Comfortable Yet? Marketing Changes in 2020 You Need to Know

This past month, you’ve been knocking out goals…but you probably didn’t have time to read up on the latest and greatest in the marketing world. Don’t worry—here’s what happened While You Were Working.

You know what’s interesting about industry changes? They’re like waves—each one is unique, and yet they are consistent…because you know the current one will pass and the next one is right behind it.

Marketers have always known that GDPR was just the beginning. Now the CCPA is rearing its head and setting a standard throughout the US. The once-open internet is becoming more locked down…and that makes marketers think harder.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t more opportunities out there. And maybe this email is a bit pre-emptive—you’re still getting plenty of value from your typical campaigns. The (marketing) world isn’t breaking apart. That doesn’t mean you want to wait to be forced into innovating.

On that note, 2020 is off to quite the start:

1. Are you prepared for the California Consumer Privacy Act? Marketing Profs says most organizations aren’t. In this case, lack of preparation will cost those organizations dearly.
2. Google Chrome is removing cookies…and that’s going to really bite into your data collection and retargeting.
3. For years you’ve run Google and Facebook ads. But is that wave cresting? MMS ad messaging is on the rise, and there’s ample room for innovation.
4. Platforms come and go…so how about a video platform built for optimal ad performance? It serves the audience by having relevant, high quality messages. It serves you as the publisher, because obviously.

There’s more where that came from. Here’s what you might have missed…While You Were Working.

Marketing How-To

How the Facebook Algorithm Works in 2020, and How to Make It Work for You, by Hootsuite

About 2/3 of the way down an article full of excellent information, you’ll find a list of 9 tips for staying ahead of Facebook’s changes. The tip that surprised us the most is #4: “Post high-quality videos longer than 3 minutes.”

It’s a reminder not to let biases get in the way of data—and also not to let one article, with one recommendation, upset everything you are doing with your audience. Remember how we mentioned that what people say they do and what they actually do often differ? This is a chance to see how that applies to your audience’s preference for video length.

Different Is Better than Better:
It’s All about People

B2B, B2C, P2P… it’s all people. Business people have to solve business problems, and consumers have to solve day-to-day problems, but it’s always people making the decision. It’s always people you interact with. And every ad and email has a person who wrote it. In that spirit, enjoy this performance of “Paper People” from one of our favorite poets, Harry Baker. (Lyrics here.)