Black Friday saw a 41% uplift in sessions over the Black Friday weekend period and 59% more conversions

With another Black Friday and Cyber Weekend done and dusted, we’ve crunched the numbers to uncover how retailers performed and the key trends for 2018. This year once again saw record online sales, with Adobe announcing that US consumers spent $7.9bn online on Cyber Monday alone. Across Croud’s global retail clients, the numbers matched up to this trend, with an average 141% year-on-year uplift in online revenue. In line with this, there was also a 41% uplift in sessions over the Black Friday weekend period and 59% more conversions. Conversely, average order value (AOV) increased by only 0.5% on average, suggesting that more customers are taking advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Weekend promotions.

Cost-per-clicks down on 2017

Across Croud’s retail clients, shopping costs-per-click unsurprisingly increased week on week over the Black Friday weekend, but, when compared with…

Digital marketing trends 2019: What should you be looking to integrate in the coming year

When it comes to mobile technology it is important to be ahead of the curve when adopting trends. These tech updates are often beneficial for marketers. We are going to look at the landscape of mobile as we move closer to the new year to help you beat that curve. I'm going to give you the top mobile tech trends that will be prominent in 2019 to continue our trends series that Dave Chaffey kicked off earlier this month.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Big brands like Google and Apple showing breathtaking new AR (augmented reality) demos on iPhone 8 and iPhone X are proof that AR is going to be the game of 2019. With the most recent arrival of ARKit 2, Apple is providing developers and organizations with an improved platform to…

Disney is moving it's digital brands to Google Ads, Facebook is testing 'Today In', Uber receives data breach fine, Australia's SVoD subscriptions are due to outstrip Pay-TV and TfL has banned junk food advertisements

The last week has seen some interesting announcements, not least the fact that Disney will now be using Google Ads as its only ad-technology platform, meaning Google is replacing Comcast's FreeWheel. Facebook is testing yet another new feature, this time aimed at bringing local communities together by keeping them more informed. But what does 'Today In' mean for the platform's attempts to police fake news? On top of these big stories, this week has seen Uber get fined again for its 2016 data breach, the rise of subscription video on demand in Australia and junk food advertising being banned on any part of London's public transport system. Find out more about five big digital and marketing stories this week. …

Discover six costly mistakes that marketers make with social media and how to fix them

Despite the herculean changes to both technology and media, marketers have no choice but to build emotion-rich and customer-centric strategies to always stay on top. In the struggle to sink into the trivial details of the marketing functions especially with social media, some of the smartest marketers sometimes go wrong in strategizing the right way with social media. So, do you wish to make your social media marketing a flawless one?

1. Not choosing the right social media platform

Why is it necessary to pick up the right social media platform for your business? You can only call a platform perfect for your business if it enables you to use the best of its functions that can enhance your business presence and add value. The ultimate idea is to reach widely, to enhance visibility, to add value, to understand your followers, to…

Influencers are considered experts in a particular field. Their thoughts and reviews about products are the holy grail

Consumers are no longer paying attention to billboards when they want to know more about brands. Advertising has moved far away from that. In today’s digital world, everyone is looking for recommendations and reviews on the internet. This is why influencer marketing is creating such a buzz. Influencers are considered experts in a particular field. Their thoughts and reviews about products are the holy grail. So, it’s only natural that advertisers are lining up to collaborate with influencers. But what is the return on investment (ROI) that you can expect from influencer marketing? There are lots of factors you need to take into consideration. To give you a better idea about the ROI of influencer marketing, let’s take a look at the numbers. A study…

Key social media trends for 2019 that every marketer needs to keep an eye out for and include in their digital marketing strategy, based on predictions from leading industry experts

Social media is ever-changing. Be it new platforms, different consumption habits or varied forms of communication, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp etc. are always coming up with innovative features or affordances that add different dimensions to the platforms. These changes not only help users engage in a number of different ways with their favourite brands online but also give marketers a chance to captivate their audiences through an array of tools and tactics. [si_guide_block id="49146" title="Download our Premium Resource – Digital media options cheatsheet" description="Our Digital media cheat sheet is aimed at helping Smart Insights premium members to keep track of the free and paid media options so that they're not missing out on any of the latest…

Learn how to find relevant content for sharing as an education provider

Many educational providers have decided to host a blog and become more involved in social media in order to enhance their online presence. Needs are somewhat similar whether they're involved in higher education like Universities and colleges or other levels. With this comes the realization that blogs require close monitoring, constant up-keep, and interesting content. People often ask us about the ways education bloggers (be it a student, alumnus, or faculty member) can feed their blog and social media profiles on a regular basis. Admittedly, this can be difficult at the beginning, but with the right tools and practices, the entire blog experience can be easy and really enjoyable.

Six tips to find and create relevant content for your education blog

Tip 1. Curate content that interests you

Identify blogs or sites that explore topics that matter to your students and affiliate organizations. As…

In 2018, 77% of Realtors do not have a blog

Creating content is essential for marketers and thought leaders. The NAR study lists on average, 77% of realtors do not have a blog and only 13% plan to have one in the future. SEO remains a key factor in organic searches which drive leads. Realtors that have a blog usually have at least 6 years’ experience or more in real estate. Less experienced realtors can benefit highly by incorporating a blog in their marketing activities.

Only 26% of Realtors have their own website

Developing and maintaining a business website is important for SEO and organic web traffic. 42% of realtors have a website that was provided by their firm while only 26% or realtors have their own website. In building brand awareness, having a website that is maintained…

If you're receptive to feedback and create a product that your audience really wants, you’re guaranteed to develop something worthy of the "premium" label

Industry leaders like to lob around the term "premium" when describing content, but the definition of what is premium - and what isn’t - is highly subjective. To quote Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." For some people, "premium" denotes high-quality content. For some, it might refer to their most popular content and for others, it means something else entirely. Part of this confusion stems from the numerous business models that attempt to capitalize on differing versions of premium content. [si_guide_block id="23343" title="Download our Premium Resource – Video and YouTube marketing guide" description="Our guide shows you how to review the full opportunities from video marketing whether…

How to boost business results by recognizing cognitive biases

In the 1970’s two young psychologists named Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky pioneered a new field of study, which eventually became known as behavioural psychology. They were interested in understanding whether humans were rational, economic decision-makers or fallible creatures, vulnerable to mistakes and errors as a result of ‘cognitive load’. Their research suggested that our brains use two ‘systems’ for making decisions: In the words of Daniel Kahneman, system one ‘runs the show’ but is powered by a range of heuristics, or rules of thumb, which lead to biases and behavioural quirks. There are now nearly 200 recognized cognitive biases that can affect how we make decisions in a multitude of different ways. Some are fairly well known (e.g. anchoring) whilst others are slightly more obscure (e.g. the false consensus…