This is your chance to ask Mark Zuckerberg anything

Mark Zuckerberg is prepared to take your questions

The massively wealthy, Mandarin-speaking Facebook founder will be hosting the social network's first public Q&A next Thursday on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET)

See also: 8 Brutally Honest Facebook Notifications That Need to Exist Now

You can already submit questions to Zuck by commenting on his announcement post. If you're too shy to ask something yourself, there's the option to "vote" for what questions get answered by liking comments.

The Q&A will last an hour, but considering there are already almost 5,000 comments on the post, there's no way he'll get to them all. Read more...

More about Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Privacy, Marketing, and Social Media

How to Make “Free Shipping” Profitable

Offering free shipping will improve your conversion rate. Guaranteed! But, it also can kill your profit margins if you’re not careful. So, how do you make free shipping profitable? In this article, I’ll review four simple tests that any e-commerce store owner can run to maximize profits on a free shipping offer. If you do […]

3 Deadly Sins of Content Marketing

You know how certain days have a different “feel” to them? Days of the week surely do as Sunday has a different feel than say Wednesday for example. There are also other days, such as holidays that have an undeniable feel to them as well.

One of these days with an unmistakable feel is Halloween. I don’t care how old you are, Halloween feels different than any other day, especially after the sun goes down. When it becomes night and grows darker and darker the more eerie it gets.

For marketers the who live and play in the world of content marketing – and quite frankly every marketer is or should be to some extent – there is an undeniable feel to content marketing, a dark side. Now whether they choose to believe such a dark side exists is entirely up to them but it is there.

It most certainly exists. It is where the content zombies reside and where marketers the world over are committing the deadly sins of content marketing. Fortunately for marketers we have identified these deadly sins and provide a remedy for each in our new eBook, .The 7 1/2 Deadly Sins of Content Marketing (And How To Avoid Them)

Today we’ll go over the first three of these deadly sins and how to avoid them.

1. Making It All About You. The focus should be always on your customer. Quite simply they do not care about you, they care about what you and your product or service, etc. can do for them.
2. Not Adhering To The N.A.S. Doctrine. AKA the Not Always Selling Doctrine. In other words resist the temptation to try and sell something via every single marketing communication you have with your customer or prospect.
3. Wrong Church, Wrong Pew. Do you know your customers and prospects? I mean really know them? Or are you basically shooting blind, hoping for the best? Those of us in the real world know that far too many brands and businesses simply do not know who their customers are and therefore cannot target them in the first place with their content marketing strategies.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Content Marketing That Goes Bump In The Night
Look the best way to deal with your fears is to face them head on. And this is no different. You know the dark side of content marketing exists. You know you may be committing one or more of the deadly sins outlines in the eBook.

It’s ok, we’re here to help.

Download the eBook today and you will be well on your way to much more sunny and brighter side of content marketing.

How to Create Content That Drives Lots of Organic Traffic

Have you ever wondered why some types of content generate lots of search traffic and others don't? I too was wondering about that, so I started to look for patterns and analyze competing blogs. What I found was interesting - so interesting that I decided to create an infographic to illustrate my findings. If you want  [click to continue...]

Does the European Google Antitrust Case Have Any Merit?

Since 2009, Google has been the subject of antitrust lawsuits from almost 20 companies across Europe. Although the plaintiffs in these cases come from different sectors of the tech industry, their complaints are universal – that Google is too big, too powerful, and isn’t playing fair.

At the heart of the matter lies Google’s dominance in the European search market, and its engagement in business practices that other tech companies operating in the sector perceive as unfair.

Although Google already settled in several cases, and relented to provide more real estate to competing businesses in European SERPs, the appointment of a new European competition commissioner could reignite the debate all over again. Margrethe Vestager, who formally takes office tomorrow, could levy additional charges against Google, a move that could cost the search giant billions of dollars.

Image via Mac Observer

Unfortunately for Microsoft and the rest of the plaintiffs, their case has no merit.

Sore Losers

The biggest, and most frequently vocal, opponent to Google in Europe is Microsoft - ironic, for those who remember the FTC's investigation of Microsoft in the early 1990s and the subsequent legal battle that unfolded.

Google currently enjoys as much as 96% of the search industry market share in Europe, with Bing carving out just 3%. Against such overwhelming opposition, it’s easy to see why Microsoft would rather take its chances in the European courts than accept the fact that Google has such a deep market penetration simply by virtue of offering a superior, more popular product.

However, it’s the smaller companies that have even less of a case against Google.

In an interview with NPR, Shivaun Raff, founder of price comparison service Foundem, said that her business has “suffered” due to shady, underhanded tactics by Google.

“Google is manipulating its search results to increase its profits,” Raff told the news source.

The point Raff – and many others – seem to be missing is that this is Google’s right as a business.

Google is NOT a Public Service

I’m not against antitrust suits on principle. I believe that, at times, some wider regulatory oversight is required to ensure a level playing field. The proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, which would significantly weaken net neutrality, is a prime example.

However, these cases differ in that internet access can – and should – be considered a public utility. Twenty years ago, when the web as we now know it was in its infancy, internet access was considered a luxury, and was far from essential to most households. However, times have changed, and now internet access drives much of society, necessitating an alternate approach to how the telecoms industry is regulated.

Google, on the other hand, is NOT a public service. Despite its ubiquity (particularly in Europe), Google has always been a business first and foremost. As we’ve discussed at length in the past, the majority of Google’s considerable revenues comes from its advertising business, and everything Google does – from changes to the SERPs to adjustment of its algorithms – is designed to increase profit by offering users a superior search engine.

The question is not why should Google be allowed to prioritize its own commercial services, such as Google Shopping, but why shouldn’t it?

Popularity Contests

Speaking frankly, sites such as Foundem will never be able to compete with Google, and it’s got nothing to do with how Google prioritizes its own Shopping results in the SERPs. The reason that companies such as Foundem are virtually guaranteed to fail is that they have chosen to compete against one of the largest, most well-funded companies on the planet.

Now, before you say it, yes – competition is a good thing for consumers, and monopolies genuinely reduce consumer choice and stifle innovation. However, what happens when consumers actively choose services offered by the biggest and best in the business?

Nobody is forced to use Google, and there are plenty of smaller search engines that offer excellent services. Duck Duck Go, for example, is an excellent search engine that offers not only relevant results, but a secure, (relatively) anonymous search experience. Best of all? Duck Duck Go was created by one man, Gabriel Weinberg, and his small startup is still based in Paoli, a tiny suburb of Philadelphia.

Industry insiders frequently cite Duck Duck Go as one of Google’s most serious competitors, proving that superior products and services are the best way to tip the balance of power from the supposedly evil giants like Google.

Duck Duck Go Founder Gabriel Weinberg. Photo via Fast Company.

Innovate, Don’t Litigate

It’s true that Google seems to have strayed far from its former motto of “Don’t Be Evil.” Its complicity in the recent NSA domestic surveillance revelations and its apparent leniency toward larger, wealthier advertisers with regard to black-hat SEO have all (rightfully) drawn fierce criticism.

It’s also true that many small businesses are forced to play by the unspoken rules of a game with only one referee – Google – and that sometimes, the little guys don’t always win. This isn’t fair, and in a utopian world, there would be another way. For now, Google holds all the cards. If businesses don’t like it, nobody’s forcing them to play.

The answer in Europe is not going to be found in the courts. Microsoft and the other plaintiffs in the ongoing antitrust case should focus on delivering the type of experience users have come to expect. Innovation, not litigation, is what will win the battle against Google’s dominance.

The sooner everybody realizes this, stops crying foul, and starts focusing on improving their products, the better.

The 1 Big Lie You Probably Believe About Shopping Cart Abandonment

Posted by alynch

Raise your hand if you’ve ever asked yourself these questions:

"If only our website checkout process was 1 step shorter."

‘"If only our call-to-action button was a different color."

"If only we could present shipping costs in a different way."

Sound familiar? If so, you have shopping cart abandonment issues.

You’re not alone. The Baymard Institute states that 67.89% of online shopping carts are abandoned across the web.

And if you’re like most online retailers, you probably address the problem by:

• Making sure to disclose your shipping costs early
• Reducing the steps in your checkout
• Making your forms clear and simple
• Making sure your call-to-action ‘pops’

These are all steps every marketer should take with their virtual cart. The problem is, they only address half the issue.

Here’s another problem: many bloggers, toolmakers and marketers have latched onto this 67% cart abandonment rate, and they use it to tell one big lie:

"If your cart abandonment rate is 67%, you’re losing out on 67% of your sales."

This statement is simply not true, as it falsely assume every user who adds an item to a virtual cart initially had a definitive intent to buy.

But as we’ll find out in this post, roughly 30-40% of visitors who add items to carts are merely expressing interest in your products, not commitment.

In this post, I’ll discuss:

1. Why online retailers need to reframe their approach to shopping cart abandonment
2. How to market to casual cart abandoners, who add items with only a loose commitment to buy

Why they 'abandon,’ by the numbers

Most of us think cart abandonment results from breakdowns in the checkout process, but that’s only half the story. Check out the top six reasons for cart abandonment according to Savvy Panda:

The top six reasons shoppers abandon virtual carts, as per Savvy Panda’s research

Two of the top four reasons for abandonment have nothing to do with the cart itself. Rather, they have to do with the shopper expressing only passing interest in the product.

We call this type of user a casual abandoner. And data from other sources confirms their prevalence. Here are Shopify’s findings on cart abandonment:

Image Source

Here's a graph from Forrester’s North American Technographics survey:

Image Source

Looking at the graphs sideby-side, we see that casual abandoners (identified by orange arrows) make up somewhere in the range of 30-40% of total abandoners.

So why are so many users treating the cart as a mere expression of interest in a product? Shouldn’t a cart add signify definitive intent to buy?

To find out why, we have to look at the motivations of online shoppers. Here are two groups of users who are likely contributing to this phenomenon:

Group 1: Hedonic shoppers

Research tells us that shoppers have two primary motivations: hedonic and utilitarian.

Utilitarian shopping is driven by what we need—the necessities of life—like groceries, clothing and household items.

Hedonic shopping is driven by the perceived enjoyment of the shopping experience itself. And since the experience is what they desire, hedonic shoppers don’t need to complete the purchase to gain satisfaction.

Mark Arnold and Kristy Reynolds lay out the six categories of hedonic shopping in their 2003 paper, “Hedonic shopping motivations.”

1. Adventure shopping
2. Gratification shopping
3. Social shopping
4. Idea shopping
5.  Role shopping
6. Value shopping

To fulfill their desire for the shopping experience, hedonic shoppers frequently fill and abandon virtual carts without completing a purchase.

Group 2: Comparative shoppers

A second group contributing to bloated cart abandonment rates is what we call comparative shoppers.

Comparative shoppers add items to carts in order to 1) conduct price comparisons and 2) bookmark items for laterer consideration.

Several prominent papers on online consumer behaviour back this up:

• In Shopping Cart Abandonment at Retail Websites, Shibo Li and Patrali Chatterjee contend that placing items in a virtual cart is merely part of the consideration stage
• In Consumer patronage and risk perceptions in internet shopping, Sandra Forsythe and Bo Shi argue that we use the web more as an informational resource than as a purchasing tool
• And in Why We Don’t Buy, a study by Bronto Software and Magento, it was determined that up to 38% of frequent shoppers “always” use the virtual cart to save items for later

Findings on cart use as a bookmarking tool from Why We Don’t Buy

So with all signs indicating that bloated shopping cart abandonment rates are due to the motivations of shoppers themselves—and not the functionality of the cart—you’d think site owners would have clued in, right?

Wrong.

Online retailers are treating cart abandoners all wrong

Given the numbers we’ve looked at in this post, the term “cart abandonment” feels inadequate. After all, how can shoppers “abandon” something they were never committed to in the first place?

But despite these findings, many site owners are treating cart abandoners with tunnel vision: instead of looking at an abandoned cart as a strong sales lead, they’re treating it is as a lost cause.

According to SeeWhy, roughly 81% of online merchants believe abandoners are a total waste of time.

Image Source

And their inaction speaks to this. BizReport states that 80% of retailers fail to send triggered emails to prospective customers after cart abandonment.

All this despite the fact that the same SeeWhy study shows 75% of new visitors abandon with intent to return at some point.

Perhaps site owners worry customers will think emails will be unexpected— intrusive even?

Well that’s not how shoppers see it, and more figures from Why We Don’t Buy back this up. According to the study, 47% expect to receive some type of reminder email after they abandon a shopping cart.

If you were to offer any salesperson a pool of qualified sales lead in which 47% were expecting to hear from them, they’d be on it like a pack of wild dogs. And on the web, the opportunity should be treated the same.

Most telling of all is this next figure from Why We Don’t Buy, which tells us that almost a third of cart abandoners would likely complete their order after receiving a notification.

Image Source

In this context, I propose reframing your approach to the issue.

Rather than seeking to reduce your "shopping cart abandonment" rate, seek to increase your shopping cart retention rate. Grab a slice of the 30-40% of shoppers who express interest in your products through the cart.

In other words, treat shopping cart abandoners just as would any other hot sales lead: stay in contact with them by any means possible.

Of course, to do this you’ll need to equip yourselves with tools for the job.

The tools you need to convert cart abandoners

You need to stay in contact with cart abandoners. Period.

And since 77% prefer marketing messages to come straight to their inbox, email is the best way to do it.

Period.

The good news is you’ll be hunting on fertile ground, since we’ve already established that:

• 47% are expecting your message
• 32% will likely take action after receiving your message
• 80% of your competitors aren’t sending cart abandonment emails

And if the rule of 7 teaches us anything, following up with this group of prospects will spur a series of interactions with your brand, creating a purchasing journey, if you will.

There are two things you will need to follow up with these prospects: 1) A series of cart abandonment emails, and 2) tools for collecting email addresses from cart abandoners.

The content that should go in your cart abandonment emails is the topic for another post, but here are a few quick guidelines:

1. Stress the value of your offer to appeal to price-sensitive customers
2. Use a good dose of urgency (limited supply and/or time-sensitive)
3. Make sure the email is readable on mobile devices
4. Be prompt; sending the email within one hour of abandonment is advisable

The main trick is building your email list, and you’ll need tools to make that happen.

1. Checkout recovery tools

Checkout recovery tools like AbandonAid and Rejoiner help to grab email addresses during the checkout process.

They do this moving the email form in your cart to the forefront, and then using cookies to make sure the user’s email address is saved–even if they abandon the cart.

The Rejoiner dashboard

One big advantage of checkout recovery tools is that they come with the benefit of having built-in email capabilities for setting up triggered follow-ups. And since cart follow-ups are most effective when sent within one hour of abandonment, this is a very handy feature.

One disadvantage of using cart abandonment tools is that many users drop off in between a) adding items to the cart, and b) filling in their contact information. Without an email address saved, there’s no way to follow up.

Action Item

If you're considering using checkout recovery tools as a tactic for increasing shopping cart retention, Rejoiner has a great collection of resources for eCommerce professionals.

As a primer, I would recommend reading The Cart Abandonment Equation, a free ebook that's written specifically for marketers who haven't tried this technology before.

Cart recovery tools are subscription services that typically cost anywhere from $50 to $500 per month, depending on your traffic volume. Whether those numbers work for you depends on your situation; but for most eCommerce sites, that's a pittance compared to what can be recovered from abandoned carts.

2. Exit-intent technology

Using a new technology called exit-intent is another great tactic for converting more cart abandoners.

Exit-intent technology monitors visitor activity as users browse your product pages and add items to the cart. The technology is specifically designed to identify abandoning visitors, so when a user begins to abandon your cart, it activates an exit overlay designed to engage the user.

An exit overlay from BabyAge.com, activated when the user begins to abandon their shopping cart

Exit overlays work for staying in contact with cart abandoners because they a) can be targeted to shopping cart pages specifically and b) only activate when the user is about to abandon the cart.

Exit overlays are often used to offer deals, resources or other benefits to customers in exchange for contact information, as per the example below:

Example of an exit overlay at XeroShoes.com, launched when the user begins to abandon the page

The technology can segment abandoning users into different groups, such as traffic source, user behaviour (first-time vs. returning visitors) and, of course, cart abandoners. 

Two advantages to using exit-intent are provided by exit overlays. They 1) incentivize the user to submit their email address and 2) can activate at any point during the browsing session—not just after a user has entered contact information—as per the graph below:

Action Item

Increasing cart retention is just one of many ways exit-intent technology can help you improve the performance of a website. Like checkout recovery, exit-intent tools are usually monthly subscription services. 

Plans typically cost between $50 and $500, and there are more expensive services that offer a more consultative approach (such as handling the copywriting and design work for the exit overlays). Again, the option that works for you depends on your situation.

Since exit-intent is a newer technology, resources are more scarce. However, Kissmetrics recently published an article (with case studies) outlining how the technology works. A similar article also appeared on Entrepreneur.com.

Takeaways

• Roughly 30-40% of shoppers who fill your shopping cart do so without definitive intent to buy your products; instead, they are merely expressing interest
• These "casual" cart abandoners are valuable sales leads that should be pursued. However, 80% of retailers are not sending triggered emails after abandonment.
• Using checkout recovery tools and exit-intent technology are smart tactics for converting your cart abandoners
• Used in tandem, checkout recovery tools and exit-intent technology can form a formidable duo for chasing down and converting the many valuable leads that come through your shopping cart

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Chelsea Handler calls Instagram sexist for taking down her topless photo

Warning: the following article contains content that may be considered not safe for work.

People love Chelsea Handler's outrageously crude and crass brand of humor — unless those people work at Instagram.

On Thursday night, Handler posted a picture of herself on her Instagram page mocking Russian president and bear-hating, horseback riding outdoorsman Vladimir Putin. Authentic to the original picture of Putin, Handler appeared completely topless.

See also: 20 'Chelsea Lately' Interviews That Epitomize Chelsea Handler

Image: @chelseahandler on Instagram

Soon after Handler posted the racy picture, Instagram quickly removed it from her page, as per their community guidelines. Toplessness, at least for women, is against the rules on the social media network. Read more...

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Advice To Learn About Using Solar Energy

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Solopreneur Project Management Skills (FS078)

When you’re working on a big project by yourself, you’ve got to have a system to keep your sanity. Most of the big projects we work on — starting a blog, creating a product, publishing a series of podcast episodes, etc — have tons of moving pieces and there’s no one but ourselves to manage things.

When best practice isn’t always the best practice

Social Fresh West 2014, billed as the “secret weapon for social media success,” delivered on that promise, as it wrapped up in sunny San Diego yesterday. This much anticipated conference brought together some of the brightest marketing professionals, thought leaders, and trendsetters in the social media space.

The presentations were intentionally brief, focused and engaging, featuring marketing and media experts like Elani Tavantzis of Lilly Pulitzer and Oracle’s Chris Moody. 

A common theme that emerged throughout this two-day gathering was how important it is to constantly listen to YOUR own customers, rather than just follow the best practices or rush to adapt the “latest/greatest” new practices out there.  To build your business and enhance your brand, you have to simply listen to and customize to your customer. 

As social media marketers, we are challenged daily between following what we know as “best practices” in our industry vs. what would be best for our customers, for our brand. So how do marketers find what’s best for their brand? One answer: social listening.

 

HP and the Power of Social Listening

One of the speakers who embraced the power of social listening was Paula Berg, digital media manager at Hewlett-Packard. Upon joining HP, Paula had to take a stance and do what was best for the company. She learned when to ignore the best practices and make your own, which is exactly what she did.  She followed the words of her leader, CEO Meg Whitman:  “Good strategy is as much the art of exclusion, as it is inclusion.”

After some thought, Paula decided to turn directly to their customers to ask what and how they wanted to be “fed.” The answers she got were contrary to known best practices for social media, the daily feeding schedule of posts. HP customers were most concerned with the steady cadence of posts. They clearly stated that they didn’t want or need to hear from them everyday.  Rather, they wanted their content all at once, condensed and concise.

Paula listened and decided to do what was best for this particular brand. HP created their own online magazine, Hpmatter.com, where customers could turn to once a month to get their dose of content.   

 

So what are the takeaways Paula shared? – You are your own brand expert.

1. Strategy is as much about inclusion as it is exclusion.

2. Your audience isn’t average.

3. Nobody knows your business as well as you do.

4. Ask your customers if you need to.  Listen carefully.

 

 

TV Land Learns Social Listening Lessons via Trial & Error

Sue Funke, social media brand manager at TV Land, faced a similar problem – what do you do when what is known to be the tried and true best social media practice, gains no traction or engagement?

TV Land tried posting a still frame photo from one of their shows each day on Facebook and got zero or negative engagement. They tried a variety of content scenarios with relatively low or negative engagement on both Facebook and Pinterest. Then they listened to their own customers and decided to try posts of lyrics to TV theme songs or popular songs from the show era.  The results were incredibly positive. For Pinterest, they created images with quotes from the scripts of their shows and got tons more engagement. 

Sue and her team learned through trial and error what their customers wanted to see that triggered their social engagement. Listening to your customer and not going with traditional wisdom of proven practices in the social media and marketing space is invaluable. What floats the boat of customers for one business or brand doesn’t work for everyone in the social media sphere.  Sometimes posting a fun photo simply isn’t enough – you have to be able to connect with your customers.

 

 

Arbys Uses Social Media to Listen to their customers for Ad strategy 

Josh Martin, the director of digital and social media at Arby’s, relayed similar experiences about the power of listening to your customer through the real time interaction social media provides. 

Through social media, the Arby’s team noticed their customers talking about loving their sauces.  By providing this real time customer feedback to product development and the brand marketing team, the Saucepocalypse campaign was born.  Several posters were created that told stories of the apocalyptic impact on people not having their sauce. 

Arby’s had a repeat experience in picking up similar comments through social media about meats other than roast beef.  This valuable feedback came from their own customers when they launched their Meat Mountain campaign poster showing all different meats other than roast beef.   Their customers mistakenly thought it was a new sandwich and through social media, indicated they were anxious to try it. Thus the birth of Arby’s new $10 Meat Mountain sandwich. 

 

 

 

Photo challenge: Bring out your dark side

For this week's Mashable Photo Challenge, bring out your dark side. Explore the outdoors after sunset, look for shadows on dark pavement and entertain your superstitions

See also: These Vintage Halloween Costumes Will Scare the Sheet Out of You

Your submissions can be Halloween-related — orange and black, spirits and haunted things — but they certainly don't have to be. You're free to experiment with shadows, still life, and low light settings in basements and warehouses. Take advantage of late dusk and early dawn. We want to see a variety of raw images, heavily edited shots and even film photographs with vintage effects. Read more...

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Social Fresh West Show Coverage

Ask Mark Zuckerberg Anything During His First Public “Community Q&A” On Facebook Nov 6

 Most people have a burning question to ask about Facebook, whether they’re one of its 1.35 billion users or not. So taking a cue from Reddit’s Ask Me Anything sessions, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is upping the transparency and will play customer support himself on November 6th when he does Facebook’s first “Community Q&A”. The hour-long… Read More

Eulogy For a Blog (Infographic)

In the spirit of Halloween, we’re posting an infographic on the death of Web Log. It’s based off this Copyblogger post. Thanks to Barry Feldman at Feldman Creative for providing today’s infographic. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Turn Your Unhappy Customer into a Valuable Resource

There are few things that impact a brand’s reputation more than the way it responds to complaints and unhappy customers. Customer service has always been an important part of developing brand loyalty, in fact it was the center of the business model that allowed companies like Nordstrom’s and Zappos to thrive. And now that the […]

Instagram Video Ads Go Live Because Everything Good Must Come To An End

 Instagram has at long last debuted video advertisements after rigorous testing and hands-on work with brands. And because they are advertisements, none of that rigorous work really matters because we simply hate advertisements. With video ads, the potential for high levels of suckage is high, as brands have a total of 15 seconds to capture you, as opposed to the half-second glance they get with… Read More