Facebook retail and micro/macro influencers – Sales Lead Digest

This week we’re looking at everything going online. It’s probably a function of the sheltering in place, but it’s never been clearer to me how big the online world can be. So much clutter! How can we make things easier for everyone? Facebook thinks it can make retailers even easier to do business with. The NY Times thinks it can be easier for advertisers to work with if they dump some ad networks. Platforms like Patreon think it can be easier if you just focus on supporting a small, passionate audience. And a Barstool Sports controversy reminds us we’re not great at predicting what will build big audiences, but once they are built, success has a thousand fathers.  Enjoy!

Introducing Facebook Shops: Helping Small Businesses Sell Online

“People have been using live video on our apps to showcase products for years, from shoe stores announcing new sneakers to beauty influencers trying on different lipsticks. Now, we’re making it easier to shop for products in real time.”

We are seeing this on the list side of our business. The browser cookie based networks are under attack from the browser privacy people, so where is an advertiser to go? The more challenging it is, the more work for marketers as I see it! Let’s get back to putting the customer experience front and center, versus sneaking around and sucking up their data. I know, I know, easier said than done.

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Exclusive: New York Times phasing out all 3rd-party advertising data

“The big picture: Many online publishers still use third-party data, which is collected from consumers on other websites using tracking tools, to target consumers with ads.
But changes to major web browsers to crack down on third-party data collection and new internet privacy rules are making that practice less viable.
Yes, but: Not all publishers have the scale, or user trust, to build out their own first-party data sets.”

We are seeing this on the list side of our business. The browser cookie based networks are under attack from the browser privacy people, so where is an advertiser to go? The more challenging it is, the more work for marketers as I see it! Let’s get back to putting the customer experience front and center, versus sneaking around and sucking up their data. I know, I know, easier said than done.

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Microsoft Won’t Sell Facial Recognition To American Cops After Protests

“During a Washington Post event on Thursday, Microsoft president Brad Smith announced it would be joining its rivals in putting a moratorium on sales of facial recognition to law enforcement.
‘We will not sell facial recognition technology to police departments in the United States until we have a national law in place, grounded in human rights, that will govern this technology,’ Smith said. ‘The bottom line for us is to protect the human rights of people as this technology is deployed.’

Just because a customer wants to buy something you sell, should you sell it to them? It’s not a question our organization has to deal with on a moral level like these facial recognition companies, but it’s good to think about. Not all customers are going to be right for our companies and cultures but we don’t make the time to think about it. If you’re a regular reader you’ve seen me bring up taking time out to sit and think. This is one of the topics we can think about.

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How the ‘Call Her Daddy’ Feud Boiled Over

Media companies have long acted as talent incubators, providing content producers name-brand recognition and access to a larger audience. But, as that talent builds a following on social media, the balance of power shifts. Often, talent no longer needs the media company to operate as a middleman, and many realize they could monetize their own platforms more effectively by themselves.”

I know, I know. It’s a lot of NYTimes articles this week, but these were all so good! Like I mentioned with the tiny audience businesses, media has always been the launching pad. Once you get to a certain size, you can go direct. Like the NY Times wandering from 3rd party cookie based ad networks to sell its inventory. Once you are the popular kid, you get to talk to the people directly. What does this mean for the rest of us? Well, that, my dear reader, is for you to ponder this weekend! In the meantime, I’m going to find a B lister who has my target audience on board and bring them on board before they get too popular.