TIKTOK
TikTok announces a TV app, longer video formats may be coming
There’s been a ridiculous amount of TikTok news this week, and it feels fitting to close the week out with – you guessed it – some more TikTok news. Ready? Here’s a breakdown:
- Want more TikTok? Well, you can have it. A new app for Amazon Fire TV, called More On TikTok, was designed to experiment how well the TikTok format works on TV screens. Two new categories, In The Studio and This is TikTok, will offer some longer-format interviews and behind the scenes with creators.
- Zuck is keeping his cool. In a company-wide meeting yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg declined to say whether Facebook was in talks to purchase TikTok. He did mention, though, that he thinks a TikTok ban would set “a really bad long-term precedent,” and would only be somewhat beneficial to Facebook – that second bit is slightly harder to believe.
- Microsoft wants the world. It’s been reported that Microsoft is considering going global with its TikTok purchase instead of just purchasing the United States, Australia, and New Zealand properties.
The Crew’s take: If you’re getting tired of hearing about TikTok, we’re right there with you – but some of the upcoming changes could have big impacts for marketers. If TikTok’s format takes off on TV, marketers may see more potential in a market where longer-form videos are more commonplace. Buckle up, it’s going to be a long ride to the finish line.
SEO
Google clarifies common problems with mobile-first indexing
Ever heard of mobile-first indexing? It’s the term Google uses to describe their transition from primarily desktop-based crawling to mobile, and it’s one of many steps Google is taking to make search a more relevant place for users.
And, odds are, your site might already be on mobile-first indexing – though the blanket rollout is slated for sometime in the near future. If you haven’t thought about the changes you might need to make to accommodate for a mobile-first approach, now’s the time!
Fortunately, Google’s Martin Splitt clarified some of the biggest challenges that come with mobile-first indexing, and what you can do about them. Here are the highlights:
- Make sure to double-check your mobile site for content issues. With mobile-first indexing, Google is using your mobile pages to rank your site, not the desktop version – content issues on the mobile version of your site are more important than ever.
- Content should be identical between mobile and desktop sites. Depending on your site layout, you might find it easier to reformat, rewrite, or cut some of the content from your mobile site – this isn’t a good idea! To deal with mobile-first indexing, your mobile site should have the same content as your desktop site.
- Make sure to add meta descriptions, and keep structured data consistent across mobile and desktop sites. Martin stated that meta descriptions on mobile “matter a lot for Googlebot.” If you’re curious about what he really means, check out a follow-up Twitter discussion here.
Mobile-first indexing sounds scary, but it’s just another way Google is trying to make search results more relevant for users. In a word: if your site is serving users well on mobile, you’re probably in the clear!
SPONSORED BY BRUNCHWORK
The ultimate actionable guide to enhance your business relationships and get more clients, sales, partnerships and funding
Did you know that misery really does love company? But, so does happiness. For example, if your friend is happy, you are 15% more likely to also experience happiness.
This is known as the Three Degrees of Influence principle, and it touches all the areas of our life: marriage, smoking, health and… business.
It is one of the three science-based principles found in brunchwork’s Ultimate Guide to Business Networking.
brunchwork is a community of 100k+ high achieving business leaders and entrepreneurs. This free guide is designed to boost your networking game and it contains:
- What you can learn from IKEA that can almost instantly make your business relationships strong like steel cables.
- The same technique used by Benjamin Franklin to get almost anything from your circle.
- The 8 steps “piggy banks” timeline to create and cement your relationship: What “to deposit” in every step of a newborn relationship to make it grow… So you can “withdraw” from it whenever you need to.
- 6 tools to grow and maintain your business network.
- Ready to use cold email templates: The team at brunchwork has sent thousands of cold emails and has gotten responses from investors, tech, and creative leaders.
Download brunchwork’s Ultimate Guide to Business Networking for free here.
E-COMMERCE
17 DTC leaders share their top e-commerce trends for 2020
Nike and Nordstrom are laying off staff. JC Penny and J Crew filed for bankruptcy. GNC and Starbucks are closing stores. Suffice to say, things aren’t looking bright for retail – but what’s next for e-commerce?
Well, that’s a serious question, one that requires a large and comprehensive answer. We’ll take this one from Common Thread Collective – they talked to 17 experts to identify the top 10 e-commerce trends for 2020. There’s a lot to break down, so here are some of our favorite points:
+ The myth of diversification: With Facebook becoming hyper-saturated, diversifying your acquisition channel became a buzzword in the DTC space. But the reality is… A channel that can generate the same returns at the same volume of Facebook simply does not exist.
Marketers will look to other traffic sources, but, eventually, Facebook and Instagram will still take the throne.
+ LTV: yay or nay? When calculating your CLTV (customer lifetime value), the lifetime is a long time. And often, it’s far too long for a business nowadays, considering the demand for cash-flow needed to operate.
Whereas your CLTV is a fundamental metric, it’s not the end-all be-all. Sooo, what’s the solution? Payback windows, defined as “the revenue value of specific customer segments over limited time frames”.
+ The meat-and-potatoes tactics to spike AOV will stay: Order bump upsells, discounts tied to spend threshold, subscription incentives for MRR, loyalty programs, and installment plans.
+ More channels will mean more challenges: Diversification has already been discussed. The advice here is to align channels with your business goals, as well as integrating social, search, and point of purchase into a single funnel.
+ Kiss social selling goodbye and embrace intimate personalization: Despite the hype, in-app purchases aren’t taking over just yet. Customers need intimacy, and that’s not always accomplished via social.
There are a couple hot takes in here – you may have your own opinions on the state of e-commerce and advertising for 2020. But, if you’d like to check out the full article, you can do that here.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
SEO: According to some users, Google is collecting feedback about how long it took sites to load after you’re done visiting them.
GOOGLE: If you use the Google Search Console API, you’ll want to check out the suite of updates that Google announced yesterday.
ZOOM: Some new features, including lighting adjustments and background noise suppression, are available on Zoom. Your meetings might be a little less boring now…who are we kidding, no they won’t.
TIKTOK: The video sharing app is dropping $500M on its first EU data center in Ireland, promising that the facility will help to safeguard user data and create hundreds of jobs.
FACEBOOK: Are you ready to start using more hashtags? Facebook wants you to, but it’s unclear whether people will actually jump on board.
SEO: Do negative reviews and ratings hurt SEO? John Mueller breaks it down in a quick video.
PINTEREST: Whether in class or at home, students are getting ready to go back to school. This guide from Pinterest shows some of the rising interests as school season ramps up.
BRAIN TEASER
I am the beginning of sorrow and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never out of darkness. What am I?
You can find the solution here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
This might be your worst nightmare
The vertical video format has been criticized early and often. While we normally love it, there are plenty of people out there who can’t stand vertical orientation, particularly for serious videos. If you are one of those people, it’d be best if you stopped reading right now.
Still with us? Apple just dropped a new film, titled Vertical Cinema, this week – and everything you need to know is in the title. The 9-minute film by filmmaker Damien Chazelle aims to capture the magic of cinema, vertically. And, of course, it’s shot on iPhone.
The short film offers up a lot to take in, too. It starts out as an action film, turns into a black-and-white silent movie, gives us some Indiana Jones vibes at one point, and a whole lot more.
You can check out the whole thing here. We’d recommend it.