Don’t tell Mark that—he’s obsessed with data. Probably more than people.

Today’s Listen really caught our eye, though. We’re usually waxing poetics about social media ads, sending out the latest tactics and tips ad nauseam. 

But that’s the kind of marketing strategy flooding the web right now. Ads, ads, ads, ads ads, adsadsadsads… 

Social Pros’ Jay Baer sat down with social media expert Mark Shaefer to talk about a necessary shift in mindset and strategy—to stop using social media as a place to recycle ads, but to use it as “a window into the humanity of your business” instead. Why? Because branding is becoming more an accumulation of human impressions, not advertising impressions like the brands of yesteryear.

In this rather passionate podcast, you’ll hear more about why human presence is the future and why Twitter is one of the best platforms for this new age of “advertising.” Did you scoff at seeing Twitter being exalted too? We know, but Mark Shaefer is changing perspectives left and right in this one. Let’s get to it.

• (04:05) Shaefer’s book The Tao of Twitter
• (06:35) The obstacles Twitter faces and why it’s more like a quirky club that’s not for everyone
• (08:00) Why Twitter getting a lot of pressure to make the platform easier, more intuitive, and more accessible (see: 280 characters)  
• (09:40) The value of Twitter as the “most human-powered platform.” i.e. Hashtags and other innovations have been created directly by its users  
• (12:00) Why Twitter works so well for Shaefer and how he uses it so effectively
• (14:30) How to engage with Twitter as a human-driven platform rather than a place to broadcast ads
• (15:15) Research shows that people who follow brands on Twitter are more loyal to brands on social media than other platforms 
• (15:45) Huge opportunity on the platform, especially as room for advertising declines on FB
• (16:20) The 3 biggest drives in digital marketing right now (you’ll notice they’re all based on human impression)
• (23:30) Why having a human presence is different from employee advocacy
• (25:55) How elevating your employees can benefit your business more than traditional ads
• (27:55) Why brands and marketers should be thinking, “If more of our employees have a profound and impactful social media or internet presence, we’re going to win.”

Got something new for you today. Okay, it’s not that new, but it is definitely going to make a big difference in your digital marketing. If you really want to beat your competitors, you’re gonna wanna drop this into your marketing budget for 2018.

Fair warning, it’s not easy to implement, but if we only told you the easy things, you’d be an average marketer. If you just want to be an average marketer, you can stop reading now. 

So what is this thing? It’s called Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). It essentially allows your website to load almost instantly and can seriously improve user-experience, which in turn improves search engine rankings and your company’s bottom line. When three anonymous media websites converted to AMP, they all saw an increase in organic traffic of 30-70%.

AMP is supported and promoted by Google, Bing, Baidu, Twitter, basically everyone. You’ve probably seen it when clicking on a link while on your phone – it’s a page that seems like it was already loaded before you clicked on it. To see it in action, Google “Thrillist” from your phone and click on one of their recent articles.

But, it’s not just for media websites. E-comm companies are getting in on the fun and seeing huge results.

Now the bad news. Like we said, it’s not easy to implement. You need to take the time to do it right.

Yes, there are WordPress plugins that you can use to implement AMP, but they might actually hurt your site performance. Stone Temple Consulting found this out the hard way. They tested a plugin and saw almost all website metrics tank.

But, when Stone Temple went back and built an AMP template themselves, they saw an increase in all of the important website metrics (bounce rate, pages/session, average session duration, etc.).

You know, like pets that listen to Radiohead and have the side of their heads shaved.

Okay fine, not quite. But we would pay top dollar to see an all-dog cover band of Radiohead, with vocals by Thom Yorkie. (Deep Radiohead pun right there.)

Sugar Mutts Rescue also has jokes (and an amazing name). In their latest campaign, they focus on the reasons people get pets other than dogs…#alternativepets, if you will.

You’ve got the guy who bought a boa constrictor because dogs are too much work, but now lives in fear of his pet. And a girl who got a hermit crab because her parents said she wasn’t responsible enough for a dog. Then there’s the woman who got a turtle without thinking about the fact that those little guys carry all sorts of diseases.

All of the ads end with the message, “Just Get the Dog,” which is something we are fully here for.

We won’t ruin the rest of them for you. They’re a good laugh, perfect for starting your Tuesday off on the right paw.