This week from Facebook Ads: Automated targeting, click-to-message ads, quote requests, oh my…
The Facebook Ads team has had a very busy week. They’ve released v12.0 of their Marketing API, and some marketers are already seeing the effects in their daily work.
The most noticeable change is that Facebook now expands targeting for all interest-based ad sets automatically. Essentially, Facebook will expand your targeting without your permission to lower your cost-per-conversion. Thanks, we guess…
Facebook also announced a few more interesting ad changes yesterday:
– They’ll select the best chat medium for you: When creating a messaging campaign, you can now specify all messaging apps where you are available (Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp).
The algorithm will choose the one most likely to result in a conversation. So, Joe may see “contact on Instagram,” while Jessica may see “message on WhatsApp.”
– You can start a WhatsApp chat from an Instagram profile: You can now add a WhatsApp click-to-chat button to your Instagram profile. Also, you’ll soon be able to create Instagram ad campaigns that link to WhatsApp.
– Quote Request on Messenger: Before starting a conversation with a prospect, you can ask them 4-5 questions. This feature, unlike the other ones, is currently only available to a limited number of advertisers.
There is a slew of additional features, such as Work Accounts and the expansion of Facebook Business Explore. To see them all, see Facebook’s blog post.
E-COMMERCE
How do you pick a Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) provider?
Did you know: In March 2021, 56 percent of Americans used a buy-now-pay-later service. By comparison, in July 2020 that figure was 38 percent. Yep, the BNPL market is exploding.
But not all BNPL providers are created equal. Some companies appeal to GenZs while others appeal to professionals and the older (um…more mature) generation. As a company, which one do you pick?
BrandTotal may be able to help you decide. They have analyzed thousands of paid social media campaigns from three major BNPL providers (Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay). Here are some highlights from their analysis:
- Klarna targets Gen Z. 50 percent of Klarna ads were seen by people aged 18-24.
- Affirm targets professional millennials. They spent a whopping 64% of their budget on Twitter and LinkedIn, while only 11 percent was spent on Facebook and Instagram.
- Afterpay is focusing on Facebook and older adults. Afterpay spent 53% of its ad budget on Facebook, and 78% of its target audience is over 35.
So maybe Klarna isn’t the best BNPL choice for selling expensive suits to CEOs. Similarly, if you sell expensive backpacks to TikTokers, they might not be that familiar with Afterpay.
SPONSORED BY WIX
The psychology behind web conversion
As digital marketers, our common goal is to create successful web experiences. Understanding what will enhance the chances of success is the first step in the right direction.
Thankfully, with all the noise online, the fundamental factors of high conversion rates undergo a lot of analysis. With evidence that shows the most important psychological principles, optimal website design is attainable.
To help you along, Wix has narrowed down the 6 most crucial elements, and provided tried and tested, real-world sites that follow the same:
- Cognitive science behind the user journey backed by data analysis
- Copy position and length to show value quickly and reassure users
- Proven design principles to create a website that performs
Leading marketers don’t just follow; they leverage the principles with exceptional design, clever details and innovative, creative solutions that keep evolving.
Read this free article to navigate the psychology behind successful web design for your clients’ projects.
BUSINESS
Entrepreneurship lessons from Pixar’s co-founder
Blake Emal had dinner with the co-founder of Pixar, Edwin Catmull (First one on the left), and shared on Twitter 28 business lessons he learned.
With just a 2 hour dinner, this makes it roughly one lesson every 4 minutes. But we digress… let’s jump into the actual lessons.
Sequels are hard to make but easy to market: It’s hard to add value on top of a masterpiece. Are you thinking about upsells? Or new product lines? The marketing lesson here is that it’s easy to sell to a customer when you already delivered big value. But make sure the second – or the third- products do not disappoint like the last season of The Game of Thrones… Oopsie.
Data isn’t everything: At Pixar, movies aren’t created based on a data-first approach. The most passionate story wins, then data is used to fill the gaps. That wacky crazy video ad idea you had? Test it.
Allow external forces to shake it up: Sometimes you need an external source to be critical with you.
Build a brain trust: Identify a group of 4-6 people that are capable but different from you. Mastermind with them on critical decisions. The gut feeling of six beats the gut feeling of one.
Accept that decisions are not binary, they’re never strictly good or bad. The important step is making one, rather than rambling on them.
Qualified doesn’t mean good: A qualification shouldn’t be the only criteria when building a team. Hire for culture fit, tenacity, creativity, and coachability.
People don’t follow up on what you discussed. Or they won’t do what they said they will. You need to do this for yourself.
Avoid quick reactions: Edwin Catmull would wait days and even weeks to respond to Steve Job’s requests. Be thoughtful about your decision. Take your time and make sure you really think through it.
Emotional persuasion beats logical persuasion every time: Pixar stories are not based on data. They’re powerful because they tap into emotions. Make sure your marketing is like Pixar’s movies.
There’s still a lot more stuff to read, and you can find it here.
Cheers to long dinners flavored with a lot of business knowledge
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
COPYWRITING: If you write high-converting sales copy for your own business (or a client), here’s one of the most effective and powerful opt-in experiences and “email welcome series” we’ve seen in 2021 so far. And here are 10 reasons why it’ll make you a more successful marketer (and copywriter): CopyLegends.com*
ADVERTISING: Emojis make our ads pop. They also make up 37 of the 838 new characters released by The Unicode Consortium. Our favorite emoji: the heart hands.
FACEBOOK: Here’s the culprit behind all the mess Facebook has been in lately: The WSJ “Facebook files”. (BTW: we did our best to find a non-paywalled version. If you have a good mirror site, let us know.)
SEO: Changing your WordPress theme can affect your rankings. Google’s John Mueller explains why.
E-COMMERCE: If you want to see what the future of e-commerce looks like, look to Asia.
GOOGLE: Will Google soon get into the newsletter business? We have some encouraging early signs.
YOUTUBE: How does YouTube select the videos to recommend? The company offers some explanations (but don’t expect them to spill their “secret sauce”).
INSTAGRAM: If there’s a social media platform that’s currently facing an identity crisis, that’s Instagram. Here’s why.
*This is a sponsored post.
BRAIN TEASER
I’m the one thing that you can waste easily, yet never get enough of. 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.
Don’t take selfies with the goats
It’s for your own good.
The town of Llandudno, Wales, has attracted worldwide attention after a BBC broadcast of a bunch of goats roaming through its streets.
Almost overnight the town turned from being full of goats to being full of goats and wannabe Instagram influencers. (What better way is there to get 10k likes?)
Now, the Llandudno Coastguard has had enough. They warned the tourists to “stay away” from the goats and to abstain from climbing cliffs to take selfies as it would put them (and their expensive Instagram cameras) in danger.
Instead, visitors are encouraged to stay on Marine Drive, which still provides an excellent vantage point for viewing the goats.
Personally, we’re not sure this warning will work. There’s a big difference between “seeing cute little goats” and “seeing yourself in a picture with cute little goats.”
The latter is far cooler (but definitely not worth putting your life in danger over).