How Do Sessions Work in Google Analytics? - Whiteboard Friday

Posted by Tom.Capper

One of these sessions is not like the other. Google Analytics data is used to support tons of important work, ranging from our everyday marketing reporting all the way to investment decisions. To that end, it's integral that we're aware of just how that data works.

In this week's edition of Whiteboard Friday, we welcome Tom Capper to explain how the sessions metric in Google Analytics works, several ways that it can have unexpected results, and as a bonus, how sessions affect the time on page metric (and why you should rethink using time on page for reporting).

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Video Transcription

Hello, Moz fans, and welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. I am Tom Capper. I am a consultant at Distilled, and today I'm going to be talking to you about how sessions work in Google Analytics. Obviously, all of us use Google Analytics. Pretty much all of us use Google Analytics in our day-to-day work.

Data from the platform is used these days in everything from investment decisions to press reporting to the actual marketing that we use it for. So it's important to understand the basic building blocks of these platforms. Up here I've got the absolute basics. So in the blue squares I've got hits being sent to Google Analytics.

So when you first put Google Analytics on your site, you get that bit of tracking code, you put it on every page, and what that means is when someone loads the page, it sends a page view. So those are the ones I've marked P. So we've got page view and page view and so on as you're going around the site. I've also got events with an E and transactions with a T. Those are two other hit types that you might have added.

The job of Google Analytics is to take all this hit data that you're sending it and try and bring it together into something that actually makes sense as sessions. So they're grouped into sessions that I've put in black, and then if you have multiple sessions from the same browser, then that would be a user that I've marked in pink. The issue here is it's kind of arbitrary how you divide these up.

These eight hits could be one long session. They could be eight tiny ones or anything in between. So I want to talk today about the different ways that Google Analytics will actually split up those hit types into sessions. So over here I've got some examples I'm going to go through. But first I'm going to go through a real-world example of a brick-and-mortar store, because I think that's what they're trying to emulate, and it kind of makes more sense with that context.

Brick-and-mortar example

So in this example, say a supermarket, we enter by a passing trade. That's going to be our source. Then we've got an entrance is in the lobby of the supermarket when we walk in. We got passed from there to the beer aisle to the cashier, or at least I do. So that's one big, long session with the source passing trade. That makes sense.

In the case of a brick-and-mortar store, it's not to difficult to divide that up and try and decide how many sessions are going on here. There's not really any ambiguity. In the case of websites, when you have people leaving their keyboard for a while or leaving the computer on while they go on holiday or just having the same computer over a period of time, it becomes harder to divide things up, because you don't know when people are actually coming and going.

So what they've tried to do is in the very basic case something quite similar: arrive by Google, category page, product page, checkout. Great. We've got one long session, and the source is Google. Okay, so what are the different ways that that might go wrong or that that might get divided up?

Several things that can change the meaning of a session

1. Time zone

The first and possibly most annoying one, although it doesn't tend to be a huge issue for some sites, is whatever time zone you've set in your Google Analytics settings, the midnight in that time zone can break up a session. So say we've got midnight here. This is 12:00 at night, and we happen to be browsing. We're doing some shopping quite late.

Because Google Analytics won't allow a session to have two dates, this is going to be one session with the source Google, and this is going to be one session and the source will be this page. So this is a self-referral unless you've chosen to exclude that in your settings. So not necessarily hugely helpful.

2. Half-hour cutoff for "coffee breaks"

Another thing that can happen is you might go and make a cup of coffee. So ideally if you went and had a cup of coffee while in you're in Tesco or a supermarket that's popular in whatever country you're from, you might want to consider that one long session. Google has made the executive decision that we're actually going to have a cutoff of half an hour by default.

If you leave for half an hour, then again you've got two sessions. One, the category page is the landing page and the source of Google, and one in this case where the blog is the landing page, and this would be another self-referral, because when you come back after your coffee break, you're going to click through from here to here. This time period, the 30 minutes, that is actually adjustable in your settings, but most people do just leave it as it is, and there isn't really an obvious number that would make this always correct either. It's kind of, like I said earlier, an arbitrary distinction.

3. Leaving the site and coming back

The next issue I want to talk about is if you leave the site and come back. So obviously it makes sense that if you enter the site from Google, browse for a bit, and then enter again from Bing, you might want to count that as two different sessions with two different sources. However, where this gets a little murky is with things like external payment providers.

If you had to click through from the category page to PayPal to the checkout, then unless PayPal is excluded from your referral list, then this would be one session, entrance from Google, one session, entrance from checkout. The last issue I want to talk about is not necessarily a way that sessions are divided, but a quirk of how they are.

4. Return direct sessions

If you were to enter by Google to the category page, go on holiday and then use a bookmark or something or just type in the URL to come back, then obviously this is going to be two different sessions. You would hope that it would be one session from Google and one session from direct. That would make sense, right?

But instead, what actually happens is that, because Google and most Google Analytics and most of its reports uses last non-direct click, we pass through that source all the way over here, so you've got two sessions from Google. Again, you can change this timeout period. So that's some ways that sessions work that you might not expect.

As a bonus, I want to give you some extra information about how this affects a certain metric, mainly because I want to persuade you to stop using it, and that metric is time on page.

Bonus: Three scenarios where this affects time on page

So I've got three different scenarios here that I want to talk you through, and we'll see how the time on page metric works out.

I want you to bear in mind that, basically, because Google Analytics really has very little data to work with typically, they only know that you've landed on a page, and that sent a page view and then potentially nothing else. If you were to have a single page visit to a site, or a bounce in other words, then they don't know whether you were on that page for 10 seconds or the rest of your life.

They've got no further data to work with. So what they do is they say, "Okay, we're not going to include that in our average time on page metrics." So we've got the formula of time divided by views minus exits. However, this fudge has some really unfortunate consequences. So let's talk through these scenarios.

Example 1: Intuitive time on page = actual time on page

In the first scenario, I arrive on the page. It sends a page view. Great. Ten seconds later I trigger some kind of event that the site has added. Twenty seconds later I click through to the next page on the site. In this case, everything is working as intended in a sense, because there's a next page on the site, so Google Analytics has that extra data of another page view 20 seconds after the first one. So they know that I was on here for 20 seconds.

In this case, the intuitive time on page is 20 seconds, and the actual time on page is also 20 seconds. Great.

Example 2: Intuitive time on page is higher than measured time on page

However, let's think about this next example. We've got a page view, event 10 seconds later, except this time instead of clicking somewhere else on the site, I'm going to just leave altogether. So there's no data available, but Google Analytics knows we're here for 10 seconds.

So the intuitive time on page here is still 20 seconds. That's how long I actually spent looking at the page. But the measured time or the reported time is going to be 10 seconds.

Example 3: Measured time on page is zero

The last example, I browse for 20 seconds. I leave. I haven't triggered an event. So we've got an intuitive time on page of 20 seconds and an actual time on page or a measured time on page of 0.

The interesting bit is when we then come to calculate the average time on page for this page that appeared here, here, and here, you would initially hope it would be 20 seconds, because that's how long we actually spent. But your next guess, when you look at the reported or the available data that Google Analytics has in terms of how long we're on these pages, the average of these three numbers would be 10 seconds.

So that would make some sense. What they actually do, because of this formula, is they end up with 30 seconds. So you've got the total time here, which is 30, divided by the number of views, we've got 3 views, minus 2 exits. Thirty divided 3 minus 2, 30 divided by 1, so we've got 30 seconds as the average across these 3 sessions.

Well, the average across these three page views, sorry, for the amount of time we're spending, and that is longer than any of them, and it doesn't make any sense with the constituent data. So that's just one final tip to please not use average time on page as a reporting metric.

I hope that's all been useful to you. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

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B2B Marketers : Why it’s easier to succeed with content than you might think

Marketers : Load your B2B success articles into theMarketingblog – TheMarketingblog https://t.co/cb3deOx8Yn pic.twitter.com/IL2H2r2l9C

— Will Corry (@slievemore) October 25, 2018

The post B2B Marketers : Why it’s easier to succeed with content than you might think appeared first on TheMarketingblog.

from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2018/11/b2b-marketers-why-its-easier-to-succeed-with-content-than-you-might-think/

Phone Photography 101: How to Take Good Pictures With Your Mobile Device

Before the days of smartphones -- if you can remember such a time -- taking a great photo was a labor-intensive process. You'd have buy a fancy camera and editing software for your desktop computer, and invest some serious time and energy into learning how to use them.

But, thanks to our mobile devices and the editing apps that come with them, we can now take high-quality photos and edit them without too many bells and whistles -- all from the same device that we use to make calls.

Brands are catching on, too -- the kinds of visuals remain important to marketing. But make no mistake: Taking a great photo on your smartphone is not as simple as pointing and shooting. There are plenty of bad smartphone photos out there -- I'm sure you've seen at least a few.

What's the secret to taking great pictures with your smartphone, then? As it turns out, there are a few of them. Check out these tips below to improve your smartphone photography game. (And once you have the photo-taking part down, check out some of the best photo editing apps for mobile.)

How to Take Good Photos With Your Phone: 25 Tips & Tricks

1. Use gridlines to balance your shot.

One of the easiest and best ways to improve your mobile photos is to turn on the camera's gridlines. That superimposes a series of lines on the screen of your smartphone's camera that are based on the "rule of thirds" -- a photographic composition principle that says an image should be broken down into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, so you have nine parts in total.

According to this theory, if you place points of interest in these intersections or along the lines, your photo will be more balanced, level, and allow viewers to interact with it more naturally.

Source: Digital Photography School

To switch the grid on ...

• iPhone: Go to "Settings," choose "Photos & Camera," and switch "Grid" on.
• Samsung Galaxy: Launch the camera app, go to "Settings," scroll down and switch the "grid lines" option to "on."

Source: Lynda.com

2. Set your camera's focus.

Today's phone cameras automatically focus on the foreground of your frame, but not every picture you take on your phone has an obvious subject. To adjust where you want your camera lens to focus, open your camera app and tap the screen where you want to sharpen the view.

If you're taking a photo of something in motion, for example, it can be difficult for your camera to follow this subject and refocus as needed. Tap the screen to correct your phone camera's focus just before snapping the picture to ensure the moving subject has as much focus as possible. A square or circular icon should then appear on your camera screen, shifting the focus of your shot to all of the content inside that icon.

3. Focus on one subject.

Many of the best photos include just one, interesting subject. So when taking a picture of one, spend some extra time setting up the shot. Some professional photographers say that the subject shouldn't fill the entire frame, and that two-thirds of the photo should be negative space -- that helps the subject stand out even more.

But be sure you tap the screen of your smartphone to focus the camera on your subject -- that'll help to ensure that it's focused and the lighting is optimized.

Pro Tip: Once you've taken your photo, you can use filters and apps to make the subject even more vivid, or to crop it to frame the subject correctly. The brightness, contrast, and saturation of the photo can also be adjusted accordingly -- all from your phone.

Source: Patrick Janelle

4. Embrace negative space.

"Negative space" simply refers to the areas around and between the subjects of an image --and it can take a photo from "good" to "great."

When you include a lot of empty space in a photo, your subject will stand out more and evoke a stronger reaction from your viewer. And what does negative space looks like? It's often a large expanse of open sky, water, an empty field, or a large wall, as in the examples below.

Source: Eric Christian

5. Find different perspectives.

Taking photos from a unique, unexpected angle can make them more memorable -- it tends to create an illusion of depth or height with the subjects. It also makes the image stand out, since most mobile photos are taken either straight -on or from a bird's eye view.

Try taking a photo directly upward and playing with the sky as negative space, like in the first photo below. Or, you can try taking it at a slight downward angle.

Pro Tip: If you take a photo and find the perspective is a little askew or tilted, use the SKRWT photo editing app to make the lines look clean and square.

Source: iPhone Photography School; Paul Octavious

6. Play with reflections.

There's something so idyllic about seeing the sky reflected in a body of water. There's a reason why we love seeing that -- our eyes are drawn to reflections. So look for opportunities to play with them in photos.

There are plenty of out-of-the-box places to find reflections -- puddles, larger bodies of water, mirrors, sunglasses, drinking glasses, and metallic surfaces are just a few.

Source: Joshua Lott; Carlos Copertone

7. Use leading lines.

In some photos, there's a line that draws the viewer's eye toward a certain part of the frame. Those are called leading lines. They can be straight or circulinear -- think staircases, building facades, train tracks, roads, or even a path through the woods.

Leading lines are great for creating a sense of depth in an image, and can make your photo look purposefully designed -- even if you just happened to come upon a really cool shape by accident.

Source: Carlos Copertone; Paul Octavious

8. Look for symmetry.

Symmetry can be defined as "a vague sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance." And pictures that contain symmetry can be incredibly pleasing to the eye -- it's also one of the simplest and most compelling ways to compose a photo.

In photography, symmetry usually means creating an image that can be divided into two equal parts that are mirror images of each other. That's a bit different than reflections -- symmetry can be found "in the wild," as per the staircase picture, or you can set up your photo accordingly, like photographer Eric Christian did in the first photo below.

And remember -- use those gridlines from tip #1 to line everything up perfectly.

Source: Eric Christian; Carlos Copertone

9. Keep an eye out for repetitive patterns.

Repetitive patterns are very pleasing to the eye -- they appear whenever strong graphic elements are repeated over and over again, like lines, geometric shapes, forms, and colors. These patterns can make a strong visual impact, and photographing something like a beautiful, tiled floor can be enough to create a striking image. Other times, it's more fun to keep an eye out for where they appear naturally or unintentionally, like with the congruent fire escapes on the left.

Source: Patrick Janelle

10. Play around with color blocking.

Isn't it cool when an entire photo is black and white, except for a single object? It turns out that yes, indeed, there are apps for that. One of our favorites is Touch Color -- an app that automatically converts a picture to grayscale and lets you fill in the parts you want to colorize.

Color blocking can help to highlight the elements of a photo that you want to stand out, like a plant or something else with a bold hue. It achieves a similar goal as negative space, in that it can help a single subject stand out -- but with color blocking, the photo's other elements remain intact for a cohesive image.

Source: Coloring Pages

11. Avoid zooming in.

When you take a photo from a distance, it's tempting to zoom in on something specific you're trying to capture. But it's actually better not to zoom in -- doing so can make the photo appear grainy, blurry, or pixelated.

Instead, try to get closer to your subject -- unless it's a wild animal, in which case we would advise keeping your distance -- or take the photo from a default distance, and crop it later on. That way, you won't compromise quality, and it's easier to play around or optimize a larger image.

Source: Obama Pacman

12. Capture small details.

You may have heard the phrase, "It's the little things." Sometimes, that also applies to photos. Close-up images that capture small, intricate, and delicate details can make for really compelling visual content. Keep an eye out for textures and patterns like peeling paint, a gravel road, or a tile tabletop.

Pro Tip: Use the "sharpen" tool in your favorite photo editing app to (conservatively) sharpen the details of your photo. You might also download the Camera+ app and use its Clarity filter, which is what The Wall Street Journal's Kevin Sintumuang calls the app's "secret sauce -- it adds pro-camera crispness to almost any shot."

Source: Paul Octavious; Eric Christian

13. Use natural light.

It's hard to find a great smartphone photo that was taken with a flash. Most of the time, they make a photo look overexposed, negatively altering colors and making human subjects look washed out. In fact, even the iPhone 7's flash is rumored to have some flaws.

Take advantage of the sources of natural light you can find, even after dark. This gives you a chance to play with shadows, like in the second image below, or create a silhouette with other ambient sources of light, like traffic and surrounding buildings.

Once you've taken the photo, play with the "Exposure" tool in your favorite photo editing app to see if you can make the image slightly brighter, without making it too grainy.

Source: Patrick Janelle; Paul Octavious

14. If you use flash, only do so during the day.

Sometimes, using your camera's flash can improve a photo -- but rarely does it do so at night. Because dark shots reveal a much sharper contrast against your phone's flash, it can make any flash look look invasive and uneven

In already well-lit spaces, however, a flash can help to soften some dark shadows behind or beneath your main subject.

When framing your next shot, look on the ground or against vertical surfaces for any dark shadows you might want to remove. If you see any, flip on the flash manually in your camera app. Setting your phone's camera flash to "auto" won't guarantee that your phone will notice the shadows you want to get rid of. Just remember to turn the flash off again when you're done.

Check out the difference in the two mobile photos of a metal figurine, below. You can see the desk shadow is considerably softer in the flash-based photo on the right. The flash even brings out more details in the body of the subject. Consider this difference next time you're shooting product photography.

15. Consider buying a mobile tripod.

Although mobile devices make it easy to snap any photo on the go, there's never been an easy way to ensure the shot stays level and balanced when you shoot -- especially if you want to be in the picture and not just take a typical selfie with your extended arm.

Source: Joby

Mobile tripods give you the freedom to mount your smartphone for quick hands-free shots without lugging any heavy equipment with you. Most mobile tripods are barely bigger than your mobile device, and can bend to any angle. Check out one of them from Joby, above, and learn how these miniature tripods can help enhance your mobile video experience below.

16. Set your camera app's exposure manually.

Another mobile camera feature you'll want to set manually is your exposure. Tapping your screen when your phone's camera is on doesn't just refocus the lens on a new subject -- it also automatically adjusts how much light the camera lets in. This, too, won't always look just right. It's best to adjust it by hand.

To change your mobile camera's exposure by hand, open your camera app and tap the screen. When you see the lens refocus, you'll see a very small sun icon and a vertical scale. Slowly swipe your finger up and down this scale to adjust the light level.

17. Create abstracts.

Abstract photos are meant to capture the essence of an object, or a series of them, without revealing the entire landscape as a whole. In other words, they serve the purpose of creating unique, surprising images from ordinary subjects.

This look can be accomplished by cropping an abstract portion of an otherwise normal photo, or by taking close-up shots of objects that leave the viewer wondering -- in admiration, of course -- what the subject might be. And subjects with patterns or repetition are great candidates for abstract photography, like in the photo of sliced figs below.

Source: iPhone Photography School; Patrick Janelle

18. Take candids.

Posed photos can be great for the sake of memories -- happy moments with friends, family, or the occasional run-in with a celebrity. But sometimes, candid shots of people doing things, or people with people, can be far more interesting.

That's because candid photos are better able to effectively capture the emotion and essence of a moment. One of the best ways to capture this kind of shot is to just take as many photos as possible. You'll have more to choose from, and the best photos often happen when the "stars align," so to speak, in a single moment -- everyone's eyes are open, one person is tilting their head just so, and you finally got a shot of your chronically closed-lip friend smiling with his teeth.

Source: Patrick Janelle

19. Be non-conventional.

Composition is a huge part of what makes a photo great, but so is the photo's subject. Some of the most delightful and remarkable photos come out of cool, unique ideas. Images are more effective than text at evoking emotion from your viewers -- that often means getting your photos to say something.

Try thinking outside of the box when it comes to what you're capturing -- your viewers could be pleasantly surprised by a cool or unexpected subject.

Source: Paul Octavious

20. Make 'em laugh.

Speaking of evoking emotion, sometimes the most memorable photos are the ones that make us giggle. The image below of an older woman wearing a brightly-colored shirt stating "Hi hater" is funny because it's unexpected -- and there's a part of us that admires her, too. The second image of the dog toy on a dinner plate pokes fun at classic Instagram food shots, but it's from a dog's perspective. If you can make your audience laugh, they're likely to enjoy your photo.

Source: Baddie Winkle; Jeremy Veach

21. Clean your phone's lens.

A smartphone camera might be more convenient to carry around than a full-fledged photojournalist's camera, but it comes at the cost of protection.

Your phone is usually in your pocket or your bag when you're out of the house. All the while, the device's camera lens is collecting all kinds of dust and lint. Be sure to clean this lens with a soft handkerchief before taking a photo. You might not be able to tell just how dirty the lens was until you start editing your picture, and making sure the lens is crystal clear before taking a shot can keep you from starting from scratch.

22. Attach an external lens.

Want to get really fancy? External lenses are for you. There are actually several out there that can be attached to the top of your smartphone's native camera lens -- from fish-eye to wide-angle lenses, these add-ons can bring an entirely new quality and perspective to your photos.

According to Wirecutter, the best camera lenses for iPhone photography are made by Moment, a manufacturer of mobile lenses. Start there, or do some research to find the lens add-ons that fit your smartphone photography needs.

Source: MobileFun.co.uk

23. Don't be afraid to edit.

Composing and taking your smartphone photo is just the first step to making it visually compelling. Editing your photos is the next step -- and a very critical one, at that. Filters can be a valuable photographic tool, particularly when it comes to two goals: 1) Removing blemishes from a picture, and 2) making food look even more delicious.

For the first, InStyle magazine compiled a fun list of "The Best Instagram Filters for Every Beauty Complaint" -- and now, the iPhone photos app offers many similar filters. There are also apps like Pho.to, which can automatically retouch facial photos without a lot of work. And when it comes to those photos of your daily meals? One of the latest apps available is Foodie, which comes with its own set of filters optimized for different types of food.

But there are many other great photo and video editing apps out there for mobile devices -- check out this post to see some of the best ones out there.

Source: LINE Corp.

Want more tips on creating visual content? Check out these examples of explainer videos.

from Marketing https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/good-pictures-phone-tips

Brand owners should prepare for rush to register moving images and sounds

Registering trade marks for moving images has long been an incredibly laborious task in the UK, but new laws due to take effect in less than three months’ time will make the process much easier.

So what will these new laws mean for brand owners and how can they prepare to take advantage of them?

Current UK law means that, in order to register a trade mark for a moving image, the applicant has to first create a 2D flicker book of multiple still images, as well as an accompanying detailed description of the mark’s movement. However, legal changes, being implemented as part of an EU directive and due to take effect on 14 January 2019,  mean that brand owners will be able to submit a single digital file instead.

The changes are intended to modernise trade mark law and make the process far more accessible, by removing the requirement for trade marks to be capable of graphical representation.

In readiness for the changes, the UK Intellectual Property Office has indicated that any applications related to moving images and sounds should ideally be made in MP3 or MP4 formats.

The new laws have been in place at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) since October 2017 and some early Community Trade Mark applications related to moving images have now been accepted for registration. Among them, Vodafone has had a short film of a moving logo and the words ‘the future is exciting’ accepted for registration and, subject to any challenges, this should be officially registered in the next few months.

Parisian kitchenware and foodie bookshop, La Cocotte, owns an EU trade mark registration for an innovative hologram which uses the words ‘let the aroma rain down la cocotte’. The hologram is intended for use in the categories of paper goods and printed materials.

These early examples of pan-European registrations for moving images and holograms highlight an exciting opportunity for brand owners, who will soon be able to register similar marks in the UK. It is likely that we will see a rush to register moving images and sounds early in the New Year, as many brands have been preparing applications ahead of time. It is therefore important that any brand owners who haven’t yet begun the process, review their intellectual property strategies ahead of time.

These changes are long overdue, particularly with the rise of e-commerce making online visibility all the more important to brand owners. The ability to own dynamic brand assets, such as moving logos, sounds, holograms and filmic sequences, will not only help them to stand out online, but it will also give them a new weapon in their armoury to fight copycats.

Mark Caddle is a trade mark attorney at intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers

The post Brand owners should prepare for rush to register moving images and sounds appeared first on TheMarketingblog.

from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2018/11/brand-owners-should-prepare-for-rush-to-register-moving-images-and-sounds/

smp boosts dedicated Amazon team with new specialist appointments

smp, the London-headquartered commerce marketing agency, today announces two new specialist appointments to its Amazon team, to support the agency’s ongoing international growth. Bella Bui has been appointed Media Buyer, with Febby Mpundu appointed Content Specialist.

Following a series of new business successes in the tech sector, the new appointments will bolster smp’s dedicated Amazon team established earlier in the year.

Headed up by smp’s Head of Planning, Chris Cooper, the Amazon team, which also includes dedicated Amazon account managers and data analysts, will continue to support clients’ growing Amazon demands. Its focus is on using Amazon Advertising tools to reach and influence shoppers at every stage of the purchase journey, from discovery and search through to purchase.

As a result of this growth, the agency today moves from its Charlotte Street offices, which have been the agency’s home for over a decade, to Aviation House in Holborn. The move allows smp to accommodate the expanding team and focus on growing its eCommerce offering and Amazon expertise, still within touching distance of some of the best shopping streets in the world.

Managing Director, Chris Carter added: “It’s a very exciting time for smp, thanks to new business wins and the growth of the Amazon side of our business. We needed to boost our specialist team to meet demand and are very happy to welcome Bella and Febbi on board. We’re looking forward to continued growth and further strengthening our offering in delivering solutions for an ever-evolving shopper journey.”

The post smp boosts dedicated Amazon team with new specialist appointments appeared first on TheMarketingblog.

from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2018/11/smp-boosts-dedicated-amazon-team-with-new-specialist-appointments/

How to Write a Business Letter That Won’t Get Ignored

Nowadays, writing a letter can seem completely archaic. I mean, do people even send mail anymore or do they only communicate through email and messaging?

In the business world, letters are actually still crucial for collaboration. To convince someone to offer you a job, you need to write them a compelling cover letter. And to persuade someone to speak at your company’s event, you need to write a gripping pitch.

A lot of professionals overlook the importance of writing high-quality business letters because they seem outdated. As a result, most people don’t actually know how to write one.

Fortunately, if you're in the same boat, we've got you covered. Below, we'll teach you how to craft a persuasive business letter for any purpose and situation.

How to Format a Business Letter

1. Write the date and your recipient's name, company, and address.
2. Choose a professional greeting, like “Dear,”.
3. Craft a compelling introduction.
4. State your intent in the letter’s body text.
5. End your letter with a strong call-to-action.
6. Choose a professional closing, like “Sincerely,”.
7. Physically sign the letter with your signature.
8. Type your name, address, phone number, and email address.

To teach you how to write a business letter in more detail than the snippet above, let's take a look at a letter I wrote to Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot’s CTO, when I was a wide-eyed college student trying to convince him to speak at my school.

I’ll analyze the most important parts of my letter -- the introduction, body text, and call-to-action -- and explain how and why they can strengthen your own business letters.

Business Letter Example

October 1, 2016

 

Dharmesh Shah

HubSpot

25 First Street,

Cambridge, MA 02141

 

Dear Mr. Shah,

When my freshman year of college ended, I was fortunate enough to work as a digital marketing intern at a startup called SlideBatch. They were introducing a new content marketing tool to the market, and my job was to apply that tool to their clients’ social media marketing campaigns and prove that SlideBatch was an effective marketing solution. I was so excited to get to work, but I had one small problem. I didn’t know what content marketing was. So, I did some research on the Internet and discovered HubSpot’s Marketing blog.

Fast forward a year and half, and I’m still reading HubSpot’s Marketing blog and leveraging its insights at my third digital marketing internship. Reading your blogs changed my life. I entered college believing financial advising was my destiny. But, after learning about HubSpot’s inbound marketing philosophy -- how helping people is the ultimate way to increase brand trust and engagement -- I was hooked. Shortly after my internship with SlideBatch ended, I decided to pursue digital marketing instead of financial advising. I’ve haven’t looked back since.

HubSpot’s influence on my life is the reason I’m writing to you today. I’m certain if you spoke at my school, DePauw University, about your life, HubSpot, and the inbound marketing philosophy, there would be hundreds of undecided students who start pursuing digital marketing. I know this because DePauw’s McDermond Speaker Series is one of the best platforms for business leaders to showcase their passion for their industry, company, and work. Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, Angie Hicks of Angie’s List, and Bill Rasmussen of ESPN have all successfully used the McDermond Speaker Series to inspire the world’s next generation of business leaders, and I know you could, too.

We would be honored if you spoke at our school. Thank you for your time and consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

 

Clifford Chi

313 South Locust St.

Greencastle, IN 46136

555-555-5555

cliffordchi@aim.com

Introduction (first and second paragraphs)

To instantly grab Dharmesh’s attention and entice him to read the rest of my letter, you'll notice I didn’t lead with the standard "I’m writing to you today because…” introduction. Instead, I engaged him with a story about how I discovered HubSpot and how his company changed my life. I thought this would strongly resonate with him because I assumed, as a co-founder of HubSpot, he would love to see how his life’s work has benefited others.

In your own business letters, you don’t necessarily need to tell a story to immediately hook your reader and persuade her to read on. But you should definitely describe how she’s made an impact on your life. This is what will truly grab and hold her attention.

Body text (third paragraph)

After my introduction, I swiftly segued into why I was writing to Dharmesh -- to ask him to speak at my school. Personal anecdotes are an effective way to engage readers, but I’d lose Dharmesh’s attention if I didn’t cut to the chase.

Once I stated my letter’s intent, I quickly pitched the benefits of speaking at my school and bolstered the reputation of my school’s speaker series. By emphasizing how speaking at my school could inspire hundreds of students to pursue digital marketing and highlighting the group of impressive speakers Dharmesh could join, I focused on the dividends he would reap from being a McDermond Series Speaker, rather than how my school would benefit from his guest appearance.

So whether you’re trying to convince someone to hire you or speak at your school, you must first persuade your reader that doing what you ask of them will ultimately benefit them and be in their best interest.

Call-to-action (fourth paragraph)

In my last paragraph, I politely ask Dharmesh to speak at my school again.  Even though I already asked him this earlier, it's important I end my letter with a clear next step. It packs more of a punch and crystalizes the desired action in his mind.

Strong call-to-actions are a crucial element of a persuasive business letter. Because if you don't tell your reader what to do next, you might as well have never written your letter in the first place.

from Marketing https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-write-business-letter

4 Talent Acquisition Strategies to Find the Best Employees

In 2018, almost 75% of employers struggled to fill positions with the right candidates.

Unfortunately, this talent shortage is only worsening -- research by Korn Ferry predicts by 2020, the technology, media, and telecommunications industries alone could be short over one million skilled workers globally.

To succeed long-term, it's critical your business is able to hire and retain the best, most talented employees. But it's a daunting task, which is why you need a talent acquisition strategy.

Talent acquisition vs. recruitment

Recruitment is used to fill a specific role with a qualified candidate, and is typically a short-term strategy to fill a vacancy. Talent acquisition, on the other hand, is a long-term HR strategy meant to attract the best, most qualified people and convince them to bring their unique skills to your company. Talent acquisition aims to attract talent regardless of specific vacancies.

Your pursuit of top talent shouldn't solely rely on traditional, short-term recruitment strategies like sending LinkedIn messages or attending Job Fairs. To ensure top talent acquisition and retention, you'll need to devise a strategic long-term plan.

Here, we've cultivated four critical talent acquisition strategies to ensure you're finding the best people.

Talent acquisition

Talent acquisition is a long-term HR strategy that aims to fulfill organizational needs by finding top talent, and convincing them to bring their unique skills to your company. To succeed long-term, it's critical you attract and retain talented employees regardless of vacant roles. Talent acquisition can help you do this, while solving for long-term organizational needs.

1. Align with your business goals.

Consider your business goals for the next one to five years, and use those objectives to tailor your acquisition strategy to meet those needs. While recruitment tends to focus on filling vacancies within departments, talent acquisition is more about considering how your company is going to expand long-term, and then finding employees who can help take you there.

For instance, are you planning on expanding into Latin America? If so, perhaps your HR department should focus on attracting candidates with international or regional experience. Or, maybe you're planning on creating a new product, in which case, your HR efforts should focus on attracting talented software developers and coders.

Certain roles might not even exist yet, but you'll want to consider what type of talent you'll need to hit your business's long-term goals. Remember, investing in the right candidates will pay off for your company, long-term.

2. Use data and marketing to create better acquisition material.

You wouldn't create a marketing campaign without data, so why should you recruit without it?

Talent acquisition should be treated with just as much importance as any of your marketing campaigns. Convincing people to join your company is just as necessary as incentivizing people to buy your products.

There are plenty of different opportunities to use data to strengthen your talent acquisition strategy. For instance, you might use data to figure out where your top talent came from, and use that information to focus your talent acquisition efforts on certain academic programs or professional networking sites.

Additionally, your HR team should partner with your marketing department to refine job descriptions, career pages, emails, and more.

Using data, you can figure out if certain questions are deterring candidates from filling out job applications, and eliminate those questions. Alternatively, perhaps you'll find adding images or videos to highlight company culture incentivizes more candidates to fill out job forms. Or, maybe more candidates apply for a job with description A over description B.

By using analytics and data, you're able to ensure your job descriptions and career pages aren't deterring qualified people from applying.

3. Expand outreach strategies.

To find better talent, you'll need to expand your sourcing strategies. Different skill sets require different methods of outreach. You'll find your best marketers in a different place than your best programmers, so you'll want to diversify your sourcing approach.

Rather than spending all your time on LinkedIn, consider other specialized job boards, academic programs, or networking events where you might find a specific group of talented professionals. For instance, to attract talented coders, Deloitte's recruiters attended a hackathon and found prospective candidates.

It's critical you identify where you can find the vast majority of your top talent, whether that be professional events, conferences, online forums, or social networks. Then, focus on strengthening relationships and networking with the right people -- not only will you grow your pool of potential hires, but you'll also grow brand awareness for your company, which will help you attract talent in the future, as well.

4. Focus on better employer branding.

Employer branding is critical for creating a successful talent acquisition strategy -- in fact, 62% of professionals across 26 countries rank employer brand as the deciding factor when applying for a job.

When talented candidates are comparing companies, they're going to choose the one with the best values, culture, and work-life balance. By cultivating an impressive employer brand, you'll attract better talent and find more long-term success.

To succeed with talent acquisition, you'll need to be able to answer the question, "Why your company, over all the others?" This is why employer branding is a critical strategy for finding the best employees.

Consider how you can reframe your branding to focus on the best aspects of your company's values and culture. It isn't just about mentioning health benefits or compensation -- you'll also want to convey your impressive company culture, in which employees collaborate efficiently and enjoy spending time with one another. You might mention your flexible remote policy and other work-life balance perks, or your company's emphasis on growth opportunities.

It's important you broadcast these unique attributes through employee review sites like Glassdoor, as well as your "About Us" page on your company website. When highly qualified people are contemplating your company over your competitors, it just might be those reviews that end up convincing them.

from Marketing https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/talent-acquisition