The Trending Report
March Edition, by Krista McLellan
Now that everyone’s brackets are thoroughly busted (RIP Duke), let’s recap the madness of March. Here’s our monthly round up of what was trending in digital marketing, travel, and tourism.
Social
Instagram creates a new ad type. These “branded content ads” let brands sponsor posts created by their influencers. But don’t worry, if you don’t follow the influencer, you won’t be served the sponsored content.
Speaking of promoted content, Pinterest is adding a few new features with new product catalogs and personalized shopping recommendations. You’ll see a “More from [brand]” option for additional pins, as well as “More Like This” which shows visually similar items. Under the shopping tag, you’ll now be served in-stock suggestions from retailers aligned with your saved pins, and go right to online check-out. Impulse buying just got a lot easier.
Tired of going down the same old rabbit hole on Reddit? Explore every corner of the Internet with some of the best subreddits around. Explore the wonder of nature with Planet Earth-style content, get answers to your burning science questions with r/askscience, and learn what audiophiles and bibliophiles have on their turntables and bookshelves.
Forget Farmville (seriously, we don’t want another invite), Facebook is trying occupy more space in the gaming scene. Users will soon see a Gaming tab that will serve them content that points to instant games you can play with friends, videos to watch from top streamers, esports organizations and game publishers, and more.
LinkedIn is making it easier for users to connect within its platform. From the messenger stream, users will be able to check their contact’s availability and schedule a meeting and suggest a location without leaving the app.
Technology
Want to take a walk down memory lane? Here’s what 25 popular websites looked like in their earliest incarnations. We hardly recognized Pinterest!
The biggest news in gaming this month, Google’s Stadia video game-streaming platform will allow almost any TV, computer, tablet, or smartphone to play games currently available on more powerful consoles or computers. Netflix for video games? We’re here for it.
And on the Netflix front, Apple’s new Apple TV+ is gunning for the big names in streaming entertainment. At a star-studded event, Apple unveiled some big names creating original content, and explained the service will be integrated with smart TVs and will be available on all major Apple devices in May.
You’re never without your phone or your beats, and now when you forget your charger, your headphones could give you a boost in a pinch. Check out these awesome wireless, noise-cancelling headphones from Neavio.
Reporting and Analytics
You’ve likely gone all Marie Kondo on your closet, but what about applying her decluttering philosophy to your SEO efforts? Check out some tips that’ll spark joy in your search performance.
Google is making it easier for users to find travel options tailored to their budget. New search features include price insights (whether the price shown is typically high or low), a price slider to filter flights, and a deals filter to bring users the biggest savings.
Facebook is doing away with its Ad Relevance Score, saying the measurement doesn’t provide enough actionable insight in today’s advertising landscape, and will be switching to more detailed metrics, including quality, conversion rate, and engagement rate rankings.
You can check all the boxes big search engines want you to so you’ll end up on page 1, but are you really optimizing for searcher intent? Google’s moving to reward search results that answer queries directly on the SERP.
Content Marketing
What are this year’s top trends in email marketing? Personal. Interactive. Simple. Sick GIFs.
It’s time to stop being so two-dimensional. 3D video is an emerging trend this year as a creative way to demonstrate products, services, and ideas — especially those that don’t exist in the physical realm.
Anyone who thinks copy isn’t crucial to social media success clearly hasn’t seen a meme. To make your copy stand out from the pack, leverage these four strategies.
Burger King is giving away free Whoppers if you set a competitor’s ad on fire — on your phone. They’ve added a cool AR experience to their app that rewards users with a free burger if they digitally flame grill an ad on the street.
Travel
Europe draws the most international travelers each year, but its growth in the travel industry is stagnating. Learn which destinations are experiencing the strongest growth.
The digital traveler is evolving. From being overwhelmed by choice to hopping across devices, Google’s got you covered with some tactics to keep up with their changing needs.
A new Global Solo Travel Study conducted by British Airways reports that almost 50% of women around the world have taken a vacation by themselves, while 75% are planning a solo trip in the next few years. Where are ladies looking to travel? Find out here.
Last month we talked about mystery travel, but British Airways took it a little far last week. Passengers expecting to land in Dusseldorf were shocked to find out they’d arrived in Edinburgh instead.
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Krista is a Senior Content Strategist and Copywriter at VERB Interactive — a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
