Jul 21, 20173 min read

Marketing Day: Chatbots, content production models & Microsoft’s earnings report

Here’s our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.

From Marketing Land:

Building an Amazon Alexa Skill is so easy, Grandma can do it Jul 21, 2017 by Paul Shapiro How can you tap into the power of Amazon’s Alexa? Contributor Paul Shapiro walks you through the different types of Alexa Skills you can create and explains how to easily set up a Flash Briefing Skill.
The name is Bot, Chatbot: How to shake up conversions with stirring conversations Jul 21, 2017 by Purna Virji Columnist Purna Virji explains why an AI-driven conversation agent can potentially be the best sales assistant you have, and provides advice for how to plan and implement your own chatbot.
Comparing content production models: Which is right for your business? Jul 21, 2017 by Rachel Lindteigen Columnist Rachel Lindteigen discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the hub-and-spoke model and the skyscraper technique to help you determine which is the best fit for your organization.
Survey results: Here’s what 376 marketers say is working in online marketing Jul 21, 2017 by Jayson DeMers Wondering about the current state of the industry? Columnist Jayson DeMers shares highlights and stats from a recent survey of digital marketers.
The impact of intermediaries: How brands can close the gap between themselves and consumers Jul 21, 2017 by Davor Sutija As millennials and Gen Z shoppers shape the future of retail, contributor Davor Sutija explains why brands need to embrace technologies that will help them keep pace and bridge the digital gap.
Cloud-computing growth drives Microsoft quarterly earnings beat Jul 21, 2017 by Greg Sterling Commercial Cloud revenue run-rate was just under $19B, almost $2B in phone-related losses helped, too.
Here’s what performance advertisers are saying about Quora’s new ad platform Jul 21, 2017 by Ginny Marvin Whether they’ve been on the platform for one month or seven, advertiser feedback is strikingly similar: We like the performance — when can we scale?