🚫 High cardinality.

Improvements are coming to Google Ads, how to network on social media, and more. May 11, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Wednesday. How many cold DMs do you get every day on LinkedIn and Facebook? Social media is great for networking. But cold pitching with dry templates doesn’t cut it. As always, The Crew’s got you! And below you’ll find a smart strategy to connect with potential clients, partners or employers on social media. GOOGLE Big upgrades to responsive display ads incoming… [article-image] Google’s advertising team is up to something. And while they’re making us wait until Google Marketing Live on May 24 for all the details, they recently [teased some of the ad improvements]( they’ve been developing over the last few months. Here’s the sneak peak: - Responsive display ads (RDA): Google is introducing a mobile-first layout that will automatically format any asset to fit mobile screens. - Testing and machine learning: You’ll be able to test millions of possible RDA placements by uploading just a few images, videos, and headlines. Machine learning will also help you uncrop images in product ads to remove white borders. - Creative inspiration hub: There’s talk of a library of the most successful creative assets handpicked by the Google team. Time to get comfortable with the machines: Google’s recent and upcoming updates prove they view automation as integral to the future of advertising. That could free up advertisers to focus on producing quality creatives while the machines handle the testing. ADVERTISING Strong pitch but can streaming ads get the performance advertisers want? We have more updates from NewFronts for you today. Connected TV (CTV) is a big topic, with ad spend increasing 57% in 2021 and an expected 39% growth in 2022. Why is that? Because streaming platforms are improving their services. [Here are three of the newsworthy bits from NewsFronts](: - Roku announced that TV streaming devices passed legacy pay-TV in weekly reach among adults between the ages of 18 to 49. It’s also allowing retailers to pair shoppable ads with Roku Pay to remove friction from the customer journey. - Tubi launched Campaign Insights to help advertisers better match audience and context. Tubi has 51 million active users according to their 2021 stats. - FuboTV, a sports-focused service that markets itself as a cable TV replacement, also launched new custom targeting. It uses first-party to create custom audience segments that can be classified by sport and genre interest. Why we care: The last 12 months have been full of news about how loss of data from privacy-focused updates hurts performance for many advertisers. First-party data and contextual advertising could be where marketers get some of that performance back. Speaking of first-party data... SPONSORED BY CAMPAIGN MONITOR How to expand your SMS list with ready-to-buy customers [article-image]( SMS marketing is a great way to boost your average order value (AOV) and get ahead of those booming advertising costs. But is your list big enough to get your investment’s worth? It’s hard to convince audiences to tune into your text messages. [But this free guide by Campaign Monitor]( shows you four strategies that will make customers excited to give you their mobile phone number. [Inside you’ll discover:]( - The essential page that makes it easier for users to give you their number. Hint: it’s not the opt-in page! - How to leverage keyword campaigns to reel in customer phone numbers. - Four incentives that make your SMS program more attractive and put customers in full “buyer mode.” - Key legal rules to follow, including the times of day when you can’t send text messages. [Read the guide here, no opt-in required.]( ANALYTICS Why you should avoid high cardinality in Google Analytics 4—and how to do it [article-image] There are two types of marketers in the world: Those who don’t know what cardinality is… … And those who know high cardinality creates reporting issues that can skew your analytics. Let’s start with the basics. [According to Google](, cardinality is the total number of unique values for a dimension. For example, the “mobile” dimension can have two values: “yes” or “no”. That’s an example of low cardinality. And low cardinality is a good thing. Because as [Charles Farina explains in this Twitter thread](, dimensions with high cardinality can cause big problems. In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), if you have a dimension with a lot of unique values, it can cause every dimension to be aggregated. GA4 creates the rolled-up entry “other” in the report to contain the data that exceeds its system limits. [This image will give you a better idea]( of what that looks like. What a mess! So, how do you keep your analytics clean and accurate? Try reducing your unique values. Here are some fixes: - Strip out all the query parameters from your URLs - Try to avoid setting user_id in a custom dimension. - Make sure to lowercase everything. And now, you can count yourself among the marketers who know what cardinality is… And how to keep it from getting out of control. SPONSORED BY VIDICO These video ads generate millions in sales for DTC and B2B companies… and you can get them too! [article-image]( Montu raised $2M of capital in 5 hours with a single video ad created by Vidico. Bailey Nelson, a sunglasses store, got a 40% increase in branded search with a YouTube video ad. [Vidico’s videos]( have so many success stories, you’ll need more than a day to go through all of them. And they’re downright great value for the money! [Take the free VidiFit quiz]( to find out how much your desired video would cost. THE CREW'S INSIGHTS How to network on social media [article-image] Big deals used to happen over whiskey and cigars in five-star New York restaurants. Today? They happen over Twitter DMs and inside LinkedIn private messages… well, at least some of the time. Truth is, smart social media networking can connect you with great people: Clients, customers, business partners. But you don’t want to be the guy who copy-and-pastes the same DM to every account you come across. Here are a few tips for effective networking on social media: - Create familiarity before messaging. Try commenting on somebody’s posts for a few weeks before sending them a message. If they recognize your face, they may be more likely to respond. - Know the difference between straightforward and salesy. You should always provide context for why you’re sending a message. Use a tone similar to a luxury suit tailor rather than an aggressive street vendor. - Try a few different angles to learn what works for you. There are three common angles for cold messaging on social media: asking a question, suggesting a value add, or going straight for the sell—usually by asking somebody to book a call. Find what works for you. One thing to keep in mind: When you network, you’re obviously doing it in the hopes of making money in the near future. But that shouldn’t be obvious in your message. Remember, social media is about being social. So be friendly and valuable above all else. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [INSIGHTS:]( Do you know which e-commerce channels and ad formats are exploding right now… Or how to leverage them effectively for your brand? Our latest Deep Dive walks you through all this and more. [Preview it here](.* [GOOGLE:]( Heads up, food brands. Google released new guidelines for virtual and delivery-only business profiles. Wash your hands and read the list before returning to work. [PPC:]( Friendly reminder… If you’re retargeting EU users with Google Search Ads and you still haven’t updated your consent pop-ups, better do that now. Google is enforcing the updates today. [ADVERTISING:]( First skip intro, then skip ad. Netflix seems to be in a hurry to introduce an ad-supported subscription plan… and it may come by the end of this year. [GOOGLE:]( Stem cell therapy must be going mainstream. Google is relaxing their policies and now allows advertising for stem cell therapy, but only for FDA-approved products. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Cruise ships for life [article-image] Why retire on land when you can retire early and spend the rest of your life at sea? [This cruise-loving couple decided to do just that.]( Beats paying the mortgage: The two are passionate travelers and discovered they could sell their home and spend the rest of their lives—and their savings—traveling from cruise ship to cruise ship. They’re spending retirement sailing the high seas and fishing for bargain loyalty programs to maintain their lifestyle. And they don’t plan on living on land ever again. Gives us new ideas for our own retirement plans… SHARING IS CARING “Where’d you get that cool hoodie?” —your coworkers See, when you share our newsletter with other smart marketers and get them to subscribe, you unlock exclusive content and awesome free merch. Like our cozy graphic hoodies, for example. 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