Facebook's recent attack on Apple in regards to their new app tracking transparency framework has been all over the news. Who doesn't love a good public tantrum? Facebook ran full page ads saying Apple does not care about small business and that this change is fundamentally changing digital advertising.
Are you concerned about what this means for your Facebook and Instagram advertising? Will you not be able to capture conversions from this channel anymore? Should you be pulling Facebook Ads? But what if you rely on Facebook to drive new customers to your site? Are you really screwed?

Not all is as bad as it sounds.
Yes, significant changes are coming (and are already here).
Yes, Apple's changes will have an impact on your Facebook and Instagram advertising campaigns.
Yes, you will need to prepare yourself and make the recommended changes.
But, no, it is not the end of the world. You can still keep running your ads and will still keep getting new customers via Facebook and Instagram, but you will just not be able to target in such a granular way as before and some visibility on your data and performance will be lost.
Hey, it's just another change (don't we all love change?). Digital advertising changes constantly, so let's be prepared and adapt as needed.

Facebook Ads – these days it sounds like the holy grail. Advertising on Facebook will solve all your problems and make you big money. There are so many schemes, programs and funnels out there that claim to be fool proof. Everyone these days calls themselves a social media expert.
But beware: mastering social media advertising is not a quick scheme at all. Things change frequently in this world and you need to be on top of your game and keep learning and testing.
Advertising on Facebook should always only be just one of many things you’re doing. I tell you now, it’s not the holy grail at all. It can work for you, but it might also not. You need to get your head around it and be patient. Yes, you might see great results straight away, but often this isn’t the case. Have some patience and persevere. Make sure that Facebook (including Instagram) fits into your overall marketing plan and strategy and that you’re looking at this channel the right way.
So, what are the 6 major mistakes people make when they’re new to Facebook Ads?

In June 2020, I had the pleasure of working with social enterprise TWO GOOD CO, supporting  their winter campaign to bring extra warmth to women in refuges.
I'm a big fan of TWO GOOD's work and was very honoured to get the opportunity to help them get the word out about the good they do.

TWO GOOD CO is a buy one give one social enterprise on a mission to demonstrate love and worth to domestic violence safe houses and refuges across the country. Two Good donate meals to women who have experienced domestic violence. They train women from the refuges they serve, equipping them with the skills and confidence to find employment.
Check out their website to see how you can support them and to order delicious meals, cookbooks, gifts and beauty products that will make an impact: www.twogood.com.au 

Now that we have spoken about some of the Paid Search basics, it's time to look at how a PPC account is structured and what to keep in mind when setting SEM up for the first time.

First of all you will need to set up an ad account and you should be aware of the general structure of Paid Search accounts.
The over-arching level is called the MCC or My Client Center under which you can have several ad accounts (this is handy if you have several brands or if you are an agency who manages Paid Search for several clients).
The ad account is where the billing and contact information sits.
Each ad account has several campaigns where you can set daily campaign budgets and the objective you want to achieve (online sales or calls or leads, ...).
Each campaign has several ad groups. Ad groups are structuring keywords and ads into relevant and common themes.

Head over to ads.google.com to set up your Google Ads account if you don't have one yet. Make sure to select the Expert Set-Up.
If you want to run Microsoft ads, go to ads.microsoft.com.
I recommend to focus on Google Ads for now if it's the first time you are setting up a search campaign, but consider to add Microsoft Ads once you are a little more familiar with how everything works.

Here is another client success stories. Check out the ANDREA & JOEN case study which is all about Social Advertising:

In a time of crisis, conscious marketing becomes even more important.
As a brand, you want your audience to trust you and continue buying from you. You want to be the brand that people admire and follow and buy from. Because you are compassionate and care, not just for your customers, but our planet and future also, not matter what times we live in.
And even in normal times (I know we haven’t had these in a while) conscious marketing is what everyone should be practising. Before I explain what I mean by conscious marketing let’s delve into the definition of marketing per se and why marketing has been getting such a bad rep.

My economics professor at the university of Passau summed it up in 2000: “Der Wurm muss dem Fisch und nicht dem Angler schmecken.” Translated into English, this literally means: “The worm needs to be tasty to the fish, not the fisherman.”
So, what does this mean? In order to get your customers to buy your products, you need to understand what they really want and like. Only then can you align your marketing to what they actually want and need, and not what you think is right. Put yourself in your shoes of your customer: what do they like, what do they hate, what are their fears, how do they live, … The more you know, the better.

I am very excited to be speaking at the Going Local: Hope in a Time of Crisis Conference. At this stage the conference in Byron Bay on Sunday, March 22 about "Community Building and Alternative Business Models". And, can you believe it Russell Brand will be there, too! :)

Going Local is organized by Local Futures – The Economics of Happiness & New Economy Network Australia (NENA).
It's about how we could work together to create a different economic system and a better world. We are shipping items from one country to another (think Baltic sea shrimp being shipped to Morocco for peeling and then shipped back to Germany to be sold, empty 'ghost flights' within the European Union so airlines don't loose their allotted airport slots, ...).
We are in a time of crisis: first the drought, then the fires, then the floods and now a new virus.
Awareness is rising that we can't keep going as we have and need to think of new and better ways. We need to act now. There is "a path forward that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously restoring secure livelihoods and reweaving the fabric of community".

Search is a pull medium and that is the beauty about it because you can pull in those searchers when they are in an active state of mind. You would know from your own searches on search engines like Google or Bing that you want results and relevant content. As a business you can  meet those consumers right there at the right time and with the right content. In order to do that you need to be there and show up in the search results.
Search is very different to other marketing channels like TV advertising or billboards. You might be on your way to work and there is a billboard on the way, but as you are driving you might or might not see it and be aware of who is advertising and what. The advertising medium in that case either interrupts what you are doing or you don't even notice the advertising is there at all because your eyes are focused on the road.
With Search you have the ability to pull the person in when they are actively searching for what you might be offering.