ICYMI: Facebook’s new metrics, SEO coin flip, and more

With all the election-related news dominating news cycles recently, we thought it might be a good time to compile some of the latest and greatest news on branding and marketing.

• Why marketers need to stop pushing age stereotypes (MarketingWeek.com) — “It’s not just older people who feel alienated, but younger ones too,” she adds. “Eventually, [age neutrality] will have to become the new normal as brands who don’t do it will struggle.”
• Most SEOs Are No Better than a Coin-Flip at Predicting Which Page Will Rank Better (Moz.com) — “When we asked a few hundred people to pick which of two pages would rank better for a range of keywords, the average accuracy on UK SERPs was 46%.”
• What brands should know about Facebook’s new and upcoming average watch time metrics (Marketingland.com) — “Facebook’s new average watch time metric may sound straightforward, but it has a twist. And soon enough, it won’t be the only average watch time metric that Facebook offers advertisers and Page owners.”
• Study: 92 percent of retailers investing in social marketing, Facebook leads way (TheDrum.com) — “Customer-obsessed retailers are wisely investing this year to revamp their checkout process, as well as the overall site design — across desktop, smartphone and tablet devices,” said Forrester vice president and research director Fiona Swerdlow. “Many also are upping the ante on developing rich content to meet their customers’ needs, even if creating, managing and keeping that content fresh isn’t always easy.”
• A Missed Opportunity for A/B Testing: Communities (HeroDigital.com) — “…you risk misunderstanding the very test you designed — and possibly misunderstanding or entirely failing to connect with your intended audience.”