(How to) stop pretending that you're customer-centricJono Alderson
The world has changed. Users demand exceptional brand experiences. Google rewards good experiences and customer-centric thinking. Surviving means putting the consumer first.
But your CEO doesn't give a damn about user experience. Your marketing manager only obsesses about conversion rate and revenue. Your channel teams are judged on visitor volumes and acquisition costs. Your organisation runs on dashboards which ask, "How many people did we get to the website? How many of them did the thing we want them to do?" You're the opposite of customer-centric - and all of the feel-good, aspirational Instagram content and Facebook video you produce doesn't change a thing.
It's time to change the way we think about success for brands, content, and marketing. It's time to help users do what they want to do - and to make a ton of money in the process.
Consumer search behaviour is complex.
You perform multiple searches on multiple devices over multiple days; where everything you see and experience, in the SERPs and beyond, influences your brand preference and purchase decisions.
Traditional funnel analysis and marketing models do a poor job of measuring and managing this ecosystem.
We need to re-think the way we talk about, measure and manage SEO if we want bigger budgets, integrated strategies, and to win big - and we need to move fast; some of the world's biggest companies are already beating us to it.
eStudio34 presents Search Love London 2015 | Searching higher up the funnel b...William Renedo
Consumer search behaviour is complex. You perform multiple searches on, multiple devices, devices over multiple days, where everything you see and experience influences your brand preference and purchase decisions. Traditional funnel analysis and marketing models do a poor job of managing this ecosystem. We need to rethink the way we talk about, measure and mange SEO if we want to win big, and we need to move fast; some of the world's biggest companies are already beating us to it.
In this slideshare, we break down Robinhood's fantastic mobile user onboarding experience. It's by far our favorite one we've seen so far, so let's jump in.
A world of structured data promises us an incredible future. But most websites struggle to even implement basic schema.org markup. Fewer still represent and connect their pages and content in sophisticated, structured graphs. We can’t reach that incredible future without increasing and improving adoption.
To move forward, we need to make constructing rich structured data as easy as writing a recipe. This isn’t a pipe dream: at Yoast, we think we’ve solved schema for everybody, everywhere. We’d love to share our story.
A deconstruction of the challenges faced in the process of effective keyword research, ideas for some of the reasons why these problems occur, and some suggestions around new ways of thinking, planning, researching, categorizing and managing keywords - all in order to enable effective tactical decision making and strategic focus.
(How to) stop pretending that you're customer-centricJono Alderson
The world has changed. Users demand exceptional brand experiences. Google rewards good experiences and customer-centric thinking. Surviving means putting the consumer first.
But your CEO doesn't give a damn about user experience. Your marketing manager only obsesses about conversion rate and revenue. Your channel teams are judged on visitor volumes and acquisition costs. Your organisation runs on dashboards which ask, "How many people did we get to the website? How many of them did the thing we want them to do?" You're the opposite of customer-centric - and all of the feel-good, aspirational Instagram content and Facebook video you produce doesn't change a thing.
It's time to change the way we think about success for brands, content, and marketing. It's time to help users do what they want to do - and to make a ton of money in the process.
Consumer search behaviour is complex.
You perform multiple searches on multiple devices over multiple days; where everything you see and experience, in the SERPs and beyond, influences your brand preference and purchase decisions.
Traditional funnel analysis and marketing models do a poor job of measuring and managing this ecosystem.
We need to re-think the way we talk about, measure and manage SEO if we want bigger budgets, integrated strategies, and to win big - and we need to move fast; some of the world's biggest companies are already beating us to it.
eStudio34 presents Search Love London 2015 | Searching higher up the funnel b...William Renedo
Consumer search behaviour is complex. You perform multiple searches on, multiple devices, devices over multiple days, where everything you see and experience influences your brand preference and purchase decisions. Traditional funnel analysis and marketing models do a poor job of managing this ecosystem. We need to rethink the way we talk about, measure and mange SEO if we want to win big, and we need to move fast; some of the world's biggest companies are already beating us to it.
In this slideshare, we break down Robinhood's fantastic mobile user onboarding experience. It's by far our favorite one we've seen so far, so let's jump in.
A world of structured data promises us an incredible future. But most websites struggle to even implement basic schema.org markup. Fewer still represent and connect their pages and content in sophisticated, structured graphs. We can’t reach that incredible future without increasing and improving adoption.
To move forward, we need to make constructing rich structured data as easy as writing a recipe. This isn’t a pipe dream: at Yoast, we think we’ve solved schema for everybody, everywhere. We’d love to share our story.
A deconstruction of the challenges faced in the process of effective keyword research, ideas for some of the reasons why these problems occur, and some suggestions around new ways of thinking, planning, researching, categorizing and managing keywords - all in order to enable effective tactical decision making and strategic focus.
In this slideshare, we break down Robinhood's fantastic mobile user onboarding experience. It's by far our favorite one we've seen so far, so let's jump in.
What happens when everybody's website is fixed Jono Alderson
For many of us, a big part of our job is essentially to fix or improve things. We seek out marginal, incremental gains to make our platforms, brands and performance 'good enough', or at least, 'less bad than our competitors'. What happens when all of this is no longer necessary? When everybody's website, app or software is perfect? Few of our brands are equipped to compete - or even to survive - in this new world. We need a radically different way of thinking, and for many, it may already be too late.
Gilligan's Guide to Analysts as Community Managers' Best FriendsTim Wilson
Tim Wilson's Boston eMetrics 2012 presentation of tips and approaches that enable analysts to be highly effective and highly valued through the multi-faceted ways they support their community managers. This presentation is also available on YouTube (with voiceover) at: http://youtu.be/4kW5J8dj46k
The #Futureof Disruptive Content MarketingGeoffrey Colon
What does the future of content marketing look like? It is a mix of thinking about what people seek, relevance, context, human behavior, technology, communications and more. It is a holistic practice, where siloes lead to failure and tinkering leads to opening new possibilities. Follow more of the discussion on Twitter #disruptivefm
In an age of ever-increasing distractions, quickly creating customer habits is an important characteristic of successful products. How do companies create products people use every day? What are the secrets of building services customers love? How can designers create products compelling enough to “hook” users? Companies need to know how to harness the power of hooks to improve peoples’ lives. This presentation provides a powerful toolkit and framework for creating better products.
'You are what you wear - is there a future in wearable tech?' Mobile Monday ...Great Marketing Works
'You are what you wear - is there a future in wearable tech?' on October 13th sponsored by UK Fast and Apadmi as part of MoMoMcr. Talk and slides by @dansodergren aka @ukmarketinghelp about his take on wearables and where we are now. Panel discussion afterwards included @MartinSFP from The Next Web
@PiersRidyard from Nifty
@MadewithGlove CEO Michelle Hua
@ImranYounis a UX expert working on wearables
I was honored to give this presentation to members of the Wharton Club of DC's leads group hosted by Snyder Cohn, PC and courtesy of Heinan Landa of Optimal Networks.
3 Strategies for Awesome Mobile-Optimized EmailsLitmus
In a world where 50% of emails are opened on a mobile device and 80% of consumers delete emails that look bad on smartphones, it’s crucial to account for fat fingers and small screens. While responsive email can close the gap, it’s not a silver bullet.
This presentation covers:
-How to find out who is opening your emails on mobile
-Implications of various screen sizes and operating systems
-Common pitfalls, easy wins and the secret to getting responsive email working in email clients such as Outlook
Presented on Thursday, January 30th, 2014
Bob London presented to students in the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship on various ways to understand the world from their customers' perspective.
Tips för Sociala Medier 2019 - Annah OdehammarTopvisible AB
Under årets första frukostseminarium hos Topvisible går Annah Odehammar, specialist inom sociala medier, igenom hur företag ska tänka och agera på sociala medier.
In this slideshare, we break down Robinhood's fantastic mobile user onboarding experience. It's by far our favorite one we've seen so far, so let's jump in.
What happens when everybody's website is fixed Jono Alderson
For many of us, a big part of our job is essentially to fix or improve things. We seek out marginal, incremental gains to make our platforms, brands and performance 'good enough', or at least, 'less bad than our competitors'. What happens when all of this is no longer necessary? When everybody's website, app or software is perfect? Few of our brands are equipped to compete - or even to survive - in this new world. We need a radically different way of thinking, and for many, it may already be too late.
Gilligan's Guide to Analysts as Community Managers' Best FriendsTim Wilson
Tim Wilson's Boston eMetrics 2012 presentation of tips and approaches that enable analysts to be highly effective and highly valued through the multi-faceted ways they support their community managers. This presentation is also available on YouTube (with voiceover) at: http://youtu.be/4kW5J8dj46k
The #Futureof Disruptive Content MarketingGeoffrey Colon
What does the future of content marketing look like? It is a mix of thinking about what people seek, relevance, context, human behavior, technology, communications and more. It is a holistic practice, where siloes lead to failure and tinkering leads to opening new possibilities. Follow more of the discussion on Twitter #disruptivefm
In an age of ever-increasing distractions, quickly creating customer habits is an important characteristic of successful products. How do companies create products people use every day? What are the secrets of building services customers love? How can designers create products compelling enough to “hook” users? Companies need to know how to harness the power of hooks to improve peoples’ lives. This presentation provides a powerful toolkit and framework for creating better products.
'You are what you wear - is there a future in wearable tech?' Mobile Monday ...Great Marketing Works
'You are what you wear - is there a future in wearable tech?' on October 13th sponsored by UK Fast and Apadmi as part of MoMoMcr. Talk and slides by @dansodergren aka @ukmarketinghelp about his take on wearables and where we are now. Panel discussion afterwards included @MartinSFP from The Next Web
@PiersRidyard from Nifty
@MadewithGlove CEO Michelle Hua
@ImranYounis a UX expert working on wearables
I was honored to give this presentation to members of the Wharton Club of DC's leads group hosted by Snyder Cohn, PC and courtesy of Heinan Landa of Optimal Networks.
3 Strategies for Awesome Mobile-Optimized EmailsLitmus
In a world where 50% of emails are opened on a mobile device and 80% of consumers delete emails that look bad on smartphones, it’s crucial to account for fat fingers and small screens. While responsive email can close the gap, it’s not a silver bullet.
This presentation covers:
-How to find out who is opening your emails on mobile
-Implications of various screen sizes and operating systems
-Common pitfalls, easy wins and the secret to getting responsive email working in email clients such as Outlook
Presented on Thursday, January 30th, 2014
Bob London presented to students in the University of Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship on various ways to understand the world from their customers' perspective.
Tips för Sociala Medier 2019 - Annah OdehammarTopvisible AB
Under årets första frukostseminarium hos Topvisible går Annah Odehammar, specialist inom sociala medier, igenom hur företag ska tänka och agera på sociala medier.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
Is AI-Generated Content the Future of Content Creation?Cut-the-SaaS
Discover the transformative power of AI in content creation with our presentation, "Is AI-Generated Content the Future of Content Creation?" by Puran Parsani, CEO & Editor of Cut-The-SaaS. Learn how AI-generated content is revolutionizing marketing, publishing, education, healthcare, and finance by offering unprecedented efficiency, creativity, and scalability.
Understanding
AI-Generated Content:
AI-generated content includes text, images, videos, and audio produced by AI without direct human involvement. This technology leverages large datasets to create contextually relevant and coherent material, streamlining content production.
Key Benefits:
Content Creation: Rapidly generate high-quality content for blogs, articles, and social media.
Brainstorming: AI simulates conversations to inspire creative ideas.
Research Assistance: Efficiently summarize and research information.
Market Insights:
The content marketing industry is projected to grow to $17.6 billion by 2032, with AI-generated content expected to dominate over 55% of the market.
Case Study: CNET’s AI Content Controversy:
CNET’s use of AI for news articles led to public scrutiny due to factual inaccuracies, highlighting the need for transparency and human oversight.
Benefits Across Industries:
Marketing: Personalize content at scale and optimize engagement with predictive analytics.
Publishing: Automate content creation for faster publication cycles.
Education: Efficiently generate educational materials.
Healthcare: Create accurate content for patients and professionals.
Finance: Produce timely financial content for decision-making.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations:
Transparency: Disclose AI use to maintain trust.
Bias: Address potential AI biases with diverse datasets.
SEO: Ensure AI content meets SEO standards.
Quality: Maintain high standards to prevent misinformation.
Conclusion:
AI-generated content offers significant benefits in efficiency, personalization, and scalability. However, ethical considerations and quality assurance are crucial for responsible use. Explore the future of content creation with us and see how AI is transforming various industries.
Connect with Us:
Follow Cut-The-SaaS on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Medium. Visit cut-the-saas.com for more insights and resources.
Monthly Social Media News Update May 2024Andy Lambert
TL;DR. These are the three themes that stood out to us over the course of last month.
1️⃣ Social media is becoming increasingly significant for brand discovery. Marketers are now understanding the impact of social and budgets are shifting accordingly.
2️⃣ Instagram’s new algorithm and latest guidance will help us maintain organic growth. Instagram continues to evolve, but Reels remains the most crucial tool for growth.
3️⃣ Collaboration will help us unlock growth. Who we work with will define how fast we grow. Meta continues to evolve their Creator Marketplace and now TikTok are beginning to push ‘collabs’ more too.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
10 Video Ideas Any Business Can Make RIGHT NOW!
You'll never draw a blank again on what kind of video to make for your business. Go beyond the basic categories and truly reimagine a brand new advanced way to brainstorm video content creation. During this masterclass you'll be challenged to think creatively and outside of the box and view your videos through lenses you may have never thought of previously. It's guaranteed that you'll leave with more than 10 video ideas, but I like to under-promise and over-deliver. Don't miss this session.
Key Takeaways:
How to use the Video Matrix
How to use additional "Lenses"
Where to source original video ideas
In the digital age, businesses are inundated with tools promising to streamline operations, enhance creativity, and boost productivity. Yet, the true key to digital transformation lies not in the accumulation of tools but in strategically integrating the right AI solutions to revolutionize workflows. Join Jordache, an experienced entrepreneur, tech strategist and AI consultant, as he explores essential AI tools across three critical categories—Ideation, Creation, and Operations—that can reshape the way your business creates, operates, and scales.This talk will guide you through the practicalities of selecting and effectively using AI tools that go beyond the basics of today’s popular tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Midjourney, or Dall-E. For each category of tools, Jordache will address three crucial questions: What is each tool? Why is each one valuable to you as a business leader? How can you start using it in your workflow? This approach will not only clarify the role of these tools but also highlight their strategic value, making it perfect for business leaders ready to make informed decisions about integrating AI into their workflows.
Key Takeaways:
>> Strategic Selection and Integration: Understand how to select AI tools that align with your business goals and how to conceptually integrate them into your workflows to enhance efficiency and innovation.
>> Understanding AI Tool Categories: Gain a deeper understanding of how AI tools can be leveraged in the areas of ideation, creation, and operation—transforming each aspect of your business.
>> Practical Starting Points: Learn how you can start using these tools in your business with practical tips on initial steps and integration ideas.
>> Future-Proofing Your Business: Discover how staying informed about and utilizing the latest AI tools and strategies can keep your business competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
As the call for for skilled experts continues to develop, investing in quality education and education from a reputable https://www.safalta.com/online-digital-marketing/best-digital-marketing-institute-in-noida Digital advertising institute in Noida can lead to a a success career on this eve
SMM Cheap - No. 1 SMM panel in the worldsmmpanel567
Boost your social media marketing with our SMM Panel services offering SMM Cheap services! Get cost-effective services for your business and increase followers, likes, and engagement across all social media platforms. Get affordable services perfect for businesses and influencers looking to increase their social proof. See how cheap SMM strategies can help improve your social media presence and be a pro at the social media game.
A.I. (artificial intelligence) platforms are popping up all the time, and many of them can and should be used to help grow your brand, increase your sales and decrease your marketing costs.In this presentation:We will review some of the best AI platforms that are available for you to use.We will interact with some of the platforms in real-time, so attendees can see how they work.We will also look at some current brands that are using AI to help them create marketing messages, saving them time and money in the process. Lastly, we will discuss the pros and cons of using AI in marketing & branding and have a lively conversation that includes comments from the audience.
Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
[Google March 2024 Update] How To Thrive: Content, Link Building & SEOSearch Engine Journal
March 2024 disrupted the SEO industry. Websites were deindexed, and manual penalties were delivered—all to produce more helpful, more trustworthy search results.
How did your website fare?
Watch us as we delve into the seismic shifts brought about by Google's March 2024 updates and explore strategies to not just survive, but thrive in this dynamic digital landscape.
You’ll learn:
- How to create content that is valuable to users (not just search engines) using E-E-A-T.
- How to build links that can boost rankings and withstand algorithm updates.
- Best practices for content creation and link building so you can thrive during algorithm updates.
With Vince Ramos, we'll examine the implications of the latest algorithm changes on content creation, link building, and SEO practices, and offer actionable insights from businesses like yours that have remained steadfast amidst the volatility.
Using real-life case studies, we’ll also show you the effectiveness of manual link building techniques and person-first content strategies.
Whether you're a seasoned SEO professional, a budding content creator, or anyone in between, this webinar will help you weather the changes in Google's algorithms and capitalize on them for sustained success.
Check out this webinar and unlock the secrets to thriving in the new Google era.
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
30. @jonoalderson
We need to change the way we
think about the relationship
between our marketing and
our audiences
31. @jonoalderson
“The roles of content and brand
websites need to shift away from
conversion, and towards positively
influencing brand preference and
recall”
42. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
A more realistic buying cycle
Moment
Build (or adjust) a consideration set
Reduce consideration set
Evaluate & reduce risk
Choose
Act
45. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
“I need a new laptop”
Build (or adjust) a consideration set
Reduce consideration set
Evaluate & reduce risk
“Here are some great options for you [...]”
“Okay, tell me more about the second one”
57. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
1. Availability
Is it open/nearby/valid?
2. Suitability
Is it good/right/cheap?
3. Implied Preference
Does it align with what I understand
of your values?
60. @jonoalderson
You need to positively
influence the consideration set
before the customer expresses
a need...
61. @jonoalderson
2018
System takes previous
brand interactions into
consideration
2018
Thinking about buying a
new laptop
2017
Retweeted a clever joke
about Moore’s Law
2016
Read a really interesting
article about graphics cards
and visual machine learning
62. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
Direct actions:
● Read an article
● Liked/shared a social post
● Installed an app
● Reviewed a service/product
Network actions:
● Actions from peers
Lookalike actions:
● Behaviour & characteristics of lookalike audience
72. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
1
Story
Messaging or elements
of the service surprises
+ delights.
2
3
Fulfillment
The service is available,
and is of appropriate
quality.
Experience
Brand interactions are deeply
meaningful (eg, answer
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)
The Brand Currency Hierarchy
73. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
Fitbit makes me feel like
I’m in control of my
health
Tesco put things I
need onto shelves
Uber make my travel completely
frictionless (through the removal
of fear and uncertainty)
Amazon (retail) has
everything I’ll ever
need, ‘frictionlessly’
Having Amazon Prime
means I ‘already have’
everything I need
The shop at the end of the street
repairs my bike occasionally.
The Brand Currency Hierarchy
75. @jonoalderson | @distilled
@jonoalderson
#3 Brand currency
Direct preference
Implied preference
Lookalike preference
Opportunity to be present in
a consideration set
#1 Brand marketing
Top of funnel messaging
Distributed content
Meaningful marketing
Opportunity to deliver an
experience
#2 Brand experience
Direct interactions (and sales!)
Network interactions
Lookalike interactions
Opportunity to generate brand currency
Brand websites exist to provide a specific function.
They have pages where you can read content, click on links. They give you the information you want, but only when you seek it out. They enable you to purchase the product or to make an enquiry.
These are all singular tasks. The website is explicitly designed to allow you to complete these, on demand.
Websites are where you go to do the thing. And, because of these kinds of interactions are typically static, transactional things, websites rarely provide a fluid, dynamic, interactive, personalised process.
Transactional experiences are only interesting when I want the thing they offer (or if I can be convinced that I want it). If I’m not interested, there’s no incentive to visit and consume.
This is oversimplified.
They started with a store, and a desktop website, maybe a shared inventory in a database.
They’ve iterated through a multiple generations of tech, and bolted on tech + solutions as they needed them
So they’re never at the cutting edge, their sites are often riddled with issues, they’re generally not sleek, or enjoyable to use
Mostly, because their focus is the thing they sell, and their website is just a marketing asset.
...Which means that every additional component exponentially increases the cost and complexity of change + additions
So when something like AMP, or Progressive Web Apps, come along, it’s a monolithic project, and it goes horribly wrong.
Platforms are where people spend time, rather than where they go to complete a task
The content is typically or curated by those people, and they, to a degree, manage their own experiences.
However; the product is the consumer, and the platform sells them back to the owners and marketers of websites (either as data, or as visits)
To brands, platforms are marketplaces for consumers. They’re synergistic.
They provide a discovery mechanism for those advertisers, who might otherwise struggle to organically attract consumers directly.
For platforms, their business is their tech stack - so they get it right.
They build systems designed to be more fluid, flexible, modern.
This is a ‘hub and spoke’ model (also oversimplified).
They’ve adopted new technologies and new ways of thinking; like Angular, Node, Vue, app routing, agile + modular coding, etc.
So when something like AMP, or Progressive Web Apps, comes along, you’re just adding another node; rather than bolting on another thing.
It costs 1/1000th of the time/effort/resource for them.
Traditional business has struggled. But platforms and disruptors are building this way.
Platforms attract audiences, and serve them the content they want. Those audiences, in turn, fuel those platforms’ content.
Websites buy their eyeballs and clicks, to serve them them content they want.
However… experientially, platforms are winning.
The quality gap will continue to widen. Websites will feel increasingly clunky and transactional in comparison.
The best experience in class becomes the expectation; anything less feels bad.
The tech obviously not the only factor, but it’s a big one, and it’s exponentially increased the speed of change, and the scope of capabilities.
The implications...
Consumers will be less and less likely to want to proactively visit business websites, of their own volition, unless they’re already at the point of conversion for the thing they want.
Businesses rely on getting visitors from a platform to a website. To your content. Your marketing collateral, editorial, sales messaging.
To achieve that pull mechanism, we advertise.
AdWords is a platform. Facebook is a platform. Google’s organic search experience is a platform(!).
We run campaigns, invest in AdWords and Facebook, strive to rank highly in organic search results, and put billboards on street corners.
We find opportunities to interrupt the media, content and experiences which consumers are engaging with. We buy clicks and eyeballs.
Sure, everybody makes some money. BUT...
Customers generally don’t want to be ‘pulled’ out of platforms.
We’re creating friction.
Ads disrupt the experience; bad experiences mean people’s platform preferences erode or change.
It’s a tricky balance.; Platforms don’t actually want customers to leave their platforms at all.
Even Google, as a platform, don’t want you to search-then-click-on-someone-else’s-site.
That means they lose your eyes, your attention, your potential revenue.
That’s why they’re moving into more and more ‘in platform’ experiences.
Maybe you’re using branding, through attempts to earn visits and attention from search engines and in social media.
We challenge our businesses to have blog, to produce editorial content, to have opinion, to write compelling copy, etc.
Because if we can attract consumers from search and social - people who’re interested in our content, advice or opinions - maybe we can sell something to them later.
Except… Those visitors are still coming from platforms. And you’re still paying to for the time/resource to produce, support and market that content.
Your content marketing is just another form of interruption advertising.
If nobody really wants to visit your website, or read your content (because they’re not ready to be interested in the thing), what are your options?
And if platforms want to keep consumers in their ecosystem (more engagement = more preference = more data = more monetisation opportunities)...
And if you want to reach a wider audience than just those who’re ready to buy, right now...
Rather than paying for clicks, maybe there’s less friction in providing your content to potential consumers, on the platform they’re already on?
All of the major players allow you to provide them with your editorial and ‘pull’ content, and they’ll serve it up in situ in a way which avoids all the awkward friction of a user having to leave their comfortable environment.
These are, almost always, better experiences than you can provide. Because they’re using cutting edge tech, and they’re not full of crappy ads.
This is rarely about direct selling - you can still do that with your pay-per-click style advertising - but this is an opportunity to build brand awareness and preference with consumers on their terms. That’s interesting.
But… if your users can find and engage with you in a way which they prefer, from within other platforms, why should they visit your website? Moreso, even, why would platforms afford them the opportunity?
Whilst these just look like content formats, it’s worth focusing on how they’re actually (other people's) platforms. Including AMP!
...sacrificing ownership for in-platform discoverability....with huge implications.
Because in the same way that Google favours websites with AMP results (though shifting, and contentious), it’s in the interest of platforms to prefer content which fits neatly into their model and format than to ship visitors off to some clunky, slow, shouty website.
So even if you choose not to engage with this revolution - to continue to try and drag people from platforms to your site - you’re going to be losing visibility, or it’ll become much more expensive to reach potential consumers on those platforms.
...A shift from websites publishing editorial and ‘pull’ content to attract consumers…
...to those consumers much more commonly encountering and engaging with that content in other environments.
And if you want them to read your content, and to buy your things, you’re going to have to convince them that they want to do that.
That’s just today’s platforms. The fragmentation, volume and velocity of these environments continues to increase.
Tomorrow, there will be dozens of new places where your audience are, where they choose to consume content, consider products and services, and develop brand affinities on their own terms - without them ever visiting your website.
Your content - or your competitors - is increasingly consumed (and purchase decisions occur) elsewhere.
That means that people don’t go to your website as much.
So this isn’t about ‘getting your content on Facebook’ - it’s about people interacting with your content ‘out there’.
...Enough so that consumers are willing to visit it directly, rather than consuming what you offer through their preferred platforms.
If there isn’t a good answer, your traffic volumes are going to plummet.
They’ll engage with you - or not - or your competitors - on their own terms, via platforms which give them better experiences, and less of your pesky and distracting advertising.
That has upsetting ramifications for branding, marketing, and advertising in a world where our current paradigm requires (*analytics) customers to click your ads and visit your website.
More pages. More visits. More conversions.
Remember: Transactional experiences are only interesting when I want the thing they offer.
The people who reach your measurable platforms will be a minority in your potential market; traffic you’ve bought or rented from platforms
Critically, you won’t be able to measure the people you aren’t reaching - the people who never entered the buying cycle, never searched on Google, and never viewed your display
These are the people who are happily consuming content and making purchase decisions from within their platforms of choice. They’ll never hit your radar.
That makes it very hard to build business cases on the current model, which is to predict and forecast from visitor levels, to conversion rates, to revenue.
Because there’s always a risk that external factors can destroy your foundations.
But… your audiences aren’t visiting your website, because they’re only on those rented platforms.
And those platforms are transient.
They’re news feeds, content streams, apps.
Your objective can no longer be to attract consumers to your website, in the hopes of converting some small percentage of those visitors to sale or action
At least, not if you want to grow to reach new audiences, or to break free of renting or paying for visitors from platforms.
Rather than my content being part of a funnel to pull visitors from platforms to my website and attempt to get them to buy...
it needs to become a vehicle to grow my brand’s reach into the environments where my audiences are already consuming content.
Rather than my website being the final destination in a purchase journey, it needs to become a hub for the stories I want to tell, and the values I want to showcase...
...it needs to feed content and conversations which are happening out there, outside of my control.
To a generation of digital marketers who obsess about conversion rates and clicks, this might sound radical, and perhaps even dangerously naive.
But the world’s most successful brands have long understood that this model works, and have embraced this kind of thinking for decades.
Oldschool
Their offline marketing works
Their digital marketing looks unsophisticated
But it optimises to awareness, recall and preference - not (often) for sales
Women’s equality campaign, about the importance of providing opportunities of access, education, etc. It flashes a few logos at the end.
If that resonates, and a week later I see those products, which do I choose?
Just because your conversion mechanism lives online and is part of your website, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it needs to be the exclusive focus of your site.
There’s often a drive from senior stakeholders that brand websites must operate as machines designed solely to convert visits into sales.
Often, that means that any educational, supportive or branding content and functions are perceived as distractions from this focus, and a detriment to conversion rates.
But conversion is frequently only the end of a journey which contains multiple touch points - many of which aren’t on your website or in your control.
ALL the household brands you know behave like this. That’s why they’re household brands.
Brands like Ferrari, Lego, Diageo, P&G, Johnson & Johnson and many others market exactly like this precisely because they understand that they don’t control the conversation.
What would you put on your AMP pages, if you were trying to be remembered, rather than to sell?
Or your Instagram profile, your YouTube channel.
The WhatsApp groups you curate.
What if you tried to optimize for influence for brand preference?
As a consumer, when I’m researching and making a decision, you can advertise.
Show me your special offer. Run a PPC campaign. Be visible in organic search results. Buy my attention.
As a consumer, when I’m researching and making a decision, you can advertise.
Show me your special offer. Run a PPC campaign. Be visible in organic search results. Buy my attention.
I don’t have an emotional or brand relationship with any company in the gas/electric sector.
Which is why I JUMPED at Flippr.
Not just editorial content which is ‘out there’. I’ll never engage with an energy supplier, ever
Flipper; automatically finds cheaper gas/electricity prices
As a consumer, brands can no longer reach me in this market. I’m not in the funnel. There is no ZMOT. There’s no moment where brands can react
Same for my mortgage. Habito.
Why’s this interesting? Websites and brands frequently give me suboptimal experiences for commodity stuff, so I’m outsourcing parts of my decision-making
As a consumer, you can no longer market to me
You’re no longer in control, because it’s all happening out there.
They’re not coming to your website.
I’m not saying that I won’t have opinions or input as a consumer.
I’m not saying that you won’t need to provide inputs and parameters (e.g., “my new laptop has to have a HDMI port and an onboard graphics card”)
I’m saying that you’re already in a filter bubble, and systems are already deciding what you do and don’t see…
...And that as we all get Alexas, Google Homes, smart lightbulbs, Bixby, etc, they’ll increasingly, silently, filter out bad choices.
Because there’s no evidence that I’ll prefer them vs another.
Because there’s no opportunity for them to pitch me.
...when you don’t know if they’ll ever become a customer.
Jono doesn’t buy laptops very often, and I don’t know much about his preferences.
I do know he doesn’t want a Mac.
I don’t want to have to ask him a ton of basic, annoying questions.
However, here are a bunch of people with similar hobbies, tastes in music, social connections, job descriptions….
Positively, or negatively
Higher brand currency = higher recall, preference, affinity, propensity to recommend, etc
Earn enough, and you can bypass that process entirely.
Promise = how will this provide meaning.
‘Experience’ doesn’t necessarily mean a sale or conversion.
Any good experience generates positive brand currency.
Any negative one detracts.
That’s hard, right?
...because lookalike audiences influence propensity to be chosen.
That circle works in reverse. If you do bad things to lookalike audiences, you’re less likely to show up.
They all market to everybody.
And it’s not because they’re un-targeted. They just separate their marketing from their selling.
Technically, conceptually, organisationally...
These define your constraints and capabilities.
Are you a website, or a platform?
What do your audience want, and expect? Are you ready?
How are you building brand currency?
Are you sticky?
What value do you offer people who look like your audience?