This Survey Highlights Tips and Tricks for the New Digital Marketing Landscape

The marketing landscape has seen a lot of ebbs and flows these past few years, and this has resulted in a dynamic shift which many marketing professionals are scrambling to understand. While the pandemic created a lot of problems, it also centered digital marketing with all things having been considered and taken into account. A new survey from Goodfirms sought to highlight some of the best strategies that marketing experts can leverage to obtain the most favorable results.

The first thing that this survey reveals is the popularity of social media marketing. It was used by 97.9% of businesses that responded to this survey, making it the most popular advertising option by far. Companies can use this channel to generate awareness for brands, as well as find leads that can help them boost their revenues in the future. Website referrals and useful analytics round off the package, and they can explain the high level of popularity that this marketing channel is continuing to see.

The second most popular option was email marketing because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up sending marketing and consumer engagement content directly to their inboxes. It was preferred by 72.3% of businesses all in all. Email users are constantly on the rise, so it should come as no surprise that email marketing is a top priority for brands who are trying to boost awareness and gain some much needed loyalty from their customer base.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that content marketing is also a mainstay for 41.4% of the brands and companies that responded to this survey. This includes both written and visual content, and combining this approach with social media can give it a greater level of reach than might have been the case otherwise.

Another important fact that was highlighted in this report was that most companies prefer to combine organic and paid marketing. 64.2% of firms said that they preferred a combination of the two. 21.3% said that they preferred entirely organic methods of marketing and 14.5% stated that paid marketing was more their speed.

However, it is essential to parse the differences between organic and paid marketing. Organic marketing can consist of blog posts, SEO, social media posts that are not paid for to boost reach, YouTube uploads as well as newsletters sent to email inboxes.

Paid marketing, on the other hand, includes all sorts of ads. These include paid ads on social media and on search engine results pages, as well as video and banner ads that are commonplace on platforms such as YouTube.

Anyone that is interested in implementing some paid marketing would need to familiarize themselves with the pay per click model. This makes it so that you would have to pay a fee any time someone or the other clicks on your ad. Such formats are useful since they can help marketers to only pay for clicks instead of impressions which are not all that beneficial when it comes to optimizing the sales funnel.

Marketers who are opting for PPC advertising methods tend to prefer paid search ads and social media ads more than anything else. 72.3% said that they use paid ads on search engine results pages, with 69.5% stating that social media ads are an essential part of their current marketing strategy.

Interestingly, paid marketing does not appear to take up a huge chunk of advertising budgets. 31.9% of respondents stated that they spend under 10% of the budget on paid marketing online. 27.7% spend between 11% to 25%. However, 21.3% spend between a quarter to half of their marketing budget on such ads, so they continue to be important for certain sectors.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Are Brain Parasites Behind the Success of Powerful Entrepreneurs?

Studies of wolves in the wild have yielded a lot of results that revealed that importance of collaboration amongst wolves that stayed within their packs. In spite of the fact that this is the case, there are often wolves who prefer to hack it out on their own. These wolves often end up dying out due to the dangers of being without a pack, but a few of them manage to find great success and become the Alphas of their very own packs.

Researchers at the Yellowstone Wolf Project hypothesize that such high risk and high reward behavior may be brought about by a parasitic infection in the brain. Behavior like this seems to go against the lone wolf’s best interests from a survival point of view, so there is a chance that brain parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii might be causing such aberrations although this is still just a theory at this stage.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that there are other entities outside of the wolf community that behave in a similar manner. We’re not talking about lone wolf terrorists either. Rather, the lone wolf mentality that seeks to go against the grain and innovate to forge new paths seems more similar to the mindset of a startup founder, CEO or entrepreneur.

The main impact that an infection from this parasite can have is that it increases risk seeking behavior. More specifically, the individual that is infected by Toxoplasma gondii has more of an appetite for risk than might have been the case otherwise. You need a risk taking mindset in order to become an entrepreneur because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping you take the risks necessary to get ahead.

Does that mean that all CEOs and successful entrepreneurs have this parasite roaming around in their brains? The answer might be yes, but not for the reasons that you think. It turns out that approximately 80% of all human beings might have be infected by this parasite.

The origin of this parasite comes from cat feces. Any contact from a warm blooded creature with feline fecal bacteria will likely result in an infection. Rats infected with this parasite were more likely to go exploring into unpredictable territory, so it stands to reason that it could increase a human being’s desire to venture out into the unknown as well with all things having been considered and taken into account.

Another thing to remember is that this isn’t a one to one relationship. Being infected with this brain parasite is not going to turn you into an entrepreneur overnight, so don’t go out looking for cat poop if you are unsatisfied by your current career trajectory.

There are likely a number of other factors at play here as well, and it is the combination of one’s personality as well as other aspects of your brain chemistry that can go towards entrepreneurial success. It is also possible that Toxoplasma gondii does not have any impact whatsoever on a CEO or startup founders confidence since the findings might just be a coincidence!

H/T: Business Insider

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

New Survey Says Most People Use Password Managers But Have Very Little Trust In Them

The great thing about technology is that it makes your life super simple. As far as password managers are concerned, you’ll be amazed at how many internet users actually include them in their daily lives.

Not only is the figure shocking, but a new study is highlighting another very important aspect related to the entire ordeal. And that has to do with it being a useful but unreliable tool.

The news comes to us thanks to a new survey by Tech Radar. Out of the 1000 people surveyed, nearly 750 were outlined to use the tool. Moreover, most people did reveal how they may use it but they have very little trust in it.

This is in terms of keeping their personal data safe. Yes, it’s useful in the sense that it aligns all of your logins and passwords. But keeping those credentials in the best of hands is not easy and you just don’t seem to be too confident about the matter. People claim it’s not safe but again, they’re using it thanks to the convenience it’s adding.

Then the survey proved how one-third of such people made use of combinations of dedicated managers with one that was browser integrated. Then another third spoke of using one of those two. Meanwhile, a little over a tenth mentioned that two dedicated managers for passwords was the way to go but a quarter added that they were not interested in any such tools and hence had zero usage.

Then came the time in the survey to add a score-linked password manager security. These results were not too impressive. 60% was the score that was more commonly seen by the 144 people involved in this survey. Then came the likes of 50% and 70% which again were selected by the likes of 140 and 136 individuals.

Now, these middle figures could be linked to so many recent stories showcasing password managers that were hacked. Perhaps, some of it was linked to people getting more and more worried about privacy concerns like Apple and Google that make it hard for users to resist their offerings. Some experts felt that conflicting results might have little to do with the likes of little trust in firms generally.

While some have trust in big tech names, others do not so much. Remember, big tech firms are not having it easy. They have a reputation to manage and bad PR would definitely hit them badly.

These results were shown to go against the findings proved in another survey of the past. They were contradictory as most individuals claimed to not use any password manager, to begin with.

Here, 75% said they do use it but don’t trust it as much as they’d like to it so that says a lot. Meanwhile, another survey that was analyzed also showed that people were hesitant of using these tools too. This might be one of the best explanations that reveal why many users have weak and unreliable passwords altogether.

Experts revealed how important it is to get your password game strong before it gets too late. And the tactics are awfully simple, to those that pay heed.

But another aspect that we forgot to shed light on is how the number of passwordless systems is increasing with each passing day. Today, the digital world wants to revolutionize the way we see things and the manner in which we behave. This entails biometric systems like facial recognition and even scanners that detect fingerprints.

These passkeys are getting adopted by leading firms and it wouldn’t be wrong before they make their way to all aspects of the digital world. Then, we wouldn’t need such tools as a whole. What do you think?

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

This Holiday Season Wasn't Too Good For Some Categories of Shopify

According to the research by Ampla Technologies, this holiday season wasn't too good for Shopify as its revenue dropped by a large amount in the food, beverage, and wellness category. The percentage of food revenue dropped more than any other category in Shopify. It has dropped to -9.58% YoY from 12.57% YoY. It is a great loss for many sellers and speaks volumes to non-Shopify buyers. This is also proof of the diversification of different marketplaces and retail shops and how Shopify and non-Shopify brands differ from each other.

The food category wasn't the only one to fall victim to this as the beverage category on Shopify also dropped to -14.7% from a 16.3% ratio. This was from the non-alcoholic beverage category on Shopify. Similarly, the Wellness category also lost a great deal of revenue. It dropped to 28.8% from 33.5%.

In all of this, TikTok wasn't behind anything as it came third in the ad spend percentage. The ad spend percentage was between 3% to 9% all this while and the 3% was recorded in November 2022. This was when Facebook was recorded as the highest level of total ad spend percentage. In November 2022, Facebook's ad spend percentage touched as high as 80%.

Ampla Technologies also found that many brands earned 18% of their total revenue from their custom YoY, and the savings were up to 22%. Overall, 12% of revenue was recorded in the holiday season while 14% of revenue was seen in the total orders on Shopify. Seeing all this revenue, Ampla reported the future of the online market. Ampla says that many sellers are going to use embedded finance and will use options to fill the gaps between the inventory and sale prices. They will also have to look for what the consumer needs and have to level up their tech.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Do SEOs See ChatGPT As An Alarming Threat To The Industry? This New Poll Says No

ChatGPT is indeed a very cool tool that many people in the tech industry have started to learn more about. But keeping the fun and games aside, can it really pose a threat to SEOs in today’s world?

To answer that question a recent poll was conducted. And that’s where it was highlighted that many people’s concerns were linked to its ability to write out content.

It could even provide some great recommendations for SEO across the board and would even set out some leading examples in terms of coding. In the end, some critics revealed how it may end up replacing SEOs but they appear to be least bothered.

Thanks to one poll that was set out on the Twitter app and another on Mastodon, we know about a man named Brodie Clark who really wished to see what users had to say. And nearly 2000 (total) votes came in.

They were asked if ChatGPT or related AI features could end up posing a massive threat to today’s SEO industry. Now, we are not quite sure how people ended up interpreting such threats but in this case, around 60% of the votes from SEOs stated not and that they had zero worries in the world regarding this. But again, nearly 40% of votes revealed how they were indeed quite worried about all of this.

Meanwhile, when we looked at Mastodon, the results appeared to be closer to the likes of 63% mentioning a no and around 38% stating a yes. These polls were done raw or in real-time. And by that, we mean to say that you can see the results as they are coming in.

In case you’re still confused about what ChatGPT is, well it’s another name given to a language model. It’s a type of tool for processing language that’s created to produce human-like text that relies on the type of input it gets.

While other types of language models can attain text that’s very similar to the likes of our human writing, this fails to do so and can’t replicate the whole thought process and ability to make a decision by a human.

It’s true that SEO tends to think of these tools as great and reliable for producing content or carrying out research through keywords. But they can’t be relied too heavily upon because they don’t always put out accurate judgments or replace the experience of humans.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Good News For Movie Fans As US Judge Says They Can Sue For Misleading Trailers

There can be nothing worse than watching a movie that’s the complete opposite of its trailer.

The whole idea of movie trailers is linked to building up anticipation for a film but when they turn out to be misleading, it’s never a great feeling for a devoted fan.

But if you’re a movie buff, this next piece of news is sure to excite you. Think along the lines of having the ability to sue, just in case the movie’s trailer is the opposite of what you had imagined. Yes, it’s true, as confirmed by one US Judge recently.

Fans that are not too happy about the news that their favorite actor didn’t end up in the film can pursue legal action, the judge further elaborated. And it’s something that we’ve never heard of before.

The reason is linked to false advertising which is a clear crime conducted for the sake of revenue generation for leading production houses. And it’s no longer ok, the Judge went on to add.

The news comes as two hardcore movie buffs put forward their complaints linked to a major issue they had with the film Yesterday from the year 2019. According to them, there was a slot for actor Ana de Armas.

After paying for their rented DVD and not getting what they were promised, they were clearly not happy campers. They further alleged that Universal Pictures tricked them and the world and they should pay for such consequences.

Seeing the actor not make the final cut was a tough pill for them to swallow and they really did wish things were better next time around.

But this is just one of the biggest movie grievances that so many individuals ended up having. Many others have made similar claims against Universal Pictures and the latter requested for such cases to be thrown out the window.

The American judge did take notice of the case and went on to add how such behavior was no longer okay. It is shocking to see people behave in this manner because trailers are basically previews for a film. And it’s important for them to be as honest as possible.

The judge concluded that since trailers are like ads for films, they can’t mislead the viewer.

We can’t even begin to imagine how delightful people must feel after such news comes out? Let us know what you think!

H/T: TG

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Can Smartphones Affect Your Married Life? This New Study Reveals The Answer Most People Gave

The introduction of smartphones in today’s era is definitely seen to be a double-edged sword for obvious reasons.

There has been plenty of discussions regarding this ordeal, including how beneficial and harmful these pocket-sized devices have turned out to be. But do they have the tendency to affect your married life or not?

A new study conducted on the Indian population has gone on to reveal how 88% percent of respondents felt it does affect their married life. Moreover, they fear the negative impacts they come with and the consequences that could affect their future. Did we mention how many are fearful of the way they can harm future generations too?

It’s definitely a worrying affair and couples are putting forward their opinions via the study. Yes, they link you to all sorts of people around the globe. Then you’ve got issues related to them being the root cause for breakups, especially divorces among married individuals.

This survey was carried out by the CMR and Vivo who found 88% of people agreed these devices and their excessive use may harm relationships. Around 1000 citizens with smartphones were studied from the country’s leading cities to get an equal distribution.

Via: Twitter / Vivo India

Most participants were asked to examine matters like changes in both behavioral as well as mental changes that usually arise in relationships due to excessive use of smartphones.

Additionally, we saw how 67% of such married couples usually end up using the device while spending time with each other. And then 66% agreed how their marriage ended up suffering due to this action of their spouses who excessively used the device without any limits.

Via Twitter / Vivo

Similarly, couples who were married agreed that they paid their partners less attention due to cellphone usage when their better half was seen speaking or starting a conversation of some kind.

A lot of people became upset when a spouse interrupted them while they happened to be using this device.

Some positivity was also present in the study, thank God for that!

Spouses claim they would much rather prefer to spend time with their partners than stay glued to the screens of their phones. It just ended up making them feel so calm after it all.

And then there were around 90% of people who claim they would much rather put time into things that were super meaningful like chats instead of a phone’s screen.

This is a clear demonstration of how so many people are clearly aware of how their relationships are getting affected and perhaps even replaced thanks to this modern-day invention of the tech world.

As commented upon the subject by a leading brand strategy head who works at Vivo, she says that it’s quite obvious what cell phones are doing and how damaging they are generally for our relationships of today, be they married or not married. They are taking away leisure time and it’s totally up to users to see what’s taking place before it’s too late.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World