Last week Instagram launched a new feature: the Instagram Poll Sticker. Is it just another cool gadget for the tech savvy youngsters of today? No, we discovered that it is actually a very useful new tool to perform market research on a Millennial audience.

What are Instagram poll stickers ?

Instagram’s new tool is making their Stories more interactive by introducing users to poll a two-optioned question in order to receive direct insights from their fans. According to Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at GlobalWebIndex, it is a new tool for users to get an idea of what their followers are thinking.

How to use it and how to evaluate it?

Before posting the story, users can now select the poll sticker from the stickers menu and easily add the poll. Next, they can type the questions that’s on their mind and include two suitable responses. Once the poll has been created, the user can drag it to the desired destination and submit the post.

The creator just needs to watch his Stories over and over again in order to view the latest poll results. When swiping up on the post you will get into a more detailed menu containing the current number of votes on each option. Instagram also includes a breakdown list to see which option every respondent voted for. Fans of you channel will only see which choice is in the lead after voting and can see updated results every time they rewatch the story.

What does this mean for brands?

Brands can from now on directly engage their audience by offering a way to express their opinions. It’s a new creative way of measuring how a fan base responds to the latest products or ideas. The data from Instagram polls can be combined with behavioral data to gather deep insights about interests and trends from your core audience.

Nevertheless brands should be careful. The data from those polls is coming from your direct fanbase, and should be considered a sample that does not represent the whole population. We find ourselves in the niche of hardcore fans. The polls can not be used as a promoted Instagram Stories post so there is no way of reaching people that are beyond your community.

Like every normal Instagram Stories, polls and their results will disappear after 24 hours. That’s why this format could be used for more profound questioning, while assuming to receive honest answers because the results are not permanent and Instagram is in its core a platform on which people express themselves.

How Nextflix aced this feature within 24H after its release

Netflix was very quick in understanding how useful the polls could be. In less than 24 hours they started retrieving insights. With over 500.000 followers in Belgium and The Netherlands, Netflix has a big community to play around with. Questions like “do you tell spoilers to your friends?” sound very market-research-ish and enables to enhance their service even further. Did Instagram just introduce a possibility for big brands to do research on Millennials?

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In this article I’ll explain how to add weather information to your Google Analytics data using Tealium. This article is rather technical, so if words like JavaScript, JSON, PHP and server scare you, this article might not be the right article for you.

Collecting the weather data

First we need to collect the weather data for the current location of the visitor. We can do this with a simple PHP script on our server that gets the current location of the visitor based on the visitor’s IP address and then looks up the weather information for that location. We’ll upload this script to our server and name it weather_script.php.

Here are the steps in the script explained:

1. Our script will be outputting JavaScript, so we send the correct header info to the browser.
2. We don’t want to output script errors when something goes wrong, so we disable them here.
3. Here we get the IP address of our visitor.
4. With the Geoplugin service, we can get the corresponding geolocation info for our visitor’s IP address.
5. When we have the geolocation data, we can get the actual weather info for that location. Note that you need to register for a free API key in order to use the Open Weather Map service.
6. Here we output the weather data to the browser in a JavaScript call to utag.link so it’ll end up in our Data Layer.

This PHP script, when called from a browser, will output a JavaScript function call similar to the following:

Data Layer

When our script is working, we need to set up our Data Layer. Log in to Tealium IQ and go to Data Layer. Add the following variables:

Load Rules

After we’ve set up the Data Layer, it’s time to set up the Load Rules. To do this, click the Load Rules  tab.

The first Load Rule we need, will fire whenever the weather script has not yet loaded in the current session. We can check this by checking if our weather_done cookie does not equal weather_done.

Tags

We also need to configure two tags. We can do this in the Tags tab.
The first Tag will load the weather script if weather has not loaded before in this session. Click the Add Tag button and add a new Tealium Generic Tag.

Tag Configuration

Load Rules

Select Weather has not loaded this session 

The second tag will send the weather data as custom dimensions to Google Analytics. Click the Add Tag button and add a new Google Universal Analytics tag.

Tag Configuration

Load Rules

Select Weather has loaded

Data Mappings

Extensions

The last thing we need to do (before we publish) is to persist the fact that the weather has run in this session in a cookie. To do this, go to the Extensions tab.

Click the Add Extension button to add a Persist Data Value extension.

Save and Publish

Click the Save/Publish button to save the configuration and publish it.

Conclusion

Although some technical knowledge is required, you can see in the steps above that it’s not that difficult to add this invaluable data to your Google Analytics data with Tealium. Depending on your needs, or the needs of your client, other information can be added in a very similar way. The possibilities are endless: public transportation attendance, public holidays, stock prices…

Introduction

Over the last couple of years we have been hearing a lot about 2 important challenges:

1. The big switch in Internet device consumption
2. The challenge of integrating online & offline environment

Actually, those two challenges have never been so close to each other. In fact,they both feed on each other. In July 2017, mobile devices in Belgium represented 44,1% of the total Internet consumption versus 44,7% for desktop (source: http://howwebrowse.be/). Several studies have shown the close relation between mobile consumption and shopping in brick-and-mortar shops.

For retailers & e-commerce, being able to capture the real value and impact of mobile advertising has always been a big challenge. From a performance point of view, mobile advertising is currently less interesting: less conversion volumes, lower conversion rates and higher cost-per-acquisitions. This challenge became progressively harder as mobile consumption kept increasing while value measurement remained unclear. A few years ago, Google AdWords started integrating cross-device conversions. Which  was a first step towards a better measurement of mobile efforts. The metric helped capturing the assisting role of mobile advertising in the conversation paths. It brought interesting insights but also a lot of questions on the accuracy of this metric. Today cross-device conversions have been integrated in Google AdWords’ data driven attribution model, which helps better understand the value of each touch points in the overall consumer journey.

Aside from measuring the impact of mobile on online purchases, the main technological actors: Google, Facebook and Waze have been looking into linking online advertising and offline store visits and purchases. This link between online & offline is not mobile specific but by experience we have been able to observe that the biggest impact was coming from mobile. Both Google & Facebook have been working on two main features that are already available, in beta (or planned) for the coming weeks/months (in the Belgian market). Those two features are the following:

• Store Visits – the goal is to measure the impact of online advertising on the number of visits in brick-and-mortar shops
• Store Sales (or Offline Conversions) – the goal is to measure the impact of online advertising on the revenue that is generated in the brick-and-mortar shops

Store Visits

What is it ?

On both Facebook and Google platforms, store visits conversions have the objective of linking the user who clicked/saw an ad and then went in a brick-and-mortar shop. Store visits is a measure of the number of visits in the shops and not a measure of the revenue generated in-store. Nevertheless, by using a simple formula, we can easily extrapolate the data to estimate a total revenue generated: 

How does it work ?

Calculating Store visits is as simple as this:

1. A consumer signed-in and opted-in to location history clicks or viewed an ad
2. This consumer then visits a store within a defined period of time
3. A store visit is reported, aggregated and anonymized

From a technical point of view, both platforms use GPS, Wifi triangulation, geometry, Wifi scanning and location history to define whether or not a consumer is going in-store. Note that within a certain interval of confidence, the data are extrapolated for the population. Finally in terms of accuracy, thanks to all tracked data, measurement is as accurate as 1 meter. It is consequently good enough to make the difference between someone who is hanging around your store, or inside your store.

From a pure operational point of view, the store visits will be reported as a new metric in the reports (both on Facebook and Google side).

How can we set this up ?

Setup is relatively straight forward if you are well prepared. The process is slightly different on the two platforms:

Google:

• You need to have a well set-up Google My Business (GMB) account with all your locations
• All those locations need to be “verified” by Google
• Your GMB and AdWords accounts need to be linked
• Your Google account manager needs to activate the feature within the platform

Facebook:

• You need to set-up your Facebook Business location structure directly within the platform
• Get the feature activated through a Facebook account manager

Is it already available ?

Facebook:

It’s currently in closed beta. If you want to activate it, it needs to be discussed with your account manager

Google:

The feature will be available in first quarter 2018 (in Belgium). It’s already available in other markets: France, UK, USA, etc.

Store Sales (or Offline Conversions)

What is it ?

On both Facebook and Google platforms, store sales (according to Google) or offline conversions (according to Facebook) have the objective of linking the user who clicked/saw an ad and then made a transaction in a shop. The big difference with store visits liaise in the fact that it looks at transaction data. 

How does it work ?

1. A logged-in user clicks on an ad
2. This user visits the store and provides his/her email (and/or other personal informations) at purchase
3. Advertiser can upload their hashed email with all transactions informations via the platforms (Google & Facebook)
4. Store sales/Offline conversions match logged-in user emails with advertiser’s sale data

Note that within a certain interval of confidence, the data are extrapolated for the population.

The biggest element to verify before sending information to Google and/or Facebook is the legal aspect. We consequently always recommend to first discuss this with the legal department. Nevertheless, both Google & Facebook have very clear policies regarding those elements.

Here below, you can see an example of the kind of informations/documents you need to be able to provide for the upload within the platforms

How can we set this up ?

Like Store visits, the setup is straightforward if you are well prepared:

Google:

• Build the file containing the required informations according to the guidelines
• Upload the file within the Google platform

Facebook:

• You need to set-up your Facebook Business location structure
• You need to create within the platform an offline event and assign it to your campaigns
• Build the file containing the offline events
• Upload the file within the platform either manually or through the API

Is it already available ?

Facebook:

Yes it is available

Google:

The feature will be available end August/beginning September 2017

Conclusion

For some of our clients (active in France) we’ve already been able to activate most of the features. Results were surprising as it has really helped us understand the value of the investments we were doing on mobile. Indeed, mobile was by far the device which the lowest cost-per-store visits and cost-per-store sales/offline conversions.
In the introduction we were making a reference to the retailers and e-Commerce businesses. Actually, we know that store visits and store sales/offline conversions will have a massive impact on all advertisers that have brick-and-mortar shops. Automotive will be able to report on cars sale. Telco will be able to report on the link between online investments and in-store bought abonnements. The list is long as those features will have a massive impact on the way we currently assess the value and impact of online advertising as a whole and online mobile advertising specifically. {snippet juliendevisscher-en}

Tag Management Systems are omnipresent in today’s Digital Marketing & Web analytics industry.  TMS’s emerged in the late 2000’s to address the many opportunities and challenges posed by the explosive growth in digital marketing solutions.
Tag Management Systems help companies to strategically manage their (online) data-architecture and streamline tag deployment, which previously required IT departments and support to intervene.  Providing flexibility and ‘agileness’ in today’s digital world, they truly became indispensable tools.
Even though TMS seem to be ubiquitous in our industry today, research by Cardinal path shows that only 58% of the IR (internet retailers) Top 500 were using TMS  in 2015. Actual adoption has increased since then, but a lot of companies have yet to take the leap.  

At Semetis we advise all our clients to consider a TMS to help face their digital challenges and opportunities. Today, we work with a number of different vendors and technologies but primarily with Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Tealium (IQ).  Both solutions provide a big added value for organizations looking to streamline their digital marketing strategies and development.

Both Google Tag Manager and TealiumIQ have the potential to leverage your organisation’s digital data and provide synergies. However, both excel in different things. The sections below will uncover some of their main differences, without going too technical or detailed.

Price

We’ll kick off with highlighting the most obvious difference between both technologies: the price.

Google Tag Manager is a completely free technology. End of story. On the other hand, TealiumIQ is a paying solution that licenses its technology to their clients. The pricing varies on the number of hit-level events your website(s) generates. In exchange for the price, Tealium offers you a number of different services and features (see further sections).

Integration with web analytics tools

An important element to consider is how both technologies integrate with your existing web analytics tool (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Webtrends, …). By correctly integrating both solutions, you can develop many data and measurement synergies.
Generally speaking Google Analytics is the leading web analytics tool (market share) today. A report done by Cardinal Path shows that over 70% of today’s top online retailers run a form of Google Analytics, compared to about 40% Adobe Analytics (sum is larger that 100% because of double dipping).

Being two Google products, GA & GTM enjoy a very easy and efficient integration and ‘collaboration’. GTM allows you to easily push customised data into GA, from event tracking to setting up custom dimensions. Both products seamlessly work together. Logically, TealiumIQ’s and GA’s integration is a bit less streamlined. Some features such as simple event tracking can quickly become more technical and complicated. While both tools can get the job done, GTM’s integration and specific features make it a better pick for strategic GA implementations.

When looking at integrating other web analytics tools such as Adobe Analytics, TealiumIQ quickly takes the lead. The build in tag, data and feature templates allow for easier set-up and management. 

Tag marketplace

TealiumIQ is the obvious winner here. With over 3.000 tag templates (and growing daily)  waiting to be selected in their Tag Marketplace, you can practically find a tag for all your needs. 

As a comparison: GTM only recently added their 50th + tag in their marketplace.
An added bonus for Tealium is that whenever you do not find the tag you need in their huge marketplace, you can always contact support and ask them to have it implemented (given some time).

Community & Documentation

Both platforms offer great resources and documentation to support you from basic to more complex tagging and tracking implementations.

Tealiums documentation is locked behind a login portal and only accessible for Tealium clients and Partners. The documentation, while very extensive in some areas, can fall short in others (such as Google Analytics). Nevertheless, it’s properly structured and detailed enough to help and support you in the majority of your endeavours.  Also the community is fairly active and the great interaction with the Tealium support engineers is a big plus. 

GTMs documentation on the other hand is readily accessible by anyone. We know that the overall GTM documentation is not perfect (some information being outdated and not updated) but it’s extensive and easy to find. We believe that the real added value here is the very active global community. Hundreds of forums, blogs (thank you Simo Ahava) and websites provide for additional help and support. Something the TealiumIQ community is lacking a bit in today.

Support

This one easily goes in favour for TealiumIQ. As mentioned earlier, TealiumIQ is a paying solution. This means that Tealium can allocate resources (engineers, product specialists, …) to support their clients and partners. Having been in contact with several support teams we can attest that they provide a real added value. Tealium support teams can help you in setting up, managing and evaluating tagging strategies and implementations. 

Google Tag Manager being a free solution doesn’t provide any ad hoc or custom support. It’s much more tailored towards a self-service approach. Your best bet is to refer to Partner Agencies, the overall community or online blogs.

Selecting the right tool for your organization

To conclude: there is no obvious winner here. When selecting a TMS it’s important to evaluate which one might be the best fit for your organisation. Instead of diving headfirst into the first solution you come across, reflect on your current data architecture, data needs and ultimate goals. It all comes down to selecting the tool that empowers the former and complements the latter. {snippet maximevandenbussche-en}