🐣 Payment platform.

Microsoft publishes useful Valentine’s Day data, Twitter has ambitious plans for the future of its platform, and more. February 1, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Wednesday. Is Whole Foods pitting family members against each other… or running an A/B test… or giving mom and nana a chance to [share a shelf]( with the big brands? We’ll just say… we’d eat both happily. Love you, nana and mom. TWITTER Not a social platform for much longer… [article-image] Watch out, payment platforms… the bird has been spotted migrating into your territory. Turns out Twitter has been applying for the required licenses [to become a payment platform in the US](, according to the Financial Times. Everything, everywhere, all at once: It’s not totally surprising. Elon Musk has been looking for new revenue streams and hinted at joining the payments industry [as far back as November](. But that’s not all. Musk wants to turn Twitter into an “everything app” that includes messaging, payments, crypto, and e-commerce all in one place. … Which would make Twitter a competitor of Apple Pay, PayPal (Musk’s former company), and possibly other fintech platforms. Oh, and the rules are getting softer: After reinstating thousands of previously suspended accounts, Twitter [outlined how it will be applying new rules going forward](. Instead of outright suspensions, Twitter plans to “take less severe actions” like limiting the reach of policy-violating Tweets, and asking users to remove Tweets before continuing to use their accounts. … All of which aligns with Musk’s “freedom of speech is not freedom of reach” [Tweet from November](. Why we care: If Twitter enters the payment industry, that could mean big changes for users, creators, and marketers alike. It will be interesting to see whether these changes make users spend more time on the platform… or less. And if Twitter’s policy for Tweets plays a role in your advertising decisions… well, now you know what to expect from those policies and can plan accordingly. MARKETING Have you started those Valentine’s Day campaigns yet? If you haven’t, you should go and launch them right now. Apparently this year’s trends are imitating last year’s, and [Microsoft has the receipts](. To give just one example: searches containing the term “valentines” were picking up by the end of January last year—and it’s happening again as we write this. So much to love: Microsoft reveals other relevant 2022 trends that could inform your campaign creation, too… - The average spend per person was $175. More than half of people in the US bought something for their loved ones, so, yes, there are enough sales for everyone. - Gift activity rose during February: searches (22%), clicks (3%), and spend (12%) all saw year-on-year (YoY) growth and are predicted to grow again. - 41% of top queries had the terms gift, flower, or card. The most searched term was “valentine’s day gift.” - Cost-per-clicks will probably keep rising every day if you’re targeting users in-market for cards, so start right away. - Users buy experiences, too. Travel, Entertainment, and Dining categories all saw 100% YoY growth last year within the month leading up to Valentine’s Day. Why we care: It seems like every industry from e-commerce to travel can profit from this year’s Valentine’s Day. And now’s the time to launch campaigns leading up to the big day. Don’t worry… customers are in Valentine’s Day shopping mode all the way up to February 14, so you still have time to adjust your campaigns. SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO How to market during a recession [article-image]( Every recession and economic downturn hits differently. And every time, marketers find themselves adrift in choppy waters they haven’t navigated before. … Which is why we studied the marketing successes and failures of dozens of companies from the 1970s until now. And here’s the good news: you can thrive even during a recession. You just need to know the patterns in consumer behavior and the marketing strategies that caused brands to sink or swim. You’ll find them in our newest Stacked Marketer Pro report, ["The Marketer's Guide To Surviving and Thriving in a Recession.”]( Simply skimming this report reveals game-changing insights, like: - Why indiscriminate cost cutting is a mistake. - When launching a new product can actually work. - The one thing thriving companies had in common. - The marketing channels worth investing in. You can read this report when you join Stacked Marketer Pro. Try Pro for just $7 for 7 days. [Yes, sign me up!]( BUSINESS How to fix local business reputation with star ratings [article-image] Would you walk into a local restaurant if you saw it had a one-star rating? Neither would we. And that tells you how easy it is for your reputation to take a hit, cost you customers, and eventually tank your entire business. Miriam Ellis recently [shared a local business rating scale](, showing how different ratings impact customers’ decisions: - ⭐–⭐⭐: Poor. Only 2% of customers would even consider you. - ⭐⭐⭐: Needs improvement. Every third customer may consider you. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐–⭐:Good or great. The majority of customers would consider you. Not surprising, right? The good news is, if you’re struggling with “reputational damage,” Miriam has tips to help you solve the poor reviews issue. Time to shoot for those stars… First, avoid the vocal minority. This is the most obvious case for poor ratings. Think about it. Ten people visit your business, nine love it, one has an awful time. Just one leaves a 5 star rating, while the annoyed guest slaps on one star. Your average rating is now three stars. To fix this, launch a review acquisition strategy so you have a regular stream of new, positive reviews coming to the platform. Update business listings. Many customers write negative reviews after they’ve encountered inaccurate or old business information about hours, address, phone, etc. This is easily manageable and will help you avoid unnecessary reviews while also providing precise information – helping you with customer acquisition. Bad customer service. Yep, 65% of review writers write a bad review thanks to rude or bad customer service. The sad reality? It’s easier to motivate a badly treated shopper to leave a 1-star review than to motivate a happy shopper to write a positive review. Unfair, we know… But if most of your bad ratings come from bad customer service, a simple fix might not suffice. That’s a systematic problem that you’ll have to solve quickly. 5-star advice, no? You’ll find six more tips [in Miriam’s article]( to help you tidy up that reputation, too. Good luck! SPONSORED BY DEMAND CURVE The Growth Newsletter: Get 3 advanced marketing tactics in your inbox [article-image]( Following trends and news helps you stay in the know. But the best way to improve your marketing? Study what top marketers are actually doing. [That’s what you get with the Growth Newsletter.]( Each week, we interview experts to get actionable growth tactics. Then we share them with you. [See examples and get the next one here.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Three steps to building a successful referral marketing program [article-image] Spoiler alert: People trust their friends more than they trust Kardashians. Afterall, the average consumer has grown immune to sponsored posts by influencers who have never even tried your product. That’s why your store needs to leverage its loyal customer base to recruit their friends and family. The good news is, you only have to compensate your customers after they refer their friends, making referral marketing the ultimate performance-based investment. Here are three steps to creating a successful referral program: - Set up a generous incentive. This can be a cash reward for every referral, or a gift. If your customer sees that it’s worth their time, they’ll get friends on board. Also, don’t forget to refresh your rewards every now and then to bring in more attention. - Set up email and SMS reminders. This is how you’ll advertise your program. Show recent purchasers what perks they can receive when they share their love for your product with their friends. - Gamify the program. Nothing beats a little friendly competition, right? Entice customers by including reward benchmarks, such as: refer three friends and get a free product, refer 10 and get two products, etc. There you go… the basic steps you need to create your referral program. Try it out. And don’t be alarmed if you find the order values higher than normal. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [LEVELED-UP MARKETING NEWS:]( "I absolutely love Marketing Dive – I receive a lot of email newsletters each day, and I always make a point to read.” Marketing Dive is the newsletter business leaders say keeps them sharp and ahead in the industry. [Subscribe for free and get your insights today.](* [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( OpenAI just released its own free Turing test. Yep, you can copy any text into the tool and gauge whether or not it was written by AI. Just be aware it can have “both false positives and false negatives.” Oh, and if your original writing resembles AI, you might want to tweak your style. [SEO:]( Why did the Yandex leak cause so much fuss? Well, because there’s a lot you can learn about Google’s code from it. This article explains all that in more detail. Take notes, SEOs! [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE](: Robot whisperers might become a thing. Artificial intelligence optimization (AIO) experts—people who know how to fine-tune and help AI tools like ChatGPT “learn” particular processes—may soon become in demand. Looking forward to seeing the first official job opening. [PINTEREST:]( Are Pins going Vogue? Pinterest announced a huge content partnership with Condé Nast Entertainment – the company responsible for Vogue and Architectural Digest. The two publications will create over 160 exclusive videos aligned with Pinterest’s key seasonal events, starting with Wedding Day. Nice. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER You use a knife to slice my head, And weep beside me when I’m dead. What am I? You can find [the answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Stop! Koalas passing [article-image] Imagine you’re on the balcony, sipping coffee from your Stacked Marketer mug… … When you see a koala climb down from a tree and start walking straight towards a busy highway. Would you cover your eyes in shock… … Or be a hero—[like the man from Queensland, Australia]( who ran down barefooted and stopped traffic just in time to escort the furry wanderer across safely? Not all heroes wear capes. And some don’t even wear shoes… But they all wear a heart of gold. Hats off, mister! SHARING IS CARING Want a hand with those Valentine’s Day campaigns? Get marketing tips worth $99 for $0. It’s easy. All you have to do is get four people to subscribe to our newsletter. That’s literally it. Just share the link below with other smart marketers, and we’ll send you The Ultimate Holiday Marketing Deep Dive—normally worth $99—for free. Takes 30 seconds! 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