There is a lot of exciting news this week. The RetailMeNot and Google Wallet integration is a big one. Plus, I’m always on top of mobile figures and lately I’m fascinated by crowdfunding.

Happy Reading!!

This is a huge announcement about RetailMeNot and the Google Wallet integration. Big, big, big WOW! Thanks to our friends at Rakuten LinkShare for sharing this with me.

I posted last week about Google’s presentation about the value of coupons, deals and offers in Google Product Listing Ads (GPLA). This may be a fine “ah-ha” to those who don’t believe that offering coupons, deals and offers and using affiliate sites isn’t good business.

Want more research based facts – we’ve got that too.

RetailMeNot Announces Google Wallet Integration

Best quote: “Mobile traffic now comprises more than 10% of all web traffic worldwide, and by the end of 2013, mobile devices are expected to outgrow PCs when it comes to accessing the Internet. Additionally, between 2011 and 2012 mobile commerce sales doubled – a trend that is likely to continue over the foreseeable future.” Designing Your Site for the Mobile Customer

G+ has really upped its game. My first reaction is that it is really easy to use with this popup response box versus a page displaying like it had previously. I can’t wait to discover the rest of the features. The Tragic Beauty of Google+

This is a very, very interesting view into the next trends in the market. Crowdfunding Goes Mainstream: Why Donald Trump and Google are Supporting Grassroots Financing

I must admit, during this Google Affiliate Network shutdown, I have been so concerned with this issue I have over scheduled calls with networks, affiliates, my team and of course with the people we represent. Sometimes 7-8 scheduled calls a day. And that doesn’t include ad hoc calls, scheduled meetings and everything else going on. Oh yeah, and my wife and family needed some of my time as well.

But, for our company this was a crisis as it affected 61 separate URL’s that were in GAN at the time. So time management was not my first thought. Kudos to my great eAccountable team for doing the extra work and going the extra mile to make sure all of our customer’s needs and questions were answered. My scheduled may have been overly “full”, but the times and the need dictated this effort.

I guess Warren Buffet never has critical issues to deal with Why Productive People Have Empty Schedules

I am really getting into crowdfunding. I know it’s been around for a while but recently I’ve found a few specific projects that excited me enough to dive in.

Crowdfunding is basically a way for an individual or a company to underwrite the cost of financing a product or service by getting people that like the idea to put up money or buy into it prior to completion. There are hundreds of platforms that do crowdfunding including: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, CrowdSupply. Some estimate there are more than 450 crowdfunding platforms.

In fact, crowdfunded startups doubled in 2012 to reach $2.66 billion and are expected to double that figure by the end of this year.

However, there are some industry watchers that claim crowdfunding is at its tipping point.

I tend to disagree.   Although the recent announcement that billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump has entered the space with FundAnything.com has me wondering if the death knell has been sounded. However, on the flipside, a new CNBC prime-time reality TV show Crowd Rules, where small-business owners compete for $50,000 and the audience votes on which owner to fund, debuted this week. In addition, Google last week announced a deal to buy a $125 million stake in the online, peer-to-peer lending platform Lending Club, valuing the crowd-financing site at more than $1.5 billion.

The genius of crowdfunding is the combination of social media and equity-based financing.  Still, to date, it seems like many of the investments opportunities are aimed at techies, funding media (movies, music, games, etc.) and those ventures that promote or support a cause. After reading much about the space, it appears that analysts expect more platforms that cater to niche needs. Just like most of online marketing, it’s all about targeting an audience by going narrower rather than broader. Although, I believe there is room for both.

My first venture was with Kickstarter. I invested in the Pebble E-Paper Watch for $150. The company raised $10 million in its Kickstarter campaign. My snazzy new watch is due to arrive sometime next month. I’ve invested in a couple more and it will be interesting if the product ends up as good as the concept.

And it looks like crowdfunding has cleared one of its major hurdles – legality and government regulation. later is year, pending SEC regulations, the equity crowdfunding part of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act will take effect, making it legal to seek investments by offering equity to crowdfunders.

I hope that all these crowdfunding investment and micro lending platforms will further spark innovation and competition, putting players in business that might otherwise not have access to funding through traditional methods such as bank loans and venture capital. That’s good for consumers.

This week there were so many interesting articles. I continue to gravitate towards all things mobile and m-commerce, along with analysis of the GAN demise and some not-so-thrilling news about crowd funding (which I love).

Happy Reading!!

This is an interesting post about some of the pitfalls of being in marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Sears) from an SEO and PPC pro. He worries about the marketplaces getting better rankings since the datafeed is duplicate content and marketplaces get higher ranks many times than the seller does. Third-party Marketplaces: What Merchants Should Know

Thanks to tablet growth, which is still lumped into mobile, I’m not sure this is a useful number. Mobile Commerce Grows 31 Percent in Q1

When Donald Trump gets into crowdfunding does this mean its dead? I don’t think so, but having Trump in the space doesn’t give me any warm fuzzies. I’d much prefer Mark Cuban doing something like this. He’s got the tech chops and the savvy to really help people grow their businesses. New, Trump-Injected Crowdfunding Site Will (Not Really) Make Your Dreams Come True

This is a great infographic on 7 different kinds of free shipping options. The most popular for retailers is free shipping with a minimum purchase. And 90 percent of shoppers say free shipping gets them to spend more. 7 Different Types of Free Shipping You Can Offer Today

Will Google’s stepping aside allow more innovative performance marketing options? Cake’s Mitch Gordon thinks so. GAN Demise Opens Doors to the Future of Performance Marketing

Google is getting very mixed reviews on how this is being rolled out related to returns on investment. I think it will be adjusting this following feedback. Just like the early users of Google Product Listing Ads (GPLA) were disappointed in their returns, this tool was modulated and now is a key component of search strategy for retailers. Google Enhanced Campaigns: Get Ready!

TheFind keeps innovating and that’s why it is one of the top publishers in the affiliate channel and one of the few surviving Comparison Shopping Engines (CSE). I run into TheFind team at the ChannelAdvisor Catalyst event- always good to chat with them. Plus Rob Ulveling just celebrated his 8th anniversary working with TheFind. Congrats Rob! TheFind Draws From Facebook Likes and Past Shopping History to Personalize Product Search

eBay’s consumer shopping data is just as rich as Amazon’s. There is a lot of battling on the retail sales side of the aisle. eBay Plans to Share Its Users’ Data with Brands

I know Google prefers RESPONSIVE DESIGN for search. But if your ecommerce solution doesn’t support responsive design or you have it on your 2014 development roadmap to convert, why shouldn’t you use a mobile website (as in m.customer.com)? How Common are SEO Problems with Responsive Web Design?

The title of this article as displayed in LinkedIn news was “Go Mobile… or Else.” And I couldn’t agree more. How to Make Your Website More Mobile-Friendly

Speaking at ChannelAdvisor’s annual Catalyst conference,  held in Las Vegas last week, Facebook Head of Retail and E-Commerce for Global Vertical Marketing, Nicolas Franchet, talked to retailers about the latest trends in social media and how to build and maintain social momentum as a part of a comprehensive e-commerce strategy.

In the session, titled People First: Social Marketing Strategies to Build Your Brand and Drive Revenue, Franchet described Facebook as “the perfect marketing system,” and a social media platform that is complimentary for retailers with customers that want to shop and also learn more about the company and brand.

To underscore the reach of Facebook, he said, that 680 million people are on Facebook and that 60 percent of those come to the site daily.  They are engaged people that spend approximately 11.28 hours a month online and mobile. That amount of time approaches television levels.

Franchet, who prior to working at Facebook spent over 7 years at eBay where he led the Marketplaces Strategy team and later was a General Manager for eBay Motors eBay Fashion, reminded attendees that these are real people with hundreds of friends, which are a very important factor in product discovery – especially with high-end products.

The world’s largest retailers such as Wal-Mart and Amazon have a huge Facebook presence. Franchet also noted that many small retailers started and Facebook and experienced skyrocketing growth. He mentioned Lolly Wolly Doodle and highlighted Fab.com as one of the most innovative online retailers. Fab.com has 12 million customers acquired on Facebook. Thirty percent of Fab’s daily traffic comes from Facebook and the company has a 10X return rate on customers added through Facebook.

Franchet discussed a variety of ad format options that allow for flexibility and a variety of retailers’ needs.

• Domain Ad: This appears on desktop only. CPC, CPM, CPA.
• Photo Page Post Ad:  Retailers need to get the voice right and provide a link to a product page. This is mostly used for brand building and selling units at the same time.
• Link Page Post Ad: Provides a direct link to a specific product page.
• Facebook Offers:  This enables retailers to segment by geography or demographic.
• Mobile App Install Ad:  This is for retailers looking for help getting mobile app distribution.

Franchet also discussed how targeting specific groups on Facebook gives retailers a high-level of accuracy. Facebook is a “giant targeting platform” with micro-segmentation available, he noted. Facebook also provides for gathering standard demographics, age, ethnicity, and religion as well as category targeting and vertical targeting

And using Facebook Exchange allows retailers to do retargeting on Facebook, which is dependent on a consumer’s action on the advertiser’s site. This allows retailers a reactivation opportunity. These can exclude an existing customer list, according to Franchet.

This was all great information, but as always, eAccountable evaluates what is appropriate for each of its individual merchants and how Facebook can supplement other ongoing marketing efforts.

I attended ChannelAdvisor’s Catalyst event this week. So much good stuff – my head is spinning. But I still had time to sift through other interesting items.

Happy Reading!!

I would have thought it was Amazon. Interesting. Report: The Online Retailer With Highest Sales Growth In Last 10 Years Is? (Not Amazon)

I made a good bet on posting on Google+ when it launched and it looks like it’s paying off as G+ is experiencing accelerating usage. Plus, now with Google Authorship, writing good content is currently valued more than it has been in the past. Suddenly, Google Plus is Outpacing Twitter to Become the World’s Second Largest Social Network

I’m all in for this type of consumer engagement. Immersing Consumers in Immersive Experiences

PPC is not kids’ stuff. Paid Search is Not Child’s Play for Kids’ Products Retailers

It’s always about context. What is Contextual Marketing? Some Context

I’m not sure pranks are the way to go in advertising. Carphone Warehouse Pranks Shoppers with Automated Call Contest