Google Knowledge Panels Continue to Become More Important: Google Adds Free Product Listings in US

As businesses continue to shift their services online (for many of which is uncharted territory), Google is aiming to make shopping online even easier for all. In an announcement yesterday, Google claims they are "bringing free listings to the main Google Search results page in the U.S., helping shoppers choose the products and sellers that will serve them best, from the widest variety of options." The announcement of free listings takes an interesting stance against e-commerce powerhouse, Amazon, who requires merchants to pay a monthly subscription or a per unit basis for goods sold on their platform. The free listings that Google offers via Google Merchant Center looks to even the playing field for small businesses who can provide the products that users are searching for, so they can compete with larger vendors online. Google's suggests "free listings on Google Search are a big step forward in democratizing access to digital commerce, benefiting shoppers and merchants with more choices across the board." Historically, the links that have shown in the knowledge panel have been paid ads. Google will begin to make these links free listings starting with mobile and with the phase in of desktop to follow.

What does this mean for multifamily? This announcement brings up two interesting concepts for the future of digital marketing for the apartment industry. First, Google could apply the knowledge panel shopping experience to multifamily. Below is a snapshot of how this is already applied to the hotel industry today for a simple Google search of "hotels in Atlanta." Here, pricing, date, budget options, top-rated, luxury, deals, etc. are all filter options for online users to select from. The same methodology could, and may in the near future, easily be applied to multifamily listings in the market where a prospect is looking for a new apartment. All filter options currently available for hotel searches within the knowledge panel directly relate to multifamily. Utilizing Google ratings & reviews, starting pricing, upfront concessions, etc. would allow Google to serve up results for prospects directly within the knowledge panel without forcing users to go to an ILS.

Second, if the above were to be applied to multifamily and the knowledge panel served up free listings based on a prospect's search, it could lead to a rude awakening for some of the industries ILSs. Internet Listing Services, which charge subscription, pay per lead, and/or pay per lease pricing models to properties' could be forced to adjust their strategy if Google serves as an "umbrella ILS." The feature would prevent prospects from having to go to ILSs as regularly as they do today as they search for their new apartment.

While Google's announcement only applies to e-commerce today, the idea of applying this methodology to the multifamily space brings up some interesting ideas that could be a welcome change to monopolistic ILS landscape. With more and more attention going to digital storefronts now more than ever, it will be interesting to see how the knowledge panel further develops in the future for multifamily.

Microsoft Releases Free Platform to Consolidate Search & Social Advertising

In an effort to simplify organic and paid online marketing campaign management, Microsoft has released Microsoft Digital Marketing Center. The platform is currently in beta and is now accepting new participants. With Digital Marketing Center small businesses will be able to manage their paid ad campaigns and organic content across Facebook, Instagram, Bing, Google, and Twitter. While still in the pilot stage (Street Digital Media has applied to test out the product, but we are waiting on a response from Microsoft for access), the launch is interesting in three main facets.

1. Microsoft looks to compete with Google Ads' Smart Campaigns. Google's Smart Campaigns are over-simplified ways for small business owners to advertise their business via paid search without having robust knowledge of Google Ads. The setup is incredibly simple and streamlined, but Smart Campaigns leave a lot of room for increased performance, attention to detail, and targeting capabilities. With Google and Microsoft making digital advertising more easily accessible for those not as digital marketing savvy, it allows more small businesses to get in the digital marketing game that typically wouldn't- aka more revenue for Microsoft and Google.

2. With the COVID pandemic, many businesses have been forced to adjust by making their businesses, services, and products more easily accessible online. By simplifying digital marketing campaign management for all, Microsoft further encourages the push to online accessibility for SMBs and their clients. The future is surely digital.

3. It will be worth keeping a close eye on how this product evolves out of beta. Will Microsoft continue to steer it towards one-off small business owners or will marketing agencies have access to manage multiple property campaigns within one account? If the latter, campaign management would be streamlined in a very welcome and free way. By bringing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google into the confines of a Microsoft product, Microsoft takes an interesting stance in cooperating with its tech competition. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? By consolidating these channels into one platform and assuming all integrations function properly, Microsoft will solve a lot of headaches for digital marketers who are forced to work within a number of ad manager platforms.

Hulu Launches Interactive Ad Platform

Earlier this year, Street Digital Media mentioned the future of over-the-top (OTT) advertising and Hulu's push to become one of the first major OTT brands to launch a self serving ad platform. The beginning of that shift was announced yesterday as Hulu launched GatewayGo, its new ad format that allows Hulu viewers to interact with advertisers in real time when they see ads on Hulu. Upon seeing a targeted Hulu ad, viewers will be able to send themselves the special offers they are shown via text, email, or QR code. Furthermore, it is reported that Hulu will utilize Nielsen to measure its ad performance and reach.

The announcement is an interesting one in two ways. First, it shows Hulu's attempt to give OTT direct attribution for generating leads for advertisers. Typically, TV and OTT ads are seen as brand awareness platforms (much like Google Display and YouTube Pre-Roll ads) and are credited with how many eyeballs see their ads. By making OTT ads more interactive and allowing viewers to immediately receive the specials they are served, Hulu is trying to shift GatewayGo ads to a lead generation strategy.

Second, the announcement shows the beginning of a shift of advertising opportunities for OTT platforms. With the "streaming wars" continuing to evolve and "cord-cutting" becoming ever more popular, targeted advertising will continue to develop in the coming months and years. Hulu's announcement and partnership with Nielsen is an early sign of what is to come in the future- more targeted and more measurable ad capabilities on OTT. This could lead to some interesting ad opportunities for multifamily marketing strategies in the future. The ability for multifamily marketing agencies like Street Digital Media to run more affordable, targeted ads at scale for apartment communities would be a welcome addition to the digital marketing landscape. OTT would provide a new medium for marketers to reach prospective renters via brand awareness and potentially lead generation strategies. Expect to see more OTT providers roll out ad platforms in the coming months with increased targeting options to follow.