Every month, our team experiments with new marketing tools, platforms, and ideas. Some work better than expected, some surprise us, and all of them teach us something worth sharing.
#1: Connected TV
If you’re part of the “More Marketing Acronyms” fan club, we’ve got good news. That’s right. More acronyms and more confusing-sounding platforms and services that really are pretty straightforward.
The team put together a presentation on Connected TV for a higher education client interested in the “channel.” In the last two years, we’ve tested Disney’s self-service agency suite, Hulu, YouTube Connected TV, and MNTN. We’ve been kicking the tires a bit more aggressively on MNTN’s agency tools and are impressed with the targeting capabilities and the huge range of channels. Here’s slide ten from our deck on the attribution capabilities compared to traditional broadcast media. Spoiler alert, it’s way better.
#2: “Thursdays With ____.”
Each week, we highlight a different person on the team, a community member, a thought leader, or a subject matter expert to come in and teach us something.
This week, it was Thursdays with Andy, and the topic was AI agents. Andy is our Director of Growth, and he’s often rolling up his sleeves on bleeding-edge technology trends to support the efforts of our team and our clients. This week, the session was focused on AI Agents, starting with what the heck is an AI agent? To start, Andy demonstrated how he built an AI agent to read our client’s Google Analytics data and convert that into actionable insights.
And sure, we’d heard of AI agents, but it wasn’t something we were actively building in early 2025 … or really would know where to start in the process. That’s all changed. Andy demonstrated AI agents helping to add insight to our reporting that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.
#3: Instagram Highlights
If your Instagram Stories are still disappearing after 24 hours, you might be missing a huge opportunity.
Instagram Highlights are those little circular icons sitting right below your bio, and they might be the most underutilized marketing tool in your arsenal. Think of them as your zero-cost “micro website” that lives right inside Instagram: no app downloads, no platform jumping, no friction.
We recently revamped a tourism client’s Highlights strategy, and the results? Their profile transformed from a basic Instagram page into a strategic content hub showcasing tour packages, wildlife encounters, and glowing client testimonials – all permanently accessible.
Here’s what caught our attention: brands using strategic Highlights see 20% higher engagement and 30% more profile visits. But here’s the kicker, 50% of users who engage with Highlights actually visit the brand’s website afterward.
The game-changer is permanence. While Stories vanish, Highlights work 24/7 to guide prospects through your brand experience. We structure them like a sales funnel: awareness (your services), consideration (case studies), conversion (clear CTAs), and retention (testimonials).
Bottom line: stop thinking of Highlights as an afterthought. They’re your always-on sales team.
When building a campaign in Facebook Ads Manager, one of the key steps is deciding where your ads will show up, and therefore, where they’ll be seen. This is called ad placement, which refers to where your ads appear across Meta technologies.
In Ads Manager, Meta gives you two options: Advantage+ Placements and Manual Placements. Let’s break down what each of these means and what components we consider when selecting placements for a campaign.
Advantage+ Placements
(formerly known as Automatic Placements)
This is the default setting in Ads Manager. By choosing Advantage+ Placements, you’re letting Facebook’s delivery system decide how to distribute your budget across placements. Their goal? To serve your ads where they’re most likely to perform well and give you the lowest overall cost per optimization event.
Pros:
Easy to use
Quick setup
No need for in-depth analysis
Facebook does the heavy lifting
Cons:
You give up control
You can’t specify where your ads appear
No way to guide or suggest preferred placements
Manual Placements
As the name suggests, Manual Placements let you choose exactly where your ads are shown, both which platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.) and where within those platforms (like Feed, Stories, or Reels).
Pros:
Full control over where your ads appear
Align your budget with audience-specific placements
Provides precision
Cons:
More time-consuming to set up
Requires deeper knowledge and strategy
Choosing a Placement Strategy: Advantage+ vs. Manual
At Pintler Group, we pride ourselves on knowing our clients and understanding where their audiences spend the most time. For example, when working with a concert venue, we recognize that the target audience skews younger and that video content performs well. In this case, we focus our placements on Instagram, especially in areas like Reels and Stories. Conversely, when working with real estate agents, we know their audience tends to be older and more active on Facebook. That’s why we prioritize Facebook placements over options like Threads, Messenger, Audience Network, or Instagram.
Because of this, we often rely on manual placements to ensure we’re delivering ads in the most effective spots.
However, that doesn’t mean Advantage+ Placements are the wrong choice, especially if you’re new to marketing or still learning about your audience. Advantage+ can be a great starting point while you gather performance data and insights.
High-Impact Manual Placements to Prioritize
After choosing manual placements, you’ll see 23 different options across the following categories: Feeds, Stories and Reels, In-Stream Ads (for videos and reels), Search Results, Messages, and Apps and Sites.
With 23 placements to choose from, there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment. We recommend testing different placements and reviewing your reports to see where your ads receive the highest engagement and conversion rates.
That said, here are a few placements we suggest starting with:
Feed Placements: Core Visibility Across Platforms
Facebook Feed
Instagram Feed
Instagram Explore
These placements are great because they’re high-traffic areas where users naturally spend their time. Feed placements sit at the core of both Instagram and Meta platforms, allowing your content to blend seamlessly with organic posts, making it feel more native and less disruptive.
Instagram Explore is especially valuable, as it reaches users who are actively seeking new content. This means your ad is shown to an audience that’s open to discovery and more receptive to engaging with new information.
We prioritize Instagram Explore over Instagram Explore Home because Explore Home displays your ad in a smaller grid format, while Instagram Explore shows your ad at full size as users scroll, giving it more visibility and impact.
These placements are ideal for mobile users and visually driven audiences. Stories and Reels offer a full-screen, immersive experience that integrates seamlessly into the user’s content journey. These formats are especially effective for video content, particularly Reels, where users are actively seeking out video. In this environment, video consistently drives higher engagement rates compared to static images, making it a powerful format for capturing attention and encouraging interaction.
We prioritize these placements because they consistently deliver strong performance across a wide range of industries. While other options like Messenger or Audience Network can work in specific cases, these core placements are often the best starting point when testing ad performance.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right ad placements can significantly impact your campaign’s performance. Whether you start with Advantage+ for ease or dive straight into manual placements for more control, understanding how and where your audience engages is key. At Pintler Group, we lean into manual placements because they allow us to be intentional, data-driven, and strategic.
Don’t be afraid to test, learn, and repeat. Placements aren’t one-size-fits-all—what works great for one campaign or audience might fall flat for another. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and let the results guide your next move.
When I decided to change careers, I started thinking about what really matters in the workplace, what stands out after the diploma is earned. In some fields, degrees are non-negotiable. But in others, it’s the real, transferable skills (often the ones you don’t expect) that make the biggest difference.
My previous career was in education—specifically, my degree was in Early Childhood Education, K–8, but I spent my time working in PK–2. Education is a field where a degree isn’t just suggested; it’s mandated. Traditionally, this career requires a four-year college education, student teaching, and passing the PRAXIS exam, all before you even enter the workforce.
Do I believe a degree should be required for individuals teaching the youth of America? Absolutely. But do I think that degree taught me everything I needed to be a teacher? Not at all.
Fast forward a few years: I found myself yearning for more education, craving a fast-paced, creative, and challenging work environment. One where, like teaching, no two days were the same, but unlike teaching, I had more flexibility in my approach. I wanted a role where I could flex not just my brain, but also my creative muscles. One that allowed me to level up both my personal brand and my career capacity. That desire led me to pursue and earn a Master’s in Business Administration, and ultimately transition into the field of digital marketing.
My MBA taught me incredible skills ranging from business best practices to data analytics, negotiation, accounting, client management, project management, and more. But, just like with teaching, my degree only laid the foundation. It was up to me to make the leap and find ways to translate and leverage those skills into a new (and honestly, pretty daunting) world of digital marketing.
What I’ve found in my career transition is that it’s not just the clearly outlined, textbook skills from a degree that matter; it’s the behind-the-scenes abilities, the soft skills, and the strengths beyond syllabi developed throughout the process of earning a degree. Those are the surprisingly marketable skills that made my transition into a new career, and into my current role in digital marketing at Pintler Group, a success.
It turns out that the qualities that helped me succeed weren’t tied to a specific course I took or article I read but how I communicated with others, how I adapted to change and how I was willing to step out of my comfort zone to talk to people. Three transferable skills stood out: the know how to communicate early and often, the confidence to talk to new people (even when it is uncomfortable) and the endurance to remain adaptable.
1. Communicate: Early and Often
This lesson comes straight from my teaching days: communication is everything. The only way to avoid problems is to get ahead of them. Every job has stakeholders, and for teachers, it’s parents. Regular, consistent communication is non-negotiable: monthly newsletters, daily check-ins at drop-off and pick-up, quick texts when something comes up. I can’t say it enough: communicate early and often.
This applied when I was a student, too, whether struggling on an assignment or stressed about an exam. The solution? Communicate with your professors early. They want you to succeed.
And now, as a Digital Marketing Manager, the same rule applies: communicate early and often. Launching a new campaign? Share early results, good or bad. Running into a bottleneck in design? Keep your client in the loop. Sending monthly digital marketing reports and holding regular meetings?
You guessed it—communicate early and often.
2. Talk to People (Seriously)
Talk to your friends, coworkers, classmates, and even your barista. Make connections. It doesn’t have to be a formal networking event, because honestly, everything is a networking event. Sure, it’s often said, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” but it’s just as much about who knows what you know.
Send cold emails. Set up meetings with strangers. I started my career in education by volunteering at a local nonprofit with a nontraditional educational model in Missoula. I liked what they were doing, so I sent a cold email asking to meet the owner. One meeting turned into regular volunteering, which turned into a college internship, and eventually a full-time job while I was earning my degree.
I took the same approach when transitioning into digital marketing. Reach out to people and places that interest you. They might not be hiring now, but that’s okay. Often, if they don’t have a spot for you, they’ll know someone who does.
In digital marketing, networking isn’t just about landing a job; it’s about building relationships that drive results. Whether connecting with clients, collaborating with creative teams, or staying on top of industry trends, those connections matter. Strong relationships create a foundation for collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Attending conferences and reaching out to others in similar roles, both across the state and the country, gives me the tools to elevate my career and my marketing work.
So, just like in my career transitions, I keep reaching out, because in marketing, relationships are everything.
3. Adapt
When I started in education, I had the practical skills: how to build early literacy, introduce handwriting, and lay the foundation for math. What I didn’t have was the day-to-day reality. Those we finished our chapter early but there are ten minutes until lunch moments. The we planned this field trip hike two months ago but now it’s pouring rain kind of days. Or the we’ve been waiting in line for school pictures for over 30 minutes chaos. (All true moments of crisis. Try herding 30 five-year-olds in their nicest outfits while keeping picture day looks intact.)
You quickly figure out what works. Maybe the solution is singing songs, playing counting games in line, or running through the rain pretending to be secret agents. Adaptability isn’t a buzzword—it’s earned by experience, by reading the room, and adjusting on the fly.
As a student, adaptability means managing expectations, sharing ideas, and being prepared to pivot after feedback. Knowing that a group project is exactly that: a group project, not just your vision.
In marketing, adaptability means working with internal teams, managing multiple stakeholders in the design and copy process, and—of course—opening Meta on any given day to find a whole new suite of features. You pivot, you problem-solve, you figure it out.
Transferable Skills
Changing careers is scary. But it’s not about leaving everything behind. Whether you’re moving into a new profession, earning a new degree, or stepping up to a different role, you bring the skills you’ve learned along the way with you. For me, teaching a room full of kindergartners, working through group projects, and navigating a career change brought communication, connection, and adaptability to the forefront.
No matter your career, mastering these three skills is essential, they’re powerful tools you can use to succeed in any profession.
The new year is the perfect time to change up your digital marketing strategy. If you haven’t done so already, you will want to analyze your digital marketing efforts and outcomes for 2021. Not only will this show you your marketing successes and areas of improvement, but you may use this to create a strategic plan for the new year. Here are some tips to help you plan a digital marketing strategy for 2022.
Research Your Industry or Niche
Industry research is key no matter the type of brand or business you manage. Staying up to date on the latest advancements and trends in your niche can help you better prepare for the future. Reading through specific topics or keywords on news.google.com is an easy and free way to stay updated on news within your niche.
You will also want to spend time performing keyword research on Google. While this is helpful for SEO purposes, reviewing these queries can help you better understand the current state of your industry. Take note of the top results shown by Google when you search different industry keywords. You can also use this method to see the most searched questions regarding your business. While you may use the keyword planner tool in Google AdWords, you can also search different questions into Google and see what the search engine suggests. See below.
For products and services specific to a location, try Google searching geo-targeted phrases like, “lawyers in St. Louis” and analyze the top results. Additionally, try to find what your competitors show up for on Google, and what kind of content they post online to attract these results.
Research Your Target Audience
There are many creative ways to conduct target audience research in 2022. However, one of the best tools today for demographic research are forums, more specifically Reddit. This is especially true for service-based businesses or businesses that solve complex or difficult issues.
For example, if you are a financial advisor, there are hundreds of subreddits with members asking questions exclusively about personal finance. These are members of your audience exposing their pain points, confusions, and frustrations right in front of you. You may use this research to better approach your clients during introductory calls and consultations.
Additionally, answering questions on subreddits relevant to your services is a great way to establish yourself as a leader in the field. Since your target audience is asking for help, why not answer them directly? What better way to prove your value and expertise than helping a potential client quickly, online, and for free?
Talk to Your Audience
While audience research is imperative for any business owner, speaking directly with the client is an invaluable practice. Even if you operate a business that is not client-facing, like an e-commerce store, speaking to a member of your target demographic will give you real-life insight that you can not copy and paste from the internet. There are also engineering as marketing tools you can implement. Specifically, converting your existing video content into video-lead-generation tools by adding forms on top of video.
If you’re a marketer that works with individual business owners, a great way to do this is by hopping on a client call with your client’s client. Pay close attention to the conversation between your client and their own client. What kind of questions is your client asking? How is their client reacting? Does the client seem pleased? How can your client create a better experience for their own client? This interaction is an opportunity to uncover a different side of your audience that can not be replicated online. It will also help you to create better, more relevant campaigns that are aligned with your client’s target audience.
Implement New Social Features
Your digital marketing strategy in 2022 should progress with the times. In the last 2 years, we have all seen the explosion of TikTok and Instagram Reels, and the power of video marketing only seems to be increasing. While it may seem scary to begin posting videos online for your brand or business, it could be what it takes to blow up your brand or business.
However, it’s also okay to be realistic. If after some time you realize this form of marketing doesn’t quite relate to your target audience at the moment, that’s okay, too! Maybe you don’t need a TikTok, but creating a few Reels each month is necessary. It’s important to try new things and test out new features, but it’s also crucial that your marketing efforts make sense to you and your brand.
Like any other social media campaign you create, your video marketing ideas and posts need to have a goal. If you’re posting videos for your brand without a true intention, then it is likely this platform will not work for you. Each video must have a goal, information or benefit for the user, and/or a call to action. If you’re unfamiliar with video marketing for social media, spend some time on both TikTok and Reels and try to see if any of the sounds or trends can be used for your business.
4.3 billion people use email, which is more than half of the world’s population! That’s also more than the number of users on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform. It’s proven to be effective for marketers and business owners, too! In 2021, the average return on investment for an email marketing campaign is about $42-$50 for every $1. Creating and maintaining an email marketing list can sound like a daunting task, but it’s truly transformative for small-mid-sized businesses when executed correctly. Here are the best email marketing tips for medium-sized businesses.
Grow Your Email Marketing List
It’s common for businesses to offer a free resource such as an ebook or download. While these strategies may have worked in the past, it’s better to focus on providing your potential customer with information that is not only resourceful but applicable. This should be something that they can not only read, but also use.
For example, a physical checklist for an SEO manager or a list of approved vendors for an event planner. These two offerings not only provide the user with information but also a call to action or task.
Another easy way to grow your email marketing list is by placing an email opt-in for online orders on your website. This ensures that you’re adding quality leads to your email list that are already engaging with your brand. However, it’s important to ensure the email field contains an “opt-in” to comply with email marketing and spam policies placed by both the government and various email service providers.
It is also important to not cut corners when it comes to growing your list. In order to actually see a return on your investment and efforts, you need an engaged audience who actually wants to hear from you. Because of this (and many other reasons) do not buy or “rent” an email marketing list. This one mistake may lead to low open rates, no sales, and possible fines from Google or the government.
Email Marketing & Audience Segmentation
Once you’ve grown your email marketing list, it’s time to implement a maintenance plan. Over time, you will notice contacts that repeatedly bounce or ignore your emails altogether. These contacts take up space within your audience, lower your engagement and click-through rate, and do not provide any value. Because of this, you will want to clean your email marketing list every six months.
In order to increase your engagement, click-through rate, and general sales, you will need to segment your email marketing list. In fact, 77% of email marketing ROI comes from segmented campaigns. Segmentation sounds difficult, but it’s a super simple concept.
For example, say you own a company that buys businesses from those ready to retire. However, your service also includes finding a young entrepreneur to buy that business. Here, you’d have two completely different groups within the same audience that you are targeting: the buyer and the seller. The message, information, and resources you provide with the older business owner will differ from that of the young entrepreneur.
When you consistently send the wrong segment the wrong message, they will likely unsubscribe or ignore your emails.
There are two popular ways to segment your audience: demographic and behavioral segmentation.
Demographic segmentation includes factors like location or a company’s size. Behavioral segmentation includes actions like previous purchases, lifecycle stages, and customer loyalty. In short, this kind of segmentation allows you to cater to your audience based on their previous actions.
Avoid Spam and the Promotions Tab
When an email falls into the spam or promotions tab, the likelihood of obtaining an open or sale drops dramatically. Think about it, when was the last time you clicked on either of these tabs? Most users will either ignore or mass delete any messages that land in these two areas of an email account.
Unfortunately, a lot of business owners will spend time and effort on an email marketing campaign only for it to land in the spam or promotions tabs and go completely unseen by its audience. Luckily, we know a few tips to help you avoid the graveyard that is the spam and promotions tabs:
Audience Engagement: Each time a user ignores, deletes, or does not open an email sent from your address, the user’s email provider essentially counts that as a “mark” against you. Meaning, over time, if users are consistently ignoring your messages, the email provider will recognize that your emails are not resonating with the user. Then, the email provider will begin to place your emails into the spam folder. This is another reason why email segmentation and tailoring your message to different groups within your audience are extremely important.
Avoid Spam Trigger Words: Using particular words and phrases like ‘free’, ‘best price’, ‘cash’, ‘no obligation’ in your subject line can raise spam flags and cause your campaign to be filtered out of your recipients’ primary inbox. For more examples of words that can land your hard work right in the spam folder, check out this HubSpot article. False promises from the subject line can also have the same effect and make your message appear spammy.
Set Email Address: Oftentimes, you’ll see emails from companies that look something like “contact@apple.com” or “hello@apple.com.” For small-mid-sized businesses, it is best to steer away from the corporate or formal feel of these addresses to avoid falling under the promotions tab. Instead, try using something more personal by using a real name, like “steve@apple.com.” This has also been shown to increase user engagement because the user feels that they are speaking to a real person instead of an automated message or robot.
It’s basically a fact of life that the holidays arrive more quickly when you are in marketing. As we get ready to flip the calendar to November, if you’re not already organizing your holiday marketing campaigns, now is time to jump on it!
With U.S. holiday retail sales predicted to increase by 2.7% to $1.093 trillion, just about every business owner should be in the midst of planning a holiday marketing campaign. A smart and strategic campaign positions your brand for an increase in traffic, sales, and brand awareness. Before you begin your journey, here are a few tips to help you plan out a successful holiday marketing campaign.
Planning a Social Media Holiday Campaign
Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools in 2021. However, it must be used correctly in order to see a gracious return on your investment. When it comes to planning a social media holiday campaign, you may want to first ask yourself the following:
What is the reason for this campaign? What is our main goal?
Who are we trying to reach?
What social media channels does our audience use?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a better idea of where your campaign will exist online as well as a set of solidified goals. Remember, any digital marketing campaign you create should support your brand’s main goals and objectives. Campaigns without an intended objective in mind become confusing, convoluted, and muddled.
If you’re lost on content ideas or don’t know where to begin when it comes to creating a social media holiday campaign, we suggest digging into your competitors’ past campaigns and analyzing the content they’ve previously posted around the holidays. Make sure to consider both successful and unsuccessful campaigns and try to take note of what element impacted the success of these campaigns.
Above all, your social media campaign needs to offer your clients and audience some sort of value within a definitive timeline. Without a value or incentive, your holiday campaign turns into general social media posting. A few ways to provide incentives during a social media holiday campaign include:
Seasonal products that are removed after the holiday season
Hint: Introduce a holiday edition of one of your best-selling products
Partake in consumer holidays and big sales days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, New Year’s Day, and Boxing Day
Special gift items with purchases
Offering additional membership points or rewards
Planning an Email Marketing Holiday Campaign
When it comes to email marketing, knowing your audience is crucial. If you use an email marketing management system like MailChimp or HubSpot, you know the importance of a properly segmented audience.
If you currently have different audiences, groups, etc. in your email management system, it’s a good idea to create individual campaigns for each audience. Different segments of your audience have different needs and will likely respond better to messaging that is targeted to them specifically.
If you’ve never segmented your email marketing audience before, now is a good time to start! Consider the different demographics and groups within your audience, and how you can craft content that each group will respond to.
When you begin creating your email marketing holiday campaign, it is crucial that you optimize for the mobile experience. According to Email Uplers, mobile opens account for 46% of all email opens. Additionally, studies have shown that 69% of mobile users delete emails that are not correctly optimized for mobile viewing. So, if you spend time and effort on a beautiful design but it’s not responsive on a mobile device, you may not see much of a return on your investment. With over 62% of U.S. consumers aged 21-45 saying they rely on just their mobile device for their entire shopping journey, companies and brands need to pay close attention when it comes to mobile design and optimization for their email holiday campaigns.
Planning an SMS Holiday Campaign
Not many business owners think of adding an SMS or texting messaging campaign into their holiday marketing efforts, but you’d be surprised by the tactic’s results. In fact, 72% of retailers have increased their advertising investments for holiday mobile marketing this year. Not only is an SMS campaign easy to implement, but its results are also rapid-fire fast. According to Klaviyo, 90% of text messages are read within just 3 minutes.
If you’re struggling to find content for an SMS holiday campaign, you may want to alert your clients of:
A new product launch
A special promotion code available for SMS subscribers only
New product launches
Pop-up events
Digital or physical events
Planning Your Paid Social Media Campaign
Sometimes pushing out organic posts on social media isn’t enough during a noisy holiday season. While you might need to stretch your paid social media budget to outperform your competition during this period, your return on ad spend can be quite high. Having an idea of your goals for your KPIs prior to launch will help you know if and when you may need to pivot or readjust throughout the season.
As we’ve pitched throughout this article, having a plan for your audience and timing can make or break your campaign. Start your advertising early! With customers being pulled in many different directions this time of year, it’s often the case that the more they see your ads, the better.
If you have data from your CRM about customers who have previously purchased during holiday seasons past, take that information and create an audience! While remarketing to these individuals can likely prove lucrative, consider expanding beyond them to a lookalike group as well.
Pintler Group Digital Marketing
The Pintler Group is the leading firm for medium to large companies and organizations that do not have a full-time digital marketing team of their own. We get seriously thrills from planning and executing superior campaigns – whether it’s during the holidays or not! From content and email marketing to paid search, social, and podcasting, our integrated strategies drive real results for our clients.
If you own or manage a website, you likely know the power behind Google Analytics. While the powerhouse platform is still largely misunderstood, its vast capabilities allow business owners to monitor the success of their digital presence and online marketing efforts.
In truth, Google Analytics is a lot more robust than most people think. The platform provides comprehensive data tracking and analytical reporting to solve or improve almost any question or issue circulating within your business’ digital marketing efforts.
So, how does one use Google Analytics to solve issues or confusion that are hindering progress and goals? By asking the right questions, of course!
Question 1: How can I use Google Analytics data to track the progress of company goals?
Answer: Set up goals in Google Analytics.
The goals feature in Google Analytics allows users to track specific patterns and behaviors taken by users visiting the website. Goals can help account owners track contact form submissions, conversion rates on purchases, and more. By configuring goals, it becomes easier to monitor progress and discover what is hurting and helping the current strategy. Additionally, Google Analytics allows primary and secondary goal tracking, which are also labeled macro and micro conversions. Generally, there are five types of goals in Google Analytics:
Smart goals: Goals generated by Google Analytics when an account does not have enough data to complete optimization.
Destination goals: Loading a specific web page.
Pages per session: The number of pages viewed by a single user in a single session.
Event goals: Sharing, button clicks, adding items or services to a cart, etc.
Duration goals: Session times that last over a certain amount of seconds or minutes. For example, users on the page longer than two minutes.
Question 2: How can I use Google Analytics to better track the effectiveness of my email marketing campaigns?
Answer: Utilize the campaign tags feature.
Email campaign tracking is a bit different in Google Analytics than one might expect. With properly implemented campaign tags, account owners can track accurate referral data. However, without campaign tags, it becomes hard to accurately track a website’s referral data. For example, visits from desktop apps such as Outlook tend to appear as direct traffic in Google Analytics. Instead, this visit should be calculated as a referral. Similarly, visits from webmail providers that default to a secure server like Gmail also do not appear as referral traffic in Google Analytics. This small misunderstanding can lead to inaccurate data when tracking the success of email marketing campaigns.
Question 3: Is there a way to track how much of a blog post visitors are actually reading?
Answer: Yes, by installing Google Tag Manager.
Google Tag Manager is a tag management system used to track different tags on a website. A tag is a snippet of javascript that collects data from the website that is then sent to Google Analytics. So, if you’d like to track how much of a blog post visitors are reading before exiting the page, you may want to install a scroll depth trigger using Google Tag Manager. With this tag, you’ll be able to track where users exit the page when reading the blog post.
Question 4: How can I more closely monitor transactions completed on my website?
Answer:Set up Ecommerce Tracking.
If you own an Ecommerce website, implementing Ecommerce tracking is essential if you would like to more closely monitor your website’s value. With Ecommerce tracking, website owners can see:
The total revenue generated by each product
Revenue total
Total number of products sold
Quantity of specific products sold
Conversion rates
Total transactions
Number of unique purchases made
Average price per product
Average value of orders
Date wise performance data
Number of days and sessions leading to a transaction
By tracking these metrics, account owners can better assess the overall effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and the progress on their goals, thus leading to healthier conversion rates.
Question #5: Is there a way to find out what users are typing into Google before they visit my website?
Answer:Yes, by linking your Google Search Console and Google Analytics accounts.
Google Search Console is a free service that provides loads of vital insight for website owners, SEO specialists, and digital marketers. Once the Google Search Console is successfully linked to Google Analytics, account owners can better understand how their website is performing in organic search results on Google.
They may also better track which pages of the website are shown in search results, which pages are most visited, and who is visiting on desktop vs mobile. These metrics can help account owners better optimize their content to increase traffic from Google.
Google makes adjustments to its algorithms at least once, if not several times a day. But how often do they make adjustments or upgrades to their most important source of cash, Google Ads?
The frequency might surprise you, but Google is always looking to make sure that the ads delivered to users of its search engine continue to have the best experience possible.
If you’re looking for ways that Google has been improving both the advertiser’s and the user’s experience, here are some of the most recent updates that are worth special attention.
Attribution Models Now Support YouTube and Display Ads
When it comes to the buyer’s journey, many people who are conducting searches will interact with many different types of ads from the same or multiple advertisers.
The journey may even look like this: say a potential buyer is looking for a new washer and dryer. He sees multiple YouTube ads from different companies, reads customer reviews on competitor websites, and then ultimately uses Google to search for brand names or features of specific appliance sets that he likes.
In that last step, they’re more than likely going to click on a display ad or text ad through Google’s SERP (search engine results pages) or on the partner display network.
Google Ads could not attribute the impact of other ads that were a part of the same campaign until August 9th, when they upgraded non-last click models, including data-driven automation, for YouTube and Display ads.
Now an advertiser will see how much of an impact each channel within their campaign is.
The new model will even measure how many engaged views a YouTube advertisement gets, which helps marketers understand how long potential buyers are paying attention to their video.
Using Data-Driven Attribution with Google Ads to Improve Conversion
Okay, YouTube and Display ads can show their full impact with this new upgrade. So what? How does that make the advertiser’s life better?
For the advertiser, this will show more data points within the attribution models, which allows them to see which ads have been the most effective throughout the campaign.
It also means that automated or manual bidding strategies can help drive additional conversions at the same cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to the last click when coming from those sources.
But what about the user?
With any Google ad, the user is the single most important person. Google will even deliver better-performing ads at a CPA less than their competitors to ensure that searchers will have the best experience.
Enabling attribution for YouTube and partner Display ads means advertisers can make even more adjustments to their campaigns, showing less of what isn’t being interacted with and more of what users are looking for before completing a purchase.
To deliver a better experience, Display ads or YouTube videos with poor engagement will be shown less often.
Compare Attribution Models to Increase Conversions
Now that an advertiser can see all the different attributions from YouTube and Display, they’ll also be able to compare which attribution models will have the best success for their campaign.
The “Model comparison” report looks at the return on ad spend and how each model’s cost per conversion is different.
That way, they should easily understand which of the pieces of their campaigns will have the most significant impact on their conversions.
Which Attribution Model Is Right for Me?
There are a handful of attribution models: last-click, first-click, linear, time decay, position-based, and data-driven.
Last-click
This attribution model gives all the credit for a conversion to the last advertisement clicked.
Considering this method was one of the very first attribution models available to marketers, it’s no surprise that many companies still use it.
The most significant problem with last-click is that it doesn’t give marketers a great understanding of their customers.
Most of the time, people who make purchases don’t base their decision only on the last touchpoint of the campaign, so giving credit to only the last clicked channel can be misleading.
This attribution model could be appropriate for commodities like laundry soap or a toilet bowl cleaner with very low involvement in the buying decision.
First-click
Opposite of the last-click attribution model, the first-click model gives the first point of engagement all of the credit for the conversion.
Identifying that point is essential if a company wants to determine what method or strategy drives the most new customers.
Linear
This is where all of the attribution credit for a conversion is evenly throughout the entire campaign.
If multiple channels are pulling in conversions, this is a great model to look holistically at all channels simultaneously.
Over time, a marketer will see trends as to which channels are converting the most successfully.
Time Decay
Most marketers are really interested in conversions. So it’s vital to know which channels are delivering the most conversions regularly.
Time decay is helpful because it increases the credit given to each channel, which drives a customer closer to the actual conversion.
It’s an excellent method to understand which channels are driving conversions and which are, more often than not, top-of-funnel channels.
Position-Based
A campaign is launched that gets users from Google Ads onto a landing page. They go through the landing page to download an eBook. In exchange for the eBook, the user gives up their email address, which is added to a drip campaign. Miraculously, they convert on the first email sent.
This particular model gives partial credit to each of the points between the first and last clicks but gives most of the credit to the first and last points of the campaign.
With all the other models, there have been weights set for individual channels that aren’t necessarily showing which of those attributions are having the most impact on conversions.
That’s where the data-driven model comes in.
Using technical algorithms and weighted credit, this model gives credit to the channels that are driving the most success in getting conversions.
Data-driven attribution is the most effective model in identifying which channels are a waste of time or are driving conversions and increasing ROI.
Advertise Online With Pintler Group
Pintler Group is based in Missoula, Montana. We’re a performance-based marketing shop with expertise in paid search, paid social, email marketing management and retargeting. Our superpower is designing customer marketing solutions for mid-size clients looking to grow.
As the person in charge of marketing your small business, it can be easy to fall into a rut of doing the same marketing every day, all year round. You might be using the same copy and sticking to familiar channels day in and day out, but the quick approach of the holidays is a great time to mix things up to gain new customers, followers and fans. Here are a few, simple ways you can change your marketing plan to fit the season.
Seasonal Products
Once you see Starbucks start to promote their Pumpkin Spice Latte, you know it’s time to jump into fall. As seen with this special, seasonal drink, people are so excited about the changing of the seasons and the start of sweater weather. Take advantage of this excitement by offering a seasonal product or simply making a seasonal twist to one of your products. This might be a new flavor, a new color or a new service specific to the needs of your customers in the fall.
Where Your Customers Are
Chances are, your customers aren’t on the ski hill quite yet, but they also aren’t spending as much time on the beach. Understanding how the weather and season affects your customers location, both physically and digitally, can help you reach them more effectively. For example, your customers might be college students who are heading back to school for the year or stay-at-home moms who are spending more time on Pinterest looking for Halloween costumes. Recognizing the location and attention of your customers allows you to create relevant ads, place them on platforms they are using and geotarget their physical locations.
How Your Customers Feel
As I mentioned above, fall is full of strong emotions. Some people might feel cozy with their chunky sweater and apple cider, some might feel spooky with their Halloween decor and pop-culture costume, while others might feel dread with the promise of winter around the corner. Understanding your specific customers and how they feel about fall can help you speak their language in your digital marketing efforts. It also allows you to easily address the pain points and fears your product or service is designed to fix.
Nurture the Giving Spirit
Fall also brings around feelings of generosity and thankfulness as holidays like Thanksgiving sneak up on us. One way you can use these happy feelings to impact your marketing efforts is by partnering with other companies. Once you find a company who has a similar customer base as you, consider partnering up to host a giveaway to your audiences. Another way to use these feelings to impact your marketing efforts is to make your product or service an easy and desirable gift. Maybe you give a free $5 gift card for every $20 gift card purchased, or maybe you offer a unique gift wrapping option.
Creating a Marketing Plan Perfect for the Season
Whether you decide to offer a seasonal product, partner with other local businesses or offer gift incentives, creating a marketing plan specific to the fall season is an important way to grow your business. It is estimated that over $1 trillion is spent on Christmas gifts each year in America alone. By segmenting your marketing based on demographic, location, and yes, season: you’ll stand out and gain a competitive advantage from the marketers of the world that set it and forget it. If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to our team!
From the towering Rocky Mountains of the west to the rolling plains in the east, Montana is a beautiful state home to wonderful people and thriving businesses. Montana residents take pride in their slower-than-the-coast way of life and love to support small businesses. When it comes to marketing to these 1 million residents, here are three things to keep in mind.
No. 1: Montanans Love Local Businesses
Montana is a state full of small, local businesses and supportive consumers who do their best to purchase from these local businesses. When marketing to these consumers, focus on how buying from your company will support other Montanans. Here are a few ways you can do this:
Highlight local employees on social media to share how a purchase directly impacts a real Montanan.
Use words like “Montana Made,” “Locally Sourced” and “proud Montanans” in your copy and advertisements to relate to your audience.
If you use local materials or ingredients to build a product, share where they are from and why you chose to support that brand.
Partner with other local businesses to host events or giveaways to show you are serious about supporting other Montanans yourself.
No. 2: Montanans are Diverse
Montana is home to city dwellers and rural ranchers alike. The state is also home to 7 Indian reservations and many unique cultural pockets, such as the Irish population in Butte. Because of this, marketing campaigns targeting Montanans can not be one-size-fits-all. Here are a few ways you can appeal to the diversity of Montana in your marketing:
Know who your target customer is and where they are likely to live. If you are targeting college students, spend more of your time marketing in Missoula and Bozemen, while if you are targeting ranchers you might want to exclude the larger cities from your marketing.
Take some time to learn about the cultures in Montana and represent them respectfully in your website copy, social media posts and advertisements.
With over 147,000 square miles and just over one million people, there are only seven people per square mile in Montana. Many Montanans have to travel an hour or more to get to their nearest shopping mall or big-box store. This means that when these people trek into town to shop they likely won’t be back for a while. It also means that online orders are growing in popularity as companies begin to deliver more frequently to rural areas. Here are a few ways you can address this unique situation in your marketing:
Be straightforward about your locations and shipping abilities so Montanans know what to expect when buying your product.
If your target customers live in a rural area, put effort into marketing in their area so you are sure to be on their shopping list next time they go into town.
Create partnerships with small grocery stores, gas stations and other rural businesses so your product is easier to purchase.
Marketing in Montana
From loving local businesses to embracing diversity and long drives to the grocery store, Montanans are quite a unique group to market to. Here at Pintler Group we love marketing in Montana and are proud to call ourselves residents of the state. With a small office in central Missoula and clients all over the Big Sky State, we are the team you want to work with when choosing a marketing firm who knows and understands the unique Montana market.
