Marketing Automation Wins and Lessons From Voice Search

Here’s our latest roundup of digital marketing tips.

Digital marketing: Marketing automation will hit $7.63 billion by 2025

A new report by Research and Markets shows that marketing automation is continuing to grow, likely reaching $7.63 billion worldwide by 2025. Email marketing automation is still growing, but not as much as it did in 2015, though it’s still worth watching.

Client takeaway: Marketing automation software is set to experience the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the area of analytics, at 13.3 percent from 2015 to 2016.

Suggested implementation: Exploring marketing automation, whether it’s in email marketing or beyond, is a safe bet when planning for the future.

SEO: Lessons from 1,000 voice searches (on Google Home)

Dr. Pete Meyers sacrificed his mental health to discover valuable data for us on voice search. Kidding, but he did do 1,000 voice searches himself. His results were usually drawn from Google’s featured snippets, and the adventure is worth reading.

Client takeaway: Seventy-one percent of the total searches Meyers did yielded voice results, and 90 percent of the text-only featured snippets also came back with answers.

Suggested implementation: Predicting where voice searches will be in the future is difficult, but tentative early investment is likely a pretty good idea.

Social media: Facebook just lost a big battle to Google for publishers

Google, Apple, and Facebook are vying for dominance when it comes to delivering news and articles to readers in a hurry. Facebook recently added additional functionality to allow content transfer from its Instant Articles to Google AMP in an attempt to ease frustration with its platform.

Client takeaway: Facebook is still trying to find footing with Instant Articles, and The New York Times and The Guardian are dropping the format.

Suggested implementation: The playing field for quick-loading articles is still wide open, and though this new functionality will be helpful, don’t get sold to just one platform.

Strategy: Gen Z ‘can’t live without YouTube’ and other stats that will make you feel old

For those of you who are just recovering from defining what millennials are, we now have Gen Z, which is folks born between 1996 and 2010. Defy Media consulted 1,500 members of this generation about their social media habits and internet use and built a great infographic.

Client takeaway: Gen Zers are all about YouTube, with 95 percent using the video platform. Next, there’s Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, at 69, 67, and 67 percent respectively.

Suggested implementation: It’s always important to consider where the people with spending power are going to be putting their eyeballs, and the 13- to 20-year-olds are going to be money-makers soon.

Video: 10 of the best ads from May: hot dogs, rhinos, and an accidental viral hit

In case you missed it, Sweden listed itself on Airbnb. That’s one of HubSpot’s top 10 ads from May, featuring everything from bad hair days to rhino conservation. All the ads are worth watching, both for entertainment and inspiration.

Client takeaway: Airbnb won the month of May with its ad, but there’s lots of great stuff here to watch.
Suggested implementation: Like all ads, it’s important to take them with a grain of salt. But each of these is a reminder to think outside the box and try out unconventional ideas (like turning the morning commute into a thief). Click edit button to change this text.