Online spending accounted for more than a fifth of total retail sales in 2020, according to a piece in Multichannel Merchant, up from 15.8 percent in 2019. So, if you haven’t perfected your ecommerce marketing strategy yet, here are a few tips for creating a compelling digital shelf through mobile optimization, image selection, positive reviews and more.

Use Keyword-Rich Copy

Brand copy should contain search term keywords that shoppers would use to find your product. This applies to the title, feature bullets, product descriptions and metadata—all key elements of proper search engine optimization.

Make it Mobile-First

Optimize your copy for mobile by ensuring that four components—brand recognition, product type recognition, variant recognition and size recognition—are applied to your hero image. This will allow consumers to find your product more easily, reduce accidental adds to shopping carts, create incremental sales across platforms and improve mobile conversions.

Savvy Image Selection

Product images should be up-to-date, accurate and high-quality, with your digital shelf featuring an average of 3-4 images. Your product’s primary image should be the most compelling, but the supporting gallery of imagery can include real-life moments and use cases.

For more tips on how marketers can enhance their digital presence—through reviews and rich media forms, among others—read on in Multichannel Merchant.

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A few trends will influence marketers’ SEO strategies. For one, Google will use site usability as a major ranking factor in 2021. Secondly, new consumer shopping behaviors, including curbside pickup and online ordering, now requires brands to provide services like product ratings and nutritional information. Third, policing online misinformation will heat up even more in 2021, which means brands must establish themselves as authorities in their fields in order to avoid increased scrutiny. Ways to do that include:

Focus on Content. Avoid fringe topics and focus on your brand’s primary field of expertise.

Keep it Fresh. Rather than relying solely on evergreen content, keep your site’s content fresh to show Google that you’re adding to your field’s knowledge base.

Leverage Real Experts. Thought leadership from established sources should be featured prominently on your site in order to establish legitimacy.

Security Updates. Keep up to date on security and performance certifications.

For more on SEO trends to follow in 2021, read on in PRNEWS.

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Retail Store Closures

The pandemic caused widespread shutdowns of major brick and mortar retailers and accelerated the pace of bankruptcy filings. The closures led to names like Macy’s, Forever 21, J Crew and Brooks Brothers having to file court papers to protect against creditors in the midst of massive financial losses.

Ecommerce Flourishes

Digital sales increased massively in the retail space. Macy’s ecommerce grew 53 percent, for instance, as it relied on its years of omnichannel preparation to offset in-store losses. But the latter amounted to a decrease of 61 percent. Meanwhile, categories like home improvement, lawn and garden supplies and physical fitness experienced a huge boost in popularity. Social media platforms got into the ecommerce game as well, with Facebook Shops and Pinterest’s “shopping spotlights” adding tools for small businesses to sell goods on social.

Fulfillment Shifts

Trends like “buy online pickup in store” (BOPIS), curbside pickup and the use of QR codes became a way for brands to provide goods to consumers in a safe, contactless fashion. Thanks to their added convenience, these trends are expected to continue into 2021.

E-Grocery Growth

The demand for grocery shopping online exploded in 2020—and as a result, technological solutions like micro-fulfillment center (MFC) systems and order processing software helped companies fulfill orders in all-digital environments.

For more retail marketing trends in 2020, read more in Multichannel Merchant.

The post Ecommerce, E-Grocery and Omnichannel: Disruptions to Retail Marketing in 2020 appeared first on Chief Marketer.

While identity resolution is typically used for digital audience targeting, Nielsen’s solution is focused on measurement, according to a company executive. The idea is that the focus on measurement will prevent deduplication of audiences across digital, linear, addressable, CTV and additional platforms. Nielsen will use machine learning to match signals from devices to impressions and ultimately a specific person, which is made possible through relying on its consumer data.

For more detail on Nielsen’s identity resolution solution, including its interoperability with other identifiers used for targeting, read more in AdExchanger.

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The initiative, dubbed Digital Priceless Experiences, included a virtual Top Golf challenge in which brand ambassadors Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell (also golf champions) faced off at the game’s Pebble Beach Golf Links course. Mastercard used the World Golf Tour virtual game to showcase the players’ prowess, with in-game branding and friendly banter between the players.

Other activities on the platform include a digital golf lesson with Annika Sörenstam, a knuckleball lesson with former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield and an at-home cooking lesson with chef Bryan Voltaggio. To make it special for cardholders, a personalized element was included in each activity. For more on Mastercard’s digital experience platform, read on in Event Marketer.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• 10 Promotional Marketing Ideas for the Social Distancing Era
• The Best B2B and B2C Experiential Campaigns of the Year
• Salesforce Director of Marketing Insights on Communicating to Customers During COVID-19

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Facebook

Facebook recently launched an online ecommerce ecosystem, Facebook Shops, that gives businesses the ability to set up virtual storefronts. Brands can also upload customer email lists to the platform to reach custom audiences for reopening updates and use Facebook live to boost organic engagement. Keyword search tip: Use Facebook’s audience segmentation tool to leverage specific keywords.

Instagram

Instagram has launched Support Small Business stickers to help businesses that are suffering from the pandemic. Daily Instagram Stories will help keep the business top of mind, and Action Buttons allow consumers to shop and order gift cards within the app. Keyword search tip: Geotarget your keywords, since posts with locations get much more engagement.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn now has a Virtual Events tool that allows brands to meet with employees and share updates while social distancing. It also recently launched LinkedIn Live video, a feature that boosts profile engagement significantly. Keyword search tip: Since LinkedIn is a more conversational platform, make sure both your posts and keywords match your brand’s products and values.

For more social media tips for small businesses, read on in The Social Shake-Up. And for keyword search tips for additional platforms, including TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest, go here.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Ecommerce in the COVID-19 Era
• Best Practices: Using Facebook Messenger Marketing for Ecommerce
• Marketers on Fire: Brad Hiranaga of General Mills

The post How Small Businesses Can Use Social Media Platforms During the Pandemic appeared first on Chief Marketer.

However, a return to normal isn’t quite here yet. And brand marketers engaging in programmatic media buying will likely need to continue to employ lessons learned from the crisis well into its recovery, says Peer39 CEO Mario Diez in a piece for AdExchanger. He recommends that marketers pay particular attention to three things: contingency planning, creative messaging and regional sentiment.

Even while communities across the United States begin to reopen, the unpredictability of the pandemic means that stay-at-home orders could be re-implemented in the future. So, media buys need to have back-up plans and potentially shift creative in order to avoid appearing tone deaf. Creative messaging will also need to continue during this time, particularly since different communities will be experiencing the reopening of businesses and a change in purchasing habits in various ways. Lastly, geographic data will become more important because brands may want to deploy messaging that coincides with the sentiment held by specific geographies. For a deeper dive, read more in AdExchanger.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Social Media Listening and Platform Updates for Marketers
• Tips for Marketers Crafting Coronavirus Communications
• Optimal Social Media Engagement for Marketers Amid COVID-19

The post Programmatic Ad Spend Increasing: Three Strategies for Marketers During COVID-19 Recovery appeared first on Chief Marketer.

“With the pandemic crisis before us and the impeding recession to follow,” says Jason Heller, President of Persado, “we’re adding an important sixth trend to what was previously our top five trends. And that trend is maintaining brand purpose while building resilience in the current environment.”

Speaking at a recorded session for Adobe’s Digital Summit, available online and on demand since March 31 as a replacement for Adobe’s annual live event, Heller noted that, naturally, they didn’t anticipate that entire industries would be struggling for survival and forced to reinvent themselves. In light of that, this new trend would take priority ahead of the others. “Resilience will be a defining characteristic in the months to come,” Heller says.

Following are six marketing trends influencing business in 2020, according to Jason Heller, President of Persado, and John Copeland, VP of Marketing and Consumer Insights at Adobe.

1. Maintaining brand purpose while building resilience in the current environment.

It is critical for businesses to plan for the turbulent times ahead, says Heller. “There’s a journey to navigate from crisis communications to the new normal, business as usual, whatever that might look like and whenever that might happen.” The journey will be defined by the customer experience, which will now be more important than ever. “Understanding and supporting your customer needs moving forward may make all the difference,” he says.

Marketers’ communication strategies will be critical during this time. “Being careful about the words, the tone, the messaging used for specific customer segments will ensure that you are balancing sensitivity and messaging with performance,” Heller says. It will be important for companies to rethink their value propositions, specifically pricing, assortment and delivery of value. “Giving more for less will probably be the new normal for a bit,” he says.

Copeland points to the fact that companies will need to do more with fewer resources in order to prepare their organizations for the months to come, highlighting brands like Anheuser-Busch, Hyundai and Sephora as examples of companies adapting their business models and customer experiences for the new reality.

2. A new era of integrated data.

Using a customer data platform (CDP) to unify customer data across journeys was on track to be a top priority for 2020, according to Heller. But as CFOs conserve cash and prepare for difficult times, it probably won’t be the “year of the CDP” as it might have otherwise. Still, the holistic view of customer journeys that brings together data from different corporate functions will remain very valuable, Heller says, particularly when it comes to understanding new customer segments and how to serve their needs.

“Unified data also creates the conditions for more closely-aligned operating models across the company,” says Copeland. Sharing the same understanding of customers’ journeys and the impact on the business allows for more integration and a better customer experience. Companies also need to address and prepare for the data challenges ahead, including the phase-out of cookies and identity management challenges.

3. AI-augmented content.

While AI is currently optimizing content, many more marketing use cases, including content consumption modeling, device-centric content optimization and AI-powered content marketing, will use AI to boost performance. “Using AI to create variants of language and copy where just a word or phrase, a change here or there, can have a significant impact on performance,” Copeland says.

Heller emphasizes that it’s important to manage content operations. “As marketers increase the emphasis on personalization… more content velocity and more content volume is required to fuel this engine, and more is required to intelligently and dynamically assemble and optimize content across channels,” he says. Marketers committed to experimentation and scaling will have a competitive advantage.

4. Companies climb the digital maturity curve.

Senior company leaders are now bringing together the right people, processes, technology and data to produce an integrated customer experience management, Copeland says. More digital strategy and planning teams are being put in place; companies are creating chief customer officer roles—or integrating that responsibility into existing roles—and are fully committing to being customer-centric.

“This requires explicit prioritization and the business cases necessary to invest in not just the short-term, but the mid-term key initiatives—not the shiny objects—that deliver the most value to the organization, the right data and tech architecture, the new operating model and processes, acquisition and nurturing of top talent,” Heller says. This also helps with change management, an integral component to navigating crises such as the one we are now experiencing. Those companies that are already digitally-relevant businesses are better equipped to weather the storm.

5. Continued adoption of agile marketing.

Adopting an agile marketing approach in our current business climate is imperative, according to Heller. “Solving customer problems in real time, through rapid, data-driven, test-and-learn, is crucial,” he says. Copeland notes that early adopters of agile marketing, an organizational performance strategy that focuses on cross-functional teams, are starting to scale across marketing and other functions in order to drive performance. “Marketing has been a later adopter of agile relative to other parts of the company—product, tech and digital organizations, for example. But marketing finally has its advocates, case studies and proven practices that help agile marketers deliver accountable and predictable outcomes,” he says.

The key goal in agile marketing is the volume of experiments, Heller says. “Simply put, more tests means more winners. It’s not the old adage of fail fast. Quite the contrary, it’s more about building the funnel where some tests win, some tests fail, but ultimately the goal is to succeed fast and often.” He acknowledges that the current work-from-home situation marketing teams are experiencing poses challenges to an agile marketing approach, given that a core principle is co-location. “But teams will need to adapt to a distributed way of working and close collaboration using video conference,” he says. “While it’s not insurmountable, it’s definitely a dynamic that will need to be managed.”

6. Marketing as a catalyst for company-wide digital transformation.

Speaking about the commercial side of digital transformation, Heller says that marketing is leading the charge and pulling entire organizations through the process. “It’s the commercial transformation, the front lines of customer engagement, demand generation, revenue creation and the creation of modern customer equity, that can drive hundreds of millions or even billions in new enterprise value,” he says. And frequently, it’s the marketing department that’s first to build new tech stacks and lead in terms of data literacy.

Citing Forrester research, Copeland added that more CMOs are leading these transformations today. For those in the early stages, he recommends starting small. “Pick a small number of decision-making processes where you want better data integrated, or even one where you just want an end result that’s simply a great customer experience and a valuable part of the business,” he says. Enabling the organization to be customer-centric is—or will be—a top priority of every company, according to Heller—particularly in the months ahead.

The post Adobe Summit: Six Digital Marketing Trends Impacting Business in 2020 appeared first on Chief Marketer.

The firm polled more than 50 fractional CMO consultants serving Fortune 500 companies about business performance and challenges in 2020. Following are additional key takeaways from the Market Trends 2020 report and an inforgraphic detailing the findings, here.

• 72 percent of CMOs say greater collaboration is happening between organizational entities in order to meet company-wide growth.
• In terms of achieving that growth, understanding the customer and developing relevant strategy are the first and second most vital ways to do that.
• Approximately one third of businesses expect to bring more marketing agency work in-house in order to reduce costs.
• Looking at content focus for CMOs, the survey showed video, blogging and case studies as the top three priorities.
• Keeping up with technological advances is major challenge, with 88 percent of CMOs surveyed saying it’s difficult to keep pace.
• CMOs expect that private equity partners in particular will be more demanding of growth this year.
• 54 percent of CMOs believe retailers will see Amazon’s dominance as a negative, with just 14 percent viewing it as a positive.
• In order to thrive amidst Amazon’s dominance, a direct-to-consumer strategy for retailers is recommended by 53 percent of CMOs.
• Experiential marketing campaigns will continue to be used to encourage brand advocacy.
• Advancements in predicative analytics will particularly influence predictive modeling of consumer behavior, qualification and prioritization of leads, and customer targeting and segmentation.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• The CMO Reckoning Isn’t a Coincidence
• Getting to the C-Suite: How Six CMOs Rose to the Top
• CMO Roundtable: Visa, Personal Capital, AKT and Zoom Talk 2020 Marketing Trends

The post Chief Outsiders’ Survey of CMOs Reveals 2020 Digital Marketing Trends appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Thanks to its investment in e-commerce capabilities, including online product catalogs and self-serve shopping ads, Pinterest has become a viable option for smaller brands’ seeking to diversify their social media spend. For instance, feminine hygiene company Thinx and home décor brand The Citizenry both increased spend on Pinterest in the past year as a way to not rely on just one marketing channel. Thinx uses Pinterest to attract new traffic and users to its site just as much as it uses Facebook. Similarly, The Citizenry now uses Pinterest to engage with consumers looking for new ideas in addition to those searching for keywords related to home décor.

Still, with Facebook’s scale trumping Pinterest’s, it’s an uphill battle for the platform. Catering to small and medium-sized businesses is a key part of the plan. For more detail on Pinterest’s strategy and performance-based tools, read on in AdExchanger.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• Hootsuite Report: Five Social Media Trends for 2020
• How Marketers Can Use TikTok to Engage Gen Z Consumers
• What Instagram’s Decision to Hide ‘Likes’ Means for Marketers

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