ADVERTISING
During down cycles, play the long game
Planning your marketing strategy amidst global economic uncertainty can feel scarier than jumping onto a trampoline from your rooftop.
But it’s not all hand-wringing…
You just need the right mix: According to the “Rules of Recession-Proofing” report,
- Contextual advertising is king. It’s 1.2 to 2.5 times more effective than other forms of advertising, including behavioral targeting.
- Brands that don’t spend lose market share… up to 15% of it, to be exact. All it takes is for a similarly-sized competitor to double their ad spend right when you’re cutting yours.
Why we care: During uncertain economic times, it’s essential to study what has worked over time so you can invest your marketing dollars accordingly.
And based on this report’s analysis of billions of dollars in ad spend, a combination of brand-building and contextual advertising appears to be a resilient mix.
Speaking of contextual advertising…
Interest-based ad testing, plus two features that could simplify marketers’ lives
Google may have paused the cookie-less future until 2024…
But they’re dipping their toes into contextual advertising in the meantime.
What’s going on: The company announced they plan to test interest-based ad solution FLEDGE, a tool in their Privacy Sandbox, for a small percentage of users on August 28.
Very interesting: As users visit different websites, Google will add browsers to “interest groups” depending on the website content, which it will later use to show users relevant ads.
Google claims FLEDGE relies on APIs and interest groups to track user behavior without compromising privacy.
… They’re also trying to simplify: Google is introducing two features that could make advertisers’ lives easier.
- Tag, you’re it: Even with the centralized Google Tag Manager, tagging is still a pain. So Google is rolling out a single reusable tag that uses your existing gtag.js implementations and can be installed on all your web pages.
- Getting organized: Pages, items, and issue classifications are getting a new report in Search Console that should make it easier to prioritize and fix issues that affect your website’s visibility.
Why we care: Attribution is difficult, and marketers are under a lot of pressure to show ROI. Google’s new tag sounds like it could help.
And if you’ve been reading our newsletter for a while, you know we’re all about contextual advertising.
Google’s FLEDGE test sounds like a step in the right direction for marketers and customers alike. It will be interesting to learn how it goes.
SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO
This one cognitive bias could boost your landing page conversion rate by 33.77%
Imagine walking into the office and being approached by someone who introduces himself by saying, “Hey, I’m Jordan, and I’m a successful man.”
Do you believe him?
Now imagine seeing a well-dressed man driving a Lamborghini.
Chances are you’ll conclude that person is successful.
“Wait, what does this have to do with my landing page conversion rate?”
Well… If you want to have more sales, don’t make claims. Instead, nurture conclusions.
In the System 1 Manipulation report, we show you an example of one landing page that got a 33.77% boost in conversions simply by following this principle.
… And it’s just one of 50 ways to leverage human cognitive biases.
Care to learn more about cognitive biases and how you can leverage them in your own marketing?
Preview the System 1 Manipulation report here.
COPYWRITING
10 copywriting hacks for high-converting copy
You don’t have to be J.K. Rowling to write copy that engages readers and motivates them to buy…
You just need to know a few effective techniques.
Chase Dimond recently published a thread of 10 powerful hacks that can take your copy to the next level.
Let’s get hacking…
1 – Compare: If you’re different from or better than your competitor, don’t be afraid to say it. Show customers you’re cheaper, faster, etc.
2 – Reframe the pricing: Numbers can be abstract. Bring your prices down to earth by comparing them with something else. “Less than three lattes a month” sounds cheaper and more appetizing than $9/month.
3 – Add visuals: Plain text = boring. Add images, infographics, bold words, etc. to make your copy more engaging.
4 – Ask for effective testimonials: The best testimonials use the same pattern: before > transformation > after. Ask your customers to follow this pattern and then use their words in your copy.
5 – Raw data wins: Raw numbers are more believable than rounded numbers. If 79% of customers think your product is the best, say so. Don’t round up to 80%.
6 – Your customers are your salespeople: When describing the benefits of your product, back them up with testimonials. People will always trust other people more than you.
7 – Use repetition: Done right, repetition makes copy memorable and effective. Don’t feel bad about repeating yourself.
8 – Handle objections in the call-to-action (CTA): You can boost engagement by using your CTA to answer objections. Objection: “Will this trial cost me money?” CTA: “Try it free—no credit card.” Done!
9 – Don’t sell, entertain: The more you write to sell, the less effective your copy will be. Joke around, tell compelling stories, add some personality to the brand voice.
10 – Profit from your competitor’s flaws: Check your competitor’s product pages for 3-star reviews, and turn their biggest complaints into your selling points. Voila!
Powerful stuff, right? Try working these tips into your copy. You might be surprised by the results.
SPONSORED BY SUPERSIDE
Creatives by the top 1% of designers…. at 50% of the cost
Wouldn’t it be great to never worry again about where to get your next video ads or Instagram pics?
… and to never waste time getting five rounds of edits from average designers ever again?
… or ever worry about getting your creatives on time?
With Superside, you get pixel-perfect creatives done 75% faster, 50% cheaper, and by the top 1% of design talent… without having to talk to designers.
THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
Struggling to get customers? Try launching a product testers’ program
Acquiring customers is always a challenge… and with so many people cutting back on their spending, it’s getting harder.
If you’re having difficulty getting people to convert for an e-commerce or SaaS product, try this tactic:
- Create a special program for your target customers. If your audience is marketers, this could be something like an “Exclusive Marketers’ Program.”
- Send those people to a specific landing page advertising a discount on your product. For best results, use a firm number, like $100 store credit, instead of a percentage discount number. It’s normally viewed as higher-value.
- Ask those people to enter the email to receive their code. Now you’ve got interested customers in your system.
- Send those customers an email sequence of three or four emails with their gift card code and calls-to-action (CTAs) for purchase. If someone’s already entered their email, they’re moderately interested in your product. You just need to give them that final push.
For best results, add scarcity to your special program. Tell people there are only, say, 100 slots.
This helps them feel like they’re part of an in-group and can boost conversions.
Why this works: People don’t like paying full-price.
And while sitewide discounts are nice, they’re even more attractive if they’re part of a special program that speaks to one particular segment of your customers.
Add a dash of exclusivity, give people a discount in the form of a store gift card, and watch that conversion rate rise.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
MARKETING: This is an excellent case study on how to get great performance from newsletter sponsorships. If you’re curious about running newsletter sponsorships and their performance, but don’t know where to start… see how Aircall generated 2000+ leads with Paved.*
E-COMMERCE: Big spenders. Turns out Pinterest users outspend non-users twice every month… and have 85% larger basket sizes. Good to know if you’re taking advantage of the platform’s e-commerce powers.
INFLUENCER MARKETING: Surprise, surprise. TikTok is poised to overtake Facebook and YouTube in influencer marketing spend by 2024. Meanwhile, investments in small or “nano” influencers, who are cheaper and generally have higher engagement rates, are supposed to rise by 220.5%.
SNAP: Filters, filters everywhere. Snap is rolling out filters for brands, which are basically Snapchat Ads… but with filters. Could be a useful way to stand out in users’ feeds.
AMAZON: International markets are hot… literally. Take Egypt, for example. The number of online Amazon shoppers in Egypt is projected to hit 73 million by 2025. That may be good news if you’re shipping worldwide.
GOOGLE: The recent Quality Raters guidelines may come with less documentation, but they bring a lot of changes… and some of those changes are pretty big. This article walks you through each one and what it means.
META:… Really, really wants to help marketers use their platform. The company just launched an Advertiser Success Center, which comes with guides, examples, and case studies to help you create better ads.
*This is a sponsored post
BRAIN TEASER
Re-arrange the letters, O O U S W T D N E J R, to spell just one word.
What is it?
You can find the answer here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Ever seen a map of consumer brands?
Well this is fun.
We recently came across this map that shows the most popular consumer brands in the world, including the most popular:
- Coffee chains in every country.
- Beer in every country.
- Tech brand in every country.
… and so on.
Apparently Balkan people and South Americans love Netflix, the US is high on Amazon, and Kenya’s most popular brand is… Paypal.
Also… Why does Europe like Heineken so much? We’re not judging… just wondering.