Tag Archive for: Digital marketing news

How To Create Effective Responsive Display Ads

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In recent years, Google has continuously made adjustments to their advertising platform specifically with their text ads on the Google Display Network (GDN). Google has now incorporated responsive display ads to create a visual for the consumer. The three critical elements of a display ad are the image, message, and design. As trusted Google Partners, Onimod Global  This checklist from Google is an excellent outline for driving the best performance for your responsive display ads.

 

1. Determine whether you’re optimizing for more efficiency or control

For more effective display ads, utilize responsive display ads. This is because responsive display ads use machine learning to ensure your ad is relevant on any space it would appear across the web.

For full creative control over your ads, use the standard image ads. This will allow you complete control over the font, colors, and the layouts of your ads.

 

2. Make your message relevant and compelling

Delivering your message at the right moment for your audience is crucial. This is why you should tailor your ads to specific stages of the purchase funnel.

Allow your audience to easily differentiate your brand versus your competition by including unique selling points, prices and promotions.

 

3. Make the most of your responsive display ads

The key to maximizing your return on the responsive display ads is to provide distinct headlines, descriptions, and images as possible.

Google recommends to start with at least 5 images, 5 short headlines and 5 descriptions. Typically, ads will see 10% more conversions at a similar CPA when you use a variety of headlines and text.

A checklist for your responsive display ad:

  • Write your long headline so it can stand alone, and make full use of the character limit.
  • Make your description text different from your longer headline.
  • Upload images with a strong visual focus and minimal text overlay, or choose from our free library of stock images.
  • Upload images with a strong visual focus and minimal text overlay, or choose from our free library of stock images.
  • Upload images with a strong visual focus and minimal text overlay, or choose from our free library of stock images.
  • Include your logo.
  • Add a dynamic feed.

Including all of these tips from Google will result in a fully optimized responsive display ad.

 

More From Onimod Global

As trusted Google partners, our expert digital marketers at Onimod Global are well-versed in responsive display ads and more! To receive a quote for our services, contact us here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

 

Updates To Amazon’s Advertising Platform

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Amazon has earned their powerhouse title over the years since starting their business in 1997 selling books. With growth of 39% year over year in net sales, a 12x jump in earnings per share (EPS), and over 100m Prime subscribers globally in Q2 2018, it’s impossible to ignore their influence over customers’ journey in the e-commerce space.

This month, Amazon’s team revealed some big changes by reintroducing their advertising brand. Competing with Facebook and Google platforms, Amazon is combining several applications in their advertising suite into the simple brand of Amazon Advertising. What was once Amazon Media Group (AMG), Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), and Amazon Advertising Platform (AAP) will now all become one simplified tool for brands to utilize.

Senior Vice President of Amazon Advertising, Paul Kotas, elaborates more on their new and improved platform:

“We’ve unified our product offerings under the name ‘Amazon Advertising.’ This is another step towards our goal of providing advertising solutions that are simple and intuitive for the hundreds of thousands of advertisers who use our products to help grow their business.”

How Amazon Is Positioning To Be Competitive 

Above all, Amazon has the competitive advantage of knowing that customers are going to their site first for product search and discovery. With Amazon being the most used and trusted tool, it must be thought of as a search engine in itself rather than just an e-commerce site. According to RedDoor, many brands and companies are creating specific marketing teams to manage their positioning on Amazon’s site in addition to agencies creating large scale so brands can establish themselves on Amazon.

Amazon has differentiated themselves in the following areas:

  • Real-Time Optimization: The tool that sets them apart the most from Google and Facebook is real-time optimization. While it may take time to see improvements in your organic search ranking on either of those platforms, Amazon is optimizing your product page in real-time.
  • Direct: Everything in Amazon’s space is within the Amazon ecosystem. A potential buyer never leaves the network with Amazon’s inbound links which is a huge difference in how they advertise versus other competitors like Google and Facebook.
  • Incentive: Amazon makes money on what you sell, where Google is more concerned on click-through rates to any landing page you have. The bias of each platform is very important to keep in mind while reviewing what is performing best.
  • Customer Service: Customer satisfaction is another thing that individualizes Amazon’s advertising space due to the fact that reviews and ratings are crucial to Amazon’s listings.

 

Amazon advertising has grown so much, yet is still young in its development. Amazon’s team will be working to make tools more efficient and effective for all brands, companies, and customers using this platform.

 

More From Onimod Global

For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, trends and insights, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

 

Facebook Is Bringing Augmented Reality Ads To The News Feed

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Facebook is getting creative with advertising content that their users can engage with: augmented reality!

For those of you unfamiliar with augmented reality, and especially the use of it in advertisements, it is extremely interactive and allows you to try out a virtual version of a product in a real-world environment. The example below from Engadget is how this technology will potentially be implemented into the Facebook advertising space.

 

This advertising will be available to only U.S. users in the entry launch. You as a consumer will be able to try on clothes, accessories, cosmetics, and even try out some AR-based games and apps.

Michael Kors was the first company to try out the new AR ads, and as you can see above, consumers were able to try on sunglasses and purchase them straight from the ad they were engaging with. In addition to Michael Kors, Wayfair, Sephora, Pottery Barn, NYX Professional Makeup, Bobbi Brown and King are all companies testing out the AR ads as well.

Due to the significant increase in AR popularity, the release of AR ads was no surprise to marketers. Almost 80 million people in the U.S. engage with AR monthly, and this number is expected to rise to 120 million by 2021.

AR is already regularly used and very successful in Facebook Messenger, so incorporating it into the News Feed is a natural next step for the technology. Nike used AR in Messenger to sell exclusively their new Kyrie 4s shoe, and the shoe sold it in only one hour. Clearly there was a ton of room for opportunity in sales with this interactive form of advertising. Digiday shares an example of AR advertising being used and how revolutionary it really can be:

In May, Snapchat said more than 100 advertisers were already buying its AR ads pro-grammatically and that a Foot Locker and Jordan Brand campaign using four AR ads saw an average play time of 45 seconds and over four million impressions.

An additional tool, the Video Creation Kit, Facebook has introduced will help advertisers create video ads with existing images. More news will come in August when it will be available on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook’s Audience Network.

More From Onimod Global

For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, trends and insights, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

Facebook Ads Now Available In Marketplace

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The Facebook platform has been revolutionary in terms of advertising in recent years, and it’s about to get even better: Facebook ads in Marketplace. If you have yet to be introduced to the Facebook Marketplace, it is an excellent place to buy and sell items listed from people in your local community. You can sell essentially anything from clothes to furniture, even vehicles and real estate. Facebook has now begun allowing businesses to advertise in Marketplace for the first time since that platform was created in 2016.

These ads will appear alongside all posts from people selling in your community, and these ads are able to run anywhere else on the Facebook platform. Facebook has been running tests for these ads, and the results have shown an increase in return on ad spend.. over double the return!

 

Facebook shares some of the benefits of being able to run ads in Marketplace:

“Advertising across our platforms enables you to reach your target audience wherever they’re spending time, giving you more opportunities to connect with people likely to be interested in your offerings.”

 

Facebook also gives a couple of helpful tips with things you should know about Marketplace ads:

  • Ads in Marketplace will also show in News Feed. It isn’t currently possible for an ad to show only in Marketplace.
  • You can also track conversions using a Facebook pixel with your ad.
  • And, of course, all ads must comply with the Facebook advertising policies.

 

Currently, the only audiences that can be targeted with Facebook ads in Marketplace are the US and Canada, and over the next few weeks you will also be able to target Australia and New Zealand audiences.

 

To stay up to date with the latest digital marketing news, follow our blog with weekly posts from the experts at Onimod Global.

Creating a Highly Proficient Digital Company Culture

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Company culture is a relevant topic for any industry. However, statistics show that workplace culture is particularly impactful in the digital space. Respondents to a McKinsey&Company survey reported “cultural and behavioral challenges” as the most significant challenge to meeting their digital priorities.

Expert Advice

Statistics like the one mentioned previously have caused many corporate leaders to reconsider their methods. Time recently released an article written by Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, on this subject. In this article, Huffington details several ways in which companies can actually improve their culture. She suggests:

  • Overworking is Overrated: Americans have long held the belief that the more time you spend working, the better. Unfortunately, this constant state of maximum exertion quickly leads to burnout of even the best employees. The truth is, we are all human and we all need a break once in a while. By giving your employees time to recuperate, you support a more sustainable business model, which keeps quality employees around longer.
  • Hold Everyone Accountable: It has become the norm to let those with extraordinary talent run the show. As Huffington puts it, these “brilliant jerks” may be causing more harm than good to your company, even if they do bring in a profit. She explains that once others see that this kind of awful behavior is tolerated, there isn’t much to keep them from behaving that way themselves.
  • Authenticity Above All Else: Consumers today, particularly millennials, are interested in companies that are concerned with more than just the bottom line. Social responsibility is not very easily fabricated. A company really needs to possess a genuine desire to improve the lives of others. This aspect is not necessary in order to be a successful company, but it is certainly a very effective way to win over younger consumers.

To read through the rest of Huffington’s article, which includes additional tips to improve your company’s culture, please click here.

More From Onimod Global

Here at Onimod Global, our content creation team is constantly working to produce relevant content about the digital marketing industry. Whether you are looking to learn about social media marketing, website development, search engine optimization, or any other digital service, we are here to keep you up to speed.

Please visit our blog to read through some of our latest articles!

Google Set to Launch new “Google Stamp” Platform Soon

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It’s been reported that Google is set to launch their new “Google Stamp” platform in the near future with intentions to compete with Instagram’s stories and Snapchat’s Discover features. Although the exact launch date of the new Google platform is unknown, there has been plenty of speculation about the full capabilities of this tool. This post will explore what is known so far about the Google Stamp and its future marketing implications.

Google Stamp Overview
Back in August, news was released from the Wall Street Journal that Google has been developing their new Google Stamp product as a direct competitor to Snapchat’s Discover feature. The Discover component is one of Snapchat’s most lucrative and popular features, which enables users to view stories of breaking news, sporting events, celebrities, and every other important thing happening in the world. According to an article from Search Engine Watch, the Google Stamp platform is “expected to function in a similar manner to Snapchat Discover. Users will be able to view difference pieces of content with a healthy mix of video, images, and text to keep readers engaged.” Another interesting aspect to point out is the meaning behind the Google Stamp name. Stamp is a combination of the “St” as an abbreviation for stories and the “amp” acronym for accelerated mobile pages.

Advertising Implications
With the implementation of Google Stamp coming in the near future, this raises the questions of advertising implications and what this will mean for brands looking to get involved. The Search Engine Watch article points out that “advertisers should not view this as a traditional media purchase, as there will need to be close collaboration between content creators and content promoters to ensure that ads are contextual.” As for the campaign format, it’s thought to be similar to launching a campaign on Snapchat or Instagram. The article mentions how “the same team who handles AdWords campaigns would have to integrate new skill sets to make the most of this opportunity to effectively advertise on Google Stamp.” Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what advertising options become available on the Google Stamp and how brands choose to utilize them.

Unanswered Questions
All of the information released so far about the Google Stamp leaves plenty of unanswered questions, as a lot is still unknown about the product. The Search Engine Watch article lists numerous questions that will be important to answer once the Google Stamp officially launches. Listed below are some of the critical questions the article mentions.

– “Which types of queries will trigger Stamp results?”
– “How frequently will Google Stamp be featured in search results?”
– “Will users migrate over to Google to use what seems likely to be a very similar product to Snapchat Discover?”
– “What options will be open to advertisers? Will Google introduce innovative new formats to maximize Stamp’s potential?”

Contact Us
For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

5 Notable Social Media Stats So Far in 2017

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2017 has been an interesting year so far in the world of social media, with some surprising stats and trends. Facebook remains a giant, Instagram is making strides, and Snapchat is utilizing augmented reality to its advantage. Some of the social media stats listed below are from Lauren Johnson’s Article in Adweek that caught our attention.

1. Snapchat and Augmented Reality
Snapchat has recently launched its augmented reality lenses to the public, which now allows users and brands to create their own animated figures and filters. This has given Snapchat an advantage when it comes to the amount of daily content created. According to the Adweek Article, “Snapchat expects 1 trillion photos to be taken with the app this year, which equates to 31,720 snaps every second.” Over 30,000 snaps per second in the year of 2017 is a mind boggling statistic and it will be interesting to see where Snapchat goes in 2018.

2. Facebook Usage Remains Massive
Although other messaging applications such as Twitter, Kik, and Snapchat are experiencing plenty of usage, Facebook still continues to dominate the “messaging empire.” According to the article, “Facebook announced that 17 billion video chats have been sent via messenger in 2017, which doubles the number in 2016. People have also sent 1.7 billion emojis on a daily basis thus far in 2017.” Moreover, Facebook is dominating the social media industry in many aspects and this trend will most likely continue through the next year.

3. Retailers Choosing Instagram Over Snapchat
Instagram adopting the “stories” feature has greatly helped the social media channel in terms of attracting retailers. According to a study from L2 Gartner, “1,400 social posts were analyzed from retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, and it was discovered that Instagram stories made up 95% of the brands social posts.” This is huge for Instagram as their story feature usage in 2016 only accounted for “39% of social posts.”

4. GIF Histeria
The use of GIFs (graphic interchange format) so far in 2017 has been astounding. The article reports that “300 million people have used 2 billion GIFs every day in 2017 thus far.” The use of GIFs is mainly seen within the social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest, and Facebook. The use of GIFS doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon and even looks to increase in the future.

5. Instagram Reaching Millennials
It’s no surprise that Instagram’s popularity is growing, especially with millennials. According to a survey conducted by the Bustle Digital Group, “81 percent out of the 1,000 millennials interviewed claimed social media is the most effective way to reach them. From that group, 40 percent said Instagram is the best way to reach them.” Ultimately, Instagram has been making major strides in 2017 and expect the social media giant to even increase their market share in 2018.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

Yahoo Sues Mozilla for Replacement of Firefox’s Default Search to Google

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It was announced earlier this week that Yahoo’s parent company (Oath) has decided to sue Mozilla for “breach of contract.” Oath claims that Mozilla “terminated a long term strategic agreement with Yahoo” in November. Mozilla recently launched their upgraded Firefox Quantum browser and has implemented Google as their new default search tool. It was approximately 3 years ago when Yahoo and Mozilla signed an agreement that Yahoo would be the default search engine on Firefox.

According to Greg Sterling in an article from Search Engine Land, the lawsuit “seeks unspecified money damages and interest from Mozilla, but Mozilla claims they have the right to terminate the relationship under the contract.” Mozilla’s Firefox browser lost market share to Chrome during the 3 year period with Yahoo. Mozilla blames this lose in market share largely on Yahoo search. Yahoo/Oath argue that “issues with the browser experience (speed and performance)” were to blame instead. Sterling points out that “the truth probably lies somewhere in between.”

Implications Moving Forward
Mozilla switching from Yahoo to Google as their new default search tool is huge. As if Google’s market share in search engine providers wasn’t large enough, this move will expand their share even more. The article states that “Firefox’s market share is about 13 percent to Chrome’s nearly 59 percent. Yahoo search market share is roughly 12 percent to Google’s 63 percent.” Ultimately, it will be interesting to see where Firefox’s market share goes from here, as the reactions to the upgraded “Firefox Quantum” browser appear to be positive thus far.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing expertise and news, visit the Onimod Global Website. We look forward to hearing from you!

Is Blockchain the Next Big Thing in Digital Marketing?

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Recent use of blockchain in cryptocurrencies is leading experts to believe that its uses may go far beyond the crypto market. This technology could be utilized in many different ways, particularly in digital marketing and advertising. While it is still early, the possibilities of blockchain have caused quite a stir in the digital world.

What Is Blockchain?

As defined by Don and Alex Tapscott, “The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”

BlockGeeks released an article that breaks this definition down in many different ways. This article quotes several experts in an attempt to break down the technical jargon in a way that makes it easy for every reader to understand the concept of blockchain.

Specialist William Mougayar explains blockchain by comparing the differences between a typical Word document and a Google doc. The major difference between the two is that the Word document can only be accessed by one user at a time, while the Google doc can have multiple authors editing it simultaneously. Mougayar goes on to explain that many systems in today’s society are like that of the Word document, and the blockchain is revolutionizing this system with its Google doc qualities.

Consumer-Centric

The most notable qualities of a blockchain, as given by BlockGeeks, are:

  1. It cannot be controlled by any single entity
  2. It has no single point of failure

This means that no one can alter or corrupt the data within a blockchain. This keeps everything honest and transparent, which as we have discussed in our article, “The Importance of Transparency in Digital Marketing”, is incredibly important to consumers. The entire concept of using the blockchain in digital marketing and advertising is to create a better experience for the consumer.

Consumers are the center of the marketing world. Without them, our efforts would be meaningless. That is why blockchain is such a game changer. It provides ways in which to enrich the consumer experience, and put more power in their hands.

While this may not bode well for major digital advertising platforms like Google and Facebook, it is ultimately the consumer that we have to keep in mind when considering the future of this compelling technology.

Is Your LinkedIn Account Reaching Its Full Digital Marketing Potential?

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Whether we’re talking about a personal account or a company page, there are several different ways to utilize LinkedIn as a powerful digital marketing platform. LinkedIn is reported as the most effective social platform in 2017 by MarketingProfs. So, you definitely need to be asking yourself, how does your LinkedIn account compare to the competition?

Recent LinkedIn Update

Just a few weeks ago, LinkedIn introduced the “LinkedIn Audience Network”. With uncanny similarity to the Facebook Audience Network, this new product is meant to assist marketers by allowing them to reach users on apps and websites that are not currently managed by LinkedIn itself.

In short, marketers can get their LinkedIn ads in front of more people. The goal of this wider audience capability is to increase impressions, engagements, and ultimately increase conversions. AdAge released an article that includes testing results of this new LinkedIn product, which boasted an impressive 3-13% increase in unique impressions.

Helpful Hints

LinkedIn is not foolproof. There are many ways that you may be unknowingly sabotaging your digital marketing efforts through this popular platform. Christopher Heine of Adweek compiled a list of 20 LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts, which includes first hand recommendations from highly successful digital marketers.

We here at Onimod Global decided to create a shortlist from this Adweek article of the tips that we found to be the most useful.

Do:

  • Make it Personalized: No one likes getting spammed with random messages through their LinkedIn inbox. In order to make yourself stand out and get attention, you have to give the recipient a reason to keep reading. Brittany Simpson from Site Strategics suggests, “Don’t immediately approach with an ‘ask,’ but approach with a ‘give’ of some sort.”
  • Analyze Your Target Audience: Now that LinkedIn has added more people to its audience, use it! If you already know who your target market is, great. If not, do some preliminary testing to try and narrow it down. As you move forward, Kirsten Chiala of Cisco recommends, “From that research, take it a step further and develop personas so you can customize your content to that target audience.”

Don’t:

  • Stalk Your Connections: Everyone has been in a situation where they continually ignore or delete requests from other users on social media. Take the hint, and move on. Do not waste your time chasing after connections who clearly do not want to hear what you have to say. Try to focus on generating new leads instead. If you continue down this path you will only spin your wheels, and as Rick Smith of Exos put it, “Plus … it’s kinda creepy.”
  • Treat LinkedIn Like Facebook: These platforms may be similar, but they are incredibly different from a digital marketing perspective. While you want to continually try to engage with your connections by posting content on your page, you also don’t want to take it too far and annoy them. Appearing as a pest may cause others to ignore you, or even delete you from their network. If you must post, make sure it is relevant and actually useful.