Good morning, Marketer, and there are big questions to be asked about social media. There’s just too much going on, of course, to seriously suggest that we’re in a time of reckoning for social media. But there are big questions to be asked — see, for example, our Quote of the Day below, from former New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout. Are the upsides of social media worth the downsides? Is it going to rebuild itself as a genuinely safe space for brands to present themselves and their messages? The answers will be slow in coming. Facebook and Instagram are built to withstand all kinds of market and public pressures; Twitter, which has struggled to be profitable, will face the challenge of a lower profile now it’s not the primary channel for Presidential news. The answer, however, seems to have come very abruptly to Parler, the conservative social network. At time of writing, it’s unavailable, after being suspended from the Amazon cloud. There’s a good discussion here about the obstacles facing Parler as it attempts a return. My speculation is that it wasn’t going to be a place, anyway, where many brands wanted to be. Kim Davis
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| | | M&A | | | | | How marketing ops can survive and thrive in M&A | | For many marketing ops teams, a merger or acquisition is either a current obstacle to navigate or a likely event looming on the horizon. Before a dip last year, M&A transactions were at an all-time high in the US. But marketing ops teams can rise to the occasion when faced with M&A growing pains. Thriving in M&A situations requires leadership skills when it comes to re-organizing and integrating teams; a careful inventory and assessment of all systems, data flows, and associated processes; taking stock of the martech stack as a single layer; and the prioritization of customer data. Making the necessary changes is a juggling act, where dropping a ball could mean wasted time and lost revenue for the organization. We spoke with martech practitioners Helen Abramova, Darrel Alfonso and Steve Petersen about the M&A challenge. Read more here. |
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| | | PPC | | | | | Google Ads and SMBs: How to drive results on a low budget | | Small businesses and the agencies who serve them understand the balance between getting results and staying on-budget when it comes to PPC. Google’s own data estimates that businesses profit $8 for every $1 spent on Google Ads, so finding the best bang for your SMB buck is critical. Unlike larger enterprise advertisers, lower budget PPC players can’t just throw extra money at their accounts to figure out what works best for them. In her SMX presentation, “Small Budget Tactics That Pack A Serious Punch,” Amalia Fowler, director of marketing services at Snaptech Marketing, offers strategies and tactics to help SMB-focused agencies make the most of their clients’ low spend. A few of her top recommendations include the following: - Focus on longer-tail keywords
- Work to improve your Quality Score
- Adjust by audiences
- Ditch what’s not working
- Adapt quickly to Google Ads changes
Low budget accounts should focus on a few effective campaigns instead of spreading money over too many campaigns. Fowler recommends looking at what campaigns get the most qualified leads per month (those leads that turn into clients) and to invest your spend there. Read more here. |
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| | | | How to build a marketing system of record | | Exceptional marketers ready to lead the comeback in 2021 need to innovate faster, and be able to quickly pivot budget, resources and plans when the company or strategic direction changes. With a Marketing System of Record, all work can be visible, trackable and actionable, allowing you to create end-to-end processes for any contingency. Join this webinar and learn how a Marketing System of Record can bring greater efficiency and consistency to creative work and marketing campaigns, while allowing your team to prove their value. Sign up now! » |
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| | | Virtual Events | | | | | Hopin nabs Streamyard | | Virtual events platform Hopin last week acquired live-streaming studio Streamyard for a reported $250 million. The move represents consolidation in the virtual events space. Unlike Zoom, for example, Hopin offers functionality suitable for conferences as well as for small group meetings, including ticketing and registration, break-out groups and meetings, and an expo area. Hopin aims to offer, in effect, a virtual event venue, with all the features required to host a virtual conference for a large audience. This is an alternative to the best-of-breed approach described by Third Door Media’s SVP Marketing and Technology, Marc Sirkin, at the MarTech conference last year: “When we looked at what was in the market-place and what we had used before, and mapped it to what our requirements were for success,” he said, “it became evident to us that we could do this at lower cost and much more flexibility [by assemblin] best-of-breed components and elements.” Why we care. We’re witnessing the same debate around the virtual event stack that has played out around the full martech stack for several years: the all-in-one, plug and play package versus highly customized, purpose-built stacks. Whichever side of the debate is favored, more consolidation in the virtual event space seems likely this year. Read more here. |
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| | | Mobile | | | | | Mailchimp acquires SMS platform Chatitive | | Mailchimp, the marketing platform aimed at the small business market, has announced the acquisition of Chatitive. Chatitive is a two-way SMS solution, designed to deliver personalized mobile messages to customers. It adds to Mailchimp’s portfolio of email, websites, marketing automation, and AI-powered “smart tools.” SMS is considered a critical channel for small businesses to share timely messages and promote offers and discounts to their customers. Why we care. In the current environment, small businesses can leverage martech to level the playing field when it comes to virtual marketing. Mailchimp is one of a number of vendors enhancing its offerings to support this opportunity. Read more about Mailchimp and AI here. |
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| | | | Dive deep with an SMX workshop | | SEO For Developers. Google Tag Manager For Marketers And Analysts. Which workshop will you choose? Join us online, February 24-25, for an expert-led, interactive training experience loaded with actionable tactics and proven advice… just $149! Register now! » |
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| | | Quote of the day | | | | | | | “Imagine if for the last ten years, we had social media that did not actively recommend conspiracy theories, white nationalism, and maximally conflict-driven posts. We do not need to allow the targeted-ad business model to control our public sphere. This is a policy choice.” Zephyr Teachout, Fordham University law professor. |
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