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Social media is a primary gateway between a brand and its audience.  Many times the point of contact between a brand and its consumers is created by third parties -- publishers, paid media and increasingly influencers. Consider that 96% of people that discuss a brand online do not follow that brand’s owned social media profiles, according to a study from Brandwatch. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of Twitter users report making a purchase as a direct result of a tweet by an influencer on the site. The disconnect is clear. Owned…

Poor-quality digital ads aren’t going away, and ad fraud is making the problem even worse. In fact, digital ad fraud was estimated to cost marketers $12.4 billion globally in 2016, according to Adloox. That’s about the cost of twenty-nine A380 jets, eight Golden Gate Bridges, or the value of Hasbro. And the problem is only expected to get worse, with estimates predicting it will top $16 billion this year. To solve this problem, marketers must demand more from their partners. In 2015, 23 percent of advertisers were okay with…