In our office, we don’t play music. We each have a set of headphones that work just fine for jamming out to our favorite tunes . . . which means when I joined the team, I had no idea what kind of music everyone was into.

Over time, it’s been fun to discover that Jenny isn’t afraid to join the crowd at a Diplo show, Jaden digs bands like Sylvan Esso, and Allen is a Laura Marling fan (like me).

I have to admit, though, a lingering musical love of mine is electronic or dubstep. It helps me focus, and I love a good bass drop.

This month, several companies had their own sort of “bass drop,” with new tech ventures and personalization features popping up almost everywhere. So, sit back and enjoy some quality digital marketing drops in the July 2018 edition of our monthly roundup.

1. The Service Formerly Known as Google AdWords

Search, video, and display ads — all in one place? Yes, please! And thank you, Google!

This month, Google rolled out a new update on its Ads brand, which includes a new URL (formerly support.google.com/adwords, now support.google.com/google-ads).

Google promises that these changes aren’t going to impact the performance or management of your campaigns. It’s really just an updated brand (did I mention the new logo yet? It’s cool) and more streamlined services.

Get the Google experience under one name »

2. Hold Up There, Chicken Little

Facebook’s recent announcements about Partner Categories may have been stress-inducing, but really, there is no need to panic! Even with all the changes, marketers aren’t going to be left in the dust. 

In fact, we’re so confident that auto dealers can still rely on Facebook to move metal that we outlined all of the changes to Facebook’s Partner Categories targeting (and how you can still use it).

Keep calm and read on »

3. Who’s Reading Your Emails Where

Image credit: litmus.com

From 2017 to 2018, email clients haven’t shifted very much. Litmus conducted a massive survey in 2017 to rank the top 10 email clients, and in the first six months of 2018, virtually nothing has changed for the top five.

So why does that matter? Well, certain email clients have different functionalities. Now that you know Apple iPhone is #1 and Gmail is #2, you can adjust your email tactics accordingly.

Whose inbox is in the lead? »

4. The Future Is Now

Hyundai made a huge step forward toward embracing shopping trends by partnering with Amazon. That’s right — Amazon!

Now, you can hop over to Hyundai’s digital showroom, hosted by Amazon, to learn about various Hyundai models, read reviews, even schedule a test drive!

Does that mean auto shopping is going to make a migration to being only online? Maybe. We’ll let you know!

Hyundai and Amazon team up »

5. “Search Before You Go” Is an Everyday Thing

Google makes yet another appearance in this roundup! This time, it’s to talk about the data it gathered around why people do so much dang Googling before they ever leave the house.

From travel to their next pair of shoes, the masses are all about putting in some massive research time on the front end to limit surprises and maximize enjoyment. 

Shoutout to Google for reinforcing the importance of the marketing funnel!

The buyer’s journey is jagged and research-heavy. So. Help your customers find you by adding value on the front end!

Why all the Googling? »

6. The Beautiful and Mysterious Em Dash

This article is a personal favorite because I am a huge fan of the em dash . . . but I didn’t always know the right place and time to use it. Don’t worry, I wasn’t putting it everywhere — just in most places. ?

Be a champion of grammar and punctuation, too! Just use the em dash (correctly)!

Get dash-y »

7. Transfer Data, Stay Portable

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter. Oh, my!

All of these powerhouses are joining forces to give the public a more streamlined data movement interface under the name Data Transfer Project. 

A white paper on the project’s GitHub describes the venture like this:

“The future of portability will need to be more inclusive, flexible, and open. Our hope for this project is that it will enable a connection between any two public-facing product interfaces for importing and exporting data directly.”

Get movin’ »

8. Do You Need a Copy of Your Business Facebook Page?

Need to download a copy of your business Facebook page? Never fear, Facebook makes it easy!

The download of your company’s Facebook page will include:

• Posts, photos, and videos
• A list of page roles
• Your page’s current settings, summarized
• The “About” section of your page

As long as you’re a page admin, you can have all that download in four easy steps.

Get the directions »

9. Delivering Expectations = Growth

If you’re in the people-pleasing game (AKA marketing), it pays to stay one step ahead of your customers’ wants and needs. Literally!

If you can deliver the best assistance, you’re more likely to get the dollars that your audience is going to spend anyway.

Google advises that marketers stop chasing and start predicting. That way, you can be on the front end when someone Googles something starting with “what’s the best . . .”

Start predicting »

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