Amy Gesenhues says, “Amazon is beta-testing an invite-only Influencer Program that will give social media influencers an Amazon.com vanity URL to make commissions on sales of products they want to promote. Reported last week on TechCrunch, the program is similar to Amazon’s affiliate program in that the influencers — like affiliates — will earn a commission on products purchased via links attached to their Amazon URL. But, unlike the Amazon Affiliate program, which is open to anyone who wants to join, the Amazon Influencer Program is invite-only for social media influencers Amazon deems... [...]

Tim Peterson says, “Facebook’s iAd-like Canvas ads can be as labor-intensive as they are immersive. The social network unveiled the creative kitchen sink of an ad format in September 2015. Since then, brands have had to manually create each individual Canvas ad on Facebook’s desktop site — uploading the photos and videos, typing out the text and links, placing each element on each page and so on. Now, Facebook is automating that production process. On Monday, Facebook debuted a way for brands to create Canvas ads through third-party software tools that use its Marketing API. As a result,... [...]

Fritz Brumder says, “Digital marketing has become a world where data often overruns the creative process. A/B (or even A/B/C/D) testing every element in a campaign sometimes becomes the obsession, relegating the ideas to simply more variables to test. Many marketers crave creativity, big ideas and innovation. Well, jump into the live video pool, folks, because this is where the innovation is happening today. With the growth of live video, that process has been turned on its head in just the past couple of years. Brands are innovating across many elements of communications and campaigns. From... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “By one estimate, nearly 40 cents of every dollar spent in the US on online purchases is spent on Amazon. Some 65 million Prime members spend an average $1,200 a year on Amazon. This eclipse of one marketplace over the orb of e-commerce has forced brands big and small to reevaluate where to put their energies and invest their resources. Amazon’s scale, coupled with consumer trust and one-click shopping, has proven a potent combination. The sales volume can be intoxicating, outweighing margin hits from seller fees and advertiser costs paid to Amazon. Amazon’s dominance... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Last month, we reported that Google would be shutting down Google Trusted Stores, its six-year-old ratings and certification program, and replacing it with Google Customer Reviews. That time has come. Google announced the transition in a blog post Monday. About Google Customer Reviews The new, leaner program picks up the seller ratings piece of the Google Trusted Stores program only. It is available through Google Merchant Center, the hub for advertisers’ product feeds used to power shopping ads. The Google Customer Reviews program solicits and collects ratings and... [...]

Giovanni Strocchi says, “From tears of joy to smiles of sadness, the holiday season can be an emotional rollercoaster for consumers, and retailers understand that tapping into these powerful human sentiments can be an effective way to build consumer relationships, increase brand loyalty, and ultimately, drive holiday sales. While it may seem early to start thinking about the 2017 holiday shopping season, it’s never too soon to get your marketing strategy in place — and central to that strategy should be using technology to target audiences in the right emotional context with the right... [...]

Tamar Weinberg says, “For nearly a year, Facebook has been giving verified Facebook page owners — typically brands, publishers or influencers — the ability to run branded content, normally inclusive of text, photos, videos, Instant Articles, links and Live videos that feature a brand, third-party product or sponsor in some capacity. Now Facebook is opening these endorsements to even more pages. Facebook has simultaneously updated its branded content policy and enforcement guidelines, while also making more clear when a post is part of the branded content program. Branded content for... [...]

Danny Sullivan says, “Want to find Stories about particular places or topics being shared on Snapchat? The company has announced a new search feature that it says will make this possible. In a post today, Snapchat shared that the ability to keyword search for matching Stories — which are collections of Snaps over a 24-hour period — is coming to its app. The move comes about four months after Snapchat introduced a universal search bar to find other types of content within the app. The feature is going live today in selected (but unnamed) cities and seems only to search through “Our... [...]

Tamar Weinberg says, “Reddit is upping its game in the advertising space, with an announcement that they have just launched a revamped self-serve platform for its advertisers. Here are the features: A redesigned interface that is user-friendly and “easier on the eyes.” Reddit now offers post-pay billing, which saves advertisers from having to top up their accounts or request refunds if the ad doesn’t run up to the paid amount. Multiple creatives can be used per campaign, and you can also create a campaign and add creatives to it versus the other way around (which was previously required... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Google’s A/B testing and content personalization solutions, Optimize and Optimize 360, are now out of beta. Google Optimize is now free for everyone and available in 180 countries. Google introduced Optimize 360 last spring as part of the new Google Analytics 360 Suite. The free version debuted in beta last fall, and the company says over 250,000 users had requested access. Google Optimize is designed for small to mid-sized businesses. It ties in with Google Analytics, and that data is used to inform website tests. A visual editor lets users drag and page drop elements... [...]