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YouTube Lets Users Skip 65% of Pre-Roll Mobile Ads on Android Devices

posted on August 24, 2012

In what sounds like a contrarian action, YouTube is allowing viewers to skip pre-roll ads on mobile videos after 5 seconds and doesn’t make it to the end of the ad. If the user does that the advertiser doesn’t pay.

This seems contrarian because most would say that no matter how the ad is served or for how long there is value to the advertiser so they should pay. Nice thought but YouTube gets that the user experience trumps that and will ultimately help them make even more money from advertisers.

According to AdAge

YouTube is bringing its skippable video ads to mobile phones and tablets, hoping to build on the success the company says the ads have found with PCs.

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SPONSOR: Free AdWords Analysis from WordStream

posted on August 24, 2012
Analyze Your AdWords Account in Seconds & Improve Your ROI!

Earlier this week we announced our new Search Marketing channel sponsor, Wordstream, was offering a free PPC analysis that essentially takes about 40 hours of work and delivers it to you for free in about 60 seconds. Some “technical difficulties” occurred so we are doing this again.

Fill out the form below to get started right now.

If you would like to explore channel sponsorship opportunities with Marketing Pilgrim contact us right now. We’ll help craft a program that will help you meet your marketing objectives.

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Compared to Other Social Networks, Facebook is a Senior Citizens Center

posted on August 23, 2012

If age and wisdom go together, then LinkedIn is the smartest social media site with an average user age of 44.2. A full 70% of their users are over 35, which shouldn’t surprise you given the nature of the site. It’s about professionals doing business. It’s about being an expert in your field and networking, so it attracts people who have risen to a higher level in the working world and that takes time (during which, they were growing older.)

On the opposite end, we have the creative folks of deviantART. 69% of their users are under 35 with an average user age of only 28.6.

Wait. That’s kind of sad. The older folks are all about work and the younger ones are all about art. I protest. And while I do that, you look at this chart from Pingdom.

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Website Traffic From Smartphones Up 100 Percent in One Year

posted on August 23, 2012

If you still haven’t optimized your ecommerce site for mobile, get a load of this slice from a new infographic from Monetate.

The numbers represent only a small portion of web traffic, true, but look at the growth. Smartphone traffic related to ecommerce has doubled in only a few months. And according to “The Battle for Smartphone Supremacy” traffic from mobile has increased 103% over last year.

Android still has the biggest market share with the most accessible products at a lower price point, but iPhone users are the ones using their phones to shop more often. Monetate estimates the average order value for iPhone users to be $97.49 which is right in line with the numbers from Apple desktop shoppers.

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CMO Survey: Optimism Down Overall But Social’s Star Continues to Rise

posted on August 23, 2012

Twice a year we have the pleasure of sharing the results of The CMO Survey which is directed by Prof. Christine Moorman of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. The results come out in February and August each year and are always full of useful data to see what’s on the minds of C-level marketers.

From an overall economic position, the CMO’s surveyed are displaying a pattern of starting the year strong then readjusting their stance as the year wears on. This chart shows that pattern a bit over the past two years.

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Facebook Tops Search Results with Paid Ads

posted on August 22, 2012

Facebook’s search engine has driven me mad on numerous occasions. The fact that it only allows me to search for an exact name and not related sites seems counter intuitive. For example, if I search for actor Matt Bomer, I get a list of two dozen fan pages all pretending to be him when what I should get is a page for his series White Collar.

So, it’s interesting, that Facebook is now inserting sponsored ads into the results based on the intent, not the word.

Today, when I searched the word Single, I got a list of apps and pages with the word “single” (including a page called Single Dad Laughing) but I also got an ad for Match.com.

 

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Almost Half of Marketing Execs Surveyed Have No Interest in Pinterest

posted on August 22, 2012

Pinterest may be the hot new trend in social media but 44% of the marketing and advertising execs The Creative Group surveyed said they had no interest in using the site for business.

A tiny 7% said they were currently using the site and slightly more (10%) said they were going to start using the site soon.

Want to hear something really frightening? 18% said they weren’t aware or had never heard of Pinterest. Let me repeat, marketing execs who have never heard of Pinterest. I wonder who their clients are. . .

I understand people who don’t think it’s a good fit for their brand. Pinterest is definitely a better fit for cupcake makers than mechanics, but it’s still a huge part of the social media landscape.