Digital or online marketing is no different than traditional marketing in that you need to find the best way to connect with your target market. Fortunately, the digital marketing world is ever evolving, with new tools and technologies emerging every day that help small businesses better understand and connect with their individual customer base. Here’s a roundup of some of the latest news on targeting new audiences.
If You Want to Really Reach Gen Z, Snapchat Is the Way
SocialTimes
For the youngest consumers, Facebook was “so yesterday.” Thus, it’s not surprising that in 2016 Snapchat is on the verge of going mainstream as a viable and effective marketing platform. Snapchat is now offering paid placement options, and many brands and businesses have found success reaching their audiences in this forum. Snapchat has a huge user base, with over 63% of its more than 100,000 daily active users between the ages of 13 to 34. So if you’re looking to target Millennials and Gen Z, Snapchat is definitely a digital marketing platform you want onboard.
Location-Based Marketing Is Fast Becoming Essential to Remain Competitive, Says New Study
Forbes
According to a new report by Forbes Insights and xAd, location-based mobile advertising is quickly becoming a competitive differentiator for small businesses. By 2018, global smartphone users will reach the 2.5 billion mark, yet over 90% of retail transactions still occur on-site, at the brick-and-mortar store itself. Thus, it’s not surprising that mobile is quickly surpassing desktop computers as the most essential tool for making a purchasing decision. Across most target consumer groups, location-based marketing is helping small businesses to capture purchase intent offline and convert that into direct sales, while enabling them to identify and deliver on consumers’ real-time intention and needs, resulting in a more seamless transaction experience.
Google Is Building YouTube Connect, a Livestreaming App to Take on Periscope
VentureBeat
Is your target audience composed of a younger crowd, one that especially appreciates video? It’s been reported that Google is building a new livestreaming app called YouTube Connect, which is intended to compete directly against Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live. By teaming up with YouTube, Google positions itself stringing in the livestreaming space, and YouTube will get to expand its livestreaming capabilities, opening them up for a much wider audience. Google plans to make its app compatible with both iOS and Android devices, and will offer a newsfeed as well as chat and tagging features.
Square Teams Up with Facebook to Offer Ads That Can Be Gauged
The New York Times
Do you connect with your audience via social media like Facebook? New technology is helping business get the maximum out of advertising dollars. Just last week, Square announced a new integration with Facebook aimed at helping small business clients attract new customers. Under the integration, small businesses that use Square to process payments can use Square’s software to buy and target Facebook advertising. Even better, the link-up can help streamline and optimize advertising strategies, as Facebook ads bought through the Square platform are directly connected to that company’s sales activity and data, which will enable business owners to better understand whether their Facebook ads are working to attract new and repeat customers.
