The Weekly Download – June 16, 2017
It’s Friday and you know what that means! Dreams of lots of warm weather and sunshine for the weekend. And… Happy Father’s Day to those of you celebrating!
This week we’re chatting about Google’s defence against bad ads, the CMA’s new Chartered Marketer designation, sexist swag bags and a special Spin Sucks guest post (written by yours truly!) on how to host and promote your first Instagram takeover in seven easy steps.
Hosting and promoting an Instagram takeover in seven easy steps
Instagram takeovers are all the rage right now. While they can definitely be an effective digital marketing tactic, getting started can be a little daunting.
This week, I teamed up with Spin Sucks to write a guest post on how to host and promote a successful Instagram takeover in just seven easy steps. Check it out!
Google Chrome cracks down on websites with intrusive ads
We’ve all been there – just when we think we’ve found the perfect piece of content to read, we’re greeted by an intrusive popup ad that we can’t close until the clock runs out.
It’s annoying, and Google Chrome thinks so, too. Ads that interrupt, distract, or clutter will be classified as “bad ads” — especially those that interrupt content consumption.
It’s not yet clear what the penalties will be for sites with bad ads, but Google says these changes won’t take effect until early 2018. The aim is not to do away with ads altogether, but rather revise ads so they are immediate, immersive and relevant.
Who “okayed” these super sexist gift bags at a Wonder Woman screening?
At a screening of Wonder Woman in Belgium last week, attendees of an all-woman audience were gifted bags of dish sponges, squeegees, diet pill pamphlets and more highly sexist stuff.
What an epic fail – especially when given out at a screening of a film that celebrates a kickass female superheroine.
We’d love to hear who thought this was a good idea!
Instagram cracks down on fake activity
Ever had seemingly random Instagram likes or comments from big brand accounts you’ve never interacted with?
Marketing might be to blame.
For a small monthly fee, marketing bots send their clients’ accounts on automated liking, following and commenting sprees on Instagram — a tactic used to attract attention of other users in hopes that they will follow or like the automated accounts in return.
While the fake activity is against the app’s policies, these marketing bots have operated without any consequences — until now.
Recently, Instagram has been cracking down on fake activity in an effort to keep things authentic, and it’s led to shuttering of anonymously run sites like Instagress, Mass Planner, Fan Harvest, and more.
It’s another reminder that when it comes to content and engagement, quality always trumps quantity.
Canadian marketers first-ever professional designation program announced
On Tuesday, the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) announced the launch of Canada’s first-ever Chartered Marketer designation program.
The CMA says the designation is in response to a professional shift and is an opportunity to assert marketing’s contribution to the C-Suite table. The CMA asserts that 86% of marketers recently surveyed believe that there is relevance for such a designation program.
Interested? Visit the Chartered Marketer website to learn more and discover how you can apply.
Friday Fun
Tips for Keeping Cool on a Hot Day
The Weeknd’s new music video features two Toronto architectural hotspots
The Weeknd – Secrets
Podcast of the Week – FIR #91: Revisiting the Power of Podcasting
This week’s episode has a lot of Canadian content and features guests I know and admire (including a colleague from U of T School of Continuing Studies.
FIR correspondent Dan York stepped in as a guest host while Shel was away at the IABC Conference in Washington, D.C. Veteran podcasters Terry Fallis and Donna Papacosta joined Dan for an episode that, to no surprise, had a lot of discussion around podcasting!