to stay sane. The article put it best - “Generative AI represents both the biggest threat and biggest opportunity to [marketers].” Every time I learn about a new AI advancement I get excited, but I also get a little scared…
Before I doom-spiral about AI, let’s wrap up this week’s newsletter. I know I’m a cynic but I genuinely hope this update was helpful for you, my little marketing mavens. Until next week, keep your content charming, your analytics astute, and your coffee strong.
You know you love me.
The biggest marketing developments of the past year, and how you can use them in 2024
As we bid farewell to another eventful year, it's time to reflect on the journey that was the marketing landscape of 2023. Amidst unprecedented challenges and remarkable advancements, marketers navigated a sea of transformative trends that reshaped strategies and redefined industry norms.
Let’s take a deep dive and rewind to some of the biggest changes that impacted digital marketing in 2023. We’ll also give you a glimpse of what might be ahead in the new year.
2023 Recap
Here’s a rundown of some of the 2023 highlights that made headlines.
The rise of metaverse marketing
In 2023, the concept of the metaverse catapulted into the mainstream, revolutionizing how brands engage with audiences. This virtual realm, blending digital and physical experiences, emerged as an enticing frontier for marketing endeavors. Companies swiftly capitalized on metaverse opportunities, crafting immersive experiences, hosting virtual events, and establishing virtual storefronts to connect with tech-savvy consumers.
From product launches and exclusive previews to concerts and workshops, companies hosted dynamic and inclusive gatherings that transcended geographical boundaries. Together, these events created a sense of community and offered a platform for brands to showcase their offerings in unique and memorable ways.
Alongside the excitement and potential of the metaverse, brands seized the opportunity to meticulously design virtual spaces where consumers could explore, interact with products, and make purchases in a seamless and immersive manner. These virtual storefronts offered a personalized and visually appealing shopping experience, enhancing consumer engagement and driving sales.
AI-powered personalization
Artificial intelligence (AI) continued its ascent, becoming a linchpin for hyper-personalized marketing campaigns. Advanced AI algorithms empowered marketers to decipher consumer behavior, anticipate preferences, and curate tailor-made experiences. The fusion of AI and data analytics became instrumental in delivering targeted content, enhancing customer journeys, and driving conversion rates.
In tandem with AI's growing influence, machine learning algorithms evolved to also predict trends and preferences with remarkable accuracy. Marketers utilized AI-powered predictive analytics to forecast buying patterns, identify potential leads, and optimize marketing strategies in real-time.
The integration of AI chatbots and virtual assistants also reshaped customer service and engagement. These intelligent bots offered instant and personalized support to consumers, from handling queries to providing product recommendations and guiding purchases round the clock. This not only improved customer satisfaction but also contributed to a seamless omnichannel experience.
Sustainability takes center stage
The call for sustainability echoed louder than ever in marketing strategies. Ethical consumerism became a driving force, compelling brands to prioritize eco-friendly practices, transparent supply chains, and purpose-driven narratives. Sustainability wasn't merely a trend — it became an integral component shaping brand identities and consumer perceptions.
As sustainability became deeply intertwined with brand values, consumers increasingly demanded transparency and accountability from businesses regarding their environmental and social impact. Brands responded by integrating sustainable practices into their core operations and transparently communicating these initiatives to their audience.
Throughout 2023, we saw corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives evolve from token gestures to meaningful, impactful endeavors. Brands engaged in community-driven projects, supported environmental causes, and invested in sustainable development programs. These actions aligned with consumers' values and also contributed to building a positive brand image while simultaneously building stronger connections with socially aware audiences.
Influencer evolution and authenticity
The influencer landscape underwent a transformation, emphasizing authenticity and genuine connections over follower counts. Micro-influencers gained prominence by honing in on their ability to authentically engage niche audience connections, challenging the dominance of mega-influencers. Their ability to resonate with niche communities allowed for more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns.
Brands quickly recognized the value of these influencers in driving not just reach, but also trust and authenticity, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and brand loyalty. As a result, brands shifted their strategies from one-off collaborations to cultivating long-term partnerships with micro-influencers, aiming to create impactful, credible endorsements. Slowly but surely, authenticity metrics such as engagement rates, audience demographics, and content alignment became more crucial than sheer follower counts.
In 2023, the influencer marketing landscape also witnessed a diversification in content formats. Beyond traditional social media posts, influencers explored platforms like podcasts, live streams, and interactive storytelling to create more immersive and engaging content. And as 2024 rolls in, 89% of marketers plan to increase or maintain their investment in influencer marketing.
Privacy-centric marketing practices
Heightened concerns over data privacy propelled a shift towards privacy-centric marketing practices. Stricter regulations and evolving consumer attitudes urged marketers to prioritize data transparency, consent-driven approaches, and ethical handling of user information. Marketers embraced privacy-compliant strategies, ensuring customer trust remained paramount in all interactions.
Marketers recognized the importance of transparency in data handling processes, pivoting towards transparent and explicit communication regarding the collection and utilization of consumer data. This shift involved revisiting privacy policies, enhancing disclosures, and offering clear opt-in/opt-out mechanisms, empowering users to have more control over their data. As a result, consent-driven marketing became a cornerstone of privacy-centric strategies.
The concept of anonymization and pseudonymization gained prominence within data handling practices. Marketers explored ways to minimize Personally Identifiable Information (PII) while still extracting meaningful insights for targeted marketing efforts. Techniques like differential privacy and data aggregation helped in balancing the need for data-driven insights with user privacy protection.
Video commerce
In 2023, the dominance of video content persisted and expanded its influence as a primary vehicle for e-commerce. The fusion of entertainment and shopping experiences through live video streams and interactive content redefined the way consumers engaged with brands and made purchasing decisions.
Livestream shopping experiences became a phenomenon, particularly in the retail and fashion industries. Brands and influencers leveraged live video broadcasts to showcase products, demonstrate their usage, and engage directly with audiences in real time. These interactive sessions enabled consumers to ask questions, receive immediate feedback, and make purchases without leaving the platform, creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity around featured products.
Additionally, interactive video content became a pivotal tool for driving e-commerce sales. Brands embraced shoppable videos, integrating clickable elements within videos that allowed viewers to explore product details, access additional information, and make purchases seamlessly while watching the content. This immersive and interactive approach transformed passive viewers into active participants in the shopping experience, enhancing both engagement and conversion rates.
Voice search optimization
Voice-enabled devices and smart assistants continued to reshape search behaviors, prompting marketers to optimize for voice search. Conversational SEO strategies and content tailored for voice queries became essential to ensure visibility in voice-based searches. Brands raced to adapt, recognizing the growing significance of voice-activated technology in shaping consumer interactions.
Marketers responded to this trend by prioritizing conversational SEO strategies. Understanding the nuances of how users framed their queries in natural language became crucial. Marketers optimized their content to align with these conversational patterns, focusing on long-tail keywords, question-based phrases, and contextually relevant content that catered to the specificity of voice queries.
We also saw featured snippets and concise, informative content take the lead in voice search optimization. As smart assistants often provided users with succinct answers or summaries from featured snippets, brands aimed to secure these snippets by structuring their content in a way that directly answered common voice-search queries.
Embrace of extended reality (XR)
The utilization of extended reality (XR) technologies expanded exponentially across diverse sectors, with marketers leveraging augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) to create innovative and immersive experiences that captivated audiences. Augmented reality (AR) continued to thrive as a powerful tool in marketing, allowing consumers to overlay digital content onto the physical world.
Brands utilized AR applications for interactive product demonstrations, enabling customers to visualize products in their own environments before making purchasing decisions. This technology changed the way consumers experienced products, enhancing engagement and reducing uncertainty in the buying process.
There was a sharp increase in the use of virtual reality (VR) in marketing campaigns, offering unparalleled opportunities for storytelling and brand immersion. Brands transported users into simulated environments, delivering immersive narratives, virtual tours, and experiences that went beyond traditional advertising. VR-based events such as virtual trade shows, conferences, or brand-sponsored experiences provided a dynamic and engaging platform for brands to connect with audiences on a deeper level.
Meanwhile, mixed reality (MR) experiences allowed for more interactive and realistic engagements, enabling consumers to interact with digital elements while still being present in their physical surroundings. Brands harnessed MR to create captivating and interactive campaigns that blurred the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds.
However, the integration of extended reality (XR) technologies extended beyond product demonstrations and storytelling. Brands explored gamification as a means of engaging consumers through immersive experiences. Interactive games, challenges, and quests embedded within AR or VR environments not only entertained but also incentivized consumer engagement and brand interaction.
A look ahead: What to expect in 2024
As we move into 2024, you may be wondering what lies ahead for the marketing world. In the coming year, marketers will likely witness a continued rise of AI-driven personalization and automation, empowering brands to craft hyper-targeted content and seamless customer experiences across diverse channels. The metaverse will keep its position center stage, offering an immersive platform for brands to engage audiences through virtual environments, creating novel opportunities for interactive storytelling and brand interactions.
Additionally, consumer privacy and data ethics will remain at the forefront, propelling marketers to prioritize transparent data practices and zero-party data acquisition. Omnichannel marketing strategies will evolve, aiming for cohesive brand experiences across multiple touchpoints, while sustainability-focused initiatives will see increased emphasis as eco-conscious consumers demand ethically driven products and narratives. And AR and VR applications are expected to expand even further, redefining consumer engagement, while video content will evolve with shorter formats and interactive elements.
Adapting to these transformative shifts and leveraging innovative technologies will be essential for marketers to stay ahead, engage audiences effectively, and drive meaningful results in the ever-evolving digital sphere.
As you kick off the new year, consider partnering with MarinOne. We’ve got everything you need to help you achieve your marketing goals in 2024.
Five Cold Email Templates for B2B Lead Generation
Cold emails have a 5-10% success rate in B2B outreach, making them an essential strategy for sparking conversations and driving pipeline in B2B sales and marketing. Only 23.9% of cold emails received get opened, so you have to stand out to get noticed by your B2B prospects. And to continue to stand out, your tactics must evolve as buyer behavior changes and inboxes get crowded with irrelevant and unengaging emails.
Let's discuss how to craft strategic outreach, optimize your messaging, and measure results. It’s time to cut through the noise!
Understanding the B2B Landscape in 2024
B2B clients gather information online individually before making a buying decision, thanks to the wide availability of relevant information. This makes it tougher to sell a product or a service, as only 17% of B2B buyers meet with potential providers.
A typical buying group for a complex B2B solution consists of 6 to 10 people – meaning it will be even more difficult to land a sale.
More decision-makers and digital touchpoints require a dramatic shift in B2B lead generation strategies. Traditional mass emails without personalization won’t cut it anymore.
While your product pitch can’t be effective without drawing attention to it, you need the audience to notice the value of your product, not the fact that you are trying to sell it to them.
Hence, the B2B marketing landscape in 2023 demands an insight-driven, value-first approach. Let’s explore how to evolve your cold outreach strategy to achieve that.
Defining Cold Outreach in 2024
Effective cold outreach is all about providing value to earn attention, not interrupting people uninvited. Well-executed cold outreach includes:
- Targeted, insight-driven messaging that shows you understand the prospect’s problems
- Personalized email sequences with helpful content. Consultative follow-ups that demonstrate persistence and expertise
- Multi-channel coordination across digital and offline touchpoints
The goal is to initiate two-way conversations and build relationships with future buyers. Cold outreach powers that crucial top-of-funnel motion that ultimately drives sales and revenue.
Crafting an Effective Cold Outreach Strategy
Successful cold outreach begins with careful audience selection and insights. Follow these strategic steps to improve your cold outreach game:
Identify Your Ideal Customer Profile
Defining the ideal customer is critical for sending relevant messaging that resonates. Build a detailed buyer persona considering attributes like:
- Firmographics: Industry, size, location
- Demographics: Role, seniority
- Pain points: Specific challenges your targeted customers face
Going beyond surface-level data to target more specific categories can achieve even better results. For example:
- Industry/Role Combinations: Marketing managers in SaaS
- Tech Stack Details: SaaS companies using Mailchimp
- Pain Points: Companies that struggle with lead generation
Leverage intent data and firmographic research to identify best fits for your ICP. This enables hyper-relevant messaging.
Build a High-Quality Email List
Having a high-quality email list will not only increase open rates, but save money as well. Here are a couple of tactics to fine-tune your targeted list for cold outreach:
- Identify roles and titles that match your ideal customer profile (ICP).
- Verify email accuracy to retain your email deliverability and sender reputation.
One useful tool to help identify the best email list prospects is Hunter.io. With Hunter.io, it's easy to jump on a desired prospect domain and check the names and positions in a certain company. Hunter.io can also verify email addresses to ensure they are real. A platform such as this can greatly reduce the research time to find the decision-maker most likely to respond to your cold email.
Personalizate and Segment
B2B prospects expect personalized outreach tailored to their specific context. Segmenting an email list can increase revenue by 760% if done right.
Segment contacts into smaller groups based on attributes like industry, company size, job role, and tech stack details. Then, customize the messaging for each group. Email personalization can net 50% more open rates, so it is definitely worthwhile.
The more personalized and relevant the outreach, the higher the response rates will be. View segmentation as a crucial element, not just a nice-to-have.
Grab Attention with Intriguing Subject Lines
Subject lines have seconds to capture attention, so make them irresistible. Use power formulas like:
- Social proof: “Loved by over 50,000 users”
- Value proposition: “How we increased leads by 200%”
- Curated for the recipient: “Thought you’d find this interesting, [Name]”
- Question headlines tailored to specific pain points: “Struggling with [Pain Point]?”
Subject lines should be easy to read at a glance, so keep them under 60 characters.
Include Essential Elements in Your Email
The content structure in a cold email solicitation is especially important, as the email must arrest the recipient's attention at first glance. Pay particular attention to the following components for maximum impact:
- Personalized greeting: Use the prospect’s name to establish a personal connection.
- Hook: Capture attention with a compelling statistic or question relevant to the prospect’s industry.
- Relevance statement: Demonstrate understanding of their pain points.
- Key benefit statement: Summarize your product’s main value proposition.
- Social proof: Build credibility by showcasing (briefly!) previous wins tied to your product.
- Call-to-action: Outline a clear next step, such as booking a demo.
- Sign off: Use both first name and title.
Keep the email under 125 words – engaging and concise copy will establish the point and hold interest far better than lengthy details – no matter how impressive they may be.
Showcase Value Proposition
Make it crystal clear how your company can uniquely deliver value by focusing on:
- Quantified results and ROI delivered for other clients
- Relevant capabilities and features based on the prospect’s role in the company
- Business objectives your company/product can positively impact, like a higher amount of relevant leads
Don’t focus on generically upselling the prospect. Show the value of the product, and it will sell itself.
Include Social Proof
Add some credibility builders to the email copy such as:
- Recognizable customers and press mentions
- Testimonials relevant to the prospect’s industry
- Data on customer satisfaction or product retention
Aim for 1-2 proof points per email maximum. Social proof is most persuasive when tied to the prospect’s specific context.
Five Cold Email Templates for B2B Lead Generation
Let’s check out a couple of templates based on the tips shared above and see why they work.
Template 1: The Personalized Introduction
This template works because:
- The recipient’s first name on the subject line personalizes the email, thus capturing their attention.
- The email opener establishes credibility and relevance, and demonstrates an understanding of the prospect’s pain points or challenges.
- The value proposition highlights how the product helped other businesses, which can help build trust and curiosity.
Template 2: The Problem-Solver Pitch
This template works because:
- The subject line focuses on the prospect’s pain points, which immediately captures their interest.
- The opener quickly builds trust and interest due to the obvious research reflected in the email content.
- The value proposition showcases how other companies have achieved success with the product, making the prospect believe they may see the same success.
Template 3: The Social Proof Approach
This template works because:
- Focusing the subject line on a relevant metric in the prospect’s industry quickly captures interest.
- The email opener showcases an understanding of the prospect’s business.
- The value proposition outlines summarized case studies demonstrating your company’s expertise.
Template 4: The Value-Added Proposition
This template works because:
- The subject line showcases results the product can drive for the prospect.
- The email opener establishes credibility by validating experience solving similar problems for other companies.
- The value proposition outlines a summary of the positive outcomes the prospect can expect.
Template 5: The Follow-Up Reminder
This template works because:
- The subject line is clear, concise and captures interest by following up on a previous email topic.
- The opener refreshes the prospect’s memory.
- The value proposition showcases the fact that multiple solutions exist.
Optimize the Outreach Process
There are a few nuances to be aware of in the cold outreach process. Though very small details, addressing them consistently can increase B2B prospect conversion rates exponentially.
Timing and Frequency
Here are some tips on the best timing for cold emails:
- Send initial cold emails from Tuesday to Thursday to avoid Monday/Friday noise.
- Schedule emails for delivery at either 10 AM or mid-afternoon (around 3.30 PM).
- Follow up in 3-4 days if there is no response to the first email.
- Send a second follow-up 4-7 days after the first email.
- Send additional follow-ups weekly or bi-weekly.
Stick to less than 5 total outreach attempts per prospect and mix up each email copy for the best results.
Follow-Up Strategies
Don’t underestimate the value of a follow up email, as it has a 27% response rate on average – a jump from 16% for initial emails.
Here are a few tips on how to craft enticing follow-ups:
- Reference previous conversations to demonstrate persistence.
- Share relevant content like guides, blog posts, and webinars.
- Provide new information and social proof in each follow-up.
- Change up the call to action – offer a quick consultation, or a product demo.
Multichannel Approach
Some great channels to utilize along with cold email are LinkedIn, Twitter, text messaging, and phone calls. Cross-channel campaigns must be well designed, since LinkedIn, for example, limits connection requests to 100 per week. If a business sends more emails per week, then they must take that into account when planning their campaign.
Measuring and Analyzing Cold Outreach Campaigns
Always keep track of data during cold outreach campaigns. Data-driven decisions are the most powerful in optimizing cold outreach campaigns after the initial blasts.
Key Metrics to Track
To achieve an effective cold outreach campaign, adjustments and refinements must be made to reach the desired percentage rates. The essential metrics to track are:
- Open rate – Anything between 25% to 50% is considered good.
- Response rate – A good percentage is between 5% to 10%.
- Bounce rate – Anything above 2% should raise an alarm.
- Conversion rate – Aim for 10% - 20%.
A/B Testing
Each cold outreach campaign is a work-in-progress, so it is essential to perform A/B testing on cold email components such as:
- Subject lines – Learn which variant increases open rates.
- Content structure – See which variant resonates the best with a variety ofprospects.
- Call-to-action – Identify which variant drives the most conversions.
- Send times – Understand which days and times are optimal to send cold emails.
Change only one variable at a time to accurately measure their impact. Remember, small optimizations can substantially improve results.
Wrapping Up
Effective cold outreach remains crucial for B2B lead generation in 2023. Success requires deep audience insights, value-driven messaging, a tailored process, and continuous optimization.
By leveraging the strategies outlined, marketers can cut through the noise and establish authentic, valuable relationships with prospects.
A tool like Marin can help you manage your B2B sales and marketing efforts by unifying all the data points throughout your sales pipeline. If you're looking for a more organized marketing data pipeline, or for a tool that can help you scale up your B2B advertising efforts, click here to schedule a demo.
This Week in Digital: TikTok as a search engine, ads on ChatGPT?, and PMAX mistakes to avoid...
Hey there, Digital Darlings,
As we waltz through January, are you still riding the wave of those ambitious New Year's resolutions, or are we surfing the reality of 'just another manic Monday'? While you debate between a kale smoothie and the temptation of a double-shot espresso, let me serve you the piping hot, freshly brewed digital marketing tea, no sugar-coating included. Starting with some trendy Gen Z news…
TikTok is the hot new search engine.
A study by Adobe revealed that 10% of Gen Z chooses TikTok as their go-to search engine… above Google. This has me a little worried about the future of information like you can truly say anything on TikTok. Surely the non-filtered, non-SEO optimized element of TikTok is why young adults choose it as their main source of information. Especially when the topics they’re researching are recipes, music and fashion advice… sounds like they have their priorities straight! TikTok is surely a goldmine if you’re a marketer in the food, music, or fashion industries. Now for some obligatory AI news…
Last week I mentioned the release of OpenAI’s new GPT store, which was exciting for me as a daily ChatGPT user. But it also foretells the future of search engines and the way that GPTs will be monetized. It seems like…
OpenAI is trying to build an ‘Everything Engine’.
AKA - one text box where you can ask any question, and it’ll find the best solution - no scrolling required. Allen Pike predicts that eventually, we’ll be able to ask ChatGPT any question, and it’ll route us to the best GPT chatbot for the topic. If this happens, the new “Everything Engine” will be the most compelling advertising opportunity since the SERP. The ad-supported ChatGPT is coming… Advertisers - keep your eye on this one. ChatGPT could be the next great ad-serving platform of our lifetimes. But for now, Google is trying to keep up…
Google announced new ways to search in 2024.
These include ‘Circle to Search’ and ‘An AI-powered multisearch experience’. Circle to Search enables Android users to circle, highlight or tap images, text, or videos and immediately Google them. The AI-powered multisearch experience allows users to point their camera at an object, ask a question about it, and get an AI-powered answer. They say they’re trying to “make AI helpful for everyone, not just early adopters.” Aww, how sweet of them. They definitely don’t want to prevent OpenAI from stealing their ad business or anything… Also… these features are cool and all, but they’re Android-only and I, like most, have an iPhone. Nice try, though. Now, lets dive further into the world of paid media…
Search Engine Land published a great checklist for Paid Media success in 2024.
Some of the points are more high-level, like “lock-in business goals for the year” or “ensure you’re testing meaningful things”... I truly hope all paid media marketers already do these things, but hey, it’s good to have a reminder. That said, there are some great, more actionable tips as you work down the list, so I definitely recommend reviewing it. And in paid search news…
Stacked Marketer called out one thing paid search marketers should definitely NOT be doing - segmenting Performance Max campaigns.
Please resist the urge to run brand and non-brand PMAX campaigns side by side. I know you’ve probably been segmenting brand and non-brand for years, but PMAX is designed to do that for you. And retargeting is already built in. In fact, many marketers find that the majority of PMAX traffic comes from retargeting. So no, you do not need a brand campaign. In fact, running two PMAX campaigns side by side will make both campaigns less effective - they may even cannibalize each other. You hate to see it!
And that's the buzz in our digital hive, sweet trendsetters. Let's rendezvous here next week for another round of indispensable insights and irresistible industry intrigue. Till then, keep conquering the digital domain.
You know you love me.
6 Ways to Audit Your Meta Account and Improve Ad Performance
In the ever-changing digital advertising landscape, a recurring Meta audit is not just advisable—it is strategically imperative. It's the key to boosting ad campaign efficiency and unlocking the full potential of your investment. We've put together an audit roadmap to elevate the performance of your Meta ad accounts, incorporating the latest industry best practices and strategies that have proven effective for any campaign objective.
1. Review ad account structure
It’s best practice to have 3-5 ad sets per campaign and 3-5 ads per ad set. This structure will enable Meta’s algorithms to test different targets, creatives, and placements. The platform will then dynamically select the best ad for each target group and placement, which maximizes engagement. Having multiple ads in rotation also helps prevent audiences from seeing the same ads over and over, which causes ad fatigue. Managing a moderate number of ad sets, and ads per set, streamlines performance monitoring, allowing advertisers to quickly identify effective strategies and areas that require adjustment.
2. Audit your targeting funnel
We recommend utilizing a full-funnel approach that consists of Prospecting, Retargeting, and Retention campaigns. The first step is ensuring you have separate Prospecting, Retargeting, and Retention audiences.
The three audience segments
Your Prospecting audience should consist of potential new customers who have not engaged with your brand online before. You can build this audience by targeting interest groups, or demographics like age or location. You can also use a lookalike audience (LAL). This is where you provide Meta with an example audience and it creates an audience of similar users. An easy way to do this is to create a lookalike audience based on your retargeting and retention audiences. This way, Meta will find people who's digital personas are similar to those already in your sales pipeline and target them. The ads for your prospecting audience should be tailored to the ‘potential new customer’ demographic, providing informative and intriguing content about your products.
Your Retargeting audience should consist of people who have engaged with your brand in the past but have not completed a purchase. You can use first-party data from your website, or Meta’s data on people who have interacted with your Facebook and Instagram pages to create this audience. The ads for your retargeting audience should be focused on pushing people down the sales pipeline. Remind them of how great your products are, and maybe even offer a discount code to get them to make that first purchase.
Your Retention audience should consist of existing customers whom you want to maintain loyalty with. You can use a list of past purchasers to create this audience. Ads for this group can be used to cross-sell, promote loyalty programs, or just keep the customer engaged with your brand.
The importance of exclusions
Make sure that the members of one audience are excluded from the other two audiences. This will keep your account organized and lay the groundwork for successful A/B testing initiatives by setting clear parameters for testing. For example, all retargeting and retention audiences should be excluded from prospecting campaigns (AKA any user with past engagements, website visitors, add to cart, purchases should be excluded).
Segmenting your retargeting audience
You can take your segmentation even further by dividing the retargeting audience into three smaller segments - low, mid, and high-intent retargeting audiences. The low-intent audience would contain minimally engaged users, like those who have viewed your Instagram profile. The mid-intent audience would contain moderately engaged users, like those who follow your Instagram account or have engaged with your website. The high-intent audience would contain very engaged users like cart abandoners, or those who have spent a lot of time on your website.
When deciding whether or not to segment your retargeting audience, it’s best to test both approaches to know what works best. However, as a general best practice, we recommend one consolidated retargeting audience if your budget is on the lower side. But if your ads generate a high volume of visitors, try dividing your retargeting audiences into different segments and see if it drives a lift in conversion volume.
3. Diversify your targeting
The two primary types of target audiences are specific and broad. Neither method holds an inherent advantage over the other. The choice between the two depends on your objectives and the resources at your disposal. Meta continually refines its broad targeting algorithm, aiming to help businesses reach potential customers they might not have discovered otherwise. Therefore, it is advisable to experiment with both broad and specific audience targeting.
Broad targeting
Opting for broad targeting means relying predominantly on Meta’s ad delivery system to identify the most relevant audience for your ad.
Pros:
- Discover New Audiences: Meta’s algorithms can identify potential customers outside your typical audience parameters, expanding your reach.
- Leverages Meta’s Advanced Algorithms: Utilize Meta’s machine learning to optimize ad delivery.
- Saves Time on Audience Research: Less initial effort is required to define audience specifics.
Cons:
- Lower Relevance: Ads might reach users who are less likely to engage or convert.
- Difficult to Personalize Content: a one-size-fits-all creative approach may not resonate as well with a diverse audience.
- Less Control Over Audience Selection: relies heavily on Meta's algorithm, which can be unpredictable.
Specific targeting
Specific targeting allows you to choose the audience to whom your ads are shown. Particularly at the acquisition level, directing your content to the eyes of your target audience is essential.
Pros:
- Higher Relevance and Engagement: Targeting a specific audience increases the likelihood of reaching users interested in your product or service.
- Better for Niche Markets: Precise targeting is best for businesses with a very specific customer base.
- Easier to Tailor Content: Allows for more personalized and effective ad messaging.
Cons:
- Limited Reach: Can exclude potential customers who don’t fit narrow criteria.
- Requires In-Depth Audience Knowledge: Demands thorough research and understanding of your target demographic.
- Risk of Audience Fatigue: Over-serving ads to the same audience can lead to decreased engagement.
4. Always be testing
A/B testing is vital in Meta advertising as it optimizes performance, informs data-driven decisions, and ensures campaigns stay relevant. Regular testing is key, especially when changing your messaging, adapting to trends, or after platform updates. Test different ad elements like copy, visuals, ad formats, and targeting. While the frequency of testing depends on campaign dynamics, testing every few weeks is a common approach. Allocate a percentage of your budget to A/B testing, typically around 10-20%, to maximize insights without disproportionately impacting overall campaign spend. This balance ensures ongoing optimization and cost-efficient, data-driven decision-making in Meta advertising.
5. Update Your Creatives
Creating compelling Meta ad creatives involves a combination of creativity, strategic thinking, and adherence to best practices. Make sure your creatives have these features:
- Clear Message: Keep it concise and focused on your value proposition.
- Eye-Catching Visuals: Use high-quality, relevant images or videos.
- Strong CTA: Include a compelling call-to-action that stands out.
- Mobile Optimization: Ensure your creatives are mobile-friendly.
- Carousel Ads: Showcase multiple aspects of your offering.
- Highlight Benefits: Emphasize the benefits of your product or service.
- Social Proof: Use testimonials or user-generated content to build credibility.
- Interactive Elements: Consider polls, quizzes, or playable ads to increase engagement.
- Adapt to Platform: Use Meta’s news site to stay up to date on new features.
- Personalization: Tailor creatives based on user behavior or demographics.
- Compliance: Ensure adherence to Meta's advertising guidelines.
6. QA your attribution window
It's crucial to select an attribution window that aligns with your campaign goals, customer journey, and conversion types. For example, a 7-day click and 1-day view window suits products needing prior consideration. Longer attribution windows are ideal for high-consideration purchases, while shorter windows suit impulse buys. Regular testing with the A/B Test tool in Ads Manager helps identify the most effective settings. Adjust your approach based on product/service needs, and use shorter windows for immediate conversions, like flash sales. Continuously monitor campaign performance trends for insights and stay informed about privacy changes that might impact attribution measurement, adjusting your strategies as needed.
Closing Thoughts
Following the steps above to complete a quarterly audit of your Meta account will ensure optimal performance for your campaigns. You can also use a tool like Marin to streamline the process. Marin for Meta allows you to unify front and backend data and get a clear view of performance. It also enables you to create and edit ads in bulk, provides automated insights for account improvement, and much more. To learn more about how Marin can help you reach your Paid Social advertising goals, click here to schedule a demo.
The Dos and Don'ts of Personalization in Social Media Marketing
Personalized social media content is not merely a trend, but a strategic approach that allows brands to connect with their audience on a more human level. However, to truly maximize the effectiveness of personalized engagement — especially on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram — marketers must strike a delicate balance between getting their message across and doing it without compromising authenticity or crossing boundaries.
When used properly, personalization can be a powerful tool for engaging your audience. Here’s a rundown of the dos and don’ts of personalized social media engagement to help you establish more meaningful connections while driving business growth and increasing brand awareness.
The dos
To make sure your personalized Instagram and Facebook content is effective, consider using these tips to woo your audience.
1. Use Instagram Insights to create highly targeted audiences
Instagram Insights is a goldmine for marketing data. You’ll find everything you need about your audience, from who your followers are to the content they engage with the most, and what times your audience is most active. With all this data at your fingertips, you can create tailored audience segments based on specific interests, behaviors, or engagement levels to ensure your marketing campaigns are effective.
2. Use Facebook Dynamic Ads and Instagram Shopping
Facebook Dynamic Ads dynamically display products or services to users who have shown interest in them, allowing for personalized recommendations based on their browsing history or previous interactions.
Similarly, Instagram Shopping integrates seamlessly with organic content, enabling your business to tag products in posts and stories, providing a direct shopping experience within the platform. Together, these features not only enhance the user experience by delivering relevant and personalized content but also streamline the path to purchase and improve conversion rates.
3. Try retargeting using the Facebook Pixel and Instagram Pixel
Employing advanced retargeting strategies such as Facebook Pixel and Instagram Pixel to track user interactions and behavior on your website or app can significantly bolster your personalized social media engagement efforts. Because both tracking tools enable you to gather data on user behavior, it’s easier to retarget users with personalized content based on their previous actions, preferences, or abandoned carts. It also allows you to create a more personalized and relevant experience for users, reminding them of products they've shown interest in, thereby nurturing a more meaningful connection between your brand and audience.
4. Integrate AI-powered chatbots into your Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages
AI-powered chatbots can use machine learning algorithms to understand user queries, preferences, and behaviors, delivering highly personalized responses and recommendations. Facebook and Instagram bots in particular enable real-time, automated interactions with users, offering personalized assistance, recommendations, and support round the clock.
These chatbots deliver tailored responses and suggestions, mimicking human interactions. Integrating AI-powered chatbots not only expedites customer service but also allows for personalized product recommendations, content delivery, and even transactional assistance. In addition, these chatbots continuously learn from interactions, refining their responses and recommendations over time, ensuring a seamless and personalized experience for users. Using this technology, you can actively engage with users, which demonstrates your commitment to your audience's needs and concerns.
5. Take advantage of Instagram’s Collab feature
One of Instagram’s most recent new features, Collab, allows marketers to co-author content with a collaborator, which can multiply engagement and reach and can increase followers. Consider leveraging this feature to collaborate with industry leaders, influencers, and brand partners so that when collab posts show up in your followers’ feeds, you can garner higher engagement.
6. Always respect privacy and boundaries
Eight out of 10 consumers are worried about data privacy. Considering the vast array of accessible data, it's crucial to use personal information ethically and transparently. Before using personal information, always ask for consent and explain how you plan to use the data.
Upholding user privacy instills confidence in customers that their information is handled responsibly, safeguarding against potential breaches or misuse. While there is a fine line between tailored content and intrusion, respecting boundaries enhances the user experience without making individuals feel exposed or uncomfortable. It also helps your business adhere to legal and ethical standards.
7. Embrace the 80/20 rule
Users don’t log in to their social media accounts to see ads. In fact, statistics reveal that approximately 47% use it to keep in touch with friends and family, while 36% find it to be a good way to spend their free time. If you want to really capture your audience’s attention, focus 80% of your content on providing value, education, entertainment, or addressing tailored audience needs. Reserve the remaining 20% for promotional or branded content to create a sense of exclusivity.
When users’ social media accounts become inundated with endless promotional messages, they’ll start to tune you out. However, if you dedicate the majority of efforts towards offering meaningful, tailored content that resonates with your audience, not only will you captivate your audience and foster authentic connections, but you’ll also maximize revenue.
8. Leverage through-channel marketing automation (TCMA)
By providing a holistic view of your audience's behaviors, preferences, and interactions across different channels, through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) enables you to orchestrate personalized campaign content. It ensures that each interaction resonates with the specific interests and needs of different audience segments.
Through-channel marketing automation also facilitates precise scheduling and deployment of content, optimizing the timing and frequency of posts and ads to maximize engagement and impact. Additionally, it streamlines workflows, allowing you to allocate resources more efficiently and focus on refining strategies to foster brand loyalty and more meaningful connections across Facebook and Instagram.
The don'ts
Customized marketing is powerful, but using it the wrong way can frustrate your audience. To avoid potential pitfalls, steer clear of these personalization practices.
1. Don’t overuse automation
While automation can streamline processes, excessive reliance on automated responses or messages can come off as impersonal. Avoid using automation to replace genuine human interaction entirely. Instead, aim to blend automation intelligently within human-led interactions to enhance efficiency while maintaining a personalized touch. Doing so will ensure a balanced and authentic customer experience.
2. Don’t neglect negative feedback
Ignoring negative comments or feedback can harm your brand reputation. Address criticism respectfully, offering solutions or clarifications publicly or privately, based on the situation. Acknowledging and addressing negative feedback not only exhibits empathy, but also strengthens trust with your audience by showcasing a willingness to learn, evolve, and prioritize the needs of your customers.
3. Don’t assume personal details
Avoid making assumptions based on limited personal information. Personalization should be based on verified data or user-provided information rather than assumptions that might be inaccurate or offensive. Rather than relying on stereotypes or generalizations, personalization should cater to individual preferences. Aim to treat each user uniquely and definitely don’t use data that wasn’t voluntarily provided.
4. Don’t spam or overwhelm users
Bombarding users with excessive messages, notifications, or content can be overwhelming and push them away. Being too overbearing can be a huge turn-off for consumers and cause them to disengage or unsubscribe from your channels altogether. By implementing a frequency cap on ads you can strike a good balance between personalized targeting and avoiding audience saturation. With the right frequency, you’ll be able to retain interest while keeping content fresh and respecting your audience's tolerance for advertising content.
5. Don’t engage in controversial topics without caution
While personalization aims for connection, avoid engaging in controversial or sensitive topics without a thoughtful approach. Such discussions may alienate segments of your audience or create conflicts. Assess whether the topic aligns with the brand's values and if the discussion will add genuine value or positively contribute to the audience's experience. A thoughtful approach that respects diverse viewpoints and avoids inflammatory rhetoric is essential to maintain a harmonious and inclusive community within your audience.
6. Don’t neglect monitoring and adjusting
Regularly monitoring the effectiveness of personalized engagement strategies is fundamental to optimizing and enhancing your approach. Your ongoing evaluation should involve tracking various metrics, including user engagement rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, sentiment analysis, and more.
Also be sure to gather feedback from users through surveys, comments, or direct messages to obtain invaluable qualitative data that will help you understand audience perceptions and preferences. By meticulously assessing these indicators, you can identify patterns, pinpoint successful strategies, and recognize areas needing improvement and adjust accordingly.
Use MarinOne to boost personalized social media engagement
Your primary aim on social media should be to deliver an exceptional experience tailored specifically to your target audience. Customizing each piece of content your audience encounters to align with their unique interests and preferences is crucial. When you do, your business will reap the rewards of heightened engagement and increased customer satisfaction, creating a mutually beneficial scenario.
With MarinOne’s all-in-one platform, marketers can delve into detailed audience segmentation, allowing for precise targeting based on demographics, behaviors, and preferences. Our platform facilitates the seamless integration of data from various sources, providing invaluable insights into audience interactions across different channels. Using our advanced analytics, marketers can optimize content strategies, identify trends, and tailor their social media content to resonate deeply with specific audience segments.
Whether through content scheduling, A/B testing, or audience-centric optimizations, MarinOne equips marketers with the necessary tools to create compelling, personalized social media content that fosters stronger connections and drives meaningful engagement with their target audience.
Are you ready to start generating personalized social media content for your audience? Sign up for a free trial today.
This Week in Digital: Cookie deprecation extensions, Taylor Swift deepfakes, and more…
Greetings, Digital Trailblazers,
Is the new year treating you well? I’m having a pretty good time, aside from the fact that I am being inundated with health and fitness ads, and my local gym has been mobbed. New year, new you? Let’s check back in in February and see how that’s going…
Especially now that Google isn’t taking your cookies away.
Google’s New Year's resolution was to finally deprecate those pesky third-party cookies they’ve been saying they’ll get rid of for years. But they just announced that they’re going to allow some sites to opt out of the 3rd party cookie phase-out. While Chrome still plans to get rid of third-party cookies by Q3, this new program will let select sites temporarily re-enable them until December 27, 2024. I’m not the most technical girlie, so I’ll let this quote from Search Engine Land explain how it works:
“Eligible websites can enable third-party cookie deprecation trials by using JavaScript to provide unique access tokens in Chrome. To request a third-party token during registration, activate the “Third-party matching” option on the origin trial’s registration page. The third-party token should be provided through JavaScript by creating an origin trial <meta> tag, not in HTML code or an HTTP header.”
Did you get all that? Good! Now, it’s important to note that you have to apply for the opt-out, and any site that’s known to provide advertising services will not be approved. Sorry, agencies. :/ Now, for some social news…
A growing number of Meta ads have been featuring deepfakes of celebrity endorsements.
Most recently, a deepfake of Taylor Swift was used to pedal La Creuset cookware.
First, let me say that La Creuset is INNOCENT. I love and support that brand, and the real Taylor Swift does too. She’s known to have a large collection of La Creuset cookware, which unfortunately made this deepfake scam all the more believable. The ad featured a synthetic version of Swift’s voice saying that she was giving away free cookware, then prompted users to share personal information. In response, La Creuset urged shoppers to check its official social media accounts before participating in any sort of promotion. Ugh, it’s hard to be an impulse shopper these days with all these scammers running amuck, and the deepfakes are only getting more realistic. Meta eventually took action against these ads, but it was too late - hundreds had already been scammed. Shoppers, stay on your toes…
Now for some positive AI news - OpenAI released the GPT store to the public.
This gives ChatGPT plus users access to a ton of customizable chatbots with a foundation of expertise in the necessary areas. Whether you’re conducting research, creating AI-generated images, or writing SEO-optimized content, there’s a bot for that.
Lastly, let's chat about X’s recent drama.
Any company owned by Elon Musk is bound to be… interesting. But why does X keep banning and unbanning a bunch of journalists and podcasters? Elon claimed that they were doing a sweep for spam accounts and accidentally banned a bunch of real ones. But the banned users all seem to have something in common… they openly disagree with Elon’s political views. That’s rich, coming from a guy who has un-banned some truly awful people from Twitter on the basis of ‘free speech’. Sigh…
From an advertising perspective, it’s worth noting that X is now a video-first platform just like TikTok and Reels, with video being a part of 80% of user sessions. They’ve announced a new partnership with Integral Ad Science that will classify all vertical videos for brand safety, so you can feel more secure about running video ads on the platform. With more than 100 million people watching vertical video ads on X daily, it’s worth scaling your TikTok and Reel ads onto X as well.
And that’s this week’s digital Download, darlings. Stay relevant, stay fabulous, and come back next week for more marketing tea.
You know you love me.
Best Practices for Growing Your Company's TikTok Profile
Aren’t 100% sure how to grow your business account on TikTok?
Don’t fret about it.
The reality?
You can google up and find hundreds of tips for TikTok business growth. But what works best for generating more likes, views, followers, and sales?
We’ve fished out proven TikTok marketing tips used by successful brands. This guide will help you create engaging TikTok content and advertise on TikTok like a pro.
Did you know:
- Every minute, more than 16,000 videos are put up on TikTok!
- TikTok is on the list of social media with the highest ROI, along with Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, as cited by 16% of marketers (Source).
- 60% of TikTok users have visited a brand they noticed on the platform or bought from it immediately (Source).
- On average, videos from TikTok business accounts gather 24K views (Source).
- At least one in ten small businesses has achieved virality on TikTok (Source).
This article breaks down how to make it happen. Stick around to discover the “hows” of conquering TikTok as a business.
Content Creation Tips to Accelerate Your TikTok Account Growth (+ Examples)
After you set up a TikTok business account, it’s time to create compelling content for it. So, let’s find out how to do it.
Produce humorous content
“To lift my spirits.”
That was the top reason for browsing TikTok chosen by users in a study.
Humor remains one of the long-ago-revealed secrets of efficient content creation. In fact, 66% of marketers confirm that funny content works best on social media.
This could be anything like:
- Memes
- Wordplay/puns
- Slapstick comedy
- Amusing pet videos
- Skits
- Satire, etc.
Yet, there’s a bothersome concern among some brands.
Are comical TikToks the right fit for more “serious” brands offering insurance, banking, or other financial services?
Take the answer from Jim Pendergast, Senior Vice President at altLINE Sobanco. He believes, “Comedy and humor are compulsory emotional triggers for building TikTok business profiles in the financial industry, especially among finance brands targeting Generation Z. There’s one basic rule, however, when leveraging humorous content in finance – make it industry-relevant.”
Consider the TikTok content strategies of FinTech companies such as Klarna and Chime. Both share funny videos and memes about personal finance management and add niche hashtags (#FinTok and #MoneyTok).
For example, this funny video by Chime collected over 6K impressions and 4.2M views.
Teach your audience something valuable.
TikTok is a source for discovering new information for 35% of users.
“Each time you share knowledge and provide value through your content, you grow on TikTok by nurturing leads and building relationships with them,” claims Michael Maximoff, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Belkins. “Educational videos resonate well with the audience and form an invisible but powerful bond between a brand and a potential customer,” he adds.
At Belkins, marketers create helpful B2B content on TikTok: business how-tos, lessons, and tools. For example, one of the company’s rubrics starts with Did You Know, like: Did you know you can cancel an email sent in Gmail, or Did you know that using this opening line can generate 10-15% more B2B traction?
Hashtag your descriptions wisely
Why bother hashtagging your TikTok videos?
According to Morgan Taylor, Co-Founder of Jolly SEO, “Hashtags are a secret sauce of TikTok SEO. They help optimize your TikTok business profile and increase your video’s discoverability on the platform. TikTok business accounts have a huge field for hashtag experiments because there is a 4,000-character limit for video descriptions.”
Morgan Taylor recommends mixing up niche, related, and trendy hashtags to boost your business’s organic reach on TikTok. Let’s discuss the three types with examples from search engine optimization, aka SEO, as a niche.
- Niche hashtags
A niche hashtag is a specific, targeted search phrase or word. It is aimed at a narrower pool of people from a particular niche.
For example: #seotips, #onpageseo, #backlinks, etc.
Related hashtags
A related hashtag is a word or phrase closely associated with the niche.
For example: #digitalmarketing, #website, #marketingstrategy, etc.
- Trendy hashtags
A trendy hashtag is more popular and competitive, typically unrelated to the niche. It targets a broader audience.
Some trending TikTok hashtags the will drive more views are:
- #fyp
- #duet
- #viralvideo
- #funny
- #humor
- #trending
- #memes, etc.
Understanding the performance of these hashtags through hashtag analytics can provide valuable insights into audience engagement and reach across platforms.
Let’s analyze this TikTok video by Jolly SEO.
They used -
Niche hashtags: #seousa, #linkbuildingtips, and #linkbuilding.
Related hashtag: #marketingtips.
Trendy hashtag: #fyp.
Pro tip → Use a TikTok hashtag generator to copy-paste relevant, related, and trendy hashtags.
Pick trendy topics, music, features, and video formats
You can make your brand more visible on TikTok by jumping on the trendy wave and exploring new TikTok trends.
“When creating content for TikTok business profiles, companies should become trend-hunters to improve their chances of going viral on TikTok,” claims Eric Mills, Owner of Lightning Card Collection. He provides an example from the entertainment and gaming industry:
“Pokémon Go once took over the world and immersed users in a new video game universe. Since then, the #pokemongo hashtag gathered 13.8B views on TikTok, and businesses started newsjacking its popularity and creating promotional campaigns with Pokémon characters.”
New trending topics arrive at TikTok’s shore every day. For example, just recently, it was the Barbie movie. The social media site went all pink with the #barbie hashtag (99B views).
Engaging features like trending sounds, filters, and effects are also among the most helpful tactics for TikTok customer acquisition.
Regarding TikTok video types, the most popular are:
- Duet
- Stitch
- Lip-syncing
- Day in the Life
- Prank
- Dance
According to Statista, dance is TikTok’s second most viewed content category (after entertainment) worldwide. It hit 181B hashtag views in 2020.
Pro tip → Track new trending content in the TikTok Creative Center.
Leverage holiday-driven giveaways
Do you want to grow your TikTok business profile even faster?
If yes, grab this strategy from Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel, who advises businesses to hold TikTok giveaways during holidays:
“People enjoy contests and seek opportunities to win prizes. This makes giveaways a superb tool to gain more followers on TikTok and maximize your social media presence on this platform.”
And the proof is in the stats. On average, giveaways have a 34% conversion rate and outperform other content types. And 62% of brands take advantage of giveaways to improve brand awareness.
Jerry Han adds, “When you tie giveaways to holidays, you can double your TikTok results. Just make sure to clarify the rules and offer valuable rewards when organizing a TikTok giveaway.” He shares a list of possible giveaway prizes:
- Gift cards
- Gift certificates
- Product boxes
- Limited edition products
- Event tickets
- Monthly or annual subscriptions
- Free shipping, etc.
For example, Ulta Beauty incorporated a Christmas giveaway into their holiday marketing campaign on TikTok.
Their video clearly explains the giveaway rules and teases customers with a $500 Ulta Beauty gift card as a reward.
TikTok Advertising Strategies to Expand Your Reach (+ Examples)
The best way to grow your account is to tap in to advertising. And you can do it effectively with paid ads, influencer campaigns, and Shopify integrations (for Shopify e-stores).
Paid ads
Are TikTok ads worth it?
78% of SMBs report that TikTok advertisements drive profits within six months.
The top five TikTok ad formats are:
- In-Feed Ads
- Spark Ads
- Brand Takeover Ads
- TopView Ads
- Branded Hashtag Challenges and Branded Effects
Look at one of the best TikTok ad examples by Pepsi.
It’s a Branded Hashtag Challenge promoted by In-Feed and TopView Ads and enhanced with a duet feature. The campaign resulted in a 4.73 % engagement rate and 3.1B+ video views.
Pro tip → Use Marin + TikTok to grow your business with paid ads on TikTok.
Influencer partnerships
You can’t deny the rise of influencer marketing and its benefits. Brand collaborations with content creators on TikTok drive a 27% higher ad recall and a 91% higher view rate.
Isn’t it an ideal time to develop an influencer marketing strategy for TikTok?
You can collaborate with –
- Mega-influencers: 1M+ followers
- Macro-influencers: 100,000 – 1M followers
- Micro-influencers: 10,000 – 100,000 followers
- Nano-influencers: 1,000 – 10,000 followers (They have the highest average engagement rate of 8%, in contrast to other influencers.)
Once you’ve decided to start such a partnership, there’s one more thing to remember. Andrew Pierce, CEO at LLC Attorney, reminds brands about the importance of signing contracts with TikTok content creators. He says, “An influencer agreement is a significant document for the TikTok content creator and the company. It ensures smooth collaboration and protects both parties from possible legal issues. These can be misleading or false advertising, IP rights infringement, the right of publicity violation, etc.”
Shopify Integration
If you run a Shopify business, it’s easy to promote and sell your products with TikTok.
Here’s how to set up TikTok Shopify integration and launch paid marketing campaigns:
- Open your admin page on Shopify.
- Go to Sales Channels and select TikTok.
- Click “Set Up Now”
- Connect your TikTok business account and TikTok Ads Manager.
Voila, you can start selling and advertising on TikTok.
The Founder of Habit Skin, Tai Adaya, shares, “Advertising with TikTok has ‘hockey-sticked’ our growth. Seriously, we can’t stay in stock!” The company is currently on the threshold of 400K followers.
Ready to Grow Your Business on TikTok?
TikTok is a fantastic place to broaden the company’s reach and promote products/services.
With the above strategies, you can now tweak your business presence on TikTok and gain a large and engaged follower base around your brand more quickly and efficiently.
Press “Play” in your TikTok advertising game with Marin. Schedule a demo to see how you can achieve rapid TikTok growth with the power of ad automation.
Harnessing the Power of AI for SEO with Automated Keyword Research
It’s no secret that the art of keyword research lies at the heart of successful online marketing strategies. As the volume of online content continues to surge, the competition for visibility in search engine results has become increasingly fierce.
In response to this challenge, marketers are turning to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), which has already revolutionized numerous industries and is now making its mark in the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By harnessing the power of AI, marketers can uncover consumer behavior insights, paving the way for more strategic and impactful digital marketing campaigns.
In this blog, we’ll explore the reasons you should take advantage of the transformative power of AI to automate keyword research. We’ll also provide practical strategies and actionable advice about how to effectively use AI to craft targeted, high-impact content that resonates with your target audience and drives tangible results.
Why you should automate keyword research with AI
Simply put, AI-powered technology is crucial if you want to stay ahead of the competition in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Efficiency and time-saving benefits
Automating keyword research with AI is a transformative step toward maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of your SEO strategy. Traditional manual research can be incredibly time-consuming, requiring substantial resource allocation. In contrast, AI-powered automation streamlines this process, swiftly parsing through extensive datasets and delivering insights in a fraction of the time.
By reducing repetitive tasks and labor-intensive processes, businesses can redirect their efforts toward more strategic endeavors. Additionally, AI's unparalleled capacity for rapid data analysis ensures that no opportunity is overlooked. This not only boosts SEO performance but also enables businesses to stay agile.
AI also facilitates comprehensive market research and competitor analysis, providing a holistic view of the competitive landscape and empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions for sustained success.
Improved accuracy and relevance
AI offers a quantum leap in accuracy and relevance, surpassing what manual efforts can achieve. By eliminating the potential for human error, including typos, oversight, and inconsistencies, it ensures that every keyword chosen is precise and relevant. In turn, this increases targeted traffic and boosts visibility, thereby creating a more effective SEO strategy.
Better search intent analysis
One of the key advantages of AI is its ability to conduct superior search intent analysis. For 67% of marketers, making intent data actionable is a challenge. But by leveraging advanced algorithms, AI can swiftly discern the underlying motivations and objectives behind user searches. This ensures that the content you create is not only relevant but also perfectly aligned with user intent.
If you want to capture the attention of your target audience and provide them with precisely what they’re looking for, this alignment is critical. Not only does AI enhance your SEO efforts, but it also ensures that your content resonates with your audience on a deeper level, ultimately driving higher engagement and better conversion rates.
Data-driven insights
AI-driven keyword research provides a treasure trove of data-driven insights that can revolutionize your marketing strategy. It can precisely interpret complex data patterns, extracting actionable insights that might have otherwise remained hidden.
With deeper insights, AI paves the way for informed decision-making, allowing for campaign optimization with unparalleled precision. With AI at the helm of keyword research, your business can confidently navigate the competitive world of online marketing so that every strategic move is backed by robust, data-driven intelligence.
Scalability and consistency
With its ability to efficiently analyze vast amounts of data, AI-powered tools enable marketers to swiftly identify relevant keywords tailored to diverse industries and target audiences. Using AI not only expedites the keyword research process but also ensures a level of accuracy and scalability unattainable through manual methods. AI-automated keyword research also ensures consistency by applying standardized criteria in keyword selection, eliminating human biases and errors. By continually refining and optimizing SEO strategies, marketers can adapt content to resonate effectively with the evolving preferences of the audience.
Automating keyword research with AI also fosters a seamless continuity in research efforts. It reduces dependency on individual researcher expertise, safeguarding against fluctuations in performance due to personnel changes or skill variations. And since consistency is crucial for maintaining the quality and relevance of keyword selection across team members and over timeframes, AI is particularly helpful. It also paves the way for long-term campaign planning and execution, as businesses can rely on a reliable and standardized approach to keyword research, regardless of external factors or internal team dynamics.
How to use AI effectively when conducting automated keyword research
By harnessing AI for automated keyword research, you can take advantage of its powerful capabilities to help your business unlock new opportunities for growth and visibility.
Choose the right AI-powered tools and platforms
With a plethora of AI keyword research tools on the market, the best place to start is by researching which options meet your specific needs and goals. Don’t forget to consider factors like budget constraints and required features when selecting the most suitable solution. Opt for tools that provide a comprehensive suite of features, including robust data analysis, precise keyword suggestions, and user-friendly interfaces. Here are some of the best AI SEO tools:
- SurferSEO
Top Features:
- Concentration on optimizing keyword positioning and refining content for SEO tactics.
- Robust tools for enhancing search engine result page performance.
- AI-powered content and structure generators aiding in achieving higher search engine rankings.
- AI-generated tasks to enhance your SEO approach effectively.
- Comprehensive array of conventional SEO tools.
Drawbacks:
- Steep learning curve for SEO novices.
- Absence of preset cues for maximizing the tool's SEO utilization.
- Some users note restrictions in the keyword research function compared to other SEO tools.
- Scarce collaborative or project management tools available.
- Jasper
Top Features:
- AI engine adaptable to a company's brand voice, strengthening brand communication.
- Capable of generating short- and long-form content, spanning from social media content to extensive publications.
- Offers customizable preferences known as Copywriting Skills, generating various content types like introductions or storytelling.
- Seamlessly integrates with SurferSEO for optimizing content for search engines.
- Supports AI writing across 25 diverse languages.
Drawbacks:
- Full-fledged SEO functionality necessitates the use of a third-party tool.
- Lacks robust collaboration or project management features.
- Absence of an in-built plagiarism checker.
- Tendency to generate repetitive content.
- NitroPack
Top Features:
- Drives page loading times to top-tier speeds within the industry.
- Offers extensive image optimization tools, featuring automatic conversion to the efficient WebP format.
- Simplifies implementation through user-friendly plugins.
- Employs a multifaceted approach to speed optimization with a variety of features.
Drawbacks:
- Solely focuses on accelerating webpage loading speed and doesn't address other SEO facets.
- Limited compatibility with a restricted set of web content management systems.
- Incompatibility issues with certain plugins.
Set clear objectives and parameters
Before diving into keyword research, it's imperative to establish clear objectives and parameters. Define your research goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Use these to guide the AI tool in generating results for your specific requirements. Configuring the AI tool to cater to your objectives ensures that the generated insights are tailored to your business's unique needs.
Implement filters and validation checks
While AI is a powerful tool, it's not immune to potential biases or anomalies in results. Therefore, it’s best to implement filters and validation checks for better accuracy and reliability of the generated data. Addressing any discrepancies promptly will help maintain the integrity of your keyword research efforts.
Integrate AI-generated insights into SEO strategies
AI-generated insights are a goldmine for refining your SEO strategy. Analyze and prioritize the keyword recommendations provided by the AI. Focus on keywords with high relevance, search volume, and competitiveness, and then seamlessly integrate these keywords into your content and campaigns to optimize your online presence.
Monitor and perform iterative optimization
The power of AI lies in its ability to adapt and learn. Regularly review the reports and suggestions generated by the AI. Keep a close eye on performance metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and keyword rankings. Use these insights to adjust your strategies and continually refine your keyword research efforts.
Steering clear of common SEO pitfalls in AI-powered keyword research
When it comes to AI-powered keywords for SEO, there are some common pitfalls that you should try to avoid. Chief among these is depending too much on AI without human oversight, which can result in either skewed results or inaccuracies. The absence of human oversight alongside AI reliance can result in a lack of contextual understanding, inaccurate interpretations, and potential biases, ultimately affecting the effectiveness and quality of your SEO strategy.
It’s also important to avoid over-optimization. While integrating relevant keywords into content is essential, using them excessively can adversely impact rankings. Google even flags such repetitive content as spam. To prevent “stuffing,” aim to prioritize high-quality content by using natural language and incorporating key terms where it’s contextually appropriate. Experts say that a 2%–5% keyword density is considered safe. However, to secure higher rankings in search results, you'll notice that the optimal keyword density can differ based on your specific niche and its level of competition.
Another pitfall to be aware of is that AI can be limiting when it comes to user intent. While algorithms are adept at analyzing data patterns and making predictions about user searches, they fall short in comprehending context-specific queries and can’t always pick up on the subtleties of human behavior. However, by using a combination of AI and your own expertise to interpret data and anticipate customer needs, you can successfully tailor your SEO strategy.MarinOne's seamless integration with SEO research tools
MarinOne's seamless integration with SEO research tools
MarinOne's all-in-one platform seamlessly integrates with SEO research tools to unify data. Our platform empowers marketers with a comprehensive understanding of their SEO performance, enabling data-driven decision-making and the formulation of more cohesive and effective marketing strategies.
MarinOne's integration ensures that marketers can harness the full potential of their SEO research, so they can make informed decisions and formulate robust strategies grounded in data-driven insights.
To get started, schedule a live, personal demo today.
Four Ways Marin Helps Agencies Win
When I was a senior in college, all I wanted was to work at a prestigious marketing agency. I dreamed of the fast-paced corporate life. I imagined going to fancy client dinners and building creative, influential ad campaigns. And I did it! I secured a job at an agency with a great reputation, and working there taught me so much about the paid media world.
But it wasn’t all glitz and glamour, it was stressful. Balancing many client accounts, making sure to spend their budgets in full, and hitting efficiency targets was a lot to handle. I often felt overwhelmed with the amount of work on my plate. I also felt there must be a way to automate some of the tedious daily tasks. As an entry-level Account Coordinator, one of my main responsibilities was building out reports to present on weekly client calls. Every time I performed this manual work, I couldn't shake the feeling that there had to be a better way. And well, I was right!
When I discovered Marin, I was shocked at how much time the platform saved me. The Marin team is full of ex-agency employees, like me. We’ve built a product that would make daily work easier for our past selves. (And, of course, for current agency clients!) Here are 4 ways Marin helps agencies save time and improve performance.
1. Manage budget at scale
Budgeting is arguably the most stressful part of managing client ad accounts. The goal is to spend as much of the client’s budget as possible without ever going over the monthly limit. And you have to ensure that you distribute spend properly across campaigns. It’s stressful – but it doesn’t have to be anymore because Marin can do it for you.
Pace to spend targets
With Marin, you can group your campaigns into budget buckets and allocate a monthly or quarterly spend allowance to each bucket. Let's say your client gives you different budgets for brand, non-brand, and retargeting. Those would be the buckets, and you would place a group of campaigns inside each bucket. Marin would then visualize how each bucket is pacing toward its spend goal and forecast projected spend for the month or quarter.
Dynamically Allocate Spend for Optimal Performance
Marin can take it one step further and automatically allocate budget across the campaigns within each bucket for you based on forecasted performance. Our algorithm would analyze the historical performance of all the campaigns in the budget bucket. It would also consider impression share metrics to determine the best possible allocation of spend across the campaigns in the bucket. Then, it would set the monthly budget for each campaign. And it’ll reallocate the budget throughout the month if performance trends shift. This solution enables you to spend your budget as efficiently as possible without manual intervention.
Pause campaigns when they hit their target
If a bucket spends its full budget before the month is over, Marin will automatically pause the campaigns in that bucket. Marin will also re-enable them when a new month starts. So you can rest easy knowing you’ll never have to reimburse a client for overspend again.
Cross-channel budget management
This solution can also run across publishers. Therefore, Google, Bing, Meta, and other campaigns can all live within one budget bucket. Our cross-channel budgeting solution makes it easy to manage your client’s entire marketing program. It can even help with upselling. You can approach clients with, "Hey, we're managing search spend with Marin. Why not let us use it for Meta as well?" And suddenly you have more client spend on your books!
We know that every client is different, so we’ve made our budgeting solution customizable. Our technical team will work through the setup with you. We’ll make sure that Marin is optimizing toward the performance goals that are important to your client.
Marin is like a guard dog. It always protects your campaigns, ensuring they hit spend goals and stopping them from going too far. You can’t work 24/7, but our algorithms can.
2. Automate reporting across channels
Creating reports for clients used to involve pulling front-end data from various publisher tools, gathering backend data from a tracking system like Google Analytics, pasting everything into a Google sheet, and then converting it into charts and graphs. But Marin does all that for you, every day, without you having to lift a finger.
The power of a marketing data pipeline
Marin is a Marketing Data Pipeline. It connects to all your different data sources via API. It brings in data from your clients’ publishers and revenue systems in near real-time, normalizes it, and attributes it to the proper campaigns and ads.
Data visualization at your fingertips
Marin’s dashboards allow you to build whatever charts and graphs you need, and the data updates daily from all your different sources. You can share a read-only link to a dashboard with your clients and use the visuals to talk through weekly performance. This means that all you’ll need to do to prep for a client call is prepare talking points. All the charts, graphs, and unified data will already be ready for you to share.
You can also view cross-client data in Marin’s charts, graphs, and dashboards. If you’re managing many client accounts in MarinOne, you can get a high-level overview of performance for all of them.
A cross-client dashboard is where lots of agency teams start their day. The multi-client performance overview informs which clients need attention and directs focus for the day ahead. If you need to make optimizations, you can do so directly in the Marin UI for all clients. This leads me to my next point…
3. Manage and optimize all client accounts
Marin’s ‘All Clients’ view enables you to optimize all your different accounts in one place. It's a one-stop shop for agency Account Managers. Our "territory" filter lets each Account Manager label the accounts they are responsible for. When they enter Marin, they’ll only see the accounts that they work on. This makes things less busy while still providing a unified optimization and reporting suite.
Create and edit objects for all clients in one place
Our bulk uploader enables Account Managers to create and edit campaigns, groups, ads, and more for multiple clients and publishers with one sheet. This saves agency teams countless hours.
I remember having to create four separate bulk sheets for my client’s different Google and Bing accounts every time we launched a new paid search initiative. I’d have to go into each Google and Bing Ads Editor and upload numerous bulk sheets for campaigns, then groups, then ads, then keywords. This process would often consume an entire workday. But never again! Marin enables you to do it all with a few clicks.
Quickly Edit Objects in Marin’s Grid
One Marin client manages over 20 different ad accounts. The biggest value they see from Marin is being able to manage all those accounts in one place. With Marin’s easy-to-use unified grids, they change bids and budgets, pause and enable ads, and much more.
4. Seamlessly integrate client data
Marin can integrate with any of the programs your clients use for reporting, management, and data tracking. No more learning new platforms because you have a new client. You can just reach out to your Marin rep, and we’ll set up an API integration. Marin can unify many backend tracking systems as well. The options for conversion types to pull into Marin are endless!
Learn more about our integrations here.
Those are a few of the ways Marin helps agencies win. And this is just a preview – there are tons more to discuss. If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a demo with our team. We’ll help solve the issues that are keeping your team awake at night!
How Online Retailers are Transforming the Customer Experience with Conversational Commerce
Did you know — in 1969 Two electrical engineering students from Columbus, Ohio, launched CompuServe, which became the country's first-ever commercial online service.
Yes, that’s how online retail started.
In 2023, online retail has evolved into a seamless, personalized shopping experience, integrating advanced technologies like AI, AR, and conversational AI, transforming the way consumers browse, purchase, and interact with brands.
The e-commerce landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. Gone are the days when you only had to worry about getting a domain and opening your online store.
Now we have to worry about privacy, SSL certificates, customer engagement, and much more. We are in an era that requires the fusion of technology and customer engagement.
Welcome to the era of 'Conversational Commerce,' where online retailers are reshaping how we shop and interact.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the exciting realm where artificial intelligence, conversational e-commerce trends, and brand examples converge to redefine the customer journey.
What is Conversational commerce and how does it work?
The modern digital consumer wants the same level of personalized and timely customer service that brick-and-mortar shops used to give them. Conversational commerce can help you give your customers what they want while online shopping.
It refers to the intersection of messaging apps, chatbots, and artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate online interactions between businesses and customers. With the help of conversational interfaces such as chatbots or virtual assistants, you can engage with customers in real-time with conversational AI and provide them with personalized assistance throughout the buying journey.
For example, Burberry, a luxury fashion brand, integrated a chatbot on its website to assist customers with product inquiries, styling advice, and locating nearby stores. The chatbot contributed to a 60% increase in online sales and improved customer engagement.
Stats suggest that 44% of consumers have used chatbots. Almost 50% of them are open to purchasing items during their interaction with the chatbot.
This means Conversational commerce is the gateway to getting more engaged consumers. Now, it’s time to understand how conversational commerce works:
1. Customer Initiation: The process typically begins when a customer initiates a conversation with a business through a messaging app or chat interface. This can be done by visiting a business's website and clicking on a chat widget or by sending a message to the business's official messaging account.
2. Chatbot Engagement: Upon initiation, a chatbot or virtual assistant takes over the conversation. These AI-powered bots are designed to understand customer inquiries, provide information, answer questions, and guide customers through various tasks.
3. Product Discovery: Customers can inquire about products or services, check prices, view product details, and even receive personalized product recommendations based on their preferences and past interactions.
4. Ordering and Purchasing: Customers can place orders and make purchases directly within the chat conversation. Payment processing and order confirmation can also be handled seamlessly through integrated payment gateways.
5. Customer Support: Businesses can offer customer support through chatbots, addressing common issues, troubleshooting problems, and providing assistance with order tracking, returns, and exchanges. In more complex cases, the chatbot can escalate the conversation to a human customer support agent.
6. Integration with Other Systems: Conversational commerce platforms often integrate with the business's backend systems, such as inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), and e-commerce platforms, to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
How Retail Companies are using AI
Retail companies are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve various aspects of their operations and customer experiences. According to PwC, customers are willing to pay up to 16% more for products if they receive exceptional customer service.
Who doesn’t love money? It’s useful to understand how online retailers are using conversational commerce trends in their business.
1. Personalized Shopping Experiences: This is a no-brainer. AI is used to analyze customer data and shopping behavior to create highly personalized shopping experiences. This includes personalized product recommendations, tailored marketing messages, and customized website or app interfaces.
For instance, eBay employs conversational commerce through their eBay ShopBot, accessible on Facebook Messenger. Users initiate a conversation with the bot, describing what they're looking for, such as "women's running shoes."
The bot responds with personalized product suggestions, considering factors like brand, size, and price range. This seamless transition from conversation to purchase creates a highly personalized and convenient shopping experience.
2. Inventory Management: AI helps retailers optimize their inventory levels by predicting demand, monitoring stock levels in real-time, and automating restocking processes. This reduces overstock and understock issues, leading to cost savings and improved customer satisfaction.
Consider Walmart, which utilizes an internal chatbot system that connects store associates with real-time inventory data. If a store manager needs to check the availability of a specific product, they can simply message the chatbot with the item's details. The chatbot retrieves the inventory status across multiple store locations and the distribution center, enabling quick decisions on restocking, inventory transfers, or order fulfillment.
3. Pricing Optimization: AI algorithms analyze market conditions, competitor pricing, and customer demand to dynamically adjust pricing in real-time. This pricing strategy maximizes profits and ensures competitiveness.
For instance, if a customer inquires about a high-demand item, the chatbot may offer a slightly higher price. Conversely, if a customer shows hesitance or shops around, the chatbot might present a discounted rate to incentivize the purchase.
This real-time pricing strategy helps Amazon maximize revenue while ensuring competitive prices, ultimately delivering a tailored pricing experience to each customer and enhancing overall profitability.
4. Visual Search: Visual search technology allows customers to search for products using images rather than text. AI analyzes images to identify and recommend similar products, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.
Pinterest allows chatbot users to upload or describe a product image, and the bot then provides visually similar items from various retailers.
For instance, a user might send a picture of a stylish outfit they found online. The chatbot identifies the clothing items and accessories in the image, displaying links to similar items available for purchase on various e-commerce websites.
5. Predictive Analytics: Retailers use AI to analyze historical sales data, market trends, and other factors to make predictions about future sales, demand, and customer behavior. This helps with inventory planning, marketing strategies, and overall business decision-making.
Imagine a scenario where a cybersecurity-focused online retailer employs chatbots to assist customers in selecting the right security software. The chatbot could engage with customers, asking questions about their specific needs and concerns, such as the size of their business, the type of data they handle, and their budget.
Conversational commerce evaluates AI-driven messaging platforms to create highly personalized and responsive customer interactions. These tools can understand customer preferences, provide tailored product recommendations, answer inquiries instantly, and even assist with purchase decisions.
For example, Sephora uses chatbots to assist customers in finding the right beauty products and providing makeup tips. They also offer a virtual try-on feature for makeup products. They use live one-to-one video shopping that helps them stay close to their customers.
Secondly, conversational commerce offers unparalleled convenience. Shoppers can make purchases, track orders, and resolve issues without leaving their preferred messaging apps or websites, eliminating the need to navigate through complex e-commerce product descriptions or make phone calls.
The Role of Social Media in Conversational Commerce
We all know that social media platforms offer a direct and convenient channel for businesses to interact with their customers. With the integration of chatbots and messaging applications, brands can engage in real-time conversations with users, providing immediate responses to inquiries, assisting with purchases, and offering personalized product recommendations. This instant and convenient communication fosters a sense of connection and trust between the brand and the consumer, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.
For instance, the online fashion retailer ASOS utilizes social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to engage with its customers. Through direct messaging and chatbots, customers can inquire about product availability, sizing, and even place orders. ASOS also leverages user-generated content by encouraging customers to share photos and reviews, creating a sense of community and trust.
Last but not least, we can't forget the role of influencer marketing.
According to a survey by Influencive, 69% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase if it's recommended by someone they follow on social media.
Influencer marketing leverages the trust and authority of influencers to promote products and services through authentic conversations. This approach fosters genuine engagement, boosts brand credibility, and encourages seamless customer interactions and transactions.
Conversational commerce enhances influencer marketing by allowing influencers to engage directly with their followers, answer questions, and provide recommendations about products or services in real time.
Conclusion
In the dynamic landscape of e-commerce, online retailers are at the forefront of reshaping the customer experience through conversational commerce.
This revolution, driven by AI-powered chatbots, one-click purchases, and real-time engagement, empowers brands to create deeper connections and drive unprecedented growth in the digital marketplace.
Ready to take your e-commerce strategy to the next level? Contact us to learn more!
7 Ways Digital Marketers Are Using AI to Save Time and Boost Campaign Performance
To succeed in the digital age, businesses need effective marketing strategies to reach their audience. But, it's challenging to grab attention when the average person sees 4,000 - 10,000 ads daily.
That's why lots of marketers use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their campaigns.
Experts estimated the market for AI in marketing at 15.84 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The Insight Partners project this value will surge to over 107.5 billion by 2028. With over 80 percent of industry experts already integrating AI into their online marketing activities, it’s clear these technologies provide a powerful advantage.
So, how exactly is AI transforming marketing campaign performance?
In this post, we’ll explore 7 ways digital marketers use AI to save time and boost results. From predictive analysis to AI-powered chatbots, we’ll uncover the most impactful applications of AI in marketing.
The Key Benefits of Leveraging AI in Marketing
AI-driven optimization can give marketing campaigns a powerful advantage. Here are some key ways:
- Enhanced Efficiency. AI is great at doing repetitive tasks, so marketers can focus on being creative.
- Personalization at Scale. AI makes personalization scalable, enabling individualized marketing to a mass audience.
- Data Analytics. AI's data analysis predicts consumer behavior, targeting accurately and reducing wasted effort.
- Real-Time Adjustments. AI algorithms can make real-time adjustments to campaign parameters to maximize impact and ROI.
- Richer Customer Insights. Deep learning improves marketing strategies by understanding customer patterns and preferences.
- Cost Reduction. AI reduces customer acquisition and marketing costs by optimizing resource allocation.
- Improved ROI. All the benefits mentioned above help increase profits by improving return on investment.
Maximizing Campaign Success with AI
It's not surprising that AI is widely used in marketing. It automates tasks, personalizes campaigns, and analyzes data to find useful information. Let's look at 7 ways digital marketers use AI in their daily workflows.
1. Predictive Analytics for Precise Targeting
Predictive analysis uses AI to improve marketing campaigns by targeting audiences effectively.
Even though many big companies use predictive analytics, most marketing executives still struggle with data-driven decision-making. A Wakefield Research for Pecan study in 2022 found that 95% of B2C companies with revenues over $100M use AI-powered predictive analytics in their marketing strategies. 84% equate their predictive efforts to guesswork, underscoring the need for more refined use of AI tools.
Here’s how marketers can overcome this challenge and harness predictive analytics:
- Gather Comprehensive Data. Start with a robust data set. Use tools like Salesforce or HubSpot to collect and integrate customer data from various touch-points.
- Identify Consumer Patterns. Use software like SAS or SPSS to analyze customer behavior and preferences.
- Forecast Future Trends. Use predictive platforms' forecasting tools to project future customer preferences and market demands.
- Refine Ad Placement. Integrate predictive insights with programmatic advertising platforms to ensure ad targeting is spot-on, placing ads in the optimal digital spaces.
- Personalize Customer Interactions. Use AI to customize the customer experience. Marketo and similar platforms can customize content to match an individual's interests and previous interactions.
By following these steps, marketers can go from feeling unsure about their ability to predict results to running confident campaigns supported by data. An athletic wear brand, for instance, can use these methods to predict upcoming fashion trends, leading to ad placement that capitalizes on these forecasts for summer favorites.
By refining their approach with AI tools, marketers can craft targeted and resonant campaigns, turning predictive analysis into a cornerstone of modern marketing efforts.
2. Personalized Customer Experiences
Modern marketing strategies focus on creating personalized customer experiences driven by AI technology.
Brands can use AI to understand the customer journey better. They are able to improve interactions and engage customers more effectively, increasing conversion rates. AI-powered marketing understands and predicts what customers want, leading to deeper connections.
The data backs up the effectiveness of AI in personalization. According to Twilio Segment's research, 56% of consumers who have personalized experiences tend to become repeat buyers. This statistic shows a 7% increase in loyalty due to AI personalization efforts year over year.
Here are some of the most effective tips for leveraging AI to create personalized experiences:
- Deploy AI for Comprehensive Customer Insights. Use Google Analytics to track customer behavior and create a detailed customer journey map. A journey map contributes to a better understanding of the purchase paths and identifying key engagement points.
- Enhance Engagement with Sentiment Analysis. Improve customer engagement by analyzing feedback and social media using tools like IBM Watson. These tools can help tailor communications based on emotional insights.
- Personalize in Real-Time with AI. Incorporate platforms like Adobe Experience Manager, which uses AI to adapt content and offers in real-time, responding quickly to customer behavior and trends.
Marketers can use these tools and strategies to create personalized experiences that resonate with customers and build loyalty.
3. Chatbots for Improved Customer Service
AI-powered chatbots serve two key functions for brands.
First, they provide 24/7 automated customer service. Chatbots use natural language processing to grasp requests. They then give quick, personalized answers and support.
Chatbots identify frequently asked questions, pain points, and areas for improvement. This lightens human workloads so agents can handle complex issues.
At the same time, AI chatbots increase customer satisfaction. Their rapid response times and reliable omnichannel availability build loyalty. With chatbots, brands maximize productivity while delivering exceptional experiences.
For example, after adding an AI chatbot, Pricefx saw a 400% rise in website engagement. It facilitated sales meeting bookings, raising bookings made via the website by 17%. The chatbot had personalized conversations and suggested relevant content using visitor data and interactions. It proved to be a powerful tool for advertising campaigns and customer interaction.
4. AI-Driven Advertising for Higher ROI
AI-powered programmatic advertising is cost-effective and allows real-time performance measurement. According to Techint Labs, a leading digital marketing agency, this dynamic approach to advertising ensures that budgets are spent wisely and ad performance is continually optimized.
AI is a powerful tool for improving advertising campaigns and targeting the right audience for each ad. Marketers can use data to position their brand in the spotlight by using performance metrics and ad targeting.
For a glimpse into the future of advertising, look no further than MarinOne This AI-powered platform makes managing ad campaigns easier by providing automated recommendations to improve performance, automating budget allocation, and much more. MarinOne uses advanced algorithms to automate bidding, adjust ad spend costs, and increase ROI across channels.
5. Content Generation and Optimization
Capterra's 2022 study shows that almost half of marketers spend half of their workweek on content creation. Additionally, over a third of marketers invest three-quarters of their time in this area.
Despite the heavy time investment, only 33% of marketers harness AI marketing tools for content generation. There is a big opportunity for marketing solutions that can make marketing easier and match search trends to user behavior.
AI is changing how SEO content is made. It uses natural language processing to understand and predict search trends. AI tools help to create content that appeals to the target audience and performs well in search rankings. AI platforms can study popular content online and recommend topics, keywords, and structures that can boost visibility and interaction.
Maximize your content strategy with AI by focusing on these five key improvements:
- Topic Discovery. Use AI to stay ahead of the curve with tools like BuzzSumo or Google Trends, which identify search trends and user behavior for hot topics.
- SEO Enhancement. Boost your search rankings by using AI tools like SEMrush or Yoast SEO. These tools recommend optimal keywords and content structure.
- Content Structuring. To make your content impactful, use Clearscope or MarketMuse. They provide data-driven frameworks that resonate with audiences.
- Performance Analysis. Use AI analytics tools like Ahrefs or Moz to track content performance and improve strategies.
- Automated Personalization. Use AI platforms like OneSpot or Pardot to create custom experiences for customers. Improve engagement with personalized content.
6. Email Marketing Automation
Email marketing remains vital to robust marketing strategies. Integrating AI boosts effectiveness by automating personalization, segmentation, and timing. All these aspects of email marketing are integral for engaging customers.
AI analyzes customer data to segment lists and personalize messages. This makes each email feel like a one-on-one conversation, driving engagement and satisfaction.
The Benefits of Using AI in Email Marketing:
- Smarter Ad Targeting. AI can find the right audience for your ads and make sure they reach the people most likely to engage.
- Relevant Content Creation. It determines what content resonates best with your audience, ensuring higher engagement.
- Optimal Timing. AI predicts the best times to send emails, increasing their chances of being read.
- Better Customer Segmentation. AI excels at audience segmentation, making email marketing more personalized and effective.
- Enhanced Campaign Performance. AI-driven strategies boost the overall effectiveness of your email campaigns.
- Higher ROI. All these factors contribute to a better return on investment for your email marketing efforts.
7. AI-Driven Analytics and Reporting
AI revolutionizes marketing analytics by automating data collection and interpretation. Quick data refinement enables marketers to swiftly identify successful campaign elements and areas for improvement. AI tools generate insights for reporting, making strategic decisions more efficient and less prone to error.
An example of cutting-edge AI in action is Marin’s Ascend. Ascend is an advanced AI tool that makes campaign management easier by providing automated analytics and reporting. Ascend's platform uses AI and analytics to improve bids, predict performance, and offer insights on marketing campaigns.
Final Thoughts
AI marketing tools are booming globally. According to Statista, global corporate AI investment in 2022 was $92 billion, six times higher than in 2016. These massive investments underscore the explosive growth and critical role of AI development.
As discussed, AI significantly improves marketing performance through:
- Efficiency. Automate and streamline tasks to save time.
- Personalization. Deliver tailored content at scale.
- Predictive Analytics. Forecast consumer behavior and trends using historical data and machine learning.
- Real-Time Optimization. Adjust campaigns as they run for better results.
- Insights. Dive deep into data for smarter decision-making.
- Cost Savings. Allocate your marketing budget more effectively.
- Boosted ROI. Turn insights into action for higher returns.
Ready to revolutionize your marketing? Don’t let the AI wave pass you by.
Try out some AI advancements we’ve discussed and watch your campaigns thrive. It’s time to get ahead—start small if you must, but start today. Your campaigns and customers will notice the difference!
How Performance Marketers Can Create Stunning Data Visualizations: A Step-by-Step Guide
How Performance Marketers Can Create Stunning Data Visualizations: A Step-by-Step Guide
Data visualization is an essential tool for performance marketers, enabling them to convey complex information in a clear and engaging manner. With the increasing volume of data available to marketers, the ability to present it in a visually compelling way has become more important than ever. Whether you’re analyzing campaign performance, tracking customer behavior, or presenting key performance indicators to stakeholders, creating stunning data visualizations can help you make better decisions and drive better results.
In this blog post, we will provide a step-by-step guide for creating data visualizations that make an impact. From selecting the right design elements and tools to transforming raw data into meaningful insights, this guide offers actionable tips and best practices for anyone looking to create visualizations that grab attention and communicate information effectively.
How Performance Marketers Use Data Visualization in 2023
Performance marketers are utilizing data visualization in 2023 to drive their campaigns and use data to drive decisions in several ways. Let’s dive deep into the latest tools, techniques, and trends that performance marketers are leveraging to make their marketing analytics more efficient and effective.
Visualizing key metrics
With clear visual representations, marketers can instantly grasp and analyze key metrics such as conversion rates, click-through rates, and ROI. These visualizations provide a comprehensive overview of campaign performance, enabling marketers to identify areas of improvement and take appropriate action.
Visualizing return on investment (ROI)
Performance marketers need to calculate and track the ROI of their campaigns. Data visualization makes it easier to comprehend complex financial metrics related to campaign performance. Marketers can create visualizations that illustrate the relationship between ad spend and revenue generated, enabling them to optimize their marketing budgets and ensure a strong ROI.
Attribution modeling visualization
Attribution modeling is crucial for understanding the impact of various touch-points on a customer's journey. Data visualization tools assist performance marketers in visualizing complex attribution models, making it easier to identify the most influential touch-points and allocate resources accordingly. These visualizations enable marketers to optimize their campaigns and achieve better attribution accuracy.
10 key data visualizations for performance marketers
There are some key data visualizations that every performance marketer should know and utilize. From customer segmentation to geographic heatmaps, we will break down these visualizations and explain how they can help you gain valuable insights, optimize your strategies, and ultimately maximize your performance marketing efforts.
- Sales funnel visualization
Every customer goes through a process before making an actual purchase. Businesses must be able to see and understand this process before they can optimize the path to a final sale. Sales funnel visualization helps marketers represent the different stages of the customer journey, from initial awareness to final conversion. It helps marketers identify the drop-off points and optimize their marketing efforts at each stage.
- Customer segmentation
Most businesses appeal to more than one customer segment. Marketers must understand how these customer segments are similar to each other and how they are different.
A visualization that groups customers into segments based on characteristics such as demographics, behavior, or preferences is called a “customer segmentation visualization.” This helps marketers understand their target audience better and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly.
- Social media engagement
Social media has become an indispensable arrow in a marketer’s quiver. Its ubiquity and popularity means that simply observing social media engagement can give marketers greater insights into their target audience’s likes, dislikes, interests, and trigger points.
Visualizations of social media metrics, including likes, comments, and shares of posts, as well as follower growth, provide insights into the effectiveness of social media marketing campaigns and help track engagement and brand awareness.
- Website traffic and behavior
Almost one-third of marketers consider website traffic to be the most important metric that they monitor. Visualizations of website analytics metrics like page views, bounce rates, time on page, and conversion rates provide insights into website performance, user behavior, and areas for improvement in marketing campaigns.
- Email campaign performance
Visualizations of email campaign metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions help measure the effectiveness of email marketing efforts and identify trends and opportunities for optimization.
- Customer lifetime value
A visualization that shows the value of a customer over their entire relationship with a brand helps marketers understand the profitability of different customer segments and focus their marketing efforts accordingly.
- Advertising performance
Visualizations of key advertising metrics like impressions, click-through rates, and conversions help marketers evaluate the performance of their advertising campaigns and optimize their allocation of advertising budgets.
- Market share visualization
Performance can often only be fully understood when placed in the context of an entire industry. A business can be profitable while lagging behind its industry counterparts. A market share visualization that compares the market share of different brands or products within a particular industry provides insights into brand performance relative to competitors and market trends.
- Geographic heatmaps
Visualizing data on a map helps marketers understand regional customer behavior, preferences, or market penetration. It can assist in localizing marketing campaigns and targeting specific regions or demographics.
- Competitor analysis
Visualizations that compare key metrics, such as market share, customer satisfaction, or social media engagement, between a company and its competitors help marketers understand their competitive position and identify areas for improvement.
How to Transform Raw Data Into Meaningful Insights
For modern businesses, collecting raw data alone is not enough. To derive value from this data, it needs to be analyzed, interpreted, and transformed into meaningful insights. In this section, we will explore the process of converting raw data into actionable insights that drive better decision-making.
Collate and analyze your data
Businesses generate a staggering amount of data — but this information is not always easily accessible due to the way it’s stored and shared. An industry survey revealed that 80% of businesses say their data is stored across different software applications and 81% believe that their data is stored across different departments.
To overcome this challenge, businesses should start by thoroughly understanding the raw data they have and creating a single source of truth. Once that’s done, marketers must identify the variables and ascertain their relationships and any patterns or trends within the data.
Utilize automatic data visualizations to increase efficiency
On the surface, creating data visualizations can seem extremely time and labor intensive. Recent research has shown that 79% of companies believe that they lack the personnel capacity to consistently mine their data effectively.
However, once your front- and back-end data are housed on a single platform, you can explore features such as automatic data visualizations to populate charts and simplify the process from data gathering to data utilization.
Choose the right visualization type
Select the visualization type that most effectively represents the data and aligns with your goals. Common types include bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, scatter plots, and maps.
Clean and preprocess the data
Clean and preprocess the raw data to remove any errors, missing values, or outliers that might affect the accuracy of the visualization. Perform necessary calculations, aggregations, or transformations to prepare the data for visualization. MarinOne software allows businesses to populate data without worrying about human error.
Tell a story
Craft a narrative or story around your data to make it more engaging and relatable to the audience. Develop a logical flow that leads the viewer through the visualization, highlighting key points and insights.
How MarinOne can help performance marketers visualize data better
MarinOne enables marketers to easily access and analyze their data, with customizable dashboards that can be tailored according to their specific business needs. The platform allows marketers to visualize their campaigns' performance through easy-to-read graphs, charts, and tables, empowering them to identify trends, insights, and areas for improvement.
With MarinOne, performance marketers can:
- Consolidate their advertising data across different channels into a single dashboard, allowing them to get a comprehensive view of their marketing efforts and identify cross-channel trends.
- Get real-time campaign tracking by integrating with sources like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics.
- Create custom reports using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, allowing them to report on the metrics that matter the most to them.
- Optimize their campaigns with data-driven insights by using MarinOne's AI bidding and Optimization Insights features, which provide recommendations to improve campaign performance.
- Collaborate with their team members on reports or dashboards and share them easily with stakeholders using MarinOne's collaboration features.
Furthermore, MarinOne's platform integrates with leading third-party data visualization tools like Tableau and Domo, allowing marketers to create stunning visualizations and stories with their data.
MarinOne provides a suite of reporting and analytics tools that can help performance marketers consolidate data, track campaigns, create custom reports, and optimize campaigns. By empowering marketers with visual and data-driven insights, MarinOne can help marketers improve their performance and drive better results.
To get started, schedule a live, personal demo today.
Understanding the Different Social Media Platforms: Which One Fits Your Business?
Choosing the right social media platform is crucial for businesses to effectively reach and engage their target audience. This blog post provides an in-depth understanding of the different social media platforms available and helps businesses determine which platform aligns best with their unique needs and goals. Utilizing everything from demographics and features to content formats and marketing objectives, you can discover the platform that fits your business like a glove.
The landscape of social media platforms: An overview of the top players
Modern marketers must understand how each social media platform differs from its competitors and find the appropriate channel to reach their intended audience. Here’s an overview of the five most popular platforms today.
Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world, based on reach. Its ad reach constitutes 38.4% of the total number of users on the internet. It also has users from a wide variety of customer segments. While younger internet users spend their time across multiple applications, Facebook is still regularly in the mix due to its ubiquity and longevity.
Businesses that sell mass market products targeting a mix of customers from different age groups, backgrounds, and financial standings — such as retailers and grocers — should consider advertising on Facebook to connect with a broad audience. Facebook allows advertisers to target customers with more specificity, but the platform’s greatest strength is its massive reach.
Instagram also has significant ad reach, which has steadily increased over the years and is rapidly catching up with Facebook. However, Instagram users are younger — the vast majority are aged between 18 and 34 — and often conduct more research before pulling the trigger on their purchases. This makes the platform the perfect choice for businesses that want to target customers with that profile.
Instagram is designed for images and videos first. So, it’s perfect for businesses that create ads with a strong visual element, such as fashion brands, skincare companies, and other lifestyle businesses.
LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform. Users often use this platform to share their professional experiences, offer their expertise, and expand their professional network. Unlike its competitors, interactions on LinkedIn rely on a person’s affiliation with a business or an industry to build relationships with others.
The nature of the platform has led some companies to erroneously assume that it hosts older users. LinkedIn is actually most popular with users between the ages of 30 and 39. Businesses rely on LinkedIn to connect with professionals in their industry who might be looking for professional growth opportunities. B2B companies and educational institutions often find success on LinkedIn due to its ability to target industry-specific viewers. Businesses that sell big ticket items such as cars, real estate, or investment products can also use LinkedIn to reach out to buyers that have specific job titles or belong to a certain salary range.
- X (Formerly Twitter)
X, formerly known as Twitter, is extremely popular with journalists, celebrities, and their followers. It has been used as an important tool for disseminating information. However, the platform has experienced major upheaval in recent months following its acquisition by Elon Musk. It has undergone constant changes and there have even been discussions about putting access to the platform behind a paywall. Consequently, X lost almost a third of its ad reach in the first quarter of 2023.
Despite its reduction in ad reach, businesses targeting a hyper-specific audience such as current affairs and sports journalists that are more active on X can still find success there. However, it’s important to monitor the changes that will affect the platform in the coming months, such as the increasing popularity of Threads, Meta’s direct X competitor.
- TikTok
One social media platform that is rapidly growing in popularity (despite efforts to control its influence in certain geographies) is TikTok. This creative and dynamic platform is perfect for marketers hoping to connect with the younger audience that makes up the majority of its users. With its vast user base, powerful algorithm, and variousadvertising options, TikTok can be an effective marketing tool for businesses seeking to cultivate brand awareness and drive engagement. TikTok is a popular tool used by influencers. This makes it ideal for trend-based businesses such as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands.
TikTok has an extremely strong influencer community despite the lack of an obvious monetization strategy for creators. Collaborating with influencers can help marketers gain exposure and credibility. Influencers on TikTok have a significant following and can create and promote branded content in an authentic and engaging way. The platform has also increased its focus on making it easy for businesses to advertise with CRM integrations and advance ad controls.
Defining your target audience: Matching social media platforms to your perfect customer
Numerous social media platforms are available for marketers to reach their audience. Most Americans also use multiple social media platforms to serve different purposes. Here’s how marketers can choose which platforms should be used to reach their target audience most effectively.
Utilize social media demographics reports
Several resources such as the annual Digital Report from We Are Social and Sprout Social’s regular updates provide up-to-date social media demographics data. These reports can provide insights into the demographics of users on different platforms, allowing you to align your customer demographics with the appropriate social media platforms.
Compare customer demographics with platform demographics
Look for alignment between your target audience and the user base of various platforms by comparing your customers’ demographic data. For example, if your target audience consists of younger adults, TikTok and Instagram may be the most suitable platforms. If you’re targeting professionals, LinkedIn might be a better choice.
Test and monitor platforms
Once you’ve identified the platforms that align with your customer demographics, create a presence on those platforms and monitor their performance. Track engagement metrics, follower growth, and conversions to evaluate the effectiveness of each platform in reaching your target audience.
Features, content formats, and marketing objectives: Finding the perfect fit
Once marketers understand where their audience spends the most time, they must define their strategies to make the most of every ad dollar. These tips can help marketers produce consistently positive results on their platform of choice:
Analyze competitor strategies
Analyze your competitors’ content strategies to identify trends, successful formats, and gaps in the market. This analysis can help you differentiate your content and find unique angles to attract and engage your audience. Tools such as Meta Ad Library allow marketers to see which issues and topics are getting the most traction across Meta-owned platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Leverage data analytics
Use data analytics tools to track and measure the performance of your content across different formats and features. Monitor key metrics like engagement rates, click-through rates, conversions, and customer feedback to identify what’s working and what needs improvement.
Experiment with content formats
Don't be afraid to experiment with different content formats. Try:
- Written articles
- Videos
- Infographics
- Interactive content
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- User-generated content
See what performs best for your marketing objectives and audience preferences.
Personalize content delivery
Tailor your content delivery based on audience preferences and behavior. Use marketing automation tools to segment your audience and deliver personalized content experiences that speak directly to their needs and interests. For example, LinkedIn users might be looking for information-dense content while TikTok users crave more engaging and entertaining content to hold their attention.
Monitor industry trends
Stay informed about emerging trends and technologies in the digital marketing landscape. Adopt new content formats and features that align with your objectives and show potential to engage and captivate your audience.
Continuously optimize
Regularly analyze and optimize your content strategy based on data insights, customer feedback, and performance metrics. Keep experimenting, learning, and adapting based on the changing needs and preferences of your audience.
Seek feedback
Actively seek feedback from your audience through surveys, comments, or social media interactions. This direct feedback will provide valuable insights into audience preferences and help you align your content formats and features with their expectations.
How MarinOne can help your business optimize marketing efforts across different social media platforms
MarinOne offers a comprehensive solution for managing and optimizing advertising campaigns across various channels, including social media. MarinOne helps businesses optimize their marketing efforts with these methods:
Unified platform: MarinOne provides a unified platform where businesses can manage all their advertising campaigns across different social media platforms in one place. This helps streamline campaign management, allowing businesses to save time and effort by accessing all their campaigns and metrics on a single interface.
Data-driven insights: MarinOne provides businesses with detailed analytics and reporting tools to gain insights into campaign performance across different social media platforms. These insights help businesses understand which strategies and tactics are most effective, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their marketing efforts accordingly.
Automated optimization: MarinOne offers automated optimization features that allow businesses to set specific goals and parameters for their campaigns. The platform continuously monitors campaign performance and automatically adjusts bidding, targeting, and creative elements to achieve the desired outcomes. This helps businesses maximize their marketing ROI and achieve better results across different social media platforms.
To get started today, schedule a live, personal demo.
The Impact of Retail Media Networks on Consumer Behavior
Retail media networks have revolutionized the way brands advertise to consumers, but what impact do they have on consumer behavior? In this blog post, we'll explore the ways retail media networks influence consumer behavior and purchasing decisions. From targeted advertising to personalized recommendations, we'll examine the key factors driving consumer behavior in the age of retail media networks.
How retail media networks are changing the way consumers shop
Retail businesses should always be aware of how their customers respond to different business decisions and how they can adjust their offerings to serve them better. Here are some ways retail media networks have influenced the way customers shop in-store and online.
Customers are looking for product recommendations and information on multiple channels before making a purchase
Internet forums and social media have made it easier than ever for customers to find information about products that they intend to purchase. First-party information (directly from the business where they want to shop) can be viewed as less trustworthy than reviews and unbiased opinions found online.
Recent research shows that over half of shoppers read between 3 and 5 reviews about a business before making a purchase with them. Retail media networks have encouraged customers to look for these reviews more actively. Businesses can increase customer trust in their brand by encouraging past buyers to post unbiased reviews on their own sales channels.
Abandoned carts become a less likely outcome with highly targeted advertising
Abandoned carts are a common problem for e-commerce businesses, leading to lost sales and revenue. However, highly targeted advertising can help reduce the likelihood of abandoned carts by reaching the right customers at the right time with personalized messaging.
By using data insights and segmentation analysis to understand consumer behavior and preferences, e-commerce businesses can tailor their advertising messaging to match specific customer needs and desires. This helps build a stronger connection between the customer and the product, making it more likely that they will complete their purchase.
Highly targeted advertising can help drive revenue growth for e-commerce businesses, reducing the occurrence of abandoned carts and improving overall conversion rates.
Increased regulatory focus on data privacy makes retail media networks using first-party data more trustworthy
Data privacy is becoming an increasingly important issue for modern customers. In a recent survey, 84% of respondents said that data privacy is a human right and a similar number of respondents said that they should have full control over any data a company might have about them.
The increased regulatory focus has forced companies to plan for a future without third-party cookies. Businesses now have to find new ways to gather information about their customers. This makes retail media networks seem more trustworthy in the minds of their customers since they always know how the business got their data and how it is being used.
Customers demand more personalization from businesses when they shop
Customers today place a significant emphasis on personalization when they shop. Retail media networks provide businesses with a platform to deliver targeted advertisements and content to customers based on their browsing and purchasing behavior.
Businesses can show personalized offers, promotions, and recommendations to customers, enhancing their overall shopping experience simply by leveraging the retail media networks that they own. This not only drives customer engagement and loyalty but also increases the chances of conversion and repeat purchases.
The power of personalization: How retail media networks influence purchasing decisions
Personalization is increasingly becoming a necessity for modern retailers. As customers choose more personalized shopping experiences, retailers can use retail media networks to deliver these experiences to every customer. Here’s how:
Targeted advertising
The modern shopper receives a staggering amount of information in a day. Advertisements have become more pervasive and can cause a customer to simply disregard any advertisement they see. Businesses are under significant pressure to cut through the noise and make customers take notice of what they have to say.
Retail media networks allow businesses to gather information about what customers might be interested in and deliver advertisements that are more aligned with their needs, rather than adopting a spray-and-pray approach to digital advertising.
Pro tip: Use the data your network provides to customize shopping feeds when customers first visit your site, and show advertisements for products they might already be interested in, increasing the chance they’ll pay attention.
Personalized recommendations
Customers always give businesses some indication of what they might need or want through their browsing activity or past purchases. On third-party shopping channels, this information is often closely guarded and rarely shared with brands unless it directly involves their own products.
Retail media networks allow companies to gather more granular information about what products a customer is thinking about, how long they research it, and what purchases they made in the past. This can help businesses deliver personalized recommendations to customers who might be primed to make a purchase in the near future.
Pro tip: Once a customer makes a purchase or indicates an interest in an item, you can use that information to recommend products that are similar or complementary to the item they want to purchase to create opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.
Dynamic pricing and promotions
Sometimes, customers need a little nudge before they decide to make a purchase. While brands can plan promotions around festive periods and times of high shopping activities, retail media networks allow businesses to take more control over these promotions.
Pro tip: Observe how airlines often employ dynamic pricing strategies to maximize sales. You can use your retail media networks to do the same with individual customer profiles and customer-level browsing and shopping data.
Influencer marketing
Retail media networks provide opportunities for businesses to collaborate with influencers and leverage their audiences to influence purchasing decisions. When businesses partner with influencers who align with their brand and target audience, they can effectively reach and engage customers with authentic and trusted content.
Influencer marketing within retail media networks helps businesses build brand awareness, boost credibility, and drive conversions by leveraging the influencer's authority and the trust they’ve established with their followers.
Seamless integration of online and offline shopping channels
Online shopping has split customer preferences and a recent survey indicated that 55.6% of customers prefer online shopping while the rest prefer shopping at a physical store. Retail media networks give businesses complete control over their customers’ shopping experience. This allows them to ensure that marketing messages are consistent regardless of how customers choose to engage with the brand.
The future of retail media networks and their impact on consumer behavior
Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot have all embraced retail media networks as a key component of their advertising and marketing strategies. These three major retailers have significant online and offline footprints, and leveraging retail media networks has allowed them to effectively reach their target audiences and drive sales across various channels. Amazon, for example, has built an extremely successful retail media network through its Amazon Advertising platform. Likewise, Walmart has been expanding its retail media network, Walmart Connect, which offers advertisers access to Walmart's vast customer base both in stores and online. Home Depot has also been making significant strides in retail media advertising with its in-house platform known as "The Home Depot Pro." The platform allows advertisers to reach the retail giant's professional customers through targeted display and video ads.
As retail media networks continue to evolve, they will continue to influence consumer behavior in a variety of ways. First, businesses will increasingly rely on effective conversion tracking to ensure their marketing spend is distributed optimally. With access to detailed data insights provided by retail media networks, businesses can monitor the performance of their campaigns and track the customer journey from ad exposure to conversion. This allows them to analyze the effectiveness of different marketing strategies, channels, and messaging and make data-driven decisions to optimize their campaigns and allocate their marketing budgets more effectively.
Furthermore, retail media networks provide retailers with access to more in-depth data about their customers and their preferences. Through the collection and analysis of customer data, retailers can gain valuable insights into customer demographics, behaviors, and preferences. Unlike the allocation of marketing resources, this data can help to directly increase sales once customers have indicated interest in any of your products.
The availability of such comprehensive customer data through retail media networks empowers retailers to make more informed decisions, enhance their marketing efforts, and ultimately influence customer behavior in a more targeted and effective manner.
MarinOne gives marketers the ability to use the information they gather from their retail media networks and apply it to their omnichannel communications. As customers spend more time across multiple social media platforms and websites, businesses need to be more careful about how they spend marketing dollars across each of these channels.
To get started today, schedule a demo with one of our MarinOne experts.
How to Use the Facebook Ad Library for Competitive Analysis
Competitive advantages in today's marketplace hinge on staying ahead of your rivals. One way to stay ahead when it comes to social media advertising? The Facebook Ad Library, a resource rich in information, empowers you to analyze and discern your competitors' advertising strategies on Facebook.
Offering a transparent view of ads running across Facebook's platforms, the Facebook Ad Library operates like a comprehensive, public catalog of ads. It reveals what your competitors are marketing and their tactics. Studying their ads equips you with insights into their strategies and messaging.
More than just a means to observe competitors' work, the Facebook Ad Library serves as an educational instrument. It exposes you to varying advertising styles and methods, generating ideas and inspiration for your campaigns. The library, be you an experienced marketer or a novice, is a valuable resource to steer your advertising pursuits.
Competitive analysis is necessary because it reveals what is effective in your industry and what isn't. It positions you in the market and hints at areas for improvement. Learning from others' triumphs and missteps, you can craft informed decisions and fortify your own advertising campaigns.
Understanding the Facebook Ad Library
The Facebook Ad Library is a free, searchable database that includes all active ads running across Facebook's various platforms, such as Instagram and Messenger. The tool allows users to view an ad's details, including its start date, performance metrics, and audience demographics. This information is invaluable for competitive analysis.
Exploring the Features of the Facebook Ad Library
The Facebook Ad Library stands out due to its searchability. Users can look up ads by the page running them or by keywords, making it easy to track specific competitors or industry trends.
How to Access the Facebook Ad Library
Accessing the Facebook Ad Library is straightforward. Users don't need a Facebook account. They can visit the Facebook Ad Library website and start their search. By typing in the name of the page or the keywords related to the ads they want to study, users can quickly locate all active ads relevant to their search.
A plethora of information for competitive evaluations can be obtained from the Facebook Ad Library. The subsequent sections will guide you on interpreting and applying this data to your marketing strategies.
Best Practices for Leveraging the Facebook Ad Library
Recognizing Competitors
The foundation of your analysis is a thorough understanding of your competitors. Begin by organizing a list of direct competitors - those offering similar products or services within your market. Keep a watchful eye on emerging brands, as they might develop into substantial competitors. Use industry reports, customer feedback, and search engine results to pinpoint your competition. Remember, a competitor isn't only a business operating in your region or city; it could also be one targeting your audience from afar.
Establishing Objectives
Now that you've identified your competitors, it's time to decide what you want to learn from this analysis. Are you trying to comprehend how competitors position their products? Or are you curious about their targeting strategy?
Setting your objectives will give direction to your analysis. For example, if you want to learn the language your competitors use in their ads, focus on the ad's text, headline, and description. If you're interested in their audience, pay attention to the demographics information provided by the tool. Well-defined objectives will steer your analysis, helping you glean the most valuable insights.
Competitive Analysis
Identifying your competitors and setting clear objectives is only the beginning. Now, it's time to delve into the data provided by the Facebook Ad Library. This process involves studying the competition and collecting valuable insights to improve your advertising strategy.
Ad Creatives Analysis
Start by inspecting your competitors' ad creatives. Consider their visuals: are they using photos, videos, or both? What emotions do these visuals stir? Pay attention to their color usage and overall design aesthetic. Look for any recurring themes or elements.
Then, shift your focus to the ad text. What is the manner in which they interact with their prospects and customers? Do they opt for a formal tone or a conversational one? How do they present their calls to action? Make a note of any keywords or phrases they frequently use.
Ad Spend and Frequency Evaluation
After analyzing the ad creatives, move on to the ad spend and frequency. The Facebook Ad Library provides a rough estimate of your competitors' campaign budgets. This data can guide you in setting a realistic budget for your campaigns.
The library also shows the frequency of your competitors' ads—how often a single user sees a specific ad. A high frequency indicates a narrower audience target or a larger ad budget. Comparing your ad frequency to your competitors' allows you to optimize your ad spend and frequency for improved results.
Optimizing with Insights
Let's discuss how you can use your competitive analysis to refine your Facebook advertising strategy. The key is in smart application, not imitation. Understand that what works for your competitors might not work for you due to factors like audience differences, brand image, and company values.
Start by examining the themes and elements in your competitors' ads. Instead of copying them, think about how you can incorporate these themes into your ads. Maybe you noticed a trend for minimalistic designs or a preference for humor in the ad copy. Experiment with these elements while maintaining your brand's voice and image.
Then, analyze the ad spend and frequency data. Are your competitors investing more in their campaigns? If they're achieving better results with a similar product, consider raising your budget. But, make sure any increase in spend corresponds to a potential return on investment. Also, look at the frequency of their ads. If they're showing their ads more often, try a higher ad frequency to see if it improves engagement and conversions.
Lastly, observe the demographics of your competitors' target audiences. If they're reaching a demographic you're not, think about including these groups in your audience targeting. Experimenting with these different versions might enable you to engage a broader demographic and uncover untapped markets.
Closing Thoughts
Taking advantage of your newfound knowledge of the Facebook Ad Library can reshape your advertising strategy. The present moment is the best time to examine competitors and identify strategies that transform audiences into customers. Keep in mind, it's not about copying but creating and converting insights into a unique advantage for your brand. So, jump into the Facebook Ad Library. Your ads will appreciate it!
To learn about how MarinOne can help you get the most out of your social ad campaigns, start a free trial HERE.
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) to Performance Max (PMax) Campaigns: The Evolution and Benefits
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are an advanced ad format that uses website content to craft ad headlines and landing pages. These automatically generated ads align with user searches related to the website, resulting in efficient ad creation and increased relevance and coverage.
In contrast, Performance Max (PMax) campaigns have only recently started to make an impact compared to DSA. Unlike DSAs focused on Search Network, PMax strategies distribute ads across the Google network, including Search, Display, YouTube, Discover. This broader reach enables more conversion opportunities.
Despite advertisers being able to provide multiple assets for the new placement, by developing ad assets, like images and headlines, the lack of actual placement control is what most marketers are concerned about.
Understanding Dynamic Search Ads
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) have transformed how advertisers reach their target audience. By scanning website content to ascertain the relevance of each page to different search queries, DSAs deliver targeted ads to match user searches. This tactic helps drive higher click-through rates and conversions.
DSA Campaigns: A New Advertising Approach
With the ability to harness queries not covered by keywords in Advertiser’s accounts, DSAs offer valuable insights into user behavior. These insights assist in refining Pay-Per-Click campaigns, leading to better ad performance and increased return on investment.
Targeting with Precision
DSAs offer the flexibility to target specific categories on a website. This ensures ads align with user searches, allowing businesses to concentrate their advertising efforts on high-value categories, leading to more efficient use of their budget.
Keyword Concepts Discovery through DSAs
By analyzing search queries that triggered the DSAs, advertisers can identify new keywords for other campaigns. This strategy helps in expanding campaign reach and capturing more customers.
Overall DSAs have become a critical tool for advertisers, enabling them to reach their target audience more effectively and achieve improved ad performance and higher ROI. Despite the rise of PMax campaigns, the value of DSAs remains high.
Embracing PMax Campaigns
The world of digital advertising is witnessing a shift in the performance of Dynamic Search Ads. DSAs, despite offering value,are likely to be phased out by Google and incorporated into Performance Max campaigns. Advertisers are encouraged to favor PMax for its broader reach and increased number of ad assets.
Challenges with DSA Performance
DSAs, once successful, are now experiencing a performance dip. They efficiently delivered targeted ads but lacked additional control. The automated ad creation process, based on website content and user searches, left little room for advertisers to shape the ad content, becoming a major limitation.
Advantages of PMax Campaigns
PMax campaigns are emerging as an alternative to DSAs. PMax campaigns distribute ads across various Google networks, including Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, etc. This broad reach opens up more opportunities for conversions. Additionally, PMax campaigns allow advertisers to participate in the ad creation process by providing multiple assets not available on DSAs (Videos & images for example).
Transitioning to PMax Campaigns
Transitioning from DSAs to PMax campaigns presents challenges. PMax campaigns, while providing more assets and reach, demand active involvement from advertisers. This includes developing ad assets like images and headlines. This process can be time-consuming and requires understanding the various Google networks and their audiences.
Considerations in the Transition
Switching from DSAs to PMax campaigns involves trade-offs. Advertisers may lose some automation benefits DSAs offer, like automatic ad creation based on website content and user searches. However, the increased ad assets provided can lead to more strategic ad placement and improved performance. The ability to distribute ads across multiple Google networks broadens reach, increasing conversion opportunities. While the transition involves compromises, the advantages of PMax campaigns often surpass the hurdles.
Control Shifts in Advertising Campaigns
Transitioning from Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns also involves a shift in control and a decrease in automation. DSAs, which auto-create ads based on website content, offer a passive role for advertisers but limit ad shaping options.
PMax campaigns, however, provide more Ad Assets like images and headlines, giving advertisers more control over the final product for strategic ad placement and improved performance. However, the actual ads shown are out of the advertiser's control.
The shift to PMax reduces automation, requiring more advertiser involvement in ad creation for different Google networks. While this demands more effort, it offers more targeted and effective advertising opportunities.
Microsoft Rolls Out Performance Max
Microsoft's Dynamic Search Ads
Microsoft, like Google, provides a Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) option for advertisers. Microsoft's DSAs analyze your website content and generate ads aligning with user queries, a function that Google's DSAs also perform. This automated process allows advertisers to deliver targeted ads efficiently, thus enhancing their campaign relevance and coverage.
Furthermore, DSAs in Microsoft Advertising offer category targeting, letting advertisers direct their efforts towards specific website sections. This feature guarantees ads match user searches, enabling businesses to focus their advertising on high-value categories and optimize their budget usage.
Parallels with Google
Many similarities exist between Microsoft's and Google's DSA solution. Both platforms generate ads from website content, provide category targeting, and utilize user searches for ad creation. These commonalities make the switch from Google's DSA to Microsoft's DSA smooth for advertisers.
It's noteworthy that Microsoft often follows Google's lead in advertising solutions. This pattern suggests that Microsoft might introduce a Performance Max (PMax) campaign equivalent in the future, reflecting Google's move towards giving advertisers greater control over their ad assets.
If this change happens, advertisers using Microsoft's DSA will need to adjust their approach to reap the benefits of PMax campaigns. These benefits may include greater control over ad assets, increased reach across multiple networks, and more conversion opportunities. Despite the transition requiring a more hands-on approach to ad creation, the improved performance and higher return on investment could make this shift beneficial for many advertisers.
The Marin Software Point of View
Proactively Transition to PMax
Though Google hasn't officially recommended moving from Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, the team here at Marin Software advocates for a proactive shift. PMax campaigns' popularity and advantages make them a promising addition to your advertising tactics. The broad reach of PMax across multiple Google networks and the enhanced control over ad assets can improve ad performance and increase return on investment.
Growth Through PMax Testing
Advertisers should begin experimenting with PMax campaigns alongside existing DSA campaigns. This strategy lets you compare performance and make data-driven decisions. Running a few DSAs in PMax offers insights into this new campaign type’s advantages and challenges. It's crucial to monitor results, adapting strategies accordingly.
We are also encouraging advertisers to maintain their DSAs, particularly on Microsoft, while testing PMax campaigns. Microsoft's DSA solution, similar to Google's, remains a valuable tool in your advertising toolkit. Keeping DSAs active while testing PMax ensures you still benefit from DSAs.
Furthermore, advertisers should continue using exclusion URLs in their campaigns. Exclusion URLs stop your ads from appearing for specific website pages. This proves especially useful in PMax campaigns, where you can control ad assets more. Excluding irrelevant or low-performing pages lets you concentrate your advertising on high-value areas, optimizing ad targeting and enhancing campaign performance.
Adapting to Future Advertising Campaigns
If your team needs a hand on optimizing your ads across networks and strategies, the Marin team is here to help. Our MarinOne platform helps advertisers maximize ROI and ROAS across channels, making A/B testing and new ideas not only simple, but easy to implement and evaluate. To learn more about Marin Software or MarinOne, contact us here.
Cookie Deprecation in 2024: What Marketers Need to Know
In 2020, Google announced its plans to phase out third-party cookies, following the privacy protection measures already adopted by Safari and Firefox. After several delays, Chrome will finally begin blocking 3rd party cookies in 2024. Google announced that the testing phase will start in Q1, with 1% of third-party cookies initially blocked, ramping up to 100% in Q3 of 2024.
This change is stirring concerns among advertisers about the potential loss of valuable data, impacting strategies and the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns. This blog post delves into the implications of this shift, particularly for clients using publisher tracking pixels, Google Analytics, and Marin Software's Attribution.
First-party vs Third-party Cookies
Websites rely heavily on cookies to improve the user experience, and they will continue to do so after this change because only third-party cookies will be blocked. First-party cookies are set and read by the same domain as the website you are visiting. In addition to saving things like user preferences and login status, many measurement solutions, including Marin Attribution, can be set to the first-party context.
Third-party cookies allow unrelated domains to read the cookie and track users across different websites. These have long been a staple in display advertising, allowing advertisers to target users with third-party data or to retarget users across the open web. Publishers and ad tech providers will need to adapt the APIs and tools in the Google Privacy Sandbox to continue to offer these capabilities.
Publisher Tracking and Google Analytics
Many advertisers rely on a combination of Publisher Tracking and Google Analytics to measure the performance of their campaigns. With last year’s transition to Google Analytics 4 from Universal Analytics, Google has upgraded its tracking to be compatible with this “post-cookie” world. Those using the latest publisher tracking pixels are also fine during this transition.
Marin’s Attribution: First-party since 2008
At Marin, we understand the importance of accurately measuring digital campaigns. Marin Attribution, our independent measurement solution for performance media, has always used first-party cookies. There is no impact from the upcoming Chrome update.
Server-to-Server Option: Enhanced Protection
In addition to first-party cookies, Marin Software offers a server-to-server option. This advanced solution provides an added layer of protection and data integrity. It allows for more complete measurement by bypassing the need for cookies altogether. This method is more secure and future-proofs your data collection strategy against further privacy changes in the digital landscape.
Navigating the Future
As the digital advertising world evolves, staying ahead of the curve is essential. Marin Software is committed to providing cutting-edge solutions that respect user privacy while delivering the insights and performance marketers need. Our clients can rest assured that with our Attribution, they can confidently succeed in the post-third-party cookie era.
In conclusion, while the phasing out of third-party cookies by Google Chrome presents challenges, it also offers an opportunity to innovate and adapt. By leveraging Marin Software's Attribution and our server-to-server options, advertisers can continue to gather valuable insights and drive impactful advertising campaigns in a privacy-compliant manner.
How to Create a Festive and Effective Holiday Marketing Campaign for Your Online Store
The holidays are here. But you’re stuck trying to figure out how to create a holiday marketing campaign that gets your audience in the festive spirit.
And that can be quite overwhelming, especially when you’re up against thousands of other businesses competing for their attention.
How can you stand out from all the noise?
By creating powerful and meaningful marketing messaging that makes it hard to resist your product or brand. And it all starts with knowing your goals and what your audience wants.
In this blog, we’ll show you just how to do that.
The Benefits of Holiday Marketing Campaigns
We all know that the point of any marketing campaign is to raise brand awareness, build trust, increase brand recognition, boost website traffic, or drive more sales.
The holidays aren’t much different. But what makes holiday campaigns unique is the time of year, seasonal themes and messaging, emotional appeal, gift-giving focus, and increased consumer spending.
Holiday marketing campaigns allow you to:
- Get creative and try out strategies you wouldn’t use throughout the year.
- Launch new products and promotions centered around the time of year.
- Offer sales and promotions without losing significant revenue due to increased sales volume.
- Hone your marketing strategy due to increased brand competition.
But the keys to reaping these benefits are planning ahead, choosing the right holidays to focus on, and personalizing campaigns to target specific audiences.
Creating a Holiday Marketing Campaign
Use the following strategies to create a successful holiday marketing campaign.
Define Your Holiday Campaign Goals
Knowing exactly what you want to achieve will help you pinpoint the best marketing activities to engage in during your holiday campaign.
Consider using the SMART goals framework. In case you’ve been in the wrong corner of the Internet, SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
Take the company Clean Origin, for example. Imagine it wants to increase online sales revenue over the next quarter for its new line of diamond tennis bracelets. Here’s an example of how that goal would look using the SMART goals framework:
- Specific: The goal is specific as it defines what the company wants to achieve — increase online sales for a specific product line.
- Measurable: The goal is measurable because it includes a quantifiable way to measure results — 20% growth in online sales revenue.
- Attainable: The goal is realistic and attainable, given the fact that Clean Origins has an established customer base and a sizable marketing budget.
- Relevant: The goal aligns with the company’s overall objective of boosting sales.
- Time-Bound: The goal has a specific time frame — over the next quarter.
When implementing SMART goals, brands should also focus on how they’ll achieve their set objectives.
In this case, Clean Origin’s YouTube video showcasing its beautiful jewelry could effectively entice customers to purchase. The striking visuals of its jewelry mimic the brilliance of Christmas lights, creating a festive mood.
Understand Each Target Audience Segment
Before starting your holiday marketing campaign, know the different audiences you want to target.
If you’re a business offering different products for distinct customer segments, make sure you’re tailoring your campaign messaging to their unique needs.
Hims & Hers does this well. As a telehealth brand selling ED medicine, it’s familiar with a segment of its target audience’s needs — solving erectile dysfunction.
With a campaign titled ’SEXMAS,’ Hims charmed its audience with a sense of humor, creativity, and transparency while promoting its ED products.
To define your target audience, outline each segment by providing detailed information about their demographics, preferences, and behavior.
Gather information and data about them, such as where they hang out on social media, the device they prefer to use when consuming information, and their specific interests related to the holiday season.
Choose Holiday Offers and Promotions
Make it impossible for potential customers to look or click away with irresistible offers and promotions. During the holidays, people spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on meals, gifts, and decorations.
Thanksgiving hosts planned to spend an average of $396 in 2022. And consumers are expected to spend $1,430, on average, during the 2023 winter holiday season.
So, people are always looking for sales to increase their buying power or save money, with 70% of consumers planning to shop for themselves during holiday sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2023.
And 67% of shoppers will use sales as an opportunity to shop for immediate family members.
To get the attention of these shoppers, offer them opportunities to save money with:
- Buy one, get one free (BOGO)
- Discounts and percentage off
- Loyalty program rewards
- Extended return policies
- Social media contests
- Early-bird specials
- Free shipping
- Bundle deals
- Flash sales
- Gift cards
And when promoting these special offers, don’t forget to use countdowns to create a sense of urgency and make consumers feel like they’re missing out if they don’t take advantage now.
Also, while it’s beneficial to offer promotions and discounts to entice customers, don’t go marking down all your products.
The products best suited for holiday sales are electronics, toys, games, apparel, beauty and skincare products, and home decor. Consider putting together holiday gift guides to provide value to customers and help them take the guesswork out of shopping for loved ones.
To further build trust with your audience, offer holiday shipping options and a guarantee of fast, reliable, and safe delivery.
This seems like a given, but it’s become more and more difficult for eCommerce brands during the busy holiday season. So, highlight this promise in your email campaigns, social media, and website pages.
Let your customers know that by partnering with a reliable courier, you’ll ensure their packages will arrive in time to be unpacked under the tree.
This removes one of the biggest concerns customers have when shopping online during the Christmas season — not getting their items on time.
Create Your Holiday Landing Pages
To maximize your campaign results, create a dedicated holiday landing page. This is the page your target audience will land on when they click the links in your social media posts and emails.
Your landing page should include a compelling headline, interesting visuals, the benefits you offer, a form for collecting information, and a strong call-to-action (CTA).
Consider implementing an interactive landing page. These types of landing pages include interactive elements like quizzes, mouse-hover animations, and mini-games to engage your audience.
This, in turn, helps to boost conversions. The more engaged your visitors are, the longer they stay on the page. And the longer they stay on the page, the more likely they are to convert.
But you likely won’t be able to increase conversions if your website is difficult for anyone to use. This means your visitors may have a hard time viewing and buying your products or services,
And all the time and money you’ve spent generating traffic to your holiday landing page might not give you the desired results.
How do you prevent this? By investing in something called Shopify accessibility. Using platforms like accessiBe, you can conduct a comprehensive analysis of your website to determine how accessible it is to all visitors.
Choose Your Marketing Channels According to Customer Journey
There are plenty of marketing channels out there. But the secret is to find the ones that work for specific audiences and their designated place in the buyer’s journey.
Incorporate Social Media to Increase Brand Awareness
Using social platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) allows you to engage with customers and create visually appealing content that resonates with audiences.
To find the right channels, go back and look at your buyer persona. Are your target customers younger or older? Which social media channels do they spend the most time on?
Asking yourself these questions will help you determine which platforms to focus on and the messaging you’ll use to capture your audience.
Let’s look at an example of a brand strategically using social media to create and share holiday-themed content.
StudioSuits, a company that sells impeccable jackets, pants, and tuxedo suits for men, creates holiday-themed content across social media channels to capture the spirit of the season and cultivate a sense of celebration and style during the colder months.
Encourage User-Generated Content to Foster Engagement
What better way to engage with your audience than to get them involved in your brand’s narrative?
This entails asking people to create content centered around your brand, whether it’s pictures, videos, or success stories.
You can ask them to include holiday-specific and branded hashtags to keep them engaged and invite other users to join in.
Consider adapting your messaging to customer segments and different stages of the campaign. And craft content for various channels.
Use:
- Promotional emails: Create compelling subject lines, incorporate visuals of UGC, and include clear CTAs encouraging subscribers to participate.
- Ads: Feature user testimonials and use targeted ad copy based on audience segments and campaign stages.
- Social media posts: Use different social media platforms based on audience demographics and preferences. Encourage participation with polls, challenges, or hashtags.
Create an Email Marketing Campaign to Thank Loyal Customers
Show loyal customers you appreciate their business with holiday email marketing campaigns. Consider using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to keep track of customer contact information and online behaviors.
Integrate this data into an email marketing automation platform. Then, create email workflows triggered by different behaviors (e.g., making a purchase, visiting a product page, etc.).
As a result, you can automatically send relevant promotional emails that spread holiday cheer and give your customers something to be excited about.
Offer rewards and incentives like:
- Holiday sweepstakes or giveaways
- Countdown calendar promotions
- Holiday gift cards with bonuses
- Early access to holiday sales
- Exclusive holiday offers
- Gift with purchase
- Loyalty programs
- Discounts
By offering its valued customers early access to deals, Samsung builds a sense of exclusivity that’s hard to get elsewhere.
Here’s to Your Holiday Marketing Success
Holiday marketing success is all about knowing your customers, targeting your messaging, and reaching them on the right platforms.
It’s also important to offer them multiple touchpoints across multiple channels. This omnichannel approach will allow you to expand your reach and maximize success.
But perhaps what’s most crucial is updating product feeds with holiday-themed artwork and descriptions. It’s one thing to be able to attract and engage new and current customers with your holiday marketing campaign.
However, it’s another thing to keep them interested and make them stay put once they reach your website and product pages.
To improve your paid media campaigns' performance and boost marketing ROI, try Marin for free today.
Unveiling Phase One of Marin’s Makeover!
We’re excited to announce some of the recent updates we’ve made to our user interface. These upgrades make our software not only easier to use, but also, well… prettier! Tl;dr: this phase of updates has focused on streamlining our navigation and making it more intuitive. We've consolidated all navigation into one single bar on the left side of the app – where there are seven different expandable sections. And we’ve moved all the admin tools into the upper right to make them easier to find no matter where you are in the platform.
Let's dive into all the powerful features that live within each section.
Overview
When you first visit Marin, you’ll be brought to the ‘Home’ sub-tab within the ‘Overview’ tab. Here, you’ll see a customizable dashboard full of charts and tables designed to give you a high-level overview of your performance. You’ll probably use this as your home base to provide a snapshot of which campaigns are doing well, which are doing poorly, and what needs your attention.
The second sub-tab in the ‘Overview’ section is Insights. Marin runs over 200 nightly checks on every account linked to the platform, identifying areas for improvement. Then, it provides easily implemented recommendations to improve performance – many of which you can apply with just one click.
The third sub-tab is ‘Dashboards’. This is where you can customize your home screen and create as many additional reporting dashboards as you’d like. Our dashboards are neat because you can interact with each individual chart and graph – changing date ranges, filters, and more. Additionally, links to your Dashboards are shareable to anyone, even those without Marin access. When someone without Marin access clicks a link to a Dashboard, it will take them to a read-only view of the report. This is great for real-time reporting on performance to leadership, or sharing marketing data with other teams.
Accounts
The Accounts section is where you’ll probably spend most of your time. Here, you’ll see a traditional waterfall view of all the different levels of a paid media campaign. This is where one of Marin’s most valuable features comes into play; consolidated reporting and optimization across publishers.
And our grids have been undergoing a bit of a makeover, too! Now, you can view and edit all the filters you’ve applied at the top of the grid. We’ve moved some other buttons around to make workflows more intuitive, too. For example, we’ve added a breadcrumb trail at the top of the grid that informs the exact path you took to get to the screen you’re currently on. You can toggle between different sections of the system using the breadcrumbs at the top or hover in the area around the breadcrumbs to open the Navigator to jump to critical parts of the system.
We’ve also made our charting feature collapsible and slicker. With our in-app charting, you can visualize your data with just a few clicks.
The one sub-tab here that you may not recognize from the traditional paid media waterfall (of campaigns>groups>keywords>ads, etc.) is the ‘History’ sub-tab. This tab gives you a high-level view of performance, rolled up by date. It’s great for understanding high-level trends in your campaigns' performance.
Social
Under Social, you’ll find all the Marin features that are exclusive to Meta. The two coolest ones are our Message Booster and Rules. Message Booster automatically turns your best performing organic posts into paid ads based on criteria you choose, like number of likes or comments.
And for those who are a bit dissatisfied with Meta’s bidding algorithms, Marin’s Rules allow you to choose your own criteria for automated bidding. This way, you’re able to use Marin’s intelligent bidding to automatically increase or decrease bids based on the KPIs that matter most to you.
Dimensions
Dimensions are Marin’s bespoke labeling solution. Some classic examples of dimension tags are campaign attributes like brand vs. non-brand, or geo location. In the dimensions tab, you can see data by dimension, and even pivot different dimensions against each other. This makes reporting on the categories that matter to you a breeze.
Optimize
Here is where you’ll find all of Marin’s (you guessed it…) optimization features. The first sub-tab is ‘Strategies’. This is where you can manage your cross-channel bid strategies and targets.
The second ‘Pacing’ sub-tab showcases our highly requested budget pacing feature, which allows you to segment campaigns into different spend categories and manage how each category is pacing toward its spend goal for the month or quarter. Marin can automatically update budgets, bids, and publisher bidding targets based on these pacing widgets as well.
Lastly, under Optimization you’ll see the ‘Dynamic Actions’ sub-tab, which enables clients that are using Marin bidding to layer custom rules on top of their algorithmically calculated bids.
Automate
Under Automate, we first have the ‘Impact Summary’ sub-tab. This is a dashboard that showcases all the automated actions that Marin’s AI has taken on each object within your accounts. We understand that placing your marketing campaigns in the hands of AI can be scary. That’s why we built this dashboard – so you can understand all the automated changes being made, and have the power to override the automation if you want to.
The other sub-tab under ‘Automate’ is ‘Scripts’. Our Scripts feature is new and we’re very excited about it! It enables clients to create their own custom automation with python code. From automating dimension labeling, to changing budgets based on custom rules, to increasing or decreasing CPA or ROAS targets based on backend data, the possibilities are endless. And with our ChatGPT integration, AI will write the code for you, and our Solutions Architects can help too. We certainly don’t expect you to learn to code in order to use Marin. Just let us know what you're trying to achieve and our support team will write and / or QA the code for you.
Reports
Under ‘Reports,’ you’ll find two sub-tabs, ‘Completed’ and ‘Scheduled’. This is pretty straightforward – completed reports can be downloaded from the ‘Completed’ sub-tab and scheduled reports can be edited in the ‘Scheduled’ sub-tab. But you’ll really appreciate the scheduled tab, because it allows you to edit any aspect of a recurring report. So no need to re-create a whole report because you’re missing one column or one filter. Never again – you’re too busy for that!
That brings us to the end of our tour of Marin’s new UI. But stay tuned, because there are many more updates coming out next quarter that we can’t wait to share with you! And if you’re considering Marin and want to learn more, click here to schedule a demo of our gorgeous new UI.
Amazon vs Walmart E-commerce: Battle of Retail Titans
Walmart and Amazon are the undisputed giants in the online retail space, ruling the fast-paced world of e-commerce with their massive presence and influence. In the battle for E-commerce market share the tension is high and the rivalry fierce but what set these two apart?
These aren't just any old competitors. They're juggernauts of industry with vast resources at their disposal. Amazon has been dominating e-commerce for ages and Walmart is making some serious moves to challenge that throne. When it comes to the battle for market share, we're seeing some serious strategy shifts and innovation from both sides.
Amazon vs Walmart: Two Titans of E-commerce
Let's do a quick dive into both of these titans of e-commerce. Walmart and Amazon - What is their strategy and why does it work so effectively?
Amazon has been dominating online retail with an overall market share of 37.8% since 2022. Their strategy? Offering a vast range of products, ensuring speedy delivery times, and providing incredible customer support making them the best shopping platform today.
But what about Walmart? Walmart has also known that e-commerce is a train not to be missed. Since 2000, Walmart has been changing the way they do business online. Offering services like next-day delivery and Walmart+, it's no wonder why they have taken the number two spot.
Customer Focus and Experience
When it comes to customer focus and experience, Amazon and Walmart have different strategies.
Amazon is known for its customer-centric culture, prioritizing a smooth and seamless experience for shoppers. They offer convenient features like one-click ordering and personalized recommendations to enhance the customer journey.
Walmart has taken a divergent tactic, striving to make their online and in-store offerings work together seamlessly. They aim to smoothly integrate their online platform with their physical stores. This allows shoppers to buy goods on the web and then collect or return them at a nearby physical store.
Both Amazon and Walmart are committed to improving consumer experiences. They understand that providing superior satisfaction not only leads to more repeat purchases but also fosters strong brand loyalty.
Supply Chain Efficiency and Fulfillment Centers: Amazon vs Walmart
Have you ever wondered how industry giants like Amazon manage their supply chains? And what about the hybrid approach of Walmart's fulfillment centers?
Fulfillment centers are more than just warehouses. They play a critical role in providing a range of delivery options. It's not just about standard shipping anymore, consumer are used to receiving their products now - we're talking about same-day delivery service.
The Role of Delivery Options in Supply Chain Management
These two retail giants are constantly optimizing their operations. Optimizing operations is essential for providing a top-notch customer experience that prioritizes rapid delivery and an affordable price.
No one likes waiting for packages, right?
- Faster: The faster your product reaches you, the happier you'll be as a customer. That's why speed is crucial.
- Versatile: With multiple delivery options available from both retailers, customers can choose what suits them best. Flexibility matters.
- Price: Let's not forget about the price. Localizing supply chains helps lower costs in-store or online.
Third-Party Sellers on Marketplace Platforms
The tremendous success of Walmart and Amazon isn't solely due to their brand recognition. No, a significant factor behind their success is the presence of third-party sellers.
You heard that right.
These sellers are pivotal players in a vast market; we're talking about millions of them.
So, what is their role?
These sellers ensure that the product listings on these platforms continue to grow exponentially. More choices for us shoppers mean increased competition among retailers.
Have you ever considered the role of department stores in the realm of online shopping? They play a crucial role, and quite seamlessly too.
Retailers provide a tangible experience for those who prefer the traditional approach of shopping in person. What we have is a fantastic fusion of physical department stores and their digital counterparts – talk about having the best of both worlds.
Membership Services - Comparing Prime & Plus
The marketplace is packed with subscription services, Amazon and Walmart are two of the most prominent services you can add.
Both companies offer their own membership programs, Amazon Prime and Walmart's Plus program, each with its own unique set of perks.
Prime members are able to take advantage of free delivery from Amazon, a major benefit. But that's not all it offers. Prime members can also take advantage of Amazon's grocery delivery service, allowing you to get fresh produce without leaving your homes.
Walmart's Plus plan emphasizes money-saving perks, like fuel markdowns, as well as free delivery. However, when it comes to innovative technologies like Amazon's Dash Cart, Walmart is not quite there yet.
When comparing these two membership programs side by side, it's clear that they both offer value, but in different ways. Whether it's through technological innovations or saving money, the choice ultimately depends on what best fits your needs and preferences.
Revolutionizing Shopping with Online & Offline Technologies
No longer is it just about traditional stores. Amazon and Walmart are now taking shopping to a whole new level by leveraging online technologies.
The cool thing? Amazon has this neat feature called virtual try-on.
Imagine being able to see how those new shoes look on you without even stepping into a fitting room!
Walmart has multiple brands offering a similar feature!
Taking Things Mobile: App Functionality
It's no surprise that mobile technology is the driving force of our lives. That's why Amazon and Walmart aren't just stopping at web-based innovations; their game is strong when it comes to mobile tech as well. Nearly 78% of US adults shop on their phones, and both companies have invested heavily in their mobile apps to offer a seamless experience.
- Their mobile apps are packed with features beyond mere shopping portals - think price comparison tools, product reviews, wish lists...
- All these goodies make sure you get seamless user experiences across different touchpoints.
- In short: these guys mean business when it comes to leveraging technology for better retail experiences.
Getting Familiar with Amazon and Walmart Advertising
Amazon offers a plethora of ad types for marketers looking to tap into eyeballs constantly visiting their e-commerce pages. One such powerful tool is Sponsored Product Ads. These CPC ads aid vendors and merchants in ensuring their products are seen by customers who are searching for them. They help sellers and vendors ensure their products get seen by eager shoppers.
On Walmart’s front, their incredible growth is largely attributed to the role played by Walmart Connect. This platform enables businesses big and small to reach millions of customers with targeted promotions.
Unpacking the Revenue Giants: Amazon and Walmart
In the e-commerce universe, these two titans continue to dominate shopping. Their financial performances speak volumes about their unique business strategies.
Amazon's yearly revenue growth, for example, doesn't just happen by chance. Their success can be attributed to their varied product selection and focus on customer satisfaction, which drives repeat business.
But let's not forget Walmart. Despite tough competition from digital retailers like Amazon, they've managed to grow their revenues too.
How?
The secret sauce is an omnichannel strategy blending brick-and-mortar stores with digital shopping experiences.
The Secret Behind Those Big Numbers
Digging deeper into these factors gives us insights into how both companies manage to rake in such massive numbers, year after year, while staying competitive in the ever-changing e-commerce world.
Remember:
- A diverse product portfolio can attract different types of consumers.
- An omnichannel approach integrates physical stores with online shopping.
- Focusing on innovation drives continuous growth.
Conclusion
Amazon and Walmart are the undisputed titans of e-commerce, each leveraging their vast resources to dominate the online retail market.
Their strategies? Remarkably distinct yet similarly effective.
Both prioritize customer focus, constantly improving consumer experience for superior satisfaction. It's all about winning hearts, minds, and wallets.
Fulfillment centers and efficient supply chains form their operational backbone. Same-day delivery isn't a luxury; it's an expectation they strive to meet.
The role of third-party sellers can't be understated either - millions contribute significantly to both platforms' sales.
We've also explored membership services like Amazon Prime versus Walmart Plus. Free shipping is just one facet of these comprehensive programs that enhance user experiences while boosting loyalty.
Leveraging technology – both online and offline – further enhances shopping experiences with features like virtual try-on and mobile app functionality making waves in this digital era.
A close look at financial performance paints a clear picture: Revenue growth is impressive on both sides due to innovative strategies combined with aggressive expansion plans in their shopping experience.
Beyond Clicks and Views: How to Measure Engagement in the Web3 Era
As traditional metrics like clicks and views become less meaningful, businesses must adapt and find more effective ways to measure engagement. In this post, we’ll explore how to measure engagement in the Web3 era — which is forecasted to reach a market size of $81.5 billion by 2030 — going beyond superficial metrics and diving into deeper indicators of user participation and value.
Understanding the limitations of clicks and views
Clicks and views have long been the go-to metrics for measuring engagement in the digital realm. While they provide a basic understanding of user interaction, they fail to capture the true essence of engagement. In the Web3 era, where user empowerment and ownership take center stage, these traditional metrics fall short in truly reflecting the depth of user involvement and value creation.
The changing landscape of user engagement in the Web3 era
The emergence of the Web3 era has brought about a significant shift in the landscape of user engagement. Unlike Web2, where users primarily consumed content passively, the Web3 era promotes active participation and ownership. Users are no longer mere consumers but are contributors and stakeholders.
With Web3, users co-create content, applications, and even entire ecosystems. Instead of measuring superficial metrics like clicks and views, which offer limited perspectives, the Web3 era focuses on evaluating the depth and quality of user interactions and digital experiences, where users have a vested interest in the platforms they engage with.
The implications of measuring engagement in the Web3 era
Measuring engagement in the Web3 era has far-reaching implications for businesses and the overall success of Web3 communities.
Data-driven decision-making
Armed with a data-driven approach, companies can make more informed decisions based on user behavior, preferences, and trends. Analyzing engagement metrics enables them to identify patterns, optimize their offerings, and tailor their strategies to better meet the needs and expectations of their target audience.
Optimizing strategies for business success
Measuring engagement in the Web3 era provides businesses with the opportunity to fine-tune their strategies and maximize their chances of success. By understanding which aspects of their platform or content drive the highest levels of engagement, they can allocate resources more effectively and focus on areas that generate the most value. In turn, this optimization leads to improved user experiences, increased user retention, and ultimately, better business outcomes.
Building thriving Web3 communities
By understanding the factors that drive engagement, businesses can build and nurture vibrant communities that foster active participation, collaboration, and positive interactions among users. With engagement metrics, companies can identify and reward community members who contribute valuable content or provide insightful contributions, thereby encouraging a culture of involvement and expertise sharing. Not only does this approach enhance user loyalty, but it also harnesses the collective intelligence of the community for improved innovation and problem-solving, which becomes beneficial for all participants.
8 Ways to measure engagement in the Web3 era
- Attention and time spent
One of the first indicators of engagement in the Web3 era is attention — time spent by users on a particular platform or application. Time spent is a valuable metric that demonstrates the level of interest and commitment of users. However, it's important to analyze the quality of time spent rather than just the quantity.
Pro tip: To successfully track the duration users spend interacting with their platforms and content, leverage blockchain's transparent and timestamped records. Additionally, smart contracts and decentralized applications provide granular insights into user interactions, allowing companies to quantify and analyze the depth and frequency of user engagement.
- User-generated content (UGC)
In the Web3 era, the creation and sharing of user-generated content (UGC) holds immense significance because it transforms passive consumers into active contributors, fostering a dynamic and interconnected digital landscape where individuals have the power to shape narratives, influence trends, and collectively co-create the value they seek.
UGC redefines traditional notions of content ownership and distribution, and also facilitates the emergence of more authentic, diverse, and community-driven digital environments that reflect the true essence of Web3 principles. In fact, because UGC has been proven to build trust and authenticity, 86% of companies have integrated it into their marketing strategy.
Pro tip: By creating blockchain-based protocols that track and validate UGC submissions, businesses can ensure the authenticity and ownership of contributed content. Just as smart contracts can be used to track a user’s time and attention, they can be employed to record the creation, sharing, and remixing of UGC, enabling precise quantification of user interactions.
- Tokenomics
Through token-based incentives, businesses can easily align user interactions with tangible value. As users earn and trade tokens based on engagement levels, companies gain real-time insights into which activities are most captivating and impactful. The evolving token marketplace provides a gauge of sentiment and demand for various interactions, allowing businesses to adapt and optimize their engagement strategies in response to user preferences. Doing so fosters stronger connections between businesses and users and provides valuable data for refining products, enhancing experiences, and ultimately driving sustained growth in the Web3 landscape.
Pro tip: To design a robust token economy, determine how users will earn tokens through actions like content creation, participation in events, referrals, or other valuable contributions. Then assign different weights to each activity based on its importance to your ecosystem. Ensure that token rewards are aligned with the behaviors and outcomes you want to promote.
- Blockchain-based metrics
Leveraging blockchain-based metrics offers a revolutionary approach to measuring engagement that enhances accuracy, transparency, and trust. Utilizing the inherent immutability of the blockchain allows businesses to create tamper-proof records of user interactions and transactions.
Each engagement, whether it's content creation, token transfers, or application usage, is time-stamped and securely stored, ensuring a reliable source of data for analysis. The transparency of the blockchain gives users the ability to independently verify their interactions, fostering a sense of both authenticity and accountability. Blockchain-based metrics also enable businesses to map out complex user journeys, understand engagement patterns, and gain insights into which activities resonate most within the community.
Pro tip: To take full advantage of blockchain-based metrics, begin by identifying key metrics and use cases. Collaborate with blockchain developers to build smart contracts that automate the recording and tracking of the identified metrics. Additionally, introduce your users to the benefits of blockchain-based metrics to encourage participation.
- Community interactions
Because engagement in the Web3 era is heavily reliant on community interactions, it requires tracking and analyzing interactions between users, such as comments, likes, shares, and collaborations. By monitoring both the sentiment and quality of these interactions, businesses can comprehensively assess the vibrancy and impact of their community interactions, shaping strategies that nurture deeper connections and meaningful collaboration with their users.
Pro tip: To evaluate the sentiment of user comments, feedback, and discussions within the community, implement sentiment analysis tools that utilize natural language processing (NLP). These tools can analyze the tone and emotions expressed in text to gauge whether interactions are positive, negative, or neutral. Consider also integrating decentralized reputation systems where users can provide feedback and rate the quality of each other's contributions. Content ranking mechanisms may also be useful in enabling the community to upvote or downvote contributions based on their perceived quality.
- User governance and decision-making
A decentralized decision-making process, such as token-based voting or consensus mechanisms, allows users to contribute to key decisions regarding features, upgrades, and strategic directions. By tracking the level of participation in these governance activities, including the number of votes cast or proposals submitted, businesses can gauge the depth of engagement.
Additionally, analyzing the diversity of participants and their contributions offers insights into the inclusivity of the decision-making process. As users become stakeholders with a genuine influence, their engagement is inherently tied to the platform's success, creating a symbiotic relationship that drives active participation and sustainable growth.
Pro tip: To track the level of participation in governance activities, utilize blockchain's transparent and immutable ledger. Every vote cast or proposal submitted is recorded as a unique transaction on the blockchain, providing a reliable and auditable record of user engagement. With this information, businesses can analyze the frequency and volume of transactions and can quantitatively measure the depth of user involvement in the decision-making process.
- Network effects and referrals
The Web3 era encourages network effects, wherein users actively invite others to join and participate in the ecosystem. By using tracking mechanisms that monitor the growth of their user base, companies can measure the reach and impact of individual users' recommendations, identify the most effective channels for viral sharing, and quantify the ripple effect of engaged users bringing in new participants.
Pro tip: To accurately monitor network effects and referrals, create a tracking system that assigns unique identifiers to users and generates distinct referral links for each participant. Incorporate UTM parameters or similar tracking tags in the referral links. To understand the ripple effect of user referrals, implement attribution modeling. Businesses may also choose to experiment with different referral incentives and sharing strategies.
- NFT ownership and collectibles
Currently, 2.8% of users own an NFT. By issuing NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) as collectible items, limited editions, or rewards for engagement, companies can track and analyze user interactions with these assets. Monitoring NFT ownership, transfers, and trading activities provides insights into user preferences and the value they place on specific digital content.
Pro tip: To foster a deeper sense of engagement and belonging among users who participate in the NFT ecosystem, businesses can observe which NFTs gain the most attention, are frequently traded, or spark discussions. This data can then be used to assess the resonance of their offerings and refine their content strategies.
Embracing the web3 era
As we navigate the Web3 era, it becomes evident that traditional metrics like clicks and views no longer capture the true essence of engagement.
With the multifaceted nature of engagement in the Web3 era, partnering with MarinOne can help you delve deeper into the dynamics of user participation. Its robust platform and suite of tools and analytics will take you beyond superficial metrics so you can gain valuable insights into the quality and depth of user engagement, enabling you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your strategies.
Curious to learn how? Schedule a demo.
Driving Success in B2B Global E-Commerce: Strategies for Boosting Customer Adoption and Retention
B2B global e-commerce has become increasingly prevalent in today's digital landscape. As businesses expand their operations across borders, they are embracing the benefits of online platforms to connect with customers worldwide. However, customer adoption and retention in this highly competitive environment pose significant challenges.
To overcome these challenges and drive success in B2B global e-commerce, businesses must employ effective strategies. To achieve this, a broad understanding of the B2B e-commerce landscape and acknowledgment of the complexities of this landscape is essential. In this blog article, we will explore the strategies behind boosting customer adoption and retention for B2B e-commerce businesses while sharing our experiences at Marin Software.
Mastering B2B E-Commerce
B2B e-commerce is intricate and varied. The first step to a successful outcome is to master the key elements of what makes a great B2B e-commerce strategy for acquiring and retaining customers.
Understanding online consumer behavior is key. Today's consumers are tech-fluent and seek personalized experiences. They want to find what they need swiftly and simply, whether through a search engine, social media, or an e-commerce site. Businesses must adjust their marketing strategies to meet these evolving needs.
Competing in the B2B E-Commerce Space
Understanding the competitive nature of B2B e-commerce is also crucial. With companies constantly battling for digital consumer attention, understanding the competition allows businesses to strategically position and distinguish their brand. To stay ahead, companies must use innovative tools and technology, a process made easier with Marin Software's platform. Real-time data and insights allow businesses to monitor competition and identify growth opportunities.
Keeping Up with Tech Developments
Staying current with technological developments in B2B e-commerce is essential. As technology evolves, new online advertising opportunities arise. Keeping up with search engine algorithm advancements, social media trends, and new e-commerce platforms can provide a competitive advantage. Marin Software eases this task, offering a platform that integrates effortlessly with the latest technologies and helps businesses capitalize on emerging trends and opportunities.
E-Commerce Regulations
Understanding the regulatory environment in the B2B e-commerce space is a key component to not only success, but simply the ability to continue operations at all in the B2B space. Online advertising is heavily regulated, with policies varying from region to region. Failure to comply can lead to hefty penalties and harm to a business’s reputation.
In sum, mastering B2B e-commerce involves understanding online consumer behavior, knowing your competition, staying current with technology, and understanding regulations. This is the first step to creating effective strategies for customer acquisition and retention.
The Importance of Data-Driven Marketing
Data-driven marketing is no longer an option; it's a vital component for successful online advertising campaigns. Let's explore why.
The Role of Data in Marketing
Today's marketing is all about the quantity and quality of data the business has access to. Data provides a detailed view of your customers, including their behaviors, preferences, and purchasing habits. Instead of guessing what your customer wants or needs, data provides the answers. This information helps businesses identify specific audiences, create personalized campaigns, and understand current market trends.
Converting Data into Action
Having a lot of data is helpful, but understanding how to use it effectively is key. Tools like Marin Software are great for such use cases. We transform raw data into actionable insights, guiding businesses to understand the data and use it effectively. By simplifying complex data, information can be transformed into valuable insights that drive your marketing decisions.
For instance, if the data indicates a specific product is popular among a certain age group, you can modify your marketing strategy to target that demographic more accurately. Similarly, if customers are abandoning their shopping carts without purchasing, you can investigate the reasons and adjust accordingly.
Data-driven marketing enables strategic, informed decisions that enhance customer adoption and retention. The key is to create actionable steps using the data that's collected.
Customer-Centric Advertising: Why It Matters
Embracing a Customer-Centric Approach
Marin Software prioritizes customer-centric advertising, an approach that places the customer at the center of all marketing efforts. This approach differs from traditional methods that focus primarily on the product or service. Instead, customer-centric advertising seeks to understand and meet the customers' needs, ensuring they feel valued and appreciated.
Unlocking the Potential of Personalized Content
In today's saturated market, great content truly moves the needle. Businesses should utilize customer data and deliver personalized advertising content to attract their attention. By understanding a customer's browsing habits, preferences, and purchasing behavior, businesses can create content that resonates with the customer. Personalized advertising can set businesses apart, attracting new customers and increasing retention. It demonstrates that a business recognizes and values the customers' unique needs and individuality.
Building Customer Relationships through Relevant Advertising
Customer-centric advertising also involves building and maintaining robust customer relationships through relevant advertising. Presenting products or services that match a customer's needs or interests shows that a business values its customers. Relevant advertising can foster customer loyalty. Customers who feel understood and provided with suitable solutions are more likely to remain loyal. Marin Software understands the importance of customer-centric advertising and provides businesses with the necessary tools to create relevant, personalized content that strengthens customer relationships and increases retention.
Customer-centric advertising is an effective strategy to enhance customer adoption and retention. It involves understanding and valuing the customer, delivering personalized content, and fostering strong relationships through relevant advertising.
Integrating Search, Social, and E-Commerce Advertising
At Marin Software, we promote the integration of search, social, and e-commerce advertising, offering a powerful solution for comprehensive marketing. Our unified platform enables businesses to manage their advertising efforts seamlessly across these vital areas, contributing to consistent brand messages and an enhanced customer experience.
Unified Advertising: Broadening Your Reach
Integrating search, social, and e-commerce advertising offers the key advantage of broadening your brand's reach. Every added channel in your marketing mix introduces a new opportunity to interact with potential customers. Search engine advertising targets users actively searching for your products or services. Social media advertising offers an engaging, conversational setting for users. e-commerce advertising connects with an audience ready to make a purchase.
Consider this approach as casting a wider net. Increasing the number of channels utilized allows for a broader customer outreach. With Marin Software's platform, you can manage all your marketing efforts in one place, saving time and resources, and maintaining a cohesive strategy.
Establishing a Consistent Customer Experience
Integrating search, social, and e-commerce advertising also leads to a consistent customer experience. Customers interact with brands across multiple touchpoints. They might first encounter your brand on social media, research your products on a search engine, and finally make a purchase on your e-commerce site.
Marin Software's integrated platform allows for a smooth transition between these touchpoints. You can ensure consistent messaging and branding across all channels, which enhances brand recognition and trust. Additionally, it enables accurate tracking of the customer experience, providing valuable insights into customer interactions with your brand.
A unified advertising approach also allows for quick responses to changes in customer behavior. If a user clicks on your ad on a search engine but doesn't make a purchase, you can retarget them with a personalized ad on social media. This cross-channel strategy boosts conversion chances and improves the customer experience.
Marin Software's unified platform simplifies the integration of search, social, and e-commerce advertising. Whether your goal is to broaden your reach, establish a consistent customer experience, or streamline your marketing efforts, we offer the tools necessary for success in advertising.
Advance Your B2B E-Commerce Success
B2B e-commerce is a competitive landscape, especially as businesses attempt to explore across borders. It's important to come up with the right strategies to find new customers and hold on to existing ones. Start by comprehending the intricacies of digital marketing, finding actionable insights based on data, and prioritizing customer-focused advertising. When ready, integrating marketing channels through a tool like Marin Software can take it to the next level.
Take advantage of this opportunity to elevate your business with tailored, data-informed marketing strategies that resonate with your audience. Remember, excelling in B2B e-commerce isn't about matching the competition—it's about staying one step ahead.
Begin benefitting from targeted online advertising with Marin Software. Partner with us now and witness a transformation in your marketing approaches!
Tactics for Promoting Your Company YouTube Channel
Video content has become an important way to connect with audiences and tell your company's story. YouTube, with millions of users logging in each day to watch videos on topics they care about, is a fantastic platform for doing this.
When using YouTube to share your company's message, it's crucial to ensure your channel and videos reach as many people as possible. This isn't just about getting more views, but about connecting with the right audience - those likely to be interested in your products or services and may become customers in the future.
Whether you're new to YouTube marketing or looking to enhance your existing strategy, these tactics provide actionable steps to help you promote your company's YouTube channel effectively.
Mastering YouTube SEO
Understanding YouTube's algorithm is the first step to optimizing your channel. YouTube primarily bases its video recommendations on watch time and viewer engagement. This means your videos should captivate your audience's attention and encourage interaction. Your content should also align with your audience’s tastes, interests, and preferences, as YouTube prioritizes relevance.
For YouTube-specific keyword research, consider using tools like Google Trends or tools built for YouTube like TubeBuddy. These can help you identify trending topics and keywords in your industry. Once you have these keywords, weave them into tags, descriptions, and even the titles of your videos. However, it's crucial not to overuse keywords as it can make your content seem spammy and affect your reputation negatively.
Never overlook your video thumbnails and titles. They are the first things potential viewers see and can significantly influence their decision to click on your video. Your thumbnail should be engaging, clear, and accurately reflect your video content. Your title should also be captivating and include your target keywords. It's not enough to just attract viewers - you need to attract the right viewers. Finally, your thumbnail and title should tie into the content of the video.
Partner with Influencers and Brands
Expanding your YouTube channel's reach often involves building strategic partnerships. Collaborating with influencers and brands in your industry can bring fresh eyes to your content. However, it's crucial to align with those who share your target audience.
Begin by finding relevant YouTubers in your industry or niche. These influencers command a following that could overlap with your target audience. Search for popular videos related to your industry or utilize tools like SocialBlade or ChannelMeter to find influencers with a robust presence in your niche. Ensure you research the influencer's credibility and engagement rates before initiating contact.
Consider guest appearances and collaborations next. Joint projects, like co-hosting a live stream, can merge audiences and extend your reach. Another option is a video crossover, where both parties feature in a video on each other's channels. As you plan these collaborations, consider what you can offer the other party - it could be unique insight, a shared promotion, or an exciting project that their audience would enjoy.
Engaging with your collaborator's audience is key. Participate in the comments, respond to queries, and show interest in their thoughts and opinions. This interaction can build a stronger relationship with this new audience and increase their chances of becoming dedicated followers of your channel. In a society where people seek connection, showing that you're more than just a brand can significantly enhance your YouTube presence.
Use Social Media Platforms Effectively
Boosting your YouTube channel can be as simple as using your existing social media accounts. If you have a presence on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you can use these to promote your YouTube videos. Sharing snippets of your videos, behind-the-scenes clips or upcoming content trailers can arouse curiosity among your followers, encouraging them to visit your YouTube channel.
Direct promotion aside, active participation in relevant online communities can also be beneficial. There are numerous Facebook groups, Reddit communities, and online forums discussing topics related to your industry. By offering valuable insights in these discussions, you can encourage community members to visit your YouTube channel. However, ensure your participation is genuine and not merely an advertisement for your channel.
Consider social media ads to further promote your YouTube content. Although this is a paid method, it allows you to reach a targeted audience effectively. You can specify your target audience's demographics, interests, and online behaviors, attracting them to your YouTube channel with engaging visuals and concise text. Ensure the ad's message is straightforward, and always link directly to the content you're promoting.
Integrating Email Marketing
Tying your YouTube channel in with email marketing campaigns can be a great way to promote your channel. This direct communication with your subscribers can boost engagement and increase views. Even better, since they are already in your contact database, your chances are even greater that they have immediate interest in the video content you are sharing.
Embedding Videos in Newsletters
Consider embedding YouTube videos into your email newsletters. Visual content can be 800% as engaging as plain text and offers a refreshing change for your subscribers. However, ensure that the video aligns with the email's theme or message. A short introduction can provide context and pique the reader's interest.
Even if the video doesn't play directly in the email - a common occurrence due to varying email client capabilities - don't worry. Instead, a thumbnail that links to the YouTube video appears, driving traffic to your channel and potentially increasing watch times.
Offering Exclusive Content for Subscribers
Exclusive video content for your email subscribers can make them feel valued. This content might include behind-the-scenes footage, early access to new videos, or specially made videos for your email list. Think about including special discounts or promotions in these videos. It can prompt more people to join your email list and boost your YouTube engagement.
Remember, though, not to inundate your subscribers with emails. Stick to a regular yet reasonable schedule. That way, subscribers look forward to your emails and, crucially, your YouTube content. Consistency and enjoyment are key when promoting your YouTube channel.
Engage With Your Audience
Establishing a robust relationship with your audience promotes your YouTube channel effectively. Engagement lies at the heart of this relationship, making viewers feel valued and part of a community.
Respond to Comments
At a basic level, responding to comments on your videos is crucial. Active participation in conversations encourages viewers to interact more. Answering questions, showing gratitude for their support, or merely acknowledging feedback, each response strengthens your rapport with your audience.
Don't hesitate to dig deeper. Encourage interaction by asking questions, creating polls, and inviting opinions. This tactic not only fosters more engagement but also offers valuable insights into your audience's preferences.
Host Live Sessions and Q&As
Live sessions and Q&A's provide another excellent engagement opportunity. Hosting a live event on YouTube enables real-time interaction with your audience. These sessions can be an enjoyable, interactive way to share updates, answer questions, or simply chat.
Remember, the goal is to forge a meaningful connection. Be genuine and show your audience the people behind the brand, fostering loyalty and retaining viewers.
Analyze Feedback and Adjust
Always analyze feedback and adjust your strategy accordingly. Viewer comments, likes, shares, and video analytics can offer valuable insights. What content do they love? What are the things they have an aversion to? Use these insights to refine your content and cater to your audience's wants.
Investing time to understand and engage with your audience can significantly impact your success. After all, a loyal, engaged community forms the backbone of a successful YouTube channel.
Paid Advertising and Sponsored Content
YouTube Ads help you connect with a specific audience. Ads can be tailored and developed according to factors such as location, age, interests, among other parameters. YouTube provides various ad types such as display ads, overlay ads, skippable and non-skippable video ads, bumper ads, and sponsored cards. It's best to begin with a manageable budget and adjust based on the performance of your channel.
Another effective method to promote your YouTube channel is through sponsored video content. Collaborating with relevant brands can yield mutual benefits. It's essential to maintain transparency in your sponsored content, as it fosters trust with your audience and enhances the response to your promotions.
Additionally, integrating affiliate links and promotional codes into your videos can be beneficial. This strategy promotes another company's products or services while offering value to your viewers. Remember, successful promotion hinges on a balance between engaging content and your promotional endeavors.
Achieve Visibility: Expand Your YouTube Channel Now
Escalating your presence on YouTube may seem easier said than done, but the right strategies can simplify this task. Tactics including SEO optimization, strategic partnerships and authentic engagements with subscribers paint different paths to your channel's expansion. Remember, growth takes time. Start small - apply one strategy, analyze its effect and slowly integrate additional techniques. Remain flexible, prioritize your audience's needs, and don't forget to enjoy the process. Your YouTube channel isn't just a platform for showcasing your expertise; it's a space to share your narrative and form meaningful relationships. To see how Marin Software can help grow not just your YouTube channel, but also your brand, visit us here.
Navigating E-Commerce Trends: What to Expect in 2024
2024 promises to be marked by technological breakthroughs redefining the e-commerce landscape. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning should be a primary focus, enabling personalized shopping experiences that cater to individual preferences and needs. Backed by advanced AI algorithms, chatbots, and virtual shopping assistants will engage customers in real-time, providing instant solutions and recommendations.
Additionally, integrating augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies will bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experiences. Shoppers will be able to try on clothes virtually, visualize items in their living spaces, and make more informed purchase decisions.
In this rapidly evolving e-commerce landscape, staying ahead of the game cannot be overstated. The competition is significant, and consumer expectations are growing unprecedentedly. Businesses that fail to adapt risk becoming obsolete or losing their market share to more innovative players. To help, we've identified some key e-commerce trends you should be aware of for 2024.
Utilizing descriptive research
Data-driven insights and strategic decision-making are vital for e-commerce businesses, and descriptive research is a powerful tool to help navigate the intricacies of the digital marketplace. Comparable to its usage in diverse fields like social sciences, linguistics, and academia, descriptive research offers a structured investigatory model that can significantly benefit e-commerce enterprises.
Descriptive research, a well-established investigatory approach, empowers e-commerce businesses to comprehend their operating environment holistically. Whether it's deciphering consumer behaviors, market trends, or product preferences, this method enables online stores to dive deep into the "who, what, and where" aspects of their target audience. AI stat findings on customer service and sales roles show some interesting findings. For example, did you know that 84% of customer service/sales professionals in the U.S. don’t have an A.I. policy in their company? This can unlock new ideas and drive new actions. Companies can unveil critical insights that guide their strategies and initiatives by amassing comprehensive knowledge about these dimensions.
Translation for e-commerce
For online businesses seeking to tap into global markets, localization has emerged as a pivotal strategy for success. At the heart of this strategy lies e-commerce translation–a powerful tool that bridges language gaps and transcends cultural barriers to create a deeply personalized and resonant experience for consumers worldwide.
E-commerce translation is more than just converting words from one language to another. It encompasses a holistic approach beyond linguistics, diving into the heart of cultural nuances and preferences. A localized experience, in this context, signifies a meticulous adaptation of content, products, and services to align with a specific market's unique needs and expectations.
Showcasing reviews on your site
In e-commerce, digital interactions replace physical touchpoints. As a result, trust and credibility are incredibly important. With customers unable to physically inspect products or gauge the authenticity of a brand, the need for assurance is paramount. This is where the strategic display of showcasing reviews on your e-commerce website becomes not just a choice but a crucial element in building customer confidence and driving conversions.
Humans are inherently social creatures who seek validation from their peers before making decisions. Reviews provide this validation, offering prospective customers insights into the real-life experiences of others who have interacted with your products or services. When customers encounter positive reviews from their fellow consumers, it creates a sense of trust and authenticity around your brand.
Positive reviews act as social proof, reassuring potential buyers that they are making a sound choice by considering your offerings. In a crowded online marketplace, where options are abundant and competition is fierce, showcasing reviews becomes a way to differentiate your brand as a trustworthy and reliable choice.
Leveraging AI and machine learning
The true e-commerce game-changer in 2024: artificial intelligence (AI) driven personalization. To stand out and forge lasting connections, businesses are harnessing AI to curate tailored consumer experiences that cater to individual preferences and needs.
The age of mass marketing and generic customer interactions is waning. Consumers today seek more than just products; they crave meaningful engagements that resonate with their unique identities. Let's say you want to start a wax melt business, which means operating in a very competitive field. To stand out from the crowd, you'll need to truly capture the hearts of your customers, speaking directly to their desires, aspirations, and preferences.
At the heart of AI-powered personalization lies customer data–a treasure trove of insights waiting to be unlocked. Businesses gain valuable insights into individual behaviors, purchase histories, browsing patterns, and more by collecting and analyzing data from various touchpoints. This data forms the foundation upon which personalized experiences are built.
Machine learning algorithms, a subset of AI, excel at uncovering intricate patterns within these vast datasets. By recognizing subtle correlations and predicting future actions, these algorithms enable businesses to tailor recommendations, content, and offerings to each customer's unique profile. This dynamic interplay between data and algorithms facilitates a level of personalization that was once inconceivable.
Why you need brand awareness
As we've mentioned above, countless brands are vying for your customers’ attention. Brand awareness–the measure of a brand's visibility and familiarity among its intended audience, encapsulates the extent to which a brand is recognized via its name, logo, or products. This familiarity isn't merely a superficial badge of recognition; it's a powerful psychological association influencing consumer perceptions, decisions, and loyalties.
The expansiveness of the online marketplace brings forth an inundation of options, rendering consumers spoilt for choice. Amid this abundance, your brand awareness strategy becomes a guiding light, helping consumers confidently navigate the digital landscape. A strong brand presence ensures that your brand stands out in the sea of options as a reliable and recognizable choice. It's a beacon directing consumers toward familiar territory, enabling them to make secure choices.
Control your marketing with AI power
Along with these important 2024 trends, consider how Marin can help you sell more via a platform that unifies the fragmented world of performance marketing. We offer everything you need to take your performance marketing to the next level, so let us help you today.
How To Create A Killer Content Personalization Strategy for B2B Sales
Are you looking to turn your B2B content marketing initiative into a sales-generating machine?
As a B2B marketer and business owner, you must understand content personalization for B2B audiences. And more importantly, you need to understand how to tailor your content to your B2B target audience.
Over time, nurturing your audience using personalized content can encourage brand advocates and loyal customers, positioning your brand as an industry authority.
If you’re ready to help your audience feel seen and hit your sales goals, stick around for six simple steps you can follow to embrace personalized marketing.
Understand your target audience profoundly
Who is your audience, really? Why are they ideal customers? What struggles do they face? What businesses do they run? What do they need help with? How can you provide tailored support that meets their needs?
Without a clear understanding of the answers to these questions, you won’t be able to tailor your content to your audience’s unique preferences and needs.
But you also need to dig a bit deeper.
Use SEO tools to discover your audience’s top searches and pain points. SEO tools can be incredibly useful for creating a content personalization strategy for B2B sales. By utilizing these tools, you can gain valuable insights into your target audience's search behavior, identifying the topics, keywords, and phrases most relevant to them.
Use these insights to inform your content creation process and build out your target buyer persona. By tailoring your content to your audience’s specific pain points and addressing their questions, you can do your part to ensure they feel heard, understood, and cared for. More on this in a bit.
Personalize your branding to your audience
Give your B2B audience a complete personalized experience by tailoring your branding to their preferences.
Pro-Tip: Save time personalizing your brand’s look and feel using an all-in-one branding solution like Tailor Brands.
With Tailor Brands, you can design a custom logo, build a website, create digital business cards, and print branded merch — all of which will have a unified look and feel.
Consider adding elements that resonate with your audience's personal interests and experiences. For example, if you've noticed that a significant portion of your clientele shares an affection for comfort food, integrating a banana bread motif or imagery might make your brand feel more relatable and homey. For instance, look at how Semrush, a popular SEO tool suite, uses a bright and playful website theme to target energetic marketing teams.
These branding elements also carry over to their merch. Even the socks look identical to the website homepage.
Here are some additional tips you can use to personalize your branding to your audience:
- Create a branded style guide your marketing and design team must adhere to when planning campaigns
- Create a banner at the top of your website’s home page that addresses a pain point and provides a personalized solution, i.e., “Tired of planning your sales calls in spreadsheets? Use our Smart Sales platform and never touch a spreadsheet again”
- Plan and integrate tailored value statements and calls to action (CTAs) throughout your blog, social media content, landing pages, and ads
Plan content pillars that cater to your audience’s preferences and solve their pain points
Review the top searches and pain points you discovered in your SEO research from step one.
Use these insights to plan main topics (the keywords you hope to rank for), content pillars (your go-to benchmark pieces), and clusters (relevant content used as sub-topics to support your content pillars). For instance, if you sell project management software, then you might have planned the following:
Audience insight 1: Our audience is always on the hunt for features that can help them save time planning project timelines.
A couple of the main topics we pulled include: “Project timeline” and “timeline planning”.
With this in mind, our content pillars will be: “How to Create A Project Timeline in An Hour Or Less” and “X Ways To Speed Up Timeline Planning”.
Our clusters will include:
- Timeline views
- Timeline integrations
- Building mini-project timelines
- Timeline FAQs
Audience insight 2: Our ideal customer dreams of interacting with clients and stakeholders within their Work OS.
A couple of the main topics we pulled include: “Client portal” and “In-app messaging”.
With this in mind, our content pillars will be: “How to Set Up Your Client Portal” and “Say Goodbye to Email with In-App Messaging”.
Our clusters will include:
- Client portal integrations
- In-app messaging integrations
- Client portal best practices
- In-app messaging FAQs
Don’t forget to solidify your CTAs when drafting your content to encourage more sales. Place CTAs in your article conclusions, at the end of your social media posts, and throughout your email campaigns.
Pro-Tip: Have no idea how to do any of the above? Reach out to an SEO agency or strategist for support.
Schedule topics as blog posts and repurpose them as social media posts and email campaigns
Once you’ve planned your main topics, content pillars, and clusters, use marketing automation platforms to schedule them as blog posts on your B2B blog.
Then, repurpose snippets from your blog assets and schedule them across your B2B socials and in your B2B email campaigns. Make sure your repurposed content looks native to the channels you’re publishing them on.
Work with subject-matter expert writers that have a firm grasp on your style guide, content goals, and audience. If you’re planning a massive content initiative, consider hiring account managers or project managers to help you organize this process as strategically as possible.
Don’t forget about graphics, images, and videos, too.
Add value-driven screenshots and custom images to break up text and illustrate main ideas. Or consider creating a series of videos based on your clusters or incorporating mini-explainer videos into your email marketing campaigns and social media posts.
And if you serve a global audience, you can use human-like AI voices to create videos in multiple languages and dialects to show your commitment to creating personalized content.
Differentiate between demand-generation content and lead-generation content and plan accordingly
Which topics or individual assets will you “give” away without asking for anything in return? Which topics will you reserve as gated pieces, otherwise known as lead magnets, where you’ll expect contact information in exchange for a download or freebie?
Get clear on which content pieces you’ll reserve for list-building campaigns and which ones you’ll post openly. Striking the right balance can help you cater to B2B target customers during all marketing funnel stages.
For instance, if you’re a new business, consider starting with mostly demand-generation content (un-gated assets) to start the process of building awareness and trust with your audience. Over time, consider weaving in lead-generation content (gated assets) to give your audience more value and nurture them closer to conversion.
For example, if you’re a sales coach for sales directors and managers, then you might offer helpful sales strategy infographics, sales tips, and sales analysis insights on your LinkedIn page, Twitter, and blog without asking for anything in return.
To encourage potential customers to hand over their contact details, you might consider creating an eBook or a sales playbook to use as a lead magnet. You could also offer ultimate guides, webinar tickets, and sales worksheets as additional gated content offers.
Pro-Tip: Don’t forget about running ads! Meet with an ad specialist with experience in your industry to plan pay-per-click campaigns and other relevant ads.
Link up with pros who serve your audience
Gain more traction by reaching out to pros that serve your target audience and have cultivated a loyal following.
Consider linking up with:
- B2B outreach experts
- B2B link-building pros
- B2B affiliate marketers
- B2B influencers
Take this tip up a notch by starting a user-generated content (UGC) campaign. Or, better yet, ask B2B influencers to run UGC campaigns on your brand’s behalf.
Wrap up
And there you go! Today we covered how to create a personalized content strategy to help inspire B2B sales.
Your next order of business?
Meeting with your marketing team to discuss the steps we covered today. Before embarking on this journey, it’s important to make sure everyone’s on the same page. It’s also crucial that the marketers on your team understand their unique roles in personalizing content and helping you drive this campaign forward.
Continue monitoring your content and look for ways to further personalize it to your audience. Consider dedicating marketing analysis to a few experienced team members so you can make the most of your personalization efforts. That’s it for now, friends. To your success!
Responsible Data Practices: How Businesses Can Leverage First-Party Data Ethically
First-party data is a valuable asset for businesses, but it has to be used ethically and responsibly. In this blog post, we'll explore the importance of responsible data practices and how businesses can leverage first-party data in an ethical way. From transparency to data security, we'll examine the key factors that businesses need to consider when using first-party data.
The importance of responsible data practices in the age of data privacy
Businesses use a variety of first- and third-party data to deliver better experiences to their customers. Modern customers demand personalization when interacting with brands and it can be challenging to deliver this without an in-depth understanding of their preferences and behavior.
However, businesses must learn how to collect and use customer data responsibly. A recent survey revealed that 79% of American consumers are either very or somewhat concerned about how businesses use the data they collect. Responsible data practices can go a long way towards alleviating these concerns and make customers more receptive to data collection techniques that companies employ.
How to use first-party data ethically: Best practices for businesses
Most businesses understand that they need to use data responsibly but can be unsure of how to do so. These five tips will help you collect, store, and analyze customer data in an ethical and acceptable manner:
Understand and communicate why customer data is collected
Before a business can begin to justify the reasons it collects customer data, it needs to understand those reasons itself. Once a business understands its reasons for collecting customer data, it can define its data collection policies with much more precision and purpose.
However, it is not enough to simply have these policies for internal use. These policies have to be communicated in simple and understandable terms to customers. 59% of customers said that they have little or no understanding of what companies do with their data. Well-designed and executed data policies can help to educate customers about what is done with their information and how this can help them receive better shopping experiences.
Only collect data that is necessary for marketing activities
As customers become more cautious about giving their information to businesses, marketers have to be more careful about how they go about soliciting this data. More than half of American consumers are highly likely to walk away from a business if they feel like they are asked for particularly personal or sensitive information.
Pro tip: As far as possible, limit customer data that is used for marketing. You can have individual profiles for each customer with highly detailed preference data and shopping behavior without the need for identifying information such as telephone numbers or addresses.
Give users control over what they share with businesses
Modern customers are often frustrated with the lack of control they have over their own information. 81% of consumers said they believe they have little to no control over what data companies collect. Businesses need to help customers feel like they have ownership of their information.
Pro tip: Always ask your customers for consent before you collect information from them. While businesses are required to inform customers when they use cookies to collect information, you should go further than that and hand control over to your customers. Let them decide what information they are comfortable sharing with you.
Implement strong data security measures to protect your customers
Businesses operating in the digital era collect staggering amounts of customer data. This data can sometimes include highly sensitive and personal information. Customers entrust businesses with this data and they expect companies to treat this information with the care it deserves.
It is crucial that companies have strong data protection and security measures in place. Any business that is hit by a data breach can find themselves paying for fines and losing the trust of their customers, who might simply choose to purchase products from competitors instead.
Communicate any policy changes with all customers
Legislators introduce new laws and regulations regarding customer data protection all the time. In response, businesses can change how they collect data or the extent of information they gather. When these changes happen, businesses should quickly communicate these changes to their customers. Customers who are kept in the loop regarding how their data is used are more likely to be comfortable sharing information with businesses.
Balancing data collection and privacy: Finding the right approach for your business
Data collection is unavoidable for any modern business. Here are some steps you can take to ensure that your business’ data collection practices respect your customers’ desire for privacy and security:
Unify customer data from across information silos
When customer data is scattered across different silos or systems, it becomes challenging for businesses to have a comprehensive view of how it’s being collected, stored, and used. Consolidating customer data into a unified system allows businesses to implement robust security measures such as encryption, access controls, and authentication mechanisms to protect against unauthorized access and data breaches.
Pro tip: Centralize data to make it easier to monitor and audit data handling processes, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and other industry-specific data protection requirements.
Use AI to plug the gaps between data points instead of collecting more data
AI algorithms can quickly process vast amounts of data and identify patterns, insights, and predictions that would be nearly impossible to detect manually. This ability to automate data analysis at scale creates opportunities for businesses to build detailed customer profiles without relying on intrusive data collection methods.
AI can help businesses harness insights from diverse data sources, including public data, CRM data, web behavior data, and more. By leveraging data from multiple sources, they can create a 360-degree view of the customer, which includes their demographics, behavior, preferences, interests, purchase history, and more. This view offers a way for businesses to understand their customers more deeply, anticipate their needs, and deliver personalized experiences.
Build a culture of responsible data collection and utilization
To balance data collection and customer privacy effectively, businesses need to build a culture that prioritizes responsible data collection and utilization. This involves ensuring that all employees understand the importance of data privacy and are trained on proper data collection and utilization practices. By promoting a culture of responsibility, businesses can minimize the risk of data breaches and build trust with their customers.
Deliver value to your customers in exchange for their data
Customers recognize that data sharing is an inevitable part of interacting with a business in the digital age. However, businesses should never take this for granted. It is important that customers understand and feel the benefits of sharing their data with businesses. If a customer receives marketing messages that are irrelevant to them or are inundated with advertisements they are not interested in, it can feel like the data they share with businesses is not being utilized well—and there is no incentive for them to share it at all. The margin for error for marketers can be extremely slim since customers view astounding amounts of marketing information on a daily basis.
Collaborate with technology providers to improve data management
Between the processes required to collect, store, analyze, and maintain data pools, data teams are stretched. Businesses can reduce the strain on data teams by only keeping critical data processes in-house and partnering with technology providers that can help with more specialized data management systems.
As businesses grow and generate increasing amounts of data, managing and analyzing that data can become challenging. Technology providers can offer scalable solutions to accommodate the growing data volumes and provide the necessary infrastructure to store, process, and analyze data effectively. Additionally, collaborating with providers allows businesses to adapt their data management strategies as needs evolve.
How MarinOne can help marketers succeed by maximizing first-party customer data utilization
MarinOne is an all-in-one advertising platform that combines the power of search, social, and eCommerce advertising into one unified system. The platform is designed to help marketers maximize the utilization of their first-party customer data, enabling more effective audience targeting, higher-quality leads, and better overall ROI on their ad spend.
MarinOne's advanced features include cross-channel audience targeting, automated bidding, and analytics to help marketers make data-driven decisions. Through its comprehensive interface, MarinOne allows marketers to manage, optimize, and analyze their advertising campaigns across multiple channels seamlessly.
With its advanced feature set and sophisticated data utilization capabilities, MarinOne empowers marketers to more effectively engage their target audience, drive conversions, and achieve their marketing goals. By leveraging powerful first-party data utilization capabilities, MarinOne provides a competitive edge that can help marketers succeed in an increasingly complex advertising landscape.
To get started today, schedule a demo with one of our MarinOne experts.
The Importance of Independence in Paid Media Intelligence and Optimization
The ad management tools provided by Google, Facebook, and even Amazon to manage paid media campaigns have come a long way. It wasn't too long ago that doing basic reporting, campaign management, or something as simple as bidding required you to look to a third-party platform.
But today, the publisher platforms offer great campaign management tools that help you get the most out of your investment in that channel. However, because they only function within that channel, there are a lot of limitations for cross-channel advertisers.
This isn't to say that you shouldn't use the publisher tools. They’re an important part of your toolkit. But you’d likely benefit from expanding your workflows to include a cross-channel platform. Let's dive into the reasons why this is important…
Are publishers grading their own homework?
All of the publisher platforms offer automated recommendations on how to improve the performance of your campaigns. These are helpful – but if you look closely, they’re often aligned with increased spending, not necessarily increased performance for your business. For example, consider recommendations that focus on click-through rates. Yes, having a high click-through rate is great. But if those clicks won't turn into revenue, you may spend more for no additional return. It’s better to have recommendations that are based on your business goals. Did you get to grade your own homework? Do you ask the barber if you need a haircut? Of course not! So why would you ask the publishers where you should allocate your budget?
Is your measurement keeping up with evolving privacy trends?
Since the demise of cookies, publisher tools have had a much harder time tracking conversions. Google Ads now employs conversion modeling techniques that use aggregated data to estimate conversions. While they’re trying their best, it's in your business’s best interests to use a first-party data measurement platform that can track conversions without cookies.
Google Analytics is often seen as the industry standard for conversion and revenue tracking and it’s definitely the tracking option that many of Marin’s customers use. While we’re happy to integrate with Google Analytics, the rollout of Google Analytics 4’s new data-driven attribution model raised some concerns about the accuracy of its conversion data attribution.
The last iteration of Google Analytics, commonly referred to as Universal Analytics or GA 360, defaulted to a last-click attribution model. This attribution model was quite straightforward — it gave credit for a conversion to the last channel that the customer interacted with before converting. But the new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) defaults to a data-driven attribution model, which uses Google’s machine learning to assign partial credit to various touchpoints along the conversion path. This attribution model is much less straightforward, and there are concerns that GA4 may be underreporting conversion data from Google’s competitors like Microsoft Ads.
In late September, Microsoft representatives emailed advertisers expressing concerns about the efficacy of GA4’s reporting on Microsoft Ads’ conversions and revenue. They noted that the shift to data-driven attribution was “causing potentially large discrepancies in conversion attribution reporting between Google’s tools (GA4 and Search Ads 360 (SA360)) and Microsoft Advertising.” They estimated that “the magnitude of underrepresentation is ~50%.” That’s a big discrepancy. The Microsoft representatives also noted that they “have seen cases where the move to GA4 has caused discrepancies even when clients continued to use last-click attribution” and therefore they “always encourage you to check Microsoft’s reporting for Microsoft conversions.” While they didn’t share any proof that Google Analytics is maliciously underreporting Microsoft Ads’ conversions, this sort of gray area, and Google-first bias, is exactly the sort of thing you can avoid by using a neutral first-party data tracking system like Marin.
Are you sharing data that you shouldn’t be?
In order to get the most out of publisher bidding algorithms, you need to provide them with conversion and revenue data from your source of truth. Ideally, you’re giving the publishers enough information to understand the profitability of each click. However, how much data does a publisher account need to effectively optimize a campaign? And how much of your proprietary information do you really want to share with Google, Bing, Meta, etc.? When it comes to data privacy, understanding how your data is being used is more important than ever – but transparency from publishers is severely lacking. A guaranteed way to capitalize on intelligent bidding without jeopardizing your proprietary data is to leverage a third-party tool like Marin. third-party tools offer a safe and secure space to store the data needed for optimizations, separate from the publisher platforms you're marketing on.
Are you doing repetitive work across platforms?
If you create and edit campaigns in one publisher tool at a time, you’ll be repeating workflows over and over again. Many of us have suffered through the process of creating multiple bulk sheets, and then uploading those sheets into each individual ad editor when launching a cross-publisher campaign. Then once that campaign is complete, exporting the front-end data from the publishers and backend data from Google analytics, unifying it into one Google sheet, then creating reports and data visualizations…These tedious processes used to be a rite of passage for entry-level paid search associates, but no one should have to suffer through that! Your team’s time is better spent working on strategy. From data collection to launching new campaigns to optimization, you’ll work more efficiently if you can execute these workflows all at one time, in one platform.
What is the modern PPC stack?
As the performance marketing world grows increasingly more complex, relying exclusively on publisher tools is a mistake. It forces you to work in silos, leaving you open to blind spots and wasted investment. The modern customer encounters many ads across multiple channels before reaching the bottom of the conversion funnel. Don’t you wish you had some sort of ‘referee’ to monitor your spend, ROAS, and CPA independent of publisher bias?
That’s where a Marketing Data Pipeline, like Marin, can swoop in and make your life easier (and your ROAS better). Our omnichannel platform normalizes and organizes marketing data into a single source of truth – so your team can easily retrieve, examine, tell the story of, and act on insights from your data.
Marin brings all your data together under one roof. Then, it analyzes your performance across all your channels – and provides unbiased recommendations on where to spend your next dollar, how to better optimize campaigns, and more. Since we have no skin in the game, we don’t care which publisher you spend your money on. We care about your bottom line — getting the best return on advertising investment for your business.
Our clients typically have about 20% more time to focus on strategy after integrating Marin into their daily workflows. These time saving tools also drive an increase in revenue. It’s a win-win.
Interested in learning more? Click here to schedule a demo with one of our experts!
Leveraging Blockchain Technology in Digital Advertising: Enhancing Transparency, Security, and Ad Fraud Prevention
For more than 20 years, companies have leaned on digital advertising to promote their products online. In fact, the digital advertising industry is currently worth more than $223 billion.
This is a testament to the massive potential of digital ads to reach the billions of people who use the internet to read, browse, and shop. Nonetheless, digital ads have their fair share of flaws.
As a result, blockchain technology in digital advertising has entered the chat to help advertisers navigate these challenges for the better. This guide will explain the link between blockchain technology and digital advertising so you can make the most out of every campaign you run.
What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain is a shared database that features real-time information to countless peers across a network. Generally speaking, blockchain technology serves as a distributed ledger where multiple parties can access and verify transactions.
Originally, blockchain technology was developed to build and sustain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. To understand the ins and outs of this complicated technology, let’s peel back the curtain with a simple example to illustrate how a blockchain network works.
Suppose you own Bitcoin and want to buy a pair of sneakers. Once you navigate to your favorite website and click the purchase button, blockchain technology will begin working to verify your purchase.
In particular, a group of anonymous miners will process your transaction over the blockchain through a process called proof of work. Finally, the transaction will go through if you have sufficient funds to cover the purchase cost.
Side note: There could be significant tax implications if you purchase anything using crypto. For a comprehensive guide on handling cryptocurrency taxes, we recommend referring to reliable resources for more information.
The blockchain is the network where all of these processes take place. It’s a secure network that enables secure sharing. And blockchain is much different from traditional databases that are managed by a single entity.
But the best part? Blockchain technology isn't restricted to just crypto transactions or use in the financial services sector. And you’re probably wondering what this has to do with digital advertising.
We’ll cover that in the next section.
Blockchain Technology in Digital Advertising
The boom in native advertising isn’t without cause. The rise of digital platforms like the Internet and social media has created a global audience for advertisers. Nonetheless, this doesn’t come without its share of consequences.
Advertisers face three critical problems when running digital campaigns:
- There are so many different players in the advertising space. First, there’s the advertising marketplace, publisher, and advertiser. Even ad exchanges act as liaisons between publishers and advertisers. These parties have their own interests, which complicates the digital advertising space.
- Advertisers commonly use multiple ad marketplaces, meaning they often have difficulty attributing success to a specific platform. This scenario can make their jobs more difficult in optimizing campaigns across these different channels.
- The rise of digital advertising has led to rampant ad fraud. Ad campaigns depend on authentic views and clicks for profit. Blurring the line between real and fake ad engagements can hamper a campaign’s success.
These three problems present a massive challenge for advertisers to overcome. Luckily, blockchain technology can help.
Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these problems and explain why there's a need for blockchain technology to spruce up industry standards.
Too Many Parties Are Involved
Historically, print advertising was much simpler. All you had to do was hire an ad agency, and they'd create the content you wanted. From there, they’d pay for ad space in magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, billboards, etc. And then you’d pay the ad agency for their services.
Today, this process isn’t as cut and dry. It's messy with advertisers, online platforms, and millions of publishers looking to make the most bang for their buck. It’s complicated. And the whole process feels like you’re wading through mud (read: the opposite of transparent).
The problem is that each party has its own interests. Everyone wants to make the most money. And that means taking money out of your pocket. You’re spending even more on platform fees, bidding costs, and other outlays that can severely decrease your return on investment (ROI).
Different Platforms Make It Difficult to Attribute Ad Success
Using multiple platforms to advertise your products and services is a fundamental way to increase reach and exposure. It’s also very challenging to determine which platforms are more successful and which need more refinement.
Even though advertising platforms like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have their own analytic dashboards, people take different journeys to interact with their favorite products and services.
See for yourself — Google Analytics doesn’t have much insight into how people navigate to your ads other than listing the referral websites:
Not everyone clicks on a display ad and buys a product immediately. Some take less direct pathways in purchasing, such as viewing and researching other products across social media platforms, before making up their mind.
What makes attribution more confusing is that you must account for various streaming devices, such as smartphones, computers, and smart devices. Each device has its own buying journey.
It becomes a major challenge to adapt your advertising strategy and improve your results without knowing exactly how your audience interacts with each platform you use.
Ad Fraud is a Real Problem
The success of a digital advertising campaign depends on two metrics: views and clicks. As with anything online, advertisers can have their precious efforts ruined by bas actors and bots (read: ad fraud).
Ad fraud contributes to $18 billion in lost revenue for global advertisers, which is expected to quadruple in the future.
All advertisers face potential ad fraud in the form of:
- Traffic hijacking takes clicks from your ads and sends them somewhere else.
- Click farms and bots that assign views to your ads with no conversions.
- Hidden ads that don’t showcase your products or services at all.
White publishers do their best to reduce these instances of fraud, but it remains a growing problem for advertisers.
Why Blockchain Technology is the Answer
All of the problems we mentioned have a correlation — the lack of trust and transparency about the data you’re receiving from publishers and ad platforms.
If you can’t trust your ad data, your campaign will inevitably misfire. Earlier, we explained what blockchain is. Now, let’s dive into the blockchain solutions that help mitigate these problems:
- Open-source: Blockchain is a distributed network. That means that multiple parties have access to important data in the digital ledger. Using a blockchain network, you can receive authentic ad data you can trust without intermediaries.
- Transparent: All data across a blockchain network is visible to every participant — no more doubting the information you receive is fraudulent.
- Immutable: Blockchain data can't be altered. Again, this builds trust and stops fraudsters in their tracks.
- Automated: Algorithms relevant to your campaign can be carried out like blockchain transactions, making your campaign more efficient.
Many companies have already switched to blockchain networks to improve the efficacy of their ad campaigns. For example, Toyota’s use of blockchain resulted in a 21% increase in ad performance for its key products.
Blockchain technology is more than a financial apparatus. Its use cases are spiraling into many different industries, especially digital advertising, where it’s needed to combat fraud and inauthenticity.
Blockchain Technology in Digital Advertising: A Sample Use Case
To help drive this point home, let’s look at an actionable example of blockchain in digital advertising.
With its decentralized nature and cryptographic security measures, blockchain is transforming the world of digital advertising as we know it. By cutting out intermediaries, it introduces a level of transparency and efficiency.
This powerful technology also makes sure that ads reach real people, not bots, and significantly improves ad fraud prevention. And we all know that digital advertising and personal data go together like two peas in a pod.
This is especially true in the sensitive domain of student loans. Every click, every lead, and every opportunity to apply for a student loan can lead to a collection of valuable personal information. Unfortunately, where there's value, there's a risk of fraud.
A successful advertising campaign in the student loan sector requires more than just reaching the target audience. It requires building trust, showing integrity, and proving that, as an advertiser, you value the privacy of your customer’s data.
That’s why innovative platforms such as SoFi can benefit from participating in this digital revolution. And thankfully, blockchain technology provides a robust framework for all of these aspects.
Blockchain offers greater transparency, prevents ad fraud, and can improve data security.
However, it's important to note that despite the potential security measures offered by blockchain, setting up data backup and recovery strategies is also worthwhile.
In particular, backup and recovery of data in the cloud can provide an additional layer of security, guaranteeing that your sensitive data is always accessible and protected, regardless of any problems or vulnerabilities.
The result? Happier customers. Less financial and reputational risk. And you’ll sleep better at night knowing your most sensitive data is safe and protected.
Final Words
The intersection of blockchain technology in the marketing industry is clear.
Advertisers want more transparency in the campaigns they’re spending their money on. And there’s a sizable gray area due to oversaturation in the marketplace and bad actors trying to game the system.
Thankfully, the rise of blockchain technology helps to clear the muddy waters of online advertising and create a level playing field for everyone.
So are you ready to jump on the bandwagon? How will you incorporate blockchain technology in your next advertising campaign?
How to Use AI Tools for Effective Influencer Marketing
Navigating the influencer landscape can be a complex task, especially when it comes to identifying the right influencers for your brand. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes into play. From discovery to engagement to analytics and more, AI tools offer powerful solutions that can greatly simplify and improve your influencer marketing process.
Whether you want to connect with prominent figures or discover the untapped potential of nano-influencers, AI can optimize these processes efficiently and accurately. In this article, learn how to effectively use AI tools in influencer marketing. We look at the role of AI in marketing, the key AI tools you can use, and provide step-by-step guides on how to incorporate these tools into your influencer marketing strategy.
Whether you're a seasoned advertising pro or a novice just getting started with influencer marketing, this guide will help you navigate the landscape easily and efficiently. Let's jump in!
Understanding AI in Marketing
Before getting into the details of the use of AI in influencer marketing, it's important to have a broader understanding of the role AI plays in the marketing world at large.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. This may include tasks such as understanding natural language, recognizing patterns, learning from experience, and decision-making.
Marketing uses AI to automate repetitive tasks, perform in-depth data analysis, and even create content. By analyzing vast amounts of data and deriving meaningful insights from it, marketers will be able to understand consumer behavior at a more granular level. For example, AI can segment audiences based on their behavior, preferences, and past interactions with brands, allowing marketers to deliver highly personalized content to each segment. It can also predict customer behavior based on past trends and patterns, enabling marketers to anticipate and proactively respond to customer needs.
AI also plays an important role in performance tracking and campaign optimization. It can analyze the performance of different marketing strategies, identify what is working and what is not, and suggest ways to optimize your campaigns to achieve better results.
AI automates these complex processes and provides valuable insights, enabling marketers to make more informed decisions and focus on creative and strategic tasks.
The Role of AI in Influencer Marketing
Now that we understand AI in the broader marketing context, let's narrow our focus and explore how it specifically impacts influencer marketing. Influencer marketing, once a manual and time-consuming process, has been greatly streamlined and enhanced by AI. Here's how:
Find influencers
Finding the right influencers is an important step in any influencer marketing strategy. AI sifts through massive amounts of data on social media platforms to identify influencers who align with brand values, audiences, and goals. It analyzes engagement rates, audience demographics, content relevance, and many other factors to find your perfect match. In all honesty, your best bet would be getting emails from YouTubers, just because they’re the most profitable type of influencer on the market, and they’re perfect for any email campaign, especially if you want great results right from the start!
Predictive analytics
AI tools can predict the success of influencer marketing campaigns by analyzing historical data and identifying patterns. It can provide insight into potential engagement rates, conversions, and ROI so marketers can optimize strategies and make data-driven decisions.
Performance Tracking and Analysis
Tracking the performance of influencer marketing campaigns can be complicated due to the large number of metrics involved. AI simplifies this by automatically tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), analyzing data, and presenting insights in ways that are easy to understand. This allows marketers to measure campaign effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.
Fraud detection
Unfortunately, influencer fraud is a common problem in influencer marketing. This includes influencers buying followers or using bots to increase engagement rates. AI detects fraud like this by analyzing patterns that humans might miss, ensuring you're working with real influencers.
Content optimization
AI analyzes which types of content generate the most engagement, helping influencers and brands create more content their audiences love. By integrating AI into influencer marketing, marketers can automate complex processes, gain valuable insights and significantly improve campaign effectiveness.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using AI Tools in Influencer Marketing
AI has made its place in influencer marketing, with numerous tools emerging, each with their own unique capabilities.
For example, AI tools like HypeAuditor and Klear are great at finding influencers. Analyze different data points like audience demographics and engagement rates to find influencers that fit your brand.
Predictive analytics is another strength of AI. Platforms like InfluencerDB and NeoReach use AI and historical data to predict potential influencer campaign outcomes such as engagement rates and ROI. AI also simplifies performance tracking and analysis. Tools like Traackr and Tagger provide advanced analytics to assess campaign performance and provide actionable insights.
Fraud detection is a very valuable feature. Platforms like HypeAuditor and SocialBakers use AI to detect influencer fraud and ensure trust in partnerships.
Finally, AI can optimize your content. Tools like Cortex and MarketMuse analyze your content's performance and provide insight into what resonates with your audience, helping you and your influencers create more engaging content.
These are just a few examples of the possibilities AI tools offer for influencer marketing. Once you're familiar with these tools, feel free to experiment to find the best combination for your needs.
Best Practices and Tips
Using AI tools for influencer marketing can greatly improve your campaigns. However, there are some best practices and tips to keep in mind to get the most out of them.
Understand your goals
Before you start, understand exactly what you want to achieve with your influencer marketing campaign. Goals guide the selection and use of AI tools.
Choose the right tools
Not all AI tools are created equal, and different tools may be better suited for different goals. Be sure to choose a tool that matches your campaign goals and audience. Ensure data protection:
It is critical to comply with data protection regulations when using AI tools. Always make sure that the tools you use comply with the GDPR or similar data protection laws applicable in your region.
Continuously learn and adapt
Both AI and influencer marketing are dynamic fields. Stay on top of the latest trends and continuously adjust your strategy to maximize campaign effectiveness.
Don't miss the human element
AI is powerful, but it needs to complement, not replace human judgment. Don't rely solely on AI for decision-making. Always check AI recommendations and use your intuition and expertise to make the final decision.
Testing and optimization
Experiment with different AI tools and strategies. Use the insights you gain to continuously test, learn, and optimize your campaigns for better results.
By adhering to these practices, you can effectively integrate AI tools into your influencer marketing strategy to not only reach your target audience but also ensure that you deliver content that truly resonates.
Future Trends in AI and Influencer Marketing
The interface between AI and influencer marketing is ripe for innovative trends. We expect more sophisticated personalization and predictive analytics powered by advanced AI technology. At the same time, the importance of speech and visual recognition will increase, and the analysis of video content will improve.
As virtual and augmented reality technologies mature, new avenues will open up for immersive influencer experiences. These advances focus on ethical data practices and transparency and address growing concerns about privacy and misinformation. Looking ahead, these trends highlight the transformative potential of AI in influencer marketing.
Final Thoughts
The interface between AI and influencer marketing is ripe for innovative trends. We expect more sophisticated personalization and predictive analytics powered by advanced AI technology. At the same time, the importance of speech and visual recognition will increase, and the analysis of video content will improve.
As virtual and augmented reality technologies mature, new avenues will open up for immersive influencer experiences. These advances focus on ethical data practices and transparency and address growing concerns about privacy and misinformation. Looking ahead, these trends highlight the transformative potential of AI in influencer marketing.
Marin Software Expands Support to Include Walmart Connect’s Sponsored Brands: A New Opportunity for Advertisers
Exciting news for brand advertisers and agencies! Marin Software, known for its innovative digital marketing software, has just announced an expansion in its capabilities. The MarinOne Retail Media Platform now includes support for Walmart Connect’s Sponsored Brands ad unit and the existing integration with Walmart Connect’s Sponsored Products.
What Does This Mean for Advertisers?
This new feature opens up a world of opportunities for advertisers to help increase brand visibility and drive customer engagement. Sponsored Brands is a unique ad unit designed to drive traffic, awareness, and conversions for businesses selling on Walmart's website. It highlights selected products at the top of the search page, allowing advertisers to showcase their brand and products in a highly prominent placement within Walmart's search results.
A Commitment to Excellence
Marin Software's CEO, Chris Lien, expressed his enthusiasm for this new addition, stating, "Marin Software is committed to helping advertisers effectively reach and engage their customers across various platforms. Our support for Walmart Connect's Sponsored Brands ad unit is a testament to that commitment. We're thrilled to offer our clients the tools they need to make the most of this powerful ad format."
Streamlined Campaign Management
By integrating Walmart Connect's Sponsored Brands into Marin Software's platform, advertisers can manage their campaigns alongside other major retailers like Amazon, Instacart, or Target. This new feature offers extensive campaign management and optimization capabilities, enabling advertisers to understand their customers better and optimize their advertising spend.
Here's a glimpse of what Marin's support for Sponsored Brands includes:
- Unified Reporting: Compare performance across different Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
- Advanced Bidding: Leverage Marin's bidding algorithm to maximize ROI for Sponsored Brands campaigns.
- Bulk Campaign Management: Create and edit Sponsored Brands campaigns at scale.
- Creative Optimization: Tools to analyze and optimize the creative aspects of Sponsored Brands ads.
- Cross-Channel Insights: Gain a deeper understanding of the customer journey across multiple platforms.
The Unique Opportunity
"Walmart Connect’s Sponsored Brands offer advertisers the unique opportunity to drive online sales and understand the impact on in-store volumes," added Lien, emphasizing this new integration's potential.
Learn More
Are you interested in exploring this new feature? Visit Marin Software's Walmart Connect page to learn more about support for Walmart Connect in MarinOne.
6 Tips for Boosting User Experiences with Customer Feedback Tools
If you’ve ever wondered what your active users and customers want from the user experience on your website, there’s a fairly simple solution.
Ask them.
Maybe they think your layout is confusing or you offer limited features. By gathering customer feedback, you take the guesswork out of future improvements by listening directly to the voice of the customer. It’s easy to feel assured in your UX updates because you’re working off information taken directly from the people you designed it for.
That’s why so many businesses trust customer feedback tools like email surveys to gather online reviews and determine customer satisfaction levels.
But like most important business matters, using customer feedback software to boost the user experience requires some know-how and careful planning. For more on how you can gather valuable data from your customers for future UX improvements, read on.
How can customer feedback improve the user experience?
The user experience should appeal to your ideal customer. That’s why any business plan or marketing strategy begins by gathering as much information on these target demographics as possible.
But something like your user experience should always be changing based on actionable feedback. That means implementing changes garnered through feedback platforms. When you receive user feedback, there’s no guesswork involved.
Your ideal customers will tell you point blank, “This is what we want.” The information is powerful and highly beneficial. Of course, some consumer feedback might be contradictory.
That’s why looking for common themes in the data you gather is important. What do the majority of your high-value customers want to see? Once you have that information, you can make better decisions when changing your user experience.
But gathering feedback is just the beginning. Analyzing and acting based on that feedback is what truly helps build better relationships with customers.
For example, let’s say something goes wrong with a customer's experience. Businesses can then partner with a local flower shop to deliver a beautiful bouquet as an apology. This small gesture not only shows the customer that you heard their feedback. It also helps rebuild trust and loyalty.
Additionally, celebrating milestones, like customer anniversaries or reaching a certain spending threshold, can be an opportunity to show appreciation. Sending a surprise flower delivery is a meaningful way to make customers feel valued and build lasting connections.
Then, after offering this gesture, poll your customers to see if it made a difference in their overall opinion. If it doesn’t, look elsewhere for something that will make a positive impact.
Reward customers for feedback
Integrating key aspects of customer feedback strategies used by platforms like YUPLAY can significantly enhance user experiences. YUPLAY, though not a PC game, has employed some mechanisms that PC games use to engage users effectively.
You can implement similar mechanics in your customer feedback tools to boost engagement and improve the overall user experience.
For example, consider the element of rewards. YUPLAY effectively incentivizes user engagement through special deals and promotions. Similarly, you could introduce a reward system to get people talking in your customer feedback process.
The data gathered will then educate you on what they’re looking for. Rewarding customers for feedback can transform a monotonous task into an engaging and fun activity.
These rewards don’t need to be complex. Simple incentives like exclusive content, early access, or even virtual badges within your platform could suffice.
YUPLAY's reward system is a testament to how such incentives can boost user engagement. It has a straightforward and user-friendly interface. The intuitive platform it’s developed based on customer feedback makes it easy for customers to navigate and interact.
Choose user-friendly tools
When choosing customer feedback tools to use for your UX improvements, you need to make sure that the platforms are easy to use. If the data gathered is hard to decipher or put together in the first place, then the improvement process will suffer.
When it comes to enhancing user experiences, implementing tools like SAP Fiori can be a game-changer. This tool plays a crucial role in boosting user experiences for SAP applications.
Fiori apps' clean and responsive layouts enhance usability, making complex business processes more accessible and user-friendly.
To fully leverage the potential of SAP Fiori and guarantee seamless implementation, partnering with SAP consulting professionals is highly recommended. These professionals can guide organizations through Fiori apps' customization, configuration, and integration. Their deep understanding of SAP solutions and extensive experience can empower businesses to maximize the benefits of SAP Fiori.
Remember, not all feedback tools are equally effective or user-friendly. Some of the best customer feedback tools for 2023 are Typeform, Hotjar, Parative, and SurveyMonkey12.
These tools allow you to create engaging surveys, visualize user behavior, manage feedback across channels, and measure customer satisfaction. For example, suppose you want to implement OAuth authentication for your users. In that case, you can use Typeform to create a form that asks them about their preferences and concerns regarding this protocol.
OAuth is a standard for authorizing access to online resources and services. Using Typeform, you can collect valuable insights from your users in a conversational and personalized way.
Learning the ins and outs of the platform you choose will be the ultimate key to gathering the right actionable insights.
Gather insights from chatbots and customer feedback forms
Custom Frame Store has implemented two effective methods to gather valuable insights from its website visitors.
First, the company has integrated a user-friendly chatbot on its website to help guide potential customers. This way they can better discover what customers want by engaging with this automated service using conditional logic.
Review these interactions after the fact.
By identifying trends in customer requests and problems, the company can determine what users want to see from its services.
This approach enhances the user experience by providing personalized recommendations. It also enables Custom Frame Store to gain valuable feedback on the preferences and requirements of its customers.
The second method Custom Frame Store uses is its contact page. This resource includes an additional feedback form. That dedicated form captures feedback from customers. It’s then a simple matter to further enhance the user experience by pouring through this data and looking for patterns. You can also achieve this with a feedback widget or feedback buttons on your site.
For example, suppose you notice an alarming number of customers are having issues or complaining about your checkout process. You’ll know that something on that page is throwing them off. By making the necessary adjustments, you’ll provide a better overall user experience.
You can also create a feedback forum where users can post about their feedback and comment back and forth to one another.
This approach helps the company better understand customers' needs. It also empowers it to make informed decisions to enhance products, services, and the overall user experience.
Similarly, Connecteam has a form where existing customers can reach out if they have any comments and/or problems with the product. This way, customers struggling with this app to keep track of work hours can get help with the services of employee time clock, employee scheduling, employee task management, HR operations, etc.
Use Net Promoter Score Tools
Another valuable customer feedback strategy is analyzing your Net Promoter Score (NPS). This survey tool asks customers to rate your company on a scale of one to ten. There’s also a text box included in these online surveys to explain their answer.
NPS is one of the most effective types of customer feedback. These helpful feedback tools can go out as surveys via email or even appear during the checkout process.
One company that implements these customizable surveys well is Pumpkin. This business offers comprehensive cat health insurance plans that cover accidents, illnesses, preventive care, and more.
Pumpkin uses customer feedback surveys to measure these customer surveys, collect testimonials, and gather insights on improving its website and app experience.
By doing so, Pumpkin can identify its promoters and detractors. By looking at the average score and feedback it receives, Pumpkin can better provide a user-friendly and engaging experience.
Use tools in conjunction with other data sources
One of the tips for boosting user experiences with a customer feedback platform is to use them in conjunction with other data sources. That can include analytics, surveys, and business intelligence platforms.
By integrating different data types, you can gain a more holistic and actionable understanding of your customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors. For example, you can use enterprise business intelligence to analyze large-scale data sets. It’s then easy to generate insights that inform your feedback strategy and improve your decision-making.
When integrating other data sources, you’re again looking for patterns. Let’s say you notice a massive increase in your bounce rate on Google Analytics that couples with customer insights on the layout of your homepage. You can easily put the pieces together and figure out what needs to change.
Gather feedback from social media
There’s a lot you can learn by analyzing customer responses on social media platforms.
A free social media management tool like Simplified will facilitate customer communication. Simplified has a social inbox feature where you can manage all messages, comments, complaints, and mentions in one place. These advanced features helps make sure you reply to all customers, improving your response rate publicly and privately.
You should also use a social media monitoring platform to find mentions of your business on other social media pages.
Not all real-time feedback will be in your inbox or under the comment section on your posts. By tracking the general online conversation and customer reviews around your business, you can accurately determine what needs to change.
Conclusion
Customer feedback is far too valuable to ignore.
By trusting quality feedback platforms and email campaigns, you can understand what your target audience is looking for on their customer journey. After that, it’s simple to make the necessary adjustments and create a customer experience that keeps customers coming back for more.
Your customers have a lot to say about the user journey. Listen to them using these tools, and you’ll create a like-minded community of satisfied and loyal customers.
How to Track Video Engagement with Google Analytics 4: Youtube & Vimeo Videos
Are you looking for ways to optimize your website's video strategy to increase engagement and conversions, but struggling to understand how your video content is performing?
With Google Analytics 4 and its enhanced measurement capabilities, GA4 can automatically track video engagement events on your website or landing pages, giving you valuable insights into user behavior.
But how do you access and interpret this data? In this step-by-step guide, we'll show you exactly how to track video engagement with GA4 for both Vimeo and Youtube videos so you can use that data to optimize your video content strategy.
How to Track Video Engagement with Google Analytics 4: YouTube Embedded Video
Step 1: Enable Enhanced Measurement for Video Tracking
Log in to your Google Analytics account. Access your GA4 property where you want to track video engagement. Navigate to the Admin section by clicking the gear icon at the bottom left corner.
Inside the Admin section, click on "Data Streams" under the "Property" column. Then select the data stream associated with your website where you want to track video engagement.
Look for the "Enhanced Measurement" in the settings and ensure that it is turned on. By default, this section should be enabled, but in case it's not, switch on the toggle. Enabling this option will allow GA4 to automatically track video engagement events for embedded videos on your website.
To ensure that video engagement tracking is on, you can double-check by clicking on the gear icon (settings) to configure the settings, and verifying if the toggle for 'Video Engagement' is switched on.
Step 2: Access Video Engagement Data in Reports
In the GA4 dashboard, go to the "Reports" section on the left-side menu. Click on "Engagement" and then "Events" to access the event reporting.
Then you will see several video events that are tracked automatically by GA4 such as "video start", “video_complete”, and "video progress."
- Video_progress: This metric measures the progress or milestones reached by users while watching a video. It provides data on how far users have progressed through the video content, typically expressed as a percentage (e.g., 25%, 50%, 75%).
- Video_start: This metric tracks the number of times a video has been started or initiated by users. It counts the instances when users begin watching a video, even if they do not complete it.
- Video_complete: This metric is triggered when a visitor reaches the end of the video.
However, at this time, we only see how many people start the video and how many people complete the video. If you want to gain deeper insights into video engagement, such as which videos are actually being played, and where they are being played, you need to create custom dimensions.
Custom dimensions allow you to track additional data points beyond the standard dimensions and metrics provided by GA4, such as video length, video title, and video category. This will help you better understand how different types of video content perform on your website.
Step 3: Explore Video Engagement Data
Click on the "Explore" section in the top navigation bar then create a new exploration by selecting "Blank”.
Step 4: Build a Custom Exploration for Video Events
Next, choose the date range you want to analyze. It could be anything you prefer, such as the last 28 days or the last 7 days.
Add Dimensions
First, click the "+" sign next to"Dimensions." Then, select "Event Name" and import it. This will enable you to monitor the specific events related to video interactions. Next, add "Page Title" and "Video Title" to gain insights into where and which videos users are engaging with on your website. Import both of these dimensions to ensure you capture all the relevant data.
Add Metrics
Next, navigate to the metrics section, and click the "+" sign located next to "Metrics." This will open up a list of available metrics you can use to analyze video engagement. From this list, choose "Event Count" which will allow you to see how often video starts have occurred. Once you've selected, simply import the chosen metric to integrate it into your analysis.
Additionally, you can import the "Total Users" metric to uncover the total number of unique members who have logged an event, providing a more holistic view of your audience's interactions.
Step 5: Create a video engagement report
Next, let's create a report showcasing the engagement of your videos. This involves tracking the video events in Google Analytics. To begin, add the video title to the rows by either dragging it or simply double-clicking it. After that, we'll incorporate the relevant metrics into the values section. Double-click "Event Count" and "Total Users" to include them in the report.
Step 6: Apply Filters
You will notice the names of the videos listed in the report. However, the report currently displays data for all events, not just video events. As a result, some events might not have video data associated with them.
To focus solely on video events, you need to apply a filter. In the "Filters" section of the tab settings column, click anywhere to add a filter. Then, select "Event Name" from the available filter options.
Once you've selected "Event Name," it's time to narrow down the events to include only your preferred ones. To do this, choose the "match type" as "exactly matches." Enter "video_start" in the filter input box to ensure that only events with the exact name "video start" will be included in the report. You can utilize the same method for other events, such as video_progress or video_complete.
After entering "video start" as the filter criteria, click on the "Apply" button to activate the filter. Now, the report will display only video start events, providing you with a clear view of the most popular videos based on the number of times each video has been played.
How to Track Video Engagement with Google Analytics 4: Vimeo Embedded Video
Here’s a step-by-step guide to effectively monitor the number of people watching Vimeo videos embedded on your website. This method is applicable to all plans of Vimeo users, including Free, Starter, Standard, and Advanced.
Step 1: Ensure you have Google Tag Manager set up on your website
If you haven't already set up Google Tag Manager, create an account on tagmanager.google.com and follow the instructions to install the GTM code on your website. Then, connect your Google Tag Manager with Google Analytics 4.
Step 2: Import a pre-configured container
To start, download a pre-configured container by Bounteous for tracking Vimeo-embedded videos. This file offers tracking solutions to monitor user interaction with Vimeo videos in Google Analytics.
Next, navigate to your Google Tag Manager account, go to "Admin," and then click on "Import Container."
Import the pre-configured container we downloaded into Google Tag Manager. Then, select the workspace as "Existing" and choose the option "Merge." Click "Confirm" to save.
Now we have imported two tags, a trigger, and two user-defined variables that will be utilized to monitor individuals watching our embedded videos.
Step 3: Adjust the tag that automatically tracks Vimeo videos
As we want to send events to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) instead of Universal Analytics, let's select this tag and delete it.
Step 4: Make adjustments to the Vimeo video tracking tag
Now, we'll make some adjustments to the tag responsible for tracking videos automatically. These modifications will streamline the setup process for GA4 tracking.
Click the “CU - Vimeo Tracking - LunaMetrics Plugin” tag and select the HTML file to edit it.
First, remove lines 68 and 69. Then, in line 70, change 'Watch To End' to '100' to set the value pushed to the data layer when someone finishes watching a video.
Edit line 75, remove "play" and "pause" and change ‘Watch To End’ to ‘100’.
Remove lines 119 and 120. Then, in line 121, change 'Watch To End' to '100'.
In line 161, remove the '+ '%' sign. This means that the data layer event will simply report the value without adding a percent sign after it. For example, the data layer will show 75 instead of 75%.
Remove lines 391 and 392. Then, in line 393, change 'Watch To End' to '100'.
Finally, change line 395 from "10, 90" to " 0, 10, 75". And then save the modified tag. This setup will trigger a data layer event when the video starts and at specific percentage points, such as 0%, 10%, and 75%. These percentages align with what Google Analytics automatically tracks for embedded YouTube videos.
Step 4: Creating Variables to Send Data to Google Analytics 4
Now, let’s create user-defined variables in Google Tag Manager to capture the details and send them to GA4. Navigate to "Variables" in Google Tag Manager. Create a new user-defined variable and name it 'Vimeo Event Name for Google Analytics 4'.
Select "Variable Configuration" and choose "RegX Table" as the type. Use "DLV - Video Action" as the “Input Variable”. Then define patterns and outputs to capture the percentage watched.
On the left, we need to enter what we want to look for in the variable. On the right, we need to enter what we want to output if the value on the left is found. So let's set up the rows as follows:
Row 1:
Value: ^0$
Output: video_start
Row 2:
Value: ^(10|25|50|75)$
Output: video_progress
Row 3:
Value: ^100$
Output: video_complete
Then save the variables.
Step 5: Create a new tag to send the data to Google Analytics 4
Now, navigate to 'Tags' and create a new tag named 'GA4 | Vimeo Video'. Select 'Tag Configuration' and choose 'GA4 Event' as the 'Tag Type'. Next, select your existing GA4 Configuration Tag.
Next, click on the variable icon for the “Event Name” and choose 'Vimeo Event Name for Google Analytics 4'. This selection will automatically assign the event name as either 'video start', 'video progress', or 'video complete', based on the variable we configured.
Now, move to 'Event Parameters' and add a row with the name 'video_provider' and the value 'vimeo'. This will enable you to compare our embedded Vimeo videos with other videos on your website.
Next, add another row with the name 'video_percent' and click on the variable icon to select 'DLV - Video Action'. This will automatically pass the percentage watched, whether it's 10, 25, 50, 75, or 100.
Finally, add one more row with the name 'video_title', and click on the variable icon to choose 'DLV - Video Name'.
Now, proceed to 'Triggering' and select the 'Event - Vimeo Tracking' trigger. After that, save the tag, and click on 'Preview' to test out our video tracking.
Enter the URL of your website and click 'Connect'.
Now, play the video and open Tag Assistant. You will notice that your Vimeo event has been fired.
Let's head over to Google Analytics 4 and navigate to the 'DebugView.' You can access the 'Debug View' by going to "Admin" and selecting 'DebugView.'
From there, you can now see the 'video start' and 'video progress' events. Once the video has finished playing, the 'video complete' event will be displayed. If everything is functioning as expected and you're satisfied with the tracking, you can go back to Google Tag Manager and publish your changes.
This wraps up the process of effectively monitoring the engagement of videos embedded on your website using GA4. Let's now move on to tips to increase engagement on your videos.
5 Actionable Tips to Increase Engagement on Your Videos
Start with a Clear Goal
It's essential to have a clear plan in mind from the beginning. Before you start filming, take a moment to define the purpose of your video.
Ask yourself what you want to achieve with it - whether it's to increase sales, raise awareness about your brand, or encourage viewers to take specific actions. Knowing your desired outcome will shape the video's message, structure, and call to action.
Make Your Call-to-Action Clear
When it comes to boosting video engagement, clarity is key. Don't leave your audience guessing about what to do next. Clearly communicate the action you want them to take after watching the video. Whether it's to try your service or leave a comment, make sure your call-to-action is straightforward and easy to understand.
To ensure maximum impact, place your call to action early in the video. Viewers may not watch until the end, so it's essential to capture their attention right from the start. By making your call-to-action clear and prominent, you motivate your audience to take the desired steps and increase overall engagement with your video content. So, don't hesitate to guide your viewers and encourage them to take action as they watch your compelling videos.
Avoid Lengthy Logo Introductions
Branding is crucial, but it's essential to strike a balance when it comes to video intros. Avoid long, drawn-out logo animations that might cause viewers to lose interest before your content even starts. Instead, aim to grab their attention within the first eight seconds. In this digital age, viewers' attention spans are short, and you need to captivate them quickly.
Engage through Questions
Boosting engagement in your videos is as simple as asking the right questions. Throughout your content, strategically pose thought-provoking questions that prompt viewers to think and respond. By inviting them to interact mentally, you keep their interest and involvement alive.
Questions can be a powerful tool to maintain viewers' attention and spark their curiosity. As they contemplate the answers, they become active participants in the video experience. So, don't hesitate to pepper your content with well-placed questions that keep your audience engaged and invested in your video journey.
Enhance with Text
Take your videos to the next level by adding on-screen text that complements your spoken words. This powerful combination engages viewers' sight and hearing, making your content more captivating. Keep the text short and sweet, highlighting key points and sharing quick information.
The text serves as a visual reinforcement, ensuring your message gets across even if viewers are just watching. By using this simple yet effective technique, you create dynamic and engaging videos that leave a lasting impact on your audience. So, give it a try and watch your video engagement soar!
Conclusion
To sum up, tracking video engagement with Google Analytics 4 is a powerful way to understand how your video marketing efforts are performing. By discovering how to track video engagement with Google Analytics 4, you can easily access and interpret video engagement data in GA4 re
How to Set Up Programmatic Advertising with Automated Bidding Strategies
One of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website is by setting up a digital advertising campaign. With the internet being one of the most widely used resources in the world, why not use it to your advantage to gain exposure and attract your audience?
Over the years, digital advertising has changed for the better. In particular, technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning has advanced digital advertising into the magic eight-ball known as programmatic advertising.
On top of that, automated bidding strategies make it easier to automate and optimize your ads to see your desired results. There’s no wonder why 80% of advertisers turn to using automated bidding.
In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about programmatic advertising and automated bidding strategies so you can reap the benefits of working smarter, not harder.
Let’s first cover what programmatic advertising is.
What is Programmatic Advertising?
Programmatic advertising is the process of using technology to automate digital ad campaigns. To understand this business process automation concept, it’s important to first touch on the basics of online advertising.
In previous years, advertisers ran their campaigns manually. Whenever they set up a campaign, they'd bid on their own keywords and had to optimize them accordingly to achieve suitable results.
Over time, the consequences of traditional digital advertising became apparent:
- The manual nature of digital advertising creates a higher barrier of entry only for highly-experienced advertisers.
- Losing money became a key issue for advertisers who had to wait until their campaigns launched to optimize them correctly based on key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Without setting up their campaigns with features like automated bidding, advertisers could easily accumulate expensive campaigns with little to show for it.
Because of this, programmatic ad buying was born. Specifically, Google Ads embraced this approach to help advertisers use cutting-edge technology to optimize their campaigns based on the goals they wanted to achieve.
Let’s break it down further.
Imagine you're on a website, watching videos, or playing a game on your computer or phone. You often see advertisements, right? These ads might be for toys, games, clothes, or anything brands want to sell.
Programmatic advertising is the way that these ads find their way to your screen.
Here's how it works, step by step:
- People want to advertise. Companies that want to sell something (like toys or clothes) want to show their ads to people who might buy them.
- Targeting the right people. They don't want to show their ads to just anyone. A toy company might want to show its ads to kids. And a clothing brand might want to show its ads to teenagers who are into fashion. So, they need a way to find the right people to show the ads to.
- Putting the ads in a marketplace. The companies put their ads into a big virtual marketplace. It's like an auction house where the ads are the items being sold.
- Your device sends information. When you go to a website or open an app, your computer or phone sends information about what you like and are interested in.
- The auction happens super fast. As the webpage or app loads, a super-fast auction happens (real-time bidding) in that virtual marketplace. Companies bid on the chance to show you their ad. The one that bids the most and matches what you might like gets to show you their advertisement.
- You see the ad. The ad that wins the auction is the one you see on the webpage or in the app. This programmatic buying all happens in a fraction of a second!
A programmatic advertising campaign is an incredibly speedy process that pairs ads with potential audiences. It helps you show your ads to the right people, and it's all done with computers and special algorithms (fancy math rules) that make it happen really quickly.
What is Automated Bidding?
What’s more, features like automated bidding became a popular alternative to manually configuring display ads and other types of ads to different audience segments.
Automated bidding is a Google Ads feature that sets automated bids for your ad group based on your set campaign goals and KPIs. Google sets these amounts automatically based on the likelihood that your audience will engage, click, and convert from your ads.
Some of the criteria for Google’s automated bidding amounts are:
- User operating system
- Demographics
- User device
- Location
Digital marketers have the choice to set up an automated bidding process across their ad groups, multiple campaigns, and keywords.
Ultimately, automated bidding helps advertisers fix two age-old campaign problems:
- Advertisers can stop worrying about whether their bids are too low to compete for qualified leads. Automated bidding takes care of all this.
- Advertisers can also stop worrying about whether their bids are high enough to show to wider audiences who may not be interested in their products or services.
Some programmatic advertising platforms offer bidding strategies designed specifically for local businesses.
The "local awareness" strategy focuses on reaching people within a certain radius of the business’ location. This can be useful for promoting in-store visits and local sales.
Don’s Flowers — a Lubbock florist with a local shop in Texas, uses this strategy to optimize their online orders for flower delivery.
But if the florist's primary goal was to drive physical store visits, some platforms offer another type of bidding, cost-per-visit (CPV) bidding. The CPV strategy optimizes bids to drive as many visits to the store within a set budget.
You just need to ensure location targeting is appropriately set up to target potential customers in your area — in this case, Lubbock, Texas. Set it and forget it. And you're off to the races, competing with the big dogs.
Before we get into configuring your programmatic ads with automated bidding, we need to go over one more term. And that’s smart bidding.
What is Smart Bidding?
There's definitely a correlation between automated bidding and smart bidding. However, they’re not interchangeable. Smart bidding is a category of automated bidding that refers only to conversion-based goals.
Here’s a simple flow chart that helps explain the difference between the two:
By analyzing all kinds of search data, smart bidding relies on machine learning to maximize the conversions of your campaign.
As a result, Google may increase or decrease your bids based on whether a particular engagement will lead to a conversion. For example, Google may set a higher bid for a lead who's more likely to make a purchase.
There are four smart bidding strategies you should take note of:
- Maximize Conversions
- Enhanced CPC
- Target ROAS
- Target CPA
Let’s use an example to break down this concept a bit more.
Programmatic advertising with automated bidding for real estate leads presents distinct differences from other industries. The real estate sector is fiercely competitive, demanding higher prices and aggressive bidding strategies to secure ad placements.
The longer sales cycle demands optimization to target potential buyers at various buying stages. Precise targeting is vital, considering location, property type (read: premium inventory), price range, and buyer demographics.
Seasonal trends and market fluctuations require a dynamic automated bidding strategy to capitalize on peak buying seasons and adjust bids during slower periods. Local and hyperlocal targeting is also crucial since real estate leads predominantly come from specific geographic areas.
Lead quality takes precedence over quantity (thanks to the high ticket price of purchasing a home), prompting the automated bidding system and real-time auctions to focus on attracting high-quality leads that are more likely to convert.
Effective programmatic campaigns for real estate involve optimizing not only ad creatives but also landing pages, providing essential property details and contact information.
This is how automated bidding works for real estate companies interested in getting real estate leads. With that example in mind, let’s dive into the nuts and bolts of why you clicked on this article.
How to Configure Programmatic Ads with Automated Bidding
Now that we’ve covered everything about programmatic advertising and automated bidding, let’s get into the strategies you need to follow to make your programmatic marketing campaign a success.
Note that everything related to automated bidding is done via Google Ads. Use it as your go-to ad management platform. You can add Google Ads automations to save time optimizing your best performing Google Ads.
With that, here are the different types of automated bidding strategies and how to optimize each of them.
Maximize Clicks
This automated bidding strategy is designed to maximize the total number of clicks your ads receive. The official goal for this setting is to increase website traffic.
Here’s what this setting looks like in Google Ads:
Advertisers can use this feature across a wide variety of campaigns, keywords, and ad groups. By doing so, Google will automatically set your bids so that you can achieve the most clicks that fit within your set budget.
This setting is best for companies that have an established conversion funnel on their website. If you’re confident in the potency of your landing page, marketing content, and sales team, you can select this feature.
Unlike the other automated bidding strategies, the most important metric here's ad visibility. In other settings, clicks would be considered a vanity metric.
Target Search Page Location
This automated bidding strategy is a pretty unique one. It’s designed to help your ads rank at the top of Google’s paid search results.
Here’s how it looks in Google Ads:
You can only use this strategy across different campaigns. If your goal is simply to gain more online exposure, this may be the best strategy for you.
If you want to stand out even more than the competition, using this specific strategy, incorporating eye-catching visual ads is crucial to capture your target audience's attention.
With Picsart's user-friendly platform, you can design posters with templates for a quick and efficient way to create visually stunning ads.
Target Outranking Share
This automated bidding strategy helps advertisers outrank their competitors in Google’s paid search results.
When you select this option, all you have to do is select your competitors’ domain, and Google will set up your ads to outrank theirs.
The only caveat is that this option is only available as a portfolio bid strategy.
Target Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA)
The goal for this bidding option is to generate as many conversions as possible with your target CPA.
While some conversions can go over or lower your CPA with automated bidding, Google Ads will give you a broad idea of the success you can achieve with your specified budget.
Running these bidding strategies does run the risk of costing more than your budget in the long run. For this reason, you should only use this option if you’re certain with a set CPA that can convert a customer and stay within your budget.
Maximize Conversions
This automated bidding strategy is designed to help advertisers convert a large number of prospects for a price that’s within their budget.
Unlike the previous option, Google will use your entire budget to convert as many prospects as possible. The goal here is to increase conversion volume, and it’s available as a basic strategy for individual campaigns.
Therefore, if you have a large budget and want to place your ad campaign on autopilot to focus on conversions, this is an ideal option.
Final Words
As you can see, automated bidding strategies help take the busy work out of creating high-performance programmatic ads.
Using any of the features above depends on your budget, goals, and overall experience level with Google Ads. But by trying out a few of these options, you can conquer this programmatic advertising process the first time around. So set your strategy, and watch your campaign bring in results.
But if you’re still unsure where you want to funnel your advertising budget and want to start on the right foot, you can always consult with a Google Ads expert. It never hurts if you’re new to the game, to consult the experts for the best results. Happy advertising!
Google Analytics: A Job Search Game-Changer
Ever felt like finding the right data analytics job is like searching for a needle in a haystack? The solution might be closer than you think, lies in the power of Google Analytics. Harnessing this tool could be your secret weapon in securing a role that perfectly fits the data analyst job description you're after.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for data analysts is expected to grow by a remarkable 16% from 2020 to 2028. This surge underscores the rising importance of professionals capable of making sense of raw data, transforming it into meaningful insights for business performance.
The path to landing that first data analyst job is often tricky, with many needing help comprehending the breadth of data analyst responsibilities and the intricacies of data analysis tools. Enter Google Analytics, a game-changer that's set to overhaul your job search strategy.
Let’s explore in this blog how Google Analytics can catapult your job search, understand the essence of the data analyst role, and demonstrate how proficiency in this powerful tool can set you apart in the highly competitive field of data analytics.
The Importance of Data in Job Search
Data has become a cornerstone of many aspects of life, and the job search process is no exception. The power of data analysis extends beyond traditional business analytics; it's also crucial in crafting an effective job hunt strategy.
In an era where detailed and structured online jobs offer flexibility and convenience, understanding the job market dynamics through the lens of data is paramount. It provides insights into emerging trends, popular roles, and sought-after skills in the realm of data analysts, market research analysts, and more.
Data-Driven Decision-Making: Your Key to Success
Data-driven decision-making is the secret weapon of many successful data analysts. The ability to collect, analyze data, and draw meaningful insights from various data sets can help identify patterns in job postings, understand a typical data analyst job description, and gauge the current demand for particular analytical skills or programming languages.
Leveraging Data in Your Job Search
Whether you're an experienced data analyst or seeking your first job, incorporating data analysis into your job search can be transformational. It's not just about understanding the data analyst role but also about grasping market trends and employer expectations.
Data can reveal the most in-demand skills or the technical expertise that employers seek, providing a more accurate picture of the data analytics job market. It can also help pinpoint the specific responsibilities and data systems commonly associated with data analyst jobs.
How Google Analytics Can Transform Job Search
Google Analytics is a potent tool not just for interpreting data but also for redefining your job search. This tool can provide an insider's view of market trends, highlight the most sought-after data analyst responsibilities, and guide you to roles that match your skill set perfectly.
Uncovering the specifics of a data analyst job description to predicting industry demands, Google Analytics has the potential to make your job hunt a breeze. Let's unpack how Google Analytics can revolutionize your search for the ideal data analyst role.
Tracking Website Traffic and User Engagement
Google Analytics power extends beyond your typical data analyst job description. Its ability to track website traffic and user engagement can be a game-changer in refining your job search strategy.
Understanding web traffic trends can reveal which companies are garnering attention, a hint towards those with growing data analyst job opportunities. This knowledge provides a targeted approach for job seekers in data analytics, guiding them toward promising organizations and industries.
User Engagement: Your Pulse on the Market
Gauging user engagement offers insights into what elements of a data analyst's job description draw the most interest. This information can help you better understand the specific data analyst responsibilities currently in high demand in the job market.
This in-depth guide is a fantastic resource for a detailed overview of strategies for setting up and measuring your digital campaigns using Google Analytics. It provides a comprehensive understanding of Google Analytics, which is equally applicable and advantageous in your job search journey.
Leveraging Google Analytics to monitor web traffic and user engagement can offer a wealth of data-driven insights to inform your job search. With this tool, you'll be better positioned to land a data analyst role that aligns perfectly with your career goals.
Analyzing Job Posting Effectiveness
Google Analytics can also be used to analyze the effectiveness of job postings, a crucial aspect overlooked in many data analyst job descriptions. This application of Google Analytics goes beyond business analytics, offering unique insights into the job market.
Monitoring job postings can quickly reveal which roles are being filled, indicating high demand for specific data analyst skills. Roles that remain open longer might require a more specialized skill set or hint at a less competitive area within data science.
Informing Your Application Strategy
This analysis can inform your application strategy, guiding you towards roles where your skills are in high demand and competition may be less fierce. It highlights areas where you could benefit from further professional development, such as learning new data analysis tools or mastering additional programming languages.
Google Analytics is not just about interpreting data; it’s also about transforming raw data into meaningful insights that can guide your decisions. A successful data analyst can harness this information to identify patterns, optimize statistical efficiency, and ultimately find their ideal job in the ever-evolving data analytics landscape.
Understanding Applicant Behavior
A standout feature of Google Analytics, often untapped by even experienced data analysts, is its capacity to understand applicant behavior. This could provide a strategic edge to those seeking data analyst roles.
Applicant behavior refers to the actions of job seekers—which jobs they click on, how long they spend reading various data analyst job descriptions, and the specific data analyst responsibilities they focus on. By examining these behaviors, you can gain insights into the competitiveness of different roles. Furthermore, applicant tracking platforms for hiring managers play a vital role in collecting and analyzing this data, providing valuable metrics and analytics that aid in optimizing the hiring process and attracting top-tier candidates.
Shaping Your Job Search Strategy
An understanding of applicant behavior can shape your job search strategy. For instance, roles that attract a high number of clicks may be more competitive, suggesting your application needs to stand out with unique data analyst skills or a master's degree in data science.
Roles with lower engagement may present less competition and a more incredible opportunity for you to shine. They could also point to niche areas within data analysis that require specialized skills and offer potential for professional development.
Understanding applicant behavior through Google Analytics allows you to analyze and interpret data, refining your job search strategy and bringing you closer to landing your ideal data analyst role.
Identifying Skill Gaps and Training Opportunities
Google Analytics can help identify skill gaps in your repertoire—those key competencies employers seek in data analysts but might need to be added to your current profile.
By comparing the data analyst skills most employers request with your abilities, you can discern where you might need additional training or professional development. It may be in mastering specific data analysis tools, learning new programming languages, or getting a handle on emerging statistical techniques.
Unearthing Training Opportunities
But it’s not just about spotting gaps. Google Analytics can also help you uncover opportunities for further learning. For example, observing trends in data analyst job descriptions might reveal a growing demand for knowledge of specific data models or an increasing emphasis on data visualization tools.
You can proactively seek relevant training or certification programs by keeping your finger on the pulse of industry trends—especially as a data analyst role working in a niche field such as the healthcare industry, commercial security system industry, computer security industry, or other specific careers as a data analyst. A commitment to continual learning enhances your skill set and makes you a more attractive candidate for your dream data analyst role. A successful data analyst is constantly evolving, and Google Analytics can be your guide on this journey.
Google Analytics Certification and Its Value in the Job Market
Acquiring a Google Analytics Certification is more than just an added line in your data analyst job description; it's a significant feather in your cap that speaks to your proficiency in data analysis and business analytics.
Google Analytics Certification showcases your ability to collect relevant data, analyze it for patterns, and create visualizations that convey meaningful insights. It solidifies your standing as a highly skilled data analyst, enhancing your marketability and increasing your chances of landing that coveted data analyst role.
A certified data analyst is competent, confident, and ready to handle complex business problems and interpret data for business performance optimization.
Demonstrating Data Analytics Skills
Possessing data analytics skills is one thing, but demonstrating them effectively is what sets a good data analyst apart.
Google Analytics provides:
- An excellent platform for showcasing your abilities.
- Highlighting your prowess in data collection.
- Data analysis.
- Translating complex data sets into easily digestible insights.
For instance, developing a portfolio that displays your skill at transforming raw data into visually engaging and meaningful reports can significantly enhance your job application. Your adeptness in utilizing data visualization tools to craft clear and impactful data narratives is a valuable asset that can set you apart from the competition.
Applying Theory to Real-World Scenarios
Beyond mastering statistical techniques, a successful data analyst can seamlessly translate theoretical knowledge into practical application. By providing examples of how you've leveraged data analysis to identify patterns, generate insights, and influence business decisions, you affirm your position as a competent practitioner in data analytics.
Demonstrating is more potent than telling. Google Analytics equips you with the means to present concrete examples of your work, effectively exhibiting your analytical skills and technical expertise and strengthening your candidacy for the desired data analyst role.
Enhancing Resume and LinkedIn Profile
Sprucing Up Your Resume
Given its ubiquitous use in data analysis and business analytics, Google Analytics becomes a valuable asset on your resume. Any data analyst job description you come across will likely mention proficiency in Google Analytics as a requirement if not a preference.
When including your Google Analytics certification in your resume, highlight the tasks you've mastered. You've shown how to efficiently transform raw data into compelling narratives or use data visualization tools to translate complex data sets into visually appealing insights.
These key highlights emphasize your technical expertise and practical data analysis understanding.
Maximizing Your LinkedIn Profile's Impact
LinkedIn serves as the digital face of your professional persona. In this vast sea of data analysts and data scientists, your Google Analytics certification can be the lighthouse that guides prospective employers to your shore.
But don't just stop at mentioning your certification. Exhibit your achievements that demonstrate your skills. Include a project where you successfully applied statistical techniques to analyze and interpret data meaningfully or a situation where you used data models to solve complex business problems.
By sharing real-world applications of your skills, you substantiate your understanding of the data analyst's job description and responsibilities. Possessing a Google Analytics certification and adeptly showcasing it in your resume and LinkedIn profile make you an appealing candidate in the competitive field of data analysis.
Gaining Competitive Advantage in Job Applications
The job market has become increasingly competitive, with data analyst positions growing in demand. Google Analytics certification can provide you with a decisive edge, setting you apart as a knowledgeable professional with the skills to interpret data effectively and contribute significantly to business performance.
Proof of Proficiency
Beyond mere words, this certification is tangible proof of your proficiency in data analysis. Your understanding of data models, experience with data analysis tools, and ability to analyze data are all validated by this coveted certification. It's not just another line in your data analyst job description; it's a testament to your technical expertise and analytical skills.
Enhancing Your Marketability
This certification enhances your marketability. Employers value candidates who demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning. By securing this certification, you exhibit a drive for professional development, increasing your appeal in the eyes of recruiters.
The Power of Networking
Becoming Google Analytics certified opens doors to a community of other certified professionals, offering networking opportunities that can be invaluable in your job search. Engaging with this community can lead to new opportunities, industry insights, and job offers.
Conclusion
Exploration of Google Analytics has shown its application goes beyond business performance tracking and extends to a powerful tool for job seekers in the data analytics field.
The strategic use of data can dramatically transform your job search, allowing for a more targeted, data-driven approach. Utilizing Google Analytics provides valuable insights into job postings' effectiveness and applicant behavior, facilitating data-driven improvements to enhance your search results.
Google Analytics presents a platform to showcase your data analyst skills, proving your ability to extract meaningful insights from data and utilize data visualization tools effectively. Coupled with a Google Analytics certification, this bolsters your resume and LinkedIn profile and gives you a significant competitive advantage in your job applications.
The value of Google Analytics extends to identifying skill gaps and training opportunities, thereby driving professional development. By utilizing its extensive resources, you can continuously improve your data analytics skills and maintain a competitive advantage in a dynamic industry.
Embracing Google Analytics is a game-changer in the job search journey. Seeking your first data analyst job or looking to advance your career, this tool can empower you to navigate the job market with greater precision and success.
How to Measure Performance of Your Instagram Ads
Utilizing the different ad formats available on Instagram as part of your social media strategy is a good way to grow your brand. However, it's crucial to measure the effectiveness of your Instagram ads to ensure you’re getting a decent return on your investment.
By tracking and analyzing key Instagram ad metrics, you'll gain insights into the performance of your ads and make informed decisions to optimize your social media marketing strategy. However, it might not always be obvious what Instagram metrics you need to look at.
This article will explore key Instagram ad metrics that can help you assess the effectiveness of your IG ads.
Reach
Reach refers to the number of unique users that saw your ads. This metric estimates the number of active users in a specific demographic that were exposed to your ads, whether or not they engaged with it.
Tracking the reach of your Instagram ads allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your paid advertising. When combined with impressions, you can determine the effectiveness of your Instagram ads in promoting brand awareness.
A high reach means your ad was viewed by a large audience, which increases the likelihood of increasing conversion rates.
To measure the reach of your Instagram ads, analyze the Insights provided by Instagram. Simply:
- Visit your profile.
- Tap on the “Ad Tools” tab.
- Click on “Insight”
Here’s an example of what you’ll see:
Optimizing your reach allows you to measure your ad campaign targeting options and determine if you need to make changes to your content strategy.
There are several ways you can optimize your ad reach on Instagram. You can, for instance, advertise using Reels. Reels are a relatively new ad option so fewer people are using this ad placement. That means your sponsored Reel is more likely to stand out and be seen by Instagram users.
You can also retarget your high-value audiences on Instagram. These include people who have already expressed an interest in your brand by engaging with your other Instagram content. Just go to Ads manager and choose to create a custom audience option.
Impressions
Impression is a key measure indicating the number of times your ad content is displayed for people to see. According to a SmallbizGenius report, it takes five to seven impressions for people to remember a brand.
Tracking your impressions metric is vital if you are looking to raise brand awareness.
To track your impressions on Instagram, go to your profile and tap the button in the right-hand corner. Once the menu opens, click on insights, then navigate to the bottom of the page, where you'll see impressions.
Here's an example of what you'll see:
Although impressions and reach seem similar, they are different. Instagram reach indicates how many times your ad was viewed by unique users. Conversely, impressions are how many times your ad was displayed to be seen.
This implies that if your ad shows up three times within a certain time frame, it will count as three impressions. However, you would only have a single reach for the viewer who actually saw the ad.
You can increase your Instagram ad impressions by utilizing relevant and trending hashtags. Knowing the best time to publish your ads based on your analytics can help as well. You can use tools like Marin Software for this.
Engagement
Engagement is an Instagram ad metric that tracks the actions users take after viewing your ad. It includes actions such as comments and likes.
Analyzing your engagement rate data regularly will ensure you run relevant Instagram marketing campaigns.
Since Instagram is a dynamic social media platform, user preferences and trends keep changing. Consistent analysis of your post engagement will ensure you stay up-to-date with your marketing efforts. It can also help you identify relevant content that will resonate with your target audience and boost Instagram followers.
If you're looking to enhance your marketing efforts to increase engagement and also to ensure accurate translations of your marketing materials for different target audiences is taken care of. Do consider professional translation services, where you can translate marketing materials to reach a broader international audience and maintain the same level of engagement across cultures and languages.
You can track your engagement metrics using Instagram insights. Go to your profile and scroll to insights. Here you can view your past promotion for the period you wish to monitor.
The next step is to record the reach, comments, and likes for each post in a spreadsheet. Add up the engagement for your tracking period and calculate your engagement rate.
To calculate your engagement rate, divide your total number of engagements per post by the total reach per post and multiply it by 100. A good engagement rate on Instagram is between 1% and 5%. However, this figure varies between industries. When comparing your brand's engagement rate to the average, compare using the average for your industry.
You can boost your engagement rate by using high-quality, eye-catching visuals and compelling captions that resonate with your target audience.
Click-through Rate (CTR)
Clickthrough rate (CTR) is a key metric that measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it. This Instagram ad metric gives you an idea of how compelling your ad is and whether it drives users to take action.
Clickthrough rate can be calculated by dividing the number of link clicks by the total number of impressions your Instagram ad received within a certain period of time.
You can use several analytics tools to track your CTR, such as Google Analytics. You'll need to add Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) tags to your Instagram ads to use Google Analytics to track your CTR.
Check out the example:
UTM tagging lets you segment your data in Google Analytics so you can view the link clicks for a particular URL.
To optimize your CTR, test different ad formats, headlines, visuals, and call-to-action buttons to find the most compelling combination for users.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Return on ad spend helps you determine the profitability of your Instagram ads. It measures the revenue generated in relation to the amount spent on advertising.
To calculate ROAS, divide the revenue generated from your ads by the total ad spend and multiply by 100.
A high ROAS indicates your ads generate a positive return and meet your marketing goals. On the other hand, a negative ROAS shows your advertisements are costing you money and may require some adjustments to your content strategy.
To ensure your ROAS remains positive, you can enhance your targeting to reach your ideal customer profiles. You’ll also need to optimize your ad creatives and landing pages.
Leverage generative AI technology to come up with different content types for your ads and landing pages.
Then use A/B testing again to identify the most optimal elements that ensure maximum conversion. For example, you can split-test different headlines, descriptions, and value propositions.
To use ROAS for decision-making, you must first determine what an acceptable ROAS is. According to several marketing experts, a good ROAS for most brands is 4:1. This means a return of $4 for every $1 you spend on ads.
Knowing if your Instagram ROAS is good or bad will depend on the type of industry you are in and the size of your business. In some cases, businesses require a ROAS of 10:1 to remain profitable, while others can thrive with 3:1.
To estimate the ideal ROAS for your brand, you need to have a clearly defined budget and a firm grasp of your profit margin. A larger margin means your company can operate with a low ROAS. Smaller margins mean you must operate with minimal advertising costs.
Cost per Click (CPC)
Cost per click (CPC) measures the average cost you incur for each click on your Instagram ad. It helps you understand the financial efficiency of your ad campaign and compare costs across different campaigns.
Calculate your cost per click by dividing the total cost of the ad campaign by the number of clicks received. It’s important to note that a high CPC indicates you are not generating enough clicks from your ads which means your ad spending is inefficient and you are actually losing money.
If your CPC is low, it means you’re generating clicks at a lower cost, resulting in more efficient ad spending. The average CPC on Instagram hovers around $0.20 and $2.00. However, your CPC will depend on your product or service. For instance, airline ads will have a higher average CPC than the maximum during holidays.
By optimizing your CPC, you can maximize your ad budget and ensure you are getting the most value out of your Instagram ads.
To optimize your CPC, try experimenting with different ad formats like Instagram Stories, videos, and images to see which yields a better result at a lower cost. Also, refine your ad targeting to reach a more specific audience that’s likely to be interested in your product or service. This will result in higher click-through rates and lower costs.
In Closing
Advertising your business on Instagram is a great way to acquire customers. However, if you want to improve the performance of your ads and increase your ROI, you’ll need a way to measure the effectiveness of your Instagram ads.
To measure the performance of your Instagram ads, monitor key Instagram ad metrics such as reach, impressions, engagement, click-through rates, return on ads spend, and cost per click. This will help you gain valuable insights into the trajectory of your ads and make data-driven decisions to optimize your marketing campaigns.
Regularly analyzing these key metrics will help you refine your Instagram ad strategy and achieve greater success in reaching and engaging your target audience.
How to Create a Social Media Budget for Your Business
In today’s digital landscape, social media plays a pivotal role in business growth. Yet, with the myriad of platforms and strategies available, determining where to invest your resources can be overwhelming. That’s where an effective social media budget steps in. More than just a financial roadmap, it’s a strategic tool that can boost your business by guiding your social media efforts towards your goals.
This article aims to simplify the process of creating a social media budget, walking you through the basics of budgeting, goal-setting, audience identification, platform selection, and budget allocation. So, whether you’re an established business owner or a startup founder, let’s delve into the journey of crafting a social media budget that works for you.
Understanding the Basics of Social Media Budgeting
Before we delve into how to create a social media budget, it’s crucial to understand what exactly a social media budget is. In simple terms, a social media budget is the portion of your marketing budget that you allocate towards social media related activities. These activities could include everything from creating and curating content, to social media advertising, to investing in tools that streamline your social media management, and of course, labor costs for those managing your social media presence.
The components of a social media budget can be broken down into four main categories:
- Tools: This could include anything from social media management tools like Hootsuite or Buffer, to graphic design tools like Canva, or analytics tools that help you track your social media performance.
- Advertising: Social media platforms often operate on a pay-to-play model, meaning you need to invest in ads to reach a wider audience. This could involve boosting posts, promoting your page, or creating targeted ad campaigns.
- Content Creation: This includes costs associated with creating content for your social media platforms - everything from photography and video production, to graphic design and copywriting.
- Labor: This encompasses the cost of hiring and training employees or contractors to manage your social media presence, create content, or run ad campaigns. It could also include the cost of outsourcing these tasks to an agency.
A comprehensive and well-structured social media budget ensures you’re not overspending in one area at the expense of another, and allows you to measure the return on investment (ROI) for your social media efforts, helping you make data-driven decisions for your business.
Identifying your Social Media Goals
Having clear goals is crucial because they dictate how your budget should be allocated, as different goals require different resources. Let’s examine some common social media goals:
- Increasing Brand Awareness: If your goal is to expand your brand’s reach and visibility, you might need to allocate a larger portion of your budget to social media advertising. This could involve promoting your page or boosting your posts to reach a wider audience.
- Generating Leads: If your aim is to use social media as a lead generation tool, investing in tools that help capture leads, like landing page builders or customer relationship management (CRM) systems, could be important. Additionally, you may need to put money into creating high-quality content that entices potential customers to share their information.
- Driving Sales: If you want to use social media to drive sales, then you might want to budget for features like social commerce (selling directly through social media platforms), or paid advertising targeting customers who are ready to make a purchase.
- Improving Customer Engagement: If your focus is on building a community or improving customer relationships, your budget should prioritize creating engaging content and possibly investing in social listening tools to monitor and respond to customer interactions.
These are just a few examples; the key takeaway is that your social media budget should align with your goals. By defining what you want to achieve, you can allocate your resources more effectively, ensuring that every dollar spent is contributing to your overarching business objectives.
Knowing Your Audience
Understanding your audience is a vital aspect of any marketing strategy, and social media is no exception. Knowing who your audience is will not only inform the type of content you create but also where you invest your social media budget.
You need to identify who your target audience is. What are their demographics? What are their interests? What challenges do they face that your product or service can solve? These questions will help you build a clear picture of who you’re trying to reach.
Also, you need to understand where your audience spends their time online. Different social media platforms appeal to different demographics. By understanding where your audience is, you can prioritize your budget for the platforms that are most likely to reach your target market.
Lankitha Wimalarathna, Founder and CEO of Hiveage, mentions: “You should understand how your audience interacts with social media. Do they respond well to videos, or do they prefer text-based posts? Do they engage with interactive content like polls or quizzes? This insight will help you allocate your budget towards the type of content that will engage your audience most effectively. Understanding your audience in these ways will ensure that your social media budget is being spent in the areas that are most likely to yield results.”
Determining Your Social Media Channels
Selecting the right social media channels for your business is critical and directly linked to your understanding of your target audience. Different platforms cater to different demographics and offer varied ways of content presentation and audience engagement.
Popular platforms include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube. Each platform has unique strengths. For instance, Instagram and TikTok are ideal for visually compelling content and younger demographics, while LinkedIn is perfect for B2B marketing and professional networking.
You don’t need to be on every platform; instead, focus on those that best align with your audience and business goals. Remember, it’s more effective to have a strong, targeted presence on a few key platforms than a weak, scattered presence across many.
Allocating Your Social Media Budget
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork by identifying your goals, audience, and platforms, it’s time to delve into the specifics of how to allocate your social media budget.
- Start with a Total Figure: Identify what total amount you have available for social media. This might be a percentage of your overall marketing budget, or a figure determined by your business’s financial circumstances.
- Break Down by Platform: Based on where your audience is, allocate a percentage of your budget to each platform. It’s wise to start with one or two primary platforms and allocate about 60-70% of your budget there, using the remaining for secondary platforms.
- Allocate Funds to Key Areas: On each platform, consider what your major costs will be. This could be content creation, ads, or labor. Typically, businesses spend about 45-55% of their social media budget on content creation and promotion, 25-35% on tools and software, and 20-30% on labor and outsourcing.
- Keep a Contingency Amount: Reserve about 10% of your budget for unforeseen opportunities, like a trending hashtag in your industry, or unexpected costs.
- Consider Seasonality and Key Business Periods: If you have times in the year when your audience is more engaged or more likely to buy, allocate more budget in these periods.
- Review and Adjust Regularly: A budget is a dynamic tool, not a static document. Monitor your performance and adjust your budget allocations as needed. If one platform is outperforming another, or one type of content is yielding more results, redirect funds as necessary.
Remember, creating a social media budget isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. It requires regular refinement and adjustment, but with time and experience, it can become one of your most effective tools for social media success.
Conclusion
Creating a social media budget for your business is a strategic exercise that encompasses defining your goals, understanding your audience, selecting the right platforms, and then allocating your budget wisely across various elements.
While the process may seem complex, remember that it’s a dynamic and flexible tool. Regular monitoring and adjustments based on performance and changing trends are integral to ensure that every dollar spent contributes to achieving your business objectives.
With the right approach, your social media budget can become a powerful ally in amplifying your brand, engaging your audience, and driving your business growth. Start planning today and open the doors to a world of social media opportunities.
Mastering Tiktok Customer Acquisition
TikTok is more than a social media platform. When users open the TikTok app, they aren't doing so to chat with friends. They go to TikTok for entertainment.
The nature of the platform's For You Page gives brands a unique opportunity. You don't need loads of followers for your content to be discovered. As long as your videos are entertaining and relevant, they find their target audience.
This is part of what makes TikTok marketing a powerful customer acquisition channel that helps brands spread awareness, build supportive communities, and drive conversions.
While the company has faced its fair share of controversy, it’s one of the most-used social media apps in the world. As of April 2023, 44% of the US digital population uses TikTok. That means utilizing TikTok as an acquisition channel gives your brand access to over 116 million people.
That growth is backed by the user base’s strong purchasing power. TikTok’s in-app purchases amounted to nearly 500 million USD in the first quarter of 2023 alone.
After reading this blog, you’ll have all the information you need to harness that purchasing power with a winning TikTok customer acquisition strategy.
Organic TikTok customer acquisition
Open TikTok today, and you won’t be seeing many 15-second dance videos. The app’s culture has evolved significantly since its pandemic-era rise to fame. It’s still an entertainment platform, but user behavior classifies TikTok as a search engine, too.
According to Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan (in charge of Google’s Knowledge and Information organization), “Almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search… they go to TikTok or Instagram.”
Their purchase intent and the platform’s searchability factor create a strong foundation for organic customer acquisition.
Here’s how you can implement organic TikTok marketing content into every stage of your customer acquisition funnel:
Building awareness among TikTok's users
When it comes to building brand awareness without an established following, consider TikTok an asset. TikTok's users spend the majority of their time on the For You Page. It’s a constant stream of content cherry-picked by the algorithm. While some of the content is from creators they follow, most of it is stuff they’ve never interacted with.
Brands can take the already insurmountable amount of reach even further by working with influencers. A steady stream of organic content is key to building a community of potential customers.
Fostering consideration with user-generated content
Value-focused content is ideal for users in the consideration stage. They’re aware of your brand— now it’s time to show what your products can do for them.
The credibility associated with user-generated content is also beneficial for nurturing familiarity into consideration. Find UGC by checking branded hashtags, account mentions/tags, and by using a social listening tool. You can also commission influencers from the TikTok creator marketplace to make native TikTok videos about your products– just remember to maintain transparency for all sponsored content.
Inspire decisions with clear CTAs
Inspire users to make a purchasing decision by implementing clear, specific calls to action at the end of your TikTok videos. Your CTAs should be tailored to your TikTok audience. Tell your viewers exactly what steps they need to take to make a purchase. The steps will vary depending on what conversion pathway you set up. Try to make the process easy and fast.
Strengthen your CTAs further by providing TikTok-exclusive offers like discount codes, freebies, or even a dedicated landing page designed just for your TikTok audience.
Maintain loyalty with community management
Don’t forget about your customers once they reach the purchasing phase. Promote long-term customer loyalty through community building and customer service. Continue creating engaging content, manage customer queries from your comments and DMs, and grow customer lifetime value by releasing limited edition versions and special offers on a semi-regular basis.
Paid TikTok customer acquisition
While TikTok ads may not be as well-established as other industry players, they still play an instrumental role in TikTok customer acquisition.
Best practices for TikTok creative
If you want a successful customer acquisition strategy on TikTok, you need high-quality, entertaining videos. The following tips can help you improve your video content:
Use the right video specs
Optimal TikTok video specs:
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Minimum resolution: 540x960px, 640x640px, or 960x540px.
- File type: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, or .avi
- Max file size: 500MB
- Optimal video length: 15-60 seconds for organic videos and 9-15 seconds for paid ads.
Know your TikTok safe zones
Safe zones are the areas where your content is displayed on screen, unobstructed by any buttons or sidebars. Be mindful of the safe zones to ensure all valuable content is clearly visible.
Be strategic with your TikTok video structure
Here’s a common product-focused TikTok video structure:
- Hook: Give your viewers a reason to stick around by showing them what they can expect if they watch your video to completion. One way to do this is by teasing your solution.
- Problem: Empathize with a problem they face.
- Your solution: Show viewers an easy solution in action.
- CTA: Tell your viewers what to do next.
This structure can go full-on infomercial, leaning into the cheesy vibe for comedy, or it can follow a subtler approach. Some brands like to break the fourth wall in an effort to prove authenticity.
Be genuine, even with ads
Life hacks are all over TikTok for a reason– they appear genuine and actually useful. This is the connotation you want to replicate with your content. You understand the viewer’s unique problem and have a solution to make their lives easier.
Whether you’re making an organic video or an ad, follow the native TikTok format and design your content to fit the app’s unique culture. Basically, create your TikTok ads as you would any product-focused TikTok video.
Use engaging features
Use all the features TikTok has to offer. Trending sounds, voiceover, closed captions, on-screen text, jump cuts, effects, colors, filters, and the like are all scroll stoppers that keep your audience engaged.
Remember intellectual property
Be mindful of any intellectual property used in your ads. IP boundaries are muddy on TikTok, but disputes currently in the works should be taken as a warning sign to brands using other users’ original audio for advertising purposes.
Further reading: Check out our blog post “How to Nail Your TikTok Ad Creative”.
What products are TikTok ads best for? TikTok Advertising product alignment
TikTok ads are ideal for products that meet a need or solve a specific problem. Communities on TikTok are more niche than on other platforms. Organic hashtag research can lead to subcultures that align with your target audience.
The question is less "Are my target customers using TikTok" and more "What content do I need to put out to find them?"
Your TikTok ads should visually represent your product's value proposition. This is one place where partnering with creators can change the game, as they are typically skilled at producing native videos that entertain while showing off your product's value.
How to structure TikTok ad campaigns for customer acquisition
TikTok ads follow the campaign<ad group<ad structure. Brands can differentiate campaigns by objective, product, destination (app, website, or brick-and-mortar store), budget, offer, etc. Ad groups are a way to organize creatives.
To get the most out of your ad spend, consider only displaying your ad in the TikTok feed. Include at least 3-5 unique, active ad groups per campaign and 2-3 unique creatives per ad group. When posting your creatives, uncheck the video download feature to keep your video from being saved and reuploaded by another account.
Read this blog next: Every TikTok Ad Format You Need to Know and How to Use Them
How long does it take to test and validate TikTok ads?
The TikTok testing period can last 1-2 months. It takes time to gather enough conversion data to identify performance patterns. Factors that impact the testing period length include:
- The conversion event
- Sales cycle length
- Audience behavior
If your optimization goal is conversions, TikTok recommends not making any changes to the targeting, bid, or budget before it passes the learning phase. This type of ad group typically exits the learning phase after 50 conversions. Post learning phase, keep your budget within 20-50% of the previous budget.
How much does TikTok customer acquisition cost?
Here is the average cost of TikTok customer acquisition (TikTok CAC) according to Business of Apps:
- Average TikTok engagement rate: 5-16%
- Average TikTok Ads CPM: $10
- Average TikTok Ads CPC: $1
- Minimal spend per campaign: $500
TikTok advertising budget best practices
Make the most of your TikTok advertising budget by adhering to the following recommendations:
- Use automatic bidding, as manual bidding is too susceptible to spend volatility. Opt for manual bidding only when you have a specific window of time during which your ads should run.
- Leave your campaign budget open.
- Daily budgets for campaigns must be greater than 50 USD
- Daily budgets for ad groups must exceed 20 USD.
- If you select Daily Budget for the campaign, you have to select daily budget in the ad group. If you select lifetime budget for a campaign, you can choose either lifetime budget or daily budget at the ad group level.
- When choosing a Bid Cap or Cost Cap bidding strategy, set your budget to be at least 20 times the CPA.
- Use app Event Optimization to run app installs. Keep your AEO budget over $100, covering at least 20 times the targeted deep conversion CPA.
- When running conversion campaigns, select conversion as the optimization goal and Lowest Cost as the bid strategy. The initial budget should be 20 times the target CPA minimum.
Delivery types: standard vs accelerated
Standard delivery spends the budget as evenly as possible throughout the ad period. This method prevents leftover balance and optimizes the return.
Accelerated delivery spends the budget in whatever way produces as many results as possible in the shortest period possible. This can result in a higher or lower fluctuating cost for a single result, but the average cost will still align with your bid. Accelerated delivery aims to get the highest exposure as quickly as possible.
Measuring TikTok CAC (customer acquisition cost) ROI
While dividing the total ad campaign cost by the number of new customers acquired is the most effective way to measure ROI for a conversion campaign, brands can also measure the impact of their ads by calculating the difference between the view time per impression and the view time per viewer. The bigger the difference between these, the more people are rewatching the ad.
Step up your TikTok Customer Acquisition with MarinOne
MarinOne’s TikTok integration gives advertisers better insights and improved performance for their TikTok campaigns.
Powerful analytics and advanced optimization enable you to run better reports, compare TikTok ads with other paid social campaigns, customize KPIs, automate bidding according to your campaign goals, respond to external signals with custom bid modifiers, refine messaging with search intent targeting, and more.
Jumpstart your TikTok customer acquisition with MarinOne today.
Explore Emerging Trends in E-commerce Advertising for a Competitive Edge
Are you keeping up with the ever-changing e-commerce landscape? If you said no, don’t worry; you’re not alone. The digital advertising market is progressing quickly, with innovation and technology as accelerators.
What is in it for e-commerce advertisers in 2023? What’s trending now, and how can you elevate your advertising strategy for e-commerce success?
Let’s explore some of the significant trends shaping the future of e-commerce advertising. And more importantly, we’ll dwell on how you can take advantage of them to compete with the market leaders in your sector.
7 E-commerce Advertising Trends to Up Your Game
Here are the top seven must-follow trends to win this year's e-commerce advertising race.
Invasion of AI
“Hello, my name is Lisa, and I’m your virtual chat assistant.”
Nowadays, Getting such a greeting from an AI-powered chatbot on an e-commerce site is common. Chatbots are great for automating tasks, providing instant customer support, and streamlining business operations. Choosing a chatbot that aligns with your company's specific needs is crucial. Check out this one from Giesswein.
Indeed, artificial intelligence has already made a seismic shift in e-commerce. AI algorithms power up customer service and shopping experiences: personalized product recommendations (Amazon), dynamic price adjustment in real-time (Walmart), sentiment analytics (Sephora), predictive analysis (ASOS), etc. Recently, AI has kicked the door down and exploded into the room of e-commerce advertising with all its force; voice AI and chatbots are certainly part of that.
Voice AI is now ruling the kingdom of audio and video ads. This is one of the top trends in e-commerce marketing and an unmissable chance for brands to make ad content affordably and quickly.
You can unlock your creative ad potential with one of the following AI voice generators:
- Instreamatic
- Resemble.ai
- Speechify
- Aflorithmic.ai
- LOVO.ai
- WellSaidLabs
Video revolution
88% of people polled were convinced to purchase a product after watching a video from a brand. This explains why video content has become a massive trend in e-commerce advertising and why 91% of businesses use different types of videos as marketing tools. Just to name a few video ad types, there are:
- Explainer video
- Shoppable video
- Customer testimonial video
- Brand presentation
- Comparison video
- Interactive video
- Live stream
- Behind-the-scenes video, etc.
According to Tom Golubovich, Head of Marketing & Media Relations at Ninja Transfers, “Virtually, any video can supercharge your marketing game. But some do that better than others.” He provides several examples of video content that works best at the first stages of the marketing funnel:
“An explainer video is a perfect way to introduce website visitors to your brand. It’s ideal for the awareness stage.
Comparative advertising is an excellent tactic at the consideration stage. Videos with side-by-side comparisons of products or services can help you demonstrate what differentiates your brand from your competitor.”
Ninja Transfers, for example, meets potential customers with an interactive explainer video on the homepage. The ninja character advertises the brand and gives instructions on how to place an order.
Branded podcasts
Branded podcasting is indeed a gold mine for marketing, whether you’re working in B2B or B2C. There are many B2B giants like Cisco, Basecamp, or Slack utilizing this very tactic. And many B2C companies such as Duolingo, Sephora, Zendium, and Dior have also gone down this path. But it’s worth asking…does advertising via podcasts really work? The short answer is absolutely.
81% of podcast listeners pay closer attention to advertisements in podcasts than to TV or radio commercials or even social media ads! Moreover, podcast ads lead to a 14% rise in buying intent and a 24% boost in brand favorability.
Now consider this. As of 2022, podcast advertising in the US generated $1.8 billion in revenue. That is a 25% increase from 2021. Statista projects it to reach $4 billion in 2025. When and how did it happen that branded podcasts came into the arena of e-commerce marketing?
“Consumers became highly receptive to podcasts during COVID-19. And that’s when businesses hopped on this e-commerce trend,” explains Ben Knegendorf, Co-Founder of Dropship Breakthru. He shares his company’s experience:
“We started The Dropship Podcast in October 2021. We’re moving close to our 200th episode in the series about the ins and outs of the dropshipping business. So, with almost 200 episodes behind our back, we can assure you that a branded podcast is a superb tool to help you outflank your competition, engage with the target audience, and build brand authority.”
Interactivity in emails
Boring email as we knew it was dead. Long live interactive email advertising! Interactivity is a crucial secret to efficient content creation for email ads. Interactive email content boosts click-to-open rates by 73%. You can easily decorate your e-commerce ads in promotional emails with –
- Hover or rollover effects
- Gamified elements
- Sounds
- Videos
- Quizzes
- GIFs
As for the latter, they drive conversions like crazy. For instance, a GIF-centric campaign by Dell saw a 42% increase in the click-through rate and a 109% increase in revenue.
Just look at how other e-commerce companies harness the power of GIFs and animations in emails. Here’s an animated promotion in the email by Bonobos.
Enhanced consumer privacy and data protection
“One of the most significant e-commerce advertising trends in 2023 is the privacy and security of customers’ data,” believes Volodymyr Shchegel, VP of Engineering at Clarion.
“That is why the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) should always be on digital marketers’ minds. It forces brands to be more transparent about gathering, storing, and managing user data and obtaining consumer cookie consent. At the same time, advertisers need to get ready for the cookieless future too,” he highlights.
Google, for example, has already announced its plans for entirely cookieless and privacy-first marketing. The company delayed cookie-cutting to 2024. It is still looking for privacy-preserving alternatives for advertisements.
You should keep watching this trend in digital advertising to stay on track with the latest news. Meanwhile, you can switch to non-intrusive advertising in e-commerce and easily find your way in the cookieless world with Marin Tracker. Check MarinOne’s GDPR FAQs and data privacy policies, and be sure you and your customers are safe.
Paid ads on social media
In 2022 already, social media made up 33% of all digital ad spending.
Let’s go through several profitable platforms for e-commerce advertisers and see how different brands leverage paid social advertising on each of those: Meta (Facebook), TikTok, and Pinterest.
Meta Ads
Meta (renamed from Facebook) still serves as the main lifeblood channel for brands. Why? Because Meta Ads have immense power to drive e-commerce sales.
There’s a tendency among e-commerce brands to use dynamic ads in a carousel format. Take a look at this one from AliExpress.
TikTok Ads
The most popular TikTok ad formats are:
- In-Feed Ad
- TopView Ad
- Brand Takeover Ad
- Spark Ad
- Branded Effect
- Branded Hashtag Challenge
For example, such companies as ASOS, Guess, ZALORA, Chipotle, and e.l.f. Cosmetics rocked their audiences with the following Branded Hashtag Challenges: #ASOSAlterEgo, #ZStyleNow, #InMyDenim, #GuacDance, and #EyesLipsFace, correspondingly.
Consider using MarinOne + TikTok for Business to expand your brand reach with paid ads on TikTok.
Pinterest Ads
Have you noticed tons of promoted Pins in your Pinterest feed? See some examples of those in the screenshot below.
Then there are Promoted Video Pins, Promoted Carousels, Buyable Pins, etc. For example, Floor & Decor increased sales performance by 3x with shopping ads on Pinterest. Familiarize yourself with the Pinterest Ad bidding system before setting up an ad campaign on this social platform. Done? Great, you’re all set to manage Pinterest Ads like a pro.
Ads automation
Automate, automate, automate. This is not a mantra to repeat. You should do this right now to keep up with your competitors in the e-commerce business. Although mentioned last, this is one of the most critical e-commerce marketing and advertising trends. Already, 96% of marketers have tried automation to promote their business or are considering it for the upcoming year.
What makes them do that?
Of course, some valuable perks marketing automation has got in store:
- Saved time and money
- Alignment of marketing and sales
- Dynamic personalization
- Smoother customer journey
- Effective budgeting for ad campaigns
- Cross-channel monitoring
- More intelligent decisions with analytics tools and more.
Gain a Competitive Advantage in E-commerce Advertising with MarinOne
So, you’ve got the list of advertising trends that will dominate e-commerce in the next 12 months. What next? It’s high time to jump on these trends and seize this opportunity to beat your online competition. Why else would you be here?
Let MarinOne take you on a tour to see how it can help you optimize your e-commerce ad campaigns with automation and data-driven reports.
Why Advertisers Should Utilize Yahoo! DSP
Yahoo! DSP stands out as a platform that offers advertisers a unique blend of technology, scale, and customer relationships. Here's why advertisers should consider Yahoo! DSP for their campaigns:
The Best of Both Worlds
Yahoo! DSP combines the benefits of a walled garden with the transparency of an independent platform. This means advertisers get the advantages of a massive scale, proprietary inventory, and unique data without feeling restricted.
Identity at its Core
In a post-cookie world, identity becomes crucial. Yahoo! DSP's best-in-class identity graph and first-party data ensure advertisers can connect the dots seamlessly. Even without IDs, Yahoo! DSP has got you covered.
Performance You Can Trust
With the power of machine learning, Yahoo! DSP drives performance without hidden fees or pricing inefficiencies. This ensures advertisers get the most out of their campaigns.
Exclusive Premium Content Access
Advertisers get exclusive access to Yahoo's premium inventory, which includes one of the largest premium native marketplaces. This ensures ads are placed in high-quality environments that audiences trust.
Attention-Based Advertising
Yahoo! DSP, in collaboration with MarinOne, allows advertisers to buy high-attention pre-bid segments. This move focuses on attention-based advertising, aiming to make ads more effective and improve the overall user experience. This can lead to higher revenues for publishers and better engagement for advertisers.
Direct Access to Owned and Operated Media Properties
Yahoo’s DSP provides advertisers with direct access to its owned and operated media properties. This means advertisers can buy inventory directly from Yahoo, ensuring better control and quality.
Unique Demand and ID Matching
Through its Connect ID, Yahoo’s DSP offers ID matching against deterministic first-party audience graphs derived from its owned sites, Yahoo Mail, and fantasy sports. This ensures advertisers can target their audiences more effectively.
A DSP Tailored to Your Needs
From planning and targeting to optimization and measurement, Yahoo! DSP is built to cater to the diverse needs of advertisers. Whether it's Advanced TV, Digital-Out-of-home, Audio, Native Ads, Video, Mobile, or Commerce, Yahoo! DSP has a solution.
A Shift Towards Direct Connections
Yahoo! DSP is part of a broader industry trend where DSPs are creating direct connections to publishers. This ensures better transparency, control, and efficiency for advertisers.
A Cautionary Tale for SSPs
Yahoo's decision to focus on its DSP and move away from its SSP is a clear indication of where the industry is heading. Advertisers need platforms that provide value, transparency, and direct connections. Yahoo! DSP is positioned to offer just that.
In conclusion, Yahoo! DSP offers a unique blend of technology, data, and content that makes it a compelling choice for advertisers. Whether you're looking to target specific audiences, access premium content, or leverage attention-based advertising, Yahoo! DSP has the tools and capabilities to drive success.
Retail Media Networks: A New Era for Marketers
Traditional advertising models are no longer meeting the needs of modern marketers. Audiences expect customized messages and advertising channels such as television, radio, and print are unable to deliver personalized marketing messages to highly segmented groups. Even digital marketing has become more challenging with third-party cookies being phased out. The rise of retail media networks has disrupted the advertising landscape, providing a new and innovative way for marketers to reach their target audiences.
By delivering precise, targeted advertising at scale, retail media networks offer numerous benefits to marketers looking to break through in the crowded digital space. As retail media networks become more popular, marketers need to improve their understanding of the system and how it can help them.
In this article, we will discuss the rise of retail media networks, explore their impact on existing advertising models, examine the benefits they offer to marketers, and provide best practices for success when working with retail media networks.
The Rise of Retail Media Networks: a New Era in Advertising
Before we get into the impact of retail media networks, let’s be sure to understand what they are. Retail media networks are advertising channels owned by retailers, which they can use to advertise their own products or offer to third-party businesses.
While retail businesses currently spend less than 10% of their marketing budgets on retail media, this number is expected to grow 5X by 2024. Retail media networks are expected to become as common and mainstream as social media advertising.
Retail media networks can help businesses deliver a level of personalization that third-party platforms could not. Especially in a privacy-conscious advertising space, retail media networks empower retailers with greater insight into their customers’ preferences without being unnecessarily intrusive.
Benefits of Working with Retail Media Networks
Retail media networks can deliver marketers significant benefits, from granular reporting to improved customer targeting. Here are the top five reasons why modern marketers should use retail media networks:
Targeted Advertising at Scale
By leveraging consumer data collected by retail platforms, retailers can offer precise targeting of advertising to specific audiences, improving the likelihood of engagement and conversion. In a recent survey, marketers shared that a key reason they use retail media networks is their ability to deliver access to difficult-to-reach customers at scale without compromising on personalization.
Increased Revenue
Retail media platforms provide an entirely new revenue stream for retail companies, enabling them to monetize their customer data by offering targeted advertising to marketers. There are multiple ways businesses can use this data to increase revenue. They can use the customer data themselves to encourage more purchases or they can offer targeted advertising to other companies that might be interested in reaching the same types of customers—or they can choose a combination of both.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Customer experiences are often used by retailers as a differentiating factor that helps them rise above the competition. Through personalized and relevant advertising, retailers can improve the shopping experience of their customers by presenting them with products that align directly with their interests and needs. This can be done at scale with first-party data and an advertising channel that is completely controlled by the retailer itself.
Pro tip: Deploy a composable CDP architecture. This architecture allows for unparalleled flexibility in collecting various data types, both in batch and real-time. Composable CDPs integrate the data and centrally manages it, making it readily available for downstream applications like Retail Media Networks.
Improved Performance Metrics
Retail media networks offer advertising solutions with tracking and measurement capabilities, enabling advertisers to monitor and optimize performance to increase return on investment. Since the retailer owns the advertising platform, they have unfettered access to extremely granular customer data. This allows them to build highly comprehensive profiles for each customer and adjust outreach to them to guarantee the best results possible.
Pro tip: Utilize a closed-loop measurement approach. Closed-loop measurement is a technique used to gauge the effect of advertisements on consumer buying behavior, encompassing both online and offline activities. By employing this approach, you can monitor the performance of your advertising media campaigns throughout the entire purchase process. Assess the success of an advertisement in leading to a sale, and understand how your investment in media correlates with actual customer purchases.
This method provides insights into the channels, creative content, and publishers that are most influential in boosting sales. Additionally, it aids in fine-tuning your media strategy to guarantee the maximum return on your investment in media.
Here's an illustration of closed-loop measurement at work:
Cost-effective Advertising
Traditional advertising channels have become less popular and effective with the introduction of social media and retailers have had to adjust their marketing strategies to reflect this. However, it is not enough for marketers to simply focus on digital marketing while ignoring other avenues available to them. By utilizing retail media networks, advertisers can build assets and avoid the high costs of traditional advertising channels such as TV, print, and radio, and instead benefit from more affordable and targeted advertising solutions.
How to Make Retail Media Networks Work for You
Once marketers have decided that they want to make use of retail media networks to reach their most important customers, they need to understand how that can be done effectively. Here are some tips that marketers should consider when using retail media networks in their campaigns:
Use Specific Ads for Each Target Audience
Retail media networks allow marketers to fine-tune their targeting efforts without being invasive. However, using the same advertising to reach out to disparate audiences can significantly hamper its effectiveness. Each customer segment has unique needs and preferences when it comes to how businesses communicate with them. Customers that prefer in-store advertising can be delivered advertisements designed just for them while customers on different social media platforms also have their own specially designed advertising.
Pro tip: Take advantage of location analytics. In-store retail media's challenge is accurately gauging promotional impact and ROAS, especially for non-endemic products. Brands want more than impressions; they seek tangible improvements in conversions and sales to justify advertising spend. Location analytics can enhance this assessment. For example, if a gym advertises at a health food chain, offering QR code discounts can track leads, while foot traffic data provides a broader evaluation. This data can analyze cross-shopping habits, track targeted demographic visits, identify specific campaign locations' most successful areas, and study visitation patterns and consumer profiles during the campaign, offering a comprehensive understanding of the promotion's success.
Build a Strong Data Foundation for a World without Third-party Cookies
Businesses need to transition from using third-party to first-party cookies but not every business has a system set up to enable that. Retail media networks can help plug this gap. These systems allow businesses to collect and organize first-party customer data. Retail media empowers retailers to learn more about their customers’ preferences and adjust in-store and online experiences accordingly.
Enable Omnichannel Access to Shoppers Who are Ready to Make a Purchase
Businesses typically have larger audiences in store than on digital platforms and marketers have been able to capitalize on shoppers who are ready to make purchases in-store. However, this ability hasn’t been as effective online. Retail media networks allow marketers to plan an omnichannel strategy and encourage more conversions across online and offline channels.
Drive Customer Engagement Early in the Decision-making Process
Customers tend to research the products they want to buy before making the purchase. Marketers may ignore the role that their own retail site plays in engaging with the customer early. By leveraging the vast reach and targeting capabilities of these networks, businesses can place their products and advertisements directly in front of potential customers when they’re in the early stages of exploring and researching products.
This early and strategic engagement has several benefits for businesses:
- Build brand awareness
- Establish credibility
- Capture the attention of customers who are actively seeking information and solutions
- Effectively influence consumer purchase decisions
- Foster brand loyalty
- Create meaningful connections with customers from the very beginning of their buying journey.
Deliver a Consistent Experience Across Social Media Platforms and Retail Sites
In a bid to stretch marketing dollars, marketers can easily make the mistake of focusing on specific platforms while ignoring others completely. A combination of utilizing retail media networks and optimized social media marketing is the key to reaching the largest audience possible while still being targeted. These networks leverage advanced targeting and data capabilities to ensure that advertisements and brand messaging are consistently presented to consumers across various online channels.
By integrating with multiple platforms and sites, retail media networks enable businesses to synchronize their campaigns, creative assets, and messaging to create a cohesive brand experience. This consistency not only strengthens brand recognition but also helps to build trust with customers as they encounter familiar and consistent messaging wherever they engage with the brand. By delivering a seamless and unified experience, retail media networks empower businesses to reinforce their brand identity and effectively communicate their value proposition to potential customers, regardless of the platform or site they encounter.
Bridge the Gap Between Sales and Marketing
Marketers can be preoccupied with metrics such as views and impressions but this does not always translate into more sales for the business. Retail media networks can help provide the sales data that marketing teams need to adjust their strategies as necessary.
Why MarinOne is the Best Solution for Marketers in this new Advertising Environment
With MarinOne, marketers gain a holistic view of their campaigns across different retail media networks, allowing for better coordination, data analysis, and decision making. It simplifies the complex task of managing and optimizing advertising budgets, bids, and creative assets across multiple platforms and networks.
Additionally, MarinOne offers comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, giving marketers deep insights into the performance of their retail media campaigns. They can access unified dashboards, track key performance indicators, and measure the effectiveness of their advertising efforts across retail media networks.
Overall, MarinOne empowers marketers to evolve and thrive in a marketing environment where retail media networks are commonplace. It streamlines campaign management, enhances optimization capabilities, and provides powerful insights, enabling marketers to achieve better results and drive growth in this evolving landscape.
To get started today, schedule a demo with one of our MarinOne experts.
iOS17 Tracking Changes: What Marketers Need to Know
Summary
iOS 17 is here, and now tracking parameters that allow cross-site tracking will be removed from Safari private browsing and links shared in Apple messages and mail. UTM parameters are unaffected, but Safari will remove Google and Facebook click IDs.
Ok, tell me more…
Apple’s focus on privacy over the last few iOS releases is clear, and iOS17 is no exception. At WWDC in June, Apple announced that Private Browsing mode in Safari will be more private, adding Link Tracking Protection to remove some URL parameters.
Safari doesn’t remove all URL parameters, only those that track an individual user across websites. Apple is not publicizing the list of affected parameters, but we believe that UTM parameters are unaffected. Click-specific parameters will be removed, like those added by Google and Meta upon an ad click. Here’s a site that reports on specific URL parameters but does not yet reflect Privacy Mode on Safari.
In addition, users can opt-in to have Safari remove these tracking URLs even when not in Private Browsing, but most users will not enable this setting.
What’s the impact?
iOS updates take time, so you should expect the effect to begin this week and ramp up as users upgrade their devices to ~90% adoption by the end of the year.
These changes will not affect most paid traffic on Safari because that traffic comes through a publisher, not an email or message. While Safari private browsing will be affected, Marin estimates Safari private browsing is used by 20% of Safari users, but most users only use Private Mode occasionally. Google is more likely to be affected than Meta properties because ad clicks happen in the browser, not in an app.
If you rely on publisher tracking and don’t want to experience data loss, you can look at a third-party tracking solution, like Marin Tracker, that doesn’t rely on Google Click IDs.
You should also ensure there are no errors on your website if you rely on a URL parameter that Safari removes.
What’s next?
Private Click Measurement is Apple’s privacy-safe alternative if you need measurement that is blocked by Link Tracking Protection. Here’s a video from WWDC’21 giving an overview of the capabilities. As of iOS17, this is also available for Safari Private Browsing.
Apple may start applying this logic to non-private modes. If this happens, advertisers can set up dedicated landing pages for each highly granular sub-topic and concentrate their traffic on fewer criteria (such as keywords). This approach will help provide accurate measurement without using parameters.
- Marin can upload revenue based on the landing page and allocate it to the criteria on a click-weighted basis.
- Marin can assist with the migration to parameterless criteria / ads
- For selected customers, Marin can run an incrementality study to prove your ads' impact more reliably.
We don’t expect Google to follow these changes, at least not anytime in 2024, as they are still working on the long-delated around cookie deprecation and blocking.
Need help navigating these changes? Click here to set up time with one of our experts.
Exploring the Effectiveness of Instagram Advertising with Influencers
According to DemandSage, Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels available, with over 2.35 Billion monthly active users. With such an extensive use case, especially for those in crucial customer demographics such as millennials and Gen Z, it's not surprising that many businesses try to harness the power of Instagram to facilitate growth.
One way that businesses try to grow on Instagram is through partnering with influencers. These are individuals with a large or highly-engaged audience, and often both. Companies can use influencers to promote their products, pages, and more, and it has many benefits to implementing this marketing tactic.
However, with things like costs and brand perception to consider, many people still question if using Instagram influencers to advertise your business is effective. Here's a deeper dive into the practice and why it can be a good idea for you.
What is Instagram Influencer Marketing?
Influencers exist on all social platforms, including Instagram, often serving similar functions and purposes. An influencer would have built a following by posting about a particular niche, lifestyle, or aspect of their life, with users engaging with the content because they find it entertaining, educational, or memorable.
Over time, these influencers have built credibility and trust by being authentic and, for many, a source of inspiration. This reputation makes them perfect for businesses to partner with, as soliciting a promotional post with an influencer can get your product recommended by someone with a huge reach and genuine influence over the followers.
One of the most famous influencers on Instagram is Kim Kardashian. With millions of followers, brands often pay for her to post content featuring their products in the hopes that some of those followers will be inspired to use the same products. You can follow a similar principle when partnering with an Instagram influencer.
Mark Pierce, CEO of Colorado LLC Attorney, says, "Influencers have already done the hard part and built an engaged audience that trusts them. Advertising with influencers allows you to borrow their influence to promote your products."
There are many different types of influencers you can use. They are broken down into:
- Nano-influencer - 10,000 followers or fewer
- Micro-influencer - 10,000 to 100,000 followers
- Macro-influencer - 100,000 to 1 million followers
- Mega influencer - 1 million or more followers
Regarding the different types of influencers, Stephan Baldwin, Founder of Assisted Living, says, "Don't disregard the potential of nano-influencers. Despite their small audience size, those followers are usually highly engaged and focused on that influencer's niche. Partnering with the right nano-influencer can help you find the best leads."
Does Advertising With Instagram Influencers Actually Work?
The states show that advertising with influencers can help your brand grow in audience size and revenue. Civic Science reported that 14% of Gen Z social users and 11% of millennials bought a product after seeing it promoted via influencer marketing. This may sound small, but it offers great potential when you remember that over 2 Billion users are on Instagram.
The benefits of influencer marketing can be huge. As influencers have built up a trusted persona, having your products featured and advertised on their content can make your brand appear more genuine, helping to boost your reputation. Furthermore, partnering with the right influencers that work well within your niche can position you as an essential brand among your target audience.
For example, if you run a sports equipment business, you can position yourself as an industry leader by having your products showcased by influencers within the sport niche.
By using Instagram influencers to build trust, your reputation will soar. Managing your brand's online reputation is critical for business growth, and working with influencers can help with that.
As well as that, influencer marketing can help you reach audiences you may not have been able to reach organically. Gerald Lombardo, Head of Growth at Popl, says, "It can be hard to penetrate a new market or demographic, especially if you want to expand in a new country. Using influencers can help you get a strong foothold."
The best-performing type of influencer content on Instagram is videos. Ironic for an app that started by focusing on image sharing, reels see the most use on Instagram. This means you can pair your Instagram influencer marketing with Instagram Video Ads to capitalize on and maximize your campaign's reach.
How to Effectively Use Instagram Influencers
Using influencers is one of the best strategies for sponsoring products on Instagram, but you have to use them effectively and in the right way. Here are a few things to do to make sure that your campaigns are the most effective they can be:
Know your audience
You need to do market research on your brand to determine the type of Instagram users you should target. Certain brands and products appeal to specific individuals, so to ensure you work with the right influencers, you need a good grasp of the demographic that best suits your product.
After that, you must research potential influencers to see if their audience suits your brand.
Jesse Hanson, Content Manager at Online Solitaire & World of Card Games, says, "We target a specific audience with our advertising. It can be a waste of effort and resources marketing to the wrong individuals, so fully understanding the type of audience influencers have can be super helpful."
Pro tip: Studying your competitors' Instagram audience can provide valuable insights about your target demographic. Analyzing their followers and post types can help shape your audience profile and identify any overlooked segments.
Sprout's Competitive Analysis Report allows you to track your competitors' Instagram performance, engagement, audience growth, and compare it with yours. This enables you to identify key competitors and scrutinize their audience composition.
Follow the rules
When working with influencers, there are clear rules that both of you need to follow. The main thing is that when an influencer posts content featuring your product that they're being paid or compensated for, they must disclose that it's an ad clearly. Usually, an influencer will showcase this by adding '#ad' to the content.
Although this is the influencer's responsibility, your business can get flack if they fail to follow these rules. That's why it's a good idea to draft up some guidelines and include this disclosure requirement in your contract so that they're more encouraged to do it.
Pro tip: Launching an influencer campaign may draw your attention to vanity metrics like likes and comments. However, the true measure of a campaign's success lies in its return on investment. One effective method is using UTM parameters to track website visitors and engagement from each influencer. By assigning unique UTM-coded links to each influencer, you can accurately assess the campaign's impact on your revenue.
Follow the three R's
The three R's principle can make choosing the right influencer easier for your business. The three R's represent Relevance, Reach, and Resonance. You want to make sure that your business is relevant to the influencer. For example, a home design influencer won't be relevant to a Crypto business and could alienate the audience.
The reach needs to align with your goals. This isn't just about trying to get an influencer with the most followers; those followers need to be engaged and suit your product. Resonance is all about ensuring that your product offers a solution many followers experience. For example, a male grooming business will resonate well with an influencer with a predominantly male audience.
Tim White, Founder of Milepro, says, "The three R's govern most businesses' approach to influencer marketing. The more that aligns with your business, the more effective the campaign will be.
Pro tip: Leverage an Influencer & Creator Database Solution – Without the appropriate resources, identifying the perfect collaboration can seem like a daunting task; but remember, you don't have to shoulder all the burden. By utilizing a dedicated platform such as Mavrck's influencer marketing solution, you can effortlessly find and establish connections with creators and influencers for your upcoming campaign.
Integrate Influencer Marketing into Your Advertising Strategy
Instagram influencer marketing can give your business a massive boost when done correctly. Influencers can get more eyes on your product and use their unique relationship with their audience to get them to trust your brand, making you more credible.
Not every influencer marketing campaign will work, and you will need to put the effort in to see results, but they can become an effective way to advertise on the platform. If you’d like to get into the weeds with an expert consultant on how to make your influencer marketing plan effective, or to tackle any advertising question, the team at Marin is ready to help you get started.
Roman Shvydun is a guest contributor to the Marin Software blog.
Meg Madden: Connecting People and Transforming Marketing Strategies
In the digital marketing world, successful leaders possess a unique combination of strategic thinking, technical expertise, and a talent for connecting people. One such individual is Meg Madden, the Vice President of Products at Marin Software. With her vast experience and remarkable achievements, Madden has established herself as a trailblazer in the industry. In this article, we delve into Madden's professional journey, her accomplishments, and the values she holds dear.
A Journey of Growth:
Meg Madden's professional journey can be traced back to June, 2012 when she joined Marin Software, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions. Her tenure began as an Online Marketing Manager, where she excelled in activating social strategies for notable companies such as General Motors and PayPal. While working in the Austin office, Madden was instrumental in fostering team growth and spearheading global strategies for paid strategies, including collaborations with AT&T.
As a Pod Leader for the Austin team, Madden showcased her leadership skills by managing independent network agencies and overseeing account directors and customer managers. She also played a crucial role in breaking down silos within teams, facilitating cross-channel and cross-regional collaboration. Her efforts resulted in forming the Global Customer Engagement Team, further strengthening Marin Software's customer-centric approach.
Professional and Educational Background:
Before joining Marin Software, Meg Madden pursued an MBA at Yukon, where she honed her skills in business management. Prior to that, she served as a Social Media Manager for Quickluck, showcasing her expertise in leveraging social media platforms to drive brand engagement. Madden's educational journey began at Yale, where she earned a BA in American Studies, providing her with a solid foundation in understanding consumer behavior and cultural dynamics.
Beyond the Office:
Meg Madden's story is not just defined by her professional accomplishments. Growing up on the border of Texas and Mexico in Harlingen, TX, she was exposed to a multicultural upbringing. This experience instilled in her a deep appreciation for diversity and a strong sense of community. Madden's formative years were marked by active involvement in various activities, from playing softball and participating in color guard to volunteering at the Women's Crisis Center.
Even today, Madden continues to impact others' lives through her volunteer work positively. She regularly guest lectures at Stanford Business School, sharing her industry insights and experiences with aspiring business professionals. Additionally, she remains active in her church group, contributing to the children's ministry and participating in activities at the cowboy church located on the rodeo grounds.
Meg Madden's personal life revolves around her family. She is a proud mother to three children, aged 8, 6, and 3, comprising two boys and a girl. Her husband has taken on the role of a stay-at-home dad, allowing Madden to focus on her professional endeavors while balancing her responsibilities at home. Madden believes that being a mother is the most challenging yet rewarding role she plays, finding solace in her rural lifestyle on a farm, complete with chickens and ducks.
Values and Inspirations:
When it comes to personal values, Madden emphasizes the importance of continuous learning. She believes that staying curious and open to new ideas is key to personal and professional growth. Additionally, she has always learned to assume positive intent, realizing that it took her some time to truly understand the impact of this mindset.
Madden's unwavering commitment to her team's growth is one of her proudest achievements. She takes immense satisfaction in witnessing the professional progress of individuals who have worked under her guidance. Many of these talented individuals have either moved on to new opportunities outside of Marin or have climbed the ladder within the organization itself.
Conclusion:
Meg Madden's journey from an Online Marketing Manager to Vice President of Products at Marin Software is a testament to her exceptional skills, dedication, and ability to connect people. Throughout her career, she has prioritized breaking down silos, fostering collaboration, and building customer-centric solutions.
Unlock the Full Power of Your Search and Social Ads with HubSpot Data
Is your campaign optimization limited to what happens on your website or in your app? What about offline sales or repeat purchases? If you aren’t including this valuable data, you’re limiting the results you can expect from your online campaigns. That’s why you need to unlock the valuable data in your CRM and make it accessible to the publishers. And for those using Hubspot, this is easier than ever with Marin’s newest integration.
The Perfect Pairing
HubSpot, the inbound marketing powerhouse, provides businesses with tools to attract, engage, and delight customers. From lead generation to customer relationship management, HubSpot offers a comprehensive suite of solutions that foster meaningful interactions with target audiences. Marin Software, on the other hand, is a leader in marketing analysis and digital marketing optimization and automation. Integrating CRM data from HubSpot with Marin creates a powerful blend that can supercharge campaigns.
Unleashing the Power of CRM Data
For many businesses, what happens online or in the app is only the beginning. Do you have a longer sales cycle that begins with a form on the website? What about call centers or sales in physical stores? Even pure-play e-commerce sites should think about repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.
In each of these cases, the goal is the same: rather than measuring the effectiveness of your campaigns based on a single upstream event that happens online. You should be optimizing to the actual value of that customer. The CRM often holds this data which is not available to the publishers' tracking pixel. As a result, your ROI is not correct. You are likely making decisions based on incomplete data.
However, it’s possible to tie this customer-level data back to the data you get from the publishers–like Google, Meta, or Microsoft–to get the full picture. This will help you identify which campaigns drive the most business value and which are wasting money.
Marin’s integration with Hubspot makes this easy. We align the CRM data with the campaign data, giving you the complete picture. This means that marketers can now tap into a wealth of customer insights, behaviors, and interactions stored within HubSpot's CRM–and use these invaluable nuggets of information to refine their advertising strategies in Marin.
Top Benefits
- All-in-One View: The integration creates a dashboard that brings together data from HubSpot and the entire publisher ecosystem. This way, it's easy to track performance in one AI-powered dashboard.
- Less Hassle: No more manual data aggregation and normalization. The integration takes care of it, saving time and stopping mistakes.
- Smarter Bidding: Knowing what customers are up to helps in setting bids. This means putting money where it makes the most impact.
A Bright Future
Blending the insights from HubSpot and Marin Software sets the stage for smarter campaigns. It's like making sure ads reach the right people at the right time. Businesses that jump into this new way of marketing can lead the pack in a world where personalization and profit go hand in hand.
Social
Do you feel like your search and social media campaigns are missing something? They might be if your optimization strategy is limited by the data from your website and/or app. If you’re not able to account for offline sales or repeat purchases, you’re limiting the results you can expect from your online campaigns. That’s why you need to unlock the valuable data in your CRM and make it accessible to the publishers. That’s why, here at Marin Software, we’ve been busy building the integrations to unite your complete campaign and customer data set. And we’re excited to welcome a new connection: HubSpot.
With our HubSpot integration, easily combine the power of your data and get these benefits:
- All-in-One View: The integration creates a dashboard that brings together data from HubSpot and the entire publisher ecosystem. This way, it's easy to track performance in one AI-powered dashboard.
- Less Hassle: No more manual data aggregation and normalization. The integration takes care of it, saving time and stopping mistakes.
- Smarter Bidding: Knowing what customers are up to helps in setting bids. This means putting money where it makes the most impact.
Check out our latest press release to learn more and reach out to get started unifying your marketing data ecosystem today.
Google Ads: Keyword Matchtypes 101
If you’re considering spending money on ads to reach your target audience, you want to ensure that the money is well spent, and spent in the right place – somewhere like Google. With more than 92.5 billion visits per month, Google is one online opportunity that is virtually limitless in terms of reach and investment.
Most popular websites by unique monthly visitors, November 2022
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to use Google’s keyword match types and everything you need to know to optimize your campaigns so you can achieve the best results from your ads.
Keyword match types
Keyword matching is an essential aspect of any successful Google Ads campaign. By choosing the right keyword match type, you can control which search queries trigger your ads to appear.
Broad match
Just as its name implies, broad match is…well, broad. As the default match type in Google Ads, these keywords cast a wide net, allowing your ad to show for any search query that includes the keywords you've chosen and related variations and synonyms. They can even match for searches that don’t include your exact keyword terms.
Because broad match keywords collect a wide range of search terms, you save time that might be spent brainstorming and manually creating a keyword list. In addition to its enormous reach, broad match has a very loose query match, meaning that search term variations are very likely. Broad match is effective, but it leaves you with little control over which searches trigger ads and increases the likelihood of your ad showing for irrelevant searches, leading to wasted impressions and clicks.
Another downside is that broad match keywords often result in poor quality scores and don’t guarantee traffic quality if you aim to maximize landing page traffic.
Broad match modifier
While similar to broad match, a broad match modifier is more refined. These modifiers allow you to reach a more targeted audience. To use this match type, you add a "+" before the word you want to bid on in the keyword phrase. Without the "+," the ad won't appear. In other words, your ad will show up only for the specific keywords you choose. For example, the keyword “coffee cup” might match with “coffee beans” or “mug,” whereas “coffee +cup” could compare with “teacup” or “cup holder.” On the other hand, selecting “+coffee +cup” requires both terms for your ad to appear, though they can be in any order and include additional text.
With broad match modifiers, the search query can be in any order as long as the keyword with the "+" is present. Broad match modifiers give you greater control over reaching a wider audience and improve the quality of leads you get from your ads.
Phrase match
Phrase match is a more restrictive match type that requires the search query to include the exact keyword phrase, with words before or after the term. This match type can help you reach a more targeted audience while allowing for some flexibility in the order of the words.
Exact match
Exact match only shows your ad for searches that exactly match your keyword phrase, with no variations or different words. While this match type limits your audience size, it can be helpful for very specific and targeted campaigns and gives you maximum control over which searches can trigger ads on the SERP.
The good thing about exact match is that it leads to high relevancy and quality traffic, and as a result, you will pay less for junk clicks. However, it’s time-consuming, and your reach is not very wide. Furthermore, there’s a chance you could miss valuable keyword-related traffic or long-tail keyword searches because exact match keywords only catch specified search terms.
Negative match
Even when your keyword list is thorough, chances are your ads will still appear for irrelevant search terms, making search term exclusions just as significant as inclusions. By adding negative keywords to your list and blacklisting them from your campaigns, you can avoid the “bad fits” most likely to waste ad spend.
Why keyword matches are important for your business
Selecting the right keyword match type ensures that your Google Ad campaign budget is used effectively to reach your target audience at the right time with the right message – without spending on irrelevant clicks. When you bring in the right type of traffic, you’re more likely to attract new customers, increase sales, gain higher click-through rates, better conversion rates, and ultimately maximize ROI.
How match types affect your search ad results
Match types play a crucial role in determining the success of your account as they control which search queries you bid on. When selecting match types for keywords, consider these factors:
- Performance
The performance of keywords and similar keywords can give you an idea of the best match type for maximizing return on investment.
- Competition
Observing how your competitors bid on terms and how they structure accounts can impact your return. Looking closely at how they have historically performed can also provide valuable insight.
- Bids
Bids, including cost per click and cost per conversion, can be significantly influenced by match types and may determine the best match type to use.
- Account structure and ad text
How an advertiser structures their account and creates specific ads for different match types can significantly impact the performance of varying match types.
4 Best practices for Google ads keyword targeting
Keyword targeting helps you reach the right audience, increase your visibility, and drive more conversions. With these four best practices, you can make the most of your advertising budget and reach your target audience more effectively:
Close variants
Close variants extend the coverage of your keyword match types to encompass similar searches. This means that searches including misspellings, singular/plural forms, derivatives, abbreviations, and accents can be matched with close variants. It’s crucial to be aware of the impact of keyword variations on your campaigns.
Negative keywords
Knowing that keywords can be ambiguous, it’s essential to consider adding negative keywords to your campaign. When you add them, use either broad or phrase match negatives or use exact match negatives to fine-tune your ad groups.
Display keywords and video keywords
Keywords on the Google Display Network, including display and video keywords, are all used in broad match form. You can use them to reach content related to your products or services. However, it's important to note that this targeting method is only sometimes precise, and your ads may appear on websites that are not directly related to your display keywords.
Test and adjust
Continuous testing and adjusting will make your Google Ads campaign successful. Regularly monitor the performance of your keywords and adjust your bids, ad copy, and targeting as needed. When you do, you’ll discover the best keywords for your campaign and optimize your results.
Supercharge your next search campaign
There’s no doubt that with Google Ads’ expansive reach and authority, adding it to your paid strategy will produce results. To get started, use the tips we covered, and iterate and refine as you go.
By teaming up with MarinOne, you can create a successful Google Ad campaign that will drive clicks and convert leads. To get started, reach out to one of our MarinOne team experts today.
Google Ads Conversion Value Rules, Explained
Google created conversion value rules to give advertisers more control over their ad spend. Essentially, they allow advertisers to tell Google what conversion factors result in the highest value. Conversion value rules enable strategic management to combine advertiser expertise with automation to get the best ROAS possible.
What are Conversion Value Rules?
Conversion value rules allow users to modify the value of conversions based on the category of the conversion action and the following three impression dimensions:
- Audience membership
- The physical location or location of interest
- Device
Advertisers can use the Google Ads API to define conversion value rules, combine them into a conversion value rule set, and apply the rule set to either your whole Google Ads account or to your chosen campaign. The Google Ads API report presents a segmented breakdown of your conversion values' original, unadjusted, and adjusted portions.
Conversion value rules are comprised of two elements:
- Conditions that determine when they are applied
- The action is taken once they are applied
They are used in real-time to optimize target ROAS and maximize conversion value, utilizing smart bidding. Remember that smart shopping campaigns don’t support tCPA and max conversions.
Conversion value rule conditions
Conversion value rule conditions can be defined in a few fields:
Audience_condition
The audience_condition field applies the rule to impressions associated with a particular audience, which can be Google or first-party audiences. You can further specify resource names using the user_lists or user_interests fields. To retrieve the resource names of all available user lists or user interests, issue a search stream or request of GoogleAdsService where the FROM clause of the query is user_list or user_interest.
Audience_conditions containing multiple user lists and user interests will match impressions with any associated user lists or interests.
Device_condition
Device_condiiton applies to impressions that match specified device_types from the following list:
- UNSPECIFIED: Not specified
- UNKNOWN: Used for return value only. Represents value unknown in this version
- MOBILE: Mobile device
- DESKTOP: Desktop device
- TABLET: Tablet device
Geo_location_condition
This applies to impressions that meet predefined location criteria.
Limitations
Each conversion value rule can have two conditions. Rules with no conditions apply to impressions that don’t meet the conditions of another rule in the set.
Conversion values created at the campaign level will not impact bidding performance or reported conversions for other campaigns.
- Account-level campaign values rules: apply to Search, Display, and Shopping
- Campaign-level value rules: apply to Search, Display, Shopping, Smart Shopping, and Pmax for retail
- D&E test with value rules: apply to Search and Display only
Benefits of Using the New Conversion Value Rules in Google Ads
Using Conversion Value Rules is a no-brainer if you want to improve your Smart Bidding results. Conversion Value Rules help advertisers accurately portray the value of conversions for Smart Bidding so they can optimize toward the most valuable conversions. This is the most sure-fire way to take control of Smart Bidding results.
When you show Google which conversions hold the most significant value for your brand, ad spending will optimize according to what brings your brand the most revenue, profit, offline conversion value, or lifetime value– all in real-time.
Conversion Value Rules also simplify reporting and optimization by eliminating the need to change tagging code.
How do Conversion Value Rules work?
Here’s a quick rundown on the different elements of Conversion Value Rules and how they work:
Rule action
Every rule must have an action consisting of an operation and a value. This action shows Google how to adjust the conversion value for the rules that meet your conditions. You can use one of three values:
- Add: Adds a value greater than 0 to the original conversion value.
- Multiply: Multiplies the original conversion value by a specified value between 0.5 and 10.
- Set: Sets the conversion value to a specified value greater than 0. It can only be used under certain conditions.
Creating a rule set
After making at least one Conversion Value Rule, you can create a Conversion Value Rule Set consisting of conversion action categories and Conversion Value Rules.
A conversion action category is the list of conversion actions the rule set applies to. If this list is empty, the rule set applies to all categories. If it isn’t empty, then it must contain a single store visit or sale.
You can only set the conversion action categories when creating the rule set.
The SET action can only be used in one of the following scenarios:
- The account is allow-listed, and the conversion action categories of the rule set are empty,
- The conversion action categories of the rule set contain a single entry of store visit or store sale, the set's dimensions only contain an entry for no condition, and none of the condition fields of the rule are set.
You can include each conversion value rule in just one conversion value rule set. If the Conversion Value Rules contain a resource name of a rule that is in the Conversion Value Rules of another rule set that is either enabled or paused, the operation will return a data constraint violation error.
Dimensions
The list of value rule set dimension values dictates which conditions the rules in the set can utilize. If dimensions contain geo-location and device, you can’t add rules with audience_condition. This list must contain 1 or 2 entries (it cannot be empty).
If the list contains an entry for NO_CONDITION, then:
- NO_CONDITION must be the only entry on the list
- The list of conversion action categories of the set can contain only a single entry of STORE_VISIT or STORE_SALE.
- The list cannot contain any rule where audience, device, or geolocation conditions are set.
The first entry in the list dictates which value populates for segments.conversion_value_rule_primary_dimension in reports.
Attachment_type
The attachment_type can be set to CUSTOMER to create a rule set applying to the entire account or CAMPAIGN to create a rule set that applies only to a specific campaign.
If the attachment_type is set to CAMPAIGN, then set the campaign to whatever resource name the rule set applies to.
A rule set has an owner_customer and a status, but the status is read-only and will show PAUSED or ENABLED, depending on the status of its rules.
How are Rules Applied?
Only one rule per conversion: When more than one rule applies to an impression, Google chooses one rule based on either the most precise location match or the audience hierarchy below.
- Customer match
- Remarketing and similar audiences
- Affinity and in-market audiences
- Detailed demographics
In the case of a tie, Google defers to MULTIPLY logic over the ADD rule. If the tie remains, Google chooses the highest adjustment.
Additional rule attributes
- Owner_customer: the resource name of the customer that owns the rule.
- Status: shows whether the rule is paused or enabled.
Reporting in your Google Ads Conversion Value Rules
All Conversion Value Rules output is automatically included in your campaign-level conversion value reporting. You can view the adjusted and unadjusted values via value rule adjustment segmentation.
Removing Conversion Value Rules
Target ROAS and Maximize conversion value bidding account for active rules within your account to drive as much conversion as possible. When you remove a conversion value rule, Google will resume optimization for your current definition of value. This means you will have an obvious disparity between data pre and post-removal.
ConversionValueRuleSets must have at least one PAUSED or ENABLED conversion value rule. Otherwise, the rule set will fail. You can remove a ConversionValueRuleSet without altering the status of the ConversionValueRules referenced by the set. Once the set is removed, search, and searchStream requests for that set resource will stop returning the removed set.
How to estimate conversion value
Below are three equations to help estimate conversion value:
- Short-term conversion value: To estimate short-term conversion value, multiply your average deal revenue by the profit margin, then multiply that by the percentage of leads that convert to a deal.
- Lifetime customer value: To estimate lifetime profit per customer, add the average deal revenue to the repeat business over a lifetime and multiply that sum by your profit margin.
- Word-of-mouth: Multiple the value per lead by the percent gain from word of mouth.
- Lifetime value per conversion considering word of mouth: Multiple the lifetime profit per customer by the percent of leads that convert and the gain from word of mouth.
Conversion Value Rule best practices
The conversion value rule strategy is pretty straightforward. Follow these best practices, and you’ll be on your way to a better ROAS:
Look at customer lifetime value and the entire conversion path
To accurately identify conversion value, you have to examine the whole picture. Think about it– if a customer converts on a desktop but finds you on their mobile device, you won’t be able to assess the actual value of that impression unless you consider the full conversion path.
Get accurate data
Wherever you pull the data used to calculate conversion value, ensure it is accurate. Informing Conversion Value Rules with inaccurate data will skew your ad spend and harm your ROAS.
Be creative but conservative
Estimating conversion value can require a bit of creative guesswork, but it’s best to pair that creativity with a conservative mindset when you aren’t 100%. Consider taking a conservative approach to the riskier rules when choosing a rule action.
Don’t be too general
When Conversion Value Rules are too general, they either underestimate the value or catch impressions that shouldn’t apply. The best strategy is a careful balance between getting too specific and generalizing value for a big chunk of your audience.
Final thoughts
Conversion Value Rules are designed to give advertisers more control over their Smart Bidding strategy by highlighting high ticket impressions. One of the most important tidbits to remember here is that creating Conversion Value Rules to skew Smart Bidding directions is a waste of time. Conversion Value Rules do not influence the direction Smart Bidding optimizes in– they just prioritize spending on the impressions that will have the best return.
To get clearer insights for your conversion tracking not only on Google Ads but across all paid search, social, and display advertising…meet with a MarinOne expert today.
Our analysis and attribution solutions will give you a far more clear picture of your marketings' holistic ROI (return on investment), MER (marketing efficiency ratio), and more.
Maximizing Analytics Insights: Tracking Downloads with Google Analytics 4
Tracking website visitors' behavior is crucial for gaining insights into their engagement and optimizing digital strategies. One significant aspect of user interaction is downloading files, such as documents, software, or media files. Understanding how users engage with these downloads can provide valuable data for improving content offerings and measuring conversion rates.
As you probably know, Google Analytics released a new, updated version, and in this blog post, we will explore the best practices and insights for tracking downloads using Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Understanding Downloads in GA4
In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a download event is triggered when a user clicks a download link or button, signaling their intent to retrieve a particular file. GA4 tracks these download events by capturing relevant data, such as the file's URL, the user's session information, and other event parameters. Website owners can then analyze and measure the engagement levels of their downloadable content, gaining valuable insights into user preferences, content popularity, and conversion rates.
Before we dive into setting up download tracking, we first need to explain two fundamental terms: gated and ungated content. Both are types of downloadable content, but the difference is whether users need to provide personal information first..
Gated and ungated content
Gated content requires users to share their personal information (usually their email) to download the materials. This option is great if your downloadable materials are intended to be lead magnets. For example, every piece of content that benefits people interested in your service or product is a lead magnet.
You can probably guess where this is going - when users leave some information, it’s much easier to track them. Each download will be counted, you’ll be able to see it, and most importantly, you’ll know to whom it belongs. Additionally, you can use those emails for remarketing purposes and put your product or service in front of the eyes of your potential clients.
Unlike gated content, ungated content doesn’t require leaving any information. Users can download the materials by clicking on the download button. For instance, you can download coupons from a discount website by clicking on the corresponding icon. Unlike gated content, ungated content won’t allow you to trace your leads. If you know that a piece of content is an important step in the customer journey, then you can make it easily accessible. Sometimes users get put off having to share their personal information, so using this option has its own benefit.
Moreover, your internal team or a digital marketing agency can utilize gated and ungated content to achieve different objectives and cater to different customer journey stages. Now that you know the basics about downloadable materials let’s see how you can set download tracking in GA4.
When to use gated versus ungated content
Gating content is a common strategy for businesses aiming to build an email list or generate leads. When content is gated, users must provide their contact information, typically an email address, to gain access. The primary benefits of this method include lead generation, segmentation opportunities, and a sense of exclusivity for users. However, this strategy also carries drawbacks like reduced SEO benefits and limitations in audience building. Gated content could include reports with original research, eBooks, whitepapers, live demos, webinars, and newsletter content.
On the other hand, ungated content is freely accessible on the internet and doesn't require users to provide any contact information. While this approach doesn't directly generate leads, it can help build organic awareness, encourage audience engagement, and offer significant SEO benefits. There are also strategic ways to retarget page visitors and capture potential leads later in the funnel when they are more prepared for direct outreach. Examples of ungated content could be blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, and ungated PDFs. In deciding whether to gate or ungate content, businesses should consider their resources, marketing and business goals, industry expectations, and plans for managing collected information.
For our purposes today, we’ll go through why you want to track downloads in GA4; and then we’ll dive into the technical setup of tracking gated content.
Insights from Download Tracking in GA4
In a moment, we’ll go through how to get accurate download data, but first, you may be wondering what insights you can get from download tracking. The answer is simple - many.
Understanding user engagement
Understanding user engagement through tracking downloads in GA4 provides valuable insights into how users interact with downloadable content on your website. By analyzing metrics such as download frequency, duration, conversion rates, or sales forecasts, you can identify which files resonate most with your audience, optimize content offerings, and tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
Identifying popular and underperforming downloads
When tracking downloads in GA4, you can easily identify popular and underperforming downloads by analyzing the metrics and data provided. By examining the number of downloads, engagement metrics such as time spent on the download page, and conversion rates associated with each file, you can gain insights into which downloads resonate well with users and drive desired actions.
Tracking downloads as part of a user journey analysis
Measuring the effectiveness of downloadable content is also very important. This will help you understand certain downloads' impact on further actions in the customer journey, such as starting a free trial, enrolling for a demo session, registering, or buying a product.
Setting Up Download Tracking in GA4
Download tracking happens autoamatically in GA4 if your Data Stream is configured properly. To set it up, go to the Admin section, and under Property, select Data Streams.
Once you click on Data Streams, your next step is to allow Enhanced Measurement.
After you enable the enhanced measurement, you need to visit the Settings section by clicking on the gear icon within the enhanced measurement field.
That will open another window where you need to enable File downloads. As you can see, File downloads are one of the options for the Enhanced measurement. Since you’ll probably be doing this for the first time, you’ll have to wait 24 hours before the results populate in the Analytics.
And that’s it; you’re all set! It’s not difficult at all!
The next logical step is to learn how to analyze the download data and create reports that will enable you to get to the next level when tracking downloads.
Analyzing Download Data in GA4
Standard reports
Once you set the download tracker, the results will automatically populate in the Standard reports once you set them up as events. They are called file_download events.
How can you find file_download? Easily, just click on the Reports - Engagement - Events.
Standard reports have some flaws. If you’re tracking only one downloadable material, there will be no problems. But if you have more than that, Standard reports won’t be able to provide you with information.
First of all, all downloads will be grouped, so you won’t be able to see which file got the most downloads. Secondly, you won’t be able to see where the users are downloading those files either.
That’s why it is important to explain the power of Custom reports, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Adding a Secondary Dimension
The details report table inherently comes with a primary dimension and up to a dozen metrics. The primary dimension is labeled as such. For instance, in the given detailed report when, "Event name" is the primary dimension, metrics such as "Event count" and "Total users" are included. This arrangement allows for the analysis of each metric relative to one dimension:
The report can be appended by adding a secondary dimension, facilitating data analysis across two distinct categories. For instance, the table below showcases the page or screen where each event was initiated:
This secondary dimension is a temporary addition and gets removed once you navigate away from the report.
How to Append a Secondary Dimension Adjacent to the primary dimension, click on Add dimension [Plus].
Scan through the list of dimensions, or input the whole or part of the dimension name in the search box. Select the desired dimension name.
Custom reports
Custom reports will enable you to view each download individually by creating their respective views.
To enable this, go to the Explore section and select Blank - Create new exploration.
Your next step is to name your new report and add the dimensions that you find relevant. Click the + symbol, add the Event name and File name, and finalize this part by clicking Import.
Another thing that you need to select is the metrics. You’ll do that by again clicking on the + symbol and adding Event count and Total users, and again, finalize it by clicking on Import.
Once all of this is set, you need to add all these elements into your report by doing a simple drag-and-drop or a double click on them.
After this, there’s only one little thing to be done. You’ll need to apply a filter to exclude all the other events and limit this report to tracking downloads.
There you have it - only these steps are necessary to keep track of your downloadable materials.
Advanced Techniques for Download Tracking in GA4
Let's cover a couple of more advanced situations for those of you who are always interested in learning more.
Link attribution for tracking downloads from external sources
Once you have enabled Enhanced Measurements, GA4 will “fire” an event called click whenever someone clicks on the link on your website that leads them to another website. Such external links are called outbound links.
You’ll see all the link URLs and their respective clicks if you click on Click.
How to set outbound link tracking? Visit the Admin panel - Configuration - Data Streams and choose the web data for this configuration. Check that the Enhanced Measurement is on, and in its Settings section, ensure the Outbound option is enabled. Once all clicks are set, just save the changes.
Creating the reports works in the completely same way as we explained above. The standard report is the one that will show once you go to the Reports - Engagement - Events - Clicks, while the creation of Customized reports will require you to select again the metrics that you would like to include.
Tracking outbound links is important if you, for example, have two websites that link each other and want to know how many people navigated between those two.
Cross-domain tracking for downloads on multiple websites
If you, for example, have a website and a blog with separate domains, consider using cross-domain tracking. Cross-domain tracking allows you to identify users across different domains. This means that the system will be able to recognize the same user activity regardless of the domain they’re visiting.
When you set this option, and when you, for example, have an outbound link that leads to your other domain, the option for tracking outbound links will be automatically ignored. If this weren’t the case, you couldn’t follow the same user across your two domains because it would be recognized as a completely new user.
Let’s see how to set this up.
Again, go to Admin - Data Streams and select a website property you want to enable cross-domains.
After the new window appears, click on the Tagging Settings.
This will lead you to the next window, where you must select Configure your domains.
In the next window, click on the Add condition.
Here you will be offered many conditions, but in this case, you can select contains and add the domain link of the second website and click Save.
Now you’re halfway there. You will need to follow the same steps, and when you again come to the last one where you’re adding conditions, this time, you will need to insert the domain link of the first website.
To check if everything is set up correctly, just visit any of those two websites, and if in the URL you see a new parameter _gl just after the website link, it means that you’re good to go!
Conclusion
Tracking downloads with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides invaluable insights into user engagement and behavior on your website. By implementing the best practices discussed in this blog post, you can harness the power of GA4 to accurately measure and analyze downloads, optimize your content target strategy, and make data-driven decisions.
We hope this article will help you start tracking downloads more easily and understand your customer journey a bit more. To optimize your omnichannel advertising reporting, meet with a MarinOne consultant today.
Tanja Adamovic is a guest contributor to the Marin Software blog.
Automating and Simplifying Pinterest Ads Management with MarinOne
While platforms like Facebook and Instagram dominate the landscape, one platform offers a unique opportunity for businesses to reach their target audience effectively and cost-efficiently: Pinterest. With 400 million monthly active users, Pinterest Ads have become a powerful brand exposure and sales tool. And now, with the integration of Marin Software, advertisers have access to enhanced insights and optimization capabilities to maximize the impact of their Pinterest campaigns. In this guide to getting started with Pinterest Ads in 2023, we will explore why your business should leverage Pinterest Ads, how to get started, and how the Marin Software integration can elevate your campaign performance.
Why Pinterest Ads?
Content Variety
Pinterest allows companies to share various kinds of digital content, making it ideal for product promotion and engaging customers with valuable and entertaining posts. Moreover, approximately 75% of users on Pinterest are continuously shopping while on the platform, indicating a highly engaged potential customer base.
Cost Effective Investment
In addition, Pinterest has proven to be a cost-effective marketing channel. In 2021, the average cost for Pinterest ads was $1.50 per click, significantly less than the $3.56 per click on Instagram.
Targeting
Another benefit of using Pinterest for e-commerce advertising is its advanced targeting options. Advertisers can create audience groups directly from existing customer lists, people who have already visited their site, or form a new audience with parameters similar to their existing customers.
Customization
The platform also allows the customization of ads according to users' interests, certain keywords, and demographic groups. Importantly, Pinterest ads have significantly boosted conversions compared to other channels, with rates ranging from 1.5% to 8.5%, depending on factors like target customers and content type.
Now, with the integration of Marin Software, advertisers can harness the power of machine learning and automation to improve their campaign performance further and gain better insights.
Getting Started with Pinterest Ads and the Marin Software Integration
To start using Pinterest Ads with the Marin Software integration, the first step is to set your campaign objectives. Once that is done, MarinOne--Marin Software's flagship platform--unifies leading AI bidding, budget pacing, forecasting, performance insights, and recommendations to help advertisers maximize the reach and impact of their Pinterest marketing investment.
By leveraging the advanced analytical grids MarinOne provides, advertisers can comprehensively analyze their campaign's performance across Pinterest and other social, search, display, and e-commerce platforms. This holistic view enables advertisers to make data-driven decisions and optimize their campaigns for better results.
Optimizing Your Pinterest Campaigns
Marin Software has been at the forefront of helping advertisers advance their digital advertising campaigns for almost 15 years. With extensive experience managing nearly $50 billion in advertising spend across various channels, Marin Software brings valuable expertise to the table. Integrating with Pinterest's Marketing API gives advertisers a competitive edge by providing better insights and campaign optimization through machine learning and automation.
Start Running More Efficient Pinterest Ads Today
Pinterest Ads have proven to be a valuable tool for businesses looking to reach their target audience effectively while driving brand exposure and sales. By following this guide and leveraging the Marin Software + Pinterest integration, companies can unlock the full potential of Pinterest Ads in 2023 and achieve remarkable results.
Get a free analysis of your paid social campaigns from one of the advertising consultants at Marin to start making better data-driven decisions, optimizing campaigns hands-free with AI, and driving higher efficiency in your paid marketing programs.
Best Marketing Conferences to Attend in 2023-2024
It’s safe to say a lot has changed in the digital marketing space over the last year. We entered an AI renaissance, gained not one but two new social media platforms (hello Lemon8 and Threads), and while personalization is trending, third-party cookies are on their way out. For good.
Keeping up with the latest trends and best practices with so many drastic changes on the table can be tough, which is why we love marketing conferences. They condense wisdom, experience, and research from industry experts into keynote presentations and breakout sessions that help marketers regroup and re-evaluate their strategies according to top-tier insights.
Without further ado, here are the best marketing conferences to attend in 2023 and 2024:
DigiMarCon
Date: Multiple
Location: Multiple
Ideal for: Digital marketers, marketing managers, SEO specialists, and professionals interested in overall digital marketing strategies and trends.
DigiMarCon is a comprehensive digital marketing conference series that takes place in 40 cities across 18 countries (and one international cruise), making it arguably the largest digital marketing conference in the world.
Attendees can expect to learn about social media marketing, SEO, content marketing, data analytics, and customer experience via the event’s expert insights, best practices, real-world case studies, interactive workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions.
MozCon
Date: August 7 & 8, 2023
Location: Seattle Convention Center Summit in Seattle, Washington (two livestream pass options available)
Ideal for: SEO specialists and digital marketers
MozCon is a hub for SEO enthusiasts. The conference features presentations from leading SEO experts. Attendees can expect the latest on search engine optimization and ranking strategies, complete with guidance on how to make data-driven marketing decisions and future-proof your business. This year’s conference is all about the future of search, with a special focus on ChatGPT, E-E-A-T, and TikTok.
Digital Summit
Date: August 16-17, 2023
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ideal for: All digital marketers
Digital Summit is a series of conferences held throughout the United States. The conferences cover digital marketing, content marketing, and social media topics. Dates and locations vary per conference. View the full schedule for 2023 here.
Digital Summit is also holding an online conference titled “Deep Dive into Social 2023” on September 7, 2023. The one-day virtual conference is jam-packed with a masterclass, breakout sessions, and how-tos with actionable resources.
2023 AMA Summer Academic Conference
Date: August 4-6, 2023
Location: San Francisco, CA
Ideal for: Digital marketers, business leaders, and content creators
The 2023 AMA Summer Academic Conference features research that highlights the role of marketing in the broader business ecosystem.
AMA is also holding virtual content marketing conferences on August 23-24 and October 18-19 of this year. Register for free to access this two-day conference packed with all the tools and strategies you need to build a compelling content strategy in 2023.
Inbound
Date: September 5-8, 2023
Location: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, MA
Ideal for: Marketers, sales professionals, and business leaders
Inbound 2023 by HubSpot offers three curated agendas to help attendees maximize their experience– one for marketing, one for sales and business development, and one for growth acquisition marketing. The conference features inspiring keynote speakers, educational breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and hands-on workshops.
Digital Marketing World Forum Global
Date: September 14-15, 2023
Location: Miami, FL
Ideal for: Digital marketers, marketing managers, content creators, and professionals interested in the latest digital marketing trends and best practices.
The Digital Marketing World Forum Global is an international event series that explores the future of digital marketing technologies through keynote presentations and interactive sessions. The conference features the following content tracks:
- Content and digital brand strategy
- Data and insights
- Digital experience and e-commerce strategy
- Influencer marketing world
- Social media and community marketing
AdExchanger's Programmatic I/O
Date: September 26-27, 2023
Location: Hilton Midtown, New York, NY
Ideal for: Programmatic, data-driven professionals from brands, marketing agencies, publishers, and technology companies.
AdExchanger's Programmatic I/O is a conference centered around advertising and ad tech. Attendees can look forward to educational discussions on programmatic buying, data-driven marketing, and the future of advertising technology.
MarTech (Marketing Technology Conference)
Date: September 26-27, 2023
Location: Online
Ideal for: Digital marketers and business leaders interested in MarTech.
If you’re interested in learning more about the intersection of marketing and technology, the MarTech conference will be right up your alley. Attendees will explore the latest tools, technologies, and techniques in marketing strategy, including advertising automation. It’s also completely free to register.
Content Marketing World
Date: September 26-28, 2023
Location: Washington, D.C.
Ideal for: Content marketers, writers, editors, and marketing managers
Content Marketing World is the place to go for all things content. Event attendees will learn the newest best practices for content marketing strategy, creation, distribution, and measurement.
LavaCon Content Strategy Conference
Date: October 14-17, 2023
Location: Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA
Ideal for: Content strategists, content marketers, technical writers, and content creators
LavaCon covers all things content. Attendees can expect in-depth sessions on content planning, storytelling, content SEO, and best practices for delivering valuable content to target audiences. The conference also explores emerging content marketing trends like interactive content, visual storytelling, and AI.
Advertising Week New York
Date: October 16-19 2023
Location: New York, NY
Ideal for: Advertising professionals, brand marketers, media buyers, and marketing executives
Advertising Week New York hosts a hefty lineup of 12,000+ industry peers, 600+ speakers, 400+ sessions, and 20+ content tracks. The event unites the brightest minds in marketing, advertising, media, and tech. Attendees will learn from industry leaders, uncover new trends, and network with peers from all over the world. Virtual sessions are available online for 30 days post-event.
Social Media Strategies Summit
Date: October 25-27, 2023
Location: Online
Ideal for: Social media managers, content creators, digital marketers, and business owners interested in optimizing their social media presence and campaigns.
The Social Media Strategies Summit is a virtual conference designed to help senior-level social media marketers audit and revitalize their social media strategies to promote brand awareness and customer loyalty. Pre-summit workshops take place on October 25, 2023, and the General Summit will happen in the days that follow.
Attendees can expect keynote presentations, panel discussions, case studies, and interactive workshops on subjects like content creation, influencer marketing, community building, and social media advertising.
SMX (Search Marketing Expo)
Date: November 14-15, 2023
Location: Online
Ideal for: Search marketing professionals, SEO specialists, PPC managers, and digital marketers.
SMX is a conference on all things search engine marketing, both SEO and PPC. Attendees can expect in-depth sessions on search engine marketing with valuable insights into top advertising platforms.
Traffic & Conversion Summit
Date: January 9 - 11, 2024
Location: Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, NV
Ideal for: Digital marketers, growth hackers, and e-commerce pros
Known for its emphasis on digital advertising and conversion optimization, the Traffic and Conversion Summit teaches digital marketing strategies specifically designed to drive traffic and convert.
Expect sessions covering new traffic channels, customer-centric marketing, new conversion breakthroughs, and ultra-current breakout sessions.
Social Media Marketing World
Date: February 18-20, 2024
Location: San Diego, CA
Ideal for: social media marketers, content creators, community managers, and business owners
Social Media Marketing World features top-notch social media marketing strategies, expert-led sessions, case studies, and networking with fellow social media professionals. Attendees can expect to learn the latest on creating successful social media advertising campaigns.
LeadsCon
Date: April 8 – 10, 2024
Location: Paris Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Ideal for: Lead generation specialists, digital marketers, sales professionals, and business development managers interested in improving their lead acquisition strategies
LeadsCon is a conference for marketers interested in improving their lead generation and customer acquisition strategies. The event bundles the latest trends, tools, and techniques for converting leads into expert-led sessions, case studies, and interactive workshops.
Los Angeles eCommerce Summit
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: JW Marriott LA LIVE, Los Angeles, CA
Ideal for: e-commerce marketers, online retailers, and digital marketing professionals in the e-commerce industry
The Los Angeles eCommerce Summit is a local gathering of LA’s top ecom experts and decision-makers. It focuses on e-commerce strategies, digital advertising, user experience, and customer retention for online retailers. Attendees can expect to hear industry experts share insights into website optimization, digital advertising campaign implementation, and data analytics.
Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo
Date: June 3-5, 2024
Location: Denver, CO
Ideal for: Marketing leaders, CMOs, marketing strategists, and professionals responsible for marketing technology decisions and customer experience optimization
The Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo features new research and actionable insights on topics like AI, marketing strategy, multichannel marketing, and brand strategy. Attendees can expect keynotes from Gartner analysts, expert-led sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities.
Gartner Data & Analytics Summit
Date: March 11-13, 2024
Location: Orlando, FL
Ideal for: Data analysts, marketing analysts, data-driven marketers, and marketing strategists
The Gartner Data and Analytics Summit is a conference tailored to challenges faced by data and analytics professionals. It covers topics like data management, predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and data visualization. Attendees will learn from Gartner analysts, industry leaders, and case studies. The most recent summit prioritized the following topics:
- Delivering digital business success
- Attracting the right talent and skills
- Dispel the myths of AI
- Understanding data ecosystems
- Optimizing intelligent decisions with competitive differentiators
Wrapping up
The marketing conferences above are great opportunities for learning and networking, but they aren’t the only way to learn about new advertising technologies. MarinOne’s experts can help you supercharge your paid search, social, and e-commerce advertising efforts. Book a personalized demo to get started.
Best TikTok Ad Examples
TikTok is quickly becoming a popular choice for e-commerce advertising, as evidenced by its high number of monthly active users and downloads. With more than 1.7 billion monthly active users and three billion downloads, it has surpassed other popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
As its reach and popularity continue to grow, so does the interest in advertising on the platform. For e-commerce retailers looking to build a strong marketing strategy, including TikTok ads for e-commerce should be a consideration. For inspiration for your next campaign, let’s take a look at some of the best TikTok ads of all time, and what has made them so successful.
Common features of the best TikTok ads
Understanding the essential components that constitute a well-optimized TikTok advertisement can help your ad attract more views. These features will help you get more views:
Clear messaging
As a fast-paced platform, on TikTok, users tend to scroll through their feeds quickly, which means that you only have a few seconds to grab their attention. To do so, craft a clear message that will resonate with them quickly and encourage them to take action. Without a clear message and a single, unambiguous objective, your ads simply won't make an impact.
Create your ads with eye-catching visuals that are high quality and relevant to your product or service. Additionally, they should be optimized for mobile viewing to ensure the best user experience.
Entertaining and engaging, never boring
TikTok can be a marketing powerhouse for capturing the attention of millions of users. However, since the platform is saturated with endless videos, entertainment, and other content, you need to create ads that are entertaining and engaging if you want to stand out. Aim to make your ads fun, creative, and memorable. Your ad should evoke emotion and create a connection with the user, making them more likely to share it with others.
TikTok videos are short—most are between 60 seconds and three minutes—but the most effective ads are often much shorter. To leave a lasting impression, get your message across quickly and effectively without wasting any time.
Use of TikTok influencers and creators
TikTok influencers can help direct high-quality, loyal traffic towards your brand, so collaborating with them can be an effortless approach to gaining brand recognition. In fact, collaborating with creators to produce TikTok-specific branded content generates 65% higher 2-second view rates and increases engagement by 83%.
Using branded hashtag challenges, influencers and creators can enhance your brand’s visibility without hard-selling. Influencers and creators are also often sought after because of their ability to connect with their audience in an authentic way. Make sure, however, that the influencer or creator you choose truly aligns with your target audience.
Selection of the right ad type
To achieve success with your TikTok ad campaigns, it's important to understand the unique advantages and disadvantages of each ad format. Once you’re familiar with the six different options, you can determine which one will work best for your specific goals and audience so you can maximize your results on TikTok:
In-feed ads
In-feed ads are very similar to watching stories that you see on Instagram or Facebook, except they happen to be embedded in the “For You” feed. These ads are skippable for users and they have a maximum length of 60 seconds, but 9–15 seconds is optimal. However, you can include multiple CTAs (calls to action) to prompt users to click on the ad.
Brand takeover
When a brand takeover ad is displayed, it appears immediately after the app is opened, as either a static image for 3 seconds or a 3–5 second video without audio. While this ad type can give you quick traction, it’s more expensive than the others.
TopView ads
TopView ads consist of 60-second videos that play automatically as soon as the user opens the app. This ad type and its strategic placement ensures that viewers will be exposed to your ad, making it a dependable and efficient method for connecting with your intended audience.
Spark ads
Spark ads are a unique ad format that allows brands to target their audience with customized ads tailored to their interests. They consist of a single image or short video clip that can be used to showcase a product or service. However, what sets Spark ads apart from other ad formats is that they're displayed in a user's "Following" feed, which makes them feel less intrusive and more organic.
Branded hashtag challenge
The hashtag challenge ad format is unique to TikTok and promotes user-generated content. The audience is prompted to generate themed content that features the designated branded hashtag, which is subsequently compiled on a hashtag challenge page. In addition, these challenges yield an average engagement rate of 8.5% and provide creative direction to brands interested in participating.
Branded effect
Comparable to Snapchat lenses and Instagram filters, these brand-sponsored visual effects compliment hashtag challenges. They can be found on the first page of the effects panel, and remain there for 3 days.
Winning TikTok ad examples and why they work
e.l.f Cosmetics
To reach their relevant audiences on the platform and improve conversion rates, e.l.f. Cosmetics used an in-feed ad. The video they created was entertaining and genuine and successfully illustrated the brand’s personality while advertising products in an engaging and professional format.
Why it worked
The beauty brand heightened awareness and brand recognition by ensuring their video was appealing while simultaneously highlighting their brand, making it clearly visible in the beginning and ending frames.
Aerie
The intimate apparel brand, Aerie, achieved TikTok success by leveraging in-feed ad campaigns alongside branded hashtag challenges. Most recently, they became the first to experiment with TikTok's Dynamic Showcase Ads (DSA), and were able to increase conversions through personalized advertising.
Why it worked
With DSA, consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands can advertise thousands of products with minimal effort spent on creative production. By using dynamic ads on TikTok, not only did Aerie automate their advertising efforts, but they significantly increased conversions and freed up time for more strategic initiatives.
KIND
In just 24 hours, KIND's hashtag challenge generated a staggering 20 million views. In their effort to promote their Simple Crunch Bars, the snack brand giant gave users the chance to win a flight to New York along with a year’s worth of KIND products in exchange for posting videos about the bar’s loud crunch.
In conjunction with user videos, KIND strategically positioned influencers to create sponsored posts. By collaborating with Zach King, for example, the brand gained a record 1.7 million likes and more than 18k shares.
Why it worked
KIND’s campaign was successful because it tailored its messaging to reach Gen Z by using influencers to promote their product. In addition, KIND encouraged video shares by giving their intended audience a motivational incentive, one that guaranteed a trip and some free products. Who could turn that down?
Garnier
Garnier turned to TikTok to promote a new line of vegan hair care products to its Gen Z and millennial target audience. Using a branded hashtag challenge combined with a 2-D branded effect, they enabled users to test the product line by creating a before-and-after transition video.
In addition, Garnier tapped influencers to help push their brand further in conjunction with a One Day Max in-feed ad and a TopView Lite. A subcategory of TopView ads, TopView Lite ads include a 3-5 second-long video with no sound. To top off their efforts, the brand compiled a mash-up of the best user-generated videos, which they later promoted through Brand Premium In-Feed Ads.
Why it worked
Using a mix of different TikTok ad formats, Garnier was able to reinforce their brand’s message and appeal to their audience. Encouraging a viral challenge also allowed their users to become a central part of Garnier’s bigger story, helping the brand gain more traction.
Netflix
To gauge the attention of users for a new release titled “Sing On! Germany,” Netflix launched a TikTok ad campaign that would increase awareness. They used a Branded Effect paired with a Hashtag Challenge that enabled target viewers to participate in a virtual karaoke booth. Using this strategy, Netflix was able to incentivize submissions, and in turn, improve engagement levels.
Why it worked
Netflix promoted the Branded Effect through influencer marketing and by using tunes from iconic songs that got users to sing along. Because so many people were able to use the filter and emotionally connect with classic tunes, the campaign became wildly popular and generated over 600m total video views.
Create a revenue-driving strategy with MarinOne’s TikTok advertising experts
To create a winning TikTok ad campaign, it’s important to analyze what aspects successful ones got right. Pay close attention to the various approaches used, identify successful hooks, and note which influencers generate the most engagement so you can determine how to establish a connection with your own target audience.
If you’re ready to begin your TikTok advertising strategy, MarinOne is here to help. Our TikTok advertising pros will advise you in creating trendy, on-brand TikTok ads that work for your business and industry.
To grow your business with TikTok, contact us today.
Maximizing Revenue Potential with Mobile Advertising and App Advertising
Many of the tasks that used to be done on a desktop have become just as easy on a phone. Shopping, as an example, is accessible the second a consumer thinks of something they want or need to buy. They can look it up on their smartphone, check out without even needing to grab a physical credit card, and have the peace of mind that the item will be delivered to them within just a few days.
Over the past several years, we have seen more and more consumers make purchases right from their phones, and e-comm businesses are responding with company apps, an influx in SMS marketing, and various promotional initiatives associated with a mobile-first consumer experience. Because of this, mobile advertising and app advertising are a must in many industries if you want to maximize revenue potential.
Tips for Creating a Great Mobile Experience
Creating a mobile ad will be different than creating a desktop ad. Here's what you need to know to start an impactful and effective mobile ad strategy:
Design Your UX to be Touch Screen Friendly
Mobile users have different patterns and utilize other features than desktop users. Touch screens are a big part of this user experience as a touch screen inherently creates a different way of navigating your site, such as zooming in or swiping side to side.
Some ways to do this effectively include:
- Placing primary content and actions in the center of the screen, using the edges for secondary activities and tabs, and incorporating tertiary functions behind menus.
- Consider how the user interacts with their device and what is on the screen as a part of that device, such as the grip of their hands, what fingers they use to complete various tasks, and the context of your website, app, or advertisement within the greater UI. An Apple user may have different needs than an Android user. The size of a tablet could change how prominent your design features need to be.
- When in doubt, remember that recent studies have shown users predominantly touch the center of the screen and use their devices in various ways, challenging the assumption of the "Thumb Zone" designers once had. All these nuances will change how the user interacts with your brand and will have a powerful subliminal effect on how that individual perceives your brand.
Make Creative and Visually Engaging Mobile Ads
Mobile advertisements have a lot of potential to showcase your company creatively. There is a lot of opportunity to show off products and services. Here are a few ways you can ensure the design of your ads is as impactful to potential customers as possible:
- Size matters: Any images will need to be sized correctly, and they will need to be of high quality to draw your audience’s attention.
- Keep it short and sweet: Attention spans can be short, so you must catch the consumer's attention within seconds. Knowledge of your ideal customer persona is crucial. Know what your customer will like about the product and immediately showcase that feature. Or, if it is a video ad, add a hook at the beginning of your message to draw immediate attention.
- Stay on top of trends: You can even use current trends and use that to come off as organic entertainment. Just ensure the message clearly and accurately represents what your company is all about while employing a catchy trend.
- Use every design or content tool you have at your disposal: There is a huge opportunity in both mobile and in-app advertising to push the envelope in creativity. The best marketers are doing this by leveraging augmented reality (AR) to create immersive experiences, using creative GIF animations to boost engagement, incorporating location data for personalized targeting, and employing personalized messaging for effective communication.
Diversify Your Advertising Placements to More than one Platform
To effectively advertise on mobile, it's crucial to understand the different types of mobile ads, such as app ads, social media ads, mobile banner ads, in-app display ads, interstitial ads, SMS ads, native ads, video ads, and audio ads.
Mobile ads on platforms like Spotify, TikTok, Facebook Stories, and Instagram Stories have proven effective in reaching and engaging audiences. Implementing interactive mobile ads and utilizing formats like Facebook Collections ads can also boost user engagement. Next, we'll dive more into mobile and app advertising specifics on each social media platform.
Paid Social for Mobile
Social media has become a popular pastime for adults, with growing numbers of daily users. This presents a valuable advertising opportunity, allowing you to reach large audiences, increase visibility, and engage with users through your social media presence. Look at some of the complexities that go into each social media platform's available advertising placements.
Instagram story ad
This is a great example of creating an ad that goes along with the patterns of smartphone users. If a user clicks through stories and your ad comes up, they will most likely pay attention to it since they anticipate something new with each click. Some ways to make a great story ad include: maximizing fullscreen usage, highlighting your call-to-action, incorporating text overlays, using audio enhancements, making your ads interactive, consistently branding your ads, and incorporating motion.
Snapchat ad and filter
Snapchat ads are a great way to introduce your organization to a new audience. Snapchat may have different users than other platforms, which is beneficial for retargeting. You can also have your own filter showcasing your brand or product. Many users look through filters to find new or creative ones, and if they choose to use them, they create more reach when they share their image paired with the filter on their personal profile.
Recently Snapchat has introduced a set of instructions for devising potent Snap Ad campaigns to assist businesses in connecting with its 375 million daily users, primarily composed of Gen Z and millennials. Essential advertising principles the company highlighted involve prominently displaying products, adopting a sound-on design, and employing goal-oriented bidding. In reaction to Apple's iOS 14 update, Snapchat suggests widening targeting scopes, underlining the importance of suitable content for the most valuable leads.
YouTube ad
YouTube has a large audience reach, and people use YouTube for many different reasons. Video ads can help you connect with your audience as you show more about your brand. There are also options for retargeting.
The best strategies to creating an effective Youtube ad are: surprising the viewer with unexpected content; improving on competitors' ad concepts; continuously testing and adjusting content; using storytelling to draw in viewers; incorporating user-generated content; emphasizing the benefits of the product or service being advertised; and optimizing content for different viewing devices.
Facebook story ad
Like any other story ad, you can increase reach significantly with Facebook story ads. This type of story ad will take up most of the smartphone screen, just like Instagram. By creating an immersive experience, the goal is that your content will captivate the audience's attention.
Creating story content is quite straightforward, involving choosing the type of content, customizing it, adding custom links and buttons, and sharing it. Businesses can further optimize their use of Facebook Stories by creating exciting, time-sensitive content, making it interactive and actionable, sharing third-party content, and regularly tracking performance to polish their strategy.
Website display ad
For this ad type, you will want a high-quality, interesting image to draw in your audience. You can create custom audiences by using pixels and tags to target the same people across different platforms.
Keep the design simple and instantly readable, use buttons wisely, and ensure a clearly defined frame for your ad. Animations can improve performance, but they should not distract from your message. While your ad should complement the website it is on, it still needs to be distinctive. Consistency with your brand is crucial, as is instilling a sense of urgency. Images, if used, should be directly related to your product, and the colors chosen should evoke the right emotions in your audience. Keep the file sizes small for faster loading and use appropriate formats such as JPG, PNG, GIF, or HTML5.
Twitter ad
You can grow a larger audience on Twitter by promoting your tweets. This should boost your followers, and then these users will continue to see your organization's tweets over time.
To effectively use Twitter Ads, it's essential to follow five critical steps. First, research your competitors to understand which strategies have been successful for them, and take note of the types of offers that generate the most engagement. Second, gather social proof by initially advertising to less expensive audiences to increase engagement before targeting your primary audience. Third, use A/B testing or split testing to determine which elements of your ad perform best, testing one variable at a time. Fourth, avoid including hashtags or mentions in your promoted tweets to ensure your call to action remains the only clickable element. Lastly, create a specific target segment for mobile users, as they comprise about 80% of Twitter's monthly active users. Remember, the goal is to create ads that attract attention and encourage user interaction.
App Advertising Placements
Apple Search Ads
Apple Search Ads (ASA), first introduced in 2016, have recently expanded significantly. The new ASA inventory includes two additional placements: the Today tab and the bottom of individual app product pages. The Today tab is the landing page for users upon opening the App Store, and the new ad placement allows developers to promote their apps alongside daily editorial content. The guidelines for these ads are comprehensive, including a limitation on promotional messaging to 50 characters or three lines of text. Also, the ads must use app screenshots as their main feature. These new placements are expected to increase exposure due to their visibility and broad reach.
The second new ad placement is located directly within the product pages of individual apps, appearing under the “You Might Also Like” section. This provides developers the opportunity to place ads on the pages of other apps. Unlike the Today tab ads, these do not require a custom product page for ad creatives; they are created using the assets already uploaded on the App Store product page. However, due to their location at the bottom of the page and considering that many users download apps directly from search results without visiting product pages, the impact of these ads might be less than those on the Today tab.
Google's Universal App Campaigns
Universal App Campaigns (UAC) is an automated ad type offered by Google Ads, providing an efficient way to advertise mobile apps across Google's extensive ad networks, including search, display, YouTube, and the Google Play Store. UACs utilize machine learning to showcase the most relevant and high-performing ads to users, driving conversions and app installs. The ad campaigns are generated using supplied text lines, images, videos, or HTML5 assets, and over time, the best-performing combinations are identified and displayed to users. UAC ads can run across different Google properties such as Google Search, Google Play, YouTube, and the Google Display Network, as well as on both iOS and Android devices.
Creating a UAC requires manual inputs, including a daily budget, a target cost-per-install (CPI) or cost-per-action (CPA), target location and languages, and up to four text lines. Further, optional media assets can be added to aid in the creation of the ad. When setting up a UAC, selecting the right campaign objective is crucial: "Install Volume" for attracting new users and "In-App Actions" for users likely to complete actions within the app. Google suggests different budget strategies depending on the chosen goal. Finally, setting up UAC involves selecting a device type, adding text ideas, setting location and language targets, defining the campaign goal, budget, and bid amount, and establishing a campaign run date.
Test ads across multiple platforms and determine what works best for your marketing strategy. Advertising across multiple platforms can help increase brand awareness. As mobile devices have become more needed for day-to-day routines, it has created a great opportunity for phone ads. Mobile advertising and app advertising strategies have made it easier for marketers to make ads more personalized for consumers. It can give consumers insight on the brand and what they have to uniquely offer.
To optimize your mobile and app advertising strategy, start working with a MarinOne expert today.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on B2B Sales and Marketing
Today, one of the biggest technological advancements is Artificial intelligence (AI), which has immense B2B sales and marketing potential. That's why enterprises have transformed their marketing strategies by adopting full automation via smart AI technology.
Around 87% of businesses plan to use AI for sales forecasting. Whether it's engaging more website visitors or managing predictive analytic campaigns, AI is quickly becoming an integral part of the success of B2B marketers. In this article, we'll take an elaborative look at the impact of Artificial Intelligence on B2B sales and marketing and the challenges and opportunities that come with it.
Impact of AI on B2B Sales & Marketing
With AI technology, B2B sales and marketing have witnessed significant and transformative growth, revolutionizing various aspects of the industry by enabling businesses to enhance their whole business process.
- AI helps businesses and encourages customers to have a more personalized experience. Through this, marketers use their software to get insights and provide the customer with smart purchase decisions.
- AI has made predicting customers' future purchase choices and shopping patterns easier using predictive analytics blended with the natural language process.
- We have all seen how Amazon uses AI-powered product recommendations using tags like 'recommended for you' or 'customers also bought' while purchasing or adding something to your cart. This works amazingly for the brand by encouraging customers to increase the value of their carts.
- Similarly, HubSpot used AI-powered chatbots to engage with visitors and generate leads through conversation.
- With automation tools, it has become quite easy to facilitate repetitive and time-consuming tasks in AI-driven B2B marketing. Automating email outreach, lead nurturing, and follow-up activities can be managed by robots so that high-value activities, such as building relationships, could be prioritized by real human beings.
- AI in B2B sales and marketing has also influenced competition in business. It has worked to many organizations' advantage by enabling them to deliver optimized marketing campaigns, provide a superior customer experience, and generate more qualified leads.
5 Ways How AI will transform B2B Sales and Marketing
Enhanced Lead Generation and Scoring
AI in B2B marketing has started overcoming some of the biggest challenges marketers face, including generating high-quality leads and increasing leads. The labor intensity of data collection, analysis, and management plays quite a significant role in marketing problems. That's why data collection and analysis can be automated by incorporating AI into lead generation processes. This results in an increased number of quality-generated leads. Lead generation is a time-consuming manual task, so when automation came into this area, it became a powerful business process optimizer and a strong IT business strategy.
Pro tip: Focus on the call to action. Ensure your call to action button requests the user's details and stands out from the background. The button text must be clear; for instance, 'Download Free eBook' tells users the result of a click. The button's location should be eye-catching.
Increased Engagement
Your content can be amazing and optimized, but it will only succeed if you publish it right. And that's where the implementation of AI in the B2B space works the best. It helps drive maximum engagement by providing the right content at the right time and in the right manner.
Simply put, the best time to publish any written or social media content is in the evening or afternoon. Similarly, the best time for sending marketing emails is in the morning, when your audience wakes with a fresh mind. AI monitors your customer's behavior to determine the optimal publishing times. This way, it schedules your content and publishes it accordingly on its own.
Optimized Website Functionality
Usually, in B2B businesses, marketers miss out on scrutinizing their website performance data to identify any issues or improvement areas. But with AI-powered analytics tools, machine intelligence can shorten complex data into easy and actionable insights.
And the best part is that if there is any sudden or unauthorized data transfer, AI can immediately notify the marketers about it. The same goes for when there is an abrupt spike in a critical metric, like the percentage of the audience that leaves your website just after a single page session. This way, businesses can improve their website's functioning and performance.
Simplified SEO
The main problem with SEO optimization manually isn't just the time consumption; it's far more than that. And AI recognizes that and helps inform the new content by identifying trendy content, making keyword predictions, and discovering competitive gaps. Moreover, AI optimizes your website's old content for SERPs using dynamic keywords strategy and link updates. This way, your old content stays fresh, and the new one stays ahead of the curve.
Although AI cannot be that reliable when it comes to actually creating engaging content, with its marketing tools, writers can surely use it to enhance and optimize their content according to SEO best practices. AI-powered tools will help you make more optimized, professional, and error-free content.
Pro tip: Remember, SEO isn't just about keywords anymore; it's about providing valuable content. Research Google's recent "Helpful Content Update" to ensure your content is on the right track. This update emphasizes a people-first strategy and encourages SEO experts to focus on search intent, relevant subtopics, and content demonstrating expertise and depth. SEO is a lot more than just adding keywords; you need to deliver substantive value.
Improved Customer Insights
To keep your business at a competitive advantage, it's essential to conduct personalized targeting from the minute a customer enters your sales funnel. This is essential to developing accurate buyer personas and ideal customer profiles (ICP). And this is where AI benefits most through social listening and analysis tools that help businesses achieve their goals.
Challenges and Opportunities in AI Implementation
AI has played a significant and transformative role in strengthening the B2B sales and marketing industry. By improving business-customer relationships and streamlining sales processes, AI has enhanced the multi-segment marketing strategies of B2B businesses. However, the new technology also comes with certain challenges as well as opportunities, which we have discussed below:
- Data Quantity and Quality: One of the biggest challenges B2B marketers face with AI implementation is data quantity and quality. The thing with AI algorithms is that they require large amounts of data to make more accurate predictions.
- Skepticism: Another major challenge with AI implementation is skepticism in people's minds about its capabilities. Customers often hesitate to interact with the AI-powered system, making it quite difficult for businesses to adapt to AI usage.
- Incorporation into existing systems: Incorporation of AI into the existing sales and marketing methods can also be challenging for businesses, as they have already invested in implementing these systems. So, incorporating AI would become more difficult and time-consuming as well.
- Outmoded Infrastructure: As AI delivers the desired results, it also requires much information to process within seconds. And that becomes quite difficult with the outdated infrastructure many companies still use. To learn and develop methods with machine learning, one needs to be prepared to invest in its tools, infrastructure, and application, which becomes very challenging for marketers.
- Requires Good Investment: Implementing AI in your business takes time to come cost-efficiently. You need to collaborate with an AI expert and launch an ongoing AI training program for your employees to get comfortable with AI and the requirement for machine learning tools. And all of this requires a good investment.
Conclusion
With the help of AI-powered tools and insights, businesses are boosting their sales by meeting the demand and needs of customers, generating more leads, and giving them a personalized experience. And as marketing is known to have the best usage of AI thus far, in the coming years, the B2B sales and marketing industry will be revolutionized on a whole new level.
Kamna Saini is a guest contributor to the MarinOne blog.
The Evolution of Native Advertising
Modern consumers are becoming increasingly adept at tuning out aggressive, disruptive advertising. This has led digital marketers to seek new and creative ways to engage their target audience. Amongst the most promising of these emerging strategies is native advertising—a format that seamlessly blends into the user's natural viewing experience.
But native advertising isn't some shiny, brand-spanking-new strategy cooked up in a digital marketing laboratory. In fact, it has a long and colorful history – one that spans decades and crosses a range of different platforms, mediums, and industries.
From the days when people relied on black-and-white newspapers for their daily fix of information, to the golden age of radio when catchy jingles ruled the airwaves, all the way up to the digital dominion we now inhabit, native advertising has always been around, transforming and adapting with each passing epoch.
In this blog, we'll first take a journey through time to explore the rich history of native advertising and how it has continuously adapted to the demands of each era. Following that, we'll examine the current state of native advertising and discuss a few of the techniques that publishers and brands are using in a bid to make their native ads as successful and effective as possible.
So, without further ado, let's start at the very beginning of the native advertising story.
A Brief History of Native Advertising
As the wheels of time turned and advertising evolved, native ads took on various forms, captivating audiences across different mediums. Let's take a journey through the evolutionary tapestry of native ads:
Advent of Advertorials
The roots of native ads can be traced all the way back to the early 1900s when advertorials – ads that masquerade as editorial content – first began appearing in print magazines. Advertorials were a clever concoction of marketing and journalism, allowing advertisers to promote their products or services in the guise of an informative article.
Cadillac's 1915 advertorial in The Saturday Evening Post was a shining example of this format. Created by Theodore F. MacManus, the ad was an impassioned ode to the spirit of progress and advancement, with nary a mention of Cadillac or even the automotive industry. The only giveaway that it was an advertisement was the subtle logo placed in the corner. But despite its lack of overt branding, the ad was deemed radical for its time – and even today, advertising professionals consistently hail it as one of the best ads ever created.
Radio Revolution
In the roaring 1920s and 1930s, a time when radio and TV ruled the infotainment sphere, native advertising began to take a more audible shape. Businesses would regularly fund radio programs to propagate their marketing message.
A momentous event in this advertising revolution was the debut of the renowned "Eveready Hour" in 1923. This groundbreaking radio program, sponsored by the National Carbon Company, swept the airwaves via the illustrious WEAF radio station in New York. Beyond captivating the audience with its selection of entertainment, the program also weaved in advertisements for the company's prized Eveready Batteries into its segments.
Television Takes the Stage
As television emerged as the dominant medium in the mid-20th century, native advertising followed suit, adapting to the visual storytelling potential of the small screen. Early adopters of this brave new world of television advertising included multinational consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble.
P&G's pioneering strategy involved underwriting a slew of drama series, such as 'The Guiding Light,' in exchange for subtle product placements of their soaps and detergents, hence coining the term "soap operas." Families gathered around their televisions, eagerly following the trials and tribulations of their favorite characters, in the process, absorbing the sponsored messages seamlessly woven into the storylines.
Infomercial Madness
The 80s were a pivotal moment in the history of native advertising. This was when the iconic infomercial– an advertisement structured as a program – first made its debut. Late-night television became a breeding ground for enthusiastic hosts and pitchmen hawking everything from kitchen gadgets to exercise equipment in an entertaining, educational format.
Leading the charge was Soloflex, the first-ever company to air an infomercial. The ad revolved around a common scenario – how to get in shape without joining an expensive gym. The infomercial was a tremendous success, thus giving birth to a wave of "as seen on TV" products.
Native Advertising in the Digital Age
When native advertising stepped into the digital age, it took on a whole new level of sophistication and relevancy. Although the basic premise of native advertising remained the same, digital media opened up a multitude of possibilities for brands to enlist in their quest to reach potential customers. Some of the biggest developments in native advertising's digital evolution include:
Paid Search
The rise of search engines in the early 2000s ushered in a new era of native advertising, as brands capitalized on Google's sponsored ad slots to promote their products and services. This gave birth to the concept of contextual targeting, allowing advertisers to reach out to users based on their interests and search queries.
Branded Content And Sponsored Articles
The proliferation of digital publishing in the 2010s led to the emergence of sponsored content, as brands began partnering with publishers to produce articles and videos in sync with the native content of their favorite websites. Digital media powerhouses such as BuzzFeed and Mashable, for instance, have made sponsored content an integral part of their business models.
One of BuzzFeed's most iconic examples is their "11 Reasons Why The Year 2000 Was The Best" article, which was sponsored by Tic Tac and featured a vote for the company's next flavor at the end. This article perfectly encapsulates how Buzzfeed and its brand partners have managed to meld sponsored content with their regular posts, creating an immersive native advertising experience for the reader.
Traditional publications like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have also recognized the potential of sponsored content, catering to advertisers by crafting specially-branded articles and videos for their readers. This move further solidifies native advertising's position as a mainstream advertising medium, as even the most venerated news sources join in on the fun.
Programmatic Native Advertising
Sharpening the targeting abilities of native ads even further is programmatic advertising, which uses algorithms to automate the process of buying and selling ads. This has allowed marketers to personalize native ads based on the user's browsing pattern, resulting in higher engagement and better ROI. Programmatic native ads have also enabled brands to target a much wider audience, making their content more effective and relevant at scale.
Video Ads
Video is the next big frontier in native advertising. Viewership of digital video content has grown exponentially over the past few years, and wise brands are already capitalizing on this trend through native video ads.
In fact, a survey by eMarketer revealed that in 2022, native video advertising accounted for a whopping 56% of all digital video ad spending in the United States. Furthermore, projections indicate that native display spending will experience a robust 12% year-over-year growth in 2023.
The power of native video ads lies in their ability to captivate viewers with compelling content while keeping them engaged with their interactive nature. Just take a look at Taco Bell's "Belluminati" campaign—an ingenious example of a native video ad that used humor and a conspiracy-theory narrative to promote its new $1 menu items.
Techniques for Native Advertising Success
A study conducted by Kantar and Taboola reveals that the inclusion of native advertising in the marketing mix led to a 25% increase in brand awareness. But as digital native advertising matures, getting your ads seen and acted upon is becoming harder and harder. Here are some of the key tactics that you can use to make sure your native ad campaigns hit the mark:
Research, Research, Research
A fleshed-out understanding of your target audience is the first step in executing a successful native ad campaign. Knowing who your target audience is and what they like allows you to craft an advertisement that resonates with the viewers, increasing the chances of them taking action.
Once you've identified your audience, you can start getting familiar with the platforms that will host your ad. Each platform comes with its own nuances and restrictions, so it pays to do your research beforehand.
Be Authentic
Your ad should be engaging, approachable, and interesting – but above all, it should be authentic and relevant. If your ad looks too much like a blatant sales pitch than an exciting read, it will turn the viewers off.
People want to be informed and entertained – not sold to. So, focus on creating an ad that's helpful and educational. Frame your message in a way that adds value to the viewer's experience, and ensure that the ad fits in seamlessly with the content of its hosting platform.
Measure Your Success
It's not enough to simply create an ad and put it out there. Just like how your employees need regular performance evaluations to know if they're doing well, your native ad campaigns also demand frequent audits to ascertain their success.
Continually analyze metrics such as engagement, CTR (Click Through Rate), CPC (Cost Per Click), and CPA (Cost Per Acquisition). These metrics will indicate how well your ads are performing and how effective they are at driving conversions. Then, refine and optimize your campaigns based on the insights gathered from these evaluations.
Leverage Digital Tools
The digital advertising toolkit is brimming with powerful resources that can give your native ad campaigns a much-needed boost. Some note-worthy tools include:
- Workflow Automation. These tools empower you to automate repetitive tasks, optimize collaboration between team members, and ensure seamless project management. All you have to do is find an automation system that integrates with your current tech stack. Additionally, prioritize tools with a low learning curve or, even better, ones that offer a low-code or no-code config, making them accessible to users with varying technical backgrounds.
- File Management Systems. File managers play a crucial role in preventing the organizational chaos that can arise when dealing with creative assets and collaboration documents, especially when working with large teams. Proper file management systems allow you to share documents in real-time and ensure everyone is working off the same page. Most filing tools also provide granular permissions control, making it easy to protect sensitive information.
- Ad Management Software. With a full-suite ad management tool like MarinOne, you can optimize the delivery and performance of your ads in real time. Comprehensive solutions like ours reduce the need for manual interventions while providing end-to-end visibility into your ad campaigns. Advertising automation tools allow you manage budgets, bids, and placements and help you pull reports to analyze the performance of your ads, all in one place.
Future of Native Advertising
Native advertising in the digital age is only going to get more sophisticated. As machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) continue to evolve, marketers will be able to leverage these technologies to create more contextual and intelligent native ad experiences. It’s also likely that native will continue to expand beyond the current platforms, with more interactive and personalized formats appearing over the next few years.
No matter what the future holds for native advertising, one thing is certain: the adaptability and scalability of native ads will keep them at the forefront of digital marketing for years to come. So, if you haven't hopped on the native ad bandwagon yet, now is the perfect time to do so. Embrace native ads and make them an integral component of your overall marketing strategy.
Meet with an advertising expert from MarinOne today to get started.
Yoshiro Kichiro is a guest contributor to the Marin Software blog.
Ad Personalization Tips for Paid Media Experts (While Respecting User Privacy)
Consumers appreciate personalized offers. According to research carried out by Adlucent, 71% of consumers prefer ads that are tailored to their interests and shopping habits while 75% prefer ads that are aligned with their needs.
You can achieve effective ad personalization by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to recognize patterns in your target audience data and use the insights generated to increase the relevancy of ads served to each user.
What is Ad Personalization?
Ad personalization is a strategy that involves tailoring and delivering relevant advertisements to your target audience based on hyper-specific information such as their demographic, geo-location, preferences, niche interests, or buying intent.
In an article for AdWeek, Christopher S. Dean, a VP at Salesforce refers to personalized ads as a “digital concierge” that anticipates customers' needs and directs them to what they want. Essentially, ad personalization is when ads are customized to appeal to the specific interests or buying behavior of an individual consumer.
How Does Ad Personalization Work?
Ad personalization leverages data, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) tools to understand and engage customers based on the context of their behaviors.
In short, companies specializing in advertising such as pay-per-click (PPC) collect user information from various sources, then use algorithms to analyze all that data and serve ads relevant to each user. The process of ad personalization involves:
- Data Collection: A large amount of user data is collected by the two largest ad providers, Google and Meta. Google typically collects contextual data from search queries, location data from Google Maps, and app data from the Google Play Store. Meta collects social media data like personal profile information, liked pages, and posts. Advertisers then draw from this data using pixels, cookies, and other tracking tags.
- Data Analysis: This involves using machine learning algorithms and analysis tools to process the data collected, identify patterns and derive insights. This analysis helps in predicting users’ behavior, preferences, and interests as well as identifying the best ad format for a particular user.
- Ad Targeting: Advertisers use insights from analysis to show relevant ads to specific users. This sometimes includes retargeting ads to users who have previously interacted with their brand.
- Ad Delivery: Using various platforms, programmatic advertising, and the right messaging framework, advertisers automatically deliver targeted display ads, social media ads, search ads, or video ads to individual users.
- Ad Performance Monitoring: Advertisers track the performance of their ads and use the data to improve their targeting and optimization strategies. They also use other optimization techniques like A/B testing to experiment with different ad formats and targeting options that improve the ad's effectiveness.
Is Ad Personalization Effective?
Personalized advertising is a “powerful tool” states Google AdSense, adding that it improves the relevance of ads for users and “increases Return on Investment (ROI) for advertisers.” A 2021 article by IBM Watson Advertising also mentions that 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs. According to the article, personalized ads boost engagement, help with product discovery, and “make online searching faster for those looking to buy”.
Based on these insights, as well as data showing that up to 81% of Gen Z and 57% of millennials like personalized ads, it’s safe to say that ad personalization is highly effective. However, with growing concern about privacy, it has become important to explore transparent and ethical methods to collect data and deliver effective personalized ads.
Benefits of Ad Personalization
Some benefits of ad personalization for you as an advertiser include increased click-through rates, improved conversions, and higher ROI. Ad personalization can also lead to better user experiences, which can in turn lead to increased brand loyalty and customer lifetime value
Higher Engagement
People understand that personalized ads reduce their search time and help them find options and value for their wants or needs. This means that users who see ads that are tailored to their interests are more likely to click on them and learn more about your product or service.
Increased Conversions
Conversion means that after viewing an ad, or part of it, a consumer takes a particular action that benefits a brand. This can include clicking on the ad to finish reading or watching, opening the website, and ultimately buying the product advertised. Generally, more people are likely to take action if the ad they see is personalized.
Higher ROI
Ultimately, personalized ads can increase ROI. Since more people are likely to engage with the ad and complete a beneficial action, you will get higher returns for the effort and spending involved in advertising.
Challenges of Ad Personalization
Risk of Spooking the Customer
Many people already believe that their phones and other smart devices are listening in on them. While this may be unverifiable, personalized ads can fuel that fear, especially when over-emphasized.
Probability of Failure
Ad blockers on phones, browsers, and sites are becoming increasingly common. If a user has an ad blocker enabled, ads will not reach them, personalized or otherwise. In fact, some people may be more specific by turning off personalized ads, ensuring that advertisers cannot collect their data and include it in the ads shown to them.
Privacy Concerns
Privacy is a rather sensitive concept. As such, while advertisers may decide to collect data to improve ad experience, they may go about this unethically, buying unauthorized information from analytics companies. People also fear that their information may be sold for much more than creating personalized ads. This leads users to distrust personalized advertising.
Different Types of Ad Personalization
There are different ways to personalize ads. Let's take a look at a few of the techniques you can use to create the best experience for your prospects possible.
Direct Personalization
With direct personalization, you can target a specific user by using their name or sending them reminders about that their shopping journey. An ad copy that reads “Dear John, don’t forget that the promo for the wristwatch in your shopping cart ends in two days.” is directed at John, a single user. This gives the feel of a one-on-one interaction. Direct personalization can be achieved by personalizing emails or enabling a bot to have a relevant conversation with users.
Automatic Optimization
Here, you can decide to personalize ads by showing customers the ad that has had the highest engagement, conversion, and ROI rates. This way, you don’t have to create multiple ads to suit every single user’s taste.
Demographic Targeting
Ads for a product can be tailored differently for different demographics. Let's talk through the example of a banks' personalized advertising. Opening a bank account is essential for anyone, meaning that there is a wide range of demography involved in advertising for easy ways to open a bank account. With age, for instance, you can decide to create separate ads for each age range. This will appeal to different demographics, while still maintaining the core advertising message.
Dynamic Advertising
Here, special attention is given to the search history and stage in the consumer’s journey. So, ads are personalized based on what the user has searched for (possibly recommending similar products), as well as what they seem most likely to do (if they have abandoned their cart, the ad would attempt to steer them back to the site and convince them to purchase the product).
In addition to the types of ad personalization mentioned above, you also need to know the six levels of ad personalization which signify the degree to which ads can be personalized and are broadly classified as follows:
- Level 0: Users are targeted based on their needs or wants, as well as their country or state.
- Level 1: Ads in this level are personalized based on needs or wants, and city location.
- Level 2: Ads in this level are personalized based on need or want, city location, zip code, and demographic info (age, gender, income).
- Level 3: Ads in this level are personalized based on need or want, city location, zip code, demographic info, and general interests (sports, beauty, fashion, technology).
- Level 4: Ads in this level are personalized based on need or want, city location, zip code, advanced demographic info (brand loyalty, political preference), niche interests (favorite music, hobbies), and buying intent (search keywords).
- Level 5: Ads in this level are personalized based on need or want, city location, zip code, advanced demographic info (brand loyalty, political preference), niche interests (favorite music, hobbies), buying intent (search keywords), and historical behavioral patterns.
How to Achieve Effective Ad Personalization
Many people ignore, close, or skip ads that are irrelevant to them. Forbes states that 49% of people are likely to ignore an ad if it appears irrelevant. In order to create personalized ads that deliver results, your ads need to add value to the user experience and also meet the requirements listed here.
Collect Relevant Data About Users
Data about users and consumers drive ad personalization. You have to collect data about target users based on the levels mentioned before. This information can range from simple things like what the user needs and where they live, to their behavioral patterns and political interests.
Know Where Users Are in the Marketing Funnel
Understanding where a user is in the marketing funnel helps you personalize your ad content and improve ad selection for users. For example, if a consumer is in the conversion stage, showing them an ad for similar products can convince them to return to your site and buy.
Use Retargeted Ads
This is a strategy directed at users who have visited a website but have not made a purchase. People may visit a website, and even fill their cart, and never really get to check out.
Retargeting helps to bring the site, and the browsed products, back to the attention of the user, and may convince them to make that purchase. Dynamic ads (personalized based on search history and items in the cart) and Google Display Network (which allows you to determine the time and location your ads are shown, based on features determined by the advertisers) are ways to achieve retargeting.
Choose KPIs to Measure Success
For every advertising or creative campaign, it’s important to measure performance, analyze, and refine your strategy.
After creating and implementing personalized ads, you must evaluate results, which helps you identify what is working and what needs to be re-evaluated. You can include surveys and forms for users to share feedback on the ads shown to them.
Be Ethical With Your Approach
Privacy is a major concern for users who are served personalized ads. They are aware that it requires a large amount of their personal information to deliver these tailored ads and as an advertiser, you should be mindful not to spook them further.
Offer voluntary ad transparency in order to build trust, be open about why personal data is collected, and lean more towards other forms of first-party data collection as opposed to third-party cookies and tracking codes.
To Sum it Up
Ad personalization is a good way for you as an advertiser to improve the effectiveness of your advertisements and increase ROI. By personalizing ads, you can make sure that your message is relevant to the individual and more likely to be of interest to them. This can result in higher click-through rates and conversions, and ultimately, more customers and sales.
To get started developing your omnichannel personalization ad strategy, reach out to the experts at MarinOne. We will help you set up the automation needed to make personalization a stress-free experience for your marketing team.
Bernard Aguila is a guest contributor to Marin Software.
Calculating Effective Amazon ACOS or ROAS Targets
When it comes to advertising on Amazon, two key metrics that sellers and advertisers need to pay attention to are advertising cost of sales (ACOS) and return on ad spend (ROAS). Understanding and optimizing these metrics can be crucial in maximizing profits and achieving business goals. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at Amazon ACOS and ROAS, how they’re calculated, and how to improve them to drive success on the Amazon platform.
Understanding Amazon ACOS and ROAS: key metrics for success on the platform
As one of the largest online marketplaces in the world, Amazon has become a crucial platform for businesses of all sizes to reach and engage with customers. One of the most important aspects of success on Amazon is the ability to advertise products and services effectively. That's where metrics like ACOS and ROAS come in:
- ACOS represents the percentage of ad spend compared to the total sales generated from that spend.
- ROAS measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
Both ACOS and ROAS metrics play a critical role in helping businesses understand the effectiveness of their advertising efforts and make informed decisions to optimize their advertising strategies. A lower ACOS indicates that a seller is spending less on advertising to generate a sale, which is generally a positive sign for the success of the campaign. In contrast, a higher ROAS indicates that the seller is generating more sales revenue for every dollar spent on advertising, which is also generally a positive sign for the success of the campaign.
Maximizing your advertising budget: how to improve Amazon ROAS
Improving your Amazon ROAS is key to maximizing your advertising budget. Here are some strategies to consider:
Focus on high-converting and long-tail keywords
By targeting high-converting keywords, you can maximize your chances of generating sales from your advertising spend. In addition, long-tail keywords are more specific and less competitive than broad keywords, which means they can be more cost-effective to target. By focusing on long-tail keywords that are relevant to your products, you can attract more qualified traffic to your listings and improve your ACOS.
Optimize product listings
A well-optimized product listing can improve click-through rates and conversion rates, leading to higher ROAS. For example, if you have a product with a low conversion rate, improving the product listing by adding better images or a more detailed description can lead to more sales without increasing your ad spend.
Monitor and adjust bids regularly
Regularly monitoring and adjusting bids for your ads can help you optimize your budget and improve ROAS over time. When you identify areas for improvement, you’ll achieve better results. For instance, if you notice that a certain campaign is consistently generating a high ACOS, you may need to adjust your targeting or bidding strategy to improve the efficiency of your spend. Tools like MarinOne have AI-driven features that automatically update bids and take away the manual work for paid media managers.
Leverage Amazon's targeting options
Amazon offers a range of targeting options, including keyword targeting, product targeting, and interest targeting. Trying different targeting options can help you find the best approach for your business.
Pro tip: Prioritize profitability at the product level. Delve into detailed data to understand the profit margins of individual SKUs before introducing paid advertising. This will spotlight the products that could gain the most from advertising, thereby mitigating risk.
Amazon ACOS: how to optimize your ad spend
Optimizing your Amazon ACOS is crucial to maximizing the effectiveness of your ad spend and driving profitability on the platform. Here are some tips to help you optimize your ACOS:
Set realistic goals
Before you start optimizing your ACOS, it's important to set realistic goals based on your business objectives and industry benchmarks. An optimal ACoS is not universally applicable, as it depends on numerous factors like product category, profit margins, competition, and product price. Therefore, sellers should aim for an ACoS tailored to their specific circumstances, generally between 15-20%. While a low ACoS might seem ideal, striving for as low as 1% is nearly impossible and may not be desirable depending on the business's advertising goals and product specifics. Understanding the break-even ACoS, where ad spend equals profit, is also essential in campaign planning.
Experiment with different ad formats
Amazon offers a range of ad formats, including sponsored products, sponsored brands, and sponsored display ads. To discover which one is right for your business, experiment with all of them and see which one yields the best results.
Continuously monitor and adjust your campaigns
Regularly monitoring and adjusting your campaigns can help you optimize your ad spend and improve your ACOS over time. When you consistently watch your campaigns’ performance, you can determine which patterns are working, and which ones aren’t.
Pro tip: Focus on enhancing product convenience. This significantly impacts Amazon usage. Factors like lengthy shipping times or unexplained higher costs can reduce convenience, leading to fewer sales and conversions. Remember, pricing and shipping are key for customers.
Use negative keywords
Negative keywords are keywords that you don't want your ads to show for. By adding negative keywords to your campaigns, you can prevent irrelevant or low-converting traffic from clicking on your ads, which can improve your ROAS.
For example, if you sell high-end products and don't want your ads to show for searches related to "cheap" or "discount," you could add these keywords as negative keywords to your campaigns.
How to calculate Amazon ACOS or ROAS targets
To calculate your Amazon ACOS, you'll need to have access to your Amazon Advertising account and the following information:
- Total ad spend
- Total sales generated from ad spend
Once you have this information, you can use the following formula to calculate your ACOS:
ACOS = (Total ad spend ÷ Total sales generated from ad spend) x 100
For example, if your total ad spend is $500 and your total sales generated from ad spend are $2,000, your ACOS would be:
ACOS = ($500 ÷ $2,000) x 100 = 25%
This means that you're spending $0.25 on advertising to generate each dollar of sales.
Calculating ROAS is simple, you can use this formula to calculate your ROAS:
ROAS = (Total sales generated from ad spend ÷ total ad spend)
For example, if your total ad spend is $600 and your total sales generated from ad spend are $2,200, your ROAS would be:
ROAS = ($2,200 ÷ $600) = 3.6
This means that you're getting a ratio of 3.6 return on ad spend.
Navigating the world of ACOS and ROAS with MarinOne
ROAS and ACOS determine the efficiency of your PPC campaigns. Knowing these formulas is helpful — but only if you truly understand how they can be applied to different scenarios. When you do, you’ll be able to achieve your business goals and scale to greater heights.
By following our tips and strategies outlined above, you can maximize the effectiveness of your ad spend, drive profitability, and achieve your business goals and objectives on Amazon.
Need help navigating the world of Amazon ACOS and ROAS metrics? The MarinOne team is here to guide you. Contact us for more information or to schedule your demo today.
Step-by-Step Tutorial: How To Find Keywords In Google Analytics for Your Website
Are you struggling to find the right keywords to optimize your website's content? Do you want to improve your search engine ranking by discovering the most relevant and effective keywords?
With the help of Google Analytics, you can gain valuable insights into the keywords that are already driving traffic to your website. By analyzing this data, you can optimize your content and target new keywords to attract even more visitors.
In this post, we'll guide you through the process of finding keywords in Google Analytics. Our step-by-step instructions will help you identify the most effective keywords to boost your website's SEO strategy.
So, if you want to improve your website's search engine ranking, keep reading to learn how to find keywords in Google Analytics and optimize your content for success.
How to Find Keywords in Google Analytics: Step-by-Step Tutorial
In Google Analytics, you cannot directly find specific keyword information within the platform itself. Due to privacy reasons, Google Analytics does not provide keyword data. However, you can gain valuable insights about the keywords driving traffic to your website by utilizing integration with Google Search Console.
How to Connect Google Search Console with Google Analytics
To connect Google Search Console with Google Analytics, follow these detailed instructions:
1. Access Google Analytics: Open your web browser and go to the Google Analytics website (https://analytics.google.com). Sign in with your Google account credentials.
2. Navigate to Admin Settings: In the bottom-left corner of the page, click on the "Admin" option. This will take you to Admin Settings.
3. In the "Property" column, click on "Search Console Links" at the bottom of the list. Then click on the "Link" button to link Google Search Console to GA4.
4. Click on the "Choose Accounts" button. You will see a list of websites that you have verified in the Google Search Console
5. Select the data stream that is used to collect data for the website and click "Submit". Click "Next" to proceed.
6. Select the data stream that is used to collect data for the website. If you have multiple data streams, ensure that you choose the one associated with the same website you are linking from Google Search Console. Hover over the stream and click "Select." Click "Next" to continue.
7. Review the details to ensure that you have selected the correct property from Search Console and the corresponding data stream. Then click "Submit" to finalize the linking process.
Note that it may take up to 48 hours before you start seeing data from Google Search Console in your Google Analytics reports.
Close the linking dialogue and navigate to the "Reports" section in Google Analytics. Select "Acquisition" and then "Acquisition Overview" from the menu. Scroll down to the bottom of the report, and you will notice two new cards added: "Google Organic Search Traffic" and "Google Organic Search Queries." These cards provide insights into your website's performance in organic search results on Google.
You can click on the links within each card to access dedicated reports for landing pages, organic impressions, search queries, and click-through data.
How to Customize the Reporting Menu in Google Analytics and Find Your Keywords
Additionally, you can customize the reporting menu by accessing the "Library" section in Google Analytics. There, you can locate the new "Search Console" collection and publish it to make the Search Console reports readily accessible from the main reporting menu.
Here’s how to customize the reporting menu in Google Analytics and publish the new "Search Console" collection:
In the "Library" section, you will find a new collection named "Search Console" that is not published yet. Click on “Edit collection” to edit it.
Inside the "Search Console" collection, click the "Save" button to save the changes you made.
Now, navigate back to the main reporting menu by clicking on the "Reports" link in the left-hand menu. In the reporting menu, click on the three vertical dots (more options) located at the top right corner of the page.
From the dropdown menu, select "Publish" to make the Search Console reports accessible in your GA4 property.
If you encounter any issues during the publishing process, wait for a few minutes and then refresh the page. This step can resolve any potential problems. Once the reports are published, you will see the Search Console reports available in the main reporting menu of your GA4 property. Now you can easily access your website's top-performing keywords right in Google Analytics.
Exploring Other Options: Alternative Tools for Keyword Research
While Google Analytics is a popular choice for tracking website metrics, there are several smooth alternatives available specifically designed for finding keywords and gaining valuable insights. These alternatives offer unique features and functionalities to help optimize your content and improve your organic search performance. Consider the following alternatives:
Google Site Kit
One option is to use Google Site Kit. This is a free plugin for WordPress that allows you to connect your website to various Google services, including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Ads. Once you have installed the plugin and connected it to your Google account, you can view your site's keyword data directly within your WordPress dashboard.
This includes information such as the keywords driving traffic to your site, the page ranking for those keywords, and how your site is performing in search results. Google Site Kit also provides insights into other areas of your site's performance, such as page speed and mobile usability.
Google Search Console
This is a free tool provided by Google that allows you to monitor your site's performance in search results. Once you have verified ownership of your site, you can view data such as the keywords that are driving traffic to your site, the pages that are ranking for those keywords, and how your site is performing in search results.
You can also use Google Search Console to submit sitemaps, monitor crawl errors, and view other data related to your site's performance in search results.
Third-party Keyword Research Software
There are many third-party tools available that allow you to research keywords and analyze your site's performance. Some popular options include Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz. These tools allow you to research keywords that are relevant to your site and your target audience, and provide insights into how your site is performing in search results.
They also offer features such as competitor analysis, backlink analysis, and site auditing, which can help you improve your site's performance and visibility in search results.
Here is an example of how you can use SEMrush to view your site’s ranking keywords:
1. Log in to your SEMrush account. Click on the "Domain Overview". Enter your domain name in the search bar and click "Search".
2. Scroll down to the "Organic Search Traffic " section and click on the number that indicates the number of keywords you’re ranking.
3. In the "Organic Search Traffic" report, you will see a list of all the keywords that your website is ranking for in search results. You can then sort the list by different metrics such as search volume, position, and traffic percentage by clicking on the relevant column header. You can also filter the list by various parameters such as keyword difficulty, search volume, and position by using the filters at the top of the page.
How to Use Keyword Data to Improve Your Website
Google Analytics provides valuable keyword data that can help you improve your website's performance. By analyzing this data, you can optimize your existing content, create new content, and improve website navigation and user experience.
Optimize existing content
By using keyword data, you can easily identify which pages on your website are performing well and which ones need improvement. Once you've determined which pages require optimization, you can take several steps to improve their performance.
One way to optimize your pages is by adding relevant keywords to your content. Tools such as Page Optimizer Pro can help you identify which keywords to use and how to use them effectively. You can also improve the page's structure and update the existing content to make it more engaging and up-to-date, which can help attract more traffic to your website and improve your website's overall performance.
Optimizing your existing content not only improves its relevance to your target audience but also increases its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that your website will rank higher in search engine results, making it more likely that people will find your website and engage with your content.
Tip: If you want to see faster results after updating content, consider republishing the article and submitting it to Search Console. By doing this, you can signal to search engines that your content has been updated and is worth revisiting.
Create new content
Keyword data can also help you identify high-performing keywords and create content around those topics to complete the topic cluster.
For instance, suppose you run an online store that sells fitness equipment, and you notice that the keyword "best home gym equipment" is driving a lot of traffic to your website. In that case, you can create more blog posts or landing pages that target that keyword. You could create a blog post that provides a detailed review of the best home gym equipment available on the market, or you could create a landing page that showcases your store's selection of home gym equipment.
By creating more content around high-performing keywords, you can attract more traffic to your website and increase engagement with your audience. This can also help you establish your website as an authority in your industry, which can help generate more leads and revenue.
Improve website navigation and user experience
Keyword data can also help you improve the navigation and user experience of your website. By analyzing the keywords that people are using to find your website, you can identify areas where your website may be confusing or difficult to navigate.
For example, if you notice that people are using certain keywords to find a specific page on your website, but they're not finding it easily, you can improve the page's navigation to make it more user-friendly. This can help reduce bounce rates and improve the overall user experience of your website.
Conclusion
Knowing how to find keywords in Google Analytics is crucial for understanding your website's traffic and enhancing your SEO performance. By using the methods outlined in this article, you can gain valuable insights into which keywords are driving traffic to your website, and which ones you may need to focus on optimizing.
Keep in mind that keyword rankings can fluctuate over time, so it's important to regularly monitor and analyze your website's keyword performance. By doing so, you can make informed decisions about your SEO strategy and make adjustments as needed.
And don't forget to use a variety of tools and resources to supplement your keyword research. Google Site Kit and other third-party keyword research tools can provide additional insights into your website's keyword performance and help you identify new opportunities for optimization.
Overall, by taking a comprehensive approach to keyword research and analysis, you can improve your digital marketing strategy and drive more traffic to your site.
Millie Pham is a guest contributor to Marin Software.
Unleashing the Power of TikTok Advertising: Secrets to Skyrocketing ROI
In an unprecedented global frenzy, businesses across the planet are plunging headfirst into the vibrant realm of TikTok advertising. In the heart-pounding first half of 2022, titans of industry like Amazon and HBO claimed the throne as TikTok's most monumental advertisers, with a jaw-dropping investment of $22.5 million and $19 million respectively, as per Statista's report.
Curious about why they're all flocking to TikTok? The answer's simple yet exhilarating: TikTok is a colossal coliseum of brand exposure and skyrocketing sales, buzzing with over a staggering billion monthly active users!
The introduction of TikTok for Business and Ads Manager has been a game-changer, simplifying the route for brands to zero in on their target audience in this dazzling social media universe. The plot thickened when TikTok forged a groundbreaking alliance with Shopify, unlocking a new realm of marketing possibilities for e-commerce and retail.
For small businesses, TikTok is akin to a treasure-laden galleon. A whopping 78% of SMBs proudly attest to harvesting a positive return on investment (ROI) from their foray into TikTok advertisements. Are you ready to discover the secret sauce of the best-performing ads on TikTok and sharpen your strategies to surpass all expectations and reap an extraordinary ROI? Let's dive right in.
Revealing the Magic of High ROI-Generating TikTok Ads
Let's first unveil the TikTok ad formats leveraged by brands:
- TopView Ad
- In-Feed Ad
- Brand Takeover Ad
- Dynamic Showcase Ad (DSA)
- Video Shopping Ads (VSA)
- Deeplink Ad
- Branded Effect
- Branded Hashtag Challenge
- Spark Ad
Surprisingly, the dark horse, Spark Ads, despite being last on our list, claims a staggering 157% higher view-through rate compared to the typical In-Feed Ads. Yet, the crown for the highest click-through rate (CTR) belongs to TopView adverts, with a phenomenal 12–16% among all other TikTok advertising variants.
Knowledge of the different TikTok ad types is just the first stage of this thrilling journey. To truly unravel the power of TikTok advertising and catapult your ROI to unseen heights, it's time to master the art and science of maximizing the efficacy of your TikTok ads.
Master the Art of TikTok Advertising to Skyrocket ROI
Mastering the art of TikTok advertising - and it is as much art as science - boils down to a few foundational best practices. Let’s dive into each of those best practices and find the best way to maximize return on your investment in TikTok advertising.
Know your audience
Who are you aiming to captivate with your riveting TikTok ads?
"Unlocking the magic of TikTok marketing commences with pinpointing your dream customer," advises Ryan Hammill, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ancient Language Institute. "You must craft an intricate, quasi-fictional avatar of your ideal consumer to meticulously align your marketing efforts with the right individuals. This involves sketching out an in-depth portrait of your target demographic, complete with their preferences, quirks, and tendencies."
To resonate with the core ethos of your most valued consumers and delve into their TikTok behavior, Hammill prescribes taking into account the following multifaceted aspects:
- Age
- Gender
- Income
- Lifestyle
- Personality traits
- Aspirations
- Interests, and more.
While TikTok reigns supreme as the quintessential social media marketing hotspot for Gen Zers, the scales are slowly tipping. The echo of Millennials and Gen Xers footsteps is growing louder, as they make their presence felt on the platform. As of 2021, a significant 36% of TikTok's audience fell within the 35–54 age bracket, a notable leap from 2020's 26%.
Beyond this demographic dimension, you should also uncover your audience's expectations from your brand. Could it be a tantalizing discount they seek? Observe how The Farmer’s Dog brilliantly wooed American dog owners with a Spark ad, promising an irresistible 60% off.
Ensure your ads shine a spotlight on the most relevant content, meticulously curated to cater to the distinct desires and needs of your TikTok audience.
Join Forces with Influencers
TikTok reveals a mind-boggling statistic - advertisements born out of a dynamic synergy between brands and influential content creators boast a staggering 91% higher six-second view rates. Moreover, these fruitful partnerships trigger a 27% leap in ad recall.
Consider Babbel's strategic move, who tapped into the enormous popularity of Ben Hanlin, a TikTok sensation with a thriving community of over 1.3 million followers. He regaled his audience with his journey of mastering a new language with Babbel, painting a vivid picture of his expeditions in foreign lands.
Why not chart your own course and craft a robust influencer marketing strategy for TikTok? Identify and connect with influencers whose ethos aligns with your brand.
Take the innovative example of SearchKibble, a search engine provider with a heartwarming mission - feeding shelter animals with every search. They partnered with powerhouse influencers who share a deep bond with their pets, such as Moca Cho Dien and Mason Glasco, boasting 8.9M and 6.6M TikTok followers respectively. These influencer collaborations propelled SearchKibble to phenomenal success, with a ROI of 2.3x, over 273,000 views, and a staggering 954,000 impressions.
Let's not forget Michael Kors' ingenious back-to-school campaign. By harnessing the power of Spark Ads to promote influencer content, they struck gold. The campaign reached an awe-inspiring 8.3 million people, amassing a whopping 58 million impressions.
Incorporate a Powerful Call-to-Action (CTA)
A compelling call-to-action woven into your TikTok ad could be the catalyst that drives a tsunami of clicks and conversions. As per TikTok's insightful research, advertisements that incorporate on-screen text and a crystal-clear CTA are 55.7% more likely to steal the spotlight with increased impressions compared to those that abstain from text.
The TikTok Ads Manager is your secret weapon, allowing you to concoct Recommended and Dynamic CTAs:
- Recommended – Cherry-pick a suggested CTA from an array of options on the drop-down list.
- Dynamic – Craft a versatile collection of CTA texts, primed to present the most fitting message to each TikTok user who lays eyes on your advertisement.
A sterling example is PepsiCo Australia's masterstroke of deploying a 'Learn More' CTA button in their Brand Takeover ad. On the very first day, the campaign's CTR hit a blistering 24%. Overall, they reaped a solid 17% CTR and accumulated a staggering 10M+ impressions.
Harness the Power of Hashtags
Hashtags are the unsung heroes of social SEO on TikTok. Long used on other platforms, many TikTok advertisers have not yet caught on to the effectiveness of hashtags on this platform. Savvy advertisers see this as a golden opportunity to expand their reach on TikTok. Hashtags serve as a beacon, guiding each user to their perfect ad match.
"To catapult your brand reach and ignite engagement, concoct a potent cocktail of trending and niche-specific hashtags," advises Carson Lang, Co-Founder and COO of Test Prep Insight. "If we were to promote ourselves, we'd sprinkle niche hashtags like #LSAT, #LSATexam, #LSATexpert, #LSATprepcourse, #lawschooladmission, #lawschoolexam, and trending ones like #lawyersoftiktok, #examprep, and #study."
As for the number of hashtags to feature, TikTok hasn't set a definitive cap, but a 100-character limit for the caption provides guidance.
For hunting down the most impactful hashtags, Lang suggests: "The Trending section on TikTok is your treasure map to the most popular hashtags. Alternatively, hashtag tracking tools like Tiktokhashtags or TikBuddy can also serve as valuable aids."
One fashion and beauty brand, Isle of Paradise, hit a home run with their custom hashtag #WakeUpandGlow in their Spark Ads to amplify brand awareness and promote their Glow Drops.
Their ad campaign returned a dazzling 500% ROI and an impressive 68% weekly revenue uptick.
Unleash Your Brand Power
Branded elements, from stickers to hashtag challenges on TikTok, can elevate your brand's presence and etch your name in the minds of potential customers. Dress your content in your brand's unique style to amplify visibility on TikTok, reel in new customers, and skyrocket sales.
We love the example of how ASOS exemplified this. The company devised an engaging Branded Effect and Branded Hashtag Challenge dubbed #AySauceChallenge. They strategically promoted this content through In-Feed and TopView ads, sparking their audience's creativity to showcase their favorite outfits. This clever initiative culminated in an astounding 488,000+ UGC videos and over 1.2 billion video views in a mere six days.
Even LG Electronics tapped into the power of a Branded Hashtag Challenge with their #lifeisgooddance and complemented it with a unique Branded Effect. This combination supercharged their brand visibility, generating 100M+ total ad impressions, 7B+ video views, and 2M+ video creations.
Don't Craft Ads – Create TikToks
TikTok echoes this mantra time and time again.
Jesse Hanson, Content Manager at Online Solitaire & World of Card Games, emphasizes: "TikTok is defying the norms of traditional advertising. It's critical to embrace a revolutionary approach to advertising on TikTok. Break the mold, infuse fun into your content, don't shy away from humor, and create awe-inspiring TikToks."
According to Hanson, your TikTok ads should be:
- Concise (9–15 seconds)
- Engaging
- Authentic
- Entertaining
- Immersive
- Fun-filled
- Creative
To hit the bullseye with your TikTok ad creation, incorporate high-quality videos/images. Moreover, use an eye-catching hook (like a catchy sound, vibrant color, meme, trigger word, or other TikTok tactics) within the first three seconds to outshine the mundane.
Consider how Itsu seized attention with contrasting colors in their In-Feed ad.
Automate, Analyze, and Amplify
Why not simplify the process and engineer automated, easily scalable campaigns? Consider using MarinOne + TikTok for Business to steer your campaigns and glean reports automatically with minimal effort. Plus, with creative A/B testing and advanced optimization, you can smartly allocate your budget and anticipate the impact of your TikTok ads.
TikTok Sales Funnel Strategies: Pro Tips (Amir Farrokhi)
Acquisition strategy
Influencer marketing on TikTok has proven to be incredibly effective in reaching and engaging with the platform's active user base, particularly for discovery and acquisition purposes.
The effectiveness of influencer marketing on TikTok stems from influencers' ability to build trust and credibility among their followers. These influencers have amassed large followings and possess the skills to create engaging and authentic content that resonates with their audience and, if chosen wisely, with your brand's target audience. When collaborating with TikTok influencers for acquisition, it is crucial to select individuals whose content aligns with your brand and target demographic. Seek influencers who hold a strong presence in your industry or niche and whose followers match your desired demographics. By partnering with influencers, you can leverage their existing fan base and tap into their influence to promote your products or services. When influencers recommend or endorse a brand or product, their followers are more likely to take notice and consider making a purchase.
The content produced by influencers for your product or service can take various forms, such as product/service reviews, unboxings, tutorials, challenges, or simply incorporating your brand into their entertaining videos.
Retargeting
Pixel Implementation: Install the TikTok Pixel on your website or app to track user behavior and capture relevant data. The pixel enables you to build Custom Audiences based on specific actions taken by users on your digital properties.
Define Retargeting Segments: Analyze the actions and behaviors of your website visitors or app users to segment them into different retargeting groups. For example, you can create segments based on users who abandoned their carts, visited specific product pages, or engaged with specific content.
Create Custom Audiences: Utilize TikTok's ad platform to create Custom Audiences based on the defined retargeting segments. Upload your customer lists, sync with your app data, or utilize pixel data to create these audiences.
Develop Engaging Ad Content: Craft compelling ad content specifically tailored to each retargeting segment. Personalize the messaging and creative elements to resonate with the audience's previous interactions with your brand.
Frequency Capping: Set frequency caps to control the number of times your retargeting ads are shown to users. This ensures that the ads don't become overwhelming or repetitive, leading to ad fatigue.
Ad Sequencing: Consider creating a sequence of ads to tell a story or provide additional information to users who have previously engaged with your brand. This sequential approach can help reinforce your messaging and drive higher engagement and conversions.
Continuous Optimization: Regularly monitor the performance of your retargeting campaigns on TikTok. Optimize your ads, adjust bids, and refine your targeting to ensure maximum effectiveness and return on ad spend.
Retention
User generated content(UGC) campaigns on TikTok can be highly effective in engaging and retaining your existing user base while also attracting new users. UGC campaigns involve encouraging TikTok users to create content related to your brand, products, or services.
Here are some key steps and considerations for implementing a successful TikTok retention strategy using UGC campaigns:
Create a Branded Hashtag: Develop a unique and memorable hashtag that represents your brand or campaign. This hashtag will serve as a rallying point for users to participate in the UGC campaign.
Define Campaign Goals: Clearly outline your campaign objectives and what you hope to achieve with the UGC campaign. It could be increasing engagement, generating user testimonials, showcasing product experiences, or fostering a sense of community.
Promote the Campaign: Spread the word about your UGC campaign through various channels. Utilize your social media platforms, email newsletters, website banners, and other marketing channels to inform your existing users about the campaign and encourage their participation.
Incentivize Participation: Offer incentives to users who participate in the UGC campaign. This could include giveaways, exclusive discounts, or featuring selected user-generated content on your official TikTok account or other marketing channels.
Showcase User-Generated Content: Regularly feature and highlight the best user-generated content on your TikTok account. This recognition can motivate participants and encourage others to join in. Consider creating compilation videos or showcasing individual content creators to amplify their impact.
Engage and Interact: Respond to user-generated content, comments, and messages to foster a sense of community and connection. Engaging with your audience shows that you value their contributions and encourages ongoing participation.
Continuously Refresh and Evolve: Keep the UGC campaign fresh and exciting by periodically introducing new themes, challenges, or opportunities for users to contribute. This helps maintain user interest and engagement over time.
Measure and Analyze: Monitor the performance and impact of your UGC campaign. Track metrics such as engagement rates, reach, and user sentiment to assess the effectiveness of the campaign and make necessary adjustments.
Turbocharge Your ROI with TikTok Ads
TikTok's reign in social media marketing is indisputable. The platform is revolutionizing business advertising in breathtaking ways. By harnessing the potent TikTok advertising techniques shared in this article, you can fuel positive ROI, sharpen your competitive edge, and smash your marketing objectives.
Cut down your efforts and ramp up results with MarinOne's automated solutions and analytical tools.
Rachel Melegrito is a guest contributor to Marin Software.
Use Email Automation to Streamline Customer Journey Mapping
Email automation is the way to go in 2023. But don’t just take our word for it. Take Hubspot’s. They say that 71% of B2B marketers use it to grow their business. And they are not alone. Statistica says that by 2025, there will be 4.6 billion people using email. That means a lot of opportunities for you to connect with your audience. You can also use automation to deliver your messages at the right time, increase conversions, analyze their behavior, and optimize the customer journey across different channels and touchpoints.
In this blog, we will show you how email automation can help you align your email campaigns with your customer journey-mapping strategies and how that can lead to more trust, loyalty and action from your customers.
What is Email Automation?
Email automation is like having a magic wand that lets you send emails to your customers without lifting a finger. It uses smart rules that tell your emails when, how, and to whom to go to based on what your customers do or don’t do. Plus, you can save time, make your customers happy, earn more money and customize your messaging for each point of the nurturing funnel.
Email Automation Campaigns You Ought to be Running
When it comes to email automation techniques, there are different types of campaigns or automation series that are simple to execute and very effective for virtually any industry, such as:
Welcome Email Campaign: A series of emails introducing new subscribers to your brand.
Standard Promotional Campaign: A single or multiple emails that offer discounts, deals, or incentives to your subscribers.
Seasonal Campaign: A series of emails that aligns with a specific season, holiday, or event.
Triggered Email Series: A series of emails sent based on specific actions or events your subscribers take.
Post-Purchase Drip: A series of emails that follows up with your customers after they purchase.
Connect-Via-Social Campaign: A series of emails encouraging subscribers to follow you on social media platforms.
Newsletter: A regular email that provides valuable content, updates, or news to your subscribers.
Cart Abandonment Followup: A series of emails reminding subscribers of the items they left in their shopping cart.
Re-Engagement Campaign: A series of emails that tries to reactivate inactive or unresponsive subscribers.
High Level Phases of Email Customer Journey Mapping
Before we dive into how email automation works in customer journey mapping, let’s understand what customer journey mapping means. It may sound fancy, but it’s just a way of showing how customers interact with your business. We can break this down into three steps: How they discover you, buy from you, and get your support.
To connect your email automation campaign to customer journey mapping, you need to focus on the following phases of user engagement:
Onboarding
Onboarding is the first step of an email automation campaign. You can “Greet and Welcome” your new customers, show them what you offer, and help them get started. For instance, if they signed up for a free trial, email them tips and resources.
Nurturing
Create a nurture campaign that increases trust between you and your customers and converts them from potential customers to customers. For instance, if they download a brochure, email them exclusive content and a special offer related directly to that brochures' content.
Retention
Retention is the last phase of your email automation funnel. Customer retention relies on customer satisfaction and engagement. A retention email, or series of emails, is sent to existing customers to maintain their loyalty. These emails vary in form but share the goal of enhancing education about your brand and deepening customer loyalty. Moreover, they aim to minimize effort for the customer over time and provide exceptional service with easy calls to action.
Know the Difference Between Customer Personalization and Marketer Segmentation
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, personalization and segmentation are different concepts. While segmentation is all about marketers, personalization is about the customer.
Segmentation refers to dividing your customers into smaller groups, while personalization means tailoring your messages to each customer’s needs, preferences, and behavior. Here’s how it can help you transform your email automation strategy to address both your needs as the marketer and the users' needs as the customer:
- Email automation tools can be used for personalizing triggered email sequences, cart abandonment emails, and re-engagement email series to grab your customer’s attention.
- Personalization helps you create a better customer experience and loyalty by expressing to your customers that you know, value, and care about their needs.
- With properly personalized and segmented emails, you can reduce your costs and increase your return on investment by sending your customers fewer but more effective emails.
- When emails are relevant, users engage. A majority of marketers agree that subscriber segmentation (78%), message personalization (72%), and email automation campaigns (71%) are the most effective strategies for email marketing campaigns, based on a recent Hubspot survey.
Some ways you can personalize and segment your email automation campaigns are:
Dynamic content
Dynamic content is a game-changer for email marketing, adding a special touch and increasing conversion rates. With dynamic content, you can personalize your newsletters, delivering exclusive information tailored to specific subscribers. This customization improves click-through rates as people engage with content relevant to their interests. Additionally, by utilizing subscribers' shopping behaviors, targeted cross-sales campaigns can be created, boosting sales. Not only does dynamic content save time by consolidating multiple marketing messages into a single email, but it also enables the sending of ultra-personalized emails that drive conversions. Change the email content based on the customer’s data, such as name, gender, interests, etc.
Merge tags
Merge tags are placeholders that represent contact data in your CSV file. These customizable variables, such as First Name, Last Name, and Company, allow you to personalize the emails you send in your campaigns. By utilizing merge tags, you can increase customer engagement and improve email open rates. These tags are automatically created from the column headers in your CSV file, ensuring that each contact in your campaign receives a personalized email.
Behavioral data
Create your email based on the recipient’s actions or inactions, such as clicking a link, visiting a page or opening an email, etc. Once you've collected and organized behavioral data, you can create segments of subscribers based on their behavior. Segment options include purchase behavior (frequency, recency, value, product category), website behavior (pages visited, time spent, bounce rate, conversions), and email behavior (opens, clicks, replies, unsubscribes). Utilizing this data, you can send targeted offers like loyalty programs to frequent buyers, re-engagement campaigns to inactive customers, content offers to engaged blog visitors, or win-back emails to unsubscribed subscribers. These segments provide valuable insights for improving email campaigns and informing stakeholders.
Buying history
Order history provides valuable insights for boosting sales and making informed decisions. By analyzing data and trends, you can accurately manage inventory, ensuring stocked shelves and avoiding missed sales opportunities. Understanding what sells well allows you to plan promotions and feature popular products both in-store and online, while discontinuing less popular items. Additionally, order history enables targeted marketing campaigns by allowing you to send relevant messages and offers to specific customer groups based on their past purchases. Segment and personalize your email based on the recipient’s previous purchases, such as product category, price range, frequency, and more.
Location
Location-based email marketing utilizes customer location data to send targeted and personalized emails. While mobile marketing focuses on real-time location using GPS, email marketing relies on broader location information such as zip codes. Location-based email marketing takes advantage of static data points like city, state, country, and zip code to create region-specific content, zip code-centric emails, and city-based emails. These emails can provide personalized experiences based on the customer's location and can be combined with location-based mobile marketing for a seamless customer journey. By leveraging available location data creatively, marketers can deliver highly relevant and engaging location-based email marketing messages that enhance the customer experience.
Why Timing and Triggers are Essential for Successful Email Automation Campaigns
“#1 — TIMING. Timing is everything when it comes to email marketing. If you send too many promotional emails or run too many sales…..You’ll burn out your list.” ~ Vlad| Direct Response on Twitter.
Timing and trigger-based automated emails are sent to your customers at the right time and based on the right action or event. According to SmartInsights, general trends indicate that Tuesdays and Thursdays are the most popular days for trigger emails, and one should send them at 10 AM and 2 PM for the best results.
To measure the effectiveness of your email automation triggers, and the timing thereof, several metrics can be used. Take a look at the total number of emails sent, open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribing rate, site traffic, and conversion.
Common mistakes marketers make when executing email automation triggers include buying third-party email lists, not syncing the right triggers, sending too many emails, and not analyzing performance metrics continually over time.
If you want to do it the right way, and we assume you do, utilize opt-in forms to collect interested users' emails, add value to messages, provide clear call-to-action buttons, keep messages personalized and humanized, and check triggered email performance against set metrics that align with company objectives.
How to Measure and Optimize Performance for Email
The phrase "Data is King" holds true, emphasizing the importance of measurement and optimization for your email campaigns. To ensure success, it's essential to analyze email performance effectively. Here are some compelling reasons why measurement and optimization matter and how you can approach them with excellence.
- You can track how your clients interact with your emails. Use Google Analytics to measure email traffic, bounce rate, and conversions.
- It is easy to find out the loopholes in your customer journey. For instance, surveys, feedback tools, or heat maps can help you find pain points and opportunities to keep contacts moving through the sales funnel.
- The use of interactive email marketing tools can help you assess how campaigns affect consumer behavior, loyalty, and satisfaction.
- You can use data analysis to experiment with different email elements over time, such as design, content, and personalization. For instance, use multivariate testing to find the best design version of an email.
The right blend of all these steps can help you enhance the customer experience and boost your email revenue. Many email automation providers, like MailModo, have templates available for email design, automation funnels, and common audience segments to help you get started. Customize these elements for your company in a few clicks and you'll have boosted conversions and retention in no time at all.
How to Craft the Ideal Email
Email automation campaigns are some of the best ways to deliver personalized and timely messages to your customers based on their actions and preferences. Here's how you can create great email funnels that nurture and convert:
Pay Attention to the Structure
Crafting a perfect email requires attention to various elements. Starting with the "from" name, it's crucial to choose a familiar and recognizable name for better open rates. Creating an engaging subject line that focuses on the benefits and has around 28-39 characters can significantly improve open and click-through rates. Utilizing a cohesive preheader that complements the subject line adds value and provides a snippet of the email's content. Clearly explaining the purpose of the email establishes trust and helps readers decide whether to continue reading. Keeping the email short, concise, and visually appealing is important to capture and maintain readers' attention.
Visualize and personalize your audience
Design and write your email with a picture of your target audience in mind. Use catchy subject lines, compelling copy, strong Calls-to-Action(CTA), and attractive images. DemandSage claims that emails with personalized subject lines increase open rates by 35%. Personalized subject lines show that you care about your audience and their interests, and they can help you stand out from the crowd.
Test your email campaigns regularly
A/B testing is a crucial practice in email marketing to improve campaign performance. It involves sending two different variants (A and B) to your email list and analyzing which one performs better. A/B testing allows you to make evidence-based decisions. Common elements to test include subject lines, preview text, sender name, email timing, call-to-action text, landing pages, email length, design, subscriber greetings, and new ideas. By consistently testing your campaigns, you can maximize engagement and drive better results. With user-friendly email apps available, conducting A/B tests is convenient and highly recommended.
Key takeaways
Despite being the oldest digital marketing channel with a long history, email marketing is going strong and continues to deliver great performance for marketing teams across the globe. With the right email marketing strategy, companies are improving their customer journey mapping and getting the best ROI on all their omnichannel efforts. To sum it up, here’s a reminder of how you can leverage email automation to improve your customer journey mapping:
- Segment your customer based on their behavior and interests.
- Create personalized and interactive email campaigns for each audience segment you have.
- Measure and optimize your email performance.
- Use customer feedback, heatmapping, and unsubscribe rates to know if you're on the right track.
- Execute proper implementation of different types of campaigns to build rapport, satisfaction, loyalty, and business amongst your customer base.
Email automation can be complex and challenging, with multiple campaigns needed to nurture contacts throughout the customer journey. Simplify this process with the right combination of AI assistance, best practices as outlined in this guide, and content that captures your target audience. This combination has the potential to grow your business exponentially.
The right email strategy is an important part of any company's omnichannel marketing efforts, but we know you have much more than just email to worry about. Work with MarinOne today to streamline your advertising and make sure all your marketing channels are working together effectively.
Aquibur Rahman is a guest contributor to Marin Software.
How to Optimize Your E-commerce Product Descriptions for SEO
It's no secret that the e-commerce industry is highly competitive. In today's e-commerce landscape, it's vital to leverage the best practices to gain any edge you can over competitors. This means having a strong online presence and getting eyes on your e-commerce products.
One key aspect of this is optimizing your e-commerce store for maximum visibility ensuring that your product descriptions are search engine optimized (SEO). Through strategic optimization, you can enhance your website's visibility in organic search rankings which ultimately will attract highly targeted traffic to your site, and drive significant growth in sales and conversions to your e-commerce store.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the essential strategies, real-life examples, and best practices to optimize your e-commerce product descriptions for SEO success. Whether you're a seasoned online retailer or just starting your e-commerce journey, this article will provide valuable insights and actionable tips to help you create a successful e-commerce website and ultimately get more eyes on your store and products.
What is SEO?
Before we get into the best SEO optimizing tips, let's ensure there is no confusion about what SEO is. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It refers to the practice of optimizing your website and its content to improve visibility and organic search rankings on search engines like Google.
Essentially, SEO helps your website or e-commerce store appear higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for relevant keywords or phrases. By aligning your e-commerce product descriptions with the ranking factors that search engines consider, you can increase your online visibility, drive targeted traffic to your site, and ultimately grow your business.
Why Should You Optimize Your E-commerce Product Descriptions for SEO?
When potential customers are searching for products online, where do most people turn? Most often users turn to search engines like Google to find what they need. So why is this important?
It is reported that 2.64 billion people made online purchases in the year 2023 and this number is expected to grow around 10.4%. By strategically optimizing your product descriptions for SEO, you enhance the visibility of your offerings in relevant search results, enabling potential customers to effortlessly find and explore your online store, ultimately increasing the likelihood of conversions and driving business growth.
By crafting keyword-specific, compelling, and informative product descriptions, you can not only improve your search engine rankings but also enhance the overall user experience, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
Imagine you are looking up a product on Google and you see a list of ten options from your search. You're more likely to click on the articles that are positioned near the top of the page right? That's ultimately where you want your products to appear. SEO helps you achieve this.
8 Tips to Optimize Your E-commerce Product Descriptions for SEO
In the following section, we will share seven effective tips to optimize your e-commerce product descriptions for SEO. These tips will enhance the visibility and relevance of your product pages, attracting organic traffic and boosting conversions.
Understand Googles Algorithm
If you are looking to dip into the SEO world then it is critical that you understand Google's guidelines on what their algorithm looks for when ranking content. Familiarize yourself with key factors that influence search rankings, such as relevance, user experience, and website authority.
By understanding Google's algorithm, you can align your e-commerce product descriptions with the search engine's preferences, increasing the chances of higher visibility and organic traffic. Regularly research industry trends, follow reputable SEO resources, and adapt your e-commerce strategies accordingly.
Keep in mind that algorithms can change, so continuous learning and adaptation are crucial to maintaining optimal SEO performance. Below is an excerpt sharing some of the key factors Google looks for within SEO.
Conduct Keyword Research
Begin your optimization journey by uncovering the most relevant and specific keywords that resonate with your target customers and align with their search intent while seeking products akin to yours. Incorporate these keywords strategically throughout your product descriptions to improve search engine visibility and attract qualified traffic.
Keyword research is one of the biggest factors on the list of SEO best practices. If your keyword research is off then the user's search intent won't match your product. This ultimately leaves your pages with minimal traffic and low conversions.
Write Unique and Compelling Descriptions
No one likes reading boring, robotic text that is less engaging than the dictionary. Your goal as an e-commerce seller is to effectively showcase the unique features, benefits, and selling points of your products in a manner that compels customers to make a purchase.
You should use persuasive language to entice customers and differentiate your offerings from competitors. It’s also important to note that you should always try and avoid duplicate content to maintain SEO integrity in the eyes of Google.
Optimize Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Pay attention to title tags and meta descriptions, as they appear in search engine results pages (SERPs), and influence click-through rates. The title tag is nothing more than the title of a page or article that shows up when users search in Google.
Include keywords that are specific, researched, and accurately describe the product to ensure when people scan over your text it resonates with their search intent. Your meta description should always have your keyword within the text to show Google and readers what the overall theme or topic of the page is.
User-Friendly Readability and Formatting
Break down your product descriptions into easily scannable sections with headings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs. Use clear and descriptive language, avoiding jargon or complex terminology.
You should Incorporate relevant keywords naturally while maintaining readability. No one likes giant walls of text. Readers typically like to skim. So, if you have relevant keywords, a heading, and a user-friendly format, it allows users to quickly understand your product.
Leverage User-Generated Content
One of the best ways for readers to easily gauge trustworthy and quality products is by using customer reviews and ratings for your products. This can also increase your AOV when customers buy your products. You might be wondering why this is included in SEO-friendly product descriptions.
Well, displaying user-generated content on your product pages not only enhances credibility but also provides additional keyword-rich content that can improve SEO performance by touching on Google's E.E.A.T factors. E.E.A.T is the system Google readers use for ultimately deciding the validity of the content. Your compliance within these criteria can increase or decrease search results for your e-commerce products.
Monitor and Update Descriptions
Lastly, it’s vital that you continuously monitor the performance of your product descriptions and make necessary updates. Stay updated with keyword trends, search engine algorithm changes, and customer feedback. Regularly refreshing and optimizing your product descriptions ensures that they remain relevant and effective in driving organic traffic and conversions.
Leverage AI Tools
If you are struggling to create engaging SEO product descriptions for your e-commerce store then you may want to look at utilizing AI tools like ChatGPT or Jasper. These tools can generate SEO-friendly product descriptions, meta descriptions, as well as any other written content.
John Elder, owner of The Business Blocks had this to say about how they utilize ChatGPT for product descriptions.
“We’ve found ChatGPT to be invaluable in optimizing our Etsy product descriptions, enhancing our SEO efforts, and improving our e-commerce listings. It’s a powerful tool that has positively impacted our online business presence.”
Examples of Optimized E-commerce Product Descriptions
Here are two varying examples of E-commerce product descriptions. The first example is one that has some sign of strength in the eyes of SEO while the second needs a lot of work…
Good SEO Product Description (Could Be Better)
As you can see, the description above not only has varying target keywords in the title, but it also provides a description that could help Google place this page in front of users who may be searching for clothing with those keywords.
Bad SEO Product Description
It doesn't take an SEO expert to see why this page needs a lot of work from an SEO perspective. Ultimately, there is not much to this page that can help Google put this in front of users. You need to do everything in your power to give Google the necessary information it needs to effectively place your page in front of potential customers.
Key Considerations For Successfully Optimizing Product Descriptions
Below is a recap of some of the most critical factors when focusing efforts on product descriptions that are optimized for SEO.
- Keywords: The pillar of any SEO strategy is strategically using relevant keywords throughout your product descriptions to enhance search engine visibility and attract targeted traffic. If this is not focused on first then the rest will fail.
- Unique and Compelling Content: Craft engaging and original descriptions that highlight the unique features, benefits, and value propositions of your products to capture the attention of potential customers.
- Regular Updates: Continuously monitor and update your product descriptions to reflect any changes in product features, pricing, or availability, ensuring accuracy and relevancy over time.
- A/B Testing: Try different tests, fail, and try again to determine which ones perform better in terms of click-through rates, conversions, and user engagement. Don't be discouraged if you don't see great results right away. Just keep trying new things that align with the tips we have discussed.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Write product descriptions that address the needs, pain points, and desires of your target audience, not what you think looks or sounds good. Showcase how your products can solve their problems and why users should choose your product.
Final Takeaways
In conclusion, e-commerce can be a great avenue for those who are looking to start a business or bring in additional income, but this cannot be achieved if no one sees your products… Optimizing your e-commerce product descriptions for SEO is a critical step in enhancing your online visibility, attracting more organic traffic, and driving conversions.
By following the tips provided and understanding the key considerations, you can create compelling, keyword-rich, and customer-centric product descriptions that not only appeal to search engines but also resonate with your target audience.
With the right SEO strategies in place, your e-commerce store can stand out from the competition, build trust with customers, and ultimately drive success. Start implementing these techniques today and unlock the full potential of your product descriptions in maximizing your online presence and driving business growth.
Luke Lovelady is a guest contributor to Marin Software.