Today in Digital Marketing - Why Consumers Aren't Using Your Referral Program

Starting point is 00:00:00 It is Monday, October 30th. Today, the ad-free Facebook has arrived, but it'll cost you plenty. Plus, the one change you should make to your referral program, what consumers say about your mid-roll ads, and the threads feature marketers all want is on its way. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in digital marketing. Today's episode is sponsored by Check Essentials, the top self-serve marketing security platform That's ahead today in digital marketing. Check Essentials detects and blocks fake and fraudulent users in real time using thousands of cybersecurity tests on every user. Malicious bots, competitors, and spam, Check blocks them all, ensuring that every cent you spend reaches valid users who can convert and provide you with pure, clean data to rely on for your decision making. Join over 15,000 companies that secure their ads and websites with Check. For today and digital marketing listeners, an exclusive 10% discount and a one-month

Starting point is 00:01:13 free trial is yours. Tap the link in the show notes or go to b.link slash gocheck. That's b.link slash g-o-c-h-e-q. You're aware that the major search engines provide a schema format for you to indicate specific elements in your content. A recipe would have a schema for ingredients and directions. A product page could delineate price, shipping info, and discounts. But how much of a ranking boost in Google does providing that schema data give you? That is today's quiz. Here are your choices.

Starting point is 00:01:50 Does it provide a doubling of your rank? Does it improve your ranking but only by a little? Or does it do nothing for that page's ranking at all? The answer at the end of today's episode. Meta is launching an ad-free paid subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram in parts of Europe. The move comes after years of privacy litigation in the EU, which has made it challenging for Meta to track and profile users for ad targeting.

Starting point is 00:02:19 The new subscription will be available from next month and will be available in the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland. The fee will be 10 euros a month for web users and 13 euros a month for iOS or Android users. But it could end up costing users much more than that. That's because starting in March, an additional fee will be charged for each extra account linked in a user's account center. This means cost could rise quickly for users with multiple accounts on Meta's platforms. Privacy advocates have raised concerns over Meta's approach as the choice seems to be between paying money or compromising privacy. The Data Protection Commission in

Starting point is 00:03:02 Ireland, Meta's lead regulator in the EU, has been assessing the consent-based model proposed by Meta. The final verdict from data protection authorities is still pending. Also, as part of their response to European privacy legislation, Meta will no longer let advertisers target teenagers in Europe. They say this will begin the week of November 6th, but is only a temporary measure. Many companies use a refer-a-friend, reward-yourself scheme, but they often see low participation. Why? Researchers say when customers are asked to refer friends for rewards, they feel a psychological barrier. This barrier is rooted in feelings of discomfort, conflict, and guilt. They say they feel like they're trading friendships for rewards. But there might be a solution. A study published in the Journal of Marketing Science involving over 2,000 participants has found that being transparent about the referrer's reward can help.

Starting point is 00:04:07 When companies disclose the reward the referrer gets, it feels more in line with communal norms. This reduces the psychological barrier and encourages more referrals. The study also highlighted two important factors. First, the size of the referrer's reward compared to the referees' matters. The bigger the reward, the more participation. Second, where the reward comes from. Does it come out of the company's pocket or the referees' spending? If the company is shelling out the incentive, people feel more at ease to sign up or purchase. The paper is in the Journal of Marketing Science.

Starting point is 00:04:46 It's called, I Will Get a Reward Too When Disclosing the Referrer Reward Increases Referring. Amazon's advertising business is booming. In the third quarter, the company reported a 26% increase in ad revenues, reaching more than $12 billion. This growth rate is nearly double Amazon's overall revenue growth of 13%. The retail media sector is expanding, with projections estimating it to be worth $45 billion in the U.S. this year. Amazon set to capture 75% of this market, overshadowing competitors like Walmart Connect.

Starting point is 00:05:27 But it's not just retail media helping. Amazon's acquisition of the Thursday Night Football streaming rights in 2021 provided new advertising avenues. Although the company faced challenges in its initial year of streaming football, the shift from traditional TV to streaming is expected to benefit Amazon in the long run.

Starting point is 00:05:46 This rapid growth in the U.S. ad market is causing concern for the established ad duopoly of Google and Meta, both giants closely watching Amazon's moves, especially as Amazon's ad revenue growth is set to outpace both of them combined. We're often told that the best way to get the attention of consumers is to stop them in their tracks, interrupt what they were doing, even briefly. This is what mid-rolls on YouTube videos do. But new research has found that intrusive ads might be costing brands their customers. Wunderkind, a performance marketing channel, surveyed 1,000 digitally active shoppers

Starting point is 00:06:27 and found that 70% believe advertisers don't value their online experience and 95% said their online activities are frequently interrupted by invasive ads. So the consequences? 91% of shoppers are choosing not to buy from brands that serve ads they find intrusive, or at least that's what they told the researchers. The sentiment isn't isolated to a specific age group either. A separate study found that 99% of Gen Z consumers often skip ads they find disruptive, and 63% of online shoppers now use ad blockers to dodge online ads.

Starting point is 00:07:07 Wunderkind, it should be noted, sells services that compete with interruptive ads. So, as usual with industry surveys, take it all with a grain of salt. And two small items for you. First, Meta is expanding its Meta Verified program for businesses to Canada. This program previously tested in New Zealand will get you, well, not much. A blue checkmark and some vague promises about better support and protection against impersonation. The subscription costs $37 Canadian per month per platform. And Threads confirmed it is working on an API

Starting point is 00:07:45 that will let third-party platforms schedule posts. No word yet on when it'll roll out or if they will be handpicking specific partners to launch with. Oh, and as for the quiz, how much of a ranking boost in Google does providing schema data give you? The answer, according to Google, none at all. Google search spokesperson Danny Sullivan posted this on social media over the weekend. Quote, using schema doesn't give you a ranking boost.

Starting point is 00:08:19 It can help you be eligible for certain displays or enhancements, but it doesn't somehow boost you to the top of the results or the front of a carousel because you have it. Unquote. Nothing to say here, so I will bid you adieu. I'm Todd Mappin. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.

Today in Digital Marketing - Why Consumers Aren't Using Your Referral Program

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