Think With Google helps you stay on trend, LinkedIn loves livestreams, and TikTok is coming for Snapchat with new AR capabilities.
Your weekly digital marketing matchbox to kindle creative content.
May 14, 2020
Whatcha Searchin’ For?
As marketers, we’re always trying to understand consumers just a lil’ bit better — especially during a time of sweeping change. That’s why Think With Google announced a new tool that gives brands an in-depth look at the fastest-growing product-related categories in Google Search, locations where those searches are popular, and the queries associated with each. Did we mention the metrics are updated daily? This way, marketers can glean meaningful insights into how an audience’s interests are changing in real time, which can be used to influence content marketing topics, promotional strategies, and even new products or services. Add a quick browse of this tool to your daily listening and you'll stay on top — or even better — in front of the latest search trends.
Live, Laugh, Livestream
We can probably all agree that we can’t wait to never hear the term “virtual happy hour” ever again! But until that time, we’re making the best of what we have when it comes to online events. And thanks to an update from LinkedIn, brands can now handily and efficiently host digital get-togethers (think: seminars, conferences, Q&As, etc.). The new integration of LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Events lets you create a dedicated page for your livestreamed event, broadcast to only the event attendees (if you choose), and host all related conversations on that specific page. As virtual events are the new norm, this streamlined process makes it smoother than ever before for brands to comfortably go live and reach a new level of viewers. But, you know, just keep the virtual happy hours on Zoom where they belong.
(AR)e You Taking a Video?
In the land of social media, Snapchat has long reigned supreme over the augmented reality (AR) realm. But much like Instagram once stole Stories from Snap, TikTok is on its way to take over AR. The short-form video platform is working on a new ad capability that will let brands create clickable, branded AR effects, which users can then incorporate into their videos. TikTok’s new ad feature is expected to launch in Q3, and will no doubt create competition with Snapchat’s Sponsored Lenses. It’s a fun way to let users engage with your brand in a creative and interactive setting, all without feeling overly promotional. And the speedy rollout shows just how hard TikTok is working to become the ultimate platform for social media marketing.
WHAT LIT US UP THIS WEEK
Hold Me Closer, Tiny Doctor
Like Dwight Schrute, we love a good bobblehead … almost as much as we love when brands get creative with throwback marketing techniques. Take the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. While social distancing measures caused the institution to close its doors, the owners still found inspiration from the current era. To stay connected with their audience, they created a bobblehead of someone we have all come to know well over the past few months: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert. For each purchase, 20% of the proceeds are donated to the Protect the Heroes charity, and the response has been overwhelming — more than 34,000 people have placed an order for their very own tiny doctor.
It’s easy to get lost in the endless tech-driven ways you can market to someone nowadays. But while we all try to figure out how to best engage with audiences, it’s essential to not to forget about old school marketing plays, like creating branded toys or collectors’ items. Combining something current and relevant (like Dr. Fauci) with a not-so-digital marketing technique (like bobbleheads) can make for an amazingly effective campaign by appealing to consumers’ sentimental side. While marketers should always aim to strike a balance between innovation and fundamentals, it’s especially important now as the pandemic is causing a lot of people to feel nostalgic and seek out childhood favorites and classic comforts. Now, where can we get a Joe Exotic bobblehead?
