🔊 Meeker report: Social growth slowing, mobile ad spend on the rise

Plus, how above-the-fold contact info can drive higher engagement . Jun 13, 2019 Good morning marketers, it’s that time of year again! A fan favorite in the marketing and tech space, [Mary Meeker’s annual report of internet trends]( made its 2019 debut on Tuesday – and social continues to be a key topic. Meeker addressed the current social climate, which appears to be, on average, slowing in growth across all platforms. Instagram and YouTube were the two platforms to show quarterly growth over the past year, with Instagram claiming 25% of all internet users (up from 22% the year before) and YouTube accounting for 27% of internet users (up from 22%). As a whole, social is flattening out, with daily social media usage increasing by only 1% year-over-year, according to the report. Internet ad spend, however, continues to see double-digit growth (22%), driven by mobile. The report grants a panoramic view of internet trends on a macro-level – so consider the context when applying them to your strategy. But even without granular data, the report gives a broad perspective for social marketers tasked with building innovative, long-term strategies across platforms. There’s more below, including why we shouldn’t let the potential of failure inhibit marketing experiments and more. Taylor Peterson, Deputy Editor Pro Tip Make it easy for customers to reach out “One of the top complaints most site visitors have is not being able to locate the company’s contact information easily. If you rely on local foot traffic, your name, address and phone (NAP) should be on every page,” explains Sahil Saini of AKOS Digital. “Even if you are an e-commerce seller, drop shipper or wholesaler, it is imperative you have your NAP information strategically placed in plain view – in many cases ‘above the fold’ – to eliminate the need for your buyers to scroll down or jump through virtual hoops to find it. Having a clearly labeled NAP validates your store’s legitimacy and eases the minds of shoppers who always have the option to hunt for a similar product on Amazon, Target or other online retailers if they find your website’s information too confusing.” [Read More »]( Compare 15 top marketing automation platforms Sponsored by [Digital Marketing Depot]( MarTech Today’s “B2B Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” examines the market for B2B marketing automation software platforms. This report includes profiles of 14 leading B2B marketing automation vendors, capabilities comparisons, pricing information, and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing. [Read More »]( Soapbox Don’t avoid experimentation – success theater is only a short-term win Many marketers and product managers become interested in experimentation because of the myriad of case studies online showcasing astronomic wins. While it’s great as a hook, it’s somewhat misleading, as many ideas you test will be disproven or inconclusive. Therefore, in mature companies, it’s important to avoid what I refer to as “success theater,” where we’re only encouraged to share wins and are subtly (or not so subtly) discouraged from trying anything that may fail. The purpose of experimentation is to encourage innovation and to mitigate risk, and in the process, most of your ideas are likely to fall flat of what they were intended to do. The best next step is to dust off and iterate and keep learning and trying. Success theater may feel good temporarily, but risks limiting the scope of the program. You should celebrate wins, but feel comfortable sharing failures, too. – Alex Birket, Hubspot Want your moment on the Soapbox? Email walmeida@thirddoormedia.com What we're reading We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader [Will Reddit Ads Help or Hurt Your B2B Marketing Efforts?]( – CMS Wire [This Deepfake of Mark Zuckerberg Tests Facebook’s Fake Video Policies]( – Vice [Ajit Pai: The greatest threat to the internet is Silicon Valley, not ISPs]( – The Verge [The DSP Market Shakeup Starts To Settle In Latest Advertiser Perceptions Report]( – AdExchanger [Just 1 in 5 consumers have shopped by voice, study says]( – Mobile Marketer [New Features To Help You Start Conversations and Build Community on LinkedIn]( – LinkedIn Official Blog [Will Facebook’s GlobalCoin Impact Ecommerce?]( – Practical Ecommerce Join Us Marketing technology management — MarTech — is the fabric of the future If you're looking for a conference that will prep you to navigate concrete pain points in marketing operations and technology, and organizational challenges you face daily — [MarTech®]( is the place to be. 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