What makes YOUR business stand out?

There are of course many reasons why some businesses fail while others succeed, but lack of differentiation is often at the top. So have you recently asked yourself, “what makes my business stand out?”.

Experience – the teacher of all things

Experience – the teacher of all things Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States once said that the reward of suffering is experience. September is a special month for us as we celebrate AdMarula’s 11th birthday. The past eleven years have certainly provided us with many challenges and opportunities to learn. We have made mistakes, hussled like crazy, solved problems, adapted, celebrated as we growed, cried as we lost clients during Covid, forged incredible business partnerships, helped companies grow, and done it all over again. Here are some of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt so far: 1.Fear is the greatest stopper – when running and building a business you will often find yourself in unchartered waters, having to do things you’ve never done before. Just do it! The fear of doing it is much worse than the actual doing, and you will figure it out along the way. 2. It’s all about relationships – we may live in a tech-centric world, but behind the tech there are still real people who need real connection. The technology will change and come and go, but strong business relationships survive the ebbs and flows of change. 3. You’re only as good as your team – I know this is a bit of a cliché, but that’s because it’s true. No manager or leader can grow without the team to help make this happen. Keep your staff happy and your clients will be happy too. 4. Doing the right thing gets you farther in the long run, but not necessarily in the short run – all industries have grey areas which some businesses chose to explore in order to gain results quicker, but the damage you do to your reputation, relationships and brand will catch up with you in the long run. Do what is right, always. 5. Are you a problem finder or a problem solver? Most people would rather not solve their problems, it’s sad but true. People would rather ignore them and hope they go away, but by going to the root and solving them you save unbelievable amounts of time, pain, and suffering. So be the guy who solves the problem, not the one who finds them. 6. There is no easy business – at least not what I’ve seen. That said, you CAN make your business simpler,  which will make things feel easier. Businesses naturally increase in complexity as they grow, so it’s important to continually look for ways to simplify. Remember: Less is More! Finally, I wish you all a good Heritage Day and may we all use this day to celebrate what makes our country and its people so special. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO All CEO's Thoughts Interviews and Insights Industry News Interviews and Insights Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before 26 Oct 2022 Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before Despite current downturns in the economy, evidence shows that the e-commerce industry is picking up and going back to pre-pandemic… Read More CEO's Thoughts Never stop marketing 26 Oct 2022 Never stop marketing There’s a LOT going on in the world right now. This is not a political piece, yet it is diffiult to ignore the world-shaping events… Read More Interviews and Insights Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove 26 Oct 2022 Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove Our October profile is Sandra Jardim, mom to twins Gisela and Alaia and blogger/owner of MammaBearLove. She uses her blog as… Read More Prev123Next

A quick update

A quick update It is hard to believe we are nearly half-way through 2022. When I think back to two years ago – still at Level 3 lockdown, not really able to travel, many schools still closed as well as many businesses – things are looking very different now. The Department of Statistics SA recently released an economic update showing our GDP expanded by 1,9% in the first quarter of 2022. The size of the economy is now at pre-pandemic levels, with real GDP slightly higher than what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report further shows household consumption increased by 1,4% in the first quarter, while the hospitality sector in particular saw a sharp rise in activity as consumer spending on restaurants and hotels increased by 6,5%. So while many businesses are still struggling to make their way out of the post-pandemic depression, there is reason to be optimistic. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently underlined the importance of growing the country’s digital economy, with the release of new broadband spectrum having been identified as a key reform for driving economic growth. While this process has been delayed, South Africa is undertaking other digital reforms, including the publication of the country’s draft national data and cloud policy which ultimately seeks to put in place a conducive and enabling environment for the data ecosystem to thrive. While the past two years helped some online businesses to thrive, it also unfortunately saw many publishers and merchants closing down. It is therefore encouraging to see a pickup in enquiries coming in from new publishers and prospective advertisers wanting to join the network. International travel, which was essentially dead for nearly two years, has picked up steadily though we are yet to see the numbers reach pre-pandemic levels. I believe this will take some time. For those of you who will be taking some time off for the winter school break I wish you a relaxed time ahead. Safe travels to those heading out to different corners of the country and the world. Let us come back rested and ready for whatever the rest of 2022 has to offer. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO All CEO's Thoughts Interviews and Insights Industry News Interviews and Insights Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before 26 Oct 2022 Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before Despite current downturns in the economy, evidence shows that the e-commerce industry is picking up and going back to pre-pandemic… Read More CEO's Thoughts Never stop marketing 26 Oct 2022 Never stop marketing There’s a LOT going on in the world right now. This is not a political piece, yet it is diffiult to ignore the world-shaping events… Read More Interviews and Insights Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove 26 Oct 2022 Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove Our October profile is Sandra Jardim, mom to twins Gisela and Alaia and blogger/owner of MammaBearLove. She uses her blog as… Read More Prev123Next

Most common digital marketing mistakes

Most common digital marketing mistakes Digital Marketing, being the most evolving field, possesses significant challenges to marketers and businesses. If your business is currently failing to get the desired results in sales, lead conversions, traffic generation, and more, then it’s possible that mistakes are being made with your current digital marketing efforts. Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid: When the focus (and optimization) is on channels as opposed to users. By focusing too much on the channel or trying to optimize for those channels, it takes the attention away from the user and the value you are providing them which will, in turn, become increasingly counterproductive. SMEs often spread themselves far too thin.  Don’t get distracted by shiny new platforms and tools. The reality is that many small businesses and a portion of big brands aren’t delivering on the basics of digital marketing. For most SMEs the majority of their business growth still comes from the foundational tools in digital marketing: social media, digital ads, email marketing and SEO. So get that right first. Lacking realistic and measurable goals. If you don’t have clearly outlined goals, then you don’t know what results you hope to achieve. How will you know if you have reached your goals if you haven’t outlined what that looks like? Start by creating SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Ignoring competition. The online platform is full of competition, and you need to stay very active to stay ahead of your competitors. Anyone who is ignoring the competition is making a big mistake. You need to analyze the performance of your competitors and their marketing strategies. If you want to make a smart move, you need to be smarter than your rivals. For this, you need to be well-updated about their strategies and methods. Not doing retargeting. Your online customers have a lot of options in front of them. So, if you want to be in their mind at the time of purchase, you need to focus on retargeting. With effective email marketing activities and bulk SMS services, you can quickly inform your audience about your latest products and offers. They are the most effective retargeting methods adopted by digital marketing experts to increase sales volume. Buying followers. There are ways to increase your followers without buying them. Buying them is a huge mistake you can make since followers that are bought don’t interact with your page. It can also get expensive, and you don’t always see the return you hope to see. Instead look at hosting giveaways and contests, running ads and campaigns and using the right hashtags. Be sure to engage with people on your page by creating engaging and relevant content. Believing email marketing is dead. With the improvement of technology over the years, many people are under the impression that email marketing isn’t effective any more – but they couldn’t be any more wrong. In a matter of seconds, marketers have the ability to find out the best times to send emails in order to increase open rates, what subject lines should be used, and what to expect from each email. The future of email marketing is something no marketer should avoid. So don’t underestimate its potential. All CEO's Thoughts Interviews and Insights Industry News Interviews and Insights Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before 26 Oct 2022 Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before Despite current downturns in the economy, evidence shows that the e-commerce industry is picking up and going back to pre-pandemic… Read More CEO's Thoughts Never stop marketing 26 Oct 2022 Never stop marketing There’s a LOT going on in the world right now. This is not a political piece, yet it is diffiult to ignore the world-shaping events… Read More Interviews and Insights Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove 26 Oct 2022 Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove Our October profile is Sandra Jardim, mom to twins Gisela and Alaia and blogger/owner of MammaBearLove. She uses her blog as… Read More Prev123Next

Raising the bar

Raising the bar There are those who say perfection doesn’t exist. Some even argue that it can be the greatest stopper. Achieving perfection can seam so unattainable at times that we become afraid and then chose to do nothing instead. High expectations on oneself and one’s team however can be a positive driver. The higher we aim the closer we will come to achieving excellence, and that should after all be the end goal in all our endeavours. Whether as an advertiser, merchant or publisher, running and building a business has its challenges. It isn’t always exciting or rewarding or even fun, but it can be if we know when to recognise small achievements along the way since these happen far more often than greater ones. By setting high standards and expectations for ourselves and our stakeholders, we avoid settling in the comfort zone where there is little opportunity for growth or change. It doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes, but we learn from them and we move on. As the saying goes, making mistakes is far better than faking perfections. Equally there is no such thing as a perfect marketing strategy. It is mostly a case of combining well-researched facts and stats with educated guesses, intuition, experience and creativity. Then testing and tweaking it as you go, constantly aiming for improvement, for perfection. And if one is consistent enough in that process it will eventually lead to excellence. It is neither quickly nor easily done and it does require a lot of hard work and organisation. Of course some mistakes can easily be avoided, which is why we dedicated the next article to highlighting some of the most common mistakes digital marketers make. I trust you will find it useful and in the very least thought provoking. As always I appreciate feedback that can help us improve our offering and have a positive impact on our industry. I wish you a productive week further. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO All Interviews and Insights Industry News CEO's Thoughts Interviews and Insights Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before 26 Oct 2022 Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before Despite current downturns in the economy, evidence shows that the e-commerce industry is picking up and going back to pre-pandemic… Read More CEO's Thoughts Never stop marketing 26 Oct 2022 Never stop marketing There’s a LOT going on in the world right now. This is not a political piece, yet it is diffiult to ignore the world-shaping events… Read More Interviews and Insights Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove 26 Oct 2022 Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove Our October profile is Sandra Jardim, mom to twins Gisela and Alaia and blogger/owner of MammaBearLove. She uses her blog as… Read More Prev123Next

Back to basics for SME’s

Back to basics for SME’s The explosion of digital marketing options means that many businesses are spread too thin across too many channels these days. We often do audits for new and existing clients on their digital assets/channels’ performance. With so much data spread over so many channels, it is crucial for businesses to do this ‘health check’ regularly to avoid over-spending or to identify areas that yield real returns for their business. Smart businesses focus on dominating one channel. Marketers should get more focused and aim to do fewer things better. Of course it is easy to get distracted by shiny new digital objects. Marketers love new trends and to be on the leading edge of new technologies and platforms. We often see surveys where marketers say AI and machine learning are critical channels. Ultimately, yes, this kind of technology could have a dramatic impact on marketing performance and optimization, but how many advertisers (small businesses and brands) are actually using proprietary AI or machine learning to improve marketing? Currently, not many. The reality is that many small businesses and a portion of big brands aren’t delivering on the basics of digital marketing like websites, SEO, social media, blog writing, Google ads, online reviews, etc. Given the huge marketing budgets of big brands, small businesses must execute on these foundational tactics. For most SMEs the majority of their business growth still comes from the foundational tools in digital marketing: social media, digital ads, email marketing and SEO. Don’t forget to focus on your foundation. Often, optimizing your base digital execution will provide a better return on investment than experimenting (and getting distracted) with every new tool. So the next time you speak to an agency or martech company trying to sell you what’s “new” or “cutting edge” or “the future”, ask them to help you get the basics right first. Upwards and onwards! Daniel Gross – CEO All CEO's Thoughts Interviews and Insights Industry News Interviews and Insights Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before 26 Oct 2022 Why Black Friday 2022 will differ from before Despite current downturns in the economy, evidence shows that the e-commerce industry is picking up and going back to pre-pandemic… Read More CEO's Thoughts Never stop marketing 26 Oct 2022 Never stop marketing There’s a LOT going on in the world right now. This is not a political piece, yet it is diffiult to ignore the world-shaping events… Read More Interviews and Insights Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove 26 Oct 2022 Interview with Sandra Jardim, Blogger/Founder of MammaBearLove Our October profile is Sandra Jardim, mom to twins Gisela and Alaia and blogger/owner of MammaBearLove. She uses her blog as… Read More Prev123Next

Thank you 2021

The last term always feels a bit like a race to the finish line. With private schools starting to close from next week, many of you will be looking forward to some well-earned rest. Some of us will be working right up to Christmas, because for the e-commerce industry this is after all the busiest time of the year. Whether you will be working or taking leave, celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah or just spending time with family, I want to thank each and every one of you for your support this past year; to our publishers for delivering the results, to our clients for their continued belief in us, and to our employees for going the extra mile every day. AdMarula wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for you. We also wish you a successful Black Friday and hope that it will in part make up for lost revenue during lockdown. It is encouraging to see that some of our programs that were paused have been restarted, and that clients are starting to increase budgets and channels again. (Please note that our office will close on the 23rd of December and re-open on the 3rd January.) We look forward to taking on 2022 with you. Onwards on upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO

How AI is transforming Digital Marketing

I recently travelled to Stockholm, Sweden to visit family over there. I was last in Sweden at the end of 2019, just before the global pandemic broke out. Each time I visit I am simply astounded by how the Scandinavians embrace technology and how deeply integrated it has become in their way of life. From robotic lawn mowers keeping the city’s roundabouts tidy, to electric scooters that can be unlocked with an app on your phone, to automated Nespresso shops with no staff, a virtually cashless society and wait for it,Teslas, EVERYWHERE. I realised after an 18-month lockdown in the Southern tip of Africa, that I had forgotten how far AI has come… That in turn got me thinking about how AI is transforming Digital Marketing. Looking at the clients we work with, many of them have started using AI-driven technology to better understand their customers and to streamline certain processes. For instance chatbots, which most of us have probably encountered at some point of another. AI chatbots can answer questions, help with site navigation, and even provide personalized product recommendations which in turn converts visitors to customers. AI is also being integrated into CRM systems so that businesses can gain greater insight into their customers’ behaviour and decision-making. AI also allows marketers to personalise content and target their users groups on a much more granular level. Gone are the days of mass communication and ‘shooting wide’ messaging. So although it will probably be a while still before bots start to replace people, AI is definitely here to stay and is making digital marketing and advertising more accurate and targeted by optimizing campaigns and delivering a better return on investment than ever before. Looking closer to home we certainly have our work cut out for us. Job creation right now must be the no.1 priority for our country’s leaders, and investment the 2nd if we are to pull ourselves out of this post-lockdown limbo. However, economists are starting to predict an uptick in the economy. According to the OECD the South African economy is projected to rebound by 3.8% in 2021 and 2.5% in 2022.The strong rebound at the end of 2020 has slowed in the first half of 2021 due to a protracted second wave of the virus that has held back economic activity. However, growth is projected to pick up in the second half of the year, driven by domestic demand and commodity exports. Household consumption will contribute significantly to growth as the economy opens up and exceptional savings last year are spent at least partially. Private investment will progressively strengthen. At AdMarula we have also seen positive signs, from former inactive clients that are now returning, to businesses wanting to launch new products and campaigns and of course planning for the upcoming Black Friday sales. Whether you are an advertiser, publishers or agency, we are here to work with you to make the last few months of 2021 count. Onwards and upwards! Daniel Gross – CEO

Celebrating 10 years helping SA’s online businesses grow!

On 24 September 2011 we pressed the ‘go-live’ button and AdMarula was born. It was a terrifying and thrilling moment. We had no idea how the market would respond and we sat watching as one publisher after the next signed up to our network. Now, one decade, 3 office moves, and several new product offerings later, we thank each client, publisher, staff member and friend who has been a part of our journey so far. We could not have done it without you. We dedicate this milestone to you! #AdMarulaTurns10 #AdMNews #PerformanceMarketingSouthAfrica #DigitalMarketingSouthAfrica

Interview with Michael Krynauw, Head of Digital at Joox

This month we chat to Michael Krynauw, newly appointed Head of Digital at Joox, a Naspers-owned music streaming business. With over a decade’s experience in Digital, on both client and agency side, he shares some valuable insights with our readers as well as his thoughts on where we can expect Digital to go in South Africa and Africa in the next few years. Describe yourself in 3 words. Inquisitive, Determined and Ambitious Tell us a bit about your new role at Joox? I’ve recently joined Joox as Head of Brand and Digital, this is a fantastic opportunity to look at all areas of the marketing landscape to determine what levers need to be pulled to acquire users into Joox at the best price and at the same time identify areas to retain and re-engage our audiences with relevant and impactful content. The music streaming industry is highly competitive and you always need to be questioning the status quo and evaluating what marketing mix is optimal to keep users engaged on a daily basis How is Joox different from other music streaming services like Spotify? Joox crafted its position as a music streaming platform that creates meaningful value between fans and artists. With a full local team on the ground  in South Africa this has given us the opportunity to react quickly to local trends and needs. During the pandemic, as an example, we understood the plight of artists who had lost their livelihoods and felt it our responsibility to do what we could to offer our support. This led to the creation of  a number of unique initiatives including Gig to Earn which paid local artist to perform live in JOOX  This was followed by our Big Live initiative where JOOX created live shows in app by leading South African musicians including Cassper Nyovest, The Parlatones, Mi Casa, Demi Lee,  Vusi Nova, Master KG, Jeremy Loops and Shekinah to name a few. JOOX also supported up and coming artists through our JOOX Live Wednesdays, which again provided a stage for local up and coming talent  to get noticed and stand a chance to open up for the  big live artists, an opportunity that they would have never been available to them during this time. JOOX coins store is another unique product feature which rewards users for participating in daily activities with coins. Coins can be used to earn VIP subscriptions as well as purchase goods in our Coin store. How would you describe JOOX’s Digital Marketing Strategy? JOOX is deeply focused on ensuring that our audiences are engaged on a daily basis, this means constantly looking at ways to reach and interact audiences with relevant and impactful content and ensuring that users have a great experience using JOOX. What do you love most about your job? The people! JOOX has managed to secure some of SA’s best talent and working with such a wide variety of experienced individuals has been rewarding and exciting. The most important lesson you’ve learnt in your professional career so far? Team work makes the dream work! The most successful business and teams are ones that have found a rhythm and a strong work culture centred around performance. Where do you believe Digital commerce is heading in South Africa/Africa? It’s going to grow from strength to strength. We have only really begun. Digital commerce in South Africa is still only a small percentage of total trading and the pandemic has showed us we have a long way to go, but it has sparked action by many leading business to take digital commerce more seriously. What advice do you have for aspiring Digital Marketers? Question everything and keep an open mind. Speak to as many contacts you have the industry to understand what new tools/tech or platforms have been developed and how this can your current business. Digital is ever changing so be comfortable with the fact that the only constant is change. Best advice anyone has ever given you? Back yourself. Trust your intuition and always keep your eye on the big picture – your vision for success! When I’m not working, I’m… At the gym, running, mountain biking, spending quality times with friends and family. I’ve also recently started playing the piano which has been a lifelong goal.