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Spotify Advertising Culture Next 2022 Report

JULY 4, 2022

18- to 24-year-olds have already played more than 578 billion minutes of music on Spotify. Gen Z has consistently been the largest age group consuming audio content, and Spotify advertising has noticed. The company put out a new year of data on the influence that the generation has on sounds, music, culture, and audio advertising.

Here are some of our favorite takeaways from the report:

Gen Z listeners search for more content after finding something they like. 47% of Gen Z listeners have joined a digital community after following an artist, which is an interesting observation for marketers looking at additional channels.
Podcasts are far from on their way out. Gen Z listenership in the U.S. has increased by 62% on Spotify.
Everyone is in their feels. The report has a whole bunch of stats about Zs using audio content for comfort, energy, nostalgia, and even understanding themselves. 79% of Gen Z listeners believe their listening history tells a story about them.
Keep it authentic. Gen Z, above other generations, sniff out phony brand values and don’t appreciate misplaced ads within podcasts. Branded audio content like sponsored playlists or ads need to be genuine when they are aligning with values. Spotify gives great advice on how to strategically plan your campaigns.

The Culture Next report is also beautiful to look at! Experience the stylish report for yourself by smashing the button below (they also have it in a handy dandy PDF format).

Wanna see how it compares to 2021? Here’s the 2021 Culture Next Report.

The Dos and Don’ts of QR Code Marketing 

JUNE 29, 2022

What rock are you living under if you don’t know about QR codes? These scannable links have reached their peak ressurgance after how essential they were during touchless, distanced Covid times. Businesses have fully opted for this route for a lot of reasons. The top being they are trackable and editable, as opposed to traditional printed collateral.

And yet…they are also the worst! People slap them on everything and anything.

So despite QR codes being slightly old news, they are still here, and marketers should know how to use them properly.

QR Code Tips and Tricks:

QR codes on TV need to be large and in charge. Most people sit 10 feet away from the screen, so if you must use a QR code, give people enough time to scan it.
The shorter the URL, the better. QR codes mainly use three black squares that contain data. The shorter the URL, the less data to compress, making it easier to scan.
Don’t add a QR for just anything. Advertisers can put QR codes on boxes, products, screens, even the sky. Ideally, you should keep QR codes away from moving objects or moving scannable targets.
Make QR codes worth scanning. QR codes are not a great avenue for advertising. Rather, they should add value to a user experience (virtual try ons, personalized experiences, information, and so on).

Check out the full post by The Trade Desk for stats and examples of QR codes being used by big brands in the wild.

Bonus QR code Fun Facts:

They are old enough to drink –– QR codes are 27 years old.
QR stands for “quick response” code.
China is the top user of QR codes.

Using Memes for Marketing

JUNE 27, 2022

Memes are funny, entertaining, easy to consume, and usually relatable. That’s a perfect storm for content. They are great for making light jokes or getting a point across.

Memes have evolved heavily over the years from static images to speaking with GIFs or TikTok video memes. So how exactly can brands capture this format for themselves? Let’s dive in.

Tips for Meme Marketing

Know Your Audience: Make memes that’ll appeal to your followers, as well as the ones you want to gain. While not all brands should post memes, if you’re targeting millennials or Gen Z, it’s a solid format to include in your content plans.
Add Originality to Popular Memes: Yes, memes can be funny. But don’t forget that meme marketing is for brand awareness. Use recognizable memes in a way that puts your brand in the forefront.
Keep Up with What’s Trending: A huge part of meme culture is current events. You have to be timely, especially on Twitter, if you want to be a leader in the meme game.

World class memes aren’t going to happen overnight. You have to do your research and play around. Don’t be afraid to get weird with it every now and again (we’re looking at you, Denny’s). But be sure to use them sparingly with your other content.

Check out this full blog post by Shane Baker for more meme tips and examples from brands.

Related: The Spongebob Meme Phenomenon

Where Are CMOs Spending Money in 2022?

JUNE 26, 2022

No one ever knows for certain how far your money will go. As CMOs and executives plan their marketing budgets, Forbes noticed a trend in five areas of focus.

Here’s where marketers are putting their money so far in 2022:

Customer Data Privacy: The marketing landscape as a whole has grown privacy as a focal point. More than 1 in 3 CMOs will enhance cybersecurity for customer data as well.
Data Driven Marketing: We’re still fans of the notion that “content is king,” but data is quite the convincing runner up. So as marketing strategies move data to the forefront, there is a need to invest in big data and analytics (if that hasn’t happened already). We’re not just talking streamlined dashboards, we’re talking advanced data sourcing and research.
Building a More Diverse Marketing Team: The Great Resignation is still alive and well meaning companies are dealing with major gaps in their talent and likely still understaffed. CMOs will have to work to fill those gaps by building a more diverse marketing team and hiring more agency partners that prioritize diversity.
Elevating Diverse Voices: Brands have recognized that they cannot treat diversity as a trend to celebrate outwardly. They have to make meaningful steps and put money where their mouths are for authentic support in communities and elevation of diverse voices in campaigns.
Expanding the Team’s Skills: Part of employee retention during these times includes developing your team’s skill-set. Investing in programs, certifications, and even soft-skills is essential for your team’s success and happiness.

Overall, there are huge trends in data and diversity for where CMOs are investing their budgets. Check out the full Forbes article for all the stats and examples.

5 UX Web Design Mistakes to Avoid

JUNE 22, 2022

“Bad” design is a pretty subjective opinion. BUT if something is giving users a less than desirable experience, we are happy to be the ones to call it bad. Here are 5 popular UX trends that should be reconsidered:

Pop-Ups: Either use very sparingly or not at all. Pop-ups are great for urgent CTAs, but can also give users a negative experience of being interruptive. Try to integrate CTAs more into pages or with sliding bars instead.
Auto-Play Videos: Have you ever been minding your own business browsing a site then suddenly you have audio playing from your tab and you can’t understand where it came from? No one likes auto-play with sound.
The Flash Intro: Much like an auto-play video, flash intros are not worth it and will likely make a user bounce.
Stock Photos: It’s got to be real! Users can sniff out overused stock. While it’s fine to use them here and there, you are better off investing in your brand’s own, authentic photography.
Bad Parallax Scrolling: We’re not saying kill parallax…but use it sparingly. It slows down your site, isn’t mobile-friendly, and can make your users a little dizzy if it’s too drastic.

We’re not all bad news bears here. Here are 3 simple UX trends to check out:

Bold Color and More White Space: C’mon it’s the internet. Play with some more vivid color schemes to catch a user’s eye. Counter it with plenty of white space to breathe instead of overstuffing pages with content.
Illustrations: If you can, get custom illustrations for your brand to bring your site unique life. It creates a more memorable user experience, too.
Accessibility: This isn’t a trend, just a reminder that accessibility is a must. Not only is it more inclusive, but it also improves UX for everyone with better visibility, reading, and navigation.

Check out Lounge Lizard’s full post for more design details!

5 Ways to Ask Customers for Reviews and Testimonials

JUNE 21, 2022

We all know how powerful reviews, word of mouth, and reputation are to a business. You can scream and shout about your brand all day, but hearing about it from others hits different.

Here are 5 ways to ask your existing customers for reviews so you can gain the trust of new ones:

Send an Email: It’s the number one way to ask for them. Typically it’s a follow-up after the service has been completed.
Ask Via Social Media: Brands often forget to put it all out there on social media. If you’re confident that posting on social media for reviews would get you positive feedback, go for it!
Use your website: Brands will happily post past testimonials on their site, but will forget to ask for new ones. Include a CTA to leave reviews on your services, testiomnials, and contact pages.
Ask on Your Thank You Pages: While most review solicitations are post-purchase, you should still ask for reviews on the customer experience. Put review call outs on thank you pages while it’s fresh in their minds.
Ask in Person: If you have a great relationship going with your client, ask them directly in your next meet up.

Okay, so you got the methods…where do the reviews go? Here are some of the best places to ask customers to leave their reviews:

Your own website
Third-party review websites
Your Google My Business listing
Industry platforms and business directories
Social media

These are all methods that have been around for ages. But which ones have you forgotten about? Check out the full post by Website Builder Expert for more ideas and examples.

16 of the Top TikTok Tools

JUNE 20, 2022

Tighten up your tool belts, becuase we got some more tools for you. Hootsuite curated a list full of TikTok resources to help with:

Scheduling
Analytics
Editing
Ads
+ More

Here are our top 3 from the list:

TikTok’s Video Scheduler: Yes, TikTok has expanded its partnerships for scheduling and publishing TikToks, but many people sleep on TikTok’s desktop version. It is still limited on editing once you’ve scheduled it, but at least you can set and forget final videos.
Quik: We share A LOT of video editing tools because they are everywhere. Quik is a great one made by GoPro. It has some unique features for matching content to beats. This comes in handy when testing out trending music and audio.
CopySmith: CopySmith is copywriting AI that generates copy and content for you. Simply tell the bot what your goal is and it will provide you with caption options to use or get you inspired.

You have to check out the full post for all 16 of the helpful TikTok Tools.

The Anatomy of a Web Page: Elements to Know

JUNE 19, 2022

When it comes to digital projects, you have to know your way around the lingo. That way you can make sure you are giving design feedback effectively, you know what to include on a page, and you’ll sound smart 🤓.

Today we are breaking down some funky web page terms that marketers, designers, developers, and everyone in between might not be aware of:

Slider: Sliders are interactive elements that can have automatic or manual slideshows, galleries, or carousels of content or products.
Cards: Cards, or tiles, are elements that help arrange data or content in a scannable and easy-to-read way. They’re different from sliders because you want equal parts of information to have focus, not a scrollable variety.
Megamenu: This isn’t your momma’s menu. It’s an expandable menu with a big list of multiple choices presented in a two-dimensional dropdown layout.
Progress indicator: This is a small but helpful element that helps the visitor to understand the current point in the general volume of a page.
Search: You have to know this one. But what you don’t know is most sites don’t need a search bar unless they have 50+ pages. If you only have a couple dozen pages and think you need a search option, you may just need to organize your content wisely.

The Tubik blog has the whole rest of the list waiting for you! The full post is loaded with design examples of each element.

6 Ways to Stop Bot Traffic on Your Website

JUNE 14, 2022

Nobody likes bots. They mess with your performance metrics and in some cases can be harmful. So how do you stop them?

Here are some ways to keep your site protected:

CAPTCHA Method: There are a lot of CAPTCHA options out there as a good first wall against bot users continuing on your site or forms. However, because bots are always finding ways around them, it is not advised to used CAPTCHAs alone.
Using Hidden Fields: Use a hidden/dummy field as a trap to bots automatically filling out every field. A real user wouldn’t be able to see it with a little CSS hiding. Be wary of using this on high-ranking pages because search engines do not appreciate hidden fields.
Log Files: Log files can help you in identifying and partially stopping the bots. You can block certain IP addresses (be careful when excluding public addresses) to filter out this bot activity.
Honeypots: Honeypots are incentives used as a trap to reveal new bots. These should be managed very carefully because search engine bots (a.k.a. the good kind of bots) may think you have dead, fake links on your page.
In-house Bot Prevention: In-house bot prevention is great for consistent monitoring and blocking. Just be aware that the accuracy and consistency vary drastically as it is still a manual, error-prone process.
Automated Bot Prevention Solutions: Anti-bot solutions create algorithms to detect the pattern of the malicious bots and differentiate them from humans. Almost like fighting bots with smarter bots.

Radware helps businesses keep bot traffic at bay and specializes in cloud protection. So they know their stuff! Check out their full post to learn more about bot traffic prevention.