It’s the start of a new week here at Modo25. So, Jamie and Tom have been checking out the headlines to bring you this week’s top five digital news stories to watch. This week, we take a look a why content marketing is so important. Plus, how only 25% of brands manage all of their data in one place. 
P&G testing market data to gain insight into the Chinese market
Tom: People often try and predict the future of marketing. Right now, many are looking into how China has moved more quickly into the eCommerce space. P&G is testing with market data to gain more insights into their marketing activity including branded entertainment and live streaming. Innovating with different types of data and digital marketing is going to become increasingly more important to create separation from the competition.
Google responds to a zero-click research piece
Jamie: Research carried out by SparkToro showed that 65% of Google searches ended up without a click. Naturally, this was conducted on a relatively small sample size. However, it is indicative of how Google is transforming into an “answer engine” and presenting information directly within the SERPs.
Content marketing is still undervalued in the industry
Tom: Engaging customers is the first step to any sale. Content is one of the best ways to drive sales by helping brands stay relevant. Plus, creating content helps to build out the top of the funnel which is vital for many brands. The longer the customer journey the more important content can be as nearly all customers will research before making a large cash purchase. We see many brands choose to ignore content in favour of instant results from other marketing channels but to ensure the long term viability of a brand we would recommend including content in your marketing strategy.
Only 25% of brands manage their data all in one place
Tom: Something we’ve worked on a lot at Modo25 has been the one source of truth view on data and collating it all in one place. According to a recent survey, only 25% of brands currently manage to do this. Many of those surveyed also said eCommerce was central to their future growth. Alison Hanrahan, head of marketing performance for HSBC stated that marketers should be careful settling for campaign metrics. With the news that Facebook has been fudging their platform numbers for years, having a definitive view on results is going to be vital for brands moving forwards.
Google to move the last remaining sites onto mobile-first indexing soon
Jamie: Google has been indexing the web mobile-first for a few years now, with many major websites likely to have been moved over for a while. However, the coming months will see 100% of the web being crawled using the Google Smartphone user-agent.
Are you looking for support with your digital marketing? You can get in touch with us at team@modo25.com to find out more. We look forward to hearing from you!
