Common Messenger Marketing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The mistakes businesses made rushing into Messenger bots after Facebook's April 2016 platform launch, and how to run the channel properly.
The Archive
2016
Mastering Personalization: A Marketer's Playbook
An operational playbook for personalization in 2016: what data to use, where to apply it first and how to avoid the creepy line that sinks most efforts.
Featured Snippets: What Every Business Needs to Know
A decision framework for whether to chase featured snippets in 2016: what they are, who they help and how to tell if the opportunity fits your site.
Voice of Customer Trends Shaping 2016
The specific developments pushing voice of customer programs forward in 2016, from social listening tools to real-time feedback loops.
Instagram Stories Trends Shaping 2016
How Instagram Stories, launched August 2, 2016 as a direct answer to Snapchat, changed what brands posted in the second half of the year.
Case Study: Winning With Programmatic Advertising
An illustrative look at how a regional retailer used header bidding and private marketplace deals in 2016 to raise both yield and ad quality.
A Practical Guide to Virtual Reality Marketing
How VR marketing worked in 2016, from 360-degree video to headset demos, and what it realistically cost to try.
Marketing Automation Trends Shaping 2016
The developments that mattered in marketing automation in 2016: ABM going mainstream, predictive scoring tools maturing and Marketo going private.
Influencer Marketing's ROI Case as Ad Prices Rose in 2016
The 2016 cost-efficiency case for influencer marketing, as rising Facebook and Instagram ad prices pushed budgets toward creator partnerships instead.
Common Live Video Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The live video mistakes tripping up brands in 2016, now that Facebook Live has opened to every page, from dead air to skipping the promotion before going live.
Case Study: Winning With Marketing Chatbots
An illustrative look at how a small service business could use the Messenger bot platform Facebook opened in April 2016 to handle bookings without new hires.
10 Customer Retention Strategies That Work
Ten concrete customer retention tactics that were producing real results for businesses in 2016, beyond generic loyalty-program advice.
How Mobile UX Changed Digital Marketing in 2016
A year-in-review look at how mobile user experience reshaped marketing priorities in 2016, from Google's mobile-first indexing plans to AMP.
A Practical Guide to Micro-Moments
How Google's micro-moments framework works, and what it meant for marketers building for 'I-want-to-know' and 'I-want-to-buy' searches in 2016.
Case Study: Winning With Messenger Marketing
An illustrative look at how a small business used Facebook's newly opened Messenger platform in 2016 to handle support and drive repeat orders.
A Practical Guide to Personalization
How personalization engines decide what to show each visitor, from rule-based segments to collaborative filtering, and the data pipeline underneath both.
A Practical Guide to Featured Snippets
A featured snippet puts your answer above every other result, including the one ranked first. Here is how the formats work and why the skill matters.
Mastering Voice of Customer: A Marketer's Playbook
An operational playbook for running a voice of customer program in 2016: what to collect, how to organize it and how to act on it.
Mastering Instagram Stories: A Marketer's Playbook
An operational playbook for running Instagram Stories, the disappearing photo and video format Instagram built as its answer to Snapchat, day to day.
Programmatic Advertising Trends Shaping 2016
The developments that defined programmatic advertising in 2016, from header bidding's rapid adoption to mobile overtaking desktop volume.
How Virtual Reality Marketing Changed Marketing in 2016
A year-in-review look at what the consumer VR launches of 2016 did to marketing budgets, agencies and brand campaigns.
Layering ABM Onto Marketing Automation in 2016
A playbook for layering account-based marketing onto automation in 2016, when platforms added account scoring and engagement tracking on top of lead automation.
Influencer Marketing: What Every Business Needs to Know
A 2016 decision framework for business owners weighing influencer marketing, covering budget realities, audience fit, measurement and disclosure obligations.
Case Study: Winning With Live Video
An illustrative case study in early 2016 live video, when Periscope and Facebook Live's early rollout rewarded unscripted content over polished production.
Marketing Chatbots Trends Shaping 2016
Facebook's April 2016 Messenger bot launch, Microsoft's Tay controversy and a wave of competing bot platforms defined chatbots as this year's marketing story.