Salesforce wants you to get some AI and visual search into your eCommerce game

Salesforce has announced a series of new updates to its Commerce Cloud platform which aims to encourage organisations to ‘go beyond eCommerce sites and modernise every shopping experience.’

The move includes adding artificial intelligence and visual search capability into APIs and developer services with the goal of giving an insightful experience across various customer touchpoints.

The company quoted research from Deloitte which argued that retailers use almost...

15 January 2019 | Automation

Why even the biggest brands are favouring the power of micro-influencers

The rise of social media has seen a big increase in the use of brand influencers. In the last two years, “influencer marketing” as a search term on Google Trends has risen by 400%. But working with the right sort of influencer is critical – you must choose one which fits well with your brand and has an authentic voice. Biggest is certainly not always best when it comes to influencers.

Pepsi’s controversial ad from last year is an example of a brand not quite...

21 August 2018 | Content Marketing

Facebook topples from list of top 10 most innovative brands

Battling fake news, mass data breaches and a stomach-lurching drop in share prices, it’s hardly been a good year for Mark Zuckerberg, and as if to rub salt in the wound, the social network and tech colossus has now fallen out of sight on a rank of the world’s most innovative brands.

The revelation comes as part of Brand Keys’ sixth annual Most Innovative Tech brands survey, which featured Amazon, Apple and Google in the top three of the consumer-voted list, while...

1 August 2018 | Advertising

Pinterest on track for IPO as ad revenue approaches $1bn waterline

Social media company Pinterest is approaching $1bn in ad revenue, according to sources close to the group, putting in IPO (initial public offering) in arm’s reach for 2019.

The image discovery platform could double its 2017 $500 million sales revenue this year, driven in large part by success with mobile ads according to CNBC, with big fashion and beauty brands turning to the platform to get in front of 200 million monthly active users, 80% of which claim to use its...

25 July 2018 | Native Advertising

Facebook is bringing augmented reality ads to the news feed

With a limited supply of inventory available to advertisers in its news feed, Facebook seems to be trying out slightly more novel ways of ensuring brands are getting the best bang for their buck.  

Limited to its US users at launch, a new augmented reality (AR) feature will enable customers to virtually try on items “in just one click” from certain ads, including fashion accessories and cosmetics, as well as trying out AR-based games and apps.

The social...

12 July 2018 | Advertising Technology

When AI misses the mark: The unlikely casualties of Facebook’s political ad filter

Following its time in the public petri dish over Cambridge Analytica and implications that Russia-backed content on its platform had an influential effect on the US election results, you can’t blame Facebook for being a tad overcautious.

As part of its recently rolled-out political ad policies which requires all political advertisements to undergo verification and feature listed details of the buyer, the social network employs an artificial intelligence (AI) system to identify...

10 July 2018 | Advertising

LinkedIn rolls out Carousel Ads to ‘humanise’ B2B marketing

In similar fashion to its consumer-facing counterparts, B2B social network LinkedIn has launched Carousel Ads, allowing advertisers to display up to 10 customised, swipeable cards within one ad.

According to a blog post by product manager, Rohin Rajiv, the company hopes the update will “humanise” B2B marketing efforts and add a little colour to an otherwise non-too-descript news feed, encouraging users to engage with brands on both desktop and mobile.

The...

12 June 2018 | Advertising

UK marketers are picking up Weibo, WeChat and QR codes to target fast-growth regions

When it comes to digital marketing, there are no longer any borders, but are marketers equipped for effective advertising overseas?

A new UK-based report by Rakuten Marketing has revealed that nine in 10 marketers (89%) are now managing international marketing campaigns as companies pursue overseas growth opportunities in the borderless age of digital.

Of that majority chunk, 55% are active within Europe and an additional 14% are operating further afield.

But while...

12 June 2018 | Advertising

Facebook calls Marketplace onto the pitch for new ad revenue stream

Facebook has announced that businesses will now be able to advertise within its classified ad listing hub, Marketplace, in a duo of updates that finally open up the channel for monetisation.

In addition to news feed, videos, Instagram and Messenger placements, businesses will now be able to advertise directly within relevant Marketplace product feeds, although so far the new feature is only available across the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The second update comes for...

8 June 2018 | E-Commerce

How to lose friends and alienate people: Why brands can’t get lazy with social media

Facebook doesn’t have a lot of friends right now. Fresh revelations are coming to light over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and it was reported that the data of 87 million users were improperly shared with the political consultancy firm.

I’ve argued elsewhere that we shouldn’t give up on social media in the wake of this debacle but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned from recent events. As a brand, removing yourself from Facebook and...

26 April 2018 | Branding