Do You Have a 2017 Strategy for Cross-Device Marketing?
With mobile now a key platform for digital display ad, social media and e-mail viewing, and even print integrating with mobile and online, marketers clearly need a 2017 cross-device strategy. At AccuList USA, we have expanded our digital marketing offerings, but clients cannot reap full benefits without a commitment to cross-device creative and customer analytics. As a 2016 Econsultancy survey noted, only 14% of marketers said their company was able to handle customer matching across multiple devices, even though almost three-fourths of respondents felt cross-device customer tracking was a strategic priority. Where to start?
Leverage Digital Analytics Reporting
A recent Direct Marketing News article by Pierre DeBois offers some good tips for initiating a cross-device strategy. Start with analytics platform reporting now that Google Analytics, Piwik and Adobe Analytics all offer a user ID feature, a modification to the analytics tag, to allow cross-device visits to be an identifiable segment in the analytics reports. DeBois also suggests setting up report filters for digital traffic to take advantage of what is already known about the digital points at which customers engage, such identifying web traffic by the IP address of a store site to track customers who shop the site while in-store.
Optimize for Mobile & Social
A mobile site that makes it easy for customers to act immediately—whether they want to order, call or download—is a must. Try to keep the mobile site focused on a simple purpose, DeBois advises; for example, a retailer can prioritize an option for in-store shipping delivery. With strong mobile traffic, a marketer can even develop enough audience to support an app launch. Since accessing social media is a key activity for mobile users, and video viewing continues to soar, marketers will want to leverage social traffic stats and demographic parameters to tailor content to social media platforms, with an eye to mobile and visual/video impact. For example, half of YouTube’s traffic arrives via a mobile device. DeBois cites the Google Customer Journey tool as one way for marketers to adjust when media content should be deployed and extend impressions through social media ads.
Use Ad Features That Bridge Devices
Design ads for cross-device viewing and response. Especially take advantage of the paid search platforms’ expanded mobile and IoT (Internet of Things) offerings, with device selection for re-marketing and paid search ads, call extensions and cross-device reporting. For example, Google AdWords reporting can display an overview of cross-device activity, showing assisting device and device paths reports and comparing last click and click-assists. Marketers can use this tracking to learn about the conversion path—the steps customers take toward a sale, download, or other outcome—and evaluate ad impact.
For the article and more from DeBois, go to http://www.dmnews.com/marketing-strategy/how-to-read-analytics-clues-for-a-cross-device-marketing-strategy/article/570022/
2017 Event Marketing: Social, Visual & Data-Focused
Event professionals can look forward to some exciting new marketing trends in 2017–especially in the social, digital and data arenas–as recently highlighted in both an EventManagerBlog survey and a post by MarketingTango, the marketing blog for brands like PIP and Sir Speedy. Since AccuList USA has seen similar trends, it has responded with more social media and multi-channel programs to bolster its existing event marketing expertise in market-tested lists. Event marketing trends to watch this year include:
More Data and Retargeting, With a Social Twist
Many event professionals reported to EventMB that they saw an increase in the amount and quality of data available through social media in 2016–data that can be used to improve retargeting and create better multi-channel campaigns in 2017. MarketingTango points out that tighter targeting of the right VIPs and digital influencers will allow marketers to ride their social media coattails to higher Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram traffic and maximize social data ROI. EventMB even reports a trend to use of electronic tablets as part of the registration process, with tablets staying with attendees for real-time data, such as vendor visits.
Engagement, Contests & Connections
Underlying social media’s growth as an event tool is its ability to boost engagement and professional connectivity. Certainly, per EventMB’s survey, using contests and giveaways for posting or tagging in social media is a big trend with exhibitors, who not only reap booth traffic but free marketing buzz as people tag and share. MarketingTango likewise notes the growing use of a “digital social wall” to engage attendees in real-time and harness the power of hashtags to own conversations. Social media also offers more ways to connect, and EventMB’s surveyed event pros reported increased use of Snapchat and Snapchat geolocation filters to meet and connect as well as use of guest-generated pop-up events such as Twitter meetups.
Event Apps Becoming a Must
Jennifer Hawkins, Director of Marketing at live engagement marketing firm Double Dutch, told MarketingTango that show/convention apps are another must for today’s marketer: “Fifty-six percent of users engage with event applications at least 10 times on average, proving that attendees are eager for this type of timely, contextual content.” Apps are especially appealing because results are trackable.
Demand for Sleeker, More Visual Digital
Event marketers also stressed that today’s attendees want websites and landing pages that are easy-to-use, faster and more concise, preferring bullets and visuals over wordy pages. Image-based platforms are winning more followers, and many event pros forecast growing popularity for video in event invitations, event advertisements, virtual reality experiences to sell venues, event highlight reels, and, for those who can’t attend live, feeds from the event.
For more, read the articles at http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/8-trends-in-socialmedia-and-eventmarketing and http://www.marketingtango.com/event-marketing-trends-2017-beyond/
Study: Brands Fail to Recognize Customers Across Channels
Just 9% of marketers say they can consistently recognize customers across media channels, according to the MediaPost report on a new white paper published by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA). The study, conducted by Winterberry Group, is based on interviews with marketers from about 120 organizations.
Marketing to Devices, Not People
Per the MediaPost story, the study did find that companies have improved how they provide the same brand experience across channels, with slightly more than 77% of participants claiming to coordinate the delivery of content across all the media channels extremely well, fairly well or to some extent. But since most companies are marketing to devices not people, the challenge has been recognizing the same customers as they cross devices, for example going from search to catalog, or from mobile to in-store. Companies do realize that there is a problem per the survey, with some 72% of those participating identifying audience recognition as a “moderate” or higher priority.
The Need for Data Management
And when asked what would help to advance their organization’s efforts to better recognize addressable audiences across marketing media, better aggregation and management of data, cited by nearly 48% of marketers, led the top five solutions. Better integration of existing marketing technology followed as a solution for 39.5%; better systems and processes to connect audience profiles was listed by 38.4%; more first party data was the choice of 33.7%; and higher quality first-party data was named by 26.7%. Given those statistics, it’s not surprising that AccuList USA has seen growing interest in its data services, including customer database development, hygiene and analytics.
For more statistics from the study and for a link to download a free white paper copy, go to the MediaPost article at http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/289223/brands-cannot-recognize-their-omnichannel-customer.html
