MARKETING
7 Email Design Trends to Embrace in 2023 and Boost ROI
Emails with a wall of text would hardly impress the subscribers. Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with such boring emails with the advent of visual email marketing and trends like interactivity, gamification, and AMP emails taking the center stage.
In 2023, we are all set to welcome some new trends in the email design arena.
Let’s delve deeper and get inspired for our next year’s emails.
1. Use of stylish visuals
i. A combination of shapes, illustrations, and real images
Using an assortment of shapes, illustrations, and real images will give a fresh feel to your emails. In 2023, marketers will adopt this trend to make their emails stand out and prompt the subscribers to purchase.
ii. White space
Use enough white space to make the emails easy to scan. They break down the email copy and enhance its readability. A cluttered email will turn the subscribers off. So, it is advisable to incorporate breathing space for the readers.
White space can be placed in two ways.
a. Active white space: Negative space surrounding the important email elements
b. Passive white space: Negative space at the template borders and the area between different sections
2. Shapes to make the emails more meaningful
Square, rectangle, triangle, circle, and polygons — all these shapes can be used to convey different messages in emails. While squares and rectangles convey trust, stability, and grounded nature, triangles represent movement and progression. Circles and ovals portray comfort, warmth, and familiarity with their rounded curves. Pentagons, hexagons, and octagons can be used in patterns to reflect rigor, quality, and hard work. Their sides are used to show a long procedure in a simple manner.
Some brands like Tattly also use abstract shapes to make the emails more fun for the subscribers. Take a look at this email template below.
You can also use wave patterns to separate the different email sections. These patterns break the grid format of the emails and provide directional cues to scroll till the end. They make it easier for the readers to follow the email and draw attention to the crucial email elements.
Here’s an example by Winc. See how the usage of waves facilitates communication with the readers.
3. Neon colors to exude exuberance
Creating bright, vibrant emails will trend in 2023, which will contribute to the popularity of neon colors. Neon colors give a happy feel to the emails and paint you as a fun, youthful brand. Just bear in mind 3 points for effective usage of neons.
- Neons should be used judiciously and only when you have to highlight vital parts of the email.
- Dark backgrounds are better to make the neon colors stand out.
- Neon colors are best avoided in the background.
4. Gradients
When a single color goes from light to dark or vice versa, it is known as single color gradient. Similarly, when one color goes to another, it is known as multiple color gradients. Using gradients in emails aids to the visual hierarchy and compels the subscriber to read till the end.
You can use subtle or bold gradients according to your business personality. Alternatively, you can use gradients as the focal point of your email design or background. Some brands also use animated gradients in the background to add more visual oomph to the emails.
Take a look at this email by Oura Ring that used an animated gradient background.
5. APNG
APNG is a type of animated image, just like GIF. However, APNG has a better resolution than GIF. It supports 8-bit alpha transparency and 24-bit colors. Unlike GIFs, APNG images won’t have an ugly black border in the animation.
Take a look at this image to understand how GIFs are different from APNGs.
6. Animated CTAs to draw the reader’s attention
Correct placement, actionable copy, and right colors that stand out — all these are the best practices when it comes to high-converting CTA buttons. In 2023, animated CTAs will make a glorious entry in the world of emails. You can animate the CTA by using GIF or CSS animation.
The marketers at Magic Spoon are early adopters of this trend and use it brilliantly in their emails.
7. Memes to add humor in emails
Memes have entered social media marketing long ago. Marketers are expected to use them even in emails in the times to come.
You must bear in mind 3 points while using memes:
- Memes are effective only when they are relevant to current events.
- Always add the copyright and disclaimer so that you don’t have to face any legal soup.
- Make sure it does not come off as inappropriate or offensive for the readers.
Wrapping Up
Good email design separates the grain from the chaff. It drives better email engagement and helps achieve the expected ROI. Stay abreast with these email design trends we foresee in the days to come and start designing emails that make heads turn.
MARKETING
YouTube Ad Specs, Sizes, and Examples [2024 Update]
Introduction
With billions of users each month, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine and top website for video content. This makes it a great place for advertising. To succeed, advertisers need to follow the correct YouTube ad specifications. These rules help your ad reach more viewers, increasing the chance of gaining new customers and boosting brand awareness.
Types of YouTube Ads
Video Ads
- Description: These play before, during, or after a YouTube video on computers or mobile devices.
- Types:
- In-stream ads: Can be skippable or non-skippable.
- Bumper ads: Non-skippable, short ads that play before, during, or after a video.
Display Ads
- Description: These appear in different spots on YouTube and usually use text or static images.
- Note: YouTube does not support display image ads directly on its app, but these can be targeted to YouTube.com through Google Display Network (GDN).
Companion Banners
- Description: Appears to the right of the YouTube player on desktop.
- Requirement: Must be purchased alongside In-stream ads, Bumper ads, or In-feed ads.
In-feed Ads
- Description: Resemble videos with images, headlines, and text. They link to a public or unlisted YouTube video.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that play outside of YouTube, on websites and apps within the Google video partner network.
Masthead Ads
- Description: Premium, high-visibility banner ads displayed at the top of the YouTube homepage for both desktop and mobile users.
YouTube Ad Specs by Type
Skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Placement: Before, during, or after a YouTube video.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Action: 15-20 seconds
Non-skippable In-stream Video Ads
- Description: Must be watched completely before the main video.
- Length: 15 seconds (or 20 seconds in certain markets).
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
Bumper Ads
- Length: Maximum 6 seconds.
- File Format: MP4, Quicktime, AVI, ASF, Windows Media, or MPEG.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 640 x 360px
- Vertical: 480 x 360px
In-feed Ads
- Description: Show alongside YouTube content, like search results or the Home feed.
- Resolution:
- Horizontal: 1920 x 1080px
- Vertical: 1080 x 1920px
- Square: 1080 x 1080px
- Aspect Ratio:
- Horizontal: 16:9
- Square: 1:1
- Length:
- Awareness: 15-20 seconds
- Consideration: 2-3 minutes
- Headline/Description:
- Headline: Up to 2 lines, 40 characters per line
- Description: Up to 2 lines, 35 characters per line
Display Ads
- Description: Static images or animated media that appear on YouTube next to video suggestions, in search results, or on the homepage.
- Image Size: 300×60 pixels.
- File Type: GIF, JPG, PNG.
- File Size: Max 150KB.
- Max Animation Length: 30 seconds.
Outstream Ads
- Description: Mobile-only video ads that appear on websites and apps within the Google video partner network, not on YouTube itself.
- Logo Specs:
- Square: 1:1 (200 x 200px).
- File Type: JPG, GIF, PNG.
- Max Size: 200KB.
Masthead Ads
- Description: High-visibility ads at the top of the YouTube homepage.
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 or higher.
- File Type: JPG or PNG (without transparency).
Conclusion
YouTube offers a variety of ad formats to reach audiences effectively in 2024. Whether you want to build brand awareness, drive conversions, or target specific demographics, YouTube provides a dynamic platform for your advertising needs. Always follow Google’s advertising policies and the technical ad specs to ensure your ads perform their best. Ready to start using YouTube ads? Contact us today to get started!
MARKETING
Why We Are Always ‘Clicking to Buy’, According to Psychologists
Amazon pillows.
MARKETING
A deeper dive into data, personalization and Copilots
Salesforce launched a collection of new, generative AI-related products at Connections in Chicago this week. They included new Einstein Copilots for marketers and merchants and Einstein Personalization.
To better understand, not only the potential impact of the new products, but the evolving Salesforce architecture, we sat down with Bobby Jania, CMO, Marketing Cloud.
Dig deeper: Salesforce piles on the Einstein Copilots
Salesforce’s evolving architecture
It’s hard to deny that Salesforce likes coming up with new names for platforms and products (what happened to Customer 360?) and this can sometimes make the observer wonder if something is brand new, or old but with a brand new name. In particular, what exactly is Einstein 1 and how is it related to Salesforce Data Cloud?
“Data Cloud is built on the Einstein 1 platform,” Jania explained. “The Einstein 1 platform is our entire Salesforce platform and that includes products like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud — that it includes the original idea of Salesforce not just being in the cloud, but being multi-tenancy.”
Data Cloud — not an acquisition, of course — was built natively on that platform. It was the first product built on Hyperforce, Salesforce’s new cloud infrastructure architecture. “Since Data Cloud was on what we now call the Einstein 1 platform from Day One, it has always natively connected to, and been able to read anything in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud [and so on]. On top of that, we can now bring in, not only structured but unstructured data.”
That’s a significant progression from the position, several years ago, when Salesforce had stitched together a platform around various acquisitions (ExactTarget, for example) that didn’t necessarily talk to each other.
“At times, what we would do is have a kind of behind-the-scenes flow where data from one product could be moved into another product,” said Jania, “but in many of those cases the data would then be in both, whereas now the data is in Data Cloud. Tableau will run natively off Data Cloud; Commerce Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud — they’re all going to the same operational customer profile.” They’re not copying the data from Data Cloud, Jania confirmed.
Another thing to know is tit’s possible for Salesforce customers to import their own datasets into Data Cloud. “We wanted to create a federated data model,” said Jania. “If you’re using Snowflake, for example, we more or less virtually sit on your data lake. The value we add is that we will look at all your data and help you form these operational customer profiles.”
Let’s learn more about Einstein Copilot
“Copilot means that I have an assistant with me in the tool where I need to be working that contextually knows what I am trying to do and helps me at every step of the process,” Jania said.
For marketers, this might begin with a campaign brief developed with Copilot’s assistance, the identification of an audience based on the brief, and then the development of email or other content. “What’s really cool is the idea of Einstein Studio where our customers will create actions [for Copilot] that we hadn’t even thought about.”
Here’s a key insight (back to nomenclature). We reported on Copilot for markets, Copilot for merchants, Copilot for shoppers. It turns out, however, that there is just one Copilot, Einstein Copilot, and these are use cases. “There’s just one Copilot, we just add these for a little clarity; we’re going to talk about marketing use cases, about shoppers’ use cases. These are actions for the marketing use cases we built out of the box; you can build your own.”
It’s surely going to take a little time for marketers to learn to work easily with Copilot. “There’s always time for adoption,” Jania agreed. “What is directly connected with this is, this is my ninth Connections and this one has the most hands-on training that I’ve seen since 2014 — and a lot of that is getting people using Data Cloud, using these tools rather than just being given a demo.”
What’s new about Einstein Personalization
Salesforce Einstein has been around since 2016 and many of the use cases seem to have involved personalization in various forms. What’s new?
“Einstein Personalization is a real-time decision engine and it’s going to choose next-best-action, next-best-offer. What is new is that it’s a service now that runs natively on top of Data Cloud.” A lot of real-time decision engines need their own set of data that might actually be a subset of data. “Einstein Personalization is going to look holistically at a customer and recommend a next-best-action that could be natively surfaced in Service Cloud, Sales Cloud or Marketing Cloud.”
Finally, trust
One feature of the presentations at Connections was the reassurance that, although public LLMs like ChatGPT could be selected for application to customer data, none of that data would be retained by the LLMs. Is this just a matter of written agreements? No, not just that, said Jania.
“In the Einstein Trust Layer, all of the data, when it connects to an LLM, runs through our gateway. If there was a prompt that had personally identifiable information — a credit card number, an email address — at a mimum, all that is stripped out. The LLMs do not store the output; we store the output for auditing back in Salesforce. Any output that comes back through our gateway is logged in our system; it runs through a toxicity model; and only at the end do we put PII data back into the answer. There are real pieces beyond a handshake that this data is safe.”
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