Every month I attempt to provide Digital Marketers with some of the key digital marketing takeaways as well as platform updates that transpired within the given month. The key takeaways will focus on the Digital Marketing Industry as a whole, whereas, the platform updates focus on the top marketing platforms within Digital Media.
Digital Marketing Industry Key Takeaways
As we close out 2019 my biggest takeaways for the month of December are the following: optimize mobile optimization, increase product value and Achieve Compliance
1. Optimize Mobile Experience
Consumers are becoming more comfortable with making purchases from their mobile devices thanks to increased acceptance of contactless cards and the overall improvement in the mobile payment experience. As mobile traffic overtakes desktop, it is critical to have a seamless mobile purchase or lead gen experience for consumers visiting your site for the first time. A simplified and convenient mobile purchase experience will become mandatory as consumers grow in reliance on their mobile devices.
2. Increase Product / Offering Value
Surveys reveal that brand loyalty among consumers continues to decline, especially with Gen Z and young millennials. This means brands must strive to build their brand through increased value. Value to consumers can mean improved quality, durability, ease of use, beautiful design, great customer support / service, economical, free shipping, fast delivery, long lasting and so forth. The added value you choose to provide will cause consumers to attach a positive trait to your brand allowing you to have an edge over the competition.
3. Achieve Compliance
The growing privacy concerns within Digital tracking and measurement has led to the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law in Europe earlier this year and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on January 1, 2020. While GDPR focuses on enhancing/protecting the privacy rights of European citizens, the CCPA looks to do the same for residents of California. Being compliant with these laws will save businesses from potential violation fines and will allow them to be prepared as other Countries and States follow a similar path.
Digital Media Platform Updates
| DATE | UPDATE | PLATFORM | CHANNEL | DESCRIPTION | IMPACT |
| 12/19 | Simplified Registration For Vendor Advertising |  |
Search & Display | In the past, advertising on behalf of a Vendor was more tedious. Amazon has simplified this process for Agencies / Marketers who have Vendor clients by making it possible to quickly register new advertising accounts through one approved Vendor Central account. Learn more. | This updates will save Marketers / Agencies who would like to advertise on behalf of a Vendor time in registering an advertising account for their Vendor. In the past they would have to submit vendor codes during registration or receive final approval from Amazon. Now, advertisers simply just register a new advertising account for their Vendor and request approval from their vendor contact. Amazon has made account management similar to what you will do in Facebook and Google. |
| 12/10 | News on Fire TV and Fire Tablet | |
Display | The News app is now available to Fire TV and Fire Tablet users. Fire TV and Table users can now access on-demand, ad-supported live news content on their home screen. The News app features a wide range of news content from various providers that can be customized to their preferences. Learn more. | This update will have a HIGH impact on Advertisers since they can reach Fire TV and Tablet users through ads on the News content they are viewing. News content traditionally has one of the greatest reach of all topic categories, making it more likely for Advertisers to reach and engage with their users on Amazon. |
| 12/8 | Placement Asset Customization |  |
Social |
As a digital marketer, you know that user behavior is different across Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and Messenger and the more customized creatives are per placement, it is more likely to improve performance. Well, Facebook now makes it possible to run customized ads per placement rather than running the same creative across all placements. With Facebook’s Placement Asset Customization feature, you are able to change text, font and color along with other variables in your creative. Learn more. |
This feature will have an high impact on creative development as well as media performance. Being able to customize creative to align with placement best practices will surely help boost CTR within placement, ultimately leading to higher conversions at a lower CPA. |
| 12/8 | Creative Hub update | |
Social | The Facebook creative hub allows users to create mockups to see if there will be any issues with their ad delivery. The update now lets you see your mockup preview side by side, making it easy to quickly identify placements that may cause issues. When your mockup is ready to go live, simple change the “Not Ready” drop down menu to “Ready” and your mockup will be available in ads manager to use within your campaigns. Learn more. | The new CreativeHub update is easier to use and slightly more intuitive, which will save users more time. The actual impact to creative development and media performance is minimal. |
| 12/5 | Performance Change Explanations Feature |  |
Search | The explanations feature allows Advertisers to gain access to a brief summary / explanation on campaign changes at just a click away. You will be able to quickly learn what may have cause a shift in performance. Learn more. | This feature can save advertisers a lot of time in digging into exactly what may have caused a campaign to experience an increase or decrease in performance. |
| 12/4 | Optimization Score Expanded to Display Campaigns | |
Search | Google Ads Optimization Score is a useful tool/feature that allows advertisers to see areas of improvement within the live campaigns. By implementing the optimization recommendations it can help improve performance and spend. Until now, the Optimization Score feature was only available for Paid Search and Shopping campaigns. With this new release, you can now utilize the Optimization Recommendations on Display campaigns. Learn more. | The Optimization sccore recommendation feature can help improve your spend, cpc, conversions and overall media performance when followed. The Optimization score provides a quick snapshot of how your Google Ads account is performing and is a great way to identify areas your campaigns need improvement. This feature being availble for Display may lead to improved performance for your display campaigns. |
| 12/3 | Share Keyword Plans | |
Search | Google Ads now lets you share your keyword plans with others right within the keyword planning tool. In the past you will have to download the keywords plans, save it in a folder and the send it to the recipient as an attachment. Learn more. | This feature encourages collaboration with your team since you can now share your plan and feedback can be provided right within the keyword planning tool. |