After much anticipation, Google has finally rolled out Google Allo, a new messaging app that promises to revolutionize texting forever. It is also their first large scale commercial attempt at utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in an application. It is similar to popular messaging applications like Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, iMessage etc. It gives you the power to swap messages that self-destruct and utilizes the all-powerful Google search engine.

Talk about the Google Allo app, the AI Assistant and focus on people using the app also for search and that’s what marketers are interested in, for now there are no paid ad options but paid opportunities should open up for marketers soon.

It’s just another Messaging App, What’s the Big Deal?

Google claims that it is smarter than the messaging applications that are already available in the market. But that’s something that we will leave for you to decide. According to Google the primary problem that most popular messaging applications face that users have to put a hold to their conversation to look up an establishment like a coffee-shop or a bookstore. With Allo, the hassle of pausing a conversation to look up information is eliminated altogether. It will provide in-message assistance to keep the conversation flowing.

Not only that, but the AI keeps improving itself as you use it more and more when you need it. Another feature that the application boasts of is the Smart Reply. With a single tap you can send lightning-fast responses to your friends depending on the context. It’s “Smart” because it gives you the option to respond in a relevant fashion. For example, if a friend messaged you with a picture of their new 4K TV, Smart Reply may suggest, “Awesome!” as an apt reply. This gets better and better as you use it.

Users also get a preview of the Google Assistant which lets you have a conversation with Google. You can ask all the questions you want, and your answers will appear directly on your Allo app.

Why Are Marketers Excited?

Marketers have started drooling the moment Google Allo was launched. Primarily because Google will launch branded emojis for marketers.

So, how will it work?

Well, the AI will play a pretty important role in this. Based on the keyword that you enter, and the message as well as the conversation, it will recommend a sponsor. Obviously, this will be a paid placement opportunity for all brands. If the emoji plan goes ahead, sponsors will most likely compete with each other in order to see who can surface an emoji first.

So, in order to be the emoji that gets suggested you will have to be the number one. Not the number two or number three in Google’s search engine. That means competitive marketing content and strategies.

Google Allo is versatile because one can also think of it as a productivity tool meant for workers like Slack. With its search angle, Google can easily lend it such an angle.

It is a great opportunity for companies to establish their brand identities by tapping into consumer insights. This will force many a brand to ensure diligence when it comes to their SEO tactics since Google Allo will only pull up the top organic result. Marketers need to figure out how people will ask a question and how Google Allo will provide an answer to that. They have to figure out what type of marketing content will take them there.

If Google Allo truly becomes a popular application, it could very well go on to become the first one to amalgamate search insights with social insights.

What are your thoughts on Google Allo? Don’t forget to share your opinion below!

Google URL builder is a complementary tool from Google which allows you to add custom tracking parameters to your campaign URL. This makes it easy to track in Google Analytics.

Last month, many marketers including me were in for a surprise to see Google moving the Google URL builder to a new location. This is perhaps, a tool which is used by marketers at least once a day or maybe several times a day/ As marketers, our aim is to drive as much traffic as we can to our website and other channels. The next part of our everyday job is to convert as many of those visitors as possible into long-term customers.

If you don’t use Google URL builder yet, then don’t fret. There are several other tools for marketers to create custom URLs. I would however advise you to check how easily you can use Google URL builder to track your campaigns on Google Analytics.

So, what is Campaign Tracking?

Campaign tracking basically allows you to add a custom code to your URL or URLs so that you can find out for yourself how many users are on your website. Or, in simpler terms how much traffic you are generating, conversions, best performing channels and much more.

So, how do you tell which email marketing campaigns were successful? Easy. Use the Google URL builder to track your campaigns.

Here’s what the difference between URLs look like.

The extra bits and pieces that you see in the latter example is what makes up the “tagging” part of the URL builder. These tags help you to track your traffic.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to use this tool.

Step 1: Go to the Google URL Builder website.

Step 2: The first dialog box is named website URL. Here you can put in the URL you want to track. You can also track referrals to your page from other websites with this tool. This will further help you with your quest of producing top-notch content.

Step 3: The next field that you have to compulsory fill up is campaign source. Do keep in mind that out of the five fields that are available, two are compulsory. Campaign source is one such field. You can add the source name which can be name of your blog article or it could also be a social media post or anything else.

Step 4: Campaign medium is now optional field in the new Google URL builder. You can add anything that you want as medium as long as it is relevant to your post. Commonly used mediums are click, cpc, banner etc.

Step 5: You need a campaign name to track your campaign in Google Analytics. Choose something distinct and simple that will be easily recognizable or simply use the name of your campaign here.

Step 6: Now you will see that an URL has automatically generated below. In the earlier version of this tool, one had to click on generate in order to generate the URL. So, this is a welcome change. If you want you can copy it to your clipboard. You can also shorten the URL if you wish to.

It’s a pretty simple tool with great functionality. It’s a must-have for any marketer at any given moment! So, go ahead and start tracking your campaigns!

We hope you have not been living under a rock and you must have heard about the latest sensation that has taken the internet by storm: Pokémon Go. Three weeks since its release and it has already broken a bunch of records. According to SensorTower, Pokémon Go already crossed 50 million downloads in just 19 days. Not only that, it has only been released in the US, Australia, New Zealand and majority of countries in Europe.

Nintendo’s valuation has increased by leaps and bounds. And, it has not yet been released in many countries officially.

As a marketer, you might wonder how this niche mobile-game shot to fame so easily. Well, the answer is marketing. There are so many marketing lessons that a marketer can learn from this product. Let us take a look at those lessons.

Lesson #1: Effective Branding goes a long way.

To sell a product, you require good branding. You can sell just about anything with good branding. The main attraction of Pokémon is how it takes advantage of the GPS feature of your phone. But, this is not the first time that a mobile-game has done so.

Wait, what?

Yeah, games like Ingress, Zombies, Run etc. all came out before Pokémon Go. But how many people have heard of it, let alone downloaded it? Our guess would be very few. These games did not achieve this level of mainstream success.

Why?

Because it was not involved with one of the most recognizable brands. Pokémon is a brand name that has been there since the past two decades. It has constantly developed and nurtured itself through various forms of media. That presence alone has helped them garner such a lot of attention. Without their branding, this would have never happened.

Lesson #2: Timing is Everything.

As a marketer, you will definitely agree that timing is key for a successful marketing campaign. This game launched right at a point where most children are having their holidays and have an excuse to go out at the drop of a hat. If this same game was launched somewhere during winter, most countries in Europe or in North America would have had a slow reception. Also, launching the game at this point of time fulfils a long-term goal. Kids who grew up with Pokémon are now adults in their 20s and have buying power, as well as means to travel.

Lesson #3: It’s all about Social Proof.

Social media marketing is important. But what’s more important than that is people talking about your product. More importantly giving positive reviews of your product. Pokémon Go’s success partly lies on the social media networks and their users. When people started seeing their friends talking about this highly interesting game, immediately they started downloading it. This too because it is a Pokémon game (this takes us back to Lesson #1).

Lesson #4: Effective branding breeds loyalty.

After a brand has successfully established itself, it will garner a loyal customer base. We can notice a similar situation with Pokémon Go as well. The target audience of the game had grown up in an era largely dominated by Pokémon and Pokémon products. Now they are getting a chance to finally live the Pokémon dream, to relive their childhood once more. This again takes us back to Pokémon’s effective branding strategy.

Lesson #5: You don’t always need an Ad Budget.

If you want your product to succeed, you must have effective marketing strategies in place. Blowing your entire budget in advertising will not help your cause if you cannot market your product. Did you see any Pokémon Go ads before its launch? No. Then how come did it achieve success? The answer is effective marketing. By building a brand people can blindly trust, they know that if they build a quality product, their customers will become their advertisers, in turn their advertisement.

Lesson #6: Reward your Customers

In order to keep your customers loyal and satisfied, you need to invest in them. You need to offer them services, products, gifts at competitive pricing so that you can retain them. You need to build a sense of security so that your customers can trust you and be loyal to your brand. Because if your customers are satisfied, they will bring in more customers. So, it is extremely important to reward your ongoing investment. In Pokémon Go, players are constantly rewarded with bonuses depending on their activity. That’s why players keep on playing, in the hope that they will continue to be rewarded for playing the game.

Lesson #7: Low Learning Curve=High Adoption

When it comes to marketing a product, it is extremely important that the product does not appear complicated to the target audience. Pokémon Go’s success partially lies on the fact that it does not need a formal tutorial to get started. It is fairly easy to play and all you need to do is check your phone from time to time. Any similar product that has achieved a level of success would exhibit similar features.

Once you put these lessons to use, you will achieve an increased amount of customer retention. Start with a good product, establish your brand, let users speak about how good your product is, repeat the cycle, and soon you will achieve success.