Author: Franz Malten Buemann

If it’s true that opportunity lies in crisis, then the media industry should be awash in opportunity right now. Already strained by the Facebook-Google duopoly, publishers now have to contend with slashed advertising budgets and advertisers who are shying away from content related to COVID-19.
That puts media companies under tremendous pressure to make money from new channels. We turned to Allison Mezzafonte, a former Executive Vice President at Bauer Xcel Media and current CM Group Media Advisor, to explain how publishers can create highly engaged audiences, how those audiences can be monetized, and why media companies should be optimistic about the future.
Editor’s note: this post was originally created by our friends at Sailthru. Read the original here.
How would you describe the media climate right now?
Turbulent. The media has gone through a number of necessary but difficult changes over the past several years. Now, it’s being forced to take a good look in the mirror and revamp yet again. It will be a hard road, but ultimately it will be for the best.
We all remember the aftershock of the 2016 presidential election. Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal raised issues of data privacy and led us to question how the dissemination of alleged fake news swayed the outcome of the election. In response, Facebook changed its policies, deprioritizing publishers in its news feed. These changes decimated some publishers, putting them out of business.
It was a wake-up call, for sure. Publishers suddenly understood the costs of relying on the big third-party platforms to deliver an audience. Facebook and Google — not the publishers themselves — were in control of the media’s fate. Now publishers are trying to reconnect with the audience that was once theirs, monetize that connection, and build new experiences from there. Really, publishers don’t have much choice. Ad revenue is down in the wake of COVID-19 and everyone is being forced to find new ways of driving business. It’s a scary, but exciting time.
What does it mean that many publishers are seeing jumps in traffic, but are having trouble monetizing that traffic?
Concern over COVID-19 is driving clicks, but not necessarily revenue. We need to think more about quality and less about quantity. Publishers’ focus on scale is not sustainable in a world where it is difficult to monetize that scale.
This whole experience is going to force publishers to be more creative in what they produce for their audience. The experiences offered by media companies have to get people to sign up, to pay, and to engage more deeply. The spike in traffic is an opportunity to get people in the door.
What challenges do publishers face in reconnecting with their audience in a meaningful way?
People have become accustomed to consuming content through a feed, resulting in significant brand dilution. Most readers are looking at a headline, a photo, and a caption, and deciding which one grabs them the best. They don’t care if it’s The New York Times or The Washington Post. Publishers are not building a loyal audience. Instead, they’re getting that one-and-done traffic. But what was once a game of scale is now about quality and intent of an audience. This challenge is actually a great opportunity.
Do you see any cause for optimism?
The media is having a moment in which we’re being forced to adapt and to make changes we might not have otherwise made. This is a great thing! We will certainly come out stronger for it in the end, but it will be difficult for a while. Figuring out new revenue streams doesn’t happen overnight, but the industry has already made some great progress.
For example: Some news publishers are seeing a big spike in paid subscriptions. Everyone wants a reliable source of news, and many are willing to pay. Other publications, like Gothamist, The Guardian, and Skift, let you know that they’re supported by readers. So even if they aren’t getting subscriptions, their audience is still paying for that content. Many publishers are also reporting unprecedented ecommerce sales in this post-COVID world. We should feel hopeful about this shift in behavior.
How can publishers pivot successfully to new business models?
Publishers need a reason to take chances, and they sure have one now. They need to be willing to reallocate resources and try new things. If you have editors turning out five or more pieces of content a day, ask yourself if you really need that many, especially if you can’t monetize them effectively. What else could those editors be doing? Can they create custom content for your email subscribers? If so, give it a shot!
Email is valuable because if you have this group of people that have handed over their email address, and they are engaged with you, you can create experiences that are targeted and custom to them. The likelihood is that you then see a higher conversion rate.
If you can build an engaged email audience and you can monetize them, that’s awesome. That’s an audience you’ll take with you regardless of what happens to outside sources.
Each business needs to look at where its strengths are and where the opportunities are. Publishers seem to think they need a search strategy, a commerce strategy, a video strategy, an email strategy. Most are never going to do all of those really well, especially in this climate. So think about what you do well. Why do people come to your brand? Why do people read your content? You need to know your audience — not just your audience at scale. What do they care about? Whatever it is, do more of that.
How do publishers drive the engagement necessary to justify subscriptions or support new business models?
It’s about finding the people who are so interested in what you’re providing that they’re willing to engage more deeply with you. You could argue you’re not going to find your most loyal reader on Facebook these days.
You need to understand where people are coming from and how much they’re consuming when they show up, and then making sure you’re marketing to them. This is why it’s so important to collect your own first-party data in a consistent, responsible way. Does your audience from Instagram skew younger than your audience from email? If so, maybe your email content should be different from the content you’re promoting on Instagram.
For search, look at the keywords that are bringing people in. Understand what the user’s journey looks like when they come to your site. If they are consuming multiple pieces of content, how are they navigating? If you can create cohorts within your audience, you can start tailoring your content and experiences to each of those. It doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all anymore.
If you know people have come to your site repeatedly and consumed content and haven’t signed up for your email, can you try to get them to convert, either by providing an email address or by paying for a subscription?
Publishers have experimented with alternative business models before, particularly content and commerce. How viable is a content+commerce strategy?
It’s really hard to do. If I click on a headline on Facebook and it sends me to a media site, and they give me related links to buy something, am I going to trust that brand? Or if I want the 10 best baby strollers, will I just go to The Bump? The goal is to build brand trust to the point where you can turn that customer into more than just someone who is looking at a display advertisement. Goop has been fantastically successful at this, as has Glossier, which started as a blog. Morning Brew and theSkimm are other success stories.
How else would you suggest publishers build brand loyalty?
Focus on the people, readers, and audiences most engaged with your brand. I’m not sure this is a time to worry about acquiring new audiences. Then figure out what works for those very engaged audiences and go deep on it.
Learn as much as you can about that audience and what their interests are. Do something to go deeper in that psychographic so you can create experiences that go deeper for you and pay off for you in the end. Wouldn’t it be great to come out of this time saying, we revamped our whole email strategy and our conversion rates are so much higher?
The post How Publishers Can Pivot to a More Sustainable Future: Q+A With Allison Mezzafonte appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Is anybody using aws pinpoint for marketing automation? I seems very cheap and offers a decent set of features.
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According to Epsilon research 80% of customers respond to marketing when it’s customized to their interests. The world is slowly saying goodbye to cookies (Google and Apple too). That means that marketers will face completely new challenges with delivering personalized customer experiences. But there is good news about it too since now to make sure your marketing works properly you need to really focus on your current customer database and take care of the first and zero-party data which you will always own. And to gather and properly manage those data and to make them actionable across marketing channels you need to think of a proper Customer Data Platform for your business.

 

Cookies are going away, but users want personalization

 

With the recent data privacy legislation, like GDPR and CCPA, caused by the increasing awareness of customers in terms of their data collection, giant data companies like Google or Apple are phasing out the usage of third-party cookies. At the same time, as many as 74% of customers are upset when the website content is not personalized. Until now, the solution for improving personalization while browsing was guaranteed by third-party data, but as the tendencies and regulations change, first and zero-party data will become the new leader of customer experience.

 

Zero- and first-, and why are they better than third-party

 

We can distinguish different types of data, operated in terms of providing customers more optimized content.

 

Third-party data 

 

The data that has been accumulated by many sources across the Internet, collected into one bigger bunch, and sold. This includes demographic information, firmographic data, or buying signals. Not like first-party data, third-party data is not restrained to just one company that can collect it. The problem with this kind of data lies in rising consumer anxiety about their privacy, the outdated data, and haziness with the user’s consent for acquiring those data. So, if the third-party data is finished, what now?

 

First-party data

 

This is a consumer information, the company gathers directly from its own sources and channels. Internet behavior, transactions (downloads or purchases), or demographic data – anything you can possess straight from the user is first-party data. This also includes user’s clicks, hovering, scrolling, and time spent. Its uniqueness lies in exclusivity, as it comes and belongs only to your company unless you share it. The main issue is the quantity. It may turn out that you don’t have enough of it. 

 

Even with customers sleeping peacefully, knowing their data is kept safe, there is still a need for presenting clients with personalized content, fitted to their needs. What’s even more important, 66% of customers themselves admit that a poorly personalized experience negatively affects their purchase decisions.

 

Zero-party data

 

As consumers want to have better control of their data and preferences, zero-party data is becoming more and more popular. It is the kind of information that customers freely and consciously provide to a company. 53% of UK consumers are willing to provide data for goods or services. 

 

It is not the data gathered from the behavior on the site without the full awareness of the user, it is explicitly given by the customer, with the knowledge this way they will achieve a far better purchase experience. The customer can himself choose the regularity of receiving emails or the sort of content they would prefer seeing. It’s the information the user wants the company to have. What’s also important zero-party data is consciously and ethically-collected information and considered a very convenient and reliable basis for personalization.

 

Listening to your customers is a key to personalization

 

Zero-party data is working, because it is based on reciprocity. While asking your customer a simple question like, “What do you prefer, iOS or Android?” and they say “Android” you cannot just give them iPhones. Unless they choose differently in the future, you should follow their choices. This example can be well applied to personalization, recommendations, and other mechanisms of the user’s digital experience.

 

CRM is definitely not enough

 

Data collection issues

 

When it comes to zero-party data collection, it doesn’t make sense to gather them from anonymous users, so they are collected only from identified consumers – upon registration, from social media, on your own site, or from customer service. 

 

With the consumer data overflowing from tons of sources, the problem of “unstructured data” emerged. Most of the companies don’t have the proper software to deal with those spread data in order to maximize the opportunity they bring. Many businesses still rely on CRM systems, which as it turns out are not designed for handling this kind of task. CRMs are pretty useful when it comes to preserving limited information they can pull from the client, but are poorly suited for business as we know it today. 

 

CRM operates in silos and doesn’t pass data back and forth. Although it can collect individually entered data, those can get lost or be mislabeled. Moreover, it cannot pick up offline data unless manually entered, and reports only on already known customers. With data collected by CRM is really hard to get a complete picture, and even harder to analyze what you’re looking at.

 

If CRM can’t pull it off, what can?

 

In terms of collecting zero and first-party data is definitely not something CRM was created for, therefore there is no possibility to at least store an individual’s browsing history in CRM, while for CDP such action can be performed shorter than a blink of an eye.

 

CDP will do all the job you need

 

With CRM proven to fail in this matter, marketers have to act now and do it quickly. The focus is required on your current customer database. Taking care of the first and zero-party data which you will always own is crucial in this matter. To gather and properly manage those data, and to make them actionable across marketing channels, you need to think of a proper Customer Data Platform for your business.

 

How CDP works in terms of gathering data

 

By using data-driven technology such as the Customer Data Platform, marketers can leverage zero-party data to extract insights that can help them deliver 1-to-1 personalization and thus enrich their customer experience. Data is collected from a number of sources, cleansed, and combined to create a single user profile. This structured data is then shared with other marketing systems. CDP is a marketer-managed (meaning no IT support is needed) tool, which creates a persistent, unified customer database and is designed to talk to other systems.

 

CDP superpowers

 

CDP is able to gather data from anonymous visitors, analyze lifetime user behavior, actions, and journeys, track online as well as offline data, handle multiple data from a number of sources, sustain data for a long time, influence all types of marketing, and last but not least, collect zero and first-party data.

 

Ways of collecting Data

 

First-party data

 

Custom data is generally considered the most valuable and secure type of data to collect because you can create a track that proves exactly where it came from and why it was collected. Good CDPs have very strong data security and will help you set data standards to make sure that website visitors have opted in to your data collection. Ways of collecting first-party data:

 

Data users willingly provide you with – let’s say someone just logged in with his email to the company’s newsletter. That email address, as well as other given demographic data, are first-party ones. 

 

Your own acquisition channels – this includes the time customer has spent on your website, the number of his clicks, scrolling, data from audiences’ actions, behaviors, or interests received on your site/app, and any other data that you collect directly from your customers.

 

Zero-party data

 

Collecting zero-party data often works on the reciprocity rule. You could simply ask your customers some questions in exchange for something of value, like providing personalized product recommendations, or offering a free piece of reading relevant to them. Over 70% of shoppers respond to marketing when it’s customized to their interests. There are in fact a number of ways you can gather data, simultaneously building a high-quality relationship and learning your customer’s needs and preferences without being invasive. These include:

 

Newsletters – when someone signs up for a newsletter, he is showing clear interest in your product. You can start delivering it constantly in exchange for zero-party data. This provides better segmentation and helps to create groups of customers with similar interests.

 

Polls and surveys – the easiest and quickest way of data collection. Simply ask a set of questions, and deliver great, personalized content in return.

 

Interactive engagement content – all kinds of product selectors, calculators, or tools that provide an interactive experience and encourage customers to provide those tools with their own data.

 

Follow-up Emails – with question-like emails like, “Did you find what you were looking for?” marketers can evoke reflection on customer’s transaction after purchase, strengthening trust and communication.

 

Wrapping up

 

With the data being handed back to customers, the only way for marketers to survive in the new, cookieless world is to successfully manage first and zero-party data, and to get it done, Customer Data Platform is crucial. With the fail of third-party data, and the inefficiency of CRM, you have to make sure that you are operating with the data you own. To collect and manage those data on the highest level possible and to make them actionable across all marketing channels, the implementation of CDP is a must.

marketing automation

marketing automation

Good news: on the internet, your business can connect with hundreds of millions of potential customers.
Bad news: your competitors have the same access, and they’re already throwing money at the problem.
Also not so good: your mighty, scrappy team has to figure out how to connect with, well, hundreds of millions of potential customers.
Or do you?
For your business to go big, sometimes it helps to think small – especially when it comes to your marketing strategy. 
We’re talking about micromarketing — targeting a small group from your customer-base — which can be a transformative strategy for your business.
Let’s dive into what micromarketing is, and why it’s important. Plus, we’ll explore examples to inspire your first micromarketing campaign.  

What is micromarketing?
For your business, micromarketing means drilling down past the level of niche marketing (targeting a specific segment within the larger market) to target specific individuals or micro (“extremely small”) groups.
By targeting smaller, more specific audiences, you’re able to customize your outreach and use audience insights to tailor your messaging for more personalized, effective marketing.
Yes, this requires a different type of time and effort than more traditional mass marketing — and it’s worth it.
Why invest time and resources in micromarketing?
Micromarketing requires more resources — if you measure your efforts by potential customers reached.
However, targeting specific, segmented audiences is often more effective in the long-run towards acquiring high-quality leads and turning those leads into customers.
Sure, your first micromarketing campaign is unlikely to reach the same number of individuals as a Super Bowl Ad. But you’ll certainly spend far less than the required $5.6M for a 30-second spot. 
And, just as importantly, you don’t want to reach every Super Bowl viewer, when you can create targeted ads that inspire and delight a smaller pool of very interested consumers.
With micromarketing, your efforts are aimed at crafting personalized messages, and talking directly to the individuals most likely to respond to your pitch. The benefits are in your ROI.
Mass Marketing vs. Micromarketing: Benefits and Drawbacks

See chart here. 
As you can see, micromarketing requires a greater investment to target each individual, but a greater return on investment since each individual is much more likely to respond positively to your call-to-action.
Think of it this way: you might see your CPC (cost-per-click) rise with an online micromarketing strategy. But, when executed well, you’re also going to see an encouraging decline in your cost-per-conversion — a much more important KPI.
Micromarketing Opportunities
Considering and creating a micromarketing strategy is an opportunity to step back, consider alignment between your sales and marketing efforts, and make sure you’re first-and-foremost solving for your customers’ success.
Are you selling complex enterprise software or massive industrial machinery? There may only be a small number of potential customers in your region or industry. In this case, micromarketing is likely the most effective strategy for your needs –– you need to find your potential customers, and only your potential customers. Anything else is a waste of time and resources.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself when considering a potential micromarketing strategy for your business:

Who buys your product?
Who’s the decision maker who buys it for their company?
Who does your product help the most –– and why is it so perfect for them?
What are your customers’ needs, fears, hopes, and dreams? What are their interests and passions, and what makes them happy?
Who do your customers follow online?
Who does your ideal customer aspire to be?
Who does your ideal customer most admire?

These questions, along with an ongoing grasp of your buyer personas, should lead you towards the answer to the two key questions that drive micromarketing decisions and campaigns:
1. Who is most likely to respond to your messages?
2. How can you best talk to them — and no one else?
For instance, if you know your product requires CMO buy-in, you can use strategic micromarketing to appeal to CMOs via a targeted marketing campaign on LinkedIn.
Ultimately, micromarketing helps you get your product directly in front of the eyes that matter most.
To see micromarketing in-action, let’s take a look at a few examples next.
Micromarketing Examples
1. Coke creates a “Share a Coke” campaign.

Image Source
Coke’s “Share a Coke” campaign started in Australia, but has since expanded to over 70 countries. If you haven’t already seen a name on a Coke bottle, here’s the gist: the marketing team in Australia chose 150 of the country’s most popular names, and printed those names on Coke bottles with the command to “share the Coke” with friends and family.
The campaign is a fantastic example of micromarketing. The campaign enables Coke to connect locally with people in specific regions by identifying a group of names most popular in that area. And the results were astounding: the summer it first launched in Australia, Coke sold more than 250 million named bottles in a country with roughly 23 million people.
2. L’Oreal Malaysia leverages local, user-generated content.

Image Source
L’Oreal uses micro-influencers and user-generated content to help break down geographical barriers for products, opening markets in an authentic, engaging – and personal – way.
For instance, L’Oreal Malaysia worked with local micro-influencers to create video tutorials of products for L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Garnier. The videos were shared directly to the influencers’ own audiences. As a result of the campaign, L’Oreal Malaysia saw a 12.9% increase in engagement rates, and 1.9 million trend impressions.
Instead of agonizing over individualizing content internally and navigating cultural differences, L’Oreal leveraged local influencers to increase interests in its products for each local market.
3. La Croix uses branded hashtags to find micro-influencers’ content and reach new audiences.

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La Croix leverages micro-influencers by searching for Instagram users who’ve used branded hashtags such as #LiveLaCroix — and then asking those micro-influencers for permission to use the user-generated content in La Croix’s marketing materials.
This greatly cuts costs since La Croix doesn’t need to produce the materials, and it also enables La Croix to target each of the micro-influencers’ audiences for more personalized, effective content.
4. Sperry reposts influencers’ content on its own account.
Image Source
Sperry identifies influencers around sharing Sperry products on various social channels, and reposts those images to the official Sperry account.
This enables Sperry to leverage on-brand content with a pre-built segmented audience, while foregoing a more official influencer strategy that would require more budget and resources. Instead, these micro-influencers are satisfied with recognition and exposure as a form of compensation.

I’m going to be taking the associates exam in the next week or two. Went through the resources on the marketo website front to back and am trying to dig up practice tests and other resources. Anyone have any resources or helpful hints? How is the exam – easy or challenging?
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