Welcome to Cultivative’s weekly roundup for all things PPC from around the web—everything you need to know right now about PPC!
At Cultivative, we’re all about making your life easier. We’ve gathered the top PPC news and innovations from around the web and getting it into your hands. Check out what we found this past week.
Instagram Sponsored Posts: Everything You Need to Know
By Ana Gotter | Dec 8, 2020
Not only are there 500 million daily Instagram users, but they engage with brands 10x more than they do on Facebook. Advertisers are taking notice and want to know more about Instagram Sponsored Posts to increase their reach and grow their followings. Ana Gotter covers how to create an Instagram sponsored post, how to attract sponsors to your own brand, and how much Instagram sponsored posts cost.
10 Google Trends That Impacted Advertisers in 2020
By Tara Johnson | Dec 8, 2020
2020 was full of updates for Google advertisers. Tinuiti’s team of experts gathered their most important features and updates over the past year that they felt are important to highlight going into 2021, including:
1. New Opportunity To Reach Audiences via Google Discovery Ads
2. Buy on Google Shopping Listings Are Now Free
3. New Updates For The Merchant Center Product Feed
4. Google Launches Curbside Pickup for Local Inventory Ads
5. Unpaid Product Listings For Shopping
6. New Features Focused on Offline Sales
7. Google Expands Lead Extensions and Improves Customer Match, Offline Conversion Tracking
8. Reach more mobile Shoppers with Showcase Shopping ads
9. More Search Advertisers Deploy Amazon Attribution
10. Significant updates to Search Terms Report
2021: The Year You’ve Been Waiting for & What You Need to Prepare
By Carrie Albright | Dec 8, 2020
Carrie Albright offers advice on preparing for the coming year off the back of the most unpredictable year in marketing. As automation is becoming a dominant feature on the major platforms, she recommends giving Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) and Voice + DSAs a try for the purposes of easier access to queries you’ll never be able to expect. She also recommends trying new platforms such as Facebook Shops, LinkedIn Stories, Reddit Inventory Expansion, Snap First Commercial, and TikTok Shopify integration. Lastly, while privacy is a real concern, it also presents a real opportunity for marketers to pivot and take stock of their data.
How to Create Thumb-stopping Social Ads
By Bahador Jamshidi | Dec 9, 2020
When people are on their social media, the last thing they want to see is an ad. So how do you overcome banner blindness and create social media ads that get the user to stop scrolling and engage? Bahador Jamshidi recommends:
- Provide context
- Put a face on your business
- Make your ads look “Organic”
B2B paid search forecast: What to expect in 2021
By Lucia Rodas-Estrada | Dec 10, 2020
With new campaign types and messaging to test, and more automation features and tools at hand, 2021 promises to be fun for B2B advertisers. Here are 6 PPC trends B2B advertisers should watch in 2021:
1. SEM campaigns diversify
2. Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) gain in popularity
3. PPC managers embrace automation
4. YouTube ad investment increases
5. Mobile investment drops
6. Paid search messaging becomes increasingly customer-centric
Uncover Purpose-Themed Keyword Opportunities With Dynamic Search Ads
By John Lee | Dec 11, 2020
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are an excellent tool for keyword discovery, especially within marketing scope with purpose. John Lee explains, “Because DSA contextually matches to search queries based on the content of your website, you are discovering new search queries and learning how well your content speaks to your brand’s responsibility, values, and inclusion.” To get started, Lee recommends that you:
1. Do Your Homework
2. If You Haven’t Done so Already, Set up DSA Campaigns & Auto-Targets to Match Against Your Products or Services
3. Review the Search Query Data for Your DSA Campaigns Using N-Gram and Bigram Analysis
How to Seek Disruptive Marketing Opportunities Daily
By Rob Murray | Dec 14, 2020
Rob Murray gives an inside look at how the 3Q Digital team is able to be “proactively dedicated to questioning the status quo, driving innovation and meaningful disruption. We cultivate these qualities every day, at every level.” Here are seven ways his team regularly pursues disruptive growth:
1. Perform an audit
2. Get a second set of eyes
3. Ask the right questions
4. Challenge best practices
5. Study trends to stay ahead
6. Don’t mimic competitors; out-do them
7. Remember that the industry never sleeps
Four key decisions for planning marketing success in 2021
By Julia Stead | Dec 15, 2020
Julia Stead with Allocadia analyzed investment trends from their customer database to determine how marketers pivoted and thrived in 2020. Based on those insights, Allocadia recommends these four areas be considered when planning for a successful 2021:
- Scenario planning
- Get innovative with advertising spend
- The brand vs. demand debate shouldn’t be thought of as an either/or approach
- To invest or not to invest: Customer marketing
We hope you learned something new you can apply to your PPC business strategy. Let us know in the comments below what you want to start implementing. As always, we are happy to be a resource for your paid advertising needs. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
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