News

 

 

Verizon is said to be close to purchasing Yahoo, a deal rumored for weeks. As of this weekend, nothing is official, but a deal could be announced on Monday.

This is important for your organization because Verizon already owns AOL. A combined organization, call it AOL-hoo, will unite AOL’s strong content (including The Huffington Post) and its services (Moviefone and Mapquest) with Yahoo’s email service and Flickr photo and Tumblr blog products. Add in Verizon Wireless’ market share as North America’s leading provider and six million FIOS customers. The combination creates a vertical organization.

This new company would have as many or more visitors than Google or Facebook. Google will still dominate search, and Facebook will still be the leading social media channel. But your prospects and customers will be using the AOL-hoo, which means you’ll need to target it.

Stay tuned. Even if this deal happens, any combinations or cuts are at least several months down the road. But be aware of the potential new player in town.

What is a Chatbot and How Can I Use It For Business?
What is a Chatbot and How Can I Use It For Business?

Chatbots are a big deal these days in tech circles. Learn what they are and how they can help your organization.

 
Teens and ‘Secret’ Apps (Infographic)
Teens and ‘Secret’ Apps (Infographic)

Why are teens flocking to applications that allow messages to disappear after a set time or that allow them to send content anonymously? And how do you reach them–as an organization or a parent?

Twitter Begins Application Process for Verified Accounts
Twitter Begins Application Process for Verified Accounts

Twitter “blue checks” showing verified organizations and people are now available. Consider applying if you or your org is noteworthy or makes news.

 
Showcase your services and products with prices on Google
Showcase your services and products with prices on Google

Google is rolling out a new feature for advertisers that will allow them to include pricing in Google ads. This saves space for advertisers since pricing used to be manually included in the ad text.

News

10 Second Takeaway:Search marketers are going to talk about micro-moments for the next year. It’s that point when someone has an immediate information need. It’s served on mobile.
 
Only 32% of email is opened on a desktop computer says email company Movable Ink. More email is opened on iPhones than on computers, the company’s latest report says.

Super-smart local marketer Greg Sterling wrote a nice analysis of the study. We share his bottom-line finding: marketing emails (the kind reported on in this study and that you’re reading now) are likely now and more likely in the future to be read on smartphone.

Micro-Moments
Target calls it “new front door to the store”. Google says mobile “near me” searches grew 2.4X in the last year. And Google says 82% of shoppers use their phone in a store. 

The good news: those people spend more. Google does a nice writeup on 5 Ways Consumers Connect to Stores via Mobile at this article.

This is the type of display that shows on the right side of Google results when Google’s Knowledge Graph is available. In this case, people likely see this information when they type silver beacon marketing as their search phrase.

Word came out of Google this week that these cards are now editable by the organization. It’s a big and very welcome change to branding your organization online.