🤩 Captivating content.

More companies are becoming ad networks, how to organize multiple products for your online store, and more. May 19, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning. Passive income or active income? At least two members of The Crew are drawn to the idea of getting paid for doing what they love. Another member argues you should aim for a mix of both. Which do you prefer? SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook and YouTube want to help you identify captivating content [article-image] Finding out what stops the scroll is invaluable info to any marketer. And two platforms are lifting the hood on what makes for attention-grabbing content: - Facebook just released their [Widely Viewed Content]( Report, claiming users love engaging with videos related to entertainment or humor. What’s notable is that the top two most-viewed videos had thumbnails with visible text included. - YouTube went further and [released a feature]( that will allow you to see which part of your video users replayed the most, revealing exactly what your audience found most engaging. Why we care: Facebook’s report can help you understand what content drives overall engagement on their platform. And YouTube’s feature can help you identify what’s grabbing viewers, edit long-form content into highly engaging videos, and more. Feel closer to your target audience yet? ADVERTISING Micro advertising networks are on the rise [article-image] Seems like everyone wants to be an ad company these days. Marriott [announced they’re partnering with Yahoo]( to create Marriott Media Network, a “cross-platform” advertising solution for brand advertisers. Booking more than rooms: This means Marriott will start showing ads to members who are enjoying their assets, whether it’s staying in hotel rooms or using the Marriott Bonvoy app. … And it’s not just the hospitality chain. [Best Buy](, [Lowe’s](, and other companies across various industries are creating their own micro advertising networks. What’s driving the trend: While the ad market [continues rising](, it seems mainstream advertising platforms aren’t [bringing the results they used to](, thanks to ongoing privacy issues. So marketers are looking for niche channels… and companies are obliging. Why we care: Advertising on a smaller but more specific network could prove lucrative for many brands. It wouldn’t surprise us to see bakeries and pharmacies providing a platform for advertisers next. SPONSORED BY AIR Marketing teams are saving 520 hours of work by ditching Google Drive and Dropbox [article-image]( Most file storage services aren’t designed to manage marketing assets. Do you find it easy to leave comments on a video stored in your folder? Can you find your images immediately? Can you move and assign a visual file seamlessly? Probably not… Which is why teams at Candid, Glamsquad, Google, NBA, and The Dodo are migrating to Air. [Air saves them 520 hours of work every year… Or close to 10 hours per week.]( Here’s how your teams will save time and daily frustration with Air: - Launch new campaigns faster thanks to precise commenting and feedback tools. - Locate images and videos instantly with Air’s powerful visual search. - Remove speed bumps by centralizing your archive and the creative process. - Share visual assets easily and securely. Share links to single assets or entire boards, internally or externally. Set passwords or expiration dates for peace of mind. [Try Air for free and start launching campaigns faster.]( E-COMMERCE Selling multiple products? Here’s how to organize your store [article-image] The more options you give customers, the harder it can be for them to make a decision or a purchase. So it’s important to make good design choices when you offer many items. One of the best design choices you can make? Following [these product variant design guidelines]( put together by the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g). Let’s just cover the basics… NN/g points out that there’s a significant difference between “product variations” and “different products”: - When you have one product—like a T-shirt, for example—that comes in different colors, materials, sizes, patterns, etc., that’s a product variation. - When you have similar products—like long-sleeve T-shirts and short-sleeve T-shirts—which have different descriptions or features, then you have different products. So how should you organize the different products and variations? Here’s what NN/g recommends: - Give different products different listings. - Display product variations in the same product listing. Here’s why organizing your store this way is so important: When you group different products in the same listing, users may not be aware that the item they selected has different features than the other ones. That’s especially true with more complex products. Plus, most shoppers have already done some research and decided on which product to buy. So when you send them to a page showing similar but different products, you’re actually pushing them backwards in the funnel and adding friction to the buying process. There are other guidelines to keep in mind when designing your store. [You’ll find them all in the original article.]( SPONSORED BY SEMRUSH Grow your business better with this content marketing tool [article-image]( Do you ever feel like the time and resources you invest in content marketing don’t move the needle for your business? Forbes, IBM, Walmart and other market leaders [use this all-in-one Semrush tool]( to plan and produce content that creates real outcomes: visibility, reach, and…Conversions! [Try the Semrush Content Marketing Platform for free.]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS Our favorite underrated e-commerce channels [article-image] The advertising landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years—and many of the smartest e-commerce marketers are looking for channels to boost performance. We did 100+ hours of research in April on e-commerce growth channels. Here are our favorite, fast-growing channels that are currently flying under the radar: - TV and streaming ads: They sound old-school, but TV and streaming ads have huge distribution. And they convert! [Jake Langley wrote a great thread]( about a brand generating more than $100M in sales by advertising exclusively on Fox News. As more TV ad platforms spring up, find your fit, and experiment away. - Podcast ads: [Almost 40% of Americans listen]( to at least one podcast each month… and that number is climbing fast. Companies like Spotify [have added features]( to make podcasts more attributable. This is a channel we expect to grow in the coming years. - Smaller Amazon competitors: Amazon has plenty of vertical competitors with ad platforms of their own. While they don’t have the same audience size, they can still perform well—if you know where to look. A few of our favorites are Lowe’s, DoorDash, Yelp, Best Buy, and Walmart. There’s one more underrated channel we didn’t include here, plus effective ad formats few marketers talk about, in our full e-commerce channels Deep Dive. [You can check out the preview for free here.]( ROUNDING UP THE STACK [INSIGHTS:]( Fast-growing channels that few marketers are talking about. How to leverage TikTok without dancing. What’s working for profitable brands like Athletic Greens. You get actionable research like this when you join Insights. [Take your marketing to the next level here.](* [YOUTUBE:]( Let’s be real… Customers get tired of seeing the same ads. YouTube’s new ad frequency capping solution will let advertisers control how many times viewers see their ads during the week. Could make ad spend more efficient, too. [BUSINESS:]( That’s odd. Walmart found that customers spent more money, but the number of transactions stayed the same. Sounds like inflation… [TIKTOK:]( Running influencer campaigns? TikTok’s new Branded Mission feature helps brands and talented creators collaborate to make ad content. Partner up! [GOOGLE:]( New Google Ads Scripts updates just dropped. Now you can set your bidding strategies with scripts and process more entities, like campaigns and ad groups, in the same amount of time. Yay! [YOUTUBE:]( Turns out long-form videos are popular with young viewers in the UK. According to one report, Gen Z users are three times more likely to use YouTube than TikTok. Good to know. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER What tastes better than it smells? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Living space or user interface? [article-image] UI designers can design some groundbreaking stuff. But have you ever seen one remodel an entire house? [That’s what one designer and his wife did.]( They recorded their fascinating UI process for everyone to see, and the result is stunning. Makes us wonder how this newsletter would look if it were a building… SHARING IS CARING How about a mug to go with your morning read? Tea, coffee, Red Bull… doesn’t matter what your preferred beverage is. When you share our newsletter with other smart marketers—and they subscribe—you can earn points towards free merch: - The Marketer Mug (15 referrals) - The Marketer Zip Hoodie (30 referrals) … And you look great doing both. 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