SEO

Are the Blocklists Back?

From terms like “Covid-19” to “protests,” many marketers embraced keyword blocking throughout 2020. Their goal? To avoid associating their brand with unsettling news topics. 

And while Digiday analysis of IAB data suggests some brands started to become less block-happy by December, the topic resurfaced after Wednesday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. For example...

• One holding company said its advertisers' keyword lists were “updated to reflect the news events within an hour of the Capitol breach,” per Business Insider.

To block or not to block?

Not to block: Check My Ads Co-founder Nandini Jammi told Marketing Brew that keyword blocking reputable news sites won’t benefit brands…but it will harm the fourth estate. Instead, Jammi advises “brands to check their ads and consider sticking to inclusion lists so they don’t have to deal with unwelcome surprises.”

She’s not alone: While some companies rolled out new blocklists Wednesday, most of the marketers I spoke with did not. 

• “We are not outright blocking keywords,” independent digital marketing specialist Harrison Hepp told Marketing Brew. Hepp said he’s instead evaluating campaigns to avoid insensitive messaging. 
• “I don't think marketers should use keyword blocking at all,” Ish Verduzco, director of growth and marketing at Crave It, told Marketing Brew. He added that keyword searches are more useful as a tool to understand and empathize with people. 

Block party’s over

Even marketers semi-in favor of keyword blocking agreed that blanket bans aren’t the best approach. 

• “It's very much worthwhile to be cautious and consider where your brand is appearing and to block the wrong sort of placements,” Mordy Oberstein, SEO advocate for Wix, told Marketing Brew. But he said, “Don’t kill all your keywords.” 

Tamara Sykes, digital marketer at Next Level Presence, said brands should avoid blanket bans, and instead “take their brand safety efforts a step further and pay attention to context.”

Context is king: Brands should focus on where their ads appear, rather than fixate on individual words or phrases, according to Sykes. 

• “It doesn't make sense to block the word ‘shoot’ if you're a fashion brand who needs to have your ad displayed on fashion websites that would use that same word in reference to a ‘photoshoot,’” Sykes said. 

Zoom out: More than 40% of consumers were “more likely to consider trying the products or visit the website of brands that advertised in news,” per November IAB research cited by Digiday. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Like It or Not…

Trump’s Facebook and Instagram posting suspension is obviously the biggest Facebook news this week. It’s so big that you might have missed Facebook acknowledging the dwindling power of the “Like” as a performance metric. 

• On Wednesday, Facebook launched a redesigned Pages layout. The “Like” button has disappeared from the main Page...but the “Follow” button became way more prominent. 

Big deal: Just like, you know, everything these days, Likes aren’t what they used to be.

• “While Likes still do serve a purpose, they're no longer a key indicator of reach or performance,” per Social Media Today. 
• That’s partially due to Facebook’s News Feed algorithm introduced in 2013. 

My takeaway: Facebook knew it might be better off without Likes in 2019, when it briefly tested removing them from Instagram—but perhaps that felt like ripping off a Band-Aid too quickly. Keep an eye out for a slow and steady devaluation of the metric your average social media user arguably craves the most. 

SPONSORED BY MARKETO

All digital events. Fully remote workforces. Wearing pajamas 24/7. Yep, 2020 was a year of change for marketers. And now it’s time to start turning our attention to 2021—with the help of Marketo. They’ve put together a cheat sheet full of emerging trends that will have your marketing plan ready for anything. Get all the 2021 marketing deets here.

BRANDING

On a Lighter Note...

Maybe I just needed a laugh after this week...or maybe the way Kia unveiled its new logo was...hilarious?

What happened: It’s only January 8, but Kia already won the “most extra marketing stunt of the year” award. The automotive brand did the following to kick off its brand refresh: 

• Launched 303 pyrodrones that then conducted a fireworks display above Incheon, South Korea, depicting the new logo
• Broke the Guinness World Record for “most unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launching fireworks simultaneously” in the process
• Livestreamed it all in this (needlessly suspenseful, pop-punk-soundtracked) YouTube video

Take that, new retro Burger King branding. 

Why it matters: If you’re in brand marketing, you know Kia’s logo isn’t a one-off—it actually follows a trend we’ve been reporting on since July. Kia’s logo mirrors the 2D logos (which look better on digital screens than 3D designs) that Nissan, Volkswagen, and BMW all rolled out in 2020. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Roku acquired Quibi’s content distribution rights. 
• Omnicom’s UX, tech, and consulting agency Credera is expanding to L.A. 
• Salesforce’s CMO Stephanie Buscemi is stepping down from the role and leaving the company.
• Snapchat relaunched its Partner Solutions program for advertisers. 

FRENCH PRESS

Marketing tips to make you fancy 

LinkedIn: LinkedIn shared usage stats for 2021 strategic planning in this infographic. 

Copywriting: These ten content proofreading tips are guaranteed to save you from embarrassment at least one time. 

TV: Social media marketing trend predictions rule the internet right now—so here’s a good ol’ 2021 TV trend prediction list for you. 

CMOs: We didn’t have a CMO Series episode this week, for obvious reasons, but here’s the archive if you need your “top marketer having a conversation with Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman” fix. 

METRICS & MEDIA

Stat: WordPress powers 39.5% of all websites, per Search Engine Journal.  

Quote: “Slack being down on the morning we all return to work feels like 2021 promising it will be a bit kinder to us all”—one very social media marketer on Twitter.

Read: “A Shortage of Product Packaging During WWII Led to the Birth of Hermès’ Famous Orange Color Mark” on The Fashion Law for a fun brand history.

ICYMI

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• The CIA's new logo isn’t the most important thing about its brand refresh
• S4 Capital acquired Decoded Advertising and Metric Theory
• Marketing industry leaders Howard Rubenstein and Dick Roth have died