December 1, 2023

This Week's Top Marketing News

7 Formulas for Writing Introductions That Convert Scanners Into Readers

Bard Can Now Watch YouTube Videos For You

Sick of waiting for YouTube videos to get to the point? With Bard, you don't need to hit play; it succinctly summarizes the video.

But here's the catch: it responds to prompts, and it may take a few attempts to extract the desired summary, keeping it in line with the unpredictable nature of AI.

For content creators, especially those who monetize their channels, Bard poses an intriguing challenge. Since the AI delivers concise summaries based on user prompts, traditional metrics like views may no longer be a reliable indicator of engagement. This raises a critical question for business owners: How do you stay ahead of the game and ensure your content stands out in the Bard era?

With attention spans shrinking, businesses must focus on producing videos that captivate and resonate with their audience. It's not just about conveying the message but doing so in a way that compels viewers to watch the entire video, bypassing the need for a Bard summary.

Fish Food: Quality content is the key to maintaining viewer interest and loyalty. Business owners should strive to provide unique insights, valuable information, and an engaging narrative that sets them apart from the sea of mundane videos. Standing out on YouTube means more than simply regurgitating what others say. You need to be creative, original, and connect with your audience to stand out.

City Paper banner encouraging people to vote for Best of Toledo Awards

A big thank you to everyone who has reached out and congratulated us for being nominated. We appreciate your support and votes. Remember, you can vote for us one time every single day until December 15th. Not that we're asking you to do that but it would be super-sweet if you did.

Vote Neon Goldfish Best in Toledo

Pepsi Brings Back Shaq For Fresh Spin On Skee-Lo’s ‘90s Hit ‘I Wish’ - Is it just us, or is nostalgia taking over the marketing game? Recently marketers tend to bank on the past rather than embrace fresh ideas. Walmart is dishing out "Mean Girls" vibes for Black Friday, and sports teams are rocking throwback jerseys. Shaq's new commercial, "I Wish" taps into the nostalgia trend, humorously highlighting situations where a one-size-fits-all approach falls short. With a cameo from Skee-Lo updating his 1995 hit, the ad captures the essence of the ’90s while making us crave a McRib - yeah, that’s back too.

Google Display Ads: The Expert Guide for Increasing Your Reach - While Google Display Ads might not be the top-performing weapon in your marketing toolkit, they possess the potential to enhance your overall strategy significantly. This article covers what display ads are and the differences between Google Display and a traditional Google Keyword PPC campaign. Display ads have the power to expand your brand's reach, and their value amplifies with each optimization. The article also talks about best practices for copy and text on a display ad in addition to measuring your campaigns.

Google Purging Inactive Accounts This Week—How to Save Yours - Google will begin removing inactive accounts this week on Friday, December 1, along with all of the account's data and contents, including emails, documents, photos—even calendar events. If you want to keep any old accounts, you’ll need to log in and send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, or conduct a Google search while logged into your account.

How Customer Ratings Impact Purchase Decisions

How To Create Engaging Content In 2024

Did you know:

Over 90% of blog posts receive zero traffic.
Most social media managers say that a good average engagement rate is between 1% and 5%
90% of YouTube videos never reach 1,000 views.

Yet plenty of content consistently receives plenty of views and high engagement.

Copyblogger analyzed the key factors separating highly engaging content from average content and summarized the key points in creating the best content. This actionable guide covers everything from social media to blogging and video.

Included are tips on:

How To Create Engaging Content For Any Platform
How To Create Engaging Social Media Content
How To Create Engaging Blog Content
How To Create Engaging Video Content

Fish Food: Whether you handle content creation in-house or outsource, this guide equips you with the strategies needed to defy the odds and produce content that gets noticed and resonates with the audience.

Read the Article

NameDrop In iOS 17 Is Not A Privacy Nightmare - Apple is making a stir with its new Proximity Contact sharing, but in reality, it's not as bad as it sounds. NameDrop allows you to share information and contacts from your phone with another user. The default to the new NameDrop feature is set to contacts only. So unless you select everyone for 10 minutes, leave your phone unattended for those 10 minutes, and the would-be data thief knows - you’re ok.

The 10 Most Hated Fonts of All Time - We’ve found a round-up of the most hated fonts, and yes, Comic Sans is on the list. But there are a few surprises like Impact, Neuland Inline, and Trajan. The commentary is spot on.

Apple earns 36% of Google search ad revenue through Safari

9 Thank You Page Examples to Improve User Experience

When your visitors act on your site and fill out a form - what happens next?

Often overlooked in the conversion process, thank you pages play a big role as the last impression visitors leave your site. As the final touchpoint, these pages provide a unique opportunity to engage visitors and leave them with a positive experience about their overall interaction with your business.

But what exactly is a thank you page, and why does it matter? It's the page your customers and leads see immediately after completing a form or making a purchase on your website. Beyond acknowledging the visitor's action, it is the concluding step in the conversion process and the initial move toward customer retention.

Effective thank-you pages involve thoughtful consideration of design, layout, copy, and calls to action. If you're grappling with optimizing your thank you page to align with your website goals, check out these tips from HubSpot.

Fish Food: Expressing gratitude and appreciation, thank you pages contribute to building positive interactions and relationships with your potential customers. So, start expressing your thanks on these pages to cultivate lasting connections and ensure visitors feel love beyond their initial interaction with your site.