🔊 Seasonality adjustments and COVID-19

Plus, Facebook rolls out new capabilities for updating business hours and service changes. Apr 07, 2020 Good morning marketers, don’t go making seasonality adjustments to your Google Ads just yet. There’s no denying that the coronavirus outbreak has had a dramatic impact on nearly every business – including conversion rates. Whether your business is experiencing a surge or precipitous decline in conversions during this time, [Google Ads’ seasonality adjustment isn’t the tool to turn to for COVID-19 fluctuations](. Why? Simply put, it’s a short-term solution to a long-term event. Seasonality adjustments are designed to inform Google’s bidding systems about expected short-term conversion rate changes. The tool is ideal for periods between one and seven days. If your campaigns are experiencing volatility, you might consider adjusting your smart bidding targets, as Google [suggests](. You’ll want to keep profitability, sales cycle shifts and other business considerations in mind when adjusting ROAS or CPA targets. And you might instead opt to lower or raise your budget, depending on what you’re experiencing. In other news, Facebook has announced the [ability to update your business hours and service changes on Facebook Pages]( in light of the pandemic. Businesses can mark themselves “temporarily closed” (as with Google My Business) or communicate other types of changes, which respond to the coronavirus outbreak (e.g., takeout, online classes or e-commerce offerings). Businesses can also pin posts to the top of their timeliness, as another tool to communicate messages to customers. Keep scrolling for more news, including a mindful exercise and an update on Twitter’s (ongoing) bot problem. Taylor Peterson, Deputy Editor Social Shorts Twitter’s bot problem persists, Zoom vows to improve its platform amid surge in usage Zoom pledges to improve systems, ramp up security. With the global workforce scrambling to WFH, video conferencing platform Zoom is feeling the pressure as usage skyrockets. Zoom has acknowledged the cracks in its system and announced plans to continue improving its platform, protecting user security, and supporting the surge in traffic. In a [blog post]( last week, Zoom wrote, “These new use cases have helped us uncover unforeseen issues with our platform… We appreciate the scrutiny and questions we have been getting – about how the service works, about our infrastructure and capacity, and about our privacy and security policies. These are the questions that will make Zoom better, both as a company and for all its users.” Why we care: As marketers, communication is critical – even more so in times like these. Zoom’s commitment to making productivity changes for the better is an improvement that we can all benefit from. Source: [Zoom]( Twitter bots are alive and well – and fueled by politics. Bots and fake accounts have been a long time headache for Twitter users, but the problem doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Fake profiles and bots account for anywhere between 5% to 15% of total users, Social Media Today notes, but their presence has an even bigger impact. Social media analysts have called out swarms of bot accounts being used for malicious purposes, such as amplifying political messages or mass retweeting to drown out opposing views. Why we care: Despite Twitter working to address the issue through various measures (like bulk removal of fake accounts), the issue is still a red flag for users and brands. As told by Social Media Today, “banning political ads on the platform is one thing, but banning bot swarms would likely have a much bigger positive impact in the case of tweets.” Source: [Social Media Today]( Nielsen Annual Marketing Report: The Age of Dissonance - Marketer's Trust in Digital Drives Spend Despite Challenges Nielsen surveyed over 350 marketers from around the globe and found that enthusiasm for digital was tempered by severe data quality issues and measurement challenges. Many of you feel you don’t have the right tools to measure and compare the ROI of your ad campaigns across all the channels you use. Download the “Nielsen Annual Marketing Report: The Age of Dissonance” to learn why marketers hold digital channels to a different standard than traditional channels [Get it now »]( Mindful Moment This is a difficult time for us all. We are sharing a mindfulness exercise daily to help those interested to take a moment to decompress and regain focus. If you have a tip or exercise to share with the community, please email me at [tpeterson@thirddoormedia.com](. Today’s exercise comes from Abby Reimer, Senior SEO Analyst at Uproer: “Breathe in through your nose for 4 slow counts and out through your nose 4 slow counts. It feels very calming.” Free online training with 30+ marketing experts How will your martech stack and processes be impacted by COVID-19? How can you deliver a personalized user experience without betraying privacy? Get the answers to these and more crucial questions April 21-23 at Discover MarTech! [See the agenda! »]( What we're reading We've curated our picks from across the web so you can retire your feed reader [Wendy Clark Named Global CEO Of Dentsu Aegis Network]( – AdExchanger [Skype ditches account and download requirements, offers link-based option for free video calls]( – 9to5 Mac [Microsoft’s CTO wants to spread tech’s wealth beyond the coasts]( – Fast Company [How Brands Can Address The Hyperdrive Impact Of COVID-19 On E-Commerce]( – Forbes [The Quibi Launch: Two Veteran C.E.O.s Risk $1.8 Billion on a Streaming App. In a Pandemic.]( – New York Times [Marketing Land] []( [Want to advertise?]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [We respect your privacy.]( This email was sent by: Marketing Land - a Third Door Media, Inc. publication with headquarters at 279 Newtown Tpke. Redding, CT 06896 USA © 2006-2019 Third Door Media. All Rights Reserved.