It is hard to believe it is August already! Before you leave the office for the weekend, we’ve got some great tips for attracting and retaining subscription customers along with other helpful tidbits. In this week’s Five on Friday, MarTech Series explains why opt-in video advertising is so hot right now, PYMNTS predicts that the car subscription market will grow by 71 percent in the next four years, Cratejoy shares ways to attract more subscribers, Impact offers top tips for improving your site’s Google rankings with SEO, and Shopify recommends these five tips to drive sales.

Opt-in Video Advertising Is Most Popular Ad Format with Consumers

A new nationwide survey shows that opt-in video advertising is hot with consumers right now. In fact, their preference of that ad medium could deter ad blocking, says MarTech Series in a July 26 article. Here are some other interesting facts from that survey:

• More than 80 percent of online users feel overwhelmed by the number of ads they see.
• Over two-thirds of consumers say the ads they see are not relevant to them.
• Eight out of 10 consumers surveyed are considering using an ad blocker
• Nearly 70 percent said they would be open to seeing more ads if the ads were more relevant to them.
• 79 percent of consumers say they prefer opt-in advertising over other ad formats
• Opt-in video advertising was the most popular ad format, compared to pre-roll, mid-roll, social/native and pop-up/interstitial advertising.
• More than 80 percent of marketers say that opt-in video provides a superior user experience and better ROI.
• 65 percent of marketers say they plan to increase their spending in opt-in video next year.

Bottom line: consumers prefer opt-in video advertising to any other format. If your subscription company wants to avoid having its ad blocked, consider this ad format for future campaigns. Read more in “Opt-in Video Advertising is Preferred Ad Choice for Consumers” at MarTech Series.

Five Tips for Improving Your Google Rankings through SEO

You’ve heard that content is king – and that’s still true – but your Google ranking is also critical to your success. One way to do this is using the latest SEO techniques to get more Google love. An infographic developed by Social Media Today and republished by Impact offers 11 SEO tips to help you do just that. Here are five to consider:

• Get your site SSL certified to show that your site is secure.
• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console so Google knows what they should and shouldn’t index on your site.
• Ensure your site is mobile-friendly. With the growth of usage of mobile phones for searching, you’re dead in the water if your site isn’t responsive or at least mobile-friendly.
• Optimize the speed of your website.
• Add keywords in the Alt+text field of images.

Get more great tips like these on boosting your Google ranking on Inbound.

Car Subscription Market Will Grow Exponentially by 2022

Every month, it seems like a new car manufacturer or vendor is offering some type of vehicle subscription service whether it is car sharing or a specific manufacturer like Ford, Hyundai, Cadillac or Porsche. Statistics support this trend, says PYMNTS.com. In fact, car subscription services are growing so rapidly that PYMTS believes the market will grow at a rate of 71 percent by 2022. Why? Drivers want convenience and variety without the commitment. While the subscription services are pricey, they do provide drivers with a lot of freedom, and there is something to be said for all-inclusive pricing (e.g., insurance, repairs, roadside assistance, etc.) Read more in “Car Subscription Market Set to Growth 71 Percent by 2022” on PYMNTS.com, or read about specific car subscription services in our recent news articles:

• Toyota Launches Monthly Car Sharing Membership Service in Honolulu
• Jeep to Launch Unique Car Subscription Program in 2019
• BMW and Lexus Launching Car Subscription Services
• Mercedes-Benz to Launch Flexperience Auto Subscription in Germany

3 Ways to Get More Customers for Your Subscription Biz 

Whether you are a small start-up or an established subscription company, you will grow your business by attracting new customers. The fancy term for this is customer acquisition and it is one of the most important – and costly – things you’ll need to do. This process does not have to be hard though. There are many ways to acquire new customers. Cratejoy shared six of them in a recent blog post. Here are three that we love:

1. Social media – free and paid – is one of the best ways to attract prospects. The key here is to choose the platform where your target audience is most likely to be – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Snap? Start small with one or two social media accounts and see which is producing the best results. Rinse and repeat.
2. Develop a referral program to reward customers for bringing you new customers. Don’t know where to start? Cratejoy has a handy guide on how to create one that will work for your business.
3. Newsletter sign-ups. Add an email sign-up overlay to your website, so when prospects visit your site, they are invited to subscribe. If a prospect isn’t ready to buy, but wants to receive promotions and offers, they’ll sign-up, so you’ll have warm leads instead of cold ones.

Read more ways to attract new customers on Cratejoy: “6 Ways to Acquire More Customers for Your Subscription Business.”

Five eCommerce Tips to Drive Sales

If you’re in the eCommerce biz, you know it is all about sales. Shopify shares some great tips to help you drive sales. Try these on for size:

1. Upsell your products or services with add-ons or accessories related to the original purchase.
2. Reduce the number of abandoned carts on your site. According to Baymard Institute, nearly 70 percent of shopping cars are abandoned for a variety of reasons – including shipping costs, taxes, fees, creation of an account, complicated process, etc. Find out where your sticking points are for customers and fix them.
3. Email sign-ups are good for sales too. They are easy to do, affordable and effective. Create a newsletter with a service like MailChimp and share the sign-up link on all your social channels.
4. Allow customers to create wishlists and send them reminders.
5. Add a live chat feature to improve and personalize the customer service experience.

Check out “eCommerce Marketing Essentials: 17 Actionable Tactics to Drive More Sales” on Shopify for more helpful tips to drive sales.