One of the more interesting elements of the recent rollout of Facebook Stories was the backlash, the pervading sentiment that Stories won’t – and doesn’t – work on Facebook. The basis for that perspective, in general, seems to be ‘none of my friends are using it, so no one is’. (Source: Social Media Today)
In the growing rivalry between Facebook Inc. and Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc., Facebook’s strategy seems to be copying Snapchat’s product features, and Snap’s strategy seems to be copying Facebook’s business playbook. (Source : Marketing Land)
Often times, we come across articles/blogs/write-ups on the internet that not only just catch our attention but also leave us startled. There have been several occasions where you read something that wondered if this is even true? (Source: Logicserve Digital)
Every brand wants to tell a story. But a new narrative analytics platform has launched to help brands figure out the stories that are actually being told about them. The platform is called Protagonist, from a company by the same name. (Source: MARTECH TODAY)
One of the most popular professional networking sites, LinkedIn, recently has been garnering wide attention among its users for rolling out its new layout for desktop computers. If are a social media buff, you may argue, that the roll out is quite an old news and that it came out in January. (Source: Logicserve Digital)
Google’s image search results on the mobile web and in the Android Search app are now showing “similar items” — i.e., if you’re looking at “lifestyle” images and click on one that you like, Google may show you additional product images from places where you can buy the item(s). (Source: Search Engine Land)
Google has dominated consumer search for nearly 20 years. While this dominance continues today, there is one area of search where it is losing share rapidly: retail product search. Historically, it’s been one of Google’s biggest moneymakers, with retail search accounting for at least 25 percent of total search revenues. (Source: MARTECH TODAY)
Retail makes up the largest category of internet ad spending, representing about 21 percent of total revenues, according to the most recent IAB report — or roughly $15 billion annually. That’s why the development of a “cost-per-(store)-visit” ad model (CPV) is potentially so significant. (Source: Marketing Land)
Google now lets you submit URLs to their index directly in the core Google search results page. All you need to do is search for [submit URL to Google], and Google will display a box at the top of the search results that enables you to submit a URL to Google’s index. (Source: Search Engine Land)
Marketers looking to reach sell consumers new smart home products and services should look beyond traditional demographics into a new sort of customer segmentation that takes into account different groups’ views on technology and its benefits. (Source: Media Post)
EXPERT OPINION
Q. Today’s customers are expecting a linear experience across online and offline mediums. Hence, a marketer’s biggest challenge is to measure correlation across these mediums. How can this problem be solved?
Marketers need to draw up a business case where they identify the problem areas and the gaps in tracking the consumer journey across online and offline mediums. Initiatives should be taken to close the gaps in the customer journey. Only then will the customer’s experience will be seamless and eventually make her/him a returning customer based on the product. Some ways to tackle are:
– Loyalty cards are one way to measure the customer’s purchase online or in store. This way a marketer can track codes that get generated online for offline use made by the customer
– Various touch points in sale data collection is another way the brands can address this challenge. One such medium is credit card companies. The transaction data they share will eventually help to track sales both online and offline
– Even telephone call tracking can be used to map a customer’s purchase journey both online and offline
– Coupon codes can also be another source for online and offline tracking. The customers will use coupon codes while buying a product; this will let the marketer track the conversion
