Greg Finn says, “A new study from Brand Networks paints quite the rosy picture for Instagram’s ad platform. Instagram’s ad API opened up in August of 2015 and  saw an influx of ad volume and interest in the platform. Brand Networks analyzed 1.6 billion Instagram ad impressions over the last six months for this study and uncovered some interesting facts. One of the biggest areas of growth that was discovered was the rise of video. From September to November, a five-fold spike occurred, shooting monthly video impressions served to 250 million. All in all, video made up 22.52 percent... [...]

Satish Meena says, “The retail market in India is going through a very interesting phase. Online retailers are flush with funds and spending aggressively on acquiring customers and building infrastructure, while organized retailers are trying to come out of their “wait and see” mode before online sales start hurting them in categories other than music, books, and mobile phones. The Indian online retail market is the fastest-growing market in Asia Pacific, although it is still very small compared to China and Japan. According to the recently published Forrester Research Online Retail... [...]

Mike Renahan says, “The best advertising for any company is current customers raving about their product to friends. In fact, studies have revealed that 65% of a company’s new business comes from referrals, and customers are 4x more likely to buy after a friend suggests a product. But how do companies influence their current customers to recruit prospective customers? Gaining more evangelists starts with understanding the customer lifecycle. The following infographic from Nimble walks readers through the four stages of the lifecycle and how to take strangers to prospects to customers... [...]

Matt Clough says, “The startup landscape is currently overflowing with innovation, providing lots of exciting new marketing tech for ecommerce sites to work with. With so many startups vying for attention, however, it can be overwhelming when it comes to deciding which ones deserve your time and attention and which ones are unlikely to have an impact. In my opinion, these are the nine startups that should be on your radar in 2016. Minute  With video marketing now more popular than ever before, the importance of a good thumbnail has never been greater. Choosing the right one, however, has... [...]

Isla McKetta says, “Fifteen minutes into my first ever flight with my newborn son — a flight that had been delayed for an hour and a half, during which we’d held off feeding him so he could eat on the way up to make sure his little ears wouldn’t pop from the pressure and he wouldn’t start the flight screeching — fifteen minutes in, we were still ascending and even with his little head concealed beneath a nursing scarf, I could tell he was starting to get full. I was terrified. If he started screaming I had no idea how we would survive the four hours left in the flight.... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “It was yet another beat for Facebook, as the social media behemoth reported earnings for the fourth quarter of 2015 on Wednesday. After losing nearly three percentage points by close of business, Facebook stock is trading up more than six percent in after-hours trading. Revenue topped $5.84 billion in Q4, up from $3.85 billion a year ago and ahead of the $5.37 billion analysts had anticipated for the quarter. Earnings per share (Non-GAAP) came in at $0.79, well above the $0.68 expected, and up from $0.54 a year ago. Net income surged from $701 billion a year ago to... [...]

Lauren Sirt says, “Today’s online consumers have the world at their disposal. They can choose from a variety of brands, sticking with the one that gives them the optimal benefits in terms of both product and value. In such a competitive environment, the brand that ultimately wins the sale will be the one that can offer the best deal for each individual customer. Furthermore, studies show that generating business from existing customers yields more profit than trying to acquire new ones. Therefore, it’s worthwhile for online brands to get to know their customers very well in order to... [...]

Pamela Wilson says, “At 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time today, the doors to our advanced content marketing training program, Authority, close again. We won’t reopen them until later this year. If you’ve considered getting the support, training, and feedback that’s available to you inside this program but you haven’t joined yet, you may have a few questions. In today’s post, I’m providing quick answers to the most common questions we’ve heard. And I’m happy to answer any follow-up questions you may have: just ask in the comments section at the end of the post“. Last Day to Get... [...]

DMD team says, “While video content helps engage consumers and lead them through conversion, video also impacts the perception of your brand. Understanding how your prospects and customers see your brand is a game-changer for your marketing strategy and tactics. Recently, Hiccup NY’s Umatter division completed a comprehensive survey to discover the impact of branded video content research. This white paper from Hiccup reveals the survey’s findings and identifies key characteristics that were impacted by the addition of branded video content“. Measuring Effectiveness Of Branded... [...]

SMT team says, “Plain and simple, SEO isn’t dying; it’s only changing. This means that you still need SEO, local business or not, you just have to make sure your strategy is up to par with the latest best practices. When it comes to your local business, however, this is even more crucial. Remember that the way you create a plan for local SEO is slightly different than if you were focusing on a global audience because there are different factors at play. It should be easier to get rankings and see success, but it won’t come to you without a little bit of strategy on your part. If you’re... [...]