Marketing News - May 2020

Step-by-Step Guide to Build a Monthly Social Media Calendar

Google Updates Local Opportunity Finder We are combining free tools and resources offered by Google to navigate small business owners through the onboarding process easily. Claimed Business Business Details New Opportunities Available Services Pick Up, Delivery, Booking Fundraising Gift Card Promotion Showcase Live Inventory Digital Toolkit During this month's update, another tool Google provided helps small business owners without the funds to hire a marketing agency grow their business - something much needed after a majority of small business owners went under when COVID hit. Without the resources and guidance to launch and market their business online, they closed their doors for good. With Google's new Digital Toolkit, brands can enter their website URL and see personalized recommendations. Business owners begin with a series of intro questions to better understand their product, industry, and operations. Moments later, they are delivered with a report highlighting the opportunities and improvements - often only used during the merchant center approval process. By launching this feature, it will prevent brands from being disapproved for selling on the marketplace. Our favorite feature with this product is the industry insights section - often only available to large brands. Small business owners can see how they rank in the marketplace and understand their target customer's shopping behavior. Amazon? Moving to a new platform, maybe? Social Media Updates Facebook Advertising Explained Ever wondered how Facebook advertising works? You can learn more about the algorithm and understand how the ad auction works in Facebook’s newest update . Instagram Advertising Update Brands can now advertise on Instagram without having a Facebook business account. This is excellent news for many small businesses that want to promote posts within the app easily. Twitter Launches Audio Clips Twitter Launches Audio Clips in Tweets on iOS. After it shared a test of audio clips in tweets last month, Twitter has today launched the option to add 140-second audio clips to tweets among a selected group of users on iOS. Other Updates You Should Know How TikTok's Algorithm Works - As Explained by TikTok This week, TikTok has tried to provide another level of transparency in explaining exactly how its recommendations algorithm works, and how videos gain traction, or don't, on its platform. As explained by TikTok: When you open TikTok and land in your For You feed, you're presented with a stream of videos curated to your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you love. This feed is powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user. Walmart partners with Shopify to expand web marketplace business Walmart announced a new partnership with the e-commerce shopping platform, Shopify, now used by over 1 million companies. The deal will open Walmart’s Marketplace to Shopify’s small business sellers, to bring 1,200 Shopify sellers to the marketplace this year. The partnership will greatly expand the participating brands' reach by placing them in front of Walmart Marketplace’s 120 million monthly visitors.