New integrations to Maps just dropped
The Google Maps Platform is living up to its name these days.
Google just released several new updates to allow businesses to integrate more closely with Maps and make it easier to use.
Fewer clicks to book: Google’s new APIs let you embed the “Reserve with Google” option on your website and your own maps.
… which means customers can make reservations directly on the store locator.
And that’s just the start… Google is also bringing your store locator directly to your website. Here’s what that looks like:
- Embedded store locator feature lets you show users every business location. All you have to do is copy and paste a line of code.
- Details, details: It also helps you integrate and display Google Business Profile details like contact info, hours, photos and more with the embedded store locator by using Google’s Locator Plus feature.
- Analyzing… Google’s store locator analytics dashboard shows insights into how website visitors interact with the embedded store locator.
Why we care: On one hand, these updates could make businesses more dependent on Google’s features and give more customer and business data to the search giant.
But… by deepening website integrations with Maps platform, Google can also save small and medium business owners lots of time while streamlining their business operations.
Oddly enough, making life easier for small businesses seems to be big tech’s latest trend, because…
E-COMMERCE
Amazon and Meta want to help businesses make more sales
Both released new features for increasing conversions:
Meta expanded free chat support: From now on, they’re not Facebook Marketing Experts… they’re the Meta Pro Team.
Meta says their rebranded service will “make it easy and accessible” for businesses to get personalized help on demand.
We’re kinda hoping the Meta Pro Team wears matching uniforms.
… and Amazon released analytics for physical stores: The new Store Analytics feature combines parameters like location, shopper interaction, and purchase data to create “aggregated and anonymized insights” into customer behavior.
These insights should help you understand how customers discover, consider, and purchase in-store products.
They could also help you improve physical store experience.
Why we care: With growing economic uncertainty and budget cuts, it’s good to see big tech companies offering tools to small businesses.
Plus, Amazon’s effort to provide physical retail data seems like an interesting step into synchronized shopping analytics, both online and off.
It will be interesting to see how it goes…
SPONSORED BY SWAPSTACK
An overlooked acquisition channel to put your brand in front of the world’s most engaged audiences
Are you looking for an alternative to being at the mercy of Facebook’s CPM and TikTok’s algorithm? And let’s not get started about LinkedIn…
The fact that you’re reading this, almost proves that the solution we’re about to suggest works.
Newsletter readers spend minutes reading your ad. Not seconds, like TikTok or Instagram users. They take the time to read your message.
And you have the chance to flood your website with your hot prospects whether you have a product in finance, software, B2B, and more!
Thanks to Swapstack, you can access ultra-niche newsletters, with ultra-targeted audiences, at big scale. Ultra niche but big scale… Sounds counterintuitive? Let us explain.
While other newsletter marketplaces focus on big newsletters with broad audiences, Swapstack lets you access hundreds of small newsletters with hyper targeted audiences.
The exact customers you’re looking for.
Discover perfect newsletters to promote your products and services.
CONTENT MARKETING
How to turn lost customers into big profits with direct mail
Leonardo Plebani made $53,900 in sales from lost customers by… sending them direct mail.
Yes, you read that right.
Leonardo talked about it in the Facebook Ads Experts Academy Facebook Group.
And his case study is worth looking at.
So let’s go…
Usually when customers stop purchasing and unsubscribe, it means they’re gone.
And if they purchased more than 180 days ago, you can’t re-target them with Facebook Ads.
But you still have their physical address, right?
Leonardo did. So he split lapsed customers into two segments and sent each segment 4″x6″ postcards. Here’s what happened:
Segment 1: “Unsubscribed Non-Engaged Customers 30 days,” Orders = 1
- Pieces sent: 3,513
- Revenue: $25.8k
- ROI: 1,246.6%
Segment 2: “Unsubscribed Non-Engaged Customers 30 days,” Orders > 1
- Pieces sent: 867
- Revenue: $28.1k
- ROI: 5,485.0%
Those are juicy numbers… Not only that, Leonardo got customers back in his email marketing system.
There’s one more essential step: You must create an offer they can’t refuse. Going back with the same old promos won’t move the needle.
When creating your offer, keep these points in mind:
- The more time has passed since the last purchase, the more aggressive the offer needs to be.
- If they purchased from you more than once, the offer should be less aggressive.
There you go: Old school tactics for bringing customers back online… literally!
SPONSORED BY ATTEST
How to set yourself apart in today’s rapidly changing market
If you have a reactive approach to the market, you’ll always be playing catch up.
But when you know your consumer’s deepest desires and understand why their behavior changes, you can anticipate their buying decisions and outperform your competitors.
Instead of being a follower, you become a market leader.
With Attest’s consumer research platform and research expertise, you can easily get insights necessary to predict market changes and stay ahead of your competition.
THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
How to hire world-class freelancers
Sometimes you hire freelancers because you need a job done quickly for a couple of dollars.
But sometimes you want a freelancer with world-class talent to create amazing work that makes you look good.
The problem is… world-class talent is difficult to find.
They won’t show up randomly in your inbox with a cold email, and you usually won’t find them on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr.
Here’s how you can find world-class freelance talent:
- Reach out to other marketers and brand owners. If you’re hiring a writer, for example, email the marketing directors at the brands you love. Ask them who wrote their copy. Many times, they’ll be happy to make you a referral.
- Send cold emails to the talent themselves. Do some hunting on Twitter, LinkedIn, and via referrals to identify people you’d love to work with. Then, send them a cold email. Sometimes you have to approach the best talent, not the other way around.
- Search through Twitter recommendation threads. There are countless examples of people on Twitter asking “hiring an X—any recommendations”? These tweets often receive hundreds of replies. Look for recommendations by people you respect, people who run brands that do great work.
One last tip: Even if your dream freelancer is working full-time somewhere else, you can often convince them to do some contracting on the side for you.
If you want the best in the world, you’ll have to do some searching. We hope the tips above make it a little easier!
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
E-COMMERCE: Ever thought about selling in China’s huuuge market? It’s easier than you think. You don’t have to set up a store. Or translate your website. In our latest Deep Dive, you will discover three ways to start selling, plus other growth hacks. Join Insights to read it.*
PRIVACY: Uh-oh. After a world without cookies comes a world without… URL tracking parameters? The latest Firefox privacy feature removes custom query strips and prevents referral source tracking. Seems dark.
SEO: An interesting free SEO tool just launched. This one leverages Google’s Suggested Query API to make an expansive list of search terms you can use for your content. Let us know what you think of it.
BUSINESS: The US is the latest country to pump the brakes on spending. In the last few months, high-priced items like cars saw the biggest decline, as did recreational items. Here’s hoping the curve trends upwards with the coming holidays…
FACEBOOK: Hey, this looks familiar… Facebook is redesigning their groups sidebar, adding community chats, voice rooms, and more. Seems like Meta is taking a page out of Discord’s book…
GOOGLE: You know those Google product grid snippets, how they kinda look like ads? Well, it turns out not all of them are ads… Some are actually organic displays for your products. Sweet!
*This is a sponsored post.
BRAIN TEASER
What can fill a room but takes up no space?
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.
The ugliest dog with the happiest name
He’s happy. He’s got a cool mohawk. He’s got a great name… and he’s definitely a 1.
Meet Mr. Happy Face, the winner of the 2022 Ugliest Dog Award!
The loveable furball muscled out a well-deserved victory among his slightly less ugly counterparts.
It’s hard not to feel excited for Mr. Happy Face, who survived neglect, hoarding, and even psychological trauma before being adopted by his current owner.
Mr. Happy Face is set to appear on the Today show.
Seems like a happy ending, doesn’t it?