The team at ONeil spent time this week discussing Facebook’s Conversion API implementation and first party data. We also spent some time talking through how businesses are able to show up on maps in search results (a continuation from last week). And wouldn’t you know it, these topics are front and center in my newsletters this week along with some information on PageSpeed scores for Core Web Vitals.
Since the objective here is to save you time and bring you the highlights, I try to keep it laser focused but the truth is, I love marketing because it’s a whirlwind; no two days are ever the same and best practices are always shifting. I get so excited about all that’s going on in the marketing world on any given day that some weeks I come to this newsletter full of excitement; with a list of links far too long to be considered an edit of what I’ve read. Some weeks, it’s crystal clear which 3 or 4 articles are newsworthy. This is one of those weeks.
APPLE AND FIRST PARTY DATA
Apple hosted WWDC this past week and with it came a slew of impending updates that will affect data privacy and therefore marketers abilities. Some of these updates include a lack of reporting on email open rates and notification controls that could prevent marketers from reaching their target audience at the right moment among other updates. Apple is really focused on giving their users control of their data and the ways in which their information can be used.
On the flip side is an article relating to first party data and the ways in which it can be used to blunt the effects of these changes. First party data is all the information about a customer that you as a business collect from your own website. There is a treasure trove of it and often, it’s undervalued or not even noticed by the business. Now is the time to start thinking about the information that is available, how to capture it, how it can be used to your advantage, and the ways in which your marketing team (among others) can visualize and digest it for that advantage.
ANOTHER STATE, ANOTHER PRIVACY LAW
The Colorado Privacy Act passed this week, joining California and Virginia. While it was based on the Virginia law, it is different and becomes the first such law that is enforceable by the district attorney and the attorney general. It is more geographically targeted than CCPA and there are particular businesses that will find themselves exempt. The good news is that if you’re already CCPA compliant, you’re basically ok for this new law which goes into effect in July 2023. If you’re not already CCPA compliant or unsure if you are, now is the time to get your ducks in a row and do so.
MAPPING YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS
Google isn’t the only mapping game around. There’s also Apple Maps and Snap Maps. What’s a Snap Map you ask. It’s the way my 14 year old tracks her friends near and far through Snapchat. Who needs Find My Friends when you’ve got a Snap map?! It’s so accepted and commonplace for Snap users that when someone turns their location off it sounds alarm bells to their friends. This article about the upcoming changes to Apple, Snap and Google maps was of great interest to me this week as we’ve been discussing the role maps play in search.
Google also hosted a developer conference recently and as such revealed upcoming changes to it’s maps feature. First, Google will use AI to showcase a variety of locations on maps based on user data. For example, places to get coffee will show up in the morning while places for take out might show up at lunchtime. This may seem unrelated to housing, but what if Google knows a user is house hunting and then showcases new home communities, that have been claimed on Google My Business, that the user is near? In addition to this feature is the continued rollout and push for Live View which functions like Augmented reality and lets users discover more of what’s around them in a more realistic view.
Apple is working diligently to increase the functionality and user experience for Apple Maps but doesn’t seem to be taking the next step in more actively incorporating businesses into the experience.
Snap maps are another story. They’re adding a feature they call Layers. Layers are grouped by interest and will be populated through partnerships Snap develops with businesses and brands. Not super useful to home builders quite yet but the next step is the incorporation of API’s which would open the doors for more businesses to take advantage of the layers. A layer of interest for first time home buyers could include businesses that provide affordable home furnishings, mortgage companies and home builders in the area. Kinda cool to think about, right?
CORE WEB VITALS UPDATE
Technically it is not a CWB update but rather an update to a tool that helps you see what your website’s vital are and how they can be improved. Lighthouse 8.0 was released with updates to its pagespeed score. The changes were made both to weighting and scoring. These changes can be viewed in Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.
Conceptualizing the possibilities that the future holds is one of the aspects of my job that I enjoy the most. Taking all of the user data we have at our fingertips to transform it into actionable plans that increase lead activity in ways that a builder hadn’t previously thought of is so much fun. It wasn’t that long ago that Facebook ads were a foreign concept and something which garnered a small percentage of media spend for builders. Today though, Facebook is a major contender and offers an array of advertising opportunities like lookalike audiences populated from user data that are unique and valuable. Maybe tomorrow, it’ll be Snap maps and some of that valuable first party data we discussed above. The future is bright and full of possibilities.
