LinkedIn Introduces Lead Gen Ad Offerings

LinkedIn is hopeful that its new product, LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, will bring higher quality leads to marketers who advertise on its platform. It provides the ability to gather leads, including those from Sponsored Content campaigns, across all devices. When ads are clicked, LinkedIn profile data will instantly populate an in-app form to then be automatically submitted, instead of having to type on a mobile device. The lead record delivered to advertisers will include names, contact information, job information, location, and other data. LinkedIn’s pilot program for 50 companies is said to have exceeded its cost-per-lead goals.

Snapchat makes it possible to search for Stories by keywords

Snapchat revealed a new search feature that will enable users to find Stories by searching for specific topics using keyword queries. Snapchat is also hoping that keyword searching capabilities will enable the creation of more Stories related to events and locations with the use of machine learning. Previously, creating Stories depended on human curation.

Foursquare offers Analytics product for retailers, multi-location brands

As Foursquare transitions into a data company, it revealed Foursquare Analytics; a foot-traffic analytics dashboard. Foursquare Analytics is a benchmarking and audience measurement tool allowing retailers and others with physical locations to interpret trends from in-store visitor data . Powered by location intelligence and providing metrics that measure loyalty and surface demographic insights, it enables analysts to understand customer visit patterns. Beta partners include Taco Bell, H&M and Lowe’s.

Google says it has now tracked 4 billion store visits from ads

Google has captured more than four billion store visits after users clicked on an ad. In the fall, Google broadened the store visits measurement program to Display Network ads, providing statistically significant visibility into store visits. Google will now be able to make store visit data available to more advertisers. Google measures the visits using anonymized data from those who opt into mobile location tracking, as well as Google surveys and mapping. Asking users to confirm their locations, Google reconciles feedback against its predictions.