lead-lab-media

The Wonders of Programmatic

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 21:16:13 GMT

Programmatic media buying refers to ads bought through automated technology, as opposed to traditional negotiations and deals. This encompasses numerous digital channels nowadays since social or search buys can be automated. However, programmatic advertising in media buying often refers only to tactics such as digital display, video, audio, etc., separate from other channels such as search or social. The way in which programmatic ads are purchased, the types of ad placements available, and the targeting capabilities are what sets this channel apart from others and is the reason that programmatic ad spend increases year over year.*

With programmatic buys, advertisers purchase ads on a Demand Side Platform (DSP) where real-time bidding takes place. The DSP works with ad exchanges and networks that host the auctions between advertisers. From there, publishers provide available ad spaces on the Supply Side Platform (SSP) and ultimately ad auctions are won and ads get served.

Programmatic ad placements include display banners, native, video, audio, CTV and more, and these ads can appear on any website that is auctioning off ad space either mixed within their content, or on the site space around the content. This means there is expansive inventory and diverse creative opportunities that can be bought on a single platform.

Audience targeting capabilities with programmatic are significantly more robust than other biddable media platforms. Typically, advertisers have options to target based on platform online behavior, interests, lookalike technology and first party data. What sets programmatic targeting apart from social is the access to third party audiences and deals from a variety of companies.

Programmatic Concerns

Given the nature of programmatic advertising’s expansive web inventory, brand safety is the first concern. It is imperative to utilize the built-in platform settings to ensure ads are served alongside brand-safe content. It is also recommended to utilize third party verification companies to track brand safety, fraud and viewability.

With cookie deprecation looming, third party data will become less reliable since it will be harder to track user behavior across websites. This is why predictive audiences, contextual audiences and first party data is now more important than ever.

LeadLab’s Programmatic Expertise Can Help Guide You Through Programmatic Implementation & Management

The LeadLab team boasts programmatic experts that can help walk you through a customized programmatic strategy, including ad servers connections, campaign structure, recommended audience targets, as well as budget allocation.

Programmatic Media Buying:
Biddable Media That Should Not be Overlooked

What’s In and What’s Out in GA4

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 19:06:55 GMT

Getting Prepared for the Transition

As Google prepares to sunset Universal Analytics (UA), it is important that you and your clients are prepared for the transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). In this post we cover an overview of the key differences between UA and GA4, as well as necessary action items to prepare for the transition.

What’s Out: Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics was built for a period of online measurement centered around desktop web usage and data gathered from cookies. As desires for privacy increase, and cookies phase out, a need for a new kind of measurement has emerged.
UA uses a session-based measurement model which collects a group of user interactions (hits) with a website over a certain timeframe as one session.
Universal Analytics sessions can include multiple pageviews, events and transactions.
In UA, most reporting relies heavily on device ID and when the User-ID feature is enabled, its data reports separately and does not integrate with other identity spaces. Because these identity spaces work separately, it is difficult to measure user journeys across devices.
Bounce Rate: A percentage of single page sessions in which there was no interaction with the page. A bounced session has a duration of 0 seconds.
According to GA, Bounce Rate was a reasonable measure of site engagement at one time, but has become less useful as websites and apps have changed.

What’s in: Google Analytics 4

Every Hit is an Event: GA4 uses a more flexible event-based measurement model in which all user interactions are stored as events.
GA4 events can collect and send pieces of information that better specify the actions a user takes and can include things like purchase value, page visits and user demographics.
Increased Privacy: Google Analytics 4 does not rely exclusively on cookies and will no longer store IP addresses, as users have come to expect more privacy and control over their data.
4 Event Categories: Automatically Collected Events, Enhanced Measurement Events, Recommended Events, Custom Events
Identity Spaces: In GA4, data is processed using all available identity spaces (User ID, Google signals and device ID). Once a user is matched, analytics creates a single user journey from all data associated with this identity.
Bounce Rate will no longer be an available metric as GA4 transitions to the use of the new “Engagement”metrics to measure page performance.
Engaged Sessions: The number of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had at least 2 pageviews or screenviews.
Avg. Engagement Time per Session: The amount of time the user is actually engaging with the page (scrolling, etc) while the page is the primary window being viewed on the screen.
Engagement Rate: The percentage of engaged sessions relative to total sessions. According to GA, this metric is more relevant to how websites and apps work today.
Reports: GA4 has significantly fewer standard reports compared to Universal Analytics and is designed to encourage the use of custom reports.
In GA4 there are only 3 standard acquisition reports available with a key difference being the removal of the Source/Medium report as a standard view. However, it is fairly simple to update these reports to include your desired dimensions and create custom reports by modifying these existing GA4 reports. You can create custom reports in GA4 using the Explorations feature.

What’s Next?

All standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023.
The sooner you create a GA4 property, add data streams and enable data collection, the sooner you can begin collecting necessary historical data before UA stops processing new hits.
Migrate existing UA custom events, goals/conversions, audiences and eCommerce measurement to GA4.
You’ll want to check GA4 conversion and event accuracy by comparing metrics to UA, which means you will want to make the move with enough time to cross-check data for a period.
Link GA4 to your Google Ads account and begin optimizing towards GA4 conversions in Google Ads.

LeadLab Media has a team of experts ready to help you make the transition to GA4. Request a consultation today to ensure you have the historical data necessary in GA4 to avoid a disruption in collection when UA stops processing new hits.

What Makes LeadLab Media Different?

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:55:27 GMT

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What makes LeadLab different? What separates LeadLab from other digital marketing agencies? It all starts with our CEO and founder, Sara Johnson. Sara began planting the seed, which has now grown into LeadLab Media, in 2015 following the ‘Great Resignation’. Employees that were experts in the in-platform, execution and strategy space were leaving their agency jobs for a variety of reasons around this time, which left a gap in agency capabilities.

Enter: LeadLab Media

LeadLab Media started out as Sara offering her services as an independent contractor, but grew as she hired several full and part-time employees. Sara had a vision for a digital agency that did things a little differently. From day 1, Sara emphasized efficient and effective processes. She learned from past experience that in order to scale, the right processes had to be in place to stabilize the growth.

LeadLab Media also differs from other digital media companies in the hourly model structure Sara implemented. With this model, the LeadLab team can collaborate and work together to produce the best results for each individual client, because we can utilize our team members strengths across many accounts.

Another unique characteristic of LeadLab is our commitment to efficiency, whether that be automating reports, creating dashboards, etc., which ultimately leads to more time spent on the work that matters. When repetitive tasks are automated, our hours can go towards work that really moves the needle for each client. Additionally, there is an expectation of expertise from the LeadLab Media team, meaning, employees from all levels offer strong execution and in-platform skills.

In the past few years, all advertisers, big and small, have recognized that digital media is going to be important to being competitive in marketing. As such, Lead Lab has moved beyond just helping clients, to helping entire agencies level up in digital. In the future, we want to use our knowledge to help the industry as a whole. We believe that everyone- practitioners, managers, clients and agencies, at all levels – need to understand the strategies and fundamentals of digital media. We don’t want to just do the work, we want to share our expertise and thought leadership with the industry.

When asked what her favorite part of owning her own digital media agency is, Sara described the ability to do things our own way.

“Wanting to do things differently in a way that was better for clients and better for the people doing the work is what inspired me to start my own company. The average tenure of someone doing this work is only 1-2 years because it was so much work and often thankless. I strive to build a team that wants to do this job for years and years so we can have more people in digital media with more than 5 years of experience in execution. This is why we are leaders in the space.”

We Can Be Productive Anywhere

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:22:40 GMT

The Many Benefits of Remote Work

After spending years in the traditional corporate world, our CEO, Sara Johnson, realized that office life isn’t for everyone and there are benefits to operating differently. Instead of having a headquartered brick-and-mortar location, Sara chose to build LeadLab Media in a remote space, enabling employees to work in an environment that they genuinely enjoy and can be productive in.

The environment at LeadLab Media is highly collaborative, and fully remote, with flexible work schedules and strong employee benefits. Our remote team has complete autonomy to decide where they will work from. Employees can customize their workspace according to their needs and can create their own office designed solely for them. This being said, coworking office space is always an option for our employees based on what each individual feels is best for their productivity and working structure.

Being a remote company also doesn’t limit us to where we get our talent from. Our co-workers can reside anywhere in the world and still be an asset to our team. We don’t need to all be in an office to stay organized or operate as a unified team. Since we work in the digital industry, we can collaborate and connect in a virtual space while using platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.

Offering flexibility to employees helps improve work-life balance and encourages high productivity. This work-life balance has provided flexibility for our working moms to work while still operating as a full-time parent. Our Operations Manager, Jenna Bonazinca loves the time she’s spent as a working mom at LeadLab Media for the past four years.

People want to do well for a company that cares about their well-being and personal life. It is statistically proven that people also perform at their best when they are happy and satisfied. In research conducted from a LinkedIn study, 90% of employees are happier working remotely than under the supervision of their employers at the office.

Keeping our team satisfied, inspired, and happy helps increase engagement and creative ideas from our team, which helps move our clients forward. LeadLab Media can help your team succeed through our dedicated service and entrepreneurial culture. Want to find out how? Request a consultation today !

DV360 vs. Google Ads

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:04:35 GMT

Which is Right for You?

Google has two main ad buying platforms: Google Ads and DV360. Both platforms are widely used by advertisers due to their access to Google inventory and seamless integration with other Google Marketing Products (GMP) such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Campaign Manager 360. Most advertisers use these two platforms for different types of media buys, with Google Ads being used mainly for search and Google property buys, and DV360 used for programmatic display or video buys across the web. However, there are multiple ad types that can be bought on both platforms and knowing the differences can help align your campaign goals and budget.

*not inclusive of all ad types in both platforms

Display and YouTube are the two common ad types that are within both platforms, as shown in the table above. The decision on where to run each ad type will depend on your campaign audience, goal, and budget.

Audiences

Google Ads and DV360 both have access to Google’s vast amount of owned data, including in-market, affinity, intent, etc. audiences. This data comes from online signals such as searches, browsing behavior, etc. However, DV360 operates like a traditional DSP and provides access to numerous 3P data sources as well as PMP deals and negotiations. While Google’s owned data encompasses many different topics and interests gathered from user behavior and searches, niche targeting often requires additional 3P data to reach the right consumers.

When evaluating platforms for your media campaign, review the target audience and do research into each platform to see what the best fit is. For example, B2B campaigns often require much more detailed targeting that is only available via 3P audiences, so Google Ads alone may not reach the right audience.

Reach

DV360 has the option to customize different ad exchanges and web inventory within the DSP, allowing you to serve ads to numerous different websites at once. While Google Ads does allow you to run ads on their “Display Network”, it is limited to only Google’s exchange. Running on DV360 allows your ads to go further and reach users across the web.

For example, if a campaign objective is mass awareness and you want to reach the most people across the web, then DV360 would have much more inventory to allow you to serve ads to users wherever they are. It is best practice to review the estimated audience size in each platform to see if it aligns with the budget and goal of the campaign. If the audience size is too small to spend, then another platform or audience adjustments may be needed.

Budget

One of the main benefits of Google Ads is that there is no minimum budget needed to advertise on the platform. DV360 has monthly budget minimums that can be high for many advertisers (some report $50k a month), but can be bought for agencies as a whole or through resellers. Resellers can help advertisers buy on DV360 if they don’t meet minimums, but will still charge a certain fee to access the platform.

For new clients testing out paid media, it is recommended to start with Google Ads first to see how audiences respond to different messaging and test out tactics with a smaller budget first. If more budget is available and more robust audience targets are needed, then test out a DSP buy.

How to Decide Between the Two?

Google Ads is typically the platform recommended for advertisers to start with due to the lack of budget minimums as well as access to numerous different Google inventory properties and audiences. If your campaign has enough budget and requires more reach, audience targets, or optimizations, then DV360 would be the platform recommended. Oftentimes, advertisers will use both of these platforms since there are ad types unique to each of them, so they create an omnichannel approach to reach users wherever they are.

LeadLab Media has expertise in both platforms and can help you make the best decisions for your campaign. Schedule a consultation with us and we can walk through a customized media strategy that fits your needs to reach your campaign goals.

Why I Don’t Need to Quiet Quit LeadLab Media

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:40:38 GMT

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How LeadLab Media is Equipped for the New Age of Work-Life Balance

“Quiet quitting” has become a viral buzz phrase due to discussion and discourse on TikTok, but it doesn’t actually refer to quitting. “Quiet quitting” refers to completing the tasks assigned to you and abandoning the idea of going “above and beyond” at work. Quiet quitters close the laptop at 5 pm, don’t work overtime, and attempt to detach ego from productivity. Although some argue that “quiet quitting” results from employees feeling unsatisfied or burnt out, many claim it to be a stride towards a healthier work-life balance. These principles of a balanced working environment are what LeadLab Media was founded on.

The polling company Gallup found that around half of U.S. employees fit the definition of “quiet quitting” as of September 2022. Recent data from Statista found that 82% of Americans believe employees should go above and beyond at their jobs, while only 50% of respondents 18-29 agree. Furthermore, 65% of 18-29-year-olds believe employees should do just what they’re paid to, nothing more and nothing less.

Companies who take a combative approach to the rise of “quiet quitting” via surveillance, increased tasks, or pay cuts may face further challenges regarding keeping employees feeling empowered, heard, and free to set boundaries relating to their work-life balance. Companies, like LeadLab Media, who acknowledge that the pandemic has caused many to realize the importance of spending time with friends and family, finding and developing hobbies, and relaxing without being plugged in, have helped their employees in their journey towards a holistic lifestyle.

Whether this trend is because of changing priorities that resulted from the pandemic, generational differences between Gen Z and older generations, or outdated management practices, agencies and organizations can take action to ensure their employees remain engaged while preserving a balanced life. As a recent college graduate with lots of interests and desires outside of work, finding a company that already has systems in place that combat factors that contribute to “quiet quitting” was important to me.

One position is that “quiet quitting” is because of poor management, but there are actions that can help ensure healthy management practices. Managers should have at least one weekly 15-30 minute meaningful conversation with their employees. At LeadLab Media, we ensure our meetings are concise and efficient, and I meet with my manager at least once a week to discuss tasks or have our bi-weekly one-on-one meeting. Amidst these streamlined meetings, LeadLab Media ensures employees have designated spaces for non-work related discussion and sharing without disrupting desired out-of-work time. We have weekly meetings, from Lunch and Learns, to Team Lunches and Happy Hours to keep the synergy flowing without it becoming a burden to productivity.

Another effective tactic to keep employees engaged, especially Gen Z and millennial employees, is to provide opportunities to explore their interests, demonstrate their strengths, and contribute to the company’s future. LeadLab Media organizes company committees and encourages us to acquire certifications in topics that interest us. Even as a junior employee in my first couple months at the company, I’ve become involved in major company decisions, like marketing and new business efforts. These opportunities have empowered me as a new employee and have allowed my integration with the company’s larger purpose.

One final and crucial way to ensure team members feel autonomous yet engaged is by involving them in process improvement discussions and developing an environment where everyone feels free to express concerns, challenges, and suggestions. At LeadLab, I feel free to express concerns and provide feedback on internal process enhancements through weekly process chats with account leads. This open environment has succeeded in counteracting any feelings of idleness or disengagement.

In this age of The Great Resignation, a movement where the masses are unendingly searching for autonomy and meaning, it can be difficult for agencies and organizations to maintain a certain level of engagement among their workforce. By recognizing this societal change and implementing some of these tactics before they were necessary, LeadLab Media has created a healthy workplace that supports more balanced lives for its constituents. In this New Age, LeadLab Media has achieved a culture where employees like me are inspired to contribute to their organization’s growth while simultaneously focusing on the upward trajectory of their lives.

Netflix Is Running Ads

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:37:31 GMT

Here's What You Need to Know

Netflix has finally succumbed to the pressure of paid advertising. After years of publicly stating that commercials would never be seen on the platform, the global subscription streaming service confirmed that they would be introducing an ad-supported, lower-priced subscription tier this summer. According to Netflix executives, the timeline for when this new subscription tier hits the market is quicker than originally thought, as they are now aiming for the last three months of 2022.

“Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription. But as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice,” said Netflix co-CEO, Reed Hastings. “And allowing consumers who like to have a lower price, and are advertising tolerant, to get what they want makes a lot of sense.”

This change in business model was brought on by the announcement of their first-quarter earnings, which reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers, as well as an expected loss of an additional 2 million subscribers in the second quarter. Netflix’s share price has dropped significantly since the subscriber announcement, losing approximately $70 billion in the company’s market capitalization. With competition in the streaming market, inflation, pandemic disruption, and widespread password sharing, Netflix is facing serious challenges.

Netflix will be partnering with Microsoft to lead its ad tech and sales, so all companies wanting to advertise on Netflix will have to do so through Microsoft’s platforms. Netflix wants to build its ad service on a global scale and Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service can provide the technology needed for such a large-scale service implementation. Competitors such as Disney+ and HBO Max have in-house capabilities that Netflix doesn’t since both of these platforms already have TV channels and streamers that show ads. Since Netflix is late to the advertising game, the service will likely be making less money selling ads until it builds up its own sales/tech infrastructure and does not have to outsource the technology from Microsoft. Netflix has expressed interest in building out its advertising infrastructure externally.

“Our intention is to roll it out, listen and learn, and iterate quickly to improve the offering,” states Netflix’s letter to shareholders. “Over time, our hope is to create a better-than-linear-TV advertisement model that’s more seamless and relevant for consumers, and more effective for our advertising partners. While it will take some time to grow our member base for the ad tier and the associated ad revenues, over the long run, we think advertising can enable substantial incremental membership (through lower prices) and profit growth (through ad revenues).”

The streaming giant currently offers a variety of payment tiers including, basic, standard, and premium plans. These plans range from $9.99 to $19.99 and remain ad-free. With the introduction of the new ad-supported tier, these current plans are likely to increase in price. The cheaper price of the ad-supported tier is still being determined by Netflix and Microsoft, but it had been rumored to be between $7 to $9.

In 2019, Hulu reported that 70% of their viewers are on their ad-supported plan, and disclosed making $2.1 billion in ad revenue in 2021. With Netflix currently ringing in at 220 million subscribers (quadruple the amount of Hulu subscribers), the streaming giant can expect a significant amount of their upcoming earnings to be from ad revenue. These numbers paired with the chance for lower cost ads while Netflix works out the initial advertising kinks of their subscription plan, means this is a great opportunity for businesses to reach an enormous base of TV streaming audiences.

Other changes you can expect from Netflix include stricter password-sharing rules. Of its 221.6M subscribers, Netflix accounts are being shared with over 100M non-paying households. Netflix sees this as one of its biggest threats and plans to charge higher monthly prices to those who share their account with multiple people.

“We’re in the early stages of working to monetize the 100m+ households that are currently enjoying, but not directly paying for, Netflix,” the letter to shareholders reads. “Our goal is to find an easy-to-use paid sharing offering that we believe works for our members and our business that we can roll out in 2023.”

Disney+ is also set to launch its own ad-supported version of its platform later in the year, joining Peacock, Hulu, Paramount+, and HBO Max. With the majority of these platforms turning to this business model, one thing is certain, the future of streaming is in advertising.

LeadLab Media values staying up to date on the current news and trends happening in today’s media landscape. If you are looking for a team of experts to keep you in the loop of all things performance marketing and paid media, schedule a free consultation with LeadLab Media today.

How Dashboard Automation Saves Our Clients’ Hours

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:33:07 GMT

Work Smarter Not Harder

Time is money and wasting your valuable time manually pulling data takes away from time you could be analyzing and optimizing your campaigns. LeadLab Media has saved our clients 30+ hours a month on reporting and improved team morale by building them automated reporting dashboards.

We are a data-driven company and we are passionate about analyzing performance data to gather the “story” of our clients accounts. Let’s be honest, that is the fun part in the reporting process. It should take time and be thorough; but what shouldn’t take much time is pulling the data to analyze.

See how two of our clients have benefitted from dashboard automation:

Client A: Top Media Agency Worldwide and Part of a Major Holding Company

When Client A came to us requesting a highly detailed quarterly report for each of their eight Google Ads accounts, we immediately presented the idea of automation to speed up the process. The client agreed this would be ideal for now and the future. The result was instead of spending days pulling all the data and developing charts, we constructed eight unique automated dashboards that did the heavy lifting for us.

The new dashboards saved 4-6 hours of data pulling per account, allowing us to spend the extra time digging into the performance data, providing insights, and data-driven recommendations. Our dashboards are highly customizable, date ranges can be changed as you need and we were able to easily download the charts and graphs we needed into PowerPoint format. We were proud to deliver a high quality quarterly report and implement performance improvement opportunities for our client with the time we saved.

Client B: Full-Service Media Planning & Buying Agency, Supporting Regional & National Adv

Client B came to us with big data issues. They struggled with inaccurate data and significant frustration amongst their team who spent 30+ hours/month on reporting. Our team jumped into action and did a full overhaul of their dashboards, giving them confidence in their data once again and valuable time back.

Of course, you’re wondering how much time did it really save them? Our dashboard report cut their teams monthly reporting down to just 30 minutes/month! Their team can now focus on projects and tasks that matter and that move the needle for their business. They even expressed to us the positive impact the new reports had on team morale. That’s a win-win!

Work Smarter Not Harder

Dashboard reporting can integrate into any major platform, with an API, and also can integrate custom data, like sales and CRM data, showing you real time accurate costs per customer.

If you have any reporting challenges you’d like to solve, schedule a free discovery call and see how we can support you today.

What Does Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Mean for Advertisers?

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:26:06 GMT

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is now the official owner of Twitter. Musk completed the $44 billion purchase on October 27, 2022, and his first move will be to take the company private. Taking the company off of the stock exchange and owning it privately will set the stage for the variety of changes Musk mentioned he will make to the social media platform; from lifting common social media restrictions limiting free speech, to adding a subscription model for verified accounts, here’s what Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover means for advertisers.

The greatest concern for advertisers is the changes Musk has planned concerning free speech on the platform. In Musk’s own words, “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.” Musk will be reinstating some people that have been banned from Twitter in the past for hate speech or disinformation, and opening up the platform for people from all sides and angles to tweet their opinions.

Musk vaguely reassures advertisers by saying, “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.” And he does say he plans to have a “content moderation council” that will review and approve anyone in consideration for reinstatement on the platform. One top executive on his Twitter Council Board stated they felt that “it seemed like Musk was surrounding himself with few voices that would take advertiser concerns seriously.” However, what will actually transpire now that Musk is in charge is unknown. With so much uncertainty around brand safety, we are recommending our clients move their ad budget to other platforms that offer clear brand safety guidelines and are in line with industry standards.

The potential transition to a subscription model could also have an impact on the digital advertising industry. A subscription model would allow users to pay to use the platform and see fewer ads, or potentially no ads. Will advertising be kicked to the curb in this new model? Advertising accounts for a bulk of Twitter’s revenue, at $2.18 billion in the first half of 2022, showing an 11.8% increase from the previous year. With that said, it is unlikely advertising will be eliminated from the platform altogether but there is still a big question mark around how advertising might change with the new revenue model. As the brand safety plan is established and the functionality between advertising and the subscription model becomes clearer, it will be important for anyone running Twitter ads to create a contingency plan.

Once brand safety is addressed and if advertisements are still a staple of the platform, we recommend a test to shift a percentage of funds back to Twitter advertising to gain learnings on how Musk’s Twitter takeover impacts performance. We expect there will be changes to demographic targeting that can pose a challenge for marketers but are not dissimilar to the limitations we faced with the iOS 14 update. For ourselves and all of our clients, we put a big emphasis on the importance of testing, analyzing the results, and determining the best path forward, and we will approach the new Twitter environment in this way before cutting it off completely.

An important mention of the Twitter buyout is that Musk will be merging it with X Holdings, another established company of his, tied to his desire to launch a new app “X” which he hopes will be “the app for everything.” The goal of this app is to mirror the WeChat app that has taken over the Chinese market by becoming an essential tool for day-to-day life; it incorporates messaging, social media, payments, food orders, and more. It is not clear how Twitter plays into the idea of the “X” app but is, nevertheless, something to consider. If Twitter moves in the direction of becoming a “super app”, similar to WeChat, it will offer a new environment for advertisers to test that doesn’t yet exist in the United States.

This is a developing situation that advertising agencies need to stay on top of to ensure clients’ brand safety is top of mind and that media dollars are being used efficiently and effectively. LeadLab Media will continue to monitor the transition of Twitter and provide the latest updates and advertiser recommendations. Follow along on our social media pages to get the newest information and be prepared for any changes that are to come.

Key Takeaways:

LeadLab Media recommends shifting advertising dollars from Twitter to other platforms while the brand safety concerns are still prevalent.
We recommend for advertisers to stay up to date with any Twitter-related news in order to understand what brand safety standards get put into place and if returning advertising dollars to Twitter will be an effective and brand-safe move.
As brand safety guidelines are established, we recommend putting a percentage of budget towards Twitter advertising in order to test the updated Twitter-sphere.

You Can Grow Your Nonprofit with Google Ad Grants

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:21:20 GMT

Here’s What You Need to Know

Google Ad Grants is a phenomenal program offered by Google for Nonprofits where qualified NPOs are given $10,000 a month ($120k a year) to spend on pay-per-click advertising via the Google Ads platform. Qualifying organizations can utilize this service to target specific niches and generate donations and awareness for their cause.

Utilizing search ads can potentially result in thousands of new visitors to an NPO’s website, reaching potential volunteers, impactful donors, and those who can benefit from the services they provide . Without this program, premium services such as Google Ads and Google Workspace might otherwise be too expensive for NPOs to utilize. This could be life-changing for a non-profit organization.

What Makes an NPO Eligible?

You must meet Google’s country specific NPO eligibility requirements found here.
Your organization must meet the section 501(c)(3) requirements to be exempt from federal income tax.
All organizations must be verified as a nonprofit organization by TechSoup or a local TechSoup partner.
You must agree to the Google for Nonprofits Additional Terms of Service.

Please note, organizations that are not eligible include the following:

Hospital or healthcare organizations
Schools, academic institutions, or universities (Google for Education offers a separate program for schools)

This incredible opportunity can pose challenges for smaller non-profit organizations that don’t have experience in launching or managing a paid search campaign. Many NPOs jump at the chance to get $10,000 a month for their cause and soon afterward find themselves overwhelmed with setting up an account, creating campaigns, identifying keywords, and managing campaign performance. Not only do these managers have to run an organization, but they also have to take on the role of a pay-per-click marketer.

Thankfully, Google for Nonprofits has a network of volunteers and students who are willing to help NPOs set up and run their Google Grants accounts. Google allows NPO’s to choose the support option that’s right for them, providing resources such as self service educational materials, pro bono account support from student volunteers, and more.

In addition to the resources Google offers, our team of experts at LeadLab Media would love to partner with qualifying Non Profit Organizations and provide pro bono services to help expand overall reach and champion their cause. It would be a privilege to provide our in-depth knowledge of paid search marketing, Ad Grants requirements, features, and tools to help an non-profit organization truly maximize their results.

Are you or your organization interested in our pro bono support? Allow our team to set up and manage your Google Ad Grants account free of charge by contacting us .

How to Get Started With Influencer Marketing

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:12:40 GMT

Since the introduction of social media, the number of users and the number of platforms has steadily risen YoY. According to statista.com, there are 4.59 billion social media users worldwide in 2022 . This makes it a huge opportunity for companies to get in front of their target audience in a less traditional and more targeted way. One of the more unique avenues for marketers is to implement influencer marketing strategies. A-list celebrities are no longer the only candidates companies should be looking to work with now that the rise of everyday influencers exists. The challenge for most marketers is how to get started and who’s the right influencer to work with. With that being said, we have a few tips to share.

First a little historical fact. The concept of influencers can be dated back to the year 1760 when a potter named Josiah Westwood created a tea set for Queen Charlotte and branded himself as the “Potter of her Majesty”. With that title and the royal family’s stamp of approval, his brand became a household staple. It may not be 1760 anymore, but the concept of influencers is stronger than ever with social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube each harnessing at least 1 BILLION users each . No one could have guessed how much impact these applications would have on the way companies market their products and services. More notably, no one could have guessed that the everyday person would have the opportunity to have such a big influence on the buying decisions of others.

Leveraging social media influencers for marketing is a great way for brands to increase awareness, expand reach, build trust, and generate leads and sales. It is important to understand how to work with an influencer in order to have success with this trending marketing strategy. Our goal is to give you the tools you need to feel confident in launching your own influencer marketing campaign.

What is Influencer Marketing, and Why Does it Matter?

Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that uses endorsements and product mentions from individuals who have a dedicated social following and are viewed as leaders within their niche –hence, an influencer. With the rise of popular social media platforms like TikTok, creators are going viral overnight and building an audience of users who trust and value their content. Although users may go viral overnight, the ones we want to work with are the ones who are making the effort to create high-quality engaging content. Influencers that don’t fall into the category of mega-influencers (>1 million followers) are trying to build their personal brand, and do this by engaging with their followers, listening to what their followers want, and producing content that will keep followers coming back to their page.

Influencer marketing is a great strategy because of the high amount of trust built up over time between social influencers and their following. If an influencer is promoting your brand, it will serve as a form of social proof to your potential customers which can then lead to more sales and better-qualified leads. Influencers put a lot of time and effort into creating content since the algorithm favors high-quality and consistent content and brands can benefit from that. When considering influencer marketing as a strategy, it is important to know how to work with influencers and identify the right influencers for you to get the most success out of your influencer marketing efforts.

How to Leverage Social Media Influencers

The first thing you will need to get started with your influencer marketing strategy on any social media platform is to find the right influencer to work with. Easier said than done, right? Thankfully, creator marketplaces are available which allows brands to find creators they want to connect with using the respective collaborative platforms. With a creator marketplace, you can search for influencers based on audience demographics, if they have expressed interest in working with your brand, have tagged or followed your brand, and if they are similar to creators you have already found through the filters.

The sweet spot for the number of followers the influencer you are partnering with should have is between 1,000 – 100,000 which falls into the categories of nano-influencers (1K-10K followers) and micro-influencers (10K-100K followers). You don’t need an influencer with millions of followers, we recommend starting off with micro-influencers since they are usually more personal with their followers and have built strong loyalty and trust. An extra bonus for your budget, they are likely to have smaller fees so you’re more likely to see a better return on money.

Once you have found an influencer that you want to work with, sending the right message is crucial. Be sure to personalize your email instead of sending a standard mass email since influencers are busy and may have hundreds of messages to sift through each day. You want to make sure yours stands out! After they respond and agree to work with your business, be sure to not micromanage your influencer. To prevent this, let them use their own voice when developing content for ads which will help bring authenticity to your campaign instead of making it salesy which is what influencers are best at. Make sure to always provide your goals and guidelines so the influencer knows what the campaign goal is and has all of the assets they need to reach that goal. Lastly, communication is everything. Build a relationship with your influencer and keep the lines of communication open.

A few key questions to consider before diving deep into influencer research:

Is the creator in your market segment?
Does the creator hold the same values as your brand?
Does the creator have a high level of engagement?
Is the creator developing content on the relevant platforms to reach your target audience?

Finding Influencers on TikTok

The best way to partner with influencers on TikTok is to use the TikTok Creator Marketplace . In order to access the platform, you will need a business account first. Once you have your business account and you’re logged in, you can begin discovering creators in the marketplace. In the platform, you can choose relevant filters to find creators that most align with your brand objectives.

How LeadLab Media Has Developed a Remote Company Culture Worth Having

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:52:15 GMT

LeadLab Media’s unique, tight-knit company culture might surprise people given the nature of working fully remotely. Our culture has been in the making for years since LeadLab Media started in 2014 as a remote company and has remained completely remote since. Many companies transitioned to a remote work setting out of necessity during the pandemic causing new challenges with company culture, productivity and overall morale. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Culture is the tacit social order of an organization…When properly aligned with personal values, drives, and needs, culture can unleash tremendous amounts of energy toward a shared purpose and foster an organization’s capacity to thrive.” What has shaped our culture is a CEO who recognizes employee needs and desires and understands that fulfilling these will only lead to greater employee engagement, a sense of purpose among employees and ultimately, high-quality client work. There are a few key things we do that help foster a healthy and productive remote working environment.

An important pillar of LeadLab is that everyone has a voice . At LeadLab Media, employees have the power and the freedom to bring about change and come up with new ideas, in conjunction with pursuing projects we are passionate about. From intern to CEO, we are all constantly coming up with innovative project ideas, process improvement ideas, cutting-edge testing proposals, and more. LeadLab Media offers a really great open space for ideas to flow freely and for small groups, or the entire team, to collaborate. We also boast a variety of internal committees for things like new business initiatives, organic content creation, volunteer efforts, and more. This gives each employee the opportunity to be a part of a project they are particularly passionate about; or on the flipside, to start a new committee to collaborate with teammates on a project that doesn’t yet exist.

Professional development is another priority; we are encouraged to continue our education and get certifications in areas that simultaneously benefit our own career path and move LeadLab Media forward as a company. Each team member has a bucket of dedicated hours for professional development each month that are reserved to earn new certifications or focus on non-client projects. The hours allotted for professional growth ultimately translate to a more well-rounded and knowledgeable team of employees which leads to new client initiatives, smarter optimization recommendations, and overall better performance.

Work-life balance is a phrase thrown around frequently these days with so many companies turning to remote work. Since LeadLab Media has always been remote, our CEO has had years to test, iterate and perfect what work-life balance means for LeadLab Media employees . For us, work-life balance means that there is not that expectation to arrive extra early and stay until after dinner time. Yes, there are times where one of those two is necessary, and we happily accommodate for urgent client requests; however, we are able and encouraged to have a life outside of work. The ability to spend time with family and friends doing non-work related activities leaves us feeling refreshed each morning and ready to tackle any and all challenges that come each day. This is a key component in employee productivity, happiness and prevention of burnout. Work-life balance also means that we have several amazing moms that are able to hold important positions within LeadLab Media while also having free time to spend with their children, take them to school and participate in activities that fall within the traditional 9-5 workday. Work-life balance has, and always will be, an integral part of LeadLab’s DNA as it fosters a culture of productivity while working.

While professional development and work-life balance are two of the three important pillars, LeadLab also has a variety of regularly scheduled events that are meant purely to promote personal relationships. Each week, we have short 1:1 coffee chats with a different team member. This time is set aside for non-work related chit chat, like you’d expect when people are standing around filling up their coffee mugs in the cafeteria at an agency. We have team lunches once a month where we virtually share lunch together and discuss non-work related topics. An event that everybody looks forward to is our monthly virtual happy hour that often involves a Zoom game of Heads Up or Poker and a lot of laughs. LeadLab also sponsors employee regional happy hours , encouraging us to meet up with co-workers that live within our region. All of these events foster the creation of 1:1 personal connections, as well as a larger team connection despite being in completely different locations.

Having a sense of belonging and feeling like an important part of a larger team definitely drives high-quality employee performance and a positive team morale. It might seem impossible for a remote team, with employees all over the US, to have a tight-knit culture or even a sense of community, however, we are proof that it can be done.

Tools We Love

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:47:45 GMT

How do you communicate with your remote team? Building culture and holding space for team collaboration are two of the biggest challenges of being a fully remote organization.

Here is a list of the tools we love and why…

We love Front App ! It’s been a great tool for our team to use as a communication tool. We’ve been able to set up folders where we will receive emails from clients and assign them to someone on the team, regardless of who was on the email. This allows us to work together as a team to make sure each response is thoughtful and correct.

We love a good explainer video, and Loom is at the top of our list. If you want to show your team member or client a project you’re working on, but can’t fit a call into your schedule, you can use Loom to record a quick video and send them the link. This saves time and helps keep emails at bay.

We use 3 tools from Atlassian – Jira Project Management System, Jira Service Desk and Confluence.

The Jira Project management system has been the backbone of our success and has been the only project management software flexible enough to build it how we need it.

Confluence is one of the tools we use most. It’s a wiki where our team builds out training, how-to, and reference materials for tasks . It’s searchable and sortable, and it all lives in one place. This makes it a great alternative to Google Docs.

Jira Service Desk (currently in beta) allows people to fill out a form for what they need and have the request directly added to the project management system. This has allowed us to be even faster with requests because all the information we need is in the form, and we can schedule it directly to someone available. This has reduced a lot of back and forth and delays that often come with email requests.

Slack is an amazing tool when used correctly. We have fun Slack channels like “check out what I did last weekend” or “crafts and DYI.” It’s a great way to connect quickly and chat with each other throughout the day. But we have a few rules about how we use Slack: never can ask someone to do a new task via Slack, quick questions or discussions only. And it’s incredible how much we use it to still be on the free version!

Fathom is an awesome app that records every call we have with a client and stores it in a library. This helps us remember the details of the call, or even the next steps of a project.

When you need to show someone how to do something, Tango is the app that helps you create a visual step-by-step guide. This has been the best way we’ve been able to create learning guides for team members to know how to do certain tasks.

15Five is a great way for us to stay in touch with our managers. The regular check-ins and discussions help us get to know what’s going on in the company and how we’re doing—and it makes it easier for us to give feedback and get feedback from each other. It’s also a fun way to end a conversation!

Gusto has made tax and payroll management much easier for us. We used to worry about compliance and financial reporting , but now we’re able to focus on our growing company. Gusto even gives you access to health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefits for employees.

What tools do you use to help your organization run smoothly and efficiently?

Important Questions to Ask Your Agency

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:43:55 GMT

A study by AdAge found that nearly 40% of brands are likely to ditch their agency within six months. The main reasons cited were a lack of strategic approach, failure to deliver value, and leadership changes.

After signing a big contract, sales teams often disappear and are replaced by junior employees, middlemen, and empty promises.

If you’re a small business owner, you’ve probably had to make some tough decisions about hiring an agency.

You don’t want to overpay, but you also don’t want to be left in the dark about what’s going on with your account. It’s important to make sure that your engagement with an agency starts off on the right foot.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of questions you should ask your potential agency partners before you sign on the dotted line:

Who will own my accounts?

We recommend that you create the ad accounts or give the agency access to your existing ad accounts, don’t let them create new ones. This will ensure that you can walk away if you need to with all your data and access levels. If the agency is paying billing, they might need admin-level access, but you should always have admin as well.

What is your fee structure?

Percent of Media – If you are a big spender ($20k+ a month), % of media might be a good option because then they can put more staff on your account. But make sure they aren’t incentivized to get you to spend more. You want them to be thinking about how to get better ROI with ways to be efficient with your money.

Flat Fee – For small businesses with budgets of less than $20,000 a month, hourly or flat-fee billing might be your best option. The amount of work involved in managing an account with a $2,000 media budget per month and one with a budget 20 times as much is the same.

This will help make sure they have the fees needed to staff your account appropriately. If media and services fees are billed as one number, ask to see a breakout of percentage towards media and percent towards service fees. This is a common way agencies hide fees, so you want to be transparent about how much is going toward ads.

Headcount Pricing – this is when you pay for the number of people working on your account. The idea is that it helps you have the right staff dedicated to your business. However, make sure you know who you will be assigned to and their experience level.

What are your regular client deliverables?

What are the deliverables I’ll get each week and each month? What is their onboarding process and when can we expect to see our first reports? Ask to see report samples with insights, ask what their optimization checklists are and how often they will be doing them, and ask to see an optimization log. Be clear about what you want from them and ensure they know how you want to receive the deliverables.

What is their communication process?

Who will be your main point of contact? Ask who is going to be assigned to your account and ask for their LinkedIn profiles. Confirm that the person who is doing the work is going to be in your regular check-in calls.

Ask who is the point of escalation if you’re not happy with the service you’re getting for your day-to-day contact.

What is the agency’s request process?

How do you ask for new requests and what is the expected turnaround time? Know what to expect for an email response, new task request, upload or launch to make sure the agency can handle what you’re asking them to do.

If your agency hesitates to answer any of these questions, you might want to consider working with someone else.

Relationships are a two-way street , so here’s how you can be a good partner for your agency too.

Do not try to negotiate the lowest possible price. Negotiating a lower rate can result in limiting team resources for your accounts—the stuff that gets cut when rates are too low is usually Directors, Analysts, or Strategists needed to provide the highest quality work.

Be available. Have people on your side ready to deliver the materials your agency team needs, answer questions, and onboard them properly as if they were new employees. Work extra to quickly provide requested things—like data or logins—that will make the transition smoother.

Be organized. Help prioritize what your agency needs to focus on. Being organized with your requests will ensure that everyone is doing the right things to support those priorities.

Know your goals. Be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish and what success looks like. If you change the direction of the boat every other day your agency will be lost.

A good client and agency relationship is essential to success and makes everyone’s life better. We hope this list of important questions to start any new agency engagement is helpful!

Client Packages

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:39:19 GMT

Which is Right for You?

Are you a digital market er running a complex account and needing a second set of eyes?
Or maybe you are confident in your campaign setup but not so confident in your conversion tracking abilities ?
Are you responsible for developing a plan for a brand new tactic for your client?
Are your accounts underperforming and you are unsure how to leverage account structure to improve performance?
Do you have a big presentation coming up and need to dig into the data to provide insights and recommendations ?
Are you spending hours pulling data and organizing reports ?
Are you a marketer that is unfamiliar with the Universal Analytics to GA4 transition that is looming?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you would benefit from one of LeadLab’s service packages. Ranging from reporting automation to account restructures to measurement audits, LeadLab offers a range of digital media packages to people like you , that are wanting to do the work but needing the guidance of digital media experts.

LeadLab offers two different account audit packages – the Best Practice Account Audit and the Analytics Measurement Audit . The Best Practice Account Audit package is one of my favorites to return to clients because they are impressed by the level of detail we provide and the format in which the audit is presented. We’ve developed a tool that reviews all aspects of an account and spits out a letter grade (think A+, B, etc.). From there, our experts provide specific recommendations and next steps. The other audit package, The Analytics Measurement Audit, is really a crucial step when inheriting a new account or when you’re unfamiliar with conversion tracking setup. This package ensures correct setup, something our team has significant experience with and is passionate about.

The various performance campaign packages are designed for ensuring strategy aligns with structure and positive results are produced. The New Campaign Tactical Plan is a package that our team does frequently with any clients we are onboarding. The result is a fully custom tactical plan with specific recommendations based on platform knowledge and industry research. The Account Restructure package consists of our team analyzing the current account structure, determining areas for improvement, and creating an outline on how to revamp the account for success. Lastly, the Performance Insights Analysis package is geared towards presentations; we dive into the data to provide comprehensive insights and data-driven recommendations that are put into a detailed presentation format. As with all of our packages, this package is not a “cookie cutter” offering; in other words, if you have a specific format you’d like the presentation in, or if you have specific KPIs you want us to focus on, the package is customizable to fit your needs.

If your team spends hours on reporting – from pulling data to aggregating data to creating pivot tables – allow us to help. Whether you are looking for an automated report to skip the data-pulling step, or if you would like a fully automated dashboard that updates in real-time, we have a team of reporting experts. Our Reporting Automation package allows you to stop wasting time on manually pulling reports and spend time on the tasks that truly matter.

Have you transitioned your accounts to GA4? Confused about the process? Unsure when the time is right? The GA4 Transition package includes a detailed transition plan, GA4 set up and transition, as well as platform training so you feel comfortable with the new tool. This package is especially timely as transitioning your Universal Analytics account as soon as possible allows you to have historical data in GA4 before the July 1, 2023 deadline.

If any of these packages piqued your interest and you want to learn more, please schedule your free consultation and our team will be happy to talk through your needs and provide an estimate.

Click here to read more about the client packages and request a free consultation or estimate.

An Introduction to the New Google Ads UI

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:34:10 GMT

What Has Changed & How It Helps

If you’ve been in Google Ads throughout March and have noticed a new, fresh look to the interface, you may be one of the few accounts that Google Ads has chosen to experiment with. This new interface experiment began March 2, 2023 and has been rolled out to a select number of accounts. This post is going to cover what’s new and what’s changed in the new UI, so if it rolls out to one of your accounts, you’ll be ready to dive right in!

The new UI has a different appearance to it, intended to be less cluttered and more focused. There are now 2 primary navigation bars , both on the left side of the screen. The main difference with these navigation bars, other than their location, is that they don’t disappear or hide as you navigate through campaigns, ads, audiences, etc. This makes navigation quicker and much simpler.

Another significant change with the new UI is the reorganization of categories within the navigation bar. Previously, the left-hand navigation bar was broken out by campaign, ad group, keywords, ads, audiences, etc. The updated navigation, however, groups like categories together, so within the Audiences, Keywords and Content tab , you have essentially any category related to methods of reaching consumers. The Insights and Reports tab groups together all of the categories related to where your ads were served. Lastly, the Campaigns tab houses all of the structural categories – campaigns, ad groups, ads, experiments and campaign groups. We’ve found this reorganization to be beneficial as it makes it quicker to navigate to various pages and is less cluttered than the previous UI due to fewer categories, and they can all be collapsed to avoid an overwhelming appearance.

The Insights and Reports tab, as mentioned briefly above, quickly shows you all of the different tools you have at your disposal if you’re interested in looking at the details of where your ads have been served. An interesting new feature of this category is the Dashboards tool. This tool actually mimics a reporting dashboard, such as TapClicks or Data Studio. It allows you to select the date range, filter to certain campaigns or ad groups (or all), add various widgets to display performance related to certain campaigns, keywords, conversions, days of the week, and much more. These reports can be saved and re-used , so we envision using these reports for our monthly calls with clients as well as for our weekly account checks as it provides a quick visual into the metrics that matter most to us.

Another key feature of this updated UI is the ability to filter to any campaign or ad group while navigating through any of the pages . Whether you’re looking at ads, search terms report, auction insights, or anything else, the campaign and ad group filters remain at the top of the screen so you can easily select a particular campaign or ad group to look at, or you can select all of them. This eliminates the need to add a filter, filter by campaign, choose the right campaign, apply the filter, and so on. It’s a quicker and more user friendly aspect of this UI update.

The final update that I think is important to call out is the + Create button featured in the top left corner of the page. This button is accessible while viewing any page, except for reports, within the UI. By clicking on this button, you can easily create a new campaign, ad group, keyword or conversion action. This saves you from having to navigate to the particular page you are looking to add to, and having to create the new campaign, ad group, etc. on that page.

While this is just an experiment Google is running, we hope that Google will continue rolling it out to all Google Ads accounts as it has provided a more seamless, predictable and simple experience while managing ads in Google Ads. There has been some negative feedback regarding this new UI from other advertisers, having to do with their unwillingness to adapt and re-learn a UI. Running digital ads, however, is all about adapting and learning new interfaces and tools , so our team is looking forward to using this new UI more and hopefully getting access to it across all of our accounts.

Everything You Need to Know About Google Ads Sunsetting Similar Audiences this Year

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:17:24 GMT

If you’re a Google Ads user, you may have noticed the recent announcement that Google Ads is getting rid of similar segments targeting in May – August of 2023. This change comes as part of Google’s ongoing effort to prioritize user privacy and limit the use of third-party data.

What are Similar Segments and Why Are They Going Away?

Similar audiences are essentially Google’s version of lookalike audiences. Similar segment targeting is a feature in Google Ads that allows advertisers to target users who share characteristics with their existing customers or website visitors.

Similar segments are useful for reaching and targeting people similar to your site visitors, while also simplifying the audience expansion process with the overarching goal of acquiring new customers.

As part of Google’s commitment to user privacy, the company has been phasing out the use of third-party data in its advertising products. Similar segment targeting relies on third-party data to identify users with similar characteristics to a brand’s existing customers or website visitors, and Google has decided to discontinue this feature to limit the use of third-party data in its advertising products.

Unlocking the Power of Optimized Targeting: A Smarter Alternative to Similar Segments in Google Ads

Optimized targeting is a machine learning-based feature in Google Ads that helps advertisers find the most relevant audience for their ads. It uses real-time data and analyzes user behavior to determine the most likely potential customers to engage with an ad. This feature considers a range of factors such as search history, website visits, ad interactions, and other relevant data to build a profile of user interests and intent.

With optimized targeting, advertisers can expand their reach and target users who are most likely to take action, ultimately leading to increased conversions and cost savings. It’s a good alternative to similar segments for Display, Discovery, and Video action campaigns.

Expanding Your Reach: Understanding Audience Expansion as a Powerful Alternative to Similar Segments in Google Ads

Audience expansion in Google Ads finds new potential customers with similar traits to your existing audience through machine learning algorithms. First, you need an existing audience like a remarketing list or customer match list. It’s ideal for YouTube Awareness and Reach Video or Consideration Video Campaigns. With audience expansion turned on, Google Ads shows your ads to new users with similar demographics and interests automatically, helping you expand your reach with ease.

Google Ads’ audience expansion can help advertisers reach potential customers with similar interests and characteristics, saving time and improving campaign performance. However, audience expansion requires a large enough audience to analyze, so alternative targeting options may be necessary until enough data is available.

Our Recommendations

1. Turn on Optimized Targeting Now

By turning on optimized targeting before similar segments are removed from Google Ads, advertisers can proactively find new potential customers and maintain their campaign’s reach. This can help advertisers understand their target audience better and ensure that their campaigns continue to reach relevant users. Doing so can minimize the impact of the removal of similar segments and enable advertisers to run effective campaigns.

2. Don’t Enable Optimized Targeting for Remarketing Campaigns & Ad Groups

Optimized targeting may not be the best option for remarketing campaigns because it is designed to find new users based on their behavior and characteristics, rather than targeting users who have already interacted with your brand. Additionally, optimized targeting may lead to increased costs and lower conversion rates for remarketing campaigns as it may target users who are less likely to convert than your existing remarketing audience. It’s important to consider the specific goals and audience of a remarketing campaign before deciding whether to use optimized targeting.

3. Get Started Early

As similar segment targeting is removed in Google Ads, advertisers should be proactive and explore alternative targeting options, like optimized targeting and audience expansion. It’s also important to refine ad copy and creatives, optimize landing pages, and monitor performance, to ensure that campaigns continue to stay relevant and successful amidst these targeting changes. By taking these steps, advertisers can reduce the impact of the removal and continue to reach the most relevant users.

Conclusion

Overall, the key to success in the post-similar segments era is adaptability and a willingness to try new strategies. By staying informed, testing new targeting options, and constantly refining their campaigns, advertisers can maintain and even improve their performance in Google Ads.

Search Ads Are Coming to TikTok. What Does This Mean For Advertisers?

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:10:52 GMT

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Search Ads Are Coming to TikTok.

What Does This Mean For Advertisers?

TikTok could soon be entering the search ad market with the potential to rival market leaders like Google. Launching this new product could help drive quality traffic and allow advertisers to access valuable keyword data.

What are TikTok Search Ads and How Do They Work?

TikTok is reportedly launching its own search ads platform that would allow advertisers to bid on specific keywords related to their products or services, similar to Google and Microsoft Ads.

Last year, TikTok launched a beta test rollout initially discovered by users when video ads with a “Sponsored” label appeared within the top four search results. This rollout allowed testers to view search terms that drove conversions and high click-through rates. Access to this data will enable advertisers to optimize ads by using top keywords in ad headlines. It can also help generate new content ideas on and off the platform based on user searches and intent.

We recently explored the TikTok search results page with a few search terms to identify these sponsored posts – all of which resulted in an ad showing within the top four results :

TikTok’s search ads platform will likely offer unique features beyond what is available in Google Ads. For example, TikTok’s current interest, behavior, and demographic targeting features would allow for more detailed search targeting options, potentially making this platform more appealing to advertisers. This new offering would also allow for increased targeting control and the ability to reach lower-funnel audiences.

When Will This Roll Out?

TikTok is still in the early stages of testing, and this product is not yet available to advertisers. A representative from TikTok told Search Engine Land:

“We are in the very early stages of testing search ads in select regions. For clarification – at this stage, advertisers do not have the ability to bid on specific keywords for advertising purposes. This part of our testing is managed by TikTok based on keywords that would be most relevant and impactful to the advertiser and their specific ad.”

What Does This Mean for Marketers?

As of January 2023, just over 70% of global TikTok users fell between the ages of 18 and 34 years old. In addition to this platform’s ability to reach a younger Gen Z and Millennial audience, studies have shown that about 40% of this younger audience prefers to search for information on TikTok and Instagram over Google.

What is driving this new wave of TikTok searchers? Perks include the platform’s quick and visual delivery of information, highly engaging content, and personalized user experience. In addition, a Nielsen study found that “users around the globe find TikTok content to be authentic, genuine, unfiltered and trendsetting.”

Expanding into search ads would make this platform an even more valuable tool for reaching a younger, more engaged audience.

What Are the Potential Downfalls?

Potential risks from this new offering include ad fatigue caused by a higher volume of ads or users becoming less likely to use the app if they feel that the platform is too ad-focused. As a result, TikTok will need to ensure that ad types remain user-friendly and do not take away from the app’s user experience.

Additionally, TikTok must ensure competitive click costs and high ROI compared to existing platforms to entice advertisers to spend on this new product.

What Can Your Clients Do Now to Prepare?

Until this offering is released, advertisers can prepare by encouraging clients to leverage TikTok organically so that brands have an established presence on the app before running ads. Establishing an organic strategy is especially important on TikTok as studies show that “when users are exposed to both paid and organic content from brands, the ads are perceived as less intrusive and don’t interfere with their experience on TikTok.”

Optimize Your Profile Page : Add a quality profile image, including a brand description, CTA, and website link.
Research Creative Trends : Creative & trends are everything and will make or break your success on TikTok. Posts should center around a current trend, use trending music and use relevant hashtags. Knowing what resonates with your audience and what is trending is essential – this requires ongoing research.
Conduct a Competitor Audit : Check out what similar brands are posting on TikTok to understand what’s worked and hasn’t worked for them.
Post Regularly and Test : Post often and consistently – for most brands, the ideal frequency is 5 to 7 posts a week. Posting regularly allows for more testing opportunities to see what resonates best with users – test different headlines, openers, text angles, and overlays. In addition, it is essential to see what works and drives views organically to help inform content strategy when the brand is ready to launch paid ads.

Final Takeaways

TikTok’s expansion into search ads presents opportunities for advertisers to reach Gen Z and Millennial audiences in new and unique ways. With detailed targeting capabilities and access to search data, TikTok could allow advertisers to improve content both on and off the platform and reach a lower funnel, more engaged audience.

While this new product is still in the early stages of testing and is not ready to launch yet, TikTok’s search ad platform has the potential to be a powerful and effective tool for advertisers.

If you or a client need assistance with any of the recommended preparations, reach out to LeadLab Media for a free consultation on how we can help.

Alternatives to Google Optimize

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 13:57:09 GMT

Where Will You Turn For Your Testing & Experimentation Needs?

Google Optimize will be sunsetting on September 30, 2023, so in preparation for this change, our team has weighed the pros and cons of other testing alternatives and developed our recommendations for fellow advertisers. Before jumping into these recommendations, it’s important to address why Google is sunsetting this platform . According to Google, Optimize does not have many of the features and services that customers are looking for, so they are actively working on integrations with other testing platforms to provide a larger breadth of services and features requested by customers. Until these integrations directly with GA4 become available, there are several options we recommend advertisers to consider.

Our Recommendations:

Google Experiments

The first recommendation will require the smallest learning curve and is already available to all Google advertisers, for free . This option is Google Experiments , which can be set up directly in the Google Ads platform. The testing options include Performance Max testing, video testing, text ad testing and custom experimentation. We recommend setting up a Custom Experiment as this option offers the most flexibility in terms of testing variables.

When you set up a Google Custom Experiment, you choose which campaign you’d like to build your test around and this campaign is automatically duplicated and becomes 2 campaigns: the original and the test. Within the test campaign, you can alter whichever testing variable you are wanting to measure, such as bid strategy or tCPA amount. With this testing method, you are also able to allocate a certain percentage of the original campaign’s budget to the test campaign.

If testing search campaigns, you can choose a cookie-based split or search-based split. Using Google Experiments is a free and simple solution to basic campaign testing . If you are looking for a more complex website and user behavior testing capabilities for your media strategy, however, you may want to consider one of the following third-party sites .

Optimizely

Optimizely is a great option for advertisers looking for a website testing and optimization platform that can easily integrate with some common advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, LinkedIn, Bing, Facebook and Instagram. Optimizely allows advertisers to set up A/B testing and multivariate testing for both the user interface of the website as well as any features on the website. It is also important to note that this is a paid tool , and advertisers need to reach out to the sales team to request a quote.

VWO Testing

The next third-party testing and experimentation platform that LeadLab recommends is VWO Testing . This tool offers a host of powerful features, such as AI-powered copywriting, multivariate and split testing, user segment and behavior testing, user heatmaps and visitor recordings. VWO is known for their 5 capabilities , which are plan, track, test, analyze and target; these features provide for a very well-rounded testing experience that leads to actionable next steps. This platform is free for up to the first 50,000 users/month , but a paid version must be purchased after that.

AB Tasty

The final testing and experimentation tool that can be used as an alternative to Google Optimize is AB Tasty . This tool offers split testing, A/B testing, multivariate testing and predictive testing. AB Tasty also allows you to test against a certain goal, such as revenue or purchase volume. One of the benefits of AB Tasty is that it comes with pre-built templates for testing which allows for quick and easy test setup. This platform, however, only offers a paid version and advertisers have to contact the sales team for a quote.

Conclusion

Weighing the pros and cons of each of the testing options available to advertisers can seem daunting, but we recommend reaching out to sales reps at each of the 3 tools mentioned above to better understand which platforms offer the capabilities you need at a price you can afford. What makes these 3 tools even more desirable is that Google announced it is looking into GA4 integrations with each of these platforms as a potential replacement for Google Optimize. While the launch date for these potential integrations is not yet available, we would recommend transitioning from Google Optimize to one of these alternatives prior to September , so the sunset will have minimal impact on your testing and reporting initiatives.

If you or your clients need optimization recommendations, assistance setting up an experiment, or want in-depth insights drawn from your test data, LeadLab Media can help. Schedule a free consultation to get started.

How to Optimize Your App Marketing Initiatives with Apple Search Ads and Google Universal App Campaigns

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:34:29 GMT

Psst — Just looking for best practices? Jump to the bottom!

As a marketer, you know that promoting your client’s app can be a complex and challenging task. One of the most effective ways to promote an app is by using paid acquisition platforms. In this article, we will discuss two of the most valuable platforms for app marketers – Google Universal App Campaigns (UAC) and Apple Search Ads.

Google UAC and Apple Search Ads are tools that target Android and iOS users, respectively. Apple Search Ads work by bidding on specific keywords searched in the Apple app store, while Google UAC campaigns use automated bidding via machine learning capabilities and allow marketers to optimize for post-install actions such as revenue and sign-ups.

Apple Search Ads: A Highly-Targeted, iOS-Exclusive, and Single-Format Tactic

Advertisers can set up Apple Search Ad campaigns in two ways – Basic or Advanced .

Basic campaigns are more similar to Google UACs and require less manual setup since Apple automatically matches your ad to potential customers. Ads are optimized based on cost per install (CPI), and you can access a quick-view dashboard that tracks ad performance. Basic campaigns are easy to set up and require less hands-on management. They rely on Apple’s machine learning algorithms to automatically optimize targeting and bidding to deliver the best results. However, advertisers have less control over how their campaigns are targeted and optimized.

Advanced campaigns, on the other hand, provide more control and customization options for advertisers.

Advertisers can choose specific keywords to target, set different bids for different keywords, and choose how they want to target users (such as by device type, location, or audience). The campaigns are optimized to cost per tap (CPT), and you can choose the keywords and audiences for your ads. This level of control allows advertisers to optimize their campaigns more effectively and potentially achieve better results.

The benefits of each campaign type depend on the advertiser’s goals and level of experience with digital advertising. Basic campaigns are ideal for beginners or advertisers who want to save time and resources , as they require less management and optimization. Advanced campaigns are more suitable for experienced advertisers who want more control and flexibility to optimize their campaigns based on specific business goals. With Advanced campaigns, advertisers can create custom targeting, optimize bids for different keywords and target audiences, and track performance metrics in greater detail.

Google App Campaigns Offer a Range of Formats & Broader Reach Across Multiple Google Properties

On the other hand, Google UAC campaigns are efficient and use automated targeting, placements, and bidding based on messaging in your app’s listing, copy, digital assets, your ad’s objective, and audience. Google UAC campaigns run on Google Search, Google Play, YouTube, and the Google Display Network with three available campaign types – App Installs, App Engagement, and Pre-Registration.

App Installs Campaign: This campaign is designed to drive app installs. The campaign is optimized to show ads to people who are most likely to install the app. This campaign is useful for new apps or for developers who want to increase app installs.

Benefits:
Reaches a large number of users who are interested in apps similar to yours.
Saves time by automating ad creation and targeting.
Optimizes bids and ad placements to achieve the highest number of app installs possible.
Provides insights into which ad creative and targeting strategies are working best.

App Engagement Campaign: This campaign is designed to re-engage users who have already installed your app. The campaign is optimized to show ads to users who are most likely to engage with your app, such as by making a purchase or completing a level.

Benefits:
Increase the number of active users on the app.
Increase user engagement and retention.
Drive more in-app purchases.
Provides insights into which ad creative and targeting strategies are working best.

Pre-Registration Campaign: This campaign is designed to build interest in an upcoming app by allowing users to pre-register. The campaign is optimized to show ads to people who are most likely to be interested in the app.

Benefits:
Generate buzz and build anticipation for the upcoming app launch.
Provides developers with a list of people who are interested in the app before it’s even launched.
Can increase the number of installs on launch day by notifying pre-registered users when the app is available.

In summary, App Install Campaigns are for acquiring new users , App Engagement Campaigns are for engaging and retaining existing users , and Pre-Registration Campaigns are for building anticipation and generating a list of potential users before the app is launched.

Best Practices & Conclusion

To optimize your app marketing campaigns using these platforms, there are some best practices that you should follow.

Apple Search Ads Best Practices:

Use both broad and exact keyword match types and check the search terms report often for your broad match keywords.
Use negative keywords to prevent showing for unwanted search terms.
Optimize your app’s metadata before launching a campaign.

Google UAC Best Practices:

Account for machine learning time and conversion lag after making changes.
Use all ad formats available to maximize your reach and fill in all available inventory sources.
Review the Asset Report every 3-4 weeks to replace lower-performing creatives.
Leverage both Headlines and Descriptions.

In conclusion, both Apple Search Ads and Google Universal App Campaigns are effective app marketing platforms that can help promote your app to your target audience. While both platforms have their unique features and best practices, it’s important to remember that successful app marketing requires continuous monitoring and optimization . With the right strategy and execution, your app campaigns can increase visibility and attract more users, leading to improved revenue and overall success.

If you need help optimizing or don’t want to continuously monitor yourself, LeadLab Media can help! Click the calendar button below to schedule a no-commitment, free consultation today.

What Is Meta Threads?

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:20:58 GMT

Meta has officially introduced Threads which is a new social media platform that is nearly identical to Twitter. Threads is designed for sharing text updates and joining public conversations ( Source ). The process of creating an account is seamless as you can log in with your Instagram account which makes it extremely easy for Meta to transfer data from one app to the other. Users write posts that can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length. The feed algorithm will rely on AI-driven discovery, similar to TikTok and Reels, so users will see posts from accounts they do not follow.

In fact, Meta is working on making threads compatible with open, interoperable social networks. This means that users will be able to follow and interact with people on Threads without having a Threads account, and vice versa, on platforms like Mastodon and WordPress. Users with a public profile on Threads will be able to reach new people with virtually no effort as their posts would be accessible from other apps. According to Meta, this is set to accelerate the pace of innovation and experimentation.

Threads want to help people find their community, regardless of the app they choose to use. Meta is revolutionizing the digital world and pioneering a new era of diverse and interconnected networks. With over 100 million people joining in less than a week, is Twitter doomed? Only time will tell if Threads will win the internet over or become a lost artifact.

Why Should Advertisers Care?

Advertisers should get a handle on Threads sooner or later as the app’s rapid growth is proving to cause an impact on how users get their information online. However, there is still plenty of time before the need to come up with a whole paid media plan. According to Zuckerberg himself, “Our approach will be the same as all our other products: make the product work well first, then see if we can get it on a clear path to 1 billion people, and only then think about monetization at that point”. Meta doesn’t have any plans to launch an advertising program for Threads soon, but that doesn’t mean that companies shouldn’t take advantage of the organic algorithm.

Although advertising on Threads is unavailable, that didn’t stop Hulu from dropping a sponsored Thread with creator Adam Rose to promote Futurama coming back to the streaming platform. The post had the label “#HuluPartner” which indicates it was the first ever paid sponsorship on Threads.

Other businesses may follow suit so it’s important to be aware of the branded content tactics that will become available in the coming months. Instagram may be working on providing branded content tools in the near future which could allow marketers to test paid promotion on Threads, similar to how a paid partnership works on Instagram which Hulu already tested. Meta likely doesn’t want to drive users away from Threads by allowing ads before becoming a daily part of peoples’ days. It is important to be wary of saturating the feed with any paid posts early on and first focus on building an organic presence as the app continues to develop.

How To Leverage Threads and Best Practices

Organic

If businesses already have an Instagram account, then creating a Threads account can be done in just a few seconds. First, an admin must download the Threads app and log in using the business Instagram credentials. Second, you can choose to import the details from the Instagram profile or skip and update it later. That’s it! The business is ready to use threads.

Best Practices for Organic

Import Instagram profile to Threads profile to keep channels consistent.
Post 1-3 threads per day to remain relevant and be favored by the algorithm.
Share exclusive content that customers cannot find on other platforms to reward early followers and get people excited.
Hook your audience right away with a question, fact, or interesting topic while remaining clear and concise.
Engage users by providing value, using visuals like pictures and videos, and replying to comments.

Paid

Threads doesn’t offer advertising yet but brands can consider running paid partnership threads with other creators. It is advised to keep this at a minimum, however, and instead focus on growing an organic presence first. Oftentimes, the most iconic trends have no media dollars behind them.

Conclusion

To sum it up, Meta’s unveiling of Threads introduces a parallel to Twitter’s format, sparking interest in its cross-platform potential and AI-driven discovery. As this novel social media avenue gains traction, its impact on the advertising landscape remains a topic of anticipation. While Threads’ advertising options may be evolving, the current emphasis on organic engagement and potential partnerships underscores a strategic approach for businesses looking to navigate this dynamic terrain.

Sources:

https://about.fb.com/news/2023/07/introducing-threads-new-app-text-sharing/

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/audience-response-threads-app#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEven%20though%20Meta%20has%20stated,through%20advertising%2C%E2%80%9D%20Robert%20says .

https://sea.mashable.com/tech/25022/when-threads-might-get-ads-as-user-base-booms

How I’ve Learned to Improve Media Team Efficiency During My 17 Years in the Industry

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:13:49 GMT

An efficient media team will set you up for success. It’s important to understand client nuances, and client risks and build a solid foundation to ensure future efficiency. Here are some tips that I’ve learned on how to maintain the efficiency of your media team and agency:

Expect That Clients May Suddenly Turn Off Spend – In times of economic uncertainty clients may panic and the first thing they will do is shut off anything that doesn’t have an IO, which is usually Search and Social spend. If you’re an agency that’s paid based on a percentage of media spend, this will lead to an immediate hit to your revenue. Start warming up your network to be able to acquire new clients to supplement this cut in spending.

Watch Out for the Sleeping Bears – Some clients are very active and request things on a daily basis. Sleeping bears are your quiet clients that don’t ask for much and you think everything is going well. But suddenly, they wake up and want to know what you’ve done for them lately and will quickly fire you if the answer isn’t good. Be proactive in engaging your sleeping bears and demonstrate your value so you aren’t seen as something that can easily be cut.

Audit and Structure Your Accounts for Efficiency – If you do need to cut media spend, have a plan for how you can reduce while still maintaining revenue. Separate your bottom-funnel tactics from your upper-funnel tactics at the campaign level so you can make sure to prioritize what is driving revenue.

Monitor for Changes in Consumer Behavior – Begin looking at year-over-year and month-over-month trends to see if anything has changed. If consumers are spending less, you’ll notice it in the trend reports. You might even be able to find some new opportunities in your data, so continue to test.

Automate the Easy Stuff So You Can Focus on the Hard Stuff – Identify any time-consuming processes that your team is doing. Reporting is a common one that sucks up a lot of time, and if they aren’t coupled with insights and ideas, clients don’t pay attention. See if you can automate your reporting data into a dashboard so your team can focus on the insights and recommendations, the part that provides the most value to your client.

To help support industry-wide efficiency, knowledge sharing, and comradery across agencies and partners is crucial. Sign Up for LeadLab Media’s Newsletter to stay informed on how we strive for streamlined productivity and client engagement.

Maximize Your ROI with Email Marketing

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:11:21 GMT

Email marketing was one of the first digital marketing tactics ever utilized by a business and has continued to be an effective channel with immense reach and ROI potential. It can be a highly profitable tactic across different industries and should be considered for every business’s digital strategy. Emails allow businesses to be direct and personable and can play a part in each stage of the sales funnel to increase sales and nurture customer loyalty.

Understanding how to utilize email automation and customer segmentation tools is the key to driving revenue and a high ROI for your company.

Why it’s Important:

Reach – Over half of the world’s population has an email account and user volume is projected to grow in future years, making the reach of email marketing comparable to social media as a whole.

Cost Effective – Email marketing is suitable for businesses of any size as it is one of the most affordable channels to promote services and offerings to consumers. Many email service companies have free or very low-cost per-message plans to help you reach your marketing goals, making it an ideal tactic for small businesses with the potential to scale up as the company grows.

Increase Return on Investment – Recent studies have shown that email marketing produces one of the highest ROIs of any tactic, with an average of $36 of revenue for every $1 spent (source). This is significantly higher than other digital channels such as social or search and a smart email marketing strategy can be the key to growing your business’ revenue.

Strategies for Success:

Segment Audiences – One of the benefits of email marketing is the ability to serve personalized content directly to your consumers. Segmentation is an important tactic that divides your contact list into smaller sections based on their demographics, site behavior, interests, etc. This allows marketers to curate custom and more personable messaging for each audience.

Some questions to consider when segmenting:

Does your target audience live in different places? Segmenting based on geography can allow you to send emails with locally relevant content and language, provide personalized travel directions to different store locations, or promote regional events.
How long has it been since your customers have purchased/interacted? Group users based on how frequently they have purchased or interacted with the business. Frequent buyers can continue receiving details about new products and upsell with upgrades. Users who have not interacted with the business or recent emails can receive special discounts, reminders, or information regarding new products or sales.
What types of products or services have your users interacted with? Engage users based on what products or pages they have interacted with in the past in order to keep their interest. This includes past purchases, types of pages viewed, or types of emails opened. Based on the different groupings of your company’s offerings, this can be a great way to provide recommendations that are relevant to a user’s interest.
Where are your users in the sales funnel? For new subscribers or first-time purchasers, providing a welcome email with an offering helps introduce users to the brand and incentivize them to take action. For users who frequently open emails without making a purchase or conversion, an email with sale reminders or curated messaging based on their interests can drive them down the funnel and increase sales.

Set Up Automation Flows – Setting up an email marketing workflow creates opportunities for brands to be consistent, personable, and scalable. This includes creating triggers based on site behavior to boost customer retention and engagement.

Abandon Cart – Re-target users who have added a product to their cart without checkout to remind them of the purchase and encourage them to visit the site again.
Product Feedback – Encourage users who have purchased to complete a survey or provide feedback on the product/service that they received.
Birthday or Anniversary – Set up automation to send a special email or offer on a user’s birthday/anniversary for a personalized touch.
Welcome Email – Incentivize new customers to learn more about the brand with offerings for different products or services, or provide an offer/coupon that encourages them to purchase.
Repurchase Reminders – If a previously purchased product/service is set to be running out or expiring, set up an automated reminder to encourage customers to purchase again. This is especially useful in subscription models. Another way to utilize reminder emails is for events such as webinars, conferences, etc.

Capture Attention With Content

Emphasize the main point of the email in the subject, such as the offering or sale.
Make emails easy to skim by including short paragraphs and bullet points that are concise.
Put call-to-actions and important information above the fold.

Measure Your Campaigns and Optimize

Review open rates, click rates, and unsubscribe rates often to track how different types of emails perform.
Perform A/B testing to understand how different groups of subscribers respond to different imagery, messaging, and copy.

How to Get Started:

Keeping an active CRM list of customers and past users who have expressed interest is key to building the subscriber base that will be targeted within an email platform. There are many platforms to choose from that can fit a company based on the budget and desired goal. It is also best to review email platforms based on their capabilities with segmentation, automation, design, and testing.

Email marketing can be a highly efficient channel to drive ROI for many different industries but requires strategic audience setup, personalized content development, and testing in order to drive campaign success. If you or your clients need assistance with creating email marketing strategies, optimizing campaigns, or developing content, schedule a free consultation with LeadLab Media today!

Changes to Facebook Event Tracking & Its Impact on Advertisers

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:57:01 GMT

Facebook has recently announced significant changes to Facebook ad tracking by removing Aggregated Events Measurement (AEM). Facebook introduced AEM in 2021 as an event-tracking solution for users who have opted out of tracking on iOS 14.5 and later devices. Since implementing this feature, advertisers have faced challenges with accurately tracking Facebook website events. This blog will dive deeper into these recent changes and their implications for Facebook advertisers.

Understanding Aggregated Events Measurement & Domain Verification

AEM was a tool used by advertisers to track Facebook website events on iOS devices after the release of iOS 14.

This update resulted from Apple allowing users to opt out of an entire site (i.e. Facebook) for tracking – meaning that a user can “ask app not to track,” resulting in compromised event tracking data. As a result, Facebook implemented AEM, which limited advertisers to a list of 8 conversion events per domain for optimization and reporting. These eight events had to be ranked based on priority, which meant that advertisers could only track the highest priority event completed by a user after clicking an ad. For example, if “Purchase” was the top prioritized event and a user clicked an ad and completed multiple tracked events such as viewing product pages, adding products to their cart, and making a purchase, Facebook would only track the purchase event. Additionally, advertisers had to verify their domains to configure and prioritize events using AEM. If an advertiser optimized a campaign towards a non-prioritized event, Facebook would not deliver ads to users who opted out of tracking on iOS devices.

The Removal of Aggregated Events Measurement

Complex setup and event prioritization with AEM caused challenges for many advertisers. Tracking has been simplified as advertisers no longer need to configure and prioritize events, and there is potential for enhanced data accuracy. Event prioritization with AEM will not be needed going forward, and Facebook has removed the AEM tab from ads manager.

The Removal of Domain Verification

Domain verification added complexity and limited tracking for advertisers using third-party websites or platforms that cannot be verified. Advertisers can now track conversions without domain verification. However, Facebook still recommends that advertisers verify ownership in some instances . Lastly, removing AEM means that advertisers are no longer required to select domains at the ad level to ensure accurate pixel tracking.

Why Did Facebook Make This Change?

Facebook has yet to disclose specific details about the removal of AEM. Many questions still need to be answered, including how Facebook plans to address the continued need for event prioritization moving forward. While Facebook has removed advertiser responsibilities related to AEM, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency update remains. Therefore, Facebook is likely automating the event configuration and prioritization process. Most importantly, Facebook has not disclosed if or how attribution reporting and campaign optimization will be affected by this change.

What Does This Mean for Advertisers?

What we know now is that the removal of AEM can save advertisers time by eliminating event configuration complexities that came with domain verification and event prioritization. Additionally, since Facebook chose to make these updates, it is assumed that this change will not negatively impact campaign performance, and advertisers may even see improved data quality moving forward. If you or your clients need assistance with Facebook event tracking, schedule a free consultation with LeadLab Media today!

Best Practices for Hiring a Paid Media Manager

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:50:13 GMT

In my 13 years of being a paid media leader, I’ve interviewed and hired dozens of paid media professionals, both with and without experience. Here are some of my tips and tricks for hiring someone great for your team and not making a costly hiring mistake.

Consider hiring someone without experience – Teaching someone how to do things in an account is easier than teaching someone how to think strategically, analyze data or be client facing. I always recommend hiring someone who has the soft skills you want as you can teach the hard skills more easily.
Have a culture interview – The culture interview should be conducted by the team that they would be working with to make sure they would work well together and fit with the team. At LeadLab, we require that everyone agree that they would want to work with this person. If anyone says no, we don’t question it and keep looking. Use this time to ask hypothetical questions and “tell me about a time” questions to see if you agree with their thought process.

With regards to the types of questions, asking the same questions to each candidate is best to be able to compare candidates better. Here are some ideas of questions to ask:

Especially for people with not much experience, asking them questions about their course work or hypothetical situations is best.

Asking questions about things on their resume: Ask them questions beyond their resume to find out that they didn’t just do the job, but that they brought something unique to that job.

Examples: If they were the lead of their sorority/fraternity recruiting, what did they do to increase recruits? What issues did they identify in the process, how did they fix them?
Examples: If they had an internship where they entered numbers into a spreadsheet, what did they notice about the numbers they entered?
Examples: At your last job, tell me about a process that you noticed was inefficient, what steps did you take to make it more efficient?

Hypothetical questions: If you were building a campaign for a dog food brand, what tactics would you use?
Behavioral questions: Tell me about a time you didn’t get along with someone in your group project, how did you resolve it?
Communication Questions: Imagine that you told the client that you’d get something done on Tuesday, it’s Monday night and there is no way you can finish it, what do you tell the client?
Opinion Questions: What ad unit do you think is the most impactful?
Performance-Based/Competency Questions: Tell me about a time you had to analyze large amounts of data and come up with a recommendation?
Brainteasers: How many lamp-posts are in San Francisco? (Did they just say “I don’t know” or did they try to think it out?)

2. Have a technical interview – Have someone who has done the job before interview them for their technical ability. This includes asking “how to”, “what would you do if” and “tell me the steps” questions about common tasks. You’re listening for if they can state clearly what to do as if they have done it before.

3. Have a written interview – A technical job is not at all like a talking interview, they need to have written skills as well. Think of a recent common issue/question and ask them to write out their response. For us, we ask one question about campaign strategy, one question to analyze data and one question about explaining a new industry trend such as GA4 or iOS14 changes to Facebook. It shouldn’t be complicated and should require thinking. Give them a deadline so you can check that they can organize themselves.

4. If they pass, give them an offer – If you want make sure your offer is competitive, check out the self-reported salaries of other agencies

Watch out for these red flags:

Rambling: it’s a sign they are unsure of what they are talking about. If you don’t understand what they are saying, they probably don’t either. Don’t assume it’s because you aren’t technical enough. If you don’t understand what they are saying, clients won’t either.
Job hopping: It could be a sign that they have personality issues that keep them from keeping a job for long. If they jumped from their last agency to you, it’s possible that they won’t be loyal to you either.
Bad mouthing their last job: It could be a sign that they have issues around work they haven’t addressed yet. They could bring some of that energy to their new position.

If you notice red flags, ask for 2-3 references and call them so you can ask more questions about what you noticed during the interview process. One of my favorite reference questions is “if you were their mentor, what advice would you give them for their next job?” Sometimes if you make it positive you can get more context on how they feel about that person.

Understanding Google Ads Performance Max: A Balanced Approach to “Man vs. Machine”

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:50:08 GMT

If you’re running Google Ads, you’ve probably heard about Performance Max. Google is pushing this “catch-all” campaign, which allows advertisers to serve ads across all of Google’s inventory—YouTube, Display, Discovery, Maps, and more—using a single campaign. Powered by machine learning, Performance Max automatically allocates your budget to optimize for conversions based on the signals you provide.

While it might sound like the ultimate solution for performance marketers, it’s important to understand the pros and cons before diving in. At LeadLab Media, our approach is to blend traditional campaign types, where we have more control, with machine-driven campaigns like Performance Max. This creates a balance we like to call “man vs. machine”—letting the machines do their thing while still keeping key optimizations in our own hands.

What is Performance Max?

Performance Max learns from all your campaigns and optimizes ad placement in real-time, supposedly delivering the best ROI possible. However, we’ve found that running Performance Max alongside other campaign types allows us to test the man vs. machine method and encourages the algorithms to perform at their peak.

Our Philosophy: Man vs. Machine

We’re big believers in testing, measuring, and optimizing. That’s why our strategy with Performance Max is to have a mix: campaigns we fully control, such as Search and Shopping, and campaigns where the algorithm has more freedom to perform, like Performance Max. The idea is simple: we optimize what we can, and we let the machines try to outperform us in areas where they have more data and insight.

Some advertisers have found great success with Performance Max, while others have seen less impact. It largely depends on the audience, the amount of data available, and the advertiser’s goals. Performance Max is good, but it isn’t a magic bullet, which is why we advocate for a thoughtful, measured approach.

Controls in Performance Max Campaigns

Though Google handles a lot of the heavy lifting in Performance Max, you still have control over several key elements:

Assets: You can provide up to 15 headlines, various descriptions, images, logos, and videos to shape the creative direction of your campaign.

Audience Signals: You can guide Google’s machine learning by specifying audience signals, helping the algorithm understand who you want to reach.

Conversion Goals: Choosing the right conversion goal is critical. Focus on lower-funnel actions with enough volume to ensure Google optimizes properly.

Negative Keywords: While not available directly in-platform, you can work with a Google rep to implement negative keywords.

Concerns and Caveats

While Performance Max promises a lot, there are some limitations to be aware of. The primary concern is the lack of visibility and control over key aspects of the campaign—such as ad placement, rendering, and audience targeting. You’re handing over a lot of control to Google, which can make it hard to know whether Performance Max is complementing or cannibalizing other channels like Search.

Because of this, we always recommend thorough testing and careful measurement before dedicating a large portion of your budget to Performance Max. Incrementality testing is key to ensuring that Performance Max is actually adding value rather than shifting conversions from other campaigns.

Conclusion

Performance Max offers a powerful way to leverage Google’s vast network, but it’s not without its challenges. At LeadLab Media, our approach is all about balance. We combine the control of traditional campaign types with the machine-driven efficiencies of Performance Max to deliver the best results possible. The key is to always test, measure, and optimize—letting the machines help, but never replacing the human touch entirely.

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Search Ads Are Coming to TikTok.

What Does This Mean For Advertisers?

What are TikTok Search Ads and How Do They Work?

When Will This Roll Out?

What Does This Mean for Marketers?

What Are the Potential Downfalls?

What Can Your Clients Do Now to Prepare?

Final Takeaways

Alternatives to Google Optimize

Where Will You Turn For Your Testing & Experimentation Needs?

Google Experiments

Optimizely

VWO Testing

AB Tasty

Conclusion

How to Optimize Your App Marketing Initiatives with Apple Search Ads and Google Universal App Campaigns

What Is Meta Threads?

Sources:

https://about.fb.com/news/2023/07/introducing-threads-new-app-text-sharing/

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/audience-response-threads-app#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEven%20though%20Meta%20has%20stated,through%20advertising%2C%E2%80%9D%20Robert%20says .

https://sea.mashable.com/tech/25022/when-threads-might-get-ads-as-user-base-booms

How I’ve Learned to Improve Media Team Efficiency During My 17 Years in the Industry

Maximize Your ROI with Email Marketing

Changes to Facebook Event Tracking & Its Impact on Advertisers

Best Practices for Hiring a Paid Media Manager

Understanding Google Ads Performance Max: A Balanced Approach to “Man vs. Machine”

Programmatic Media Buying:
Biddable Media That Should Not be Overlooked