TLDR Marketing 2024-05-23

Google announced plans to test search and shopping ads in the AI summaries. Ads will appear within the AI Overview in a section labeled as ‘sponsored' when they're relevant to both the query and the information in the AI Overview. AI Overview will draw on ads from advertisers' existing campaigns. This means they can neither completely opt out of the experiment nor have to adapt the settings and designs of their ads to appear in the feature.

Trends in commerce are the product of both technological change and behavioral change. This author identifies 10 shifts in the commerce space, from search behavior to physical overstocks. The wellness industry is massive (and growing) in the U.S., and there's an outsized emphasis on wellness among younger consumers. AI's impact on commerce will go beyond AI-generated ad copy – we'll soon have AI-generated products too. Creator and social commerce are seeing a lot of innovation, but the open question remains how best to monetize it.

Content is misunderstood, undervalued, and siloed. This report aims to address the discrepancy between content marketing's perception and reality. It covers content marketing as a function, who needs to be involved in content creation, and what success looks like for today's content marketers.

Optimizing sign-up forms results in more email subscribers, which leads to better analytics, deeper brand building, and higher-value customers. Start by ensuring you have sufficient tracking on your forms to allow you to properly analyze drop-off points and run tests. Look for opportunities to remove or adjust thought-consuming qualities on the form, such as social media icons, which can create a distraction. Get ahead of user anxiety by letting users know upfront how often you'll be contacting them and with what sort of content. The article contains additional tips around error messages, reciprocity, and social proof.

VectorVest, a stock portfolio management system, found from research that users were skeptical of starting a trial despite the social proof elements on the pricing page. The company tested a variant of the pricing page that changed the trial offer headline, answered common objections around hidden fees and terms, reformatted the pricing table to connect the trial price to each plan, softened the call-to-action to “Select Plan”, and added a callout above the highest-value plan. This resulted in a 43% increase in paid trials, demonstrating the value of learning from real customers.

The average conversion rate on a pop-up is 3.8%. Pop-ups with an image get 4.96%. Results fluctuate based on trigger type, number of fields, images, and device type. When designing an email pop-up experience, ensure the pop-up window adheres to accessibility standards and is easy to close for everyone. Depending on your brand and objectives, keep fields to a minimum. One field converts better (4.3%) than multiple fields (2.6-3.5%). Fly-outs or slide-ins are also good options for mobile where space is limited. Test these pop-ups based on where someone's thumb sits beside their mobile screen.

Product-led growth (PLG) is growing in popularity. Used by software companies such as AirTable and Loom, PLG is a growth model where product usage drives customer acquisition, retention, and expansion. Self-service, freemium, and value-based pricing are tools for PLG, not PLG itself. Under a traditional model, marketing and sales push users to product and customer success, but under PLG the four orgs are much more intertwined.

This article compiles advice from seven SEO leaders on how to leverage SEO for revenue growth. It features strategies like growth modeling for keyword ROI, “Pain Point SEO” for targeting high-intent keywords, and the approach to creating promotable content. The article also highlights the importance of a user-friendly blog design to guide users through the buying journey, the benefits of integrating SEO with paid acquisition data, and the crucial role of middle-of-funnel content in capturing and converting demand.

This in-depth case study analyzes Amazon's marketing strategy. It highlights the company's customer-centric approaches like personalized recommendations, seamless returns, and excellent customer service. It also discusses how innovation through AI and machine learning enabled inventory management and voice-controlled assistants like Alexa. The case study shares recommendations on how marketers can replicate the strategies.

Personal storytelling is growing on LinkedIn, with users increasingly posting about their personal lives to engage their professional networks. While this approach can create more meaningful connections, it has also led to concerns about professionalism and “engagement baiting.” Experts advise focusing on authentic, value-driven content that aligns with professional growth to build your brand on the platform.

As it's still too early to measure AI Overviews' true impact, this post summarizes 13 things to take note of.

Attacking competitors can give you an aggressive vibe that may not be in your brand voice, and taking on smaller competitors can validate their place.

How Halo Top, the ice cream brand, used context shifting (ie. fitness snacking) to differentiate from competitors.