Joe Rogan's Podcast is Much Better Than Mine

[00:00:00] It is Tuesday, October 29th. Today, the counterintuitive strategy that could triple your engagement. Shoppers are browsing on social, but why aren't they buying? Email marketers hit a high note, and why your search console performance report is empty. I'm Todd Maffin. That's ahead today in Digital Marketing.

[00:00:24] Being in a fierce battle with a market competitor can force a lot of decisions. Do we match their prices? Do we try to one-up their offering? But one question you might want to start asking, do we mention them in social media?

[00:00:39] And while your first instinct might be, hell no, new research suggests you should at least consider it. The study was jointly conducted by a German university and New York university.

[00:00:50] It found that mentioning a rival brand in marketing can increase engagement and even purchase intention.

[00:00:57] The study analyzed more than 1.2 million tweets from 100 brands across 20 categories and found that tweets that referenced a rival brand received, on average, almost triple the number of likes.

[00:01:12] Researchers think this happens because referencing a rival brand creates a narrative with a defined conflict, making it easier for consumers to follow and remember.

[00:01:23] It also reinforces the consumer's identification with the brand, making them more likely to engage with the content.

[00:01:28] The effect is even stronger when the rivalry is strong and when the tone is slightly critical or mocking.

[00:01:37] But this effect seems to disappear if the brand is not a rival, but just a regular competitor.

[00:01:45] So what then qualifies as a rival?

[00:01:48] Well, think Coke versus Pepsi or McDonald's versus Burger King, brands which may have gone after each other before or where the public generally already accepts the fierce nature of competition at play.

[00:01:59] To use this strategy, researchers say identify a true rival brand and reference them in a fun and playful way.

[00:02:07] Also, while highlighting your brand's strengths.

[00:02:10] But be mindful of the tone, as overly negative or insulting messages were found to have backfired.

[00:02:17] We have a link to the full study in today's email newsletter, which you can sign up to for free by tapping the link at the top of the show notes or going to todayindigital.com slash newsletter.

[00:02:31] U.S. email engagement went up last year, according to new data from GetResponse.

[00:02:37] In fact, the numbers show big improvements in email metrics.

[00:02:40] The percentage of people opening emails jumped from 31% in 2022 to 46% in 2023.

[00:02:49] The number of people who clicked on links in emails also went up from 2.7% to 4.3%.

[00:02:56] A recent study by Ascend, too, found that 48% of marketers think email is an effective way to send personalized messages.

[00:03:03] This can lead to more loyal customers, higher conversion rates, especially in industries like travel and retail.

[00:03:10] Remember, more than 82% of the U.S. population uses email, and that number is expected to grow to 290 million by 2027.

[00:03:21] Marketers are taking notice.

[00:03:23] 87% plan to maintain or increase their investment in email marketing.

[00:03:31] The Financial Times reports this week that Elon Musk's X continues to suffer financial losses.

[00:03:37] The company had a revenue goal of $100 million from political advertising this year.

[00:03:42] As of last week, the company had brought in just $15 million, mostly from Republican campaigns.

[00:03:49] Data from X's transparency library shows that Republican candidates and PACs account for more than half of the ad spend on the platform.

[00:03:56] The Trump campaign is the biggest spender, close to $1 million spent on 162 ads.

[00:04:02] Other top spenders include Laura Trump, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz.

[00:04:08] In contrast, few Democrats are using X for advertising.

[00:04:12] The Harris campaign has focused its digital spending on Google and Meta, where it has spent more than $280 million this year.

[00:04:20] The low ad revenue is another blow to X's financial health.

[00:04:24] Big brands have frozen spending on the platform due to concerns about Musk's approach to moderation.

[00:04:30] Total U.S. ad spend on X was down 68% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2022.

[00:04:42] A new survey from Aftership and Ipsos found that while many consumers browse social media platforms,

[00:04:48] they often don't make purchases there due to trust.

[00:04:52] The survey found that 76% of respondents browse social commerce platforms, but then leave that platform and buy through a retailer's website.

[00:05:02] 41% citing trust and security concerns as the main reason.

[00:05:07] More than half of respondents, 52%, said they don't trust social media platforms.

[00:05:12] 44% said they would use social commerce if the platforms felt more trustworthy.

[00:05:17] Despite those issues, younger shoppers are more likely to shop directly on social media,

[00:05:22] with 34% of 18- to 34-year-olds shopping on social media weekly.

[00:05:28] This age group is also more likely to continue shopping on social media platforms in the future.

[00:05:33] 65% said they're likely to do that.

[00:05:35] The survey found that sales and promotions are the top motivator for online purchases,

[00:05:41] followed by reviews from other customers.

[00:05:44] A brand's social content, live shopping videos, and influencers also play a role in motivating purchases,

[00:05:50] but to a lesser extent.

[00:05:56] And finally, a bit of a lightning round, special Google edition.

[00:06:00] A big bug in the Search Console performance report this week is showing almost no data for affected days.

[00:06:07] Many users are experiencing this issue.

[00:06:09] Google has now acknowledged it, saying they are working on the bug.

[00:06:12] Google is now expanding its AI search summaries to more than 100 new countries, including Canada and Australia.

[00:06:18] The company says AI provides concise answers to search queries.

[00:06:22] Some studies have found the summaries can actually increase traffic to websites mentioned in them.

[00:06:27] And Google's recent algorithmic change to identify content that is significantly different from a site's main content is now finding targets.

[00:06:37] Analysts say sites which exploit a recognized and trusted brand name to post affiliate marketing slop are seeing a dramatic drop in rankings.

[00:06:47] I'm looking at you, Fortune.

[00:07:00] I'm looking at you, Fortune.

[00:07:24] Most of the time, kids just land on candy.

[00:07:27] There's a couple of places where they get a prize.

[00:07:29] There's like a grand prize.

[00:07:31] And those prizes they can pick from and they're either like sticker books or coloring books.

[00:07:34] But some have been like fairly large, like $50.

[00:07:37] The grand prize last year was a $50 Lego set of like a Star Wars thing.

[00:07:43] And that went on the second person who spun it.

[00:07:46] Little brat.

[00:07:47] That's supposed to last me all night.

[00:07:49] But the best part is, or at least the part that's most fun for me anyway, is that I do double or nothing with the older kids.

[00:07:56] They have to be old.

[00:07:57] I don't want to like, you know, break the heart of a six-year-old.

[00:08:00] So, you know, if they're like nearing their teen years, I'll offer them double or nothing.

[00:08:04] The spinning wheel has got twos and zeros alternating on each little thing.

[00:08:08] And so if they land on a two, I give them another piece of candy.

[00:08:11] If they land on a zero, they have to give their candy to me.

[00:08:15] And here's the best part.

[00:08:16] They have to stay and watch as I eat it in front of their face.

[00:08:22] God, I'm an asshole.

[00:08:23] But it's so much fun.

[00:08:26] And I'll tell you, I should keep stats on it.

[00:08:28] I feel like I'm up in this whole thing.

[00:08:30] I feel like I've actually gotten more candy out of it than not.

[00:08:34] But I don't know.

[00:08:35] I might lower my own kind of like ethical age requirement for this down to like 11 or 12 because it's so much fun.

[00:08:41] But we'll see.

[00:08:42] First kid that cries is going back up to teenagers.

[00:08:45] Anyway, I'm off to get a better quality speaker, one that's louder,

[00:08:48] and a couple of more lights because, you know, this thing just keeps on growing.

[00:08:52] I'll see you tomorrow.