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Monday, 1 April 2019

Automattic launches Happy Tools, distributed workforce products that cost $5 per user

Automattic has launched the first of its planned suite of productivity products, which it calls Happy Tools

Automattic, best known for WordPress.com, has launched a productivity suite called Happy Tools aimed at the distributed workforce.Read More

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Automation Will Not Kill the Need for Human Skills In Manufacturing, Says Allegion CEO

Bing takes over Yahoo ad delivery: Five things to prepare

January saw the announcement of Bing Ads exclusively taking over management for Yahoo and AOL search ads starting in March.

Oath had been renamed Verizon Media and Yahoo Gemini had switched to the name “Oath Ad Manager” only recently but Verizon (who agreed to the acquisition of Yahoo Inc. in 2016) are clearly trying to consolidate and stabilize the decade-long crumbling of the Yahoo empire. Regardless of the ultimate life expectancy of much of the Yahoo portfolio, the status quo was always on borrowed time.

The key question for agencies and advertisers is, what will it mean in the management of your search advertising?

Impact

The whole handover from Yahoo to Bing Ads is going to be far shorter than version 1.0 of this arrangement, which was implemented around 11 years ago. Only two weeks were allotted from the first blush to full transition, which is now, at the end of March.

The biggest impact here will be in the advertiser workflow. Obviously, you have one less platform but you also have a far better platform set as Bing and Google are very similar now. Bing will, thanks to its increase in traffic data, be able to introduce smart, query-level bidding solutions approximate to Google in a shorter timeframe than before. This will be great news for those seeking efficiency and less time spent on the Bing platform.

From an account management point of view, your year-on-year reviews are going to be more complicated. But you’re also going to have one less budget to forecast. So you win some, you lose some.

Scope

Bing Ads will account for around 35% of search traffic in the US. In international markets where Yahoo is a bigger search engine than Bing, there will be a huge jump.

Since responsive ads (native ads by another name) are in Bing Ads just as they are in Oath/Gemini, your creative will continue to deliver on websites but at a higher volume in a single account.

Search will be easier to control since Oath/Gemini had a different set of options and features, and had very different ad types.

The transition checklist

Assuming you keep your budgets in place on Yahoo and boost your Bing budgets to cope with the impending traffic influx, you should be fine. No action will be needed on Yahoo since the ads will stop serving automatically.
Setting up Bing conversion tracking on your website becomes even more of a priority if you haven’t already.
To counteract the year-on-year comparison issues, just ensure you download all of your Yahoo data, and you should be fine.
If you’re not particularly familiar with Bing (or are not on it) then this is the time to get to know it much better. And, frankly, if you know Google Ads, it shouldn’t be a stretch. However, there is an excellent Academy site you should look over and, with this Yahoo development, achieving an accreditation has even more value.
The good news is that if you have yet to use Bing Ads, the process for getting started is way easier than you may imagine. You can simply create a Bing Ads account and then import your Google account wholesale with the least amount of fuss. There are a few elements you’ll need to tweak once the content is imported (such as bidding strategies and bids in general) but you’ll probably find it to be a relatively painless process.

Screenshot of importing Google ads campaign data

Bing growth

A big takeaway from the last year or so is that Bing is heavily on a growth trajectory. Here are a few data points:

Since 2015, they have grown US search share from 31% to 34% in 2018 (includes Yahoo/AOL) – Source ComScore June 2018
Internationally, Bing has grown at a faster pace (UK: 17% to 20%, FR: 11% to 16%)
Bing Ads now has access to LinkedIn audiences (currently beta but launching fully soon)
Bing is an OS-level search engine across not just Windows but increasingly popular Microsoft computing devices, plus Xbox.
Bing is the voice search engine on Amazon Alexa and the latter’s diversification of Echo and Alexa-compatible devices for presence all over your home and in your car is another crucial factor for the future.
Bing Ads covering all of Yahoo search ads (and, of course, powering Yahoo organic search) this year is a significant cherry on top of all of this.

Conclusion

Be prepared to work harder on optimizing your Bing accounts and you should see more traffic and sales than ever (especially if you never before waded into the murky Yahoo Gemini waters).

Steve Plimmer is the Head of Account Management US at ESV Digital. He can be found on Twitter @SPlimmer_ESV.

The post Bing takes over Yahoo ad delivery: Five things to prepare appeared first on Search Engine Watch.

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5 Powerful Ways to Increase Sales by Leveraging Data Effectively

Embracing digital adoption and integrating data tools properly are two critical ingredients in the recipe of successful modern businesses. The use of AI and Big Data has become much more prevalent in companies of all shapes and sizes, and most entities these days are utilizing data tools in some form or another.

However, just because the integration of data is becoming more popular doesn’t mean that businesses are using it correctly. Less than half of businesses are using big data systems successfully.

What is even more unfortunate is that the most common reason for this failure is due to a lack of understanding of how to properly use datasets as an asset. Additionally, poor alignment of current organizational strategies is a huge culprit behind most data failures.

The fact is clear that using data properly can be a total game changer. But, clearly, not all strategies are created equally. In order to see the biggest impact of data utilization on your business’s sales and overall profitability, there are several key approaches that should be followed.

Let’s dive in.

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1) Use Traffic Analytics to Identify Unique Niches

It pays big to go small when it comes to audience segmentation and targeting. Identifying niches that make up your customer group can help you create more effective targeted ad campaigns that boost engagement. By leveraging analytical programs for deeper traffic insights within demographic information, you can identify specific niches that could be reached with certain products or marketing messages.

These days, many online retailers are opting for new business ideas that can be easily customized at a low cost, such as on-demand prints or digital products that can be personalized to the user’s needs. But in order for these online businesses to really take off, their ad targeting and customer segmentation data needs to be on point. This is where the proper application of data can make all the difference.

You will first need to conduct some in-depth analysis to identify the most profitable niches that would be interested in your online product. The larger segments of your target audience may be rather obvious, such as the general age range, gender, lifestyle, interests and income level.

You can use this information as a starting point to create customer profiles that represent different aspects of your audience. Of course, be sure that all of this is still backed up with data based on your current customers – so that you aren’t totally off or missing any major segments.

Then take things a step further with traffic analysis data. Take a look at the current traffic that is arriving on your website and look for emerging patterns in the data, such as:

Is there a specific geographic location that is growing?
Which keywords are driving large numbers of viewers?
Which specific product pages have the highest click rates?

This information can shed light on various niches based on demographic and behavioral data, such as groups buying overseas or audiences that are drawn to your product via a specific keyword query. From this analysis, you can start to identify various niches that already exist or could be better targeted.

Audience overview

If your online store is selling customizable products, this data can also be applied to the products themselves.

Pet Canva, an online print store, provides a great example of utilizing niche markets for hyper-targeted ads. Their marketing team saw an opportunity to create custom blankets with pet portraits on them, and so they targeted this niche through social media ads by matching them up with customers who had dogs and would be interested in this type of product.

Pay attention to the way that customers are arriving to your website. By understanding the keywords and the reasoning behind them, you can start to get into the mind of the consumer and better understand the products they are looking for and how you can create offerings or content that fit their requests.

Learn More:

2) Use Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Engagement Opportunities

Brands that engage with customers at the right time can increase the likelihood of conversions, as well as overall audience sentiment. This is particularly true when it comes to social media. One study even found that when a brand interacts personally with a customer through a social media platform, they feel more positivity towards that business. And of course, this positive sentiment can lead to higher conversion rates and increased loyalty down the road.

Furthermore, public interactions on social media can increase your brand’s awareness. Customers like to see that brands care enough about their customers to interact with them one-on-one, so doing this can help your company’s reputation in a number of ways.

The perfect interaction can move a customer from one phase of the buyer’s journey to the next:

Marketing Funnel

The only difficult part here is knowing when and how to reach them. One way that brands can keep track of this is by using natural language processing (NLP) tools. Through these systems, you can monitor online chatter and be notified of opportunities where engagement would be most beneficial. NLP uses machine learning and applies behavioral data to the words that customers are using to determine the sentiment and help businesses figure out how best to respond.

This is especially important for conflict resolution. More and more customers are turning to social media these days to complain about an experience or draw attention to a specific issue. Businesses should be using NLP data to keep track of these interactions so they can interject and respond accordingly. Unfortunately, many brands are failing in this regard.

According to Sprout Social’s report:

89% of inquiries from customers on social platforms go ignored
73% of consumers have used social media to notify a business about a negative experience
30% of them will leave for a competitor if the problem is not resolved

Therefore, it is extremely important that businesses be alerted when these comments are posted to avoid being publicly shunned:

However, this same study also found that when brands interact positively with a customer through social media, it can do wonders to improve overall sentiment and revenue.

When a business properly interacts with a customer to resolve a negative experience, that customer is 70% more likely to buy from them again.
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Furthermore, it reduced the likelihood of buying from a competitor and they were also 75% more likely to share their experience with others. This positive word-of-mouth (social proof) can be extremely influential on other customers and lead to higher engagement down the road.

NLP tools can also be used for moments when your brand’s name is not specifically mentioned. This involves tracking keywords related to your product offerings. For example, if your business sells tough dog toys and a person tweets that their puppy has just chewed through yet another toy, it could be the perfect opportunity to interject and suggest they check out your product.

This is done by following certain keywords that are related to your business/offers. In much the same way that Google Alerts notifies you when a specific word is posted online, brand monitoring tools, like Mention and Brandwatch, will send an alert when a social media user shares a post with a relevant keyword or phrase that signals potential for engagement:

Learn More:

3) Create Smarter Customer Journey Paths

Another important way that businesses can apply data is by using past consumer behavioral information to create more accurate customer journey maps. This essentially builds a blueprint for right place/right time messages or triggered marketing content strategies.

Understanding the falling off points for re-engagement and typical content consumption patterns allows brands to offer more optimized content to impact conversions. This is best done by taking a look at the conversion rates and exit rates from your website pages.

Tools like Hotjar and Smartlook can do wonders to better gauge how people interact with your website. This behavioral data can then be used to create better trigger-based marketing strategies that send specific content to a customer at the perfect time.

Source

For instance, if a customer clicks on a specific product page but leaves without a purchase, a reminder email could be sent off within 24 hours notifying them that they left an item in their cart, or they could be re-targeted via a social advertisement.

4) Write More Influential and Compelling Case Studies

Don’t just tell your customers how great your product is – show them.

By using data from sources like customer reviews, website conversions, and overall success rates, you can use real-life information to create compelling case studies with data to back up your claims.

This is particularly important for B2B entities, as customers will be actively looking for proven statistical data that promises measurable results. According to Demand Gen’s survey report, case studies are the preferred type of content that influences purchasing decisions:

case studies B2B purchasing influence

And the majority of customers looked at 3-5 pieces of content before deciding to buy:

number of content before engaging

The best way to create compelling and influential case studies is by applying high-quality customer data in the content. In addition to the data-driven results of your product/service, information may need to be gathered through a survey or interview with past clients. Be sure to ask for specific information that proves measurable differences which are a direct result of your company’s product or service.

For example, let’s say you are selling a project management software solution. The overarching questions would likely be:

Is your business more productive?
Have sales increased?
Has or product helped to lower overhead costs?

Statistics and data-backed proof are important for B2C companies as well. Customers are certainly interested in seeing whether or not your business can fulfill its promises. This is why user-generated content (UGC) and customer reviews are important to integrate into your website. While they may not necessarily create professional case studies, it does offer new customers the information they need for a more informed purchase decision, such as overall star ratings and testimonials regarding the results of using the product.

Dive Deeper:

5) Optimize Production Based on Data-Fueled Predictions

Issues with production and inventory can put a major kink in the sales cycle and eat into profits. If businesses are not able to keep up with customer demands, it could lead to items being out of stock or massive delays for product fulfillment, which could lead to upset customers and lost sales.

This is where a mix of past market data and predictive analytics should be applied. By using predictive analytical technology, like Snapfulfil or Logiwa, you can create a more optimized inventory management system that orders the correct amount of stock based on forecasted sales and demand.

Source

These programs use big data capabilities to track ups and downs in the market while making accurate projections for inventory planning. If a dip in demand is expected, businesses can slow down production to lower their costs. If an upward swing is predicted, businesses can order more inventory in anticipation of an increase in demand.

This can also help optimize pricing to keep your price points competitive but still profitable. Pricing for online items can fluctuate frequently depending on competitor analysis, changes in production costs and, of course, customer demand. By applying predictive technology, along with past sales data, companies can keep their pricing optimized to attract cost-sensitive customers and keep profits high – even when demand dwindles.

Dive Deeper: A Guide to the Competitive Pricing Strategy — For B2C and B2B

Conclusion

In order to use data effectively, businesses need to know which areas can be fueled best by data application.

Any good business knows that understanding your customers is critical. By using traffic analytical data, companies can identify various niches within its audience for more effective segmentation. Companies should also be utilizing data to create meaningful connections (specifically through social media) by incorporating monitoring data for engagement opportunities.

By utilizing data, companies can create accurate customer journey maps that are based on consumer behavior for better content and triggered marketing. Properly utilizing predictive analytics and past sales data can help cut costs and keep profit margins high by adjusting production and prices according to market trends.

Relevant data can be the secret ingredient to long-term success. The key here is knowing how to apply it and utilizing the information correctly so that it will have the biggest impact.

The post 5 Powerful Ways to Increase Sales by Leveraging Data Effectively appeared first on Single Grain.

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How Google Shopping has affected my ecommerce site

It’s been more than six months since I started advertising on Google Shopping. It has greatly improved my revenue, as well as traffic to my site. In this post, I'll recap the metrics.

The post How Google Shopping has affected my ecommerce site appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.

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Is April Fools’ Day Worth the Risk for Brands?

April Fools’ Day is a tempting conundrum. Does it provide a good enough reason to break the rules and betray your audience’s trust with fake content, absurd headlines, or fictional products? Let’s give it some serious thought. Continue reading →

The post Is April Fools’ Day Worth the Risk for Brands? appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

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