ADVERTISING
The future of marketing in the United States
The United States held its election last week, and two things are clear:
- One day is enough election stress – the week-long affair the U.S. had was an exhausting ride (one that’s still going in some states).
- In all likelihood, Joe Biden will be the United States’ president starting in January.
We’re not a politics newsletter – so why are we bringing this up? Well, it’s been a crazy year worldwide for the state of advertising. And, as any of you who grappled with CCPA hurdles this summer will know, legislation relating to consumer privacy and big tech can have massive ripple effects on the state of digital marketing.
Fortunately, we have a pretty good idea on how Biden wants to move forward with advertising-related issues. Here are some of the main points:
- A big tech breakup is somewhat unlikely. Though there have been calls to break up large companies like Google and Facebook, Biden hasn’t said anything firm on the issue. He has, however, said it’s worth taking a look at – but has been nowhere near as aggressive as many others in the Democratic party.
- We could be seeing more consumer privacy restrictions. Remember CCPA (soon to become CPRA)? We could see something like that on a national scale with a Biden presidency. He’s voiced support for setting up privacy restrictions similar to what exists in parts of Europe. Facebook’s currently having a bit of a battle with said legal restrictions.
- Social media should be on alert. Biden has been a vocal supporter of eliminating Section 230, a controversial law that shields social media companies from being liable for content on their platforms. If this were repealed, we could see a big change in how the social giants operate.
The Crew’s take: Yes, yes, we know. Politicians are notorious for saying one thing and doing another. But, it’s important to take a look at how the next four years might change in digital marketing if Biden’s able to follow through on his promises.
SEO
A couple tips for optimizing URLs in WordPress
Hundreds of millions of websites are using WordPress. It doesn’t matter if you’re a site owner yourself or an SEO consultant – odds are you’ll encounter the platform at one point or another.
So, how do we go about SEO-ifying website URLs in WordPress? Well, it’s much like what you’d do anywhere else. Corey Morris just wrote a great piece on the topic in Search Engine Journal, and we’ll break down our favorite tips here:
+ Make sure you’re using a good permalink structure. Keywords in URLs can have an impact on ranking, so make sure your WordPress site is configured to handle URLs properly. If you head over to Settings -> Permalinks in WordPress, you’ll be able to create a good structure.
Generally, a good structure for blog posts is: example.com/blog/post-name – if your site has multiple blog categories, though, you can get more complex.
+ Keep your URLs straightforward. It’s general SEO practice to keep your URLs short and to the point, when possible. For example, Corey suggests instead of:
example.com/the-burning-man-sunrise-party-we-went-to-was-awesome
You should try:
example.com/burning-man-sunrise-party
These tips keep your URLs more succinct and relevant for both Google and your readers. It’s a win-win! There are plenty more tips in Corey’s full article, which you can show some love here.
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- Users say that StreamYard is like an “out of body experience” when it comes to customer support. So, not only it’s easy to use, if you’ll ever have any issues, you can be sure they’ll be fixed.
- Did we mention no downloads? StreamYard works in your browser.
- StreamYard makes it super-easy to share your broadcast on different platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Periscope, Twitch and others.
- Invite up to 10 people. This will improve the quality of your content with interviews, debates, or full blown shows!
- Get your audience involved by showing their comments on display and replying to them live.
- Call on your audience to take action with CTAs added straight in your broadcast.
If all these features excited you about starting a live broadcast right away, do it with StreamYard.
COPYWRITING
Bukowski and copywriting
Charles Bukowski never met Ernest Hemingway. His time came later and angrier, but like Hemingway, he was known for an off-kilter style and disdain for the status quo. Also like Hemingway, Bukowski’s work is important for copywriters today.
Bukowski had thousands of poems and stories rejected when he was getting his start, but his work remains incredibly relevant. Back in the summer, we wrote about Hemingway’s influence on writing and how we can use it in our copy.
Today, it’s Bukowski’s turn:
- Write tacos, not art. Like Hemingway, the words Bukowski used weren’t complicated and they cut straight to the point. He wasn’t a fan of the pretentious, best evidenced by his legendary quote, “Great art is horseshit. Buy tacos.” Sometimes, your copywriting should look more like tacos than great art.
- Just do it – and forget grammar. In Post Office, Bukowski writes, “In the morning it was morning and I was still alive. Maybe I’ll write a novel, I thought. And then I did.” Try approaching your writing in the same way. And don’t be afraid to start sentences with ‘And’ – Bukowski wasn’t a big fan of grammar norms.
- Don’t give up! Bukowski’s work wasn’t known for its positivity, but there was some to be had when he wrote, “writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.” This is sound advice for copywriters. Just because you don’t have ideas doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write. Keep chugging along!
Even if you’re not a fan of Bukowski (there are plenty of reasons not to be), the principles he used in his writing are perfectly applicable to advertising.
In a world full of bland copy, try chasing Bukowski or Hemingway. You may never catch up – but it’s the pursuit that’s fun, anyway.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
COPYWRITING: Ready to use some of your Bukowski-powered copywriting tips in the real world? Hubspot’s got a handy inspiration article with some powerful words you can use.
FACEBOOK: It looks like Facebook is starting to roll out its ‘Public Groups’ feature to some users!
ADVERTISING: E-commerce is about to be wild this quarter, but traditional advertising is going to be down about 10% in the UK this Christmas.
FACEBOOK: If you’re looking for ways to increase brand awareness and write good copy, Facebook’s new guide is a helpful one.
BRAIN TEASER
You know what to do. Here were last week’s subject lines:
📚 New feed.
🛑 Stop.
😌 Quiet.
🐻 Always take the bear.
Which one got the highest open rate? Go vote on our Twitter poll here. We’ll be back Wednesday with answers.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Got a spare $250? Elon Musk wants it
Elon Musk is always up to something, isn’t he?
Whether it’s launching Tesla-branded shorts or changing the price of a car to $69,420 (read it again if you don’t get why it should be funny), Elon keeps things exciting.
And, to honor his April Fool’s joke from back in 2018, Elon Musk has launched a tequila brand, appropriately named Tesla Tequila.
It’ll run you $250 a bottle, though – so that better be some good tequila. Unfortunately, it’s already sold out on the site – so if you want to find out for yourself, you’ll have a while to wait!