In this week’s Five on Friday, Google undergoes a major rebranding to simplify its offerings, Cobloom shares ways to reduce SaaS customer acquisition costs, Billboard reports that Sir Paul McCartney is reaching out to European regulators for copyright reform and to address the value gap in payments for digital music, Business.com offers tips for using influencer marketing effectively, and Shopify gives ways to use social media marketing to increase online sales. 

Major Google Rebranding Effort Focused on Simplification 

In an attempt to simplify its products, Google is undergoing a major rebranding, reports Search Engine Land. The company is retiring AdWords and DoubleClick and moving to three primary brands: Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform and Google Ad Manager. According to Search Engine Land, the new names are supposed to better reflect the products’ capabilities and to shift the focus from product selection to improving advertising outcomes. Here are the new brands:

• Google Ads replaces Google Adwords, which launched in 2000.
• Google Marketing Platform replaces DoubleClick advertiser products and Google Analytics 360.
• Google Ad Manager replaces DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

Marketers will start seeing the new branding and advertising solutions starting in mid-July and over the course of the next several months. Read more on the rebranding and what each of the newly named solutions will offer on Search Engine Land.

3 Ways to Reduce SaaS Customer Acquisition Costs

In ‘6 Ways to Reduce SaaS Customer Acquisition Costs‘ on Cobloom, William Steward shares strategies. Here are three to consider:

1. Instead of relying solely on paid advertising, invest in owned and earned media. Owned media includes your company’s website, blog, infographics, etc. Earned media is media that you earn by getting others to write about your products and services.
2. Give your marketing funnel some love from the top down. Many companies are great at onboarding and converting leads into sales, says Steward, but they aren’t as good at capturing the attention of prospects earlier in the sales cycle. He suggests adding a little love in the top and middle of the marketing funnel by offering content in exchange for contact details of potential prospects.
3. Maximize your usage of A/B testing. A/B testing is a great way to test how effective your messages are, whether you are experimenting with landing page text, email messages, website content or calls to action.

Read more on these three strategies, as well as the other three, on Cobloom.

Paul McCartney Asks European Regulators for Support of Copyright Reform

Paul McCartney recently joined 1,300 other recording artists and songwriters in calling on European regulators to reform copyright law and to update it for the digital age, reports Billboard. McCartney wrote a letter urging the European Parliament’s support of new legislation.

‘You hold in your hands the future of music here in Europe,’ McCartney said. ‘Unfortunately, the value gap jeopardizes the music ecosystem. We need an internet that is fair and sustainable for all. But today some user upload content platforms refuse to compensate artists and all music creators fairly for their work, while they exploit it for their own profit.’

McCartney’s involvement came as the draft law, called the Copyright Directive, went to a vote yesterday. It had previously been approved by the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee on June 20. The vote failed in a vote of 318 against and 278 in favor, and legislators returned the law for redrafting before a September vote, says The Verge.

According to The Verge, there was significant controversy with two articles in the draft law. Article 11 was a so-called link tax that would require online platforms like Facebook and Google to pay news organizations before linking to their articles. Article 13 would have required that all uploaded content undergo a check for copyright infringement. It is not clear how each “side” would proceed following the vote or whether a compromise could be found that opposing sides could agree to.

3 Ways Influencers Can Help Grow Your Business

You can spend all the money in the world on an ad campaign, but word of mouth advertising remains priceless, says Shane Barker in ’10 Ways Content from Influencers Helps Your Business Grow‘ for Business.com. And influencer marketing is one of the most popular forms of word of mouth advertising you can get. Here are three ways you can leverage the power of influencers to grow your business:

1. Hashtags make your brand discoverable, so when influencers use hashtags that include your brand or product, your discoverability online can grow exponentially.
2. The use of influencers can expand your social media reach, because their content is often commented on, liked and shared. For example, let’s say you are a subscription box company and Suzy Celebrity shares her July box with her followers. Those followers see it, share it and you have new prospects than you could have reached on your own.
3. Influencers boost your credibility and help you earn consumer trust and loyalty. If Suzy Celebrity loves your subscription product or service, and she has credibility with her audience, her influence will boost your credibility too.

Read more on how influencers can help you grow your business here.

Try These 5 Social Media Marketing Strategies Today to Grow Online Sales

In a recent Shopify blog, Mark Hayes offered 17 social media marketing strategies to grow online sales. Here are five strategies to try today:

1. Make it fun – create quizzes, surveys or other interactive content to engage your target audience.
2. Post “must read” content frequently, so your website, blog or social media channels become a destination. TheSkimm has nailed this concept.
3. Host a weekly Twitter chat. Yes, Twitter chats are still a thing. Make sure to use a relevant hashtag, so your content is discoverable.
4. Make your information easy to share with social sharing buttons.
5. Leverage trending topics by tying your content to the hottest news.

For more details on these, and Hayes’ other 12 social media marketing strategies, read the original post on the Shopify blog.