It has never been more important to understand who your potential customers are. As the industry shifts towards focusing more on consumer data privacy, it’s getting harder to track and measure prospective buyers.

As an agency, we’re staying ahead of the curve so that our clients can succeed despite the coming impact.

Source: Tech Times

We recently attended a company-wide training session with our partners at Google to discuss the future of privacy-centric measurement. This post will cover how you can explore unique implementations of Google’s Enhanced Conversion Tracking protocols.

Don’t know where to start? Send us a message to discuss what this means for the future of your business.

What is enhanced conversions?

Enhanced conversions is a feature that can improve accuracy when it comes to measuring conversion. It supplements existing conversion tags by sending hashed first-party conversion data from your website to Google in a way that still protects user privacy.

The feature uses a secure one-way hashing algorithm called SHA256 on your first-party customer data before sending to Google. The hashed data is then matched with signed-in Google accounts in order to attribute your campaign conversions to ad events, such as clicks/views.

Simply put: Say goodbye to Observed conversions, and hello to Modeled conversions based on hashed data.

Implementation

There are 3 approaches to implementation: manual (preferred), automatic tag based, and API. Once implemented, Enhanced Conversions will start working immediately, however, 60% of data can be missed if Enhanced Conversions is not applied correctly. We can help you with this.

The next generation of Google Analytics – GA4 (Google Analytics 4) has been rebuilt to include more capabilities, including predictive modeling, attribution, and LTV modeling. Once implemented, it will take 12 months of data for features to accurately model. Speaking of which…

First Party Data is Priority #1

About 80% of advertisers depend on third-party cookies. Without them, those advertisers will need to find a new way to reach their customers and prospects online. User’s behavioral and browsing data will be limited. If you depend on third-party cookies it will be significantly harder to personalize ads, A/B test, and gauge attribution.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There is nothing more valuable than owning your first party data. Whether you have been in business for years, or are just beginning your digital journey, now is the time to evaluate what this data means to your holistic ecosystem. Enhanced Conversions will capture all email addresses, including non-gmail addresses, but keep in mind that only conversion data will be recorded.

Plan for the Future Today

Google announced that third-party cookies will be deprecated by the end of 2022, or early 2023 at the very latest.

This industry-wide change is not going away, and we encourage you to be proactive today so your business has time to adapt to new industry standards and best practices. There’s a lot to be done, so if it seems overwhelming, schedule a meeting with one of our experts today.

Glossary:

Third party cookies: Third-party cookies specifically are created and placed by websites other than the website you’re visiting. Some common uses include cross-site tracking, retargeting and ad serving.

First party cookies: First-party cookies are generated by the host domain. They are usually considered good because they help provide a better user experience. These cookies enable the browser to remember important user info, such as what items you add to shopping carts, your username and passwords, and language preferences.

For an example, let’s say you visit a website called learn.com. Any cookies put on this website by learn.com would be first-party cookies. Any cookies put on learn.com by any other site, like a social media site or an advertiser, would be third-party cookies.

Identity Resolution Providers: The process of matching identifiers across devices and touchpoints to a single profile — helps build a cohesive, omnichannel view of a consumer, enabling brands to deliver relevant messaging throughout the customer journey.

Cross-site tracking: The practice of collecting browsing data from numerous sources (websites) that details your activity

Retargeting: Using search activity to retarget visitors with visual or text ads based on the products and services for which they’ve shown interest

Ad-serving: Making decisions regarding the ads that appear on a website, deciding when to serve these ads, and collecting data (and reporting said data including impressions and clicks) in an effort to educate advertisers on consumer insights and ad performance.

Many brands depend on Cyber Five, the days between Black Friday & Cyber Monday, to put them into the black for the year. Though Cyber Five 2021 was complicated and busy, it was also one of the most profitable to date. Our clients closed out the year on a high note thanks to a few pretty simple actions. What were they? Let’s take a look together in our 2021 Q4 After Action Report.

1. Start with a Plan

Everything starts with a plan. The sooner you have one, the sooner you can review it, make adjustments, and execute. Our winning clients invested heavily into prospecting in the months leading up to Black Friday, emphasizing list-building for owned 1st party data, allowing owned channels like email and SMS to scale. Thanks to the work they did early on, our clients were able to get in front of consumers well before their competitors and convert with assets they had ready to go.

What This Means for You

When you don’t plan ahead, you give up sales to your competitors who do. Fret not, this isn’t our first time at the Cyber Five rodeo. Send us a message at hello@masoninteractive.com and we’ll help develop a strategy with you.

2. Grow With the Flow

Scaling a digital marketing operation isn’t easy, and frankly, it’s not getting any easier. Industry research points to consumers being spread out across more platforms than ever before, and it’s only getting more difficult to track and target consumers across the digital landscape. More on that in just a bit.

Our winning clients isolate top geographical markets and focus on their most actively engaged audiences, letting us double down on purchase intent from two separate angles. Additionally, clients who met or exceeded their goals were in (on average) 6 advertising platforms.

What This Means for You

Brands that diversify into more platforms and begin planning for the Holiday season earlier, ultimately see more success during the Cyber Five. Planning ahead and building diversification into those plans enables you to layer on complexity to your marketing mix as the year progresses towards Cyber Five. More on how you can do this in our After Action Report.

3. Own Your Data

In case you haven’t heard, the data game has changed. Apple’s iOS14 update has impacted advertisers’ ability to target users online, and Google’s new policies expected in 2023 will only affect things more.

Where do you turn? Your own data. 1st party data, or the data your company collects about its customers (interactions, purchase history, behavior, preferences, etc.), is becoming more valuable than ever. Since the changing attribution methods of digital platforms makes them a less-reliable partner, 1st party data gives you a solid single source of truth to rely on.

What This Means for You

There are many ways to start collecting 1st party data. A lot of it can live in a platform like Shopify, Salesforce, or Google Analytics. Organizing, interpreting, and acting on your 1st party data can be a headache. We can help with that too.

You have the keys, now let’s open doors.

The digital landscape changes all the time. You know that. We know that. What we don’t know yet, is how we can use our 13 years of experience to help you keep up with the shifting tides. Download the report, send us a message, and let’s get you started with a free marketing analysis today.

When the first lockdowns of Covid-19 hit early in 2020, we began to see a paradigm shift of the entire world, and the U.S. was no exception. Commerce was reduced to essential services, and people were either restricted from or outright prohibited from interacting in larger groups or anyone outside their household or highly limited circles.

The restaurant and bar industries were hit especially hard. Even with many of the restrictions lifted in 2021 many are still wary of going out for dinner or drinks and socializing with friends and family over a beer or glass of wine. But consumers didn’t quit drinking. Many state governors included liquor stores among essential services that were allowed to stay open even as many other businesses closed their doors or limited their hours.

Marketing Alcohol Direct to Consumers (DTC) Gets a Surge

The increase in direct-to-consumer sales means that alcohol brands need to be mindful of the guidelines and regulations that promote responsible drinking whether a person chooses to drink beer or similar beverages, wine, or spirits. Regulations state that marketers cannot suggest in their advertising that people who consume alcoholic beverages violate the law or act irresponsible when they are consuming these beverages.

Regardless of the type of alcohol sold, all brands need to follow rules and regulatory codes set forth by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the Beer Institute, and the Wine Institute. Many states have loosened restrictions in 2020 and 2021, but these should be checked before marketing in a specific area.

With beer and similar beverages, such as hard ciders and seltzers, the brewing industry needs to continue following long-held policies to appeal to adults of legal drinking age:

There should be no direct or indirect suggestion that applicable sales not be completely followed
The themes suggested in advertising should be in good taste and present the brand as one that is responsible and is opposed to excessive or inappropriate consumption of the beverages.
Wineries and distilleries should follow similar guidelines in order to help assure that alcoholic beverages are consumed safely as much as possible.

Creating a Responsible Marketing Plan For the New Normal

Every aspect of our lives looks different from what it did a little before 2020. Even with some bars and restaurants opening, many have become accustomed to social distancing and virtual gatherings. Long before the pandemic alcohol marketing has paid close attention to the stories behind the brand. Many breweries, distilleries, and wineries are family businesses and marketing for alcohol brands often focuses on the bonding experience of both creating the beverages as well as consuming them.

In many ways, enjoying alcoholic beverages has long been associated with finding and holding on to connections that we have with family and friends. As this became more of a challenge, alcohol marketing professionals began to think outside the box in order to help that connection stay strong even with social distancing. This resulted in online happy hours on Facebook Live and similar venues. Professional bartenders providing drink mixing instruction and promoting brands that reflect varying values and reinforce the idea that we need to find safe ways to stay connected.

Promoting Brand Loyalty and Image While Marketing For Alcohol Brands

The image behind a brand of alcoholic beverage can vary considerably depending on many factors. Sometimes smaller companies struggle to compete with larger brands that have become large household names. They need to develop a more specific niche for their brand and the type of image they want to reflect. By choosing a specific target market with the help of marketing consultants, or even by using software to help with the sales process, it becomes easier even for smaller producers to find their core market and begin the process of expanding on it.

Before the pandemic, there were many smaller wineries, distilleries, and brewers that hosted tastings on site where they would aim to make consumers feel like part of the process. By taking advantage of CPG, smaller quantities of beverages can be marketed to consumers directly along with whatever values the company may have. Some companies show a sense of social consciousness by supporting certain types of charities, or they may emphasize their commitment to sustainability or positive environmental or health practices.It is important for companies to display a clear picture of who they are and who they aim to be, and continually look for stories that support that image. The less that people are able to connect in person, the more important it becomes that they are able to stay connected through consistent and entertaining sales and marketing practices through their own website as well as various social media channels, e-commerce sites, and email marketing campaigns. In the end the connections and relationships remain important for any brand, and this is especially true when it comes to developing the right campaign for alcohol marketing.

Let us help you develop a robust marketing strategy!

Your marketing strategy is integral to the success of your marketing efforts, especially with the holidays coming up, it’s more critical than ever.

Are you ready to make it big and give your company the edge it needs to succeed during this new normal and beyond? Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our digital marketing experts.

When it comes to marketing, video content reigns supreme. While there’s always a place for text and images, humans are naturally drawn to moving pictures, which is why video marketing is so effective. In fact, users retain 95% of a video’s message, meaning that they’re much more likely to pay attention.

But, while video marketing is helpful, not everyone knows how to create compelling content within this medium. Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of seven tips to improve your video marketing strategy. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Start Strong

Did you know that the average person’s attention span is only eight seconds? So, if you don’t capture that attention within eight seconds, a user is more likely to skip your video and go onto the next one.

But, how can you make an impact in such a short time frame? The best option is to tell the viewer what the video is about and what they can expect from watching it. Don’t worry about spoiling your content – being upfront and honest is much better than burying the lead. This way, the viewer can decide right away if they want to continue watching or not.

2. Keep it Short

For the most part, viewers won’t want to sit and watch a 10 or 15-minute video. That said, if your content is compelling enough to hold one’s attention for that long, feel free to go the distance.

Overall, what matters is the type of video content you’re producing. There is no “right answer” when it comes to length, but make sure that your videos don’t feel like they’re dragging on. Even if you hook your viewers immediately, the trick is holding that attention for the length of your piece.

One strategy to consider is cutting different versions of your video for various platforms. For example, if you post to TikTok or Snapchat, you want your content to be a minute or two. However, posting to Facebook or YouTube means that you can upload longer segments. Having different edits allows you to maximize your marketing potential for each video.

Keep branded videos short, sweet and to the point.

3. Personalize Your Content

One crucial component of any marketing strategy is to focus your attention on a single customer rather than a broad demographic. Buyer personas are highly valuable because they allow you to connect with your users much more easily. If your videos are generic and bland, no one will pay attention. However, if they address specific needs, they’ll get much more traction online.

Before shooting any footage, you’ll need to ask, “what’s the purpose of this content?” Some answers can include:

Brand Awareness
Product Promotion
Informational Content

Once you determine the goal of your piece, you can align everything to meet it. In many cases, companies will produce videos without any objective in mind, making them far less captivating or valuable.

4. Don’t Forget About Branding

Regardless of the purpose of your piece, you should make sure that it’s branded effectively. Technically speaking, anything you promote can help with brand awareness, ensuring that you can build a bigger and more loyal audience.

That said, you don’t want to go too far with your branding, either. Showing your logo at the beginning and end of the video reminds viewers who you are so that they’re more likely to pay attention to what you have to offer. Also, make it easy for users to visit your website or landing page by embedding links whenever possible.

Speaking of links, don’t forget about search engine optimization. Keywords are crucial if you want your content to get discovered organically, so utilize them effectively when uploading and promoting your piece.

5. Tell a Story

One significant mistake that many companies make is creating videos that are too “salesy.” While your goal might be to sell a specific product, you need to make the content much more engaging. It’s not enough to promote the features and benefits of your items – you need to show why your products are valuable.

An easy way to incorporate storytelling into your video content is to focus on a specific problem and how your product can solve it. This way, viewers can visualize themselves in that situation, making them far more likely to buy. Did you know that 84% of users said they’d purchased a product because of a branded video?

When crafting a story, don’t forget the core components of storytelling. There should be a beginning, middle, and end. Don’t worry about complex narrative devices or act structures – you’re not producing a Hollywood blockbuster. Instead, keep it simple and deliver a satisfying conclusion.

6. Optimize for Mobile

These days, far more people are consuming content on mobile devices than ever before. Up to 62% of users in the U.S. say that they watch videos on their phones, so you have to adapt accordingly.

But, what does mobile optimization mean for video marketing? Here are some tips:

Closed Captioning – Most people won’t have their volume at full blast, so you have to make it easier for them to follow along. Closed captioning software makes it easier for viewers to retain information.
Visuals Over Sound – Up to 92% of users watch videos with the sound off, so you have to rely on visual communication. If your video is just someone talking, it’s harder to capture attention.
Simple Graphics – Smaller screens mean that viewers won’t be able to see too many details. Don’t overload your video with background elements.

7. Include a CTA

Finally, if your video marketing is designed to achieve a specific goal, don’t forget to tell your viewers what it is. A call to action is crucial because you want to spur your audience to do something with that information. Examples of CTAs can include:

Sign up for an email list
Click a link to a landing page
Buy a specific product

Remind viewers of the call-to-action within the video and post it in the description. Overall, the easier it is for someone to follow through, the more likely they’ll do it.

Get Better Video Advertising With Us!

Video marketing is challenging to get right, even if you know what to do. Fortunately, you don’t have to do everything by yourself – let us help! Contact us today to see what we can do for your brand.

Are you transitioning from B2B to D2C and joining the eCommerce revolution? Fitting the direct-to-consumer roadmap into your wholesale model seems like an impossible puzzle to solve. You have all the pieces, but putting them together to create a bigger, better picture takes a bit of problem-solving. Owning your consumer while balancing your B2B relationships is possible by refining your message, finding the right partners, and supporting retailers.

Speaking a New Language

Expand your operations team to include customer service and small-order processing. Plan sales and marketing campaigns that reach your audience in their everyday lives. Make space for your customers as they discover, consider, purchase, and return for more.

Understanding your consumer journey helps you determine what message you need to convey and when. First, make consumers aware of your brand’s positioning in the marketplace. What problem are you trying to solve for them? How will they identify with you and become aware of your solutions?

Second, figure out where your buyers are likely to take action. What social media platforms do they use? How much information do they want before making a purchase, and how can you provide that information to them? Lastly, nurturing customer relationships is much different than business relationships. Be prepared to take extra efforts to make repeat business a healthy revenue stream.

It’s worth considering creating a sub-brand within your business, specifically for D2C. Find out which of your products and services make the most sense to market to consumers directly and develop a brand around those solutions.

When it comes to D2C marketing, figure out where your buyers are. For example social media. — The language and content you use to target your target audience will depend on which platform they use.

Find the Right Partners for the D2C Model

Manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesale partnerships were your MVPs for the longest. You likely generated and retained business with a team of account managers. Now it’s time to consider partners in marketing and payment processing specifically for direct-to-consumer/eCommerce.

Get ready to up your marketing and advertising game. If you are tweaking your branding, a creative agency can help you create the perfect look. At the same time, appearance isn’t everything! Use a performance marketing partner focused on data and testing strategies, so your beautiful ads and landing pages produce results. Not sure where to start? Try our free marketing analysis, and we’ll get you on the right path .

Find an electronic payment system that makes it easy for customers to make purchases (#getpaid). Your website may need to be updated or completely redesigned, but ensure your developer integrates an excellent checkout platform. Processing payments from other businesses, usually done by invoicing, is much different than taking payments from a customer. Be prepared to find a new solution partner so customers can place orders efficiently and quickly.

Your customer journey plays a huge role in

Manage B2B Relationships while becoming a competitor

Hopefully, your retail partners support your transition. Either way, be mindful that you are becoming a competitor by selling directly to consumers. Ultimately, if you do not end your wholesale operations, striking a successful balance between B2B and D2C requires a little synchronizing with retailers.

Don’t be afraid to own your consumer and make no apologies for it ! Building relationships with your customers directly increases brand awareness, which drives traffic and retailers to your website. Collaborate with your retail partners to find ways to elevate business for both of your companies.

In addition to being collaborative, be supportive. Appeal to traditional shoppers who use their senses to make purchase decisions by letting them know where they can find your brand. Include web pages like “Find us in stores” or “Find us elsewhere.” Sure, that might mean you don’t win their direct sale at first. But, if a retail partner has a trustworthy reputation, customers may be more likely to purchase from you directly next time.

Transitioning, growing, evolving – whatever you want to call it – it all means that your business is changing and moving in new directions. Going from wholesale to e-commerce is a business decision you’re not making alone. Consumers are aligning their purchasing behavior with private, personal lifestyles. So, building brand equity is a smart move. Learn the D2C language and start speaking it in every part of your business. Find a marketing partner specializing in profitable growth and scaling customer acquisition. Then, collaborate with and support your business relationships.
If you still feel like a piece to your puzzle is missing, let’s find it together .

Compelling, eye-catching, and scroll-stopping content is the best way to stand out from the sea of holiday promotions. Creative strategy, including brand identity, tone of voice, and visual assets, is a critical element of a well-executed holiday marketing plan.

Outperform your competition this holiday season with these creative best practices for holiday marketing!

1. Be inclusive of diverse groups

While Christmas is a major holiday in the United States and beyond, remember that there are many other holidays to celebrate this time of year as well. In fact, the holiday season is full of varied celebrations for many groups of people around the globe.

You can include these groups in your holiday creative strategy by keeping your messages general and neutral. Instead of wishing folks a “Merry Christmas,” a simple “Happy Holidays” works well. You can also focus your message on common values like peace, faith, family, giving, and community.

When you approach your holiday creative strategy with inclusivity in mind, you remind your audience that your brand supports and celebrates human beings of all religions, geographic locations, sexual orientations, and backgrounds.

ThirdLove’s “Love is Love” commercial celebrates Pride Month 2020.

2. Speak to your customers on a human level

In other words, be relatable.

Up until recent years, most brands were guilty of speaking to their audiences as if they were a monolith (and very gullible). Commercials were canned and contrived. It was easy to look at the actors and actresses in them and wonder who the ads could be targeting — because it definitely wasn’t you.

Today, we’re seeing more creators and influencers producing content that is relatable and down-to-earth. It’s important that your message says to your audience: “We understand you. And we can help”. You need to meet people where they are.

In the end, consumers are more likely to stop scrolling when they see a real person talking about a product than they are when they see a traditional advertisement. Perhaps this is why influencer marketing is expected to grow to a value of $13.8 billion in 2021.

https://youtu.be/gQdLD6kk960

Amazon’s “The show must go on” campaign represents the challenges of 2020. It’s a holiday campaign that doesn’t need to scream holiday.

3. Always design your ads for mobile viewing first

You may be sick of hearing it by now, but we still see many brands producing advertisements that are not designed for mobile first — and that’s not a good thing.

More than ever before, people consume their content on-the-go, and this means via mobile devices. Pew Research Center estimates that approximately 85% of Americans own a smartphone whereas only 77% own a desktop or laptop computer. Furthermore, desktops and laptops rarely travel alongside people. Rather, they’re usually left at home or at the office. By contrast, smartphones go with people everywhere — from meetings and first dates to the bathroom and the bedside.

To target mobile users, brands need to create quick, digestible content that utilizes as much vertical space on the screen as possible. Follow creative best practices and design any videos for sound off, and get to the point as quickly as possible. Your audience is only one thumb-swipe away from not getting your message.

4. Provide value to your audience

This may seem like a given, but your audience wants to know: “What’s in it for me?”

While providing benefits and value propositions of your products or services is key here, it’s also important to dig a bit deeper. For example, post videos of how to use or clean your products. Create detailed gift guides that include a few of your products. Gift guides for different types of people are particularly helpful (moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, kids, bosses, etc.).

You might also provide a BOGO deal so that customers can gift a friend. Look for ways to offer free shipping and general discounts. Around the holidays, your customers want to shop. Don’t give them any reason not to shop at your establishment.

Uncommon Goods’ holiday marketing email details different types of gift guides making the shopping experience easier.

5. Start planning ASAP

Simply put: Don’t wait until November to start planning your holiday campaign. The sooner you begin, the more time you’ll have to do the research and planning necessary to be successful.

On average, it can take two to three months to contrive a strong holiday campaign. You need time to research your audience, develop your products and services, and angle your campaign for the widest reception and success. Even for small brands, we recommend starting as early as July.

Let us help you develop a robust creative strategy this holiday season!

Your creative strategy is always integral to the success of your marketing efforts, but during the holidays, it’s more critical than ever.

To give your company an edge this season, use these creative best practices for holiday marketing or contact us to discuss with our experts. We’ll help you up your game when it comes to your holiday ad campaigns and take your business to the next level as the new year rolls around.