Daily Edition · Page 10

THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

NEWS & TRENDS

TLDR Marketing

COSTCO IS BUILDING OUT AN AD BUSINESS USING ITS SHOPPERS' DATA

Costco is building out an ad network built on its trove of loyalty membership data, using its 74.5 million household members' shopping habits and past purchases to power targeted advertising on and off its website. The wholesale retailer is still testing such capabilities, and it's fielding offers from potential ad-tech vendors, but the move signals that the third-largest retailer in the US could become a formidable player in the already deeply fragmented retail media space, which is estimated to reach $166 billion by 2025, and responsible for 20% of all digital media spend this year.

A SOCIAL APP FOR CREATIVES, CARA GREW FROM 40K TO 650K USERS IN A WEEK BECAUSE ARTISTS ARE FED UP WITH META'S AI POLICIES

Cara, an anti-AI social app for artists, surged from 40,000 to 650,000 users in a week as artists fled Meta's exploitative AI policies, seeking a safer space to share their work. Founder Jingna Zhang, a renowned photographer and advocate for artists' rights, has positioned Cara as a haven for creatives to display their portfolios without fear of AI misuse.

USE LINKEDIN'S THOUGHT-LEADER ADS TO BOOST ORGANIC POSTS AND REDUCE COST PER RESULT

You will get more impressions and results for your money if a LinkedIn ad has a lot of engagement in the form of likes and comments. First, make an organic post that addresses the problem that your business is supposed to solve and also offers a narrative that gets engagement. It may take multiple tries to find the post that captures people's imagination and inspires the kind of comments and engagements you're looking for. The following day, edit the post to add in a call-to-action and a couple of lines about your service or product. Finally, boost the post with Thought-Leader Ads. This can help you achieve more affordable ad impressions, as well as a higher conversion rate due to the social proof.

SUNSET FLOWS: A CRUCIAL KEY TO BETTER EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

A sunset flow begins with a series of emails you send to subscribers who aren't engaging with your marketing messages. Once you've identified the people who still aren't engaging at the end of the flow, you reduce or suppress sending to them altogether. A good sunset flow sets you up to ensure that your audience is both interested and engaged. This guide covers 2 types of sunset flows for never-openers and for subscribers who previously engaged. It also shares tips and tricks to focus on in the flows and what to do with folks who do not engage at all after a sunset flow.

INSTAGRAM CLARIFIES ADVICE ON SINGLE WORD CTAS AND LONGER REELS

An Instagram video suggested that posts asking for specific engagement, like single-word comments, might be restricted due to anti-spam measures. After deleting and reposting the video, Instagram clarified that general engagement tactics are acceptable, but content explicitly designed to hack reach by soliciting specific interactions could be penalized. Using 3rd-party services like ManyChat for engagement is also acceptable. Reels longer than 90 secs won't be recommended to non-followers. However, creators can still post longer Reels to engage their existing audience.

NOTEBOOKLM GOES GLOBAL WITH SLIDES SUPPORT AND BETTER WAYS TO FACT-CHECK

Google's NotebookLM, an AI research and writing assistant, is expanding globally to over 200 countries and now supports Google Slides and web URLs. The latest update, which utilizes Gemini 1.5 Pro, offers new features like inline citations for easy fact-checking, high-level source summaries, and the ability to ask questions about images and charts. Marketers can leverage NotebookLM for diverse applications, from creating newsletters and analyzing sales calls to organizing complex storylines in writing projects.

MARKETERS SHOULD STOP BEING FEARFUL OF REDDIT

Many marketers are missing out on what Reddit has to offer due to a lack of knowledge of the opportunities it presents. Non-salesy community engagement, market research via social listening scans, gathering customer feedback, and creator partnerships are all great ways for brands to get value from the platform. At minimum, companies should use Reddit to listen to customers and understand their needs, but there is additional value gained from engaging with other users' content or even creating posts.

MARKETERS ‘PREOCCUPIED WITH WRONG EFFECTIVENESS METRICS', STUDY FINDS

Marketers have been overly focused on less meaningful campaign metrics. Despite 92% of marketers claiming to distinguish these effects, 39% of metrics used in 2023 were less meaningful. Campaigns that avoid using campaign delivery effects in their reporting see a 67% improvement in business results. More effective measurement methods include attribution modeling, brand tracking, and econometrics. KPIs should ultimately align with campaign objectives, document benchmarks, targets, performance, and key learnings for future testing.

NO, THE GOOGLE ALGORITHM DID NOT LEAK

The leaked information from Google was API documentation related to ranking systems, not the actual algorithm. This documentation provides insights into potential ranking signals, such as page views and toxic links, which may influence Google's algorithm but are not guaranteed factors. Marketers should interpret this information as part of a broader strategy and prioritize foundational SEO practices, such as optimizing for site speed, quality content, and user engagement, rather than relying on supposed shortcuts or loopholes.

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