Dynamic ads can now feature new services and are available on Instagram plus new Custom Audience targeting options
Importance: [rating=4] For Retailers and Travel marketers who can feature products and [rating=5] for all who use Custom Audiences which are also updated
Recommended Source: Facebook blog launch commentary
We first featured Facebook's launch of Dynamic Product ads in February 2015. They have proved popular with retailers with Facebook reporting that, to date, more than 2.5 billion unique products have been uploaded to Facebook.
Now Facebook has changed what it used to call 'Dynamic Product Adverts' to just 'Dynamic adverts' as they are altering them so they can feature more than just your traditional 'products' like shoes, computers or books.
Dynamic ads feature things that users are likely interested in after viewing them on a website or adding them to their basket, so they are essentially a form of remarketing or retargeting, where the products people were…
Don't neglect your unsubscribing process
Getting your email unsubscribe process right is critical to your email marketing success. But, why? Surely concentrating your efforts on subscribers who have decided that they want to leave your list is time wasted. Wouldn't you be better off focusing your efforts on improving emails to those just entering the funnel, rather than those electing to drop out of it?
We've been taking a look at best practices for managing email unsubscribes in a new research report on the State of Email Unsubscribing 2016 which we have published with Alchemy Worx. It reports on how retailers are managing unsubscribes, and then goes on to recommend best practice as well as mistakes to avoid.
There are a number of reasons why you need to get your unsubscribe process right, and it's not just about winning back customers. First of all consider these key points:
Unsubscribing isn't a failure or even a permanent state for your…
What are employers looking for from digital marketers?
A 2016 marketing salary survey from Marketing Week is interesting reading since it sheds light on some of the issues marketers face in their roles, and highlights issues that are important for managers and HR departments to consider if they want to hang on to their marketing talent. It also highlights the demand for keeping digital skills up to date with the latest marketing trends, and a general willingness among marketers to invest their time and effort into developing their skills, which is always great to see.
The survey uses results from 4,300 marketing professionals. So although there may be some selection bias in the sample, it is plenty for inferring trends in the industry.
At Smart Insights, we're keen to support the development of digital skills as shown by our Managing Digital Skills survey. So, for us, a key finding was that only 16%…
What do C-suite level managers think drives their growth?
In our new Chart of the Day feature, we will share insights to inform your approach to digital marketing. This will include the latest benchmarks of results from digital marketing like conversion or clickthrough rates; consumer and business adoption of digital media and, as in this case, responses from businesses to manage digital transformation
In this survey by Forbes Insights, 255 company executives, 65% of which were from the C-suite level were asked about which digital technologies were working best at attracting new customers for their businesses in 2016. Their response shows that social media, Marketing Automation and Digital Advertising all performed well. It is interesting how large the differences are between regions. For example, European execs found digital advertising far less effective than execs in other areas. This is perhaps because ad blocking rates are far high in France and Germany than they…
10 steps that all marketers need to take to act on The GDPR
Four years ago, The European Commission proposed a radical shake-up to the arcane data protection and privacy laws that were failing to protect the interests, rights and freedoms of millions of consumers in the EU that were facing an unprecedented threat in the misuse and misappropriation of their personal data.
With the explosion in use of the web, the Internet of Things, Cloud and mobile computing and all things digital, the EU was one of the most attractive places to do business as it’s the world’s biggest Digital Single Market.
But it was also quickly becoming one of the most unsafe places in the world to share personal data as 'cowboy marketers' looked to make a fast buck and millions of customers were getting spammed with unsolicited emails and offers…
How to deal with customer complaints on social
Social media is finally getting a little respect. Companies and organizations of all types and sizes are beginning to realize social for its vast potential as a customer service platform.
We’ve witnessed the awesome power of corporate self-sabotage on social media - BlackBerry tweeting promotional material from an iPhone, Comcast’s infamous stubborn retention rep, and British Airways’ failure to remember that Twitter operates 24/7. Now, companies are learning how to use social customer service platforms to respond to customer issues in a timely, personable, and effective way, and to do so proactively. Here are some tips we’ve compiled to help you build your strategy in dealing with customer issues on social media – and emerge with nothing less than a sterling impression left on…
You won't be able to design a great site without a good understanding of information architecture
The way in which a website is structured is a hugely important factor in determining how people find, understand and engage with content. In the absence of a sound structure, problems related to usability, content management and multiple re-designs can cause problems for both users and webmasters alike.
The process of planning and defining a website’s structure is known as information architecture (or IA for short) and it’s a practice that’s most often associated with user experience. However, an understanding of website structure and how different content elements relate to one another means that IA impacts digital marketing at a wider level and is therefore something many of us can use when strategising and planning.
Defining information architecture
The Information Architecture Institute offers the following definition:
“Information architecture is about helping people…
New research on how email readers interact with marketing emails
Those of you familiar with the latest email marketing stats will already know how important 'mobile opens' are. In fact, emails opened on smartphones and tablets make up over half of all emails opened over the last three years according to a new report from Yesmail. This research makes a compelling case for upgrading to responsive email designs, or if you already have them, for optimising them.
The importance of mobile email readership makes responsive email design more crucial than ever, because users expect attractive emails across devices, and are unlikely to click through on an email which looks poorly formatted because wasn't designed to appear on a mobile device.
Responsive design is key for boosting mobile clicks
Regardless of whether your emails have responsive designs, over half your email opens will be happening on mobile devices. However, if you don't have responsive designs, most…
New research showing the potential to improve conversion for mobile commerce
We regular update our compilation of retail e-commerce conversion rates from different sources comparing desktop and mobile conversion rates in browsers. In this new piece of research from Netmera, we present conversion rates for mobile apps.
The data shows mobile app conversion performance during 2015. Based on data derived from 50 million app users and from over 50 brands using Netmera services in 2015 and the first 2 months of 2016, this infographic highlights that the use of mobile engagement solutions, like push notifications, in-app pop-ups and automated campaigns, has a significant impact on mobile commerce conversion rates (180% increase in orders over the last year with push notifications).
Take a look at the infographic below to get a better idea of the scale of opportunity that is mobile commerce. Netmera offers services across sectors from retail, financial services and telecoms. Unfortunately these…
Examples of how customer reviews can be used for both B2C and B2B companies. Are you using them to your full advantage?
The vast majority of people, including you and I, read customer reviews before buying a product. We place a lot of importance on what others are saying about a product or website based on their previous experiences. So it’s a given that product ratings, reviews, comments and feedback given on social media sites can affect your business massively.
Customer Reviews are a Powerful Sales Tool in B2B Marketing
Considering the influence such user-generated content has on your buyers, it is no surprise that customer reviews are considered as the “new frontier in word-of-mouth marketing,” and perhaps suprisingly this also includes customer reviews for B2B companies. According to TechValidate research, 94 percent of marketing and sales professionals from B2B industry consider customer reviews and ratings ‘as very effective or extremely effective’. Still not…
