Facebook Failed To Detect A Bug In Its Conversion Tool For A Year!
A bug in Facebook’s conversion list studies tool created a buzz among the advertisers. It was discovered that the bug was causing issues by feeding false data to the advertisers.
It has been a year since the issue is there in the tool. It is reported to be a code error which resulted in undercounting the conversion lift test managed by Facebook. The tool is been used by thousands of advertisers between 15 August 2019 till August 31 2020.
The Conversion lift studies tool is free provided by Facebook used by the advertisers. It is used, for the measurement of the growth of the audience of their advertisement. The advertisers accordingly decide the spent which they want to do on their advertisements and usually spend more to boost the reach. The bug came as the real shock for the advertisers using this tool, and they felt cheated!
The bug was fixed by Facebook on 1st September 2020. Therefore, it took more than a year for Facebook to recognize the fault and fix the issue, which was shameful for such a big tech. A company having millions of user database of billions.
According to a Facebook spokesperson, they are “working with impacted advertisers,”
However, there were no alerts released by Facebook until the last week.
It is not the first time something like this happened with Facebook. A well-known case of miscalculations in video matrics was discovered in the year 2016. Also, in the year 2017, there was a case of overestimation of its reach. These issue has caused a wave of mistrust with Facebook, and the advertisers are looking for other better options.
It is what happened!
The bug was associated, with the data pipeline migration. It caused in registering impressions into Facebook’s conversion lift system.
It resulted in undercounting of the conversions, for those people who were using the impressions on the Facebook app.
Therefore, the miscalculation of conversion happened, and the measurement of sales was not accurate. It is the crucial ratio used for the calculation of the incrementality. Also, it is utilised to calculate other ratios! These ratios include conversion lift metrics.
However, to resolve the issue and compensate the advertisers, Facebook is giving away a token. A one-time coupon is offered, as compensation to the affected advertisers. The token has to be used by March 31 2021.
The tokens are distributed, according to the severity of the problem and discomfort caused to an advertiser. Thus, if Facebook feels that an advertiser is not affected by the issue, they will not get the token as compensation. Therefore, it is totally up to Facebook to decide whether the advertiser is affected or not!
However, it won’t be fair to decide without talking to the affected advertisers. The distribution of the token will be totally up to the Data science team of Facebook. Therefore, it can cause a lack of transparency in the process of token distribution.
Even though the tool is free to use for the advertisers provided by Facebook, but it is responsible for the spending made by the advertisers and directly affects the amount of money spent by them on their campaigns.
Facebook way of saying, “ Sorry” to the advertisers!
An email circulated by the company(Facebook), to the affected advertisers to provide clarity on the delay in discovering the bug stated, “due diligence to better understand the scope of the issue.”
However, most of the ad buyers are not buying the explanation provided to them for the delay!
According to an account holder, “People continued to spend money after Facebook knew there was a bug because they weren’t told.” According to the buyer, the tone of the email was “vague and corporate tone.”
Even the subject line of the email was very formal and was empathetic. The user was more interested in “‘Oh, my god, we effed up, and we’re sorry!” Although, what it said was “‘Upcoming update to Facebook conversion lift studies.” Which was not very reassuring.
While debugging the bug, the developers came across two more as quoted by Facebook “Smaller” bugs.
The first one dealt with the multi-cell studies, and the second one was responsible for the undercounting of the data for the web conversions in the statical model.
Facebook claims to develop better technology to counter such bugs more effectively in the future. However, we must all keep our fingers crossed.
“Not Just A Cadbury Ad”, A Powerful Advertisement That Makes A Difference.
In a concept presented by Ogilvy, for the latest Cadbury celebrations advertisement on the occasion of Diwali is more about the small retail outlets who have faced a loss of business during the season pandemic.
The campaign is a joint initiative by Ogilvy, Wavemaker and Cadbury. The campaign collected the data of the small vendors with the help of Facebook and YouTube. By this innovative initiative, the teams are planning to reach a larger audience across the country to spread awareness and help the small businesses, giving these businesses a chance to flourish during this season of festivity.
The season of Covid has proven itself to be vicious for small vendors and business owners. Many of them lost their livelihood due to the lockdown imposed across the world. However, we have seen some bright hopes of humanity and gestures of kindness. Millions of people across the world came together to contribute to the upliftment of the poor during this pandemic and hundreds of brands have tried to reach out to the needy by their marketing campaigns and donations are made to help them overcome the loss of money and livelihood. These efforts have made things a lot better for the people who’s businesses were suffering due to the pandemic.
“Not Just A Cadbury Ad” is the effort in the same direction and portrays the act of humanity in these critical times.
The advertisement is not just a business campaign for Cadbury but also an opportunity for hundreds of local shops suffering from the loss of livelihood!
The data collected for hundreds of affected shops are used smartly in the campaign and people will see the shops in the advertisement which are in their region or city. For example, a person viewing the advertisement in Delhi will see the affected shops in Delhi. Similarly, a person in Mumbai will be shown the advertisement based on the data collected from Mumbai.
Therefore, the efforts of Cadbury is appreciated as it created hundreds of advertisement using real-time data from various locations. The advertisements are then fed to an algorithm that automatically detects the location of the viewer and presents the advertisement accordingly. To make this great initiative happen, Cadbury collected the data from almost 1800+ affected retail stores, including 250+ pin code locations in the cities of Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, and Pune.
Anil Vishwanathan, Senior Director – Marketing (Chocolates), Insights and Analytics, Mondelez India complemented the initiative by stating
Over the years, Cadbury Celebrations has become synonymous with festivals in India. This year, more than any other, warrants for acts that signify new beginnings and the potential of goodness in an imperfect world, and our recent Celebrations campaign infuse this thought at the back of evoking generosity. With the proposition of ‘Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge’, we are putting our best foot forward to inspire people to do what’s right, this time to remind people to support their local retailers. Through this campaign, we hope to share the warmth of this season with the small businesses as we prepare to celebrate one of India’s biggest festival.
The advertisement crafts a beautiful story of a woman gifting her family members with gifts that she bought from local vendors and stores. The advertisement urges people to do the same to help the affected small vendors across the country.
A statement issued by Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India, stated:
The heart of this campaign lies in generosity, especially in these trying times. This data-driven, localized and personalized campaign captures generosity experienced at a local community level, where we featured local retailers & urged people to remember them while gifting this Diwali.
26% FDI Extension Provided To The Digital Media By The Union Cabinet
FDI stands for Foreign Direct Investment. Under this, the companies are independent to raise investment via through foreign channels. Earlier, this facility was only available to the print media, and only they were authorized for the FDI.
The step is considered to be bold and resourceful in the direction of obtaining success in the Digital India Campaign launched by Prime Minister, Sri. Narendra Damodardas Modi.
In a statement issued by the Union Minister of the Finance, Mr Piyush Goyal stated: “ Even as foreign direct investment slows down across the globe, we are looking to liberalize norms in the country. We hope India can maintain its position as an attractive investment destination and grow in the coming months.”
The statement was issued, on Wednesday while the Minister was addressing a press conference.
Expanding the scope of FDI and expanding it to 29% for the digital media is indeed seen in a positive light. People in the industry are welcoming it, as there were no such policies in the past. It is speculated that the step will help flourish the digital media in India and motivate platforms to work as an independent entity.
Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India, explained the importance by stating that,
“All digital media was simply subsumed under the broader legal entity it was part of, broadcasting or otherwise, This will now allow digital platforms to be unlocked from the bigger companies and seek separate valuation.”
Now, the companies registered under one umbrella(parent company) will be able to register themselves separately. Therefore, they will be independent to raise funds separately for themselves.
The current Government led by Prime Minister Modi has proven itself to be determined, in generating and enhancing the scope of digital media and its platforms for better development of the country ensuring security and development at the same scale. However, the digital media have waited for this opportunity for long now. Whereas, the print media enjoyed the FDI of 25% to 49%.
Digital media have impacted our society at a wider pace. The landmass covered by digital media is far broader compared to the print media. In India, around 1.2 billion people are part of the digital media family. This population include both urban and village residents.
Some people are still unsure if the decision is as fruitful as it seems. They were expecting the percentage of FDI allotted should have been 49%. Raising the FDI to 49% will help to generate more jobs in the industry and create employment for millions. The extra money could have been utilized in the development of multiple sectors including education, entertainment, expanding the scope of digital payment and in developing healthcare industries.
However, according to Manav Sethi, Chief marketing officer at Eros Now, “Earlier there was no FDI restriction in digital media, so the current imposition of 26% is restrictive, and so bad news for the sector,”
Well, the glass filled with water can be seen, as half-filled or half empty! However, people in the digital industry are embracing the decision wholeheartedly and are hoping for a better future of digital platforms and media market in India.
Upgraded Google Ad Location Reporting By Google And The Need To Generate Custom Reports
Over the past few months, Google has been releasing “simplified” location reports in its Google Ads user interface. Every time someone uses words like streamlined and simplified in the description of its products or updates, it certainly raises questions of being misleading or hiding something important. It raises questions about its functionality, accessibility, and utilization of the data.
However, before we start discussing Google’s new reporting, let us understand the cruciality of reporting in general.
Google provides an option for location settings in its campaigns in a dropdown menu. Here the advertisers can target the audience according to their business needs. Often, people spend a large sum of money on locations that do not provide any conversions. It happens when one tends to target a whole country. For example, if you are planning to target the audience in the United States, by choosing the country, there are chances that the people who are not a resident of the country will also see your advertisement. These people can be located in a different country and might have shown interest in visiting the US or used the country name as a qualifier for searching for something over the internet. Therefore, generating location reports become crucial.
Google has specifically asserted its viewpoint on this topic. They explained to their advertiser audience, how people who are just visiting your selected location see your ads. It has both; negative and positive effects on one’s spending and strategy.
Changes Made In Location Reporting
Google has enhanced its location reporting and fortified it into a single entity. As per the new Google update, an advertiser can now filter the data of performance using location by either matched location or targeting.
- Matched Location: This will show the location report according to the user’s location of interest or actual physical location.
- Targeted Location: This shows the location, that you are targeting.
However, it is not just an easy-peasy task. The new updates come with some complications. Let us assume that someone situated in Los Angeles searches for “Hotels in Prague” in this case Prague, which will be shown as a matched location. If it was targeted, in the campaign. But the question that arises is how an advertiser will see the location of the user in Los Angeles. It is no longer available in the reporting generated now! It will require you to generate a custom report using the Report Editor.
Details Of Matched Locations
It is a bit tricky to locate. However, by clicking on the box at the top of the individual location or location list, you will get the option to make a precise selection and get options for postal codes, DMA regions, neighborhoods, and other relevances.
As it is a Matched Location section, it will show you both; users who have shown interest in the location and users in your targeted location.
Type of Location: This option is not limited, to a segment data option in the Google Ads UI. It allows users to view data on two bases:
- Location of interest
- Physical location
However, now you have to go to the report editor to get the aggregate data for both options.
Distance reports: This is to analyze and generate reports based on the distance between the business location and the location that triggered the advertisement.
Getting User Reporting For Their Location Using Google Ads
User location data is still available in Google Ads. However, you have to set a custom report in the Report Editor.
User location is divided into five parts:
- Country/Territory
- Region
- Metro area
- City
- Most specific location target(city area, zip code, etc.).
You can utilize these options to filter your searches. It will help you to precisely determine the locations to spend money and helps you save unwanted expenditures with no results.
No location filter: There are still multiple improvements to be made in the tool. The limitation is that you can not filter these reports by location. You have to export the spreadsheet and do it manually.
Conclusion
There are several handy options available in the new advancement of the tool. You can use the “Narrow by” options to go deep into the matched location.
Adscholars advised their readers to generate the location report and study them thoroughly. It will help you to analyze the actual fruitful expenditure, differentiating the money that you might be wasting on the locations which are not giving you the desired returns.
Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Marketing Strategy
LinkedIn has proven itself to be a crucial tool to develop the circumference of your professional circle and widen the scope of your business and connect with like-minded people. It even helps you to learn from real successful people from a variety of industries, who are continuously sharing their experiences on the platform.
It is just like Facebook! The only difference being the audience. People on LinkedIn are professional individuals who are there for expanding their professional circle and interacting and sharing crucial information.
Since the arrival of the application, boosting your professional contact list has become a lot easier. All thanks to the founders Reid Hoffman, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Konstantin Guericke and Microsoft for such a unique and efficient tool. The company was discovered in 2002. It has its head office at Mountain View, CA.
It is easy to create your account on the application. You can manually sign up or use your Google email to directly login. However, the real struggle starts when people start to increase the scope of their business and broaden their circle on the application.
The application has a much broader scope, then most of the people can predict. It will not only help you in gaining knowledge but will also help you to expand your professional circle and can help you achieve the heights in your professional career. People often get confused and do not know how to get started and commit mistakes, leading to embarrassing situations and awkward moments.
Hence, here we will help you to understand the importance of LinkedIn and will tell you some tricks to achieve the most out of the application. You can also remember some of these points as the basic thumb rule to continue further in your professional life.
Following people on this application is easy. However, the tricky part appears when you want to take the output from the information and utilize that information in your networking and marketing strategy.
Stay aware of the trends
Awareness is important! Keeping your eyes, ears and mind-opening while going through the feeds on the application is crucial. By looking at the posts shared by your connections on the application, you can develop a sense of understanding of what is trending in the present market situation.
You can dedicate some routine time to go through the feeds on your profile. It will help you to develop an understanding of new products, work culture and even help you stay updated with the progress of your competitors.
Algorithm of LinkedIn is super smart! It will feed you with all the necessary information and knowledge based on your likes and interests, people you are following and their interests in a similar field. Therefore, it gets interesting once you start understanding the purpose of the feed and start utilizing them in your professional life.
The application helps you in every way possible to gain all the positive limelight you desire. Every time you interact with a post, the person posting it will be notified, hence helping you attain their attention. The more relevant reactions you give on the applications, the more your profile starts being visible to others in your circle.
There are several options which you can use to interact with a post:
React: Just like Facebook, LinkedIn gives you an option to express your emotions on a particular post. As soon as one hover over the like icon, it enables you to react with Love, support, insight, celebration and curiosity.
Comments: As the name suggests, you get an option to express your views on the topic. However, try to post comments relevant to the topic. You must remember! LinkedIn is not Facebook. You have to be professional and choose your words carefully if you are willing to create an impact on the audiences.
Share: If you find the article interesting, feel free to share it in your circle. You get the option to include your views along with the shared article.
Send: You can even send the article to different networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc.
The feeds are decisive, as you must have guessed it so far. However, arranging them is also a significant task. The desktop version of the applications provides you with an option to manage the article in the chronological order either setting the flow to Top or Recent.
Though, it is said to keep your feed setting on recent to get much-ordered feeds. You can also save them for later using the options from the drop-down menu. There are several other options available in the drop-down menu which you can employ for better usage of the application.
You can hide a post, unfollow the irrelevant posts or unfollow a person if required. Unfollowing someone is an anonymous process, and the application does not notify the person you unfollowed. You will still be able to send them personal messages, and they will stay in your network, following you!
Understanding the second-level of your connections
LinkedIn provides you with three levels of connections:
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
The first level of connections is your direct contacts with whom you have accepted the requested or exchanged a virtual business card. You will be able to see their feeds, comments, know their likes and what they share.
Your feed mostly consists of content from your first-level connections.
Second level connections are those which are followed by your first level connection. The posts can be differentiated, on this basis as they consist of marking for 1st level, 2nd level posts. If you are not connected with an author of an article in your feed, it will show as 2nd level contact next to their name.
You are free to convert them to a first-level contact either by requesting the first level contact to introduce you to them or by directly sending a request or a personal message to put an acknowledgement. However, the first method is proven to be more effective if you are looking for a strengthening bond among yourself.
You can follow a template when sending them a message. Here we are mentioning a proven method to modestly and professionally ask someone to introduce you or add you in their contact list.
Hi <1st-level connection>, I spotted you sharing a post from <2nd-level connection>. I’m not yet connected to them but I would love to be introduced! Can you help?
Or
Hi <2nd-level connection>, I saw one of your posts shared on my LinkedIn feed by a connection we have in common, <1st-level connection>. I’d love to connect with you directly…
Learning about your competitors via LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the most preferred sources to advertise your product in the professional world. People have gained massive success using the tool for advertisement. Almost everyone on this platform is using it for networking and gaining benefits for their business.
Hence we can say that people on the platform are here to conduct business.
You might often come across promoted and advertised content in your feed. These contents are marked as promoted content. Therefore, you will be able to spot them easily.
LinkedIn provides you with functionality to approach the specific audience and target them as per your requirements. Therefore, you will be able to achieve high-end results using the LinkedIn advertisement.
Adscholars uses LinkedIn for effective marketing and promoting their content. It has gained a huge success using this platform in the field of networking and advertising.
You can also use the tool to enhance your knowledge, learn skills of advertising and study your competitor’s advertising strategy. You are free to arrange your feeds according to your convenience and needs.
Therefore, you can subscribe to articles and promotions which will help you to boost your business to others, providing you with great knowledge of the latest trends and techniques used in advertising.
Group discussions are influential for growth.
Although these are several other important aspects of LinkedIn that can be deployed at every step; group discussion helps you to conduct a far-sighted discussion with people having similar interests.
It will not only help you to stay updated with likes and dislikes of people in your digital surroundings but will also provide you to achieve a popular opinion of the masses.
You can update the settings of the group discussions according to your convenience. You can opt for a notification for every update in the discussion, or choose from several other excellent options available.
Creating or attending an event on LinkedIn
You are free to join or create events on linkedIn. These events can be live events, or for other online platforms or even for a face to face sessions. These events help you to gain a positive light among your audiences and even help you to convey your messages to the audience.
Creating an event is easy! On the left-hand side of the LinkedIn homepage, you get an option to create an event by clicking on the + button.
If you are a part of any scheduled event that is to be conducted, in the future, you will get the event appearing on the left-hand side of your homepage. Events are also a great place to hold discussions and create contacts.
At Adscholars, we believe in sharing knowledge! Therefore you can follow us on LinkedIn to keep yourself updated with the latest news and trends of digital marketing.
Trending hashtags
We all know the importance of an #hashtag in setting trends on social media platforms. These tags are commonly used these days by everyone across the internet. You can determine the most trending scenarios on the internet by following the hashtags.
Therefore, understanding hashtags are crucial. You can use them to understand the ongoing trends. You can follow these hashtags to see what is trending across the internet or on LinkedIn and decide your strategy accordingly. However, you have to keep updating yourselves with the tags and trends as they tend to change quickly.
You can search the trending hashtags for your business scope by entering related text into the search bar. You have to put the #text in the search bar. It will start showing you all the relevant tags which you can check and follow the pages related to the trends for future updates.
#Adscholars is a trending hashtag in the field of digital marketing and strategy.
News and Views; One of the most read section on LinkedIn
People love to read the news! Especially when it is related to their interest or business. LinkedIn has also acknowledged this interest of its users, and it provides you with a good read of the latest industry news in the market. Hence, it is always an effective option to keep yourself updated with the latest news of the market and industries.
The feature is easily accessible by all users! The desktop version of the website can be accessed, from the left-hand side feeds on LinkedIn.
The best part about the feature is that the news is handpicked, by an international editorial team of LinkedIn. They look for the most relevant and adequate news for the platforms and propagate it to others with similar interests.
These are highly useful for updating yourself with relevant information. You can gain adequate knowledge for an interview, or they can be a great way to start a conversation. It will also help you to stay a step ahead in your industry and maintain an upper-hand in seminars, presentations and meetings.
Most viewed courses on LinkedIn
We live in a competitive world, and staying ahead in the game requires enhancement of your skill sets. To make sure that you choose the right skill set, related to the demands of your industry, it is advisable to do thorough research of most effective courses and certifications.
Well! LinkedIn is not just a platform for social networking. It also helps you to stay focused, updated and centric to your goals. LinkedIn provides a vast set of learning courses which can easily be accessed from the right-hand side of the website.
However, you will be able to access them only if you are a part of LinkedIn premium subscription.
Great way to generate leads
LinkedIn helps you with analytics and lets you stay up to date with your connections. You can view your profile and pages that you administer. It also helps you to know the people viewing your profile and posts. Therefore it is a brilliant way to make new connections and start conversations with people you are interested in interacting.
However, if you do not have a premium membership of LinkedIn, you will be only able to see the last five people who have visited your profile.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is the most effective tool available in the market for relevant advertisement in the B2B market. You can even advertise your product on the platform. It also provides you with an opportunity to build your network of relevant people and share your interests with them.
You can gain valuable knowledge using the platform and can achieve some high aimed targets utilizing this platform.
Adscholars give a 5-star rating to this platform for its versatility in satisfying the customers need, inquisitive approach, smart algorithm, easy to use and for creating a professional environment for the users on the internet.
Demand Side Platform(DSP) Launched by Samsung Ads
A self-serve demand-side platform has been introduced recently by Samsung Ads. Samsung Ads is a television advertising unit of Samsung.
The feature will enable programmatic buyers to access the CTV exclusive inventory. It will also help them to reach an approximate of 45 million households using Samsung devices. Further, letting them access their data and trace their footsteps for better advertising and building strong campaigns to maximize the sale of their products.
It is undoubtful that Samsung has created a strong user base across the globe. Hence, the new demand-side platform by Samsung ads will enable the programmatic buyers to utilize this user data for better advertising techniques. Samsung is one of the biggest electronic product-selling industries in the world. Its gadgets in the electronic market range from smart Television, mobile phones, tablets, and other accessories, frequently used by Android users.
Therefore, utilizing Samsung’s DSP will surely give an upper hand to the programmatic buyers.
As we have already discussed, Samsung has a wide range of audiences using its devices. The advertisers using Samsung’s DSP can manage the frequency and the range of their campaigns of mobile, desktop, connected (CTV), and linear TV.
The buyers of Samsung’s DSP are free to use third-party inventories and audiences alongside with Samsung’s Ads proprietary data.
Samsung Ads consist of a huge database of video data from its millions of smart devices. These devices consist of both TV and mobile.
Samsung is not the only brand that is trying to spread its wings in the field of advertisement. In December 2019, Samsung’s competitor Vizio launched its sales division for advertising. The division enables the advertisers to utilize its frequency, duplicate audiences and manage their range across linear buyers and OTT.
However, Vizio doesn’t have a DSP yet. Therefore, we can say that Samsung is trying to stay afoot from its competitors.
Last month, a feature called True Incremental Reach was introduced by Vizio for its advertisers. It enables advertisers to gain input data on extra user achieved when buying commercials from Television makers directly.
How to set up an eCommerce business in 2020? Comparison of best platforms & practices
Latest trends and data about eCommerce in 2020
Introduction
According to Adscholars, E-commerce or Electronic commerce is a digital method to sell goods, and conduct transactions using the Internet. Usually, a customer purchasing goods online and making digital transactions are known as the cyber consumer.
Since the arrival of e-commerce in the digital market, retail outlets have struggled to earn their bread. There are several reasons responsible for the widespread e-commerce business model.
In just a short period of 14-years, e-commerce has expanded its wings and overshadowed every other form of commerce business. The reasons being; the availability of products at customer doorsteps, a wide range of product selection, easy return, and many more.
These days it’s chaos, with so many options to choose from, options available for self-development like Shopify, Squarespace, BigCommerce, etc. They have populated the landscape of e-commerce. The techniques of SEO are changing rapidly, and the need for the custom build website is also changing. Therefore in these times of increasing demands and a continuously evolving world, one must play smart to get what they desire.
Why COVID19 is an excellent time to start eCommerce?
In the time of COVID, the e-commerce market has deepened its roots, attracting more customers every day. According to an estimation, the revenue of the e-commerce model will increase many folds, attaining a revenue benchmark of $638 billion only in the US.
The year 2021 is expecting an increase in the customers on the digital platform. It is estimated to reach up to 2.14 billion. Amongst all products, Footwears, apparels, and accessories will be the major contributors; contributing up to an increase of $123 million in the year 2022.
According to a survey, an average shopper is spending almost 36% of their budget on the online market.
It’s Now or Never
There has never been an easier time in history to build a business PERIOD.
The cost of entry is lower than ever before. The ability to access & qualify experts is much easier. The ability to speak directly to your customers and make adjustments has never been easier.
– Eric Carlson, Co-Founder, 10x Factory
As we proceed further, let us understand- What E-commerce Is?
For the basic understanding of the terminology, let us say that e-commerce, also known as electronic commerce, is the purchase and selling of goods through the Internet.
There are several tools and technologies available on the mobile network which can help you to achieve this goal. It is much easier for mobile users to make the transaction using various transaction techniques.
The well-equipped E-commerce portals are utilized, to perform activities of online marketing, monitoring of sales activities, and even helps in overseeing the logistics and fulfilment.
While targeting the audience there are certain variations to the business, i.e. the business is divided into segments; these segments are mentioned below:
- B2B
- B2C
- B2A
- C2C
- C2A
- C2B
Before starting your own eCommerce business, you must have an understanding of these terms. Below is a brief description of the terms, their operational manner, and behaviour:
Business to Business (B2B): Any transaction made between two business entities comes under the category of Business to Business or B2B. The transaction could be between a retailer and a wholesaler or between the seller and the manufacturer.
It mostly consists of the raw material or bulk purchase of finished products.
Training the New B2B Buyer
Training your customers to use the new B2B tools is important for adoption.
Changing the way some customers do business with you can be a roadblock or a benefit.
Position the change in a way that makes your customers’ lives easier.
– Andy Etemadi, CEO, EYEMAGINE
Business to Consumer (B2C): It is one of the oldest methods in the online trade (E-commerce market). In this market, the customer is approached directly by the businesses. Some of the examples of this model of business are Amazon etc.
Business to Administration (B2A): This method is used for the delivery of goods like legal documents etc. from the businesses to the administration.
Customer to Customer (C2C): This business model is used, for the transactions of goods between the consumers. Examples of such forms of businesses are eBay, Olx, etc.
Customer to Administration (C2A): Here, the customer sells the product to the administration. The products can range from education to the online tax presentation.
Customer to Business (C2B): In this model, the consumer directly interacts or sells its products to the business. Such online business models are Istock, Pinterest, etc.
Essentials to start an eCommerce store
Although there is an ease in doing business online, there are certain crucial things that one should remember before getting yourself into the business. Let me help you by providing a few points that you can consider before getting started:
- Do a quick research on which e-commerce business model you want to follow. We have already explained the business models above. Now, you can understand them all before making your decision.
- Select category: It is crucial to start with initials, instead of jumping into things with all you have. As it is said, “You should never test the depth of the water with both feet.” As there is a risk that you might drown yourself. Similarly, you can not be Amazon in a single day, and you should know that even Amazon started its business by selling books online. So, you must understand and decide on a single category in which you want to opt for your e-commerce.
- Know your customer: It is always better to know the audience before you start selling your product. You should categorize your products according to your customers.
- Register your business: Registering your business after knowing your customer. Once you know your customers, you will have a better understanding of an appropriate business name, and it will help you to further making it a brand with values. Therefore, you must understand and decide on a single category in which you want to opt for your e-commerce.
- Finalizing the plan for your business: After completing the steps mentioned above, it is time to take one step backwards and re-check everything. It includes the finances of your business.
- You are ready to launch: After you finish revisiting all the aspects of your business and start feeling confident about your e-commerce business, finally, you can choose multiple options that are available online. These options will provide a swift launch to your business. Some of the best solutions available in the market for the launching of your e-commerce store are WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and many more.
Here are the 5 best eCommerce tools that Adscholars suggest to its clients, which they can use to launch their eCommerce website:
Shopify
Among all the E-commerce applications available, Shopify is the best. It is simple to launch, and their customer service is wonderful. Therefore, whenever you have any issues with the application, their representatives will be there to help you.
Pricing: There are different plans that you can opt for your business. These are Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. The price ranges from $29, $79, and $299 for a month.
WooCommerce
A brilliant e-commerce product, available for a quick launch of your website is Woocommerce. It is an all-in-one solution for your business and is easy to use.
You can add the functionality of WooCommerce to your WordPress. It equips its user with functionalities to make payments using Stripe, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and many more.
Price: Woocommerce is free for its users. However, if you want to include additional functionalities, plugins in Woocommerce will cost you money. The plugins can cost you up to $300 per installation.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce launched in 2009, and since then it has achieved great success across the market. It has its business across more than 120 + countries across the globe. The merchant sale recorded on the platform is more than $25 billion.
Pricing: The plans start from $29.95 for a month. The plus version will cost you $79.95/month and $299.95/month for Pro.
Magento
Magento, an eCommerce tool owned by Adobe. It is an all-in-one eCommerce solution. Every year its gross merchandise sale reaches up to $100 billion. The website supports models for all kinds of businesses. These include small business, B2B, and mid-market as well.
Pricing: The tool provides a free demo that you can use for a month. You will have to ask for a custom quote with the sales team to launch your business on the platform.
3DCart
3DCart is one of the oldest tools available online. It launched in 1997, and there are more than 25,000 merchants who are using this tool to build their eCommerce store.
Price: Five different plans are ranging from $19/month to $299/per month.
Conducting Research For Online Marketing And Develop A MVP
Online marketing research is the most crucial step. You must perform thorough research before launching your eCommerce portal. It will give you a clear idea of the demand for your product in the market.
How to do online research?
These are the steps that you can follow to conduct efficient marketing research:
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- Researching for the keywords: To do that you can choose the Google Keyword Planner tool. The tool is both; effective and efficient. Also, there are several other options available online.
- Look out for the ongoing trends in the market: Google Trends is yet another efficient tool that is efficient in tracking the ongoing trends.
- Updating yourself with social media: Social media is a proven way to keep yourself updated and to know the audience and understand their mindset.
- Experimentation: No theory is proven; without performing the practical. Therefore you must experiment before you prepare for the finals.
- Look out for the competition.
How to do product analysis- pricing strategies, packaging, etc.
How to do market research?
Understanding the market is a crucial step to make sure that you achieve success. One of the most important aspects of a successful business is knowing your product well. To do so, you have to understand what your customers desire.
So, it is always better to conduct market research before you get yourself into the business.
There are a few points to remember, if you follow them we can assure you that you can achieve sales and satisfied customers.
Being transparent with the customer is crucial. It helps customers to trust your brand and will result in a long and fruitful relationship.
These are some of the most effective ways to make sure that the customer puts trust in your product and also, feels comfortable while purchasing.
- Instead of searching for pictures on the internet, try clicking them or hire a professional photographer for a product shoot.
- Videos help customers see the working of the product and help to build confidence.
- A description is a must! Write an interesting description, explaining your product.
- Target the audience smartly.
- Try selling related products together. It will increase sales, and your customers will like it too. You can provide discounts on bundled items.
Which products to sell?
Well, to make sure that you are selling the right product that will earn you a profit and the customers will like it, look into the following factors which are indeed helpful.
- You must sell a product for which you feel passionate. Remember, if you will not believe in your product, you can’t expect your customers to believe in it.
- Understanding your trait and realizing your strength is the key; you must look into your experience and understand, how you can utilize it in your business.
- Stepping into the customer’s shoes: To make sure your brand is likeable to your customers, you have to be sure that you understand what a customer might feel while shopping for your products.
- If you are unable to get ideas on, what to offer to a customer? You can always look for the interests and hobbies of others. The Internet is the best way to do so. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram will make it even easier for you.
- Try choosing a product which is small and handy and is used more frequently in everyday life. It will be easier to maintain stock for such items and shipping them at different locations.
Value-Based Pricing, Its Strategy And The Effects On Sales
It is good to have a model for your business which generates revenue. However, you must make sure that the model is also considerate about the views of your customer towards your brand.
If the price tag that you put with your products is not appropriate, there is a greater chance that you will lose the business of your customer and they might never return. That is what happens when you don’t have an adequate pricing strategy for your products.
If you are confused about how to price your product appropriately; a Value-based pricing model will be best for you to apply to your business. When it comes to putting a price tag on your product, you can trust the methods of Value-based pricing.
Following are the strategies that people usually follow while deciding the appropriate pricing for your products:
- Cost-plus pricing
- Competitor based pricing
- Value-first pricing
Here are a few things that you want to know about them before you price your product according to these strategies.
Cost-plus pricing: The Cost-plus pricing, is calculated by the formulae, Cost of production + Margin = Cost-plus pricing. However, there is a drawback while deciding the price of your product by this formulae.
Drawback
While deciding the price of your product using this formula, the customer’s perspective is unseen. As you can see, there is no space for the customer’s point of view, which is indeed a bad way for pricing products.
Competitor based pricing: Another way of deciding the price of your product is comparing it, with the product prices of your competitors. The formula for this is simple: Competitor’s price = Your price. Indeed, it is not a way of pricing your products. However, millions are following this formula to price their products.
Drawback
This formula is not a sure shot success formula as you are relying on your competitors for pricing your product. You may think that their prices are reasonable, and decided in taking the customer perspective into mind but you can’t be sure about it and end up losing your business along with your competitors.
Value-first pricing: After conducting in-depth research, Value-first pricing proved to be the best way(strategy) of deciding the price for your products.
If there is one success-proven strategy that helps you to understand the psyche of your customer, determine the price of your product and earn a profit; it is the Value-based pricing technique.
Strategy for value-based marketing technique
It is crucial to understand the mindset of your audience. You must look into the market research, analyze the prices of your product. At Adscholars we utilize the latest technologies to determine the ongoing trends and provide our customers with well-researched data which can be implemented for the growth of the business.
You can understand your customers better by looking into your customer preferences, their interests in other products, and their mindset towards deals and discounts.
The aim must personify your customer based on lifestyle and create different categories or catalog accordingly.
BigCommerce Analytics
BigCommerce stores can use their BigCommerce Analytics Customer Report to see which customers are buying which items –– and which prices. Then, you can easily create customer groups to personalize a cohort’s site experience based on their behavior.
In other words, do you have a group of people who only buy at a discount? Customize their experience to show discounted prices across the board. Do you have customers who only purchase new items? Send that cohort an email alerting them to new products before anyone else –– and use the customer group to give them a VIP experience.
Collecting feedback for the product will provide you with an insight into the customer mindset. It will also let you know about the reasons they didn’t complete their purchase for a specific item.
Van Westdrop’s Metre for Sensitive pricing
There are four crucial points included in this plan. If these points followed for pricing the product, they will benefit you, in providing the product at the best price.
- Decide a maximum price: Ask yourself, what could be the maximum purchase price of your product? Consider a price too expensive; if paid for the product.
- Think of the lowest possible price for a product: Think of a price which is too low for your product. It should be an amount which will make your customer doubt about the quality of your product.
- On the edge of being rejected: A price for your product, which is neither too low and nor too expensive. It lies is somewhere in between, where customers might have doubts and consider the option of not purchasing the product due to the uncertainty of price.
- The perfect price for the customer: A price range which a customer is comfortable in paying.
The steps will provide accuracy in fixing the price of your product. You will be able to present your product with confidence, and your customers will also feel empowered while making purchasing.
The Concept of MVP
Today, every merchant is looking for customers for their products. Everyone wants to earn their share of profit and sometimes wants the share of others’ profit too. In this stiff competition and the ongoing fight for the survival of the fittest, it is becoming tough to survive.
However, there is good news for the sellers! The market share of the customers expected to rise at a large scale in the upcoming years. Even for this year, the consumer share has increased tremendously.
But, there is a bigger and better demand generating sector, which only a few have recognized. At Adscholars we predict that the e-commerce market is going to be a big hit in the future and there is still an enormous empty space for new businesses to emerge and conquer the crown!
B2B is a fast developing, and high demand generating model of eCommerce. More people who are entering the business of eCommerce are paying interest in the consumer sector instead of concentrating on the business sector.
MVP – Minimum Viable Product
The model helps you to quickly create and launch, fulfilling the minimum or early requirement of the market. Initially, the feature on your platform will be limited, just enough to satisfy the current demand of the market.
Then, as you will gain experience in the market, your team of developers can enhance the functionality of your product. Also, the initial product that you are opting to should be simple and quickly acceptable by the customers. However, it is not a necessity that the product needs to be cheap in pricing, it could even be a luxury product, but portable which can be shipped easily to the location.
The reasons to opt for MVP
- There is minimum risk in the project.
- Initially, the focus remains on a single product. Therefore the chances of growth are high, and failure is minimum.
- With the help of MVP, the development of the product is quick and easy.
- The needs of the customer can be identified in the early stages of development.
- You can quickly respond to the change in demand. It can be in the internal construction of your processor could be an external demand.
Creating the MVP
- You must understand the point of view of your customers, before implementing MVP. Your goal should be to inspire your customers to buy products online and interest them in ways that they return.
- Understanding the customer’s point of view: We know that we have repeated the sentence several times already and you must be bored reading the same one-liner! However, we are emphasizing on the topic because it is crucial. Remember, no customers; no business.
- You must understand the customer purchase lifecycle. Divide it into different stages and build the strategy for each level.
If you follow your customers carefully, the chances of failing are lesser.
How to start marketing online? Platforms to use, best strategies, creatives, etc.
Once the store setup completed, the product decided, and the pricing finalized; finally, you can start promoting your product.
Excited? We know you are!
Well, let’s get an understanding of what are the right marketing strategies that you can follow and how it will help your brand to grow!
Digital marketing is the best platform to market your product. The old conservative days of brochure and pamphlets are history. Now, everything is digital. You must be seeing at least 50 advertisements on your phone daily.
Therefore it is crucial to understand your options.
First let us understand, what is e-commerce Advertising?
Ecommerce Advertising is a crucial part of e-commerce marketing. It is indeed an aspiring aspect of e-commerce marketing trends, followed by the leading brands.
Ecommerce Advertising helps you gather customers effectively with minimum efforts. The technique is highly effective, and you can easily create your own space in the e-commerce world.
As you can see, every day, billions of users are surfing on the internet for their needs. Eerie e-commerce businesses are trying to attract them to their website or online store. However, not everyone is following the right strategy or correctly approaching the customers.
Adscholars feels that the right strategy can help you take a leap into a brighter future, leaving your competitors behind. As T. Boonie Pickens stated, ” A fool with a plan is better off than a genius without a plan.”
Let us first give you a quick walk-through about Ecommerce marketing.
E-commerce marketing is broad in its stature. It has several elements or pillars which make provide effectiveness and strength to the model.
Let us understand these pillars and get a basic understanding of how they work?
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social Media Marketing is a widely used trend for various purposes. However, it is advantageous for E-commerce marketing. As each of us spends a lot of our time scrolling through the social media feeds, it is always interesting to find a product that can be added to the cart while we are scrolling through our feeds.
That is how the SMM works. Therefore, it is very crucial to place your advertisement smartly, and portraying your products to the right audience, as every click counts.
Content Marketing
Content is the zest of any marketing strategy. If you have the satisfying content for the website, nothing can stop you from empowering the world of e-commerce.
We discussed earlier, the description of your product plays a crucial role in branding your products and helping your audience to build trust in your brand. That is just one-simple step in content marketing.
Here are a few more things related to the content marketing that comes handy when you are using this tool.
- Choosing the right keywords and placing them appropriately on your page.
- Write the blog posts which are relevant to your product and brand.
- You can create guest posts on external websites. They can also work as an external link to your website. Therefore, it will help in increasing your audience reach.
- Put pictures of your product on the internet and link them to your website. Similarly, you can create short description videos and put them on YouTube.
- It will be great for your brand if you can create a Keyword-driven section for the frequently asked question.
Search Engine Marketing
Another aspect of E-commerce marketing is Search Engine Marketing. It includes the paid advertisement for your product as well as the part of Search Engine Optimization.
It includes content optimization according to Google’s algorithm, Pay Per Click (PPC), advertisement campaigns for your product, and the display campaigns.
Email Marketing
Email is another effective way to market your product. It is a crucial tool while dealing in the B2B market for the other models of marketing. If used smartly, Email marketing can prove fruitful and providing results.
Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
The technique work as a miracle! However, to achieve WOM, from your customers, you have to gain their trust. Once the customer’s trust is established, on your products, you can easily create a brand name.
There are some methods by which you can achieve this from the initial stages of your business.
- Reviews for your product: Getting reviews for your products is one way you build trust. The more reviews your products will have, the more trustworthy your brand will seem.
- Referrals for your product: You can create a network of people who refer your products to others. This practice will increase the brand reputation and sales of your products.
- Customers’ testimony for your product. You can use the testimonies, provided by your customers, as a certificate of trust, shown in your products by your customers.
- Live chats are useful as they provide quick answers to your customer’s queries. They are also a healthy way to keep your customers indulged on the website. The Live chat feature is easy to install, and there are several ready to install chats available in the market. One of the options that you opt for is CometChat.
- Adding options for quick delivery, easy returns, and customer support can increase your chances of gaining a reputation in the market.
- Efficient website design with responsive to the customer needs will win the heart of the customer. Therefore, make sure to provide a breathtaking experience to your customers on your website.
How to enhance SEO to get organic traction
The importance of SEO
Making your product famous and your brand visible to the new audiences can be a tough job. You can not just rely on the Word of the mouth of your customers, at least in the initial stage, for the growth of your product in the market.
It is crucial to gain positive reviews and testimonies from your customers. As it is necessary to make your brand visible to people and make them recognize the potential of your eCommerce business. Therefore, it is where you need the SEO for your website and products.
Google owns a large share of the search engine market. It consists of nearly 72% of the total market, of search engines. Every second, Google experiences 63,000 search queries, and every year this sums up to 2 trillion customers searching for their needs.
Hence it always beneficial to put your trust in Google. Advertising with Google is fun, and the tools provided by Google for SEO are highly efficient and technically outstanding. They let you experience the digital world and provides an insight into the Google algorithm.
Therefore, it is never disappointing to put your bets on Google when trying SEO. However, you will need experts who can help you run the tools according to your needs. That is where we step in!
Here are some features that we have already discussed, but we would like to revisit them as they are crucial to enhance the SEO experience.
Keywords are the key! We have said it earlier, and we will say it a hundred times more. The right keywords result in gaining the visitors, which turn in as customers. Not putting the right keywords will result in the total wastage of money and your valuable time.
There are two types of Keywords. The two keywords are head terms and the Long tail keywords. Let us summarize them for you so that you have an understanding of both.
- Head-Terms: Head-terms are the short crisp and product-related keywords that help you gain the visitors. However, they do not assure the conversions. Their length is usually 0-26 words. Example: “Elegant Flower Pot”
- Long-tail Keywords: These are perfect, to obtain conversions. The Long-Tail Keywords are specially related to the head-terms and are used to define a head term. Their length can be from 26-40 words on an average. Example: “Elegant flower pot which will make your living room look lively”
There are numerous tools available to find the right keyword for your product. Some of the most effective tools that you can use are:
- SEMrush
- Amazon Suggest
- Keyword Dominator
- Keywordtool.io
- Ubersuggest
- Google Autosuggest: Suggestion obtained by Google when you type something in the Google search bar.
The architecture of Your Website
The website of your company plays a crucial role in making the customer feel confident about your brand. A great website must be properly stacked and should be easy to navigate by the users. The information on your website should have a clear outline and must make the customer stay and explore.
Here we are discussing some points that will surely win the hearts of your customer if followed correctly.
As your product range grows, it gets difficult to arrange them. Therefore, if you follow a proper website architecture, the problem of the arrangement of products will not affect the quality and effectiveness of your website.
Walmart has nearly 23 million pages for its product on the Google domain. Still, they have them arranged effectively so that the customers can navigate through them.
Therefore, the following architecture is essential. Always remember that no matter how many products you have on your website, the user should be able to navigate back to the homepage of your website in just 3-clicks. Yes! That is the secret recipe for a great website.
- You should understand your product and develop an understanding of what a customer will search for when they visit your website.
- The dropdowns are critical, and they must be organized systematically.
- Use the category names for the main keywords on your website.
- Use Https instead of using Http. Https has better security if payments and transactions related to money take place on your website.
- Avoid infinite scrolling for your web page. It can seriously harm the user experience of your webpage and website.
- Provide a link to scroll back to the top. The user does not want to do manual scrolling on your webpage.
- Optimizing your webpage for mobile users.
- Apply on-site SEO.
- Provide Meta-Title and Meta description for your webpage.
- Internal links are essential to increase the credibility, and in the navigation of the customer on your website.
- Add social media share buttons.
Competing With Ecommerce Giants Like Amazon
There is no doubt in saying that Amazon is the whale of the e-commerce business. Entering in eCommerce world will put you in direct competition with the giant. Therefore, to make sure that you face the giant with bravery, and defeat it bravely, you must make sure that you follow some significant measures.
Knowing your competitor
Nearly 44% of the people purchasing goods online prefer Amazon as their first choice. Half of the retail business, in the USA, is occupied by Amazon. According to Jeff, he is just getting started.
Even some of the great names in the market like Google, Walmart, Costco are finding it tough to beat Amazon in this game.
So you must be wondering; what are your chances to beat the unbeatable?
Well, the practical answer to that would be that; you might not be able to beat Amazon in this game!
However, you are independent to play the game with your own rules. Therefore, there are chances that without even defeating Amazon, you might be able to create a brand name for yourself.
Currently, Amazon is an undefeated champion of the eCommerce world. It has nearly 310 million customers, and every day more are getting added to its database. Also, Amazon is selling more than 353 million products on its website. Hence you can not develop a system with such a humongous user base, and capital investment, at least you can not do it overnight. Therefore, the bottom line is that you can not compete with Amazon in infrastructure, discounts, and even when it comes to shipping.
The only segment that is left is an essential factor of service. Most of the merchants suffer to provide it to their customers. The factor is good customer service.
Even Amazon struggles to address this problem for its customers. So, if you will address every issue of your dissatisfied customer, you will be able to build a great user database for your company.
There is a study which shows that nearly 68% of customers leave the company due to the poor customer service provided to them. Therefore it is crucial that you pay undivided attention to your customers if you do not want to end like others.
Collect data for your customers and know their likes and dislikes
The game is all about how well you know your customers. Even Amazon keeps records for all of its customers. Using this information, it tries to make sure that it provides its customer with everything that they desire.
By keeping a record of your customer’s movement, you will be able to suggest them with similar, desirable, and relatable products. That is the current phenomenon that is trending, technically known as the Internet of things (IoT).
A former Amazon employee once said that Amazon “has the ability to track both what people are buying as well as what they search for and can’t find.”
Convince your customers to subscribe to the products
If your product range consists of items that are perishable or consumable with time, you can always ask your customers to purchase a subscription for your product. You can even offer them discounts on a monthly or yearly basis.
Research shows that not only this helps in increasing the sales of your product; it also helps to build a strong user database, and gain their loyalty for your brand.
Try providing the best shipping service experience to your customers.
If you succeed in providing satisfactory shipping service to your customer, the customers will always order from your website. The best service factors include fast service (taking minimum time to reach the customer) and a free shipping option.
The people don’t want to pay a shipping fee while purchasing a product online. Therefore, providing a free shipping option is a great step towards better customer service.
Conclusion
E-commerce is the most trending Digital marketing sector and as per the experts’ predictions, it will be the most promising field of business. Therefore, if you are planning to start your own eCommerce, the time is most opportune.
You must make to do in-depth research before you start with the business. As there are different models of eCommerce businesses, you must choose wisely.
The important aspect to make your business visible to the audience is the advertisement strategy. You must implant your advertisement in the market with precision. At Adscholars we believe that a well-placed advertisement can do wonders and bring numerous positive customers.
The field of marketing and advertisement is broad and it has a lot of versatility in its offering to the users. However, if you are new in the field of eCommerce and haven’t decided yet about where to advertise, Adscholars suggest the usage of social media as your first advertisement option. We recommend social media platforms for the advertisement as it is easy to use, and provide wonderful results to the advertisers and marketers.
An effective website will provide you with the strength of your online business. Therefore, you must design your website as an effective tool to attract more customers. The website must be easy to use and should provide customers with clear options and guidance throughout their journey on the website.
The product delivery has to be perfect, and you should think of it as an important aspect of your business. Try to provide multiple delivery options to the consumer. Adscholars recommend their clients to provide the free delivery option to their customers.
Taking feedback from your customers can help you learn your shortcomings in your business model. You have to be upfront to ask your customers to provide feedback. This will not only help your customers to build trust in your business but will also help them to share their experiences with other users and customers. This is the most effective way to win the trust of your customers. You must not fear the bad reviews, the bad reviews are the best teachers, hence embrace them and grow.
Stay available to your customer’s query, providing effective customer support will make the customers believe in you even more. Resolve their issue and make them understand things that they might not be able to understand. As not all the customers who pay are tech-savvy and know how to shop online. You must step into their shoes and understand their requirements and needs. Make sure that your customers don’t feel disregarded or ignored, as this is one of the major reason several businesses lose their valuable customers.
Therefore, if you will apply the right strategies, understand your strength and shortcomings, apply your experience to the business and work with a plan, no one can stop you from being the next Amazon.
Adscholars wishes you the very best for your business and is always there to assist you in every possible way!
Watch Videos With Friends On Facebook Messenger!
Facebook never fails to amaze its users! The trend-setting social media platform is a digital home for billions of people around the world. They can talk, greet and share their feeling using the interactive social media platform.
Facebook also added an option for shopping on its platform a few months ago. It was said to be one of the best marketing strategies and have been in news for weeks! With its undying popularity among its audience, Facebook recently introduced a new feature on its messenger platform.
The messenger platform provides its users with the independence to connect with a maximum of eight friends and watch videos and movies on the platform.
The feature is getting a lot of positive responses from the market and people to seem excited to try their hands on this newly developed feature.
Facebook is calling it a “Co-viewing experience.” However, the content that can be watched on the network will be limited to things which are available on Facebook. The content will consist of both; user-uploaded videos and licensed videos.
“So go ahead and oooh and ahhh over a video by your favorite celebrity, shed a tear over a puppy rescue video, laugh out loud at the latest viral videos, scream during Blair Witch or feel nostalgic while watching your favorite episode of Community. Watch Together will help you feel together even when you’re not.”
According to a nexus shared by Google, every day approximately 150 million video calls initiated using the platform and nearly 200 million videos shared every day!
The feature of “Watch together is introduced to provide a “Co-viewing experience” to the audience so they can enjoy the ultimate experience of viewing their favorite videos with their loved ones.
“We created Watch Together to make spending quality time with friends and loved ones feel as close to an in-person experience as possible. Whether it’s watching a trending video, a movie, a sports highlight, a makeup tutorial or a Facebook Watch original, the feature allows you to watch your friends’ reactions at the same time.”
Experiencing the “Watch-Together” on Facebook Messenger
It is easy to use the feature, which will be available on the Facebook messenger application. A user will be able to use the feature while video conferencing with their loved ones. With just one easy swipe-up option while video conferencing, the user will get the option “Watch Together.” Once the user will click on the option, they will be able to access the list of the content and will also get an option to select the users with whom they want to share their video watching experience.
The experience can be enhanced using the Facebook application. On the application, the user can create a private room and add up to 50 members and can have a wonderful video watching experience.
However, the messenger rooms are user friendly and lenient in its policies.
What is there for the advertisers?
There are billions of people who are currently active on the social media platform. They are spending multiple hours in a day swiping through the variety of options that Facebook provides to its users.
The new “Watch-together” option is a brilliant way to lure customers to spend more time on the platform. It will even help them connect with their loved ones and family.
This Facebook strategy can prove to be an effective strategic step in breaking the viewership of Netflix, Amazon and Hotstar. Therefore, it will provide advertisers with an opportunity to place advertisements before or in between the videos.
The feature will be a global release this week and can prove a game-changer in the field of online content viewership and advertisement. Adscholars will keep you updated with all the upcoming updates! Stay tuned.
TikTok Being Transparent: Revealed It’s Algorithm To The World
After losing business in several countries, TikTok finally decided to reveal its algorithm to the people. It is a huge step taken by the makers of the company, as TikTok is a world-famous application and numerous competitors wanted to know the development details of the application.
TikTok has millions of followers on its platform, and it will be interesting to know how TikTok manages such a broad user database on its incredibly popular platform.
Well, we all are familiar with the popularity of TikTok in the global market. The company evaluation is somewhere around $20-30 billion.
According to a TikTok spokesperson, the big decision was taken to end the speculation of TikTok being a Chinese government spy application which the government is using to gain data of the users of other countries.
In a statement, Michael Beckerman TikTok’s vice president in charge of U.S. public policy stated:
“We’re a 2-year-old company operating with the expectations of a 10-year-old company,”
“We didn’t have the opportunity to grow up in the golden years of the internet when tech companies could do no wrong. We grew up in the techlash age, where there’s a lot of skepticism of platforms, how they moderate content and how their algorithms work.”
TikTok has developed a virtual centre in Los Angeles. They are calling it the “transparency centre.” A team of reporters visited the centre, where the TikTok team demonstrated the data practices and functioning of the algorithm.
TikTok is struggling to survive the order of banishment in the USA market. As, USA President Donald Trump has given a deadline of September 15, to the owners of the Chinese application to either face the ban, or sell the company to an American buyer.
Recently, China has also imposed a ban, restricting the export of all Chinese software. It is a step taken to prevent the Chinese application TikTok from selling its algorithm to USA buyers.
Understanding The Algorithm
The application uses the technique of machine learning to determine the most preferred content by the users. Once the content is determined, the algorithm makes sure that it shows similar content to the user. It also groups the people having similar interests and provides them with the content accordingly.
The First Time User
When the user is new to the application and opens it for the first time, the algorithm shows him eight videos from different categories. These categories are usually related to:
- Popular Trends in the social media or on the application
- Music
- And other topics
Once the algorithm gets familiar with the user choices, it will continue serving them with similar content on the application platform.
Group the content and find similarity between the videos, the algorithm uses hashtags, captions and sounds. Another method used by the algorithm to present videos to the user is by the device the user is using, the language they have selected and the country they are residing in.
The algorithm is advanced in its behavior and video presentation to the user, and it makes sure that the user is not represented with the same video which can lead to boredom and lack of interest in the application.
However, the work of the algorithm is not limited; to not showing the repeated content to the user. It makes sure that the users are presented with varieties of videos on other trending topics.
The Filter Bubble
TikTok calls its video filtering technique “the Filter Bubble.” The developer team of TikTok community keep a check on which filters are preferred by the users and how long they last before the user changes its preferences for the videos.
After the reports are generated on the filter bubbles, the developer sends the reports to the global team. The team analyzes the reports received and accordingly releases the upcoming video. It helps them to better market the trends and also gain advertisers and hire influencers.
Detecting The Upcoming Problems
The technique helps the creator analyze the shortcomings of the application and see if there is a threat to security. It helps TikTok in maintaining their user policies by eliminating any unwanted content that might propagate on their platform or trend among their users.
Roland Cloutier, TikTok’s chief security officer, states that they have already planned to hire more than 100 experts on security and privacy in the USA.
The team is planning to build an investigation response centre in Washington D.C. The team will detect and regulate any malpractice incidence in real-time.
According to Beckerman, the step towards the transparency of the application will portray the company as a leader in the Silicon Valley.
“We want to take a leadership position and show more about how the app works,” he said. “For us, we’re new, and we want to do this because we don’t have anything to hide. The more we’re talking to and meeting with lawmakers, the more comfortable they are with the product. That’s the way it should be.”
Fundo- Google’s Latest Innovation To Monetize Your Video Events
Google has innovated a supreme way to help SMEs, to help them in monetizing their video events. It is an amazing option for video creators to make money through Google Fundo. Now, they can create a video event, set a date for its launch and sell tickets online.
Isn’t that amazing?
Let us understand; what is Fundo?
An online application from Google, enabling its users to create video events online, and sell tickets to the interested audiences. It is an all-in-one application that doesn’t need any external downloads. Google Fundo will do everything for you!
Here we have the feature that will be available with the application:
- You can do a one-on-one chat + Photo
- Arrange Meet and Greet
- Create Workshops
The audience will be provided with a search option. The audience will be able to search the event through the search option or the events link can also be shared to people via multiple sources. Sharing link features can also be used to publicize your event features.
Who can earn money from the videos?
According to the announcement made by Fundo:
“In addition to YouTube creators and their fans, we’re seeing authors, fitness instructors, business and lifestyle consultants and others use Fundo to find new ways to connect.”
However, it seems that large music concerts can’t be organized, on the platform. Since the website has limitations, and only three types of events to be created on the website.
According to a frequently asked question ,
“…please note each event has a limited number of tickets…”
One-on-One Chat + Photos
The feature allows the video creators to initiate a one-on-one interaction session with fans and admirers. The + Photo feature works as the Photo Booth, built into the website. The user can use different frames and props available in the options. It created to make your conversations fun!
You can use this feature to take pictures with your favorite celebrities and YouTube stars and add them to your collection.
Google Fundo features, Meet and Greets!
The feature is similar to a one-on-one chat feature which we discussed above. However, this feature takes place between the YouTube video creators and their audiences. The no. of users that can join in is kept limited!
As per Google:
“As a fan, you’ll have a variety of experiences to choose from. Join the Q&A with… channel members in a group Meet & Greet…”
Fundo Workshops
The feature is a very useful one, especially for small businesses, like restaurants. They can create the videos portraying their cooking techniques and teach people how to cook new recipes. It will help them in developing a following for their restaurant, and gaining new customers.
Other options for promotions could relate to the real estate selling/purchasing techniques, stock market trading or technical tutorials which can be taught online through these channels.
How safe is Fundo?
When it is related to business, the first thing that comes to our mind is the security of our database. Therefore, Fundo assures you that no uninvited guests will be allowed to your party. That is the reason it will have the option for one ticket per person.
It is a product of Google, and they are famous for their advancement in the field of technology.
According to Fundo:
“Safety is a top priority. Because Fundo is checking everyone’s ticket, there’s no risk of uninvited guests. We also have reporting and flagging features to curtail abuse.”
Well, the application looks promising and could be a big success in the digital market as people feel connected with their YouTube stars. Also, it could be an efficient way for the creators to attract more audiences to their channels and get to know their audiences better!
Let us know in the comment section; who is your favorite YouTube content creator?