Thoughts
40 Years of Experiments
For the last 40 years, I’ve been running experiments. The data set includes 1 person and 40 conclusions*. 1. Every day when you wake up in the morning you have two options - you are either better than who you were yesterday or not. It’s up to you...
Your intuition about e-commerce is wrong
If I’d ask you how much of the total commerce is e-commerce, what would be your answer? And if I’d ask which country leads in that area, what would you say? You probably overestimated how much shopping we do online (watch the video below for the...
50 Billion Reasons
YouTube Shorts has more than 50 Billion daily views as per Sundar Pichai’s announcement during Alphabet’s annual results call, up from 30 Billion in Q1 2022. In October 2022 Mark Zuckerberg said that there are more than 140 Billion Reels plays...
Don’t be a jerk
Don’t be a jerk online*. The barrier of a screen and the weapon that is a keyboard made us more likely to be slackers in our language and tone of voice, but the biggest damage done is to our long term thinking. Here’s a quick story: A while back...
One of THE best investments ROI wise
Can you think for a quick second about the next question - As an individual, how many times in the last year have you been disappointed with the service of a business you bought something from? Being the most innovative, best creative, most...
The (Foreseeable) Future of Digital Marketing
I think it’s pretentious to predict the future (and Covid taught us all a very important lesson in this regard), and yet as business owners, managers, marketers, we must pay attention to where things are going, or else, we’ll either miss...
Bigger than ever
Yesterday Meta announced its annual results for 2022. It’s not a surprise for anyone following but it has once again proved its dominance in the social media sphere. Facebook’s MAUs (Monthly Active Users) is at 2.963 Billion. Facebook’s DAUs...
So easy to manipulate
It’s so easy to manipulate in digital marketing. Here’s an example: Let’s say that you want to increase your website traffic. Go on Meta’s ads manager, create a new campaign >> Campaign Objective: Traffic >> Conversion Location:...
“I don’t have time”
“I don’t have time to do this” is one of the most common reasons I hear as to why managers/business owners/marketers don’t properly invest in social media for their business, content creation for their LinkedIn profile, understanding email...
8 + one for next year
On Saturday Quantum celebrated its 8th anniversary. Here are 8 things (and a bonus one for - as we say in Hebrew - next year 😊) I’ve learnt building a business from the ground up in the last eight years: 1. Connections, money, educational...
Gratitude
That time of the year… but maybe you could try it every week? 😊 As some of you already know, in the beginning of 2021, Sophie and I started a tradition in our company where each person on our team takes a moment to write a pleasant/nice/fun moment...
They are different
As of this morning, I’ve published 127 TikTok videos, repurposed 63 of them to Instagram Reels and 36 to YouTube Shorts. My most viewed Short has over 4,600 views. The same video on TikTok has 10 times less views, at 450 and on Reels you...
102 learnings from 102 TikToks
I just published the 102nd video on TikTok and it’s been one hell of a ride so far. Here are 102 learnings I gathered, including all the mistakes you should avoid (I promise - it will save you a lot of time and frustration). Don’t miss #16, #68...
This hasn’t changed
I’m not saying you should ignore trends. I’m not saying you should miss opportunities on emerging (and amazing!) platforms like TikTok. I’m not even saying - “that’s where you must be”. What I *am* saying is - don’t let headlines scare you and...
LinkedIn company page vs. your profile
Many people ask me whether they should focus on their personal profile on LinkedIn or their company page. Each has very different advantages - While with profiles it’s easier to generate engagement, company pages allow you to build a brand that...
Imagine it was a physical shop
Imagine – never mind which product/service you’re selling for a moment – that you own a physical shop to sell your stuff. How often would you change the display window? In what frequency do you think you’ll clean it, revamp it, improve it? I guess...
Take It Down In This Case
It happened more than once that I told a business owner/manager to take down his/her social media page. Wait, what? The thing is, social media doesn’t work like billboards or print ads - you can’t just show up whenever you want and then...
Why did she convert
I know you really want to know the ROI on your digital marketing efforts, but there’s one thing you must not forget. Attribution is a complicated thing, especially in a world that is becoming more private. If a person searched for a...
Less is more
When you create for online platforms, where there’s so much noise, you should focus your message. Here’s a quick proof from someone who is most definitely not in the bad company of marketers. Adam Grant and colleagues looked at a large university...
Super star ingredient
Wanna hear a really simple way to win the online marketing game? No viral videos, not even a brilliant copy, extraordinary design or sophisticated targeting. Just - be consistent. Sounds easy, but most businesses fail to do exactly that. They...
Where to begin
I’m being asked quite often by founders, business owners, managers the question of “where to begin” with digital marketing for their business. Here’s my answer in 4 simple steps - 1. Understand the space* - you don’t need to become an expert, but...
Community management efforts do pay off
Community management (engaging with people on your social media pages - replying to their messages, comments, reviews, etc) is by far one of the most overlooked aspects of social media for businesses. Some think it’s not important, not beneficial...
What you don’t see
When you look at a social media post without looking at/knowing the backend’s numbers, don’t assume anything about its performance by the number of the things you see - likes/comments/shares. A post can have 57 likes but it might have brought 7...
Can’t have it both ways
It’s mind boggling to see how many businesses are super motivated to sell online (for obvious reasons) but NOT as motivated to offer customer service online. IMHO - it shows a complete lack of understanding of users. Those who are comfortable with...
The only constant
I think we all underestimate how fast the platforms we work with change. Here’s an example: when you create a Facebook campaign you can choose your placements - where you want to show your ads on the FB ecosystem (FB chooses all placements by...
Resolutions
I know it’s not popular to say, especially on the last day of the year but I’m not a big fan of new year’s resolutions. Not because they don’t help you make things happen, on the contrary - I think setting goals (whether it’s professional or...
2022
Earlier this year, I was asked on a Tech4Good (YAEP initiative) panel discussion how I think the next few years will look like online marketing wise. Before the new year starts, I thought I’d share my answer here. “Many changes will come from the...
Thank you!
My favourite part about teaching others about online marketing is - well - the “others” part. Here’s to you - the managers, marketers, business owners, university students, creators, interns and everyone who were interested to expand their online...
LinkedIn Inspiration
LinkedIn, without a doubt, is one of my favourite platforms. I think there’s a huge opportunity there for professionals to get massive distribution (a window which is closing with time, so you should hurry up). I talk about it with anyone who’s...
Work in Progress
On one hand - super embarrassing. On the other hand - a sign of growth. Last week I updated a blog I wrote on our company’s website a while back (it’s about how many users there are on each of the large social media platforms, and I updated it to...
To Mauritius with Love
9 years ago today I landed for the first time in Mauritius. Here are 9 things I've learnt, in random order (except the last one, which is the most important one): 1. Moving countries is a scary thing. Not taking risks, though, is scarier. If you...
A Giant Salad
For a lot of people, online marketing is a big giant salad. And because it’s so confusing (it is!), they degrade it to social only, or worse - one platform only (FB or Insta as an example). But here’s why I love a completely different channel and...
Choose your battles
There’s so much that you can know about your campaigns that instead of data being useful, it is actually overwhelming for most businesses I meet. So here’s the deal - like in life, you need to choose your battles. Understand which metrics are...
Hear your mistakes
Maybe it’s because on the internet everything moves fast or “everything is free” but, I find that companies don’t proofread their texts enough (as if - I’m sure they’re spending so much more time reviewing their billboard wording than their online...
A small window of opportunity
I’m sure it’s not big news to you that social feeds are extremely busy and noisy. Users scroll through fast and furious and your job is to make them stop. But what (mostly) draws their attention? The visual*. Sounds obvious? Not really....
One pair of eyes vs. dozens of thousands
When someone leaves a bad review or a negative comment on your business’s social media page or other online assets (GMB for example), you need to do whatever it takes to solve the issue. Even in person via a phone call or a meeting if it really...
Distribute the risk
Distributing the risk in your business is crucial. While I can totally get the convenience of working with a few big clients, I’ve learnt (almost the hard way) that it’s too risky. One of the reasons Quantum is still up and running in spite of...
What should you talk about
If you’re not sure how to lay out your company’s social media plan throughout the month content wise, you’re not alone. The “sell sell sell” approach is a common practice but when it doesn’t work (at least not for long), companies give up....
The size of the screen matters
How big is the size of the graphic designer’s screen in your company? (Google is telling me 27’’ to 32’’?) And how is this size compared to the screen where most users consume content - including yours most probably? (ie mobile) Too many...
It’s going to be hybrid
I see many people are wondering about this - so allow me to spoil this for you 😊 In January 2015, when Corona was just a beer and before Zoom became a household name, we founded our company and decided to work in a hybrid model: work from home...
UX in 60 seconds
So, we use Google Data Studio to create all our reports. Until a few months ago, we’d go on datastudio.google.com, choose the relevant report, right click and then open it in a new tab. Why a new tab? Because we work on around 60 reports at the...
Their Pains, Your Solution
It sounds obvious but it’s always a good reminder because so many of us (including me) forget - When you talk to potential clients - whether you’re in B2B or B2C, keep in mind that to convince them, you need to talk about their pains. We tend to...
Testing 1 2 3
One of the best things about online marketing is the ability to *easily* test. Whether it’s specific concepts, designs, wording or choice of photos; basically any part of what makes your content can be compared using several versions to see what...
On the Reptrafor Podcast
So many thoughts wrapped up in this one! 🎉 Earlier this month I had the pleasure of being interviewed to the Reptrafor podcast, where we discussed so many things, among them: What is the difference between digital marketing and online...
Call it a hustle
Wanna talk about hustle in business? Imagine an entrepreneur who: >> Sold fax machines for 7 years door to door; >> Couldn’t afford to pay a lawyer to write the patent she needed, so she bought a book, wrote most of it herself and...
What they say about you
It’s not so easy to put into words your USPs (unique selling points), especially when you start out. In the best-case scenario, you know what differentiates you but don’t know how to “translate” it to the written word, in the worst case...
It’s NOT a Vending Machine
Here’s part #2 from "Social Media & Contextual Insights", about the challenges businesses face within the context of social media. "The most basic thing, and that’s my personal opinion, is that businesses miss out if they don’t invest in their...
Super Powerful Tool for Individuals and Businesses
Yesterday I participated in a panel with some amazing speakers: Oliver, Xavier and Jason, moderated by the wonderful Zulaika. The subject was Social Media and Contextual Insights and was organized by the initiative "Inspire Tech4Good" and YAEP...
Dear candidates…
In the last few months we’ve been running recruitment ads for different positions. One sent an email writing (twice!) he’s applying for the “copyrighter” job we posted (for a copywriter position). Second said she’s applying for the design job at...
OMG: from a small talk to 38,000 words 🤓
I was making coffee in the kitchen of Cyhawk, where I just started working back in 2009 while one of the great people there was asking how I am doing in my first days as an Online Media Buyer. Well, I guess I said I’m doing great but honestly I was...
At least 3 good reasons
Responding to users (also known as... people 😊) fast via online channels shouldn’t be any less important than taking their call immediately or making sure you have a staff member to assist them when they visit your showroom/store/office. If a...
Get really good at 4 and then sprint for the 6
Management of a social media business page includes 6 aspects: strategy & planning, copywriting, design/video, paid ads, community management and analysis & reporting. The issue is most businesses and even marketers are only good (I...
How can you measure what you can’t?
I can’t count how many times this is happening: A business launches or relaunches their new website or celebrates some sort of a milestone. The teams get excited creating or updating their accounts all over social media and other online...
Lighthouse of 3 Words
So many platforms your business “should be” on: Search: Google, Bing, someone said Baidu? Display: GDN, ad networks... Social: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest… did I hear Clubhouse? Email and then some: video (mmm YouTube...
Dig, there’s more
Many marketers/business owners are mistaken to feel that one* online marketing platform is saturated too fast and that there’s nothing else to explore for their business. But there’s so much opportunity to take on existing platforms that most...
We are on the same side
Ego-related behaviour is very common however SO redundant in people, IMHO. The inability to accept feedback*, learn and grow from it, the lack of capacity to listen and take it from others who have been through similar experiences, the thought that...
“Be Yourself; everyone else is already taken”*
Last week I interviewed someone and one of my last questions was about availability for the job. The person answered “according to my contract I need to give one month notice…” and then hesitantly added, in a lower voice - “but because of the...
We don’t say it enough
Grit, stamina, determination, resilience... are some of the most repeated words that we say and hear in regards to achieving. I think we are missing one word which might be of top importance: Discipline. And in specific - self-discipline. To...
Who’s in for the details
In a very competitive world, where for each niche you can find hundreds* of suppliers, both around you and online, offering thoughtful service that upgrades the experience makes a whole lot of difference. The other day I was listening to Kara...
What really matters
Yesterday a beloved friend shared with me that her 66 years old dad has left the world due to Covid. I was working on my laptop with one of my colleagues when I got the message and I was so taken by her words that my eyes immediately filled up with...
Too many tabs are already open in my head
One of the practices that helps me get many things done in a given day* is actually simple: I actively kill distractions. WhatsApp groups? Huge distraction – by far the majority of them are on mute. Social media? Don’t get me started! I usually...
Get a life
Work-life balance is such a weird choice of words. We spend so many hours working – most of the weekdays and for many on weekends/holidays as well. How could it be that only on the other side of all these hours there’s life? Yes, maybe our job...
Successful, wealthy & famous
Social media has made it far easier for each of us to see how everyone else is better than us. Especially on LinkedIn – we just seem to be falling behind the rest: the best selling authors, keynote speakers, 3x entrepreneurs,...
Let’s talk about me
If you’re trying to sell something – this one’s for you. I think one main blindspot in sales conversations is that the sales person is trying to sell the product/service vs. sell the product/service to the listener. Don’t tell me how great, fast,...
If you want it to happen – there’s one thing you need to do.
We all have goals, targets, stuff that we want to do and accomplish. They could be small goals*: test your idea for this website (and put it live), do this business collaboration, start using this complicated tool that you know will save you time…...
Yes, I do!
Anyone that has ever started (or starting right now) a business knows the feeling – everything is structureless, you feel you’re scattered and can’t understand how everyone else manages to do it, well, everyone – but you. OMG the endless list of...
(Don’t) Cancel with respect
I work with businesses, that’s a given when you’re a B2B company. Last week I conducted a 2nd edition to one of my group trainings, the demand was high and I had to close the registration (I limit the seats) the week before and reject more than 10...
Hire horizontal people
We are currently a team of 11 people that includes 4 graphic designers, 5 community and campaign managers, 2 production coordinators, 1 web developer, 3 copywriters and 2 managers. Wait, that’s 17 or 11? That’s not me failing to do basic...
I was Sisyphus until I wasn’t
In the first 2 years or so of Quantum, every business owner or manager I met I was trying to convince so hard about why online marketing is important for his/her business. I’m not referring to “why my company” in specific, I mean the whole concept...
Asking people to work for free is not ok
On a scale of 1 to 10, how annoyed would you be if someone would ask you to work for free? I assume 11? Maybe 13? For me it’s 17. So why when companies ask advertising agencies to pitch – they don’t see how morally wrong that is? I’m not talking...
Who should I hear when I listen to your words?
I listen to audiobooks quite regularly and I noticed that when the author is reading the book I pay much more attention. I frequently ask myself why so many authors don’t create their own audiobooks, in their own voice? It’s only them who will know...
Your small marketing agency is selling steaks
Quantum was founded in 2015 and since then yours truly have generated and followed up on all the invoices. We’re talking about a few thousands of them. For small and medium businesses getting paid when the job is done is crucial for their on-going...