The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked all spheres of life and led to a conscious awakening that has not spared the digital content world. Many marketers have found themselves considering what they do, how they do it, and what impact they generate.

Things are certainly changing everywhere, and with content, we see new trends gaining a foothold, like the strong emerging role of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools in content creation, creative process, and strategizing. 

People no longer have time to spend on content that doesn’t speak to their needs, problems, and goals. It has resulted in a vigorous drive towards personalization. This is the opportune time to re-strategize and pick up new digital content strategies. Let’s get started: 

Why Is a Content Strategy Important? 

Let’s start by defining what a content strategy is. It’s a plan of action that ideates the processes, workflows, timelines, and guidelines for creating and producing helpful content. 

Your content strategy may be as detailed as possible, including content ideas & types, assigned roles, content plans, design specifications, publishing schedules, content objectives, preferred writing styles, target audiences, and publishing platforms. 

It may dive into the post-production processes, such as the periodic auditing and updating of the content. You may also focus on the governance of the content, including assigning roles to different team members. 

The content strategy often culminates into a calendar that contains publish dates for various pieces of content. Because the calendar is a big part of the content strategy, many may simply assume that a calendar is the only thing they need. For instance, a simple content strategy example may look like this: 

Well, the calendar is only one part of the equation.

Digital Content Types 

What is digital content? It’s any content distributed through electronic means via the internet. 

Publishing blog posts offers the lowest barrier of entry for most businesses. But there is a wide range of content types that businesses need to focus on as part of their content strategy for the web. 

Let’s discover more content types, with a focus on what you need to do going forward: 

• Web pages: You probably have your main website pages, such as the About us page or homepage. As part of your strategic content strategy, think of creating more useful landing pages. For instance, you may consider comparison pages, “Us vs. Them,” to target customers at the decision stage. You may create lead capture landing pages to gain email subscribers organically. Landing pages may also contain useful tools like calculators. 

• Emails: With over half of the world’s population expected to have an email account by 2023, emails must take center stage in your digital content marketing strategy. Don’t just share blog updates as it’s the norm. Think of enriching the subscriber’s experience by sharing exclusive newsletters to make their time more worthwhile. 

• Display ads: Often referred to as banner ads, display ads contain a short piece of text, image, and URL. They are shown on third-party websites that have signed up to advertising networks such as Google AdSense. Display ads have often received a bad rep for being annoying. It may be time to reconsider them and focus on native display ads, which don’t exactly come across as intrusive. 

• Videos: With better engagement rates than all types of content online, it’s essential to plan to create videos when you’re building a content strategy. Don’t just plan for marketing videos. Consider educational videos that teach customers about your services, such as tutorials. Host live webinars and repost them on your website or YouTube. Try collaborations with influencers and authority figures in your niche. 

• Podcasts: It’s hard to talk about digital content without mentioning podcasts. Many acclaimed businesses now publish podcasts from the Fortune 500 companies to Mom-and-pop stores. Think of generating a unique idea in your niche, finding a good host, and interviewing industry professionals 

• Blog posts: if you are trying to grow your organic search visibility on Google for various keywords relevant to your business, there is no better way to do it than publishing articles, guides, news pieces, etc. Blog posts make up a huge chunk of most digital content strategies, but don’t just write articles for the sake of it. Offer a new perspective on a topic with insightful reporting and fresh ideas. 

• Social media posts: Your social media posts also fall into the digital media content category. The best advice regarding posting on social media entails making 75% of your posts unrelated to your services and products.

• Case studies: What results have you achieved for your client? Has your business undertaken unique research to ascertain a particular cause of a problem? Well, case studies are highly shareable, and linkable pieces of content that you should consider creating that are part of your content strategy for the web. 

• Infographics: Infographics utilize a combination of images, graphics, and short texts to present information in a highly visualized way. They are still relevant in 2021, with the right infographic having a chance to go viral and attract many backlinks. 

• E-Books and white papers: You can use e-books to grow your email subscriber’s base. Create insightful E-books with exclusive and detailed content. Ask users to provide their email in return for downloading the e-book. You can also consider writing a white paper. It offers an in-depth look into challenges facing a particular topic and advocates for specific solutions.

One of the most successful website content strategy examples comes from HubSpot, an online platform that provides CRMs, among other tools. They follow the inbound content marketing methodology to create content targeted at different stages of the customer lifecycle. They have gone as far as publishing marketing courses complete with certificates. 

Understand Your Audience 

The motivations, behaviors, and preferences of the populace have changed in light of the pandemic. Long-held assumptions about what people want may not hold. 

Facebook noted that more consumers want advice and information that will help them enhance their financial health. The drive towards financial literacy resulted from the financial nervousness brought about by lockdowns, layoffs, and complete disruption of major industries. Financial businesses with this insight can find ways to create valuable content and utilize more engaging formats instead of primarily relying on ads to pass their message. 

You need to have a firm understanding of your audience before you create digital content. It means having specific details about who they are as individuals. Relying on gut feeling and old-fashioned guesswork will not cut it this year. All the insights about your audience need to be factual and backed by hard data from market research. 

What is a Persona? 

A persona is like a fictionalized profile of a character meant to represent your core target demographic. You need to build a highly detailed persona because having someone with tangible attributes makes it easier to personalize and tailor your digital media content. 

The best way to build a persona entails carrying out in-depth research about your audience. You can give your fictional character all the attributes of a real person, including a name, age, occupation, hometown, educational background, likes, hobbies, motivations, and background. It’s like creating a fictional Facebook profile populated with all details. 

The New Paradigm in Content

Is content marketing broken? Many brands are struggling with their content marketing. They are falling prey to common pitfalls such as:

• Using too few tactics;
• Not correctly overseeing the content marketing strategy;
• Lacking a detailed plan;
• Failing to produce engaging content; 
• Spending too little; 
• Focusing on few platforms; 
• Failing to update their content strategies to adapt to emerging situations. 

Additionally, most marketers find it hard to attribute the ROI of their content marketing efforts. Based on a marketing survey featuring 600 respondents, only 39% stated that they successfully tracked their content marketing ROI. 

Brands need to adopt a new way of doing things focused on innovation and the creation of valuable content. Here are some focus areas to consider going forward: 

Augment Reality (AR)

Augmented reality, in simple words, refers to the technology that superimposes digital visual elements on a user’s view of the physical world through the use of devices such as a smartphone camera. 

The technology has proved useful in certain fields, such as real estate, where buyers can use virtual staging apps to render 3D furniture in living spaces. It has permeated into advertising, with platforms such as TikTok offering AR Ad formats through branded effects. 

The barrier to entry has become lower as several platforms have popped up to help content creators build augmented reality content without coding. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

While AR renders digital elements in the real world, virtual reality is entirely virtual, not physically existing but digitally simulated. Users can fully immerse themselves into virtual reality environments by using headsets. Smartphone and desktop users can also enjoy VR content such as 360 videos. 

Is it possible for ordinary brands to add VR to their marketing content strategy? Yes, it’s entirely possible, and the most accessible gateway is to create 360 videos such as walkthroughs, explainers, etc. Such videos offer better interactivity than regular videos. 

You can similarly supercharge your marketing efforts with the 360° video ad format offered by Facebook. The format is fresh and dynamic and may attract more engagements. That’s what Aitarget found out when it helped Forex4you, an online broker platform, experiment with 360-degree videos. 

Following A/B testing against regular videos, the VR videos reduced the cost of registering new customers by up to 20% and improved other key metrics. 

Strong Personalization 

So, what exactly is personalization, and how does it fit into your marketing content strategy? It’s all about tailoring the message based on user attributes such as their interests, geographic location, language, parental status, life events, household incomes, gender, and age range.

Up to 61% of people expect brands to customize their experiences to fit into their preferences. Many marketers also believe that personalization can boost business profitability. 

Start by personalizing your user experience. Think of creating digital content that accommodates different users and their needs. For instance, if your solution targets various verticals, you may publish several landing pages to showcase your products’ value. Consider localizing your websites by showing a translated version of the website based on the user’s preferred language. 

Personalize your digital ads to boost their effectiveness. If you have not installed tracking codes from different platforms, take this as the best time to start. You can record customer interactions and build custom audiences for remarketing. 

When running ads, you may tailor the message based on what you know about them. For instance, an e-commerce fashion website may decide to show suggestions for more shoes after someone views the shoe category on their website. 

The only limitation with personalization is that teams may need to create a huge volume of creatives with personalized messages to cater to different audiences. Aitarget has addressed this problem through the automation of the creation, testing, and upgrading of creatives. Its AI-infused solutions allow brands to leverage their existing assets, such as product images, to build effective overlay ads and videos. 

Content must be dynamic 

Dynamic content is simply not static. It changes following specific factors such as user’s behaviors, preferences, interactions, and characteristics. For instance, e-commerce stores implement dynamic content through product recommendations. Users receive suggestions for similar products based on items they have previously viewed or added to their carts.

Similarly, you can include dynamic content as part of your website content strategy by showing ads or content relevant to the user’s lifecycle stage, awareness, consideration, or decision. It’s also possible to implement dynamic pop-ups to pass different messages or offer personalized incentives. 

H3 Mastering multiple touchpoints 

Don’t expect that all users will interact with your brand through your website. The average user runs through various platforms and devices on a given day. It’s vital to master multiple touchpoints as part of your content strategy. For instance, a customer may first encounter your brand through an online advertisement. 

Before they visit your website, they may decide to check what you post on social media, and it helps to have a solid social media content strategy. The customer may check out your website and subscribe to your email. 

Before they purchase your products, they may check product review sites. It helps to enhance this touchpoint by asking past users to leave reviews. Additionally, the customer may have a few questions to ask before making the purchase decision. Offering them a live chat option can be an enhanced touchpoint. 

Innovation & AI 

As you build your content strategy, take advantage of recent innovations such as the proliferation of artificial intelligence tools. Your writing team can speed up its workflow by using AI copywriting tools to create draft articles and social media posts. 

Some AI tools can help generate a digital content marketing strategy complete with keywords and topic clusters. If you are having a hard time generating creatives for your campaigns, you can similarly use AI-driven creative management platforms. 

With Aitarget Tech, you can solve many of your creative challenges, including:

• Creating dynamic ads from static assets such as product feed data and images; 
• Generating ads for omnichannel marketing without the need for extensive editing; 
• Automating campaign management following a rules-based approach; 
• Improving ads for the best performance as the tool gathers insights by utilizing its advanced ML algorithms to find correlations between the best performing elements of ads. 

To see the full capability of the AItarget platform, you can find your relevant vertical here. 

The fashion segment is already worth over $759 billion, and it is poised to expand to over $1 trillion by 2025. Digital tools are bound to support this stunning growth rate. Following the e-retail growth spurt caused by Covid-19, new winners are succeeding by reaching consumers directly.

Standing out in this fiercely competitive and ever-changing marketplace is a tough task. Every brand needs an effective strategy of digital promotion. Eye-catching and memorable visuals are a vital component, as at least 64% of users are more likely to make a purchase after watching a product video. Instagram videos receive twice as much engagement as other types of content. 

Today, eCommerce functionality and infrastructure are at the heart of fashion sales. When done right, visual marketing boosts brand awareness and profitability. It turns consumers into brand ambassadors. Discover tools for fashion ads that will help you make the most of your media spend.

Fashion Video Ads Creatives

The term ‘creative’ applies to many formats, but videos are in the spotlight. As attention spans are shrinking, ad copy does not stop users scrolling their feeds unless it is paired with a stunning video. According to Adobe, consumers who view video are 1.81 times more likely to buy from the advertiser than those who see other forms of ads.

The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is actually backed by science, as our brain processes an image in just 13 milliseconds. Moreover, 90% of all information it receives is visual, and over half (65%) of all humans are visual learners. Predictably, videos have been shown to be the most effective type of ads, as they bring 27.4 times higher CTR than standard banners.

What Are Aitarget Tech Solutions for the Fashion Brands Industry?

Creatives are one of the three keys to success, along with copy and targeting. They must always be on point to drive sales through your CTA. With an outstanding video, you can engage an audience you didn’t even think of. However, finding the creative spark is not easy. AI and digital automation from Aitarget make this task a cakewalk. 

Aitarget is a Google Premier Partner, Facebook Marketing Partner and TikTok Marketing Partner. Our award-winning technologies for video creatives drive brand awareness and sales across social media. We use the power of AI to help brands forge ahead in the online fashion market. We de-complexify the disruption by providing automatic tools that spur growth. 

• The Video Tool for fashion brands: automatic creation of personal video ads based on your design, catalog, and audience.
• The Overlay Tool: creation of impressive product feed imagery to make the ads more compelling and instantly recognizable. 
• The Automation Tool: launch Facebook and Instagram ads from one place in just four steps with flexible settings for coping and automation, including A/B tests. 

Fashion Marketing Video Maker

Discover a closed-loop solution for full-funnel ad management in one place. Our automated creatives sync with our AI technology for fashion and luxury to guarantee relevance 24/7. This solution generates video ads automatically from product catalogs, for any audience or placement. 

Showcase your products in an eye-catching way whatever the format (horizontal, vertical, or square). Based on smart templates recommended by Facebook, the system creates videos with prices, discounts, brands, and other information from your product feed. 

Creating a video ad has never been easier! Our AI-driven tool will give your company an edge, as it draws on our rich experience in enhancing marketing for e-commerce brands. Turning static images into video creatives will let you boost recognition of your fashion brand and attract leads. Manage thousands of efficient creatives easily from one place and fine-tune your targeting to ensure relevance and outshine your rivals. 

Even though visual creative ads are the most effective, the segment is also quite saturated. Aitarget will help you make the most of your paid ads space and achieve visual supremacy. Create TikTok ads for fashion, engage millennials and generation Z on Instagram, and reach millions of potential customers with YouTube and Facebook Fashion PPC campaign.

How Do I Make a Fashion Video in the Editor? 

Using our AI-driven tool is a piece of cake. You can easily generate multiple short videos using only images of products from your catalog. The content, which can be delivered directly to your Facebook Ads Manager, is transferable to other platforms. Just upload the item pictures, select preferences, and let the automation do its job! Here is how this ads tool for fashion works:

Step 1. Attach your product feed to collect the data. 

Step 2. Select and apply effective Aitarget templates (colors, fonts, and effects are all customizable).

Step 3. Export the video creatives to your preferred platforms: Facebook and Instagram Feed or Stories, YouTube,  Snapchat or TikTok.

That’s all! A powerful video will be ready in just 45 seconds. After its placement, the Aitarget algorithms will continue working to dynamically refresh it. You will have peace of mind knowing that campaign performance is being optimized incessantly. The Aitarget Video Tool creates ads with a personal touch, which helps you reach potential customers contextually. 

Unique On-brand Overlay for Fashion Placement, Is It Real?

An overlay ensures your live stream and remains on brand. It adds credibility and elicits an immediate response to your content on social media. Aitarget creates unique overlays that can be tailored to your company’s needs. They are used by the majority (60%) of our clients, as dynamic video formats are all the rage. They are a cure for ‘banner blindness’, which is a phenomenon causing users to ignore banner-like ads. 

As the overlaid graphic is present throughout your live stream or dynamic ads, every detail matters. For example, the overlay must use colors associated with your brand identity to ensure the right impact. This will also prevent viewers from confusing you with another company. With Aitarget, on-brand customized overlays are always on point. Leverage the power of on-screen marketing with us! 

Aitarget creates advanced data-infused overlays that help brands stand out and maximize their return on ad spend. For example, our overlays for 139 DEC coupled with campaign optimization caused the number of purchases to increase fivefold, while the CPA fell by 77%. 

Boost Your Marketing Ads Automation for Fashion

Tailored automation for video creatives boosts performance based on comprehensive in-depth analytics. This technology has consistently doubled the Return on Ad Spend of Aitarget’s clients. Create Facebook ads for fashion and copy them across social media quickly and conveniently.

In just 45 seconds, our video tool prepares a video based on our rich collection of professional designs. These templates have been approved by Facebook and used in successful campaigns across social media. Just customize the look, and you are all set!

Get video tool ads for fashion delivered right to your Facebook account, and copy them to other campaigns. Create Dynamic Ads with powerful overlays  for maximized impact. Launch powerful Instagram ads for fashion, advertise on Snapchat and TikTok. Our creatives can also be customized for YouTube!

Thanks to the flexible automation and creative expertise of Aitarget, a leading luxury fashion retailer has brought down its CPI by 1.5 times. We deliver optimal outcomes helping brands upgrade their ads through machine learning, access more revenue opportunities, and build consistent workflows. 

AI will create high-performing creatives and upgrade them continually throughout the funnel. Our custom automation development, including bidding and placement, boosts workflow efficiency and helps brands tackle high velocities of change. Aitarget will give your fashion brand an AI edge!

FAQ block

Why are creatives and videos important for the fashion industry? 

Visual creatives are the most effective form of advertising, as users find dynamic images most attractive. A well-designed video will allow you to showcase your products, boost brand recognition and drive sales. It is a must for any brand that wants to stand out and flourish in the digital space.

How can I create videos and creatives? 

The creation of visual content does not have to be arduous. With Aitarget, you will achieve the goal in under one minute. Let the tool access your product feed and choose from a variety of time-tested templates. Make a few adjustments and deploy your ads on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.

How to edit videos for fashion? 

The Aitarget video tool allows you to customize the look of your ads, including the layout, colors, and fonts. After the ads are launched, our algorithms will continually upgrade them to ensure optimal performance based on real-time analytics. Update your videos automatically to leverage the most recent stats or showcase new products.

Target, one of the best omnichannel retailers in the country, recorded its most impressive quarter in Q2 2020 with sales increasing 24.3 percent thanks to the digital section soaring 195 percent. The omnichannel – a unique integration of digital and physical – made this possible for the company.

Target found out that multi-channel consumers typically spend 4x as much as consumers that only visit physical stores and 10x more than consumers that only shop online.
By integrating both physical and digital channels, the company made huge sales while offering a consistent brand experience.

Omnichannel Means Transformation, Integration, and Collaboration

Omnichannel can be defined as a multichannel approach to sales that focuses on providing flawless customer experience whether the buyer is at a physical store, using a mobile device or computer.

About 73 percent of all consumers use multiple channels during their journey. It is common for consumers to search for a product on a mobile device as they hear from it then research more as they reach their computer. Omnichannel makes this transformation easy and allows consumers to switch between two or more devices without any trouble.

It should also be noted that more than 50 percent of buyers search the web before visiting a physical store. Integrating the two allows businesses to retain more consumers. It doesn’t focus on individual experiences but the entire customer journey.

Online Retail in an Omnichannel Reality

Approaches to retail marketing are fast changing. In these times, success means the ability to reach consumers no matter where they are or what device they’re using. You need to concentrate on omnichannel retail and not traditional methods.

According to reports, more people now use mobile devices than desktop computers. This is why purchase decisions are often made on the go, whether people are in their bedrooms or the shop.

Today, digital is not only driving e-commerce, it’s getting people in stores. It would not be wrong to call smartphones the new ‘shopping assistant’, whether people are inside or outside the shop. 

Retailers are working to ensure customers convert no matter what channel they’re on. Companies seem to have realized the importance of consumers who use both online and in-store channels as they have a 30 percent higher lifetime value (LTV) than consumers who use a single channel.

Retailers need to have a full understanding of consumer behavior in order to attract and win these consumers.

Sellers don’t only need to be aware of consumer demographics such as gender and location but also buying behavior. Despite so much data out there, it is still easier said than done.

Purchase Online and Pick it Up Offline. Everything Becomes Hybrid

You can’t excel in a single environment as things have become hybrid. Companies need both virtual and physical presence as this is the era of omnichannel retail.

Online-to-offline (O2O) hybrid can improve the experience for your consumers. It refers to acknowledging the fact that there will be several online and offline touchpoints during a customer’s journey.

A business must be able to take advantage of all these touchpoints and ensure they work together and not separately. Sellers must understand why consumers intend to buy online and pick from the store.

Consumers are in a hurry and they can’t always wait for companies to ship products. They’re not only afraid of delays and additional charges but also goods getting damaged during transit, hence a large number of buyers are now shopping online and choosing to pick products offline by visiting the store or desired destination.

This offers buyers great ease, especially when it comes to rare products that require consumers to stand in queues to make a purchase. They can book products online, make payments, and pick when time permits.

Businesses need to use this opportunity cleverly by pushing more products when consumers visit the store. This can help increase the worth of a consumer and make them buy more.

Products that a consumer shows interest in (online or offline) can be pushed more when they visit the store physically or on the web. You will need the help of a company like Aitarget to ensure you show the right product to your consumers.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are designed to ensure consumers don’t choose competitors and keep coming back to you. They were once only offered by big companies like hotel chains and airlines but now even small businesses have points systems that reward consumers for making purchases. 

About 52 percent of consumers are willing to participate in loyalty programs with 92 percent agreeing that rewards can make them buy more. However, loyalty programs today are more dynamic as they take into account multiple actions and not just ‘purchases’.

Businesses are rewarding consumers for sharing content, posting reviews, taking quizzes, and referring friends. Rewards include discount codes, free goodies, cash prizes, and more.

Since more consumers are buying online, traditional loyalty programs may not always entice them. Businesses can use omnichannel discounts to turn consumers in their desired direction, i.e.: by offering online-only discounts they can discourage people from visiting physical stores.

Remember that about 74 percent of consumers choose a brand after looking at its discount program. Moreover, about 71 percent of companies that use omnichannel loyalty programs see an increase of nearly 50 percent in transactions.

You must, however, make it easier to win and utilize rewards. For example, consumers shouldn’t be forced to carry multiple cards to redeem rewards. Technology can be used to identify consumers and apply discounts automatically.

A Consistent Pricing and Discount Policy

An omnichannel pricing strategy can be a little tricky to handle. You have to look at several factors when deciding a strategy. First of all, understand your customers and think about how you want to be different from your competitors. 

Your cost may differ based on the channel you are on. In-store sales, for example, can be more expensive due to additional costs including electricity and rent. On the other hand, online sales are usually more affordable since you do not have to worry about a presentable office or store.

Customers, however, don’t understand these factors and they expect a consistent pricing policy no matter what channel they use. Most companies choose one of the following strategies:

• Omnichannel Price: In this strategy, it’s uniform pricing on each channel. This option removes purchase barriers.
• Channel-specific Price: In this strategy, pricing varies depending on the channel. This one can be used to optimize the price/margin in each channel you use.
• Combination: This one uses the same omnichannel pricing but with a few exceptions. It can help provide a unified experience to users.

Businesses can use any of these strategies and offer ‘channel specific’ discounts to make buyers use more of a specific channel. For example, special discounts for walk-in customers if they wish to attract more in-store buyers, or ‘online only sales’ if they want more online customers.

Social Media 

It is possible to integrate social media into your omnichannel strategy. Social media gives you access to millions of people including your target audiences. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram now even let buyers shop directly on the platform. 

You can use this as an opportunity to improve customer experience by offering the best services without forcing consumers to go to another platform. 

Be consistent with your brand message so that customers can easily recognize you. You can use special media not only to sell directly but also to build loyalty and increase your consumer base.

Unique Experiences Within Physical Stores 

Despite what everyone says, physical stores are here to stay. They have evolved over the years and it is no longer about a boring shelf and products resting on it. Experimental retail is the future.

Fashion labels are using technology to help people see how a piece of clothing or accessory would look without having to physically try it. The concept of AR-clothing has revolutionized the fashion world. However, there are several more ways to keep things exciting.

Product building is a great way to keep people coming back. You can have them create their own product. Magnum’s Make My Own strategy proved to be a success and now many stores are replicating it.

Target appears to have done an excellent job as well. It offers unique experiences by investing in omnichannel, BOPIS, and curbside. The idea is to make it easy and exciting for users to visit your physical stores even if they’re used to the online channel.

Integrate Your Offline Store with Your Online Presence

As mentioned earlier, it is now possible to integrate your offline store with your online presence. 

Make it possible for users to find your physical location through your website or social media pages. This can be done by adding Google maps to your site. Also, use one to promote the other and make sure to tie up your online and offline data because users may not stick to a single channel.

You can use social media to promote not just online but offline events as well. Also, store reps must be aware of both in-store and online prices and deals.

Handling Returns, Complaints, and Exchanges Easily

Some people argue that omnichannel makes returns, complaints, and exchanges difficult to handle since users who buy from one channel may choose the other channel to return or exchange a product.

At the end of the day, consumers want ease. Your return and exchange policy should be the same no matter what channel a buyer uses. Also, pay attention to all kinds of complaints, whether they’re related to online payments or in-store customer service.

The experience should be the same and your buyers should not feel that you prefer one channel over the other. Your agents should have no trouble accessing the information of a client no matter what channel they used to purchase.

Consumers who visit physical stores to make a purchase often file online complaints. Your system should be quick to identify consumers and provide solutions to their problems. If such isn’t the case, they may end up picking one channel over another causing your omnichannel strategy to fail.

Is Omnichannel The Future of E-commerce? No! It is a NEW Reality 

Omnichannel is the future of e-commerce. It is a new reality that counts on data and analytics. With an emphasis on consistency and efficiency, omnichannel has proven to improve customer satisfaction and keep buyers coming back.

Omnichannel doesn’t just benefit buyers but sellers as well. It allows buyers to enjoy a positive experience while sellers enjoy a larger share of the market and make more profits. 

Both big and small businesses have started to adopt this technology by offering more personalization, integration of offline and online channels, etc. 

Mobile is Critical for Omnichannel Marketing

People are ditching computers and using mobile devices to not only know more about a product but also to purchase it. They can watch demo videos, check reviews while on the go. Buying a product online takes a few minutes. Plus, with the option to save payment details, buyers don’t even have to worry about feeding card numbers and other such data again and again. Mobile has revolutionized the world and we know that even people who shop offline choose to use mobile devices at some point in their journey. 

You cannot have a successful omnichannel strategy without integrating mobile. There are several things to take care of including a mobile-friendly website, mobile app, etc.

Digital Touchpoints In-Store 

Most consumers who enter your store will be holding a smartphone. You can make them use the device by offering digital touchpoints such as QR codes to know more about a product.

Remember that it takes around 8 touches to get an initial meeting. You need to make every touchpoint count. Give people reminders about your social media pages, mobile app, online discounts, digital card, etc.

Make it easy for them to find you on the web when they visit your store. This way you will get the opportunity to reach them more often and build a stronger connection.

More About Omnichannel in E-commerce

Is e-commerce an omnichannel?

E-commerce can utilize different omnichannel strategies to make more sales, find loyal customers, and increase the consumer base. This includes offering customized deals, integrating online socials at offline stores, and more. An e-commerce store, however, must work on an omnichannel supply chain to get the best results.

What are omnichannel trends? 

The latest trend is to use social media to promote not only online but also offline events. It improves the omnichannel distribution and bridges the gap between online and offline. Moreover, we have also seen excessive use of scanning technology, i.e.: QR codes to help people reach a specific platform. These trends will continue to increase as companies work to integrate the latest technology to blend multiple channels.

Why will omnichannel retail in 2022 with the surprising comeback of the physical store?

We’re seeing omnichannel retail give a new lease of life to physical stores. You can sell more retail articles by utilizing omnichannel distribution channels. 

With a perfect blend of online and offline channels, omnichannel is revolutionizing retail making it possible for buyers to choose any channel they wish to purchase without compromising on user experience. Experts believe that omnichannel retailing will beat out multi-channel retail as it offers more ease.

Ready to use omnichannel marketing to win more clients and make higher profits? Let Aitarget help you. We can meet creative challenges and create campaigns that offer good returns. 

We can help solve many problems that you’re facing with Instagram advertising by helping to: 

• Create videos and overlays from product feeds (suitable for E-Commerce, Travel, Auto, Trading, and other verticals); 
• Incorporate data from third-party sources into dynamically updated Instagram creatives;
• Test different creative designs and messages to find out what works best; 
• Implement rules-based automation strategies. 

We are a Facebook and Instagram marketing partner. Our team consists of dozens of experts who have poured over 75,000 hours into developing our unique suite of tools. We have collaborated on notable projects for brands such as LG, Adidas, and L’Oreal. 

But today is not all about us. It’s all about what we can do for you. You’ll be getting a full introduction to Aitarget’s tools for advertising on Instagram: 

Overview of Instagram Ads tools

The heart of any Instagram campaign is the message you want to convey. Now, Instagram presents you with various engaging formats to pass your message. Let’s take a look at what they are and the opportunities that exist. 

Photo Ads

With single image ads, it’s all about capturing the viewer’s attention and connecting with them on a personal level. So, the biggest challenge marketers face is creating visually appealing and personalized creatives. 

If you have a few products to promote, it may be less challenging to pull this off. But what happens if you have dozens, hundreds, or thousands of products to show off to your potential audience? 

How we can help with photo Instagram ads

We have an effective solution for brands with many items to promote. You can use your existing brand assets, including images from your product feed, to create data-infused overlays. The overlays can incorporate information such as pricing, labels, and discounts.

Rather than manually creating visuals for every item, you start with one smart template that contains variable inputs. Our tool can dynamically update and re-upload your creatives as the information changes. 

Don’t worry if your product feed is not optimized for overlays. We can help customize and prepare the product catalog to function as a data source for dynamic ads. 

Carousel Ads for Instagram Stories

We have been big fans of Instagram stories carousels since Facebook introduced the format for advertisers in 2018. It has consistently delivered excellent results in previous ad campaigns.

For instance, in a brand awareness campaign by FBS, using a 3-card carousel in Instagram stories resulted in CPA dropping and conversions doubling. MegaFon similarly saw their CTR results tripling and their CPC reducing. 

Why is it effective? The carousel format for Instagram stories works because of its powerful storytelling capabilities. For instance, the first and second image or video can introduce the brand, present the problem, and build up excitement. The third card can offer the solution: the advertiser’s product + CTA. 

How we can help with Instagram stories carousel 

We empower you to create more meaningful feed-based videos by using first-party and third-party data to incorporate a bit of storytelling. For instance, you may start your ad campaign for winter accessories by first showing the latest weather data for a particular city. 

You can then have a video showing the most popular winter accessories from your product set. Your third slide may be a call to action with your latest discount. 

With weather data constantly changing, Aitarget can keep generating updated creatives. The creatives can be highly personalized for different audiences in different cities. Instagram even expanded the number of cards for carousels from 3 to 10. The possibilities are now limitless. 

Additional ad formats

Aitarget’s creative Instagram advertising solutions are applicable for other formats such as collection ads, shopping ads, reels ads, single video ads, and IGTV ads (*not available for all regions). For instance, you can personalize your shopping ad by incorporating a map that shows users your nearest store based on their location. You can create single videos from product images and info. 

How to advertise on Instagram

You start advertising on Instagram by selecting your objective. There are three main campaign objectives: increasing awareness, generating leads, installs, or visitors, or driving conversions. 

The second key aspect of campaign setup is specifying your budget and schedule. Facebook’s algorithms can help in optimizing the delivery of Instagram ads based on your budget. 

Audience targeting is usually the third step in setting up Instagram ads. You can now create custom audiences by gathering information about your website visitors. Facebook offers the Dynamic Creative tool to help you test different ad variations such as the CTAs, text, or images to find out what’s performing best.

The fourth step is choosing the ad placement. Facebook can help out here with automatic placements based on where the ad may perform best. Because Facebook owns Instagram, ads may be shown on the two platforms and Messenger. 

The last part of advertising on Instagram involves creating the actual ads. Ads are typically structured as single images or videos, carousel, or collections. You can track conversions by installing Facebook Pixel on your website, and this offers additional insights into actions people take once they click on your links. 

The role of Aitarget is to build on and enhance the capabilities of Facebook’s algorithms and tools, not to replace them. 

Engage, Measure, Optimize Your Instagram Ads with Aitarget Solutions

The tools we offer and how they can help you to engage, measure, and optimize your Instagram ad: 

Engagement tools: E-Commerce Tool & Video Tool

Our e-commerce tool is the go-to solution for creating promotional videos or overlays based on assets in your product catalog. 

You’ll not be working from scratch. We have a collection of templates following proven design strategies. You’ll have access to different colors, fonts, and effects. 

We don’t just leave you here. You can develop several creative variations, and our AI algorithm can facilitate testing to see what works best with different target audiences. Say goodbye to boring static product ads and guesswork. 

 Aitarget video tool expands the capabilities of the e-commerce tool. It allows for the enhanced personalization of videos. Your videos can now target audiences based on their interests, demographics, language, country, etc., with less effort. 

Generate videos for hundreds of products while incorporating third-party data. They will be tailored for different placement options, not only for Instagram but for other platforms such as Snapchat or Youtube. You retain complete control over the final result. If you imagine it, you can do it. 

Measurement & monitoring tools: Dashboard & QModeration

Connect Aitarget to your ads manager and receive metrics about your omnichannel campaigns on one simple dashboard. It supports notifications, allowing you to track changes on automated campaigns. It also generates automatic and curated reports. Our solution can integrate with about 200 CRMs for custom reporting. 

Our moderation tool makes it easier to manage comments from multiple ads, watch for reactions, and delete unwanted posts., 

Optimization tools: Creative improvement 

Do you often have to guess what colors or fonts will work best with your creative ads? Do you waste a lot of time implementing design changes after tests? Well, that changes today. You can have various creative variations tested under the hood without much involvement on your part. Our closed-loop solution can even upgrade your creatives to boost their efficiency. 

You will not be left alone to figure out the platform. Our smart and capable team is always on hand to help define your campaign objectives and tailor solutions to help you resolve your biggest pain points. You get custom pricing for our e-commerce tool, depending on the number of product SKUs you need to promote. 

Boost Your Marketing with Instagram Advertising Automation

Make Instagram advertising less of a chore with our automation solution. 

It is targeted at campaign management and allows you to automate tasks such as analytics & reporting, bid management, performance tracking, split testing, or duplication of ad sets. 

Why automate your campaign management? You can save a lot of time and effort spent checking and responding to changes. All you need to do is set up custom rules and responses in our tool kit. Automation will be essential if you want to scale your ad campaigns without hiring media buyers to manage them. For instance, we helped TwoDots, a gaming studio, scale its campaigns in new geographic regions while minimizing the need for new hires. 

Many brands also create playbooks to cut the poor performers early and scale the best-performing ad sets. Automation can help optimize your bidding and budget spent following ROAS-based rules and other complex strategies. 

The Facebook ads manager natively supports automation. Why use an external third-party solution such as AItarget? One key function that’s not available in Facebook’s ruleset toolkit is the ability to set up an Announcement rotation. 

This testing strategy is applied when testing many creatives one after another to minimize competition between similar creative ads in the Facebook ads auction. For instance, if you have 100 videos to test, you set up automatic rules that specify the sequence of running the ads. You can specify that an ad set should be turned off after achieving a certain number of impressions. After the testing phase, you can use metrics such as the CTR to determine the efficiency of each ad set and continue showing the best-performing ads. 

We pulled off this automation strategy during a campaign for OBI, one of the largest players in the European DIY market. Using our e-commerce tool, the team generated about 100 videos from selected product categories, following a branded ad template. Videos were automatically loaded to the ads manager for testing. The campaign lasted for two weeks. It would otherwise be time-consuming to execute, owing to the number of creatives tested. 

Our team can also work with you to uncover inefficiencies that automation may address if you’re new to campaign automation.

Marketing in the post-covid world can be tricky, as humanity has never been in this situation before, and the circumstances are changing quickly. Successful campaigns abandon salesy language, focusing on thoughtful analysis of the needs, perceptions, and expectations of the audience.

Even before the pandemic, consumer expectations were on the rise. Today, companies are not competing with one another — they are competing with the last best experience their customer has had. Generation Z has grown up with technology, and the shift to hyper-personalization was already noticeable in 2020. The preferences of the new generation have changed social advertising, and they continue to affect it. 

The outbreak accelerated digital transformation and sent consumer expectations skyrocketing. Today, users want anticipatory personalization throughout their customer journey. Meanwhile, tolerance for engaging with social media ads in such markets as the UK and France has grown substantially. Discover post-pandemic tips that will help your brand shine in 2021. 

Customers Must Be at the Heart of Your Customer Journey

The lockdown experience proves the old axiom — brands must target consumers based on their circumstances and perceptions. This requires a laser focus. Companies should conduct research country by country, ZIP code by ZIP code, to tailor their communications and services. Marketing requires the knowledge of both the segment and sentiment.

One of the key marketing tips to employ is that messages must be relevant both geographically and personally. They should speak to each customer’s situation and values. Targeting an age or gender on social media is not enough. Brands succeed if they create a deep human connection within commercial messages. This requires cross-field research into attitudes and psychographics. According to The EY Future Consumer Index, five distinct cohorts have formed since the start of the pandemic: 

• Almost a third (32%) of consumers are focused on affordability, so they prefer functionality over brands. 
• A quarter (25%) prioritize health and safety, so they opt for products they can trust.
• 16% of customers want to minimize their carbon footprint, so they buy from the brands they view as sustainable. 
• 15% are focused on the benefits for the community, so they purchase from companies with a reputation for honesty and transparency. 
• 12% of consumers live in the moment, so they are most open to novel products and experiences.

Based on segmentation and customer profiles, companies can make the most of their marketing spend. They can drive deeper insights for their creative promotional approaches. While coronavirus has changed social advertising, the old adage ‘Know Thy Customer’ is still relevant.

Transforming Consumer Behavior Insights Into Effective Ads

The above-mentioned insights can inform the entire customer journey. For example, Facebook offers a wide variety of targeting options. You can reach customers with a specific gender, location, interests, marital status, occupation, etc. Target parents with toddlers, new-vehicle buyers, people who donate to world relief organizations, expats, farmers, etc. The sheer number of options for social media is staggering. 

Such granular targeting ensures your ads are shown to people who can see value in your products or services. In addition, they are relatively affordable, even for small businesses. Use the digital space to show how your company has changed due to the pandemic, offer exclusive discounts or promotions related to COVID-19.

Everybody knows that visuals are more appealing than plain text, but video ads are particularly effective. They are 1,200% more successful in terms of engagement than text and images combined. Aitarget E-Commerce creates video ads in 45 seconds using only your product feed and customizable templates.

Lately, the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) has also declined, which means it is a great time to invest in Facebook ads. The platform will also let you reach users who have viewed your offerings in the past but left without making a purchase. Retargeting is a great strategy for post-pandemic times.

As so many consumers are focused on affordability, exclusive discounts and freebies attract new customers and get the old ones to come back. As companies are reopening, exclusive promotions help them regain their audience. This works for different industries, from restaurants to travel.

Change Your Ads to the New Reality by Fusing the COVID-19 as the Context

COVID-19 is one of the most widely read-about subjects. The words ‘COVID-19’ or ‘coronavirus’ now appear in content describing the effects of the pandemic on our lifestyles, habits, and behavior. Such content is highly relevant, as it helps consumers make the right decisions in the new normal. Companies cannot ignore this contextual change — instead, they can leverage it, which is one of the vital marketing tips to employ.

The pandemic has disrupted economies around the globe, but it has also brought new opportunities disguised as threats. They have changed social advertising. Marketers should not rule out uncomfortable topics — they can drive brand awareness and sales by helping users cope with the aftermath.

For example, consider advanced contextual targeting. Using semantic analysis, Google matches ads to specific pages based on keywords. Brands have been able to unlock new opportunities with messaging concerning the global changes during lockdown (for example, articles like Coronavirus: 6 Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements Tips to Strengthen Your Immunity). 

Ads appearing in such content boost engagement and ROAS for the campaign. Consumers are more interested in news than ever, so coronavirus lets brands reach a wider audience and create ads that attract attention. AI helps them detect new trends and behaviors to maximize the results. The focus on keeping consumers healthy and advertising in the credible sources of news pays off.

Create New Market Opportunities Based on Changing Needs

Marketing practices are ever-changing to keep up with fleeting consumer preferences. Advertising strategies must be aligned with the needs of the target audience. Demographics are quickly changing, and personalization is now at the forefront, which is also reflected in the post-pandemic tips.

Brands have to respond to customer needs quickly. Over half of executives understand that trust-building is a priority for a campaign. At the same time, market data shows that many companies are struggling to engage their audience. 

Companies of different sizes tackle these challenges differently. Major brands focus on product innovation to meet evolving demands. Small businesses emphasize competitive pricing. Open innovation, when customer opinion is integrated into product development, helps companies learn what their customers want, establish a connection, and reinforce trust. 

This is the antithesis of the conventional vertical integration, where products are developed internally based on internal R&D and distributed by the firm. In this concept, ideas come from the outside, while underutilized technologies are transferred to other processes. Open innovation is all about inflows and outflows of knowledge. 

As consumers’ priorities and preferences change over time, businesses must adapt their marketing mix to suit the evolving needs. For example, environmentally conscious individuals are attracted to brands that announce a shift to sustainable packaging. During an economic downturn, customers spend less, so businesses must focus on lower prices and greater convenience. 

Use Your Brand Assets to Increase Effectiveness 

Brand assets are the distinguishing characteristics of a company — i.e., the tangible and intangible things that make it stand out from the crowd. This is one of the top marketing tips to employ. Assets provide marketers with the resources that facilitate finding leads and closing deals. If the team cannot leverage these elements during a campaign, its potential is limited. 

The category includes a variety of elements from the tagline and USP to the logo, visuals, packaging, and ads. According to the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science, all of these things contribute to the brand identity if they are both unique and well-known.

First, the element must be automatically associated with your brand in the minds of the users. For example, consider the Nike “swoosh” symbol or the McDonald’s golden arches. An asset cannot be confused with your competitor’s identity. 

Secondly, the elements must be recognizable as a representation of the brand. They must reinforce the core values of your company and convey the benefits of using your products or services to the audience.

Not sure what your assets are? List your existing and previously used brand elements, along with any suggestions for the future. Survey your target audience to see how many customers associate a specific element with your brand, and how quickly they make this association. 

This will reveal the prominence of each component. Based on this research, you can create the Distinctive Asset Grid developed by Research Professor Jenni Romaniuk. You will see which elements should be avoided or tested, which of them can replace your brand name in ads, and which require further development. 

Genuine Generosity is Highly Effective

Generosity improves the brand image, making companies more attractive for consumers. According to Forbes, volunteer grant programs are used by such giants as Apple and Google. Many businesses offer paid time off for employees who volunteer at nonprofits, which boosts morale and loyalty. Meanwhile, engagement in sponsorships and product donations boosts sales. 

Such opportunities are plentiful. Businesses can support educational institutions, community organizations, and special events. When consumers see a brand’s logo displayed on the stadium or bulletin, this creates an instant association between the business and generosity. Participation in charitable auctions shows that your company has a heart. 

Generosity is increasingly reflected in marketing, and the benefits are two-fold. On the one hand, millions of dollars are raised for charity. On the other hand, brands see a rise in sales. Cause-related marketing, when a brand partners up with a charity to tackle social or environmental issues, builds business value. The collaboration of for-profit and nonprofit entities is powerful. 

The year 2020 was pivotal, as it exposed multiple social injustices and highlighted the role of brands in fighting the issues that governments failed to resolve. Americans gave a record $471 billion to charity. Some of the most efficient marketing campaigns were based on social causes, such as Black on Depop or Real Change by Persil. 

Soon after the outbreak, brands got to work helping consumers adapt to the changes. Many of them launched ads with phrases like “we’re here for you”, “times like these” and “togetherness”. Ads showing how your company helps can drive bigger long-term equity gains in comparison with ads that offer hope or encourage good behavior.

Your Brand Should Stand Behind Great Values

Our list of post-pandemic tips would not be complete without generosity. Stressing the benefits of your products or services is not enough to make them memorable. In fact, the vast majority of consumers (80%!) forget branded content in just three days. To leave a lasting impression on the audience, your content must resonate with their own values.

Brand awareness is hard to quantify, so here is a simple test. Are you sure that your brand’s messages, visuals, and strategies communicate its core values in a consistent manner? Do you even have a clear-cut set of values? If not, most of the users you have reached have already forgotten about your company’s existence.

Core values are the beliefs the brand stands for. They are a compass guiding decision-making and the entire brand story. Values are constant reminders of what truly matters for your business and the people it serves, and they help executives make the right decisions in turbulent times. Any choices a company makes must be aligned with its overarching vision.

Brand values determine customer perception and choices, as consumers tend to support companies whose values they share. According to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of buying choices are triggered by the unconscious, where values operate. The same works for employees, as values are crucial for engagement. 

Today, when consumer trust is lower than ever, values are critical for maintaining authenticity, as they let you connect to the audience on a deeper level. Finally, the right values will help you grow a brand you are passionate about and proud of.

Product videos and overlays are highly effective creative formats. Paired with personalized advertising, results can be phenomenal. The high costs of video production and motion design  complicates their use in Facebook advertising. Creating overlays may be challenging for a wide range of products. 

Well, that ends today. 

Aitarget takes the hassle out of creation of personalized videos and overlays at scale. You can get started even with pictures from your existing product feed. 

Just think of enriching product pictures with valuable data or image and carousel ads in a few clicks. 

Imagine having videos generated for any product in your feed with information about prices, discounts, or user reviews. 

Picture having your creatives tested and automatically improved to increase their performance by our closed-loop machine learning algorithm. 

You can even integrate data from third-party sources into your creative ads. This increases the relevance of the ads to your custom or lookalike audiences. 

Customer case 

Aitarget’s video tool was instrumental in generating videos that incorporated daily-updated data on pollution levels in various cities for a Philips campaign where the objective was to increase the sales of air purifiers. 

There was added complexity as videos targeted different geographic locations and were only shown if pollution levels exceeded safe levels. Aitarget dynamically updated the creatives, ensuring that the audience saw the most up-to-date data. This generated demand for the product. The result was an increase in sales. 

That’s just a snapshot of what you can achieve with personalization made possible by Aitarget. 

It doesn’t end there. 

You can even automate certain aspects of your campaign management. 

Overview of Facebook Ads

Facebook constantly develops new ways for advertisers to reach the right audience while optimizing their ad spend. One of the key innovations has been dynamic Facebook ads. 

Previously, businesses with a large range of products faced the challenge of manually creating ads for items in their product feed. Facebook’s dynamic ads can now generate ads from the advertiser’s catalog and show these ads to suitable audiences based on their interests or behaviors.

There are two main targeting options when advertising on Facebook—reaching broad audiences who may have shown interest in similar products but have never visited your website. The second more detailed approach involves going after people who have previously interacted with your service. 

Retargeting has been enhanced through Facebook pixels, where you can add code snippets to your site to track Facebook users through various stages of the buyer’s journey. Custom audiences are then created from the data gathered from content views, abandoned carts, searches, etc. 

What makes dynamic ads possible? They are based on pre-made or custom templates. Facebook then determines the most optimum products to show customers and fill the templates with product data. 

Advertisers now can create product sets from their catalog. The sets feature products that share certain characteristics, such as certain price ranges. 

The Dynamic Creative Tool has allowed advertisers to find the best performing creative ad formats. In essence, you can upload different variations of ad components such as videos, images, or text. Dynamic Creative then tests to find the best performing variations that resonate most with the target audience.

Common challenges with creative Facebook advertising

Native dynamic ads are only available for carousel, single image, and collection Facebook ad formats. You miss out on the ability to create dynamic videos for retargeting or creating brand awareness. 

One workaround may involve creating video ads manually following broad categories such as the best-selling products. It may be time-intensive and expensive. 

Another option is to use native dynamic carousels to promote product sets. But static images are not  as engaging as video content when marketing on Facebook. 

Aitarget’s internal testing on a campaign featuring Madrobots showed that use of videos for product suggestion improves the performance of dynamic ad carousels, often increasing ROAS while minimizing CPP. 

Facebook’s dynamic ads also have other limitations. For instance, you can’t delete a product set used in an ad campaign, and Facebook advertises against editing it. If your ads need to be constantly updated with new information, you need to do this manually. Facebook’s Dynamic Creative offers limited testing capabilities, as you can run through scenarios involving about 10 images, 5 CTAs, and 5 text descriptions at a time. 

Why Aitarget Is Best for Work with Your Product Feed

The first obvious advantage you’ll enjoy with Aitarget tools for Facebook advertising is the ease of creating videos. You only need to come up with one custom on-brand video template. It’s applied for individual products or product sets. The videos may leverage data variables that are constantly updated, for instance, traffic information, weather, flight data, new pricing details, etc. If there is a change with the variables, new videos are generated.

Aitarget takes on the role of uploading your creatives to Ads manager, meaning that will save  you much time. We have also built on the capabilities of Facebook’s native Creative Tools, allowing you greater customization over your creatives’ appearance. 

Product feed images may require tweaking to look great in pre-made templates. Aitarget’s use of computer vision algorithms ensures that your product photos appear correctly in your custom templates. They may be scaled or centered. 

You can access more feed management and enhancement options with Aitarget and work directly with our team of experts to come up with custom tools and implementations that are not possible with what Facebook natively offers. 

Creating nice-looking overlays and personalized videos is only part of the equation. Aitarget supports campaign automation. Leverage our closed-loop machine learning algorithm that works under the hood to perform multivariate testing to determine the most effective creatives. Our AI control center can also perform iterative improvements to increase the impact of the best-performing creatives. The gradual improvements build on what worked in the past. 

Boost Your Marketing with Facebook Advertising Automation

Campaign management may be tedious and often requires repeatable tasks. Aitarget takes campaign automation to a new level. Automation eliminates the number of tasks a marketing manager has to perform, reducing the demand for additional media buyers, and allows campaigns to scale infinitely. 

You can set up custom rules to monitor the results of marketing campaigns and the actions to be taken. For instance, you may adopt ROAS-based rules to keep track of and respond to the performance of the ad campaign. 

Our tool kit allows you to implement different automation strategies, including tunnel, weighted average, and funnel strategies. 

What We Offer

On Aitarget, you can access a wide range of tools that will make it effortless to create overlays and scalable personalized videos. New clients receive a detailed consultation with our team to understand the full capabilities of the platform. What’s more, we can create custom solutions to fit into different advertising workflows. Some of our top solutions include:

Data-infused overlays

Elevate your product feed images by adding first and third-party data to create more relevant ads. 

Feed-based videos

Bring your product feed imagery to life by generating videos from branded templates. The videos can be at any length and format. They can even incorporate data from third-party sources. Videos may be automatically updated and uploaded as the variables change. 

Custom product sets 

We focus on exposing more of your products to your consumers in a meaningful, targeted way. 

Multi-image product ads 

Enhance single image ads to incorporate views of the product from different angles. 

Circular ads 

Create hyper-geo targeted ads complete with localized pricing, messaging, and store details like an enriched location map. 

Iterative creative improvement 

Our closed-loop ML solution creates a feedback loop to enhance ads with visual testing. Deliver ads people want to see and improve your ROAS. 

Product image enhancement with AI 

Reduce the hassle of working with product images. Enhance them through our computer vision algorithms. 

Advanced image editor 

We have extended the capabilities of Facebook’s native creative editor to bring you a new set of tools for better customization.

Intuitive dashboard

You get a dashboard that allows you to manage and track the performance of your campaigns. See vital stats at a glance, including impressions, CPM, CTR, number of unique visitors, etc. You get access to reporting features allowing you to share relevant insights with your team quickly. 

Benefits

• Create scalable, dynamic videos based on data collected from your product feed in minutes 
• Incorporate your brand assets in your Facebook ads 
• Take advantage of any data source to personalize your videos 
• Drive better conversions with the best performing creatives
• Stop non-performing ads 
• Create reusable and scalable templates 
• Automate your campaigns and reduce the need to hire new media buyers
• Save costs and optimize for speed

Accelerated Performance

Supercharge your Facebook advertising and accelerate performance by leveraging the unique capabilities of Aitarget tools to create personalized videos and overlays. Our AI algorithm will test out the best performing combinations and offer enhancement opportunities to help you meet your KPI goals. You’ll receive expert support when configuring your product catalog to serve as the basis of your dynamic ads. Try our smart strategies to optimize your bidding, ad budget, and performance. 

During this process, you’ll be in touch with our team to build automated campaigns that execute 24/7 reliably and confidently. Building the automation templates is highly visual, and the tool supports a wide range of multiple actions. You can even tailor the automation schedule. 

If you don’t need Altarget’s mass video generator, we can still help automate your campaign management. We effectively did this with Two Dots. The brand wanted to scale its advertisements to new geographic locations while actively receiving signals that would allow them to respond promptly to developing situations.

When you thought that advertisers had been through the worst of the storm, they are dealt with this new card, talk about hitting them when they are already down. In this light, marketing companies have no option but to look for unorthodox means of getting new customers and also keeping tabs on the current ones. 

One option for achieving this is by getting data directly from consenting customers as a Direct-To-Customer (DTC) brand. The whole privacy improvement idea is centered around removing self-attribution networks that have become major players in this field. New features like masking the IP and email address will make it difficult to use them as the only online tracking identifier. For advertisers and marketers, this new update requires different strategies, lets discuss what other implications it has for digital advertisers.

iOS 14.5 + iOS 15 – the Difference

As far as general differences between the two operating systems, there are several updates that come along with the recent version. While most of the features have remained pretty much the same, Apple shifted its focus on new apps and improving some existing features like Siri and Maps. 

But, let’s get away from that, the differences in the updates that make sense to the digital advertiser and online marketers are the improvements on privacy. The recent update essentially builds on iOS 14.5 and comes with three significant upgrades. iOS 15 builds from its predecessor’s tracking dashboard. The App Tracking Transparency feature makes tracking consent-based. The user has full control over the trackers they want to be involved in or not. Users can also see who is collecting data from them through a detailed but easy report. This new update is also putting a stop to email tracking by masking the IP address. The last significant update for privacy is to enable Siri to operate offline to avoid the risk of unwarranted audio recording.

App Privacy Report

In the spirit of putting matters of privacy in the hands of the user, the latest update comes with a detailed yet easy-to-understand privacy report. This report is a summary of how frequently applications use the permissions the user extends to them, for instance, microphone, camera, location, and even contacts. The user can then critically analyze the data and see whether it makes sense to them or not. 

It doesn’t stop here, the report also puts to the fore who their data is shared with by highlighting all the third-party domains associated with the particular application, how often the domain contacts the app, and vice versa. Right from this feature, users have the ability to decide on what to do with the applications that share data with other third-party domains. One possible course to take is to remove all the permissions previously granted by the user. Such detailed reports were not available on other previous updates. This new version affects digital advertisers who depend on third-party domains for data. 

SKAdNetwork Postback Aggregation in iOS 15

It is not all bad with the iOS 15 altogether, it is however good to see that Apple is acknowledging the presence of advertisers in this equation although in a small way. SKAdNetworks are a friendly way of sharing information with the applications on the phone while withholding user and device-level data. Now advertisers have the opportunity to receive copies of winning postbacks that come via the API privacy attribution, SKAdNetwork. 

This particular change is very much welcomed because it gives marketers and advertisers better transparency, what’s more, getting data right from the source is a better option for many advertisers. Once you opt in, you will receive postbacks on every successive install via an ad. This feature is not just beneficial to advertising agencies but also to developers who have been pushing for this feature for the longest time. On the flip side nonetheless, advertisers do not have the control or power over the SKAN campaign ID. The control lies with the ad networks where each network has its own individual mapping.

Intelligent Tracking Prevention

Intelligent Tracking Prevention is not an entirely new feature exclusive for this update, on the contrary, this feature first came into existence back in 2017 as Apple introduced API to Safari. Essentially, ITP changes how advertisers and different websites were accustomed to using cookies to tailor-make advertisements. The owners of different sites and digital advertisers track user’s digital footprints across different domains and from that they are able to personalize ads and campaigns to offer services or advertise goods. 

ITP is evolving and different web browsers are taking the Apple approach by incorporating ITP as part of privacy protection to its users. Firefox has an ITP that blocks and reports back to the user how many cookies have been blocked but doesn’t indicate who placed the cookies. However, Google Chrome is blaming Apple and Firefox for the more harmful approaches to tracking that are now taking shape because of blocking cookies. 

Changes in the New iOS Affecting Digital Advertisers Negatively

Let’s face it, ad performance is the bread and butter of any marketing or digital advertising company, and Apple is not slowing down on strict privacy updates. These privacy control features are giving digital marketing companies a hard time in getting their hands on important conversion data. 

For instance, the API Safari feature blocks cookies from tracking the online activities of users making it difficult for marketing companies to come up with ads exclusive to different individuals. Moreover, the opt-in feature that Apple requires apps to consent to in order to access identifiers from the user is counterproductive since the user can decide not to give certain permission to that particular app or worse still, no permissions at all. 

How do Changes in iOS 15 Affect the Activities of Digital Advertisers?

The current iOS version; iOS 14.5 dealt a big blow to digital advertisers and the latest version; iOS 15 is not getting any lenient to them. In fact, this latest version is coming with more privacy options for users, digital marketers have just been dealt a significant blow. The most significant change in the new version that is going to affect the activities of online advertisers is the Mail Privacy Protection. 

With the introduction of the Apple Mail app, the Mail Privacy Protection will prevent the sender from knowing whether the email sent has been opened or not, therefore, making it very difficult to determine whether that action is linked to other online activities. For online advertisers, email marketing has been essential in their business, giving brands the highest Return on Investment. Considering the footprint Apple Mail app has on all the available devices, the future is not looking too good for digital advertisers. With the Mail Privacy Protection, online advertisers will have a difficult time assessing the relation between email activity and the Return On Investment making business difficult. 

Difficulties Encountered When Working with Versions 15 of iOS

Similar to the previous version, there are a few bugs that mainly affect the general user experience. These bugs, however, were mainly evident on the beta version but the September release promises to take care of the few hitches. Nonetheless, digital advertisers have more than a few hitches to worry about. The whole transition to consumer privacy control is what will bring roadblocks to the business. 

While the previous versions had the identifier for Advertisers  IDFA where advertisers could know what ads to present to a particular user, the new version iOS 15 comes with an option to disable this feature. Technically this is similar to blinding the advertiser, it will be virtually impossible to know what the user’s online activities are and also how to reach them in any network. For the first time ever, this new update gives the users control of what market will have some access to their data and who will not.

Recommendations for Overcoming Difficulties in iOS 15

The silent war between digital marketing and privacy will not end any time soon. However, it is imperative to develop new ways of navigating this murky world that is proving to be a tough nut for online marketers to crack. Regardless, overcoming difficulties for advertisers will mean looking for new approaches to marketing. 

The silver lining in this dark cloud is that marketing will have to take a more valuable approach. Data is like currency, marketers will have to provide value before asking for data. Now, digital advertisers will have to come up with creative ways of reconnecting and building stronger ties with their audiences. Moving forward, it will be necessary to have to show value and accountability before asking for data. Forging more honest relationships with the audience will also mean that their feedback is reliable, transparent, and trusted. 

Now you will be able to curate emails that the recipients want because they will be able to give you their preferences. No more guessing about what users may fancy. The move towards more privacy will help marketing go back to its former glory. Because the information will be willingly given to you by the audience, as a marketer you can now create meaningful and valuable content which is relevant for them. Finally, the best way to get ahead of any situation is to equip yourself with relevant and up-to-date information. Understand the direction marketing is going and also work with other experts in trying to find the best solution that will work for you. 

Direct-to-consumer Brands and iOS 15

D2C brands appear to be barely taking the brunt of the recent iOS 15 upgrade. This is because they are already making use of the direct-to-customer approach that digital marketers will soon have to get into. Right now, direct-to-consumer brands are getting first-hand data from consistent and consenting clients. However, D2C brands have not been relying entirely on consenting clients, to the contrary, they have been relying on social media platforms for advertising and customer acquisition. These brands have been able to critically assess client’s purchasing patterns thanks to detailed tracking. 

So what does the new upgrade have to do with the direct-to-consumer brands? With the new update, D2C brands might still be able to push advertisements but they won’t be able to tell whether clients made purchases through their phones. This will in turn compromise their ability to make better business decisions without the effective data from the advertisements. Now D2C companies have to fall back to their original ways of getting loyal clients who will give them reliable feedback to work with.

Embrace Personalized Messaging

All is not lost yet, despite the new update coming with the Hide my email feature, the mechanism of operation still gives some room for smart advertising. It goes without saying that the online marketing company will not be able to see the email address of the user that has given consent, but they will still have a line of communication. Understanding how to personalize the emails and sending them at the right time is key. Digital advertising agencies need to come up with creative ways they can use to persuade users to share data through this channel. 

For instance, you could offer a discount on sales or services offered if the user agrees to fill in simple and fast surveys. Through this method, digital advertisers can collect valuable data on the user’s preference and purchasing intentions for free. What’s more, this process will also give you accurate information directly from the user which can be relied upon. Moving forward, the digital marketing scene will require deliberate efforts to get the right information using this channel of direct communication to the user. 

Conclusion

Apple isn’t stopping any time soon with the privacy-centered approach. With the soon-to-be-launched iOS 15 updates, more privacy features are expected. This will further destabilize the digital advertising space, but the good thing is that businesses still have ways to work within the system. Through restrategizing and changing tact, digital advertisers will be able to adapt to the soon to arrive upgrade.

We are excited to announce that Aitarget have earned the Facebook Marketing Partner badge for Creative Platform, which complements the badge for Advertising Technology that we received in 2016. Facebook offers many promotional opportunities, and Facebook Marketing Partners expand them even further. Let’s find out when and why it is worth cooperating with Facebook Marketing Partners.

In short, Facebook Marketing Partners are technology companies and agencies. Facebook Marketing Partners supplement Facebook’s advertising tools and make crafting and fine-tuning campaigns easier and more efficient. The areas cover interactions between business and Facebook and vary from campaign and community management to organizing a sales system.

If you need to solve any of the following tasks, working with a partner will make it faster and more convenient:

1. Campaign management (automation at different levels)
2. Community and Pages management
3. Creative solutions (everything connected with creation and improvement of visual content for advertising and social networks)
4. Feeds for Dynamic Ads creation/adjustment
5. Lead generation
6. Analytics (especially for mobile apps)
7. Management of messengers and chat rooms with clients
8. Integration of online and offline conversion
9. Sales through Facebook
10. Advanced pixel management
11. Launch of Collaborative ads (product ad format that partners retailers and brands that sell through them)

How to Сhoose a Partner

Facebook has built a directory where you can conveniently search for a partner with sought-after features. Being a Facebook Marketing Partner for Creative and Advertising Technology ourselves, we recommend considering the following when making your choice:

• Badge

The directory includes both badged and non-badged partners (the hallmark is the blue icon).

The difference is that the technologies and expertise of badged partners have been tested for quality and reliability by Facebook.

• Qualification

Badged partners’ profiles indicate the type of solution that they were badged for.

Here are the solutions you’ll see most frequently.

Advertising Technology

Advertising Technology was the first established certification category and marked the beginning of Facebook Partners. It still has the strongest requirements: a partner must present a successful product based on Facebook API. The key benefit of such products is that they allow them to create ever-green Facebook campaigns that constantly and automatically improve themselves.

Who to contact: Aitarget, Kepler, Kenshoo, Merkle, Marin Software, Sprinklr, and many others

Creative

Building and testing creatives are the only things that advertising platforms have not yet learned how to fully automate, unlike how it is for bidding and targeting. Facebook tools are constantly getting smarter, and they already know who to show ads to, when, and at what price – better than a marketing specialist can.

But what to show? This question is increasingly complicated, as there are now dozens of placements and formats, each requiring particular specifications. This coupled with the need to constantly change and update creatives because of burnout, leads to brands and companies lacking resources needed to keep up when creating effective creatives. This is what Facebook creative partners help to cope with: there’s a 10 times difference between the performance of an inefficient creative and that of an engaging one.

You can build on-brand and product videos in a matter of seconds, launch individually templated ads enriched with any data, and set up personalization that appeals to your audience’s interests/behavior (or even implement third-party data like weather or pollution). Some creative partners collaborate with bloggers to set up measurable conversion promotions.

Who to contact: Aitarget, Canva, Captiv8, Chute, Influential, Insense, Loomly, Magisto, Sprinklr, Ripl, and others

What’s the result of collaborating with a Partner?

It all depends on the category and service capabilities of the company. For example, our creative platform takes up smart crafting, producing ready-to-launch creatives for all kinds of placements and formats at each funnel stage, from brand awareness to conversion.

It is good at:

• Making videos based on any source data, including product feeds and corporate identity. This makes it so you don’t have to attract developers or designers.
• Creating personalized videos for your audience depending on their interests/life events/product use conditions, even if it is the weather, geography, or any other 3rd-party data. This allows you to treat your customers individually.
• Building brand and product videos in just 45 seconds in branded templates enriched with additional data (prices and special offers, ratings, and reviews from the website). This lets users select products while still watching the ad.
• Making feed-based creatives better, supplementing them with all kinds of data. This allows you to highlight the best angles of your products.
• Automatically testing and selecting the most conversion-packed creatives and targeting to achieve business results quicker.

Here are some examples of how we can extend the default Facebook functionality available to everyone.

Philips was able to explain why a climate complex is necessary for every home by demonstrating the real level of pollution in every city

Philips’ air purifier sales grew 6.6 times. The premium model became a bestseller in the brand’s online store. In comparison with the average value, Cost per ThruPlay decreased by 52%, CPC by 15%, while the View-through rate increased by one point. Polluted cities with a low BAQI value had the lowest CPC.

Askona, Russia’s largest anatomic mattress and sleep product manufacturer, added product reviews to its Facebook dynamic ads.

The number of purchases increased by 19%, and the percentage of visits that resulted in a purchase increased by 2.3 times. Income generated by ads with overlays increased by 19% with equal promotion costs.

Summary of Facebook Marketing Partners for Advertisers

1. Facebook Marketing Partners are technology companies and agencies.
2. Partners are necessary for those who want to extend the built-in functionality of Facebook, get more convenient access to support, and use higher-level advertising.
3. While choosing a partner, you should be focused on business tasks and goals.
4. To understand the status of a partner, pay attention to what they have been badged for.

Today, about 12.5 million ads crafted through our platform are displayed on social media every second. Yours could be among them, so contact us at info@aitarget.com or request a demo and we will discuss tailoring our solutions for your tasks today.

No more pausing ads. Use our new product set editor in the Aitarget Tech Tool.

We know that every e-commerce advertiser needs a clear catalog structure. Fast product data management is important for achieving high ROI, especially if the data is constantly being updated.

Facebook allows you to group products into segments according to some characteristics, but you will not be able to make changes to existing sets. Our team at Aitarget Tech developed an add-on to the tool that allows you to edit the existing segments, even if they’re being used in an active campaign. You can replace one product in the product set with another (a seasonal example would be switching out boots for sandals), and you don’t need to pause ads.

All details (the title, image, brand name etc.) are visible in the segment.

We’ve also increased the number of built-in options for creating catalog segments so you can create the segments that best suit your brand. Here are some examples:

• actual price – Discounted price will be shown for the product. When the discount ends, the standard price will return to the ad.
• description – Allows users to select products by keywords in the product description text.
• sale value – Shows the difference between the price and the discount price.

Several parameters can be used to create a segment. If there isn’t a suitable one, you can create your own in our easy-to-use editor.