Main objective:

Our main goal was to position the brand as the leading choice in the Vitamin D3 / K2, MSM and Hyaluron categories. We wanted to take a traditional healthcare product manufacturer to the forefront of direct-to-consumer (D2C) distribution, revolutionize the healthcare industry, and create a brand that would transcend the limitations of traditional distribution structures. To accomplish this, we leveraged our extensive market experience and implemented best practices on Amazon.

Potential challenges:

• Budget constraints compared to strong competitors.
• Completely new brand and products, all customers had to be newly acquired.
• Highly competitive categories with high CPCs.
• Strong focus on traditional offline pharma sales channels.
• Traditionally older target audience, with this brand focusing on younger people.

Strategy:

Our strategy involved tracking and optimizing various aspects of the marketing funnel to drive traffic to Amazon. We used Amazon Attribution to evaluate and improve the performance of external traffic sources. Through a rapid test and learn approach, we continually identified new trends and adjusted key elements to maximize our success.

Setup:

• Sponsored Ads Media Mix of Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brand Ads, Sponsored Display Ads and Sponsored Brand Video Ads, taking advantage of most of the available placements on Amazon.
• External traffic via email, website, PPC and paid social ads with a focus on selling on Amazon

Optimizations:

During the campaign, focus was placed on optimizing campaign budgets, and a multi-channel approach was taken that aligned with performance goals and customer acquisition cost goals. The use of Amazon Vine and the implementation of proven content strategies ensured that the campaign was ready to go quickly. Targeting measures applied included category, keyword and competitor analytics.

Insights:

Insights played a critical role in defining, implementing and modifying the strategy. Using Amazon Attribution, we were able to measure our success in external channels such as social ads, Google Ads, email, and the website.
This data allowed us to effectively adjust the advertising budget. In addition, insights from the Ads Overview led us to prioritize certain campaign types, as Sponsored Brand Video Ads and Sponsored Product Ads performed better than Sponsored Brand Ads and Sponsored Display Ads.

Success / Results:

Impressive results were achieved for the brand during the campaign. A top 10 best-selling position for Vitamin D3/K2 was achieved, with the best performance coming in July 2022, when a top 7 position was achieved in the multivitamin category. Similarly, a top-10 best-seller position was achieved for MSM, with a top-7 position in the MSM category achieved in August 2022. For hyaluronic acid, a top-20 bestseller rank was achieved, with the best performance coming in July 2022, when the top-12 position was achieved in the hyaluronic acid category.

Conclusion:

We will use the results from this campaign to replicate and scale success for future campaigns.
You too can introduce more products using a similar approach based on the valuable insights gained. This will include broad targeting across multiple campaign types, allowing you to maximize visibility and reach. You can also use Amazon attribution to measure the effectiveness of your external campaigns and evaluate their impact on overall success.

By applying these strategies and insights, you can achieve similar or even greater success in future campaigns, rank prominently in relevant categories on Amazon, and increase sales.
Stay tuned for more exciting insights and useful information that will help you successfully launch, showcase your products and maximize your conversions.

Need help launching your nutritional supplement products on Amazon?
Then feel free to contact our Head of Retail Media for a no-obligation conversation and we’ll discuss how to proceed.

Why is multi-channel e-commerce useful?

Multi-channel selling has proven to be highly successful, as it allows merchants to expand their target audience and maximize their reach. By selling on marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay and/or operating their own online store, online retailers can diversify their sales opportunities and attract new customers. Multi-channel e-commerce also offers the opportunity to respond flexibly to changing market conditions and consumer trends, or to expand into new markets, for example.

Challenges of multi-channel e-commerce

While selling through a variety of channels brings numerous benefits, it also faces some challenges. Some of the biggest issues include:

• A consistent brand presence across multiple sales channels.
• Inventory management & product availability
• Overview of data across all channels
• Synchronization of inventory & automated fulfillment
• Optimal shipping & satisfactory returns

Of course, it is often almost impossible to deliver a consistent brand image across multiple sales channels. In many cases, this is not even desired. Branding can vary depending on the channel, as, for example, different priorities are set on Amazon than on a company’s own online store.

Most of the other pain points have to do with logistics in some form. It starts with inventory management. For example, if you use different fulfillment solutions from marketplaces, like Amazon’s FBA, you store your products separately for each channel. This increases the complexity of your logistics setup. Companies consequently spend a lot of time organizing different solutions and often lose track of the inventory in the different warehouses.

In addition, potential economies of scale are not exploited. Optimizing the warehousing and order processing of different logistics solutions causes a much greater overall effort than improving a central solution.

Shipping and, above all, returns management can also be carried out far more efficiently, quickly and uniformly with central fulfillment.

How can centralized fulfillment help?

Central fulfillment refers to the central handling of the entire ordering and shipping process for different sales channels in one place. Instead of managing logistics for each channel separately, all orders are consolidated in one fulfillment center or through one fulfillment company. As a result, centralized fulfillment enables efficient warehousing, optimized inventory management and smooth shipping. Merchants can send their products to a single fulfillment center, from where they are prepared for shipment to customers.

If your e-commerce business sells and ships orders in multiple countries, it makes sense to store products in multiple logistics centers, but manage and operate them centrally. This way, you shorten shipping routes and costs, while the network can be managed centrally.

Benefits of centralized fulfillment for multi-channel retailers

Using centralized fulfillment offers a number of benefits for multi-channel retailers:

• Consolidated warehousing: inventory is consolidated into one fulfillment center (network), resulting in lower storage costs and better use of available space.
• Optimized inventory management: by consolidating orders from different channels, the retailer gets a comprehensive overview and can better coordinate overall inventory. Consequently, bottlenecks and overstocks can be better avoided.
• Centralized fulfillment allows for a consistent post-purchase experience – regardless of which channel the purchase was made through. Packaging can thus be selected uniformly and marketing measures, such as the addition of flyers or the sending of e-mails, can also be better controlled.

Practical example:

A good example of the implementation of central fulfillment is the logistics processing for different sales channels such as Amazon (in this case, for example, via Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime), eBay and an own Shopify store. By integrating with a central fulfillment partner like byrd, merchants can send their products to a fulfillment center where they are stored, packaged and shipped to customers. Orders from Amazon, eBay and the Shopify store are automatically routed to and processed from the fulfillment center via pre-built interfaces. This enables seamless and efficient logistics processing for all channels and better control over inventory.

So, in this example, you benefit from the large number of visitors on Amazon, but you can still use branded packaging and inserts, for example, to convert new customers into loyal repeat buyers. At the same time, you can build and strengthen your own brand with your own online store. There are hardly any limits when it comes to connecting new sales channels.

It doesn’t matter if you want to go from being an Amazon seller to a multi-channel brand, or if you simply want to use more opportunities to reach new customers. In many cases, central logistics has the potential to simplify your logistics and make them more cost-efficient.

Conclusion

Centralized fulfillment offers multi-channel retailers the opportunity to organize their logistics efficiently and benefit from the advantages of centralized processing. By outsourcing logistics to a 3PL partner, for example, retailers can save time, resources and costs while increasing customer satisfaction. Centralized processing of orders from multiple channels allows for better warehousing, streamlined inventory management and smooth shipping. So if you’re a merchant active in multiple sales channels, this could be an attractive solution to increase your efficiency and maximize your success.

Project S – Building your own brand

ByteDance’s Project S involves selling its own products rather than relying on third-party vendors. The move is in line with TikTok’s efforts to generate additional revenue ahead of its upcoming IPO. Led by Bob Kang, ByteDance’s e-commerce chief, Project S aims to build an online retail unit that competes with fast-fashion brands and social media marketplaces.

Leveraging viral knowledge and marketing advantages

The project leverages TikTok’s knowledge of viral items and enables ByteDance to acquire or create these products itself. Trendy Beat products are promoted extensively on TikTok, giving them an advantage over competing sellers on the platform. ByteDance has also hired staff from Shein to boost its e-commerce business.

Challenges and restructuring

While TikTok Shop has been successful in Southeast Asian markets, the company has struggled in the United Kingdom. In response, TikTok recently restructured to focus on existing markets rather than expanding internationally. ByteDance’s previous attempts to emulate Shein and similar models through separate shopping apps were unsuccessful. Project S aims to establish a separate brand within the TikTok app itself, taking a different approach.

Integration and synergy

Trendy Beat’s shopping site is linked to Seitu, a Singapore-based company owned by ByteDance. Seitu is also linked to If Yooou, another retail company owned by ByteDance. This integration highlights the synergy between different aspects of ByteDance’s e-commerce strategy.

Marketing and Reach

The launch of “Project S” and the Trendy Beat feature enables TikTok to effectively market its products. The platform has a tremendous reach with millions of users worldwide consuming videos daily. By filtering popular items from videos and offering them directly for sale, TikTok provides users with a seamless shopping experience. This integration of entertainment and e-commerce presents a great opportunity for TikTok to build a loyal customer base and strengthen its presence in the retail market.

Competition and challenges

Shein and Amazon are established players in online retail and have already built a large customer base. TikTok faces the challenge of competing with these heavyweights and securing a market share. Shein has made a name for itself in the fashion industry in particular and is known for its fast delivery and trendy clothing. Amazon, on the other hand, offers a wide range of products and an efficient shipping service. To compete against these rivals, TikTok needs to score with attractive offers, a smooth shopping experience, and a strong brand presence.

Future development and opportunities

TikTok has taken a promising step to gain a foothold in the e-commerce space with “Project S.” The platform has already shown that it is capable of setting viral trends and spreading the word about products. By integrating Trendy Beat and marketing its own products, TikTok can further consolidate its position as an innovative shopping platform. In the future, TikTok could further expand its e-commerce activities by partnering with other brands or introducing new features to provide users with an even more diverse shopping experience.

Conclusion

With “Project S” and the introduction of the Trendy Beat feature, TikTok aims to challenge Shein and Amazon in online retail. By selling its own products and leveraging the platform’s viral knowledge, TikTok is positioning itself as an innovative shopping platform. The integration with Seitu and If Yooou strengthens ByteDance’s e-commerce strategy. However, TikTok faces the challenge of competing against established competitors. Nevertheless, the platform’s wide reach and ability to combine entertainment and e-commerce offers promising opportunities for TikTok to succeed in the retail market. Future development could include further partnerships and features to enhance the shopping experience for users and consolidate TikTok’s position as a major e-commerce platform.

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is also known as split testing and is a method of pitting two different versions of your product listings against each other to see which one generates the biggest increase in user interactions and conversions.

On Amazon, this means creating two versions of your listing and splitting the traffic between them. With a trained eye, you can then analyse the performance of the two variants and determine which elements or changes lead to better results. You can try this with as many variations as you like until you find the best performing Amazon product listing.

Catch the Wave – Benefits of A/B Testing for Amazon Sellers

A/B testing offers you several significant advantages as an Amazon seller. First, it allows you to understand how different elements of your product listing influence customer behaviour. By testing variables such as product images, titles, descriptions, prices and even customer reviews, you can gain insights into what resonates best with your target audience.

Secondly, A/B testing offers a data-driven approach to optimising your product listings. Instead of making assumptions or guesses, you can make informed decisions based on real user data. This allows you to identify the most effective strategies for improving conversions, increasing click-through rates and maximising sales.

Finally, A/B testing allows for continuous improvement. By constantly testing and optimising your product listings, you can stay ahead of the competition and adapt to changing market trends. You can evolve and improve your listings based on actual performance data to consistently deliver the best possible customer experience.

With A/B testing, you can ride the waves and stand out from the competition on your Amazon surfboard. See what it means for you:

Improve your product listings

With Amazon A/B testing, you can optimise different elements such as product images, titles, bullet points and product descriptions and find out which style resonates best with your target group. Surf the wave of customer taste and beat your competitors with a powerful performance.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Instead of paddling into the blue, you can make data-driven decisions and ride the surf wave of success. Your strategic moves are based on real user data, so you can use targeted manoeuvres to improve conversions, maximise click-through rates and boost sales.

Continuous Improvement

Surfing is about constantly evolving and adapting to changes in the ocean. A/B testing allows you to continuously refine your product listings to meet the changing needs of your target audience. Each time you ride the wave, you’ll gain valuable insights and be able to optimise your listings based on real performance data.

So, grab your boards and let the Amazon A/B testing ride begin!

The requirements for participation in the Amazon A/B Test

Not every ASIN is eligible for Amazon’s A/B tests. An eligible ASIN should have had enough traffic in the last few weeks. Products that have not had enough traffic are not displayed at all or are displayed with the note that they are not eligible.

The following applies to both the A and B variants:

“A“ content

• Must be pre-approved
• Must be linked to the reference ASIN.
• Cannot be part of a current A/B test
• Cannot have more than 500 associated ASINs.

“B“ content

• Must be associated with the reference ASIN.
• Cannot be part of a current A/B test
• Automatically takes over the ASINs from A.

ASIN authorisation

• ASINs must belong to your brand.
• ASINs must have sufficiently high traffic in their respective categories (possibly several dozen orders per week or more, depending on the category) to reliably determine the most successful content.

Note: Content with non-qualifying ASINs will not be displayed in the A/B testing experience.

Selecting variables for the test

When choosing variables for your A/B test on Amazon, there are several elements you can consider. Here are some important variables that are suitable for A/B testing:

• Product images: You can use different images to test which one gets the highest click-through rate and conversion rate.
• Product title: change the title of your product slightly to see which one works better.
• Bullet Points: Vary the order and content of your bullet points to see which combination is most compelling.
• Product Description: Test different variations of your product description to see which gives the best results.

It is important to test only one variable at a time to get clear results and avoid customer confusion.

Once you have selected your variables, you can run the A/B test on Amazon. Amazon will automatically redirect some of the traffic to your variants and collect data on the performance of each variant. During the test, it is important that you do not make any further changes to the variants so as not to distort the results.

Example: Amazon A/B testing for A+ content

Do you have several versions of a new A+ content and can’t decide which one to use? Then use A/B testing for A+ content on Amazon! You can have two different A+ content versions compete against each other. The winning content gets the ASIN 😊

Step 1: Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.

Step 2: Navigate to the “Advertising” > “A+ Content Manager” section. There you will see an Amazon info about A/B testing:

Step 3: Click on “More information about A/B tests” and then on “Create A/B test”.

Step 4: Select a reference ASIN. Of course, there must already be A+ content for the ASIN.

Step 5: Enter the test information:

• Test name
• Duration (4-10 weeks)
• Start date
• End date
• Hypothesis (optional)

Step 6: Create two variations of your product listing (Variation A and Variation B).

Step 7: Now you just have to submit the A/B test. To do this, click on the “Submit A/B test” button in the top right-hand corner.

After you have started the A/B test, Amazon will automatically redirect some of the traffic to your two variants. During the test, Amazon collects data on the performance of each variant, including click-through rate, conversion rate and sales figures.

Analysing the results

After the A/B test is complete, you can analyse the results. Amazon provides you with data and statistics to evaluate the performance of each variation.

Realise your full potential with A/B testing on Amazon

Our goal is to give you the knowledge and tools you need to optimise your Amazon sales strategy. We want to empower you to make data-driven decisions and use your resources effectively. Because we believe that as a seller on Amazon, you should have the opportunity to succeed and realise your full potential.

So let’s dive into the fascinating world of Amazon A/B testing together and take your conversions to a new level in just 4 weeks. With our proven tips and comprehensive guides, you’ll be able to outperform your competition and improve your position in Amazon search results.

Prepare to increase your sales and maximise your success on Amazon. Stay tuned for more exciting insights and useful information to help you successfully showcase your products and maximise your conversions.

Contact us now for a no-obligation consultation!

The Dutch market

With a population of around 17 million, the Netherlands is an attractive target market for German companies. The small country scores not only with its outstanding logistics, but also with favorable legal conditions and a highly qualified, multilingual workforce. Despite the fact that they are our neighbors, however, there are still many cultural differences that can lead to misunderstandings.
Nakoa is a German company with a Dutch co-founder and CEO who has many years of experience in online marketing in Germany as well as in the Netherlands. Since Nakoa combines knowledge of both cultures, we can optimally advise our clients on their strategic decisions. We have thus already helped several German companies to successfully enter the Dutch market.
We are not accountants or tax experts, but we know from experience which first steps to take.

Would you like to know how we can help you take the first steps in the Dutch market?

Contact us

Consulting and Strategy

With offices and staff in The Hague and Munich, we can help your business make the move to the Netherlands.
We know the Dutch market and work for SMEs in the Netherlands.

Want to know if you can be successful in the Netherlands?

Contact us

Online Marketing for the Dutch Market

We help you get found online and translate your content. We optimize SEO for the Netherlands and set up advertising campaigns in Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram and other marketing channels

Want to get started with online marketing in the Netherlands?

Contact us

Online marketplaces

Want to sell your products on marketplaces like Bol.com and Amazon? Or do you want to know which marketplaces are right for your products? We have experience with marketing campaigns on almost all popular Dutch marketplaces and know the pitfalls

Do you want to sell your products on Dutch marketplaces?

Contact us

Dutch
Translations

Do you need translations for your website or online marketplace product pages? We are not a classic translation agency, but we will be happy to help you with the translation of your texts into Dutch.

You want to outsource content translations?

Contact us

Logistics
in the Netherlands

Do you want to ship your products to or within the Netherlands? We work with partners and can advise you on different types of products

What are DooH ads?

Digital Out-Of-Home (DooH) ads can be a great addition to other social ads. Traditional outdoor advertising “Out-Of-Home” is combined with digital aspects. This means ads are displayed on public screens and digital billboards, for example. Recently, it is now possible to publish these ads through the Google Marketing Platform, as Google has partnered with some providers such as Vistar Media and thus gaining access to the screens of major media owners such as JCDecaux or Ströer.

Advantages of DooH ads

The biggest advantage of DooH ads is that they combine the benefits of traditional OOH ads, such as the captivating formats, with the effectiveness of digital opportunities. Many of the targeting options of display ads, for example, can be applied to DooH ads. At the same time, these ads will not be interfered with by ad blockers or skipped and closed by users. Moreover, thanks to Google, they can be conveniently edited together with other advertising media on one platform via Display & Video 360. Another advantage is the flexibility that DooH ads bring. Depending on the broadcast location, for example, small differences can be applied to the creatives.

Are there also disadvantages of DooH ads?

Of course, DooH ads also bring some difficulties. For one thing, the use of creatives is a bit more complicated: a separate format is needed per ad booking, creatives could be restricted because the ad is broadcast to many users and thus sensitive content cannot be used, and creatives cannot be edited without rechecking the ad. However, re-verification and delivery of the ad can take an average of 24 hours. Another difficulty is measuring performance. Since the broadcast does not happen via Google directly, but is forwarded to a provider, the usual user-specific data is also not available. Instead, providers supply summarized impression multipliers for each screen.

Do DooH ads work?

A successful example can be seen with the online fashion retailer ASOS. The company used Display & Video 360 to easily and quickly select digital billboards through Intersection in the US and JCDecaux in the UK. Thanks to Google, everything could be bought, published and measured on a single platform. The goal of the campaign was to improve exposure for the brand. This goal was also met, as 22 million impressions were generated with the help of hundreds of digital billboards.

Conclusion

DooH ads, as you can see, can be a good addition to other advertising measures, especially to generate stronger brand awareness and a wider reach. Especially the fact that all campaigns can be created comfortably via the well-known Google platform brings many advantages and is convenient to use. We are looking forward to test these new possibilities and to generate an even better performance for our customers.
Do you need support or would you like to leave the online marketing of your company in professional hands? Then don’t hesitate to contact us! At Nakoa Digital we are performance marketing and retail media experts. We are happy to help you strategically move your online marketing forward! You can easily book a no-obligation consultation and ask us your question
Do you need support or would you like to leave the online marketing of your company in professional hands? We are glad to help you! Simply arrange a non-binding consultation and ask us your questions!

Zalando’s logistics network

Zalando is one of the leading marketplaces for fashion and lifestyle in Europe. Since its founding in 2008, the company has developed a unique sales concept and has grown to become one of Europe’s largest online retailers. In doing so, Zalando attaches great importance to a strong logistics network that ensures fast and reliable delivery and thus increases customer satisfaction.
Since 2017, Zalando has also offered partners an attractive and sustainable logistics solution. This solution was introduced under the name “Zalando Fulfillment Solutions”, or ZFS for short.

What are the Zalando Fulfillment Solutions?

The logistics solution introduced makes it easier for sellers to sell in Europe and to internationalize their shipping processes. The goal of ZFS is to reduce logistics costs, increase customer satisfaction and protect the environment.
By using Zalando Fulfillment Solutions, partners gain access to Zalando’s logistics and distribution network and can handle their shipping processes directly through Zalando. This also creates benefits for shoppers, as the ordering process as well as shipping and returns are handled uniformly and quickly for all customers via Zalando.

How does shipping via ZSF work?

To run warehouse and logistics processes via ZFS, sales partners send their selected sale items to the online marketplace’s warehouses. From there, the products are sold to the customer via Zalando. From this moment on, the partner puts its complex logistics processes in the hands of Zalando, saving both time and money. Warehouse, sales and returns management are handled entirely by Zalando.
But Zalando has also come up with something for the environment and the customer. The “One Box Solution.” With this process, customers can buy different items and brands from the Zalando range and get all the items in a box delivered to their home the very next day. Consolidating orders is convenient for customers and good for the environment.

The advantages of the Zalando Fulfillment Solution

ZFS creates many benefits – not only for the partner, but also for the buyer, Zalando and the environment. First of all, the partner benefits from lower fulfillment costs, more storage space and a reduced effort in shipping their products. In addition, Zalando enables fast and easy internationalization in Europe and Switzerland through a large number of warehouses in Europe.
The “One Box Solution” is also a good way for partners to save costs, as they only pay their share of the shipping costs of the mixed box. With this solution, customers benefit from a larger assortment selection and receive all products conveniently and quickly in one go. In this way, Zalando reduces the number of parcels sent and effectively cuts emissions.
Another plus point of ZFS is the ability to send not only from German warehouses, but also from Poland, Italy, France and Sweden. If a customer from Italy sends a package back, it does not go back to Germany, but stays in the warehouse in Italy. From there, the items quickly go back online for sale and are shipped on. This is not only efficient and fast, but also environmentally friendly.

Conclusion

Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS) offers very comprehensive logistics solutions for partners and customers. As a partner, you benefit from fast shipping, uncomplicated returns and higher sales potential thanks to Zalando’s know-how and logistics network. Overall, Zalando Fulfillment Solutions are a great way to simplify logistics processes while reducing environmental impact.
Want to learn more about Zalando Fulfillment Solutions to get started with ZFS yourself? We are glad to help you! Simply arrange a non-binding consultation and ask us your questions!

Compared to the previous year, this was an increase of around 30.1%, taking second place after Facebook (2020: USD 84.17 billion).

YouTube’s users

Since 2005, YouTube has provided a platform where users can easily and quickly share video content with one another. The sale to Google Inc. in 2006 continued the success of the streaming provider. YouTube now has just over 2 billion registered users worldwide every month. There are also users who do not actively register on the site but still access content. In total, the number of users adds up to around one billion hours of streaming time. Among them are 48 million Germans who visit YouTube at least once a month. The target group is very broad from a demographic point of view. According to the ARD/ZDF online study 2020, just over half of the users in Germany are male. In addition, 94% of 14-29 year olds and 81% of 30-49 year olds regularly use the streaming offer. In addition, YouTube is also used more by the older audiences compared to other social media platforms.

YouTube as an advertising platform

With this broad mass of potential target groups, YouTube offers a diverse advertising channel that around 62% of companies worldwide have already discovered for themselves. YouTube has a significant advantage over other social media or streaming platforms. Since YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, the channel not only benefits from the extensive database and machine learning processes, but also from partnerships with e-commerce companies such as Shopify or Square.

YouTube advertising – How it works

For a perfect advertising campaign on YouTube, various parameters must be carefully selected: the advertising format, the audience and the creative, i.e. the commercial itself. Thanks to Google, this information can be tailored very precisely to the desired audience. Depending on the desired goal, you can then target more generally with a broad audience or work with more specific audience segments. Here, for example, there is the in-market audience , in which a buying interest is recognized, for example, in Google Maps searches. In the lower funnel , if the focus of the strategy is on remarketing or lookalikes of your own customer group, the format True-View- for-Action to be appropriate. This is designed for the desired action such as lead generation or purchase. Another advantage of Trueview is that you only pay for what the customer looks at. So if there is wastage, it doesn’t cost you dearly.

Conclusion

The YouTube platform has become indispensable for advertising videos. The large number of active users alone shows that there is a huge reach that companies can use. With the help of Trueview , the social media keeps costs fair so that companies do not spend money unnecessarily. YouTube is still striving to release new functions such as the shopping live stream or the 3D video format VR180 in order to offer even more possibilities. So, as long as the promotional videos are done well , businesses can benefit greatly from the YouTube advertising platform.

An opportunity for digitization

The new way of working has been discussed for years. Whether you are at home or anywhere in the world, as long as you have a laptop with internet access, you can work. Hip offices, co-working spaces and video calls make it easier to be flexible with office space, working hours and staff. Yet there were still many companies that said A but did B.
Until last week. Since the call to work from home, everyone is given a “crash course” so that everyone is empowered to work from home. Many people have to learn to work and communicate in a new way.
Slack saw a 40% increase in paid users, and Microsoft Teams had 44 million users in one day, up from 20 million a few months ago. Google Trends also shows that people are massively looking for tools to communicate online.
Additionally, Zoom’s stock price is rising at a time when most stocks are falling in value:

online shopping is on the rise and e-commerce is becoming more popular. As an international marketing agency, we also notice this. Customers are seeing increases in sales, omnichannel customers are shifting their focus to online.
Fortunately, changing working conditions have only a minor impact on us. Project management and customer communication via tools such as Monday.com or Trello are standard. We have 2 offices, so we already have daily video conferences via Microsoft Teams and communicate a lot internally via Slack. We use apps like Krisp.ai to filter out background noise as we work in a less quiet environment at home. Every day we have a “stand-up” meeting via video conferencing to keep the team spirit.
Working from home is a major challenge for many people and businesses. The popularity of working from home will certainly change due to the corona virus. If we can get something positive out of this situation, everyone is open to new ideas, partnerships and I hope that this will accelerate the digital transformation.
A question I ask myself is: do we still need our 2 offices if work from home is going well? If we make sure our team can work well and safely at home or anywhere in the world, then why do we need an office?

What do experts say about this?

I asked Kim Wlach about this. Kim Wlach is co-founder of Berg & Macher, a company with which she connects people in the team and with the organization. In times of Corona, in addition to team workshops on the topics of purpose, vision, roadmap and roles, Kim also intensively deals with cooperation in remote teams. Together with her co-founder Jonas she writes about it in a series on www.berg-macher.com .
Does it make sense to cut offices? Kim replies that it comes down to several things:
“Researchers have found that the most important factor in employee engagement, and therefore team success , is a sense of belonging to the team .
This sense of togetherness can be achieved through regular team gatherings. The meetings focus on working on the culture of cooperation and ensuring that the team members feel connected to each other. Once the common basis has been established, it is possible to work remotely again for several weeks.
It is important here that common standards are also defined and discussed for digital collaboration, as well as which communication channels are suitable for which type of message (emotional vs. factual, quick feedback required, complex tasks, etc.). These team meetings every 3-6 months are independent of the office and can, for example, also be carried out in a team offsite. This is particularly useful for distributed teams that do not have a large office for all employees themselves and also need accommodation for the team members who travel from other offices: Team offsites provide a good combination of practical reasons and a valuable change of perspective away from everyday office life. It is also to be hoped that

Conclusion

Offices are not absolutely necessary for everyday team work. However, it is then important that rules are established together and that the team pays particular attention to the feeling of belonging to the team.

Particularly high purchase intention of Pinterest users
The extraordinary thing about Pinterest is that users have an above-average number of direct purchase intentions and use the platform for specific searches. Thus, just under half of users have initiated a purchase through Pinterest. During the pandemic, these numbers exploded. In Germany, nearly 2 million users have joined since March 2020.
Visual search engine with potential
With a market share of around 10.4%, Pinterest is the third most successful social media site worldwide according to Statista, accessed via desktop PCs, mobile devices and gaming consoles (as of April 2021). In addition, purchases via Pinterest have increased by 37%, which continue to show a growing trend in 2021. The market potential for companies is therefore more than promising and exceeds all forecasts. Accordingly, it is advisable to look into the marketing opportunities on Pinterest.
Simple requirements for Pinterest campaigns
Since 2014, Pinterest has offered an ad manager for marketing purposes. This feature is unlocked when a business account is created. This account can also be linked to other corporate accounts, which enables collaboration with agencies, among others. Once the website is verified by an HTML tag, nothing stands in the way of creating the first campaign.
Designing ad content on Pinterest correctly
The unique thing about Pinterest ads is polyfunctional targeting, which should definitely be fulfilled in order to successfully compete with organic posts. Ads are created as pins, so advertising here also serves the function of inspiration at the same time, clearly standing out in their commercial communication. Purchase intentions are thus followed and awakened. Adding a call-to-action is another essential element for your Pinterest ads, along with the creative-high quality content.
Focus of visual marketing on Pinterest.
The demands of the content are high as the marketing communication must be purely visual in a short period of time. A thorough examination of the communication to be brought to the customer through the content is thus to be considered and should not be underestimated on Pinterest.
Possible ad formats are:

• Image Pins
• Video Pins
• Story Pins
• Catalogs

How do I create a meaningful Pinterest campaign?
Possible campaign goals are awareness (brand recognition), traffic (brand preference) and conversions. Targeting is similar to other well-known ad managers. Here you can create retargeting audiences as well as Actlike audiences (equivalent to Facebook Lookalikes), keywords and interest groups.
These targeting options and other specific alignment settings also act as ad groups for testing, among other things. Similar to other ad managers, there is also the option for daily budgeting or runtime budgeting. Expenses are prescribed by CPC, which are comparable to CPC values from Facebook Ads Manager. Thus, the number of clicks on the ad determines the real costs. The budget determines the number of possible impressions.
Everything in view with analytics and reporting functions
In addition, an analytics function is included, which not only reflects the ad performance, but also provides an overview of the created target groups, so that optimizations can be carried out in a very targeted manner. In addition, the creation of reports is another special feature that rounds off the ad manager as a small overall package to develop campaigns effectively and efficiently.
Easy handling of the Pinterest analytics tools
In summary, the setup of the Pinterest ad manager and the organization of campaigns is uncomplicated and those who have already had experience with the Facebook ad manager will also get along well with the placement of Pinterest ads. All the important functions for optimal campaign management, including the creation of reports, are available. The growing market potential on Pinterest is reached with a little know-how and just a few clicks.
If you want to learn more about the possibilities for Pinterest advertising, you will find it in this blog post.