Are you torn between using long-form or short-form videos for your small business marketing campaign? Well, you are not alone. Despite 89% of consumers wanting to see more brand videos, there is no one-size-fits-all answer about the ideal video length.

However, this should not deter you from creating an effective video strategy. In 2023, people watched an average of 17 videos per day, highlighting the influence of video content in today’s digital landscape.

Both short-form and long-form videos offer unique advantages and come with their set of challenges. Join me as I uncover the benefits and limitations of each video format to help you make informed marketing decisions.

What are Short-Form Videos?

Short videos typically range from 30 seconds to less than 10 minutes long. They are popular on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Short-form videos deliver brief yet engaging messages that quickly capture the viewer’s attention. Here are some popular types of short-form video content.

• TikTok Challenges
• Instagram Reels
• Snapchat Stories
• YouTube Shorts
• Twitter Video Ads

Benefits of Short-Form Videos

A previously cited report shows that 39% of marketers find short-form videos, ranging from 30-60 seconds long, more successful. The same study reports that 44% of customers prefer watching a short video to learn about a brand’s offerings.

So, it is evident that short-form videos have their benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

Attention-Grabbing 

Short-form videos capture attention quickly, making them ideal for the fast-scrolling nature of social media platforms. Your audience is more likely to watch them in their entirety compared to longer content.

Cost-Effective Production 

Creating short-form videos requires less time and resources compared to longer videos. As a small business owner with a limited budget, using short-form videos can be cost-effective. 

Increased Engagement

Short-form videos engage viewers due to their crisp and concise nature. This results in more likes, comments, and shares that boost your content’s visibility and increase brand awareness. 

Integrating short-form videos into your influencer marketing campaigns can further amplify your reach to new and diverse audiences. 

Highly Shareable

Short videos are highly shareable. This makes it more likely for your viewers to share them, increasing their virality. 

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There are multiple benefits of adding video to your website including increased engagement, improved SEO, and enhanced user experience.

Limitations of Short-Form Videos

While short-form videos offer many advantages in content marketing, they also present some challenges.

Limited Message Depth

Due to their brief duration, short-form videos may struggle to convey complex or detailed messages. Longer videos might be more suitable if you need to communicate intricate information.

Competition for Attention

Standing out on platforms flooded with short-form video content can be challenging. You must create content that stands out to avoid becoming lost in the sea of other videos.

Shorter Lifespan 

Short videos may lose their relevance with time. They can quickly get buried in users’ feeds, leading to a shorter visibility and engagement period than longer, evergreen content. 

This means you must consistently create short-form videos to maintain audience interest over time.

Limited SEO Impact

Short-form videos may be more challenging to optimize for search engines than longer, more keyword-rich content. This can affect the discoverability of your content outside the social media scene.

What are Long-Form Videos?

Long-form videos are typically longer, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. They extend beyond a few minutes to several hours, providing ample time for in-depth topic exploration and detailed content. 

These videos are particularly suitable for educational content, product demonstrations, and narrative-driven storytelling. Long-form videos are common on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Common types of long-form video content include:

• YouTube Series
• Webinars
• Educational Tutorials and Courses:
• Behind-the-Scenes Content 
• Interviews and Conversations

Advantages of Long-Form Videos

Long-form video content is the fastest-growing segment, with videos above 30 minutes experiencing tremendous growth over the years. Let’s explore some of the benefits behind this growth.

Establishes Expertise and Credibility

Long-form videos allow you to provide in-depth information about various subjects, establishing your brand as an authority. Potential customers will likely trust and rely on your insights when you consistently deliver valuable content.

Builds Strong Audience Connections 

The more your audience watches your videos, the more they become familiar with your content and brand. This consistent engagement promotes trust and loyalty, helping you create deeper connections with your audience.

Provide SEO Optimization Opportunities

Long-form videos keep your audience engaged for a longer duration than short ones. This signals search engines that your content provides value, resulting in higher rankings and increased visibility. 

Besides, these videos provide opportunities to optimize for relevant keywords. This Attrock guide offers more insights into the value of SEO for your small business. 

They Are Sustainable

Unlike short videos, well-produced and valuable long-form videos have an extended shelf life. They can continue to attract views and engagement over an extended period, contributing to a sustainable content strategy.

Instagram reels are also a part of short videos and you can get benefits from this platform by integrating it with your website. You can learn how to embed Instagram Reels on websites and get extra benefits from your Reels.

Drawbacks of Long-Form Videos

Despite their benefits, long-form videos also have certain limitations, including:

Attention Span Challenges

Between distractions, juggling tasks, and information overload, user attention span quickly diminishes. Viewers may lose interest and disengage from your long video before its conclusion.

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Complex Production Process

Creating high-quality long-form videos requires more resources, including time, equipment, and skilled personnel. This can be disadvantageous, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.

Platform Limitations

Some social media platforms and video hosting sites may limit video length, making it challenging to distribute long-form video content. You may then be forced to repurpose your content to suit various platforms. 

Short-Form or Long-Form Videos: Which Are Better?

Now that you know the benefits and limitations of each format, which one should you choose? Short-form or long-form videos?

Well, it all boils down to considering several factors, such as: 

Content Objectives

What do you want to achieve from your video marketing campaign? Short-form videos are highly effective for quick brand exposure and generating buzz. Long-form videos, on the other hand, contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the brand.

Target Audience Preferences

Audiences with short attention spans likely prefer short-form videos, while long-form videos appeal to those seeking a more immersive experience.

Similarly, short-form videos may appeal more to younger audiences, while older demographics may prefer the depth of long-form content.

Platform Dynamics

Various platforms support different content formats. Short-form videos are well-suited for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. On the other hand, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are better for hosting longer videos.

Industry Type

Short-form videos would be ideal if your industry thrives on trends, entertainment, and quick messages. However, long-form videos are effective for industries requiring in-depth explanations or educational content.

Bottom Line 

Ultimately, choosing short-form or long-form videos depends on your business’s specific needs and goals. Since both formats have advantages and limitations, making a choice may prove difficult. 

However, it doesn’t have to be an uphill task. The key lies in recognizing when to incorporate each video format into your marketing strategy. Understanding your audience and its needs allows you to combine both formats strategically, maximizing the benefits of each. 

Continuously analyze performance metrics and adapt your video marketing strategy accordingly to ensure optimal engagement and conversion rates.

The post Navigating the Video Marketing Maze: Short-Form vs. Long-Form appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Did you know there are about 200 Facebook Ad metrics? That’s way too much to keep your eyes on. A smarter approach is to focus on a few metrics and ignore the rest until you need them. But how do you know which ones are really worth your constant attention? Let’s find out…

Every Facebook Advertiser Struggles with Metrics

You are not the only one who is lost in the maze of Facebook ad metrics. Every day, my team at MeasurementMarketing.io answers dozens of questions from business owners and agencies about this topic.

• I read somewhere that metric X is important but is that true?
• Why would I even track metric Y?
• Can I really ignore metric Z? 

These kinds of questions are important, but they are often asked at the wrong moment. 

The key to understanding which Facebook Ad metrics matter the most to you, is to see them as possible answers to questions you have about Facebook campaigns.

Let’s dive in…

Are my Facebook Campaigns Profitable?

Paid ads are like an investment. You pour money into ads and hope that you will get more money back. 

But like any other investment, there is a difference between hope and reality. 

One metric in Facebook Ads Manager will partially answer whether your ads are performing as you had hoped.

Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)

This metric tells you how much money you get back from every dollar you spent on Facebook ads. 

It is calculated with the following formula:

Revenue / Ad spend

For example: (your revenue) $1,000 / $500 (spent on ads) = ROAS 2

That means that for every dollar you spent on Facebook ads, the platform  generated $2 revenue. 

All that sounds great, but keep the following in mind:

• Revenue and profit are different things. So, you will have to do your own calculations to find out if your Facebook ads are actually making profit for you.
• To calculate the real Return On Investment (ROI) of Facebook paid campaigns, you need to include costs for setting up and managing your ads. 
• This metric is especially useful to ecommerce stores because they sell directly and know for which price. For service providers, ROAS is harder to calculate because it is hard to assign a price for someone who, for example, signs up to a newsletter. 
• Facebook knows a lot about you, but you need to assign values to conversions. I cover that a bit further below. 

How Much do My Facebook Ads Cost?

Running ads costs money. To keep track of how much, you can use over 60 Facebook Ad metrics. Here are some interesting ones that can give you valuable insights.

Amount Spent

This metric tells you how much money you have already spent on a Facebook ad or campaign. 

Although you can set daily budgets to keep your budget under control, it is absolutely worth checking this metric regularly. If the amount is low, for example, that can mean nobody is seeing or clicking on your ads. 

Cost Per Mille (CPM)

This metric answers the question how much it costs to show your ad 1,000 times. If you run awareness campaigns, it is useful for two reasons:

• CPM is a metric that is used by other ad platforms or websites that sell advertising space. It makes it easy to compare the price to advertise on different platforms. On the other hand, it doesn’t tell anything about how profitable the ads are. 
• The CPM also lets advertisers easily compare the cost of different campaigns on the same platform. If, for example, the CPM for one Facebook campaign is $10 and $5 for another, it is worth diving deeper to understand what causes this price difference. Is it because of the timing? The copy of the ad? The audience? The frequency? Etc.

Cost Per Impression

This metric tells you how much every impression of an ad on Facebook costs you. It is not a very important one from the digital marketer’s helicopter point of view. 

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But I included it anyway to illustrate that Facebook has metrics that can give answers to more complicated questions you didn’t come up with before. 

Prices per unit also put things in a different perspective. Knowing that every bite you take from, let’s say a Philly Cheesesteak (Can you tell I’m from Philly?!?), costs you 0.25 cents, may either spoil or add more taste to your meal. 

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Facebook has two metrics for clicks. CPC links are more important than CPC All, because it tells you how much a link to your landing page costs. A click that is, for example, included in CPC All is when someone clicks to see more of your ad copy. 

CPCs fluctuate and the price Facebook charges you depends on factors such as timing, audience size, the services or products you promote, and so on. 

Yet, the CPC is a powerful metric that is worth keeping your eyes on:

• It gives you a clear idea of how cheap or expensive clicks to your site or web shop are.If, for example, you pay $10 per click to sell a $3 product, it may be time to rethink your paid advertising strategy completely. 
• A high CPC may also be a sign that your landing page has an issue. I will get back to that further below. 
• CPC is also a useful metric to compare the performance of campaigns over time, or to find out which ads are repeatable or need optimization. 

Cost Per Action (CPA)

Ideally, people take action when they see your Facebook ad. That can, for instance, be a click to your landing page, watching a video, sharing your page, and so on. 

The CPA metric shows you how much these actions cost. It is also good to:

• Use the CPA as an internal benchmark. Simply put: if you can decrease it, you will get more at a lower cost. 
• Compare the CPAs of different actions. If you  take the bigger picture into account, it may turn out that you have been running ads to trigger people to take actions that don’t boost your business.

Cost Per Conversion

Another metric that is definitely worth your attention is the Cost Per Conversion. If you know, for example, that your paid ads cost you $5 for someone to add a product to the shopping cart, that will give you a good idea whether the campaign is profitable or requires fine-tuning.  

Do My Facebook Ads Actually Contribute to My Goals?

The best way to find out if your Facebook ads help you actually achieve your campaign goals is to look at conversion metrics. 

Conversions are important actions that people take, like adding a product to the basket, filling in a form, signing up for a trial account, and so on.

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate is the percentage of people who click on your ad and do what you want them to do. Let’s assume 100 people click on your product ad and 50 of them add the product to your cart, the conversion rate will be 50%.

That may sound exciting, but if none of them actually buys your product, the conversion rate for your sales goal will be 0%.

It is therefore important to think about your goals and conversions before you dive into metrics. 

How Much Value do My Facebook Ads Generate?

In Facebook Ads, you can assign a ton of conversion values for every goal you want to achieve.

Even if you don’t sell products or courses online, you may profit from assigning a value to conversions, like the Contact conversion value or Leads Conversion Value.

Total Conversion Value

The total conversion value is self-explanatory. But it can also be misleading. If you define, for example, a Content views conversion Value or App activations conversion value, you may get a total skewed version of what your conversions actually are worth. 

Is My Facebook Target Audience Even Interested in My Ads?

Although Facebook is a great advertising platform to reach your ideal audience, your ads may not be appealing to them. The following metrics can help you find that out quickly.

CTR (Click Through Rate)

The click through rate metrics is the calculated percentage of clicks compared to how many times your ad was displayed.

If, for example, your ad was shown 1,000 times and the link to your site was clicked 10 times, your CTR is 1%. 

The toughest part is to decide whether your CTR is good or bad. One way to know this is to run several ads simultaneously and see which one has the highest CTR. 

But this approach is risky too. A higher CTR may not result in higher conversions.

Relevance Score

Facebook assigns a relevance score between 1 and 10 to your ads. The higher the score, the more relevant the ad is for your audience, according to Facebook.

Ads can break or make your campaigns. A picture, the copy, but also how many times it is shown are all details that can make or break your campaign. The following metrics help you better understand how your ads are doing.

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Ad Frequency

This metric tells you how many times the ad has been displayed on average in the Facebook feed of your target audience. 

Mind that this metric can mean many different things depending on the type of campaign you are running.

• With brand awareness campaigns, you can show your ad more before people get tired of it.
• If you are running a lead gen campaign, people usually get annoyed when they see the same ad too many times in a short period of time. 

The list of metrics will help answer the important questions you, your business or customers have about paid marketing campaigns on Facebook

Alas, these metrics cannot give all the answers you need to run successful paid campaigns… 

The 4 Biggest Mistakes Facebook Advertisers can Make

The MeasurementMarketing.io team has taught and supported hundreds of businesses with measuring and optimizing their marketing campaigns for success. 

There are 4 mistakes that keep returning and I figured it’s worth dropping them here so you won’t need to make these mistakes yourself…

Mistake 1: Misunderstanding Metrics

Like any other industry, digital marketing is filled with jargon. It’s easy to misunderstand what something is and is not.

Metrics are often confused with: 

• Business goals 
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Dimensions
• Segments

Metrics are just the numbers you add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

Dimensions, on the other hand, are how you sort those numbers.

For example, you might have a “Dimension” that is the Traffic Source and then the “Metric” might be the number of users from that traffic source.

Always remember though, you’ll always first start with a question in mind and then you jump into the data to find the answer (never the other way around!).

Mistake 2: Ignoring Data from Facebook 

Most businesses understand that data is important. But in two situations, it is tough to make data-driven decisions.

Analysis Paralysis

Facebook Ad Manager contains a lot of data, but that is often overwhelming. Not all businesses have the know-how or resources to even look at numbers, charts, graphs and therefore simply ignore them.

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Focus on just ONE THING at a time.  I like to take the advice I learned from my buddy Jeff Sauer at DataDrivenU.com…

“Assign one KPI per team member.”

This keeps it really simple.  If it’s just you, focus on the ONE metric that needs the most improvement.  As your team grows, you can expand your focus (because you’ll have more people to help!).

No Access to Real-Time Data 

This happens, for example, when an external party is running ads and reports monthly. By the time decision makers know what’s going on, the monthly Facebook marketing budget is already gone. 

Businesses that ignore, or don’t have access to Facebook data, lose a lot more than money.

The target audience may, for example, have seen a Facebook ad too many times. It will be an expensive challenge to turn that around.

Mistake 3: Focus on the Wrong or too Many Metrics

Facebook, and other ad platforms, make it very easy to set up your first campaign. They promise you will get results without having to lift a finger. 

And then reality kicks in. 

At one point, you need to understand the true value of data. 

But as I said in the beginning of this article, it can feel overwhelming, confusing or for some, not enough. 

The opposite reaction of analysis paralysis is wanting to have even more data to make complete data-driven decisions. 

Facebook Ads has a ton of them available, like 

• Photo views
• Unique achievements unlocked
• Unique ratings submitted
• Cost per unique level completed
• Etc. 

The question is…

Do you really need all that data to drive your business forward?

In other words, ask yourself, “Is this useful?”

This brings us to the last mistake (which actually might sound contradictory)…

Mistake 4: Ignoring Data from Other Sources

Customers start their journey after they have clicked on your Facebook ad. But as you know, a lot can go wrong when the user lands on a site or web shop.

Think, for example, of:

• The contact form may not be working. 
• The site might not be optimized for a specific device.
• The conversion tracking may not be set up correctly.
• The landing page may not be aligned with the message of the ad.
• Your actual revenue may differ from what Facebook or other platforms, like Google Analytics 4, shows. 

I am not claiming that Facebook Ad metrics are worthless, but you need to pick them carefully. 

Sometimes the best “source of truth” will definitely be Facebook Ads.  But sometimes (often!) it won’t be the best source for the answers you’re looking for.

To measure your actual revenue, for example, it is wiser to rely on data from your cart, or (even better!) your merchant processor (platforms, like PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, etc.).

Conclusion: 

Facebook Ad metrics are very powerful to 

• Measure the performance of your campaigns
• Get insights on how to improve your campaigns
• Control your paid ads budget on the biggest social media platform
• Reach the right audience with the right message at the right moment
• Achieve your business goals

But Facebook Ad metrics reveal only one part of the complicated customer journey. 

If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, as a business or marketing agency, then make sure you:

• Track only the most valuable Facebook Ad metrics
• Include metrics from other platforms and tools to make profound decisions
• Give your team access to the data they need to do their job
• Present everything in a shared dashboard that’s explains itself

This is the secret sauce of businesses that thrive in the complicated digital marketing landscape. 

I hope this information will help you become a better Facebook marketer or give your business a better understanding of Facebook Ad metrics and how they fit in the bigger picture of digital marketing.

The post 12 Facebook Ad Metrics Worth Your Attention appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

The digital marketing software market is valued at $60.3 billion. And it’s expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.5% over the next decade.

With a plethora of digital marketing tools in the market, choosing the right ones can be a daunting task.

However, it’s essential to invest in the best tools to enhance your digital marketing efforts and help you stand above the inevitable competition from your peers.Competition is a significant challenge for 27.1% of digital marketers today, as revealed in a survey conducted by Influencer Marketing Hub.

So which tools should you use to get an edge? 

You don’t need to spend time researching the best tools. In this article, I’ll introduce you to five digital marketing tools that can boost your efforts and give you an edge over the competition.

5 Digital Marketing Tools to Drive Better Results

Here are five digital marketing tools that address different areas of digital marketing. 

They range from tools that enhance website speed to ones for improving landing pages and enhancing overall user experience.

1. TinyImage

TinyImage is one of the digital marketing tools you need to invest in. It’s an image compression tool that reduces the size of your PNG and JPG images online by over 75%.

You don’t have to worry about the security of sensitive image files as well. TinyImage uses a secure 256-bit encrypted SSL connection. It also deletes your images within a few hours of uploading them.

How can TinyImage improve your digital marketing ROI? 

Larger-sized images take up a lot of bandwidth, which slows down loading times for your visitors.

Research by Digital.com shows 21% of online shoppers are dissatisfied by slow-loading pages. Half will abandon their shopping cart if a page fails to load fast enough.  

This app is most helpful for agencies that provide custom app development services. It helps them to compress images in a few seconds and convert apps into fast loading for their clients.

Use TinyImage to:

• Compress images without losing image quality
• Compare the file size of the compressed images to ensure you have the optimal file size
• Save time by compressing multiple images at a go

Price

• Free

2. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is one of the best social media marketing tools in the market. It helps you manage all aspects of your social presence.

You can analyze the performance of your posts and Reels to find the best Instagram Reels to embed on your website. Also, you can also monitor your competitors, manage conversations with your audience, and plenty more.

Sprout Social boosts your social media marketing efforts. And according to research, effective social media marketing results in higher sales for 55% of businesses.

What you can do with Sprout Social:

• Analyze the performance of your campaigns and get insights into areas of improvement
• Uncover current trends and opportunities to engage with your target audience through social listening
• Schedule and publish posts across multiple platforms

Price

• Standard: $249 per month
• Professional: $399 per month
• Advanced: $499 per month

Enterprise: Custom

3. Zendesk

Customer support plays a crucial role in creating a better customer experience for your e-commerce store and optimizing your digital marketing efforts.

And Zendesk is one of the best tools you can use to ensure provide personalized customer support.

It’s AI-powered AI chatbot, live chat, help desk ticketing system, and other solutions help you provide instant and right customer support.

Why is it one of the best digital marketing tools to boost your ROI? 

Zendesk has helped generate numerous leads, sales, and signups for its customers with its low-cost ownership offers.

How Zendesk can help your business achieve better marketing results:

• It offers an AI-powered chatbot and live chat that answers instantly to customers’ questions.
• It offers the right reporting and analytics software that help you get real-time insights for your business.

Price

• Free: $0
• Starting: $19 per month
• Suite Team: $55 per month
• Suite Growth: $89 per month
• Suite Professional: $115 per month

Suite Enterprise: Reach out to them

4. Ahrefs

Keyword research tools are important for any digital marketing strategy. And Ahrefs is one of the best there is. It’ll help boost your SEO strategies to improve your website’s visibility and ranking in SERPs.

It’s not just a keyword research tool, but an all-in-one SEO toolset that analyzes the ranking difficulty of keywords, simplifies backlinking, and more.

You can use it to scan your website for technical and on-page SEO problems that may be holding back your ranking.

Ahrefs also lets you keep tabs on keywords your competitors are ranking for and get insights into the SEO strategies they are implementing. 

Additionally, you can use it to get content ideas that have the potential to draw traffic to your site and find link prospects from a database of over 14 billion web pages.

Ahrefs also provides access to other free digital marketing tools like a backlink checker and AI writing tools

What you can do with Ahrefs to boost your digital marketing ROI

• Find keywords for YouTube, Amazon, and Bing and generate additional keyword ideas using AI to reach a wider audience
• Find backlink prospects to increase your SERP ranking and enhance your credibility
• Visualize your SEO progress using interactive graphs

Price

• Lite: $99 per month
• Standard: $199 per month
• Advanced: $399 per month

Enterprise: $999 per month

5. Hotjar

Google has clearly stated that it rewards content that provides a good page experience. Hotjar is one of the best digital marketing tools you can use to gain insights on ways to improve user experience and also optimize your store for conversions.

It provides heat maps that you can use to see your website visitors’ activities and identify friction points. The heatmaps show you how your visitors move, click, and scroll.

You can also compare user behavior across different devices using Hotjar to identify opportunities to increase conversions.

And if you serve video ads on your website or any other type of ad, you can conduct surveys and collect feedback from your customers to learn how they’re affecting their user experience.

What you can do with Hotjar to improve your ROI:

• Watch full recordings of your visitors’ journey on your site to find and fix user experience issues
• Access all user data from a single dashboard, including feedback, metrics, and session recordings
• Automatically generate relevant surveys using AI and get automated summary reports of the responses

Price:

• Basic: Free
• Plus: $39 per month
• Business: $99 per month
• Scale: $213 per month

Start Leveraging the Best Digital Marketing Tools Today

Leveraging digital marketing tools is crucial if you want to enhance your ROI. And these are the 5 best tools available in the market that you can use.

They all serve different aspects of digital marketing but with similar goals—improving audience engagement, driving conversions, and maximizing your marketing efforts.

Go ahead and give them a shot to take your digital marketing efforts to the next level and boost your ROI.

The post 5 Must-Have Digital Marketing Tools for 2024 to Skyrocket Your ROI appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Classic copywriting books are needed now more than ever. With the explosion of marketing technology, AI-generated content, and companies worldwide competing for the same customers, timeless principles are priceless. 

Because although AI can generate content, understanding human emotions and psychology, as taught in these books, is essential for creating an engaging and persuasive copywriting piece.

With all our new technology, it’s easy to get pulled away from the fundamentals of copywriting. However, when you combine the fundamentals with modern technology, you become unstoppable.

Breakthrough Advertising By Eugene Schwartz

Breakthrough Advertising is a favorite among copywriters. Eugene Schwartz, a direct-response copywriter who was prolific in the mid-20th century, is a legend.

Breakthrough Advertising is a dense book, and most reviews will only cite the Schwartz lessons from the first half. For example, almost every review will cite Schwartz’s advice that demand for a product cannot be created—only channeled.

(I guess I just did it too.)

That advice about customer demand is indeed sage wisdom to write down and remember forever. But it’s in the second half of the Breakthrough Advertising, which gets little attention, where I find the most gems. 

One of those gems is Schwartz writing about the topic of belief.

Belief is the goal, Schwartz states.

If you can channel the tremendous force of his belief—either in content or direction—behind only one claim, no matter how small, then that one fully-believed claim will sell more goods than all the half-questioned promises your competitors can write for all the rest of their days.

A prospect can’t fully accept and value your offer unless you build the necessary beliefs. Your coupons and bonuses will bounce right off your prospects unless they believe your product is right for them.

As an example, Schwartz describes a challenge he had in selling a TV repair manual. Back in the 1950’s, TVs were complex, intimidating machines that broke down constantly, leading to expensive repair bills.

The homeowner could save a ton of money doing TV repairs themselves. The problem was that nobody believed they could actually repair a TV.

Schwartz persuaded prospects they could repair the TV using nothing but his words. He did it through the way he structured his sales letter, strategically targeting belief after belief. You can find the full sales letter in Breakthrough Advertising—it’s incredible.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK TODAY:

These days, the marketing world is filled with hype and over-the-top promises. Schwartz advises us to dial down those big promises. Instead, focus on building belief. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and ask, “What does my prospect need to believe in order to say “yes” to my offer?

If you want more on this topic of belief building in your prospect’s mind, I teach a step-by-step process in my own, Simple Marketing for Smart People.

The Robert Collier Letter Book

Robert Collier built a successful direct-response marketing business by sending simple letters in the mail. 

He used letters to sell all sorts of products, from coal (Collier was a mining engineer) to women’s dresses. But he mainly sold books. 

The books were typically stories from history, such as H.G. Wells’s The Outline of History, or personal development books around achievement and success. Collier sold over 300,000 copies of his personal development book called The Secret of the Ages.

His letters were clear, compelling, and most importantly—human.

Collier has a way of writing that makes you feel like he’s writing you a personal letter even though has was mailing these letters to thousands of people.

One notable letter was written to mothers and sold a home study course. It has the headline: “There is No University Like a Mother’s Reading to Her Child.”

Really tugs on the heartstrings, doesn’t it? That’s classic Collier.

Now, these letters were not merely for entertainment. He calls the letters he writes “Resultful Letters,” meaning the letters had to lead to results. That is, a purchase.

But it’s Collier’s way of getting the reader to take action (i.e., to purchase the product) that sets him apart.

His approach centers on knowing your reader. Collier states:

Familiarity with the thing you are selling is an advantage, but the one essential without which success is impossible in selling, by mail or selling in person, is a thorough understanding of human reactions. Study your reader first—your product second. If you understand his reactions and present those phases of your product that relate to his needs, then you cannot help but write a good letter.

Wise words for today’s copywriter.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK TODAY:

Use The Robert Collier Letter to add a human element to your writing. This book is different in that it’s learn by example. There’s not as much teaching as other copywriting books, but rather, you learn from Collier’s example letters, of which there are dozens.

Read Collier’s letters, his commentary, and his approach will sink in. The next time you sit down to write copy, you’ll naturally harness your inner Collier.

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins

Claude Hopkins is a pioneering figure in advertising. His most famous book, Scientific Advertising, is short at just 87 pages. Yet, it’s still constantly referenced for its timeless principles.

In Scientific Adveritsing, Hopkins writes:

The lack of fundamentals has been the main trouble with advertising in the past . . . it was like a man trying to build a modern locomotive without first asserting what others had done.

Hopkins laments that advertising success has felt like too much of a gamble, too much too much like speculation, like betting at the race track.

Do you see how even today, we’re wrestling with the same problem? We roll out a new product launch, ad campaign, or VSL, and it feels like we’re rolling the dice.

Hopkins believed advertising could be a safe and sure venture. But in order to do so, we must learn the fundamentals.

Hopkins then walks through his nearly 20 laws of advertising. He covers everything from headlines to distribution to giving samples. That last law, giving samples, was one of Hopkin’s favorite techniques. He sold a mountain of products by giving away samples. Hopkins believed the product should be its own best salesman. 

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK TODAY:

Each of Hopkin’s laws can be applied today. For example, his law of giving samples is easier than ever thanks to shipping across the world being easier than ever. 

His law on individuality and adding personality to your copy is critical given the massive amount of content on the internet and the difficulty of standing out.

Weave Hopkin’s laws into your next copywriting project and enjoy the results.

Your Turn

The benefit of learning copywriting from history’s greats is that they weren’t distracted by the internet and modern technology. That meant they put all their effort into the only tool they had—their words.

Study these great books to learn the timeless principles that lead to high-converting copy. Then, combine those principles with modern technology and watch your results soar.

The post 3 Classic Copywriting Books You Need Now More than Ever appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is like a siren’s song – captivating but potentially treacherous. As we sail into 2024, it’s increasingly clear that an over-reliance on AI could be the very thing that undermines your career as a marketer.

This isn’t just a cautionary tale; it’s a looming reality. AI is changing the game, yes, but it’s also setting a trap for marketers who lean on it too heavily without mastering the true essence of their craft.

The allure of AI in marketing is undeniable. It’s like stumbling upon a magic pill that promises to solve all our challenges with efficiency and insight. But here’s the crucial twist: as we immerse ourselves more in AI, there’s a risk we’re losing touch with the heart and soul of marketing – the human connection.

Marketing, in its purest form, is about knowing, liking, and trusting. If AI is doing all the talking, are we truly connecting with our audience, or just creating an algorithmic façade?

This is where the danger lies. AI, while brilliant at crunching numbers and spotting patterns, cannot replicate the intuition, creativity, and emotional intelligence inherent in a seasoned marketer. There are a lot of essential human behavior principles underlying all good marketing that might get completely neglected if we over-rely on AI. It’s not just about using tools; it’s about understanding why and how to use them effectively.

The real peril for marketers in 2024 is becoming mere operators of AI tools rather than remaining as creatives and strategists. AI can suggest moves, but without understanding the strategy, you’re playing a losing game. Marketing and sales have this problem all the time, that sales is promising X and marketing is delivering Y. There is a misalignment of messaging and it breaks trusts. Without trust, you have no brand.

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Marketers must not lose their grip on creativity and critical thinking, the very skills that define great marketing and develop limitless brands. AI is adept at following instructions, but it lacks the ability to think outside the box or understand the emotional triggers behind consumer behavior.

The challenge for marketers is to strike a balance. Use AI effectively, but don’t let it overshadow the human marketing skills that are crucial for success. The essentials of marketing – understanding your audience, speaking in their language, building relationships, and telling stories that resonate – cannot be automated. These skills are the lifeblood of effective marketing and are what will differentiate you in an AI-dominated world.

Looking to the future, don’t just be a useless operator, be a creative. Learn marketing, take courses, seek feedback, understand your audience, tell stories that speak to them, build relationships, and develop skills in leadership, sales, and communication. These are the attributes that will secure your career for life, not just your proficiency in handling AI tools.

To wrap up, while AI will continue to play a significant role in marketing, it should not and cannot replace the fundamental human elements that make marketing so effective. The key to thriving in 2024 and beyond is to evolve with AI, using it to enhance your skills, not replace them.

By striking this balance, you can ensure that you’re not just good in the eyes of AI, but excellent in the eyes of your audience, maintaining the human touch that has always been the cornerstone of successful marketing.

Remember, in this new era, the most creative marketers will always be in high demand, and operators will be disposable. Be more than just an operator; be the marketer who blends AI’s efficiency with the irreplaceable power of human connection.

Don’t be a vanilla marketer. Stand out, connect, and make a difference.

The post Unpopular Opinion: WHY AI Could Make You Look Like a Bad Marketer in 2024 appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no escaping it! When it comes to AI or artificial intelligence, this statement holds true.

Today, over 80% of digital marketers make use of AI in some way or the other. Whether it is using ChatGPT for generating ideas or Jasper for your captions, AI is here to stay.

More and more AI tools are cropping up with the promise of making your job easier. So, should you jump on the bandwagon in 2024? Is AI for you?

Don’t worry. This article has all the answers as we walk you through the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence in digital marketing in 2024. So, let’s delve right in!

8 Benefits of AI in Digital Marketing in 2024

First, let’s unpack all the exciting benefits AI has to offer in the field of digital marketing in 2024.

1. Taking Up Personalization a Notch Higher

In 2024, AI’s impact on digital marketing is more pronounced than ever. One of the reasons for this can be that people are more receptive to advanced technology and are willing to give it a try.

But how can it help with personalization? Well, sophisticated AI algorithms can help businesses fine-tune their interactions with users.

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By analyzing vast datasets, AI differentiates between individual preferences, behaviors, and demographics. All these pointers allow you to deliver hyper-personalized content, product recommendations, and user experiences. Now, if you are wondering, is personalization even necessary? The answer is a big yes!

Around 91% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them. So, to help you out, AI can assist with customized email campaigns to vibrant website content so you connect well with your consumers.

Additionally, AI is valuable across both the B2C and the B2B customer journey, elevating personalized interactions throughout every stage.

2. Optimized Advertising Strategies that Actually Work

In 2024, the integration of Artificial Intelligence can redefine your advertising strategies in digital marketing.

AI comes with analytical powers that can transform your advertising precision.

What does this do? Simple! It ensures that your message reaches the right audience at the right time.

After all, that’s the key to successful advertising campaigns- reaching the target audience at the perfect time!

So, how does it work?

Well, with the help of machine learning algorithms, you can decipher user behavior patterns, optimize ad targeting, and more.

End of the day, you can elevate ad efficiency with AI and add a personal touch to guarantee a better response.

3. Improved Content Creation that Aligns with the Brand

Content is no longer the king but the entire kingdom. This aspect is only going to grow in 2024. However, with AI, content creation can become easier as it injects efficiency and innovation.

AI-powered tools possess the necessary skills to curate relevant yet engaging content that can save you time and other resources. From automated copywriting to rewriting a piece of content, AI writers are well-versed in this creative process. There’s more. With the right AI tools, you can create content that resonates with your brand voice.

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For instance, having podcasts nowadays is a great way to establish a brand voice and convey your message. However, traditional podcasts usually take a lot of time to produce. But that’s no longer the case. Nowadays, you need to learn how to create a podcast with generative AI to be more productive.

So, as a digital marketer, you can now focus on strategy and ideation!

4. Implement of Change Your Strategies Successfully

Bored with the current strategy? It’s not working well for you? In need of a new plan of action? Well, AI has your back. By infusing sophisticated algorithms into your traditional workflows, you can make way for effective and beautiful strategies that help you reach your goals.

What AI does is that it enhances data analysis, offer you actionable insights, and encourages the right decision.

Amazing, isn’t it?

5. Elevates Bottom Line & ROI

Integrating AI into digital marketing offers a major advantage by significantly boosting the bottom line and overall return on investment for campaigns.

How?

Through data-driven insights and predictive analytics, AI improves your marketing strategies. So, all the resources are allocated to the most impactful channels and campaigns.

The result? Heightened campaign effectiveness, increased conversion rates, and a positive impact on the organization’s financial outcomes. Wow! And, all it takes is the support of AI!

6. Help to Produce Creative Graphic Designs

The capacity to accelerate the design process is one of the most significant advantages of AI in design. AI-powered tools can create unique design concepts, layout possibilities, and color schemes rapidly, cutting project completion time in half.

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Let’s see one of the biggest markets that mostly use creative designs, the “Print On Demand market”. You agree with that, right?

The AI Print On Demand market is changing how marketers make and sell products. Creators and business owners may use AI to create custom merchandise and streamline their processes by leveraging cutting-edge technology.

AI is having a huge impact on the print-on-demand and general graphics designing industries, by changing how designs are made, mockups are generated, and so on.

7. Increase Operational Efficiency In Your Campaigns

The amalgamation of AI into operational processes means a surge in efficiency. Who wouldn’t want that?

AI takes away the burden from you, decreasing human-intensive work, and enabling a more agile and productive operational environment. It also leads to automation of data analysis, reporting, and other repetitive tasks.

Let’s say you want to build a landing page to market your product, and the main task in this process is copywriting, to lead visitors to take the next step, and build lead generation forms that collect your visitor’s contact information. There are some AI tools you can use to complete these tasks within a few minutes.

In fact, when you take a look at the overall operational benefits, it not only accelerates workflows but also reduces errors. So, in short, it enhances overall efficiency.

8. Voice Search Optimization

Search engine optimization is important. But what about voice search optimization? Today, more than 1 billion voice searches take place every month.

In 2024, voice search optimization is all set to become a major aspect of digital marketing as more users embrace voice-activated devices. With the growing popularity of virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, you must adapt their SEO strategies to cater to voice searches.

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When it comes to VSO, it becomes crucial to customize the content to match natural language queries. Here, the focus must be on conversational keywords to provide concise and informative answers. And AI can help you out.

5 Drawbacks of AI in Digital Marketing in 2024

Now that you know about the major benefits of AI in digital marketing, let’s unpack the drawbacks associated with it.

1. Privacy Concerns

With the growth of AI in digital marketing in 2024, one major drawback we must be aware of is privacy concerns. Let’s just say that the increasing reliance on AI for data analysis and personalization raises questions about the security of user information.

But wait. Before you get disheartened, it’s important to understand this. You can still use AI to gain insights into consumer behavior. However, it is crucial to strike a delicate balance between delivering personalized experiences and respecting user privacy.

All you need are proper data protection measures in place. Along with transparent data usage policies and compliance with the changing privacy regulations. If you can do this, you have nothing to worry about.

2. Becoming Overly Dependent on Automation

Heard of the saying anything of too much can be too bad? Well, this holds true in this scenario.

Chances are we may start to overly rely on AI in digital marketing, which can put you at risk of losing the human touch. And this is a major aspect of any marketing campaign.

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For instance, if you’re an email marketer, AI may help in the tracking of email marketing campaigns, generating subject lines, and personalizing email copies. But if you do your email marketing tasks fully automated, from designing templates to creating emails, that will negatively affect your business.

The question you must ask yourself is what makes you stand out. Because with excessive reliance on AI, your campaigns may result in generic, impersonal interactions, which can even alienate your customers. Definitely not good for your business!

Therefore, proper amalgamation of automated processes and human creativity is essential to maintain a personalized and emotionally resonant connection with the audience.

3. Implementation Costs and Skill Gaps

Implementing AI for digital marketing in 2024 may not be cost-effective for all. Now, you may be wondering, what about the free AI tools? Well, they cannot help you be innovative, can they? As they come with a set of limitations.

To stand out and integrate advanced AI technologies, the initial investment may be high. This can be a barrier for businesses, especially smaller enterprises.

While AI means automation, you still need experts to manage and optimize AI systems. Training existing staff or hiring qualified personnel becomes crucial. This can feel like a complex chore, and you can hire professionals who can get the job done without AI. It can be simpler in some cases.

4. Unintended Consequences of AI Decisions

Now, AI systems tend to make autonomous decisions (for instance, in digital signage). This is a risk because some decisions may be unexpected, and even lead to potentially negative outcomes.

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Remember, AI is not so cut and dry. Biases within algorithms, misinterpretation of data, or unforeseen interactions can occur, and this can lead to unintended consequences.

So, to avoid this, you must ensure vigilant monitoring, interpretability, and continual refinement of AI models. If this feels like too much work, AI may not be ideal for you.

5. Regulatory Compliance and Changing Laws

It’s crucial to ensure regulatory compliance with AI-driven digital marketing as new laws and policies keep cropping up. Remember, we have never had AI before. This innovation is a first and as it evolves, the rules and regulations also keep getting strict.

Therefore, adhering to stringent regulations is essential to building trust with consumers and avoiding any legal ramifications.

In 2024, you must steer through the complex data protection laws, such as the Digital Data Personal Protection Bill, to protect user information. This is just one example. So, you must stay on top of your game here and implement proactive measures for a secure and trustworthy digital environment for consumers.

Should Companies/Agencies Use AI in Their Marketing Process?

Now you must be wondering if you must embrace AI or discard it. Well, we think striking the right balance is the key. Over-reliance on AI can be dangerous because you tend to limit yourself and not gain the necessary skills.

That said, letting go of AI is not ideal. Companies and agencies should make use of AI in their marketing processes to gain a competitive edge and enhance efficiency.

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Remember, AI brings powerful tools such as machine learning algorithms, predictive analytics, natural language processing, and so much more. This enables you to dig deep and unpack vast amounts of data while deriving actionable insights. The bottom line is that when you understand customer behavior and preferences, AI can help customize marketing strategies to make way for personalized and targeted campaigns. This is crucial as it drives your desired results.

AI-driven automation can streamline and even optimize routine tasks like email marketing, social media management, and customer segmentation. All this allows marketing teams to focus on creative and strategic aspects. AI also helps with pricing, optimizing advertising spend, and improving ROI.

Even chatbots, powered by AI can be used to enhance customer engagement by providing instant responses and personalized interactions. After all, today, people want everything this very instant, and catering to this need can help you build a loyal consumer base.

The Final Word

These were the main pros and cons of AI in digital marketing in 2024. Remember, while AI can be a boon, it is important to keep that human touch and creativity alive. It is truly a wise move to embrace the power of AI. That said, We live in a competitive market. So, you must always strive to gain an edge and stand out. You must equip yourself with a nuanced approach while ensuring ethical practices. If you do all that is required, you are good to go!

The post AI in 2024: A Digital Marketer’s Guide to Benefits and Pitfalls appeared first on DigitalMarketer.