Social Media Smarts - ClickZ
Creating Social Influencer Content That Counts
Social media's evolution as a pillar of marketing strategy requires social influencers to produce compelling content. Here are ways to design a dynamic social influencer campaign.
SEO - ClickZ
10 Steps to a Google Mobile-Friendly Site
With Google now favoring mobile-friendly websites, Navneet Kaushal offers these 10 tips to make sure your website is up to speed.
Social Integration - ClickZ
How Employee Advocacy Builds Personal Brands
By establishing an employee advocacy program, companies can strengthen their own reputation and brand, while enabling their employees to do the same.
SEO - ClickZ
Are You Optimistic About SEO?
Searchmetrics' recent report about Google's ranking factors falls in with this columnist's "5 R's" SEO summary, and demonstrates the growing focus on content over keywords.
Paid Search - ClickZ
What Social Search and New Domain Extensions Could Mean for Start-Ups
Brands like Google and Amazon have plans to launch their own dot brands in the next two years. More marketers should follow their lead as social and search become more connected.
Convergence Analytics - ClickZ
Can and Should Convergence Be 'Uberized'?
As technology advances, more and more things in our daily lives will be just a push-button order away. Should the convergence of data and intelligence services be one of them?
Marketing - ClickZ
Creating Social Influencer Content That Counts
Social media's evolution as a pillar of marketing strategy requires social influencers to produce compelling content. Here are ways to design a dynamic social influencer campaign.
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ
The Things I Look for in an Analyst
What should marketers looks for in a digital analyst? This checklist of five characteristics will set you on the right track.
Email Marketing - ClickZ
Keys to Strong Marketing Networking: It's Not Just For the B2B Marketer
Networking is integral to effective marketing strategies, and both B2B and B2C marketers need this skill to increase revenue and brand awareness. Here are ways to test and refine your networking savvy.
Social Commerce - ClickZ
WeChat Partners With Unicef HK to Showcase Payment Beyond Borders
There are mutual benefits for both Unicef Hong Kong and WeChat after a micro-financing platform was launched on the Chinese social messaging app.
ClickZ News
Digital Marketing People on the Move: July 2015 Roundup
This is a roundup of new hires and promotions in the digital marketing industry during July of 2015.
Data-Driven Marketing - ClickZ
Only 14 Percent of Marketers Are Confident When It Comes to Data [Study]
According to a new Millward Brown Digital study, 42 percent of marketers consider big data this year's top priority - however, only 14 percent are confident they're using it effectively.
Asia - ClickZ
7 SEO Tools to Improve Content Marketing
Key SEO tools to power a content marketing campaign.
Community Management - ClickZ
Social Media Week: Cult Brands Breed Community
According to leaders from Virgin Mega, SoulCycle, and Refinery29, providing fresh experiences and quality social content are two ways brands can maintain loyal fans, who also have the power to convert detractors.
Analytics - ClickZ
Venturing into a New Market? Ask These Questions Before Analyzing Your Data
Modern marketers embrace analytics as critical to their business operations - that's a given.
Data-Driven Marketing - ClickZ
Unlock Market Expertise with Data You're Already Collecting
Marketers can solidify their expert reputations by leveraging data they already have. It all starts with unique data sets, which can be passed along - and eventually sold - to others.
ClickZ News
Google May Not Give a F*** About Twitter, But Experts Say It Should
Twitter's falling share prices have, once again, sparked speculation that the time is right for Google to buy Twitter, but what benefits would the buyout really have?
Paid Search - ClickZ
Unlock More Volume with Broad Match
A Bing product called Broad Match, a method of query-keyword matching, promises to get marketers more conversions and ensure they lose less clicks, while reaching a wider audience.
more info...
Analytics - ClickZ
Cross-Device Data Analytics for Chinese Websites
It's a common practice in China for businesses to have multiple websites – one for desktop users, and another for mobile users. Here are analytics tools for overcoming this issue.
Strategies - ClickZ
Digital Marketing People on the Move: July 2015 Roundup
This is a roundup of new hires and promotions in the digital marketing industry during July of 2015.
Home - ClickZ
5 More Marketing Tips to Steal From London
London's burgeoning tech scene lends itself to innovative marketing tactics that all modern marketers should consider. Here are more marketing tips from a trip across the pond.
Paid Search - ClickZ
SEO and Strategy Tips for Success with Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is moving from a novelty to an expected experience to enhance user engagement and to make informed decisions. Here are tips to boost your success.
more info..
Paid Search - ClickZ
Competitive Insights Tools for Paid Search in AdWords and Bing Ads
Google AdWords and Bing Ads tools like Auction Insights, Ad Preview Tool and Keyword Planner keep search marketers ahead of the curve with regard to their pay-per-click campaigns.
more info..
Convergence Analytics - ClickZ
Cross-Device Data Analytics for Chinese Websites
It's a common practice in China for businesses to have multiple websites – one for desktop users, and another for mobile users. Here are analytics tools for overcoming this issue.
Social Media Smarts - ClickZ
How Customer Engagement Campaigns Impact Customer Experience
What is customer engagement, and how can brands use it to enhance customer experience? From encouraging personalization to challenging customer knowledge find out exactly how to improve customer experience and increase brand revenue.
8-1-15 9:27am PST
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ
It Can Be Hard to Shift a Habit
What does it take to break consumers of their shopping habits and move them to your brand?
8-1-15 9:27am PST
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ
It Can Be Hard to Shift a Habit
What does it take to break consumers of their shopping habits and move them to your brand?
8-1-15 5:13am PST
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ,
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ,
How Effective Is Your Content Strategy?
In order to measure the effectiveness of your content strategy, you must first clearly define the objectives and then link the objectives to metrics.
8-1-15 12:51am PST
SEO - ClickZ
Beyond YouTube: Alternate Video Venues
While YouTube is the dominant platform when it comes to video SEO, the video offerings on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat shouldn't be ignored.
8-1-15 12:51am PST
SEO - ClickZ
Beyond YouTube: Alternate Video Venues
While YouTube is the dominant platform when it comes to video SEO, the video offerings on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat shouldn't be ignored.
7-31-15 11:57pm PST
Social Media Smarts - ClickZ
3 Ways Brands are Using Social Analytics to Sell Smarter
Through social listening, and ligning customer service with marketing, and digital experiences with products, brands like Mattel and Warby Parker have mastered social analytics.
7-31-15 22:06pm PST
Community Management - ClickZ
Turning 5-Second Content Into Million Dollar Returns
WeChat is every marketer's go to platform in China right now, but creating shareable content to tap its 500 million users is the key.
7-31-15 8:09pm PST
Social Media Smarts - ClickZ
How SE Asian SMBs Are Leading the Way on Mobile
Facebook's Arrow Guo offers these tips to SMBs developing mobile-first social media pages.
7-31-15 7:09pm
Search Marketing - ClickZ
Pinterest Refines Image Search
The image-sharing platform has streamlined its search capability, in addition to adding trending topics and a spellcheck feature.
7-31-15 4:25pm PST
Search Marketing - ClickZ
Which Placements Should I Exclude on the Google Display Network?
The display network can be inconsistent - so when deciding which sites you shouldn't serve, it's important to focus on performance, brand match, and the placement's content and audience.
7-31-15 12;45pm PST
Social Commerce - ClickZ
The Social Commerce Fantasy
Using organic posts to get people to click, explore and then buy is difficult to optimize and scale. The Holy Grail is to build full buying experiences within the post itself.
7-31-15 10:45am PST
Strategies - ClickZ
Optimize the Buyer Journey with Respectful Retargeting
Retargeting has traditionally been about who's converted and who hasn't. But with the amount of available data, marketers now have to take a lot more consumer behaviors into consideration.
7-31-15 PST
Social Integration - ClickZ
Social Integration - ClickZ
The Importance of Immediacy
There is a gap between consumer expectations of sales and service using digital channels, and a company’s ability to deliver.
7-31-15 5:42am PST
ClickZ News
China's Ping An Leverages Social Data to Personalize Travel Insurance
Chinese insurer Ping An is using data-driven technology from British startup Bought By Many to develop niche product offerings in the travel insurance market.
7-31-15 4:57am PST
Video - ClickZ
What Produced Such Huge Gains for Facebook's Mobile Growth?
In Q2, Facebook’s mobile ad revenue increased 74 percent from last year, driven by Autoplay Video Ads and Carousel Ads, according to industry experts.
7-31-15 3:06am PST
Verifying Business Value - ClickZ
Apple Is The World's Most Valuable Brand [Study]
Having grown 67 percent from last year, Apple overtook Google for the top spot in WPP's annual ranking of the top 100 global brands, demonstrating technology's strong growth.
7-30-15 10:09pm PST
Marketing - ClickZ
Translation APIs for Online Businesses in Asia
Opening up your online business to markets in Asia means reaching a massive and constantly growing new consumer base.
7-30-15 9:03pm PST
Social Integration - ClickZ
Developing a Successful Multi-Market Social Campaign for APAC
Consumers in the Asia Pacific region are sophisticated users of social networks – in many ways, they are far ahead of the West when it comes to recognising their potential for communication, commerce and entertainment.
7-30-15 3:42pm PST
Media Planning - ClickZ
The Practical Guide to Programmatic Planning in China: Part 2
Conflict of interest remains a major hurdle in the development of China's programmatic landscape. Here is what clients need to know.
7-30--15 3:00pm PST
Convergence Analytics - ClickZ
Big Analytics, Good Will and 'The Queen of the Internet'
Spotify recently bought an analytics platform to quickly stay competitive after Apple got some brand good will at the hands of Taylor Swift.
7-30-15 1:03pm PST
Analytics - ClickZ
4 Tips to Get Measurement Right Upfront
Since the best data is your own, you should start by analyzing your owned channels, and then defining conversion and reporting times, and giving all partners measurement tool access.
7-30-15 12;06pm PST
Asia - ClickZ
Eyes Wide Open on Viewability
Viewability still poses its challenges for advertisers but the more viewability is introduced as a standard on campaigns, the quicker the quality will improve.
7-30-15 2:37am PST
Media - ClickZ
Our Smartphones, Ourselves
Our smartphones have so much data on everything about us, from our sleeping patterns to our shopping habits, they've become extensions of ourselves. Just how much of that data do marketers have access to?
7-30-15 11:09am PST
Paid Search - ClickZ
Fifty Shades of Grey Hat: The SEO Experts Weigh In
This columnist spoke to search experts about various Grey Hat SEO tactics, which are often indistinguishable from the Black Hat SEO tactics that can get your site banned from Google.
7-30-15 6:06am PST
ClickZ News
The Social Commerce Fantasy
Using organic posts to get people to click, explore and then buy is difficult to optimize and scale. The Holy Grail is to build full buying experiences within the post itself.
ClickZ
4 Social Media Buzzwords You Should Not Stop Using
By Angie Pascale,
link to Article
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2419292/4-social-media-buzzwords-you-should-not-stop-using
All digital marketers should keep the following four social media terms in their vocabulary.
Social media, like every other marketing initiative (and some would even argue more so), is full of buzzwords. I'll admit I use them every day, but when I hear others stringing them together in pretentious and increasingly nonsensical sentences, I become embarrassed, not only for the speaker, but for myself as well.
But regardless of how annoying these terms are, the reality is that some are necessary for our industry. Buzzwords can succinctly and accurately explain a concept, process or outcome, which otherwise might require several sentences or minutes to describe. That's why they came into usage in the first place, and why they became so prevalent. While I don't advocate using buzzwords in lieu of actual substance, I do feel that social media professionals and all digital marketers should keep the following four terms in their vocabulary:
Engagement
This term can be used in nearly any marketing capacity, but it really hit buzzword status with social media. That's because the core of social media is engagement. Engaging with prospective and existing customers, engaging with authorities in the industry, engaging with partners. Sure, we could use "make connections," "create conversions" or "build relationships" (and I know we all do), but using those terms would simply be replacing one buzzword with others, terms that don't define the concept with quite the same brevity or accuracy.
Personalization
"Personalization" has been gaining ground across all digital channels, not just social, as technology makes it easier and easier to truly personalize content and experiences for each individual customer.
Social media professionals tend to overuse the word to a greater extent because they have access to so much personal data about their audiences. Not only can we find out customer demographics, but we can learn their interests by the things they interact with and by reading actual conversations.
Here are two simple arguments as to why you should keep using "personalization" though: customers want it and it works. According to research by Janrain, 74% of customers say they are frustrated with websites that don't provide content that fits their interests. Those that do personalize see a 19 percent lift in sales. So personalize with abandon and use the term in an equally free fashion.
Relevant
You've heard it a million times before: You need to create relevant content to engage with relevant audiences on the most relevant channels. Okay, I hope no one has ever repeated the term that many times in a single sentence, but I wouldn't stake my first born on it. However, relevancy is important, almost as important as personalization.
Method can talk all day about cleaning tarnish off of silver or the best ways get wine out of cotton fabric, but they have no business discussing fashion or politics. These topics would at best confuse their audience and, at worst, offend them. Remaining true to your brand by discussing topics that are consistent and applicable will help to keep your audience's attention and build your credibility as a trusted source of information.
Influencers
The concept of an "influencer" is not new. Numerous other buzzwords have been used through the years to describe this type of person - key stakeholder, celebrity, endorser, authority, SME (subject matter expert), tastemaker. But in the social media realm, no term so deftly describes their power of inspiration and motivation as "influencer."
The reason is that influence in social media isn't just about getting people to make a purchase. It's about affecting others to share a piece of content, discuss your new product, download an ebook or sign up for a newsletter by the simple act of retweeting or sharing a Facebook post. Their influence spans actions big and small, short- and long-term. That same concept cannot be expressed with "tastemaker" alone.
We all have terms that personally irritate or frustrate us, but some find their way into our professional vernacular for good reason. These four terms are the most concise and definitive ways to describe the major approaches and concepts of social media. So don't be shy when using them in pitches, strategy meetings and everyday work conversation. Just be sure the buzzwords are relevant to the conversion and personalized to the audience you hope to engage and influence.
7-29-15 3:42pm PST
AnalyticsL'Oréal Canada finds beauty in programmatic buying
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | 1:45 PM
Labels: Google Analytics Premium
Cross-posted on the DoubleClick Advertiser Blog
While global sales of L'Oréal Luxe makeup brand Shu Uemura were booming, reaching its target audience across North America proved challenging. By collaborating with Karl Lagerfeld (and his cat, Choupette) and using DoubleClick Bid Manager and Google Analytics Premium, the campaign delivered nearly double the anticipated revenue.
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To learn more about Shu Uemura’s approach, check out the full case study.
7-28-15 12:48pm PST
How to Engage Your Audience with Native Advertising #CZLSF
By Tetyana Miroschnichenko,
Link to Article
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2419464/how-to-engage-your-audience-with-native-advertising-czlsf
n San Francisco, Lauri Baker, vice president of content partnerships at AOL, will discuss engagement as it relates to the line between sponsored and organic content.
With her session at ClickZ Live San Francisco just two weeks away, Lauri Baker, vice president of content partnerships at AOL, spoke with us about how to create resonance with the audience and how marketers should be thinking about native advertising to successfully blur the lines between sponsored and organic content.
ClickZ: What is Partner Studio by AOL? How is AOL helping brands become storytellers?
Lauri Baker: Partner Studio by AOL is the industry's first fully open data- and technology-powered content marketing solution that ignites end-to-end brand storytelling. It's an insights-led, award-winning creative engine that fuses the principles of storytelling with the power of data.
With complete fluidity of content, data and technology - from our system, to our advertisers' systems, to anywhere else they want to take it - our open approach helps brands create better ideas, tell better stories, and get better results for programs that are memorable and profitable.
CZ: What does "native advertising" mean to AOL and The Huffington Post?
LB: In basic terms, it means content that is advertiser-sponsored, transparent - clearly-labeled - and authentic to the platform, reader and brand.
CZ: What is a key factor to helping brands tell stories at scale as they look to build brand loyalty and affinity?
LB: Through a curated and collaborative model, native publishing allows our partners to surround and participate in the conversations that matter most to the brands and their communities. Curated editorial content creates a microcosm around an issue or theme, providing a relevant scaled platform to help answer the question, "What does this brand stand for?" Fueling this content with data and insights allows brands to scale quickly while developing content that drives brand loyalty, affinity, and lift in awareness and perception.
CZ: AOL Research shows 61 percent of consumers say they don't care if it's branded content as long as it's good. How do you create content that resonates with your audience?
LB: We leverage proprietary insights and data to understand what our audience is most interested in reading and sharing, as well as how certain content makes them feel. We then follow a basic set of best practices to ensure that our native articles are newsroom quality: stand out, inform, humanize, timely, don't oversell.
CZ: Consumers have more control than ever. They can avoid any content, ignore any message, and share their opinions anywhere and with anyone, anytime they want. How do you embrace this new brand/consumer dynamic?
LB: Agreed. Consumers are distracted, attention spans have decreased, and content is now coming from everywhere and everyone, across every device. But the opportunity for marketers is game-changing. Their consumers are now creators, and brands are now publishers. For the first time in history, marketers have been given the permission and platform to connect with consumers on a one-to-one basis. The challenge is the ability to cut through the clutter and reach the right person, on the right device, at the right time, with the right story. That's where Partner Studio by AOL can uniquely help.
CZ: Through content marketing, brands have become thought leaders and journalists themselves in many ways. How does this change the relationship with consumers? How does this impact society overall?
LB: Today, brands have a huge opportunity in front of them that was never there before. Not only do they need to sell products, but they now have the opportunity to impact consumers' lives and culture by becoming thought leaders and journalists themselves. Brands are experts on their consumers and industries. They are sitting on a mountain of data that can be unleashed as valuable content.
CZ: "Brands as publishers" is a commonly accepted notion at this point, but it's easier said than done. What do you apply from your expertise in media journalism to branded content?
LB: We know a good story needs to be rooted in data and insights, and told in a way that captures consumers' attention and emotion. Additionally, these stories must be distributed at scale in order to make a significant impact. The art is bringing all of this to life through real-time stories that are in-sync with the news cycle. The most important lesson we've learned is the value of building reader trust by not being afraid to ignite the world's most important conversations.
To catch Lauri Baker at ClickZ Live San Francisco, get your ticket by registering here. Her session, "Native Ads: The Power of Blending In to Get Noticed," will be at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11 as part of the Content Innovation Track.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tetyana is a Senior Marketing Executive at ClickZ. She moved to New York from Ukraine in 2006 to pursue a career in digital marketing, eventually graduating from Baruch College with a BBA degree in International Marketing and a minor in Japanese. Tetyana is passionate about traveling, architecture, music, and she loves making lists.
Pandora's Sponsored Listening: How Less Interruption Could Create More Engagement
By Emily Laford
Pandora's Sponsored Listening ad offering has exited beta, giving listeners 60 minutes of uninterrupted music and allowing brands to target content to their ideal audience.
After nearly a year of beta testing, Pandora has finally launched "Sponsored Listening," which offers listeners an hour of uninterrupted music in exchange for opt-in brand engagement.
In order to enter a Sponsored Listening session, Pandora users must click on a banner ad that leads to a video, swipable slideshow, or other rich media unit, such as the 360-degree product views favored by brands like Land Rover North America. In exchange for a minimum 15 seconds of engagement, listeners will get an hour of uninterrupted music, which brands may follow with an audio ad thanking them for their attention. 
With more than 80 percent of its audience listening via mobile, Pandora realized how important it was to engage audiences with compelling, mobile-optimized content that wouldn't overwhelm users, according to Lizzie Widhelm, senior vice president of ad product and sales for Pandora.
"In today's environment, all brands are struggling to get attention," Widhelm says. "This product is specific to mobile, and we're excited about that. Sponsored Listening lets users make the choice to engage with advertising and ensures that the brand delivers a quality experience right back at them."
Pandora isn't the first music app to trade brand engagement for an ad-free music experience. Nearly a year ago, Spotify rolled out "Sponsored Sessions," which offer 30 minutes of music in exchange for watching one piece of branded video content.
But Pandora's longer beta period could offer advertisers targeting and pricing opportunities that similar products from competitors don't. If a desired segment doesn't respond, advertisers don't pay, which is a departure from Pandora's traditional ad model.
"This is priced based on engagement," Widhelm says. "If the listener doesn't reach the required attention mark of 15 seconds, the advertiser doesn't pay. It's about that lean-in experience, which is much different from our CPM pricing."
But Pandora feels pretty confident that most listeners will reach that critical 15-second mark. In tests, Sponsored Listening resulted in a 12 percent lift in brand awareness and a 30 percent increase in purchase intent for brands like Corona Extra and Gatorade.
Sponsored Listening is Pandora's second ad product update this summer. In July, the company broughtprogrammatic ads to mobile in an effort to stay competitive in a sea of new music apps, including those from Apple and Google.
Pandora's Sponsored Listening: How Less Interruption Could Create More Engagement
By Emily Laford
Pandora's Sponsored Listening ad offering has exited beta, giving listeners 60 minutes of uninterrupted music and allowing brands to target content to their ideal audience.
After nearly a year of beta testing, Pandora has finally launched "Sponsored Listening," which offers listeners an hour of uninterrupted music in exchange for opt-in brand engagement.
In order to enter a Sponsored Listening session, Pandora users must click on a banner ad that leads to a video, swipable slideshow, or other rich media unit, such as the 360-degree product views favored by brands like Land Rover North America. In exchange for a minimum 15 seconds of engagement, listeners will get an hour of uninterrupted music, which brands may follow with an audio ad thanking them for their attention.
With more than 80 percent of its audience listening via mobile, Pandora realized how important it was to engage audiences with compelling, mobile-optimized content that wouldn't overwhelm users, according to Lizzie Widhelm, senior vice president of ad product and sales for Pandora.
"In today's environment, all brands are struggling to get attention," Widhelm says. "This product is specific to mobile, and we're excited about that. Sponsored Listening lets users make the choice to engage with advertising and ensures that the brand delivers a quality experience right back at them."
Pandora isn't the first music app to trade brand engagement for an ad-free music experience. Nearly a year ago, Spotify rolled out "Sponsored Sessions," which offer 30 minutes of music in exchange for watching one piece of branded video content.
But Pandora's longer beta period could offer advertisers targeting and pricing opportunities that similar products from competitors don't. If a desired segment doesn't respond, advertisers don't pay, which is a departure from Pandora's traditional ad model.
"This is priced based on engagement," Widhelm says. "If the listener doesn't reach the required attention mark of 15 seconds, the advertiser doesn't pay. It's about that lean-in experience, which is much different from our CPM pricing."
But Pandora feels pretty confident that most listeners will reach that critical 15-second mark. In tests, Sponsored Listening resulted in a 12 percent lift in brand awareness and a 30 percent increase in purchase intent for brands like Corona Extra and Gatorade.
Sponsored Listening is Pandora's second ad product update this summer. In July, the company broughtprogrammatic ads to mobile in an effort to stay competitive in a sea of new music apps, including those from Apple and Google.
