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#MarketingTitbits – Google+, Black Friday emails, worst

googleplus-emails-adverts-smaller1. Former Google+ designer slams the service for being ‘Facebook lite’
One of Google’s former employees has described Google+ as ‘adrift at sea’, with the social network leaving behind big opportunities and a ‘ton of value on the table’.

Chris Messina believes that Google+ is too similar to rival Facebook, and that they should have embraced the concept of identity by creating connections from the information that is shared online by Google users.

Could Google be slowly moving away from its Google+ brand? Right now, it’s unclear. But watch this space.

To read more about Google+, click here.

2. Black Friday email marketing: eight retail examples

Black Friday seemed to cause mayhem across the UK, both online and in shops. Now that the dust has settled, David Moth from Econsultancy reviews the emails he was receiving in the lead-up to the infamous wallet-emptying weekend.

He found that retailers such as Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Quicksilver were all keen to start early, sending out emails offering savings across their lines in advance of the big day. When Black Friday arrived, we were bombarded by emails, declaring 10% – 50% off items.

Brands such as House of Fraser and Office decided to steer clear of a generic Black Friday title and simply presented consumers with sale details. In contrast, other retailers, such as River Island, embraced the event to the full, making the deals available online only.

What was your experience of Black Friday?

To read more, click here.

3. The 10 worst ads of 2014

The time of year has finally come – no, it’s not Christmas just yet. Instead, it is time for us to sit back, relax and look over some of the worst ads from the past year. Business Insider has compiled its rankings of the top 10 fails in advertising. Here is a taste.

The top 10 includes some poor taste humour from brands, such as Paddy Power, who were placing bets on the murder trial of athlete Oscar Pistorious, a spot of corporate feminism from Dove and their ‘Patches’ product and a three-minute Scottish travel agent ad, using a series of questionable effects and props.

From cheesy soundtracks to some odd laxative issues, the list doesn’t fail to disappoint in the ‘really?’ department. So, click here if you can cope with seeing some.

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#MarketingTitbits – social media fails, YouTube, Twitter’s year

fails-youtube-twitter-smaller1. The top 20 fail-iest social media fails of 2014
As the impact of New Year’s exploits begin to wear off, it’s an ideal time to look back on 2014 and reminisce about some of the greatest brand fails on social media last year! Thanks to Econsultancy, you can scroll through their list of awkwardness which will have you shaking your head at some businesses thoughtlessness.

Proving that not all brands are as smart as they seem, is LG, who ‘cleverly’ mock the iPhone, whilst using the very device they are critiquing during their mocking tweet. Others putting businesses to shame include US airline, Delta, who may need to polish up on their geography knowledge, and logistics giant, DHL, who did a lot more bad than good with their ‘like to send Jules your best wishes’ post.

Click here to check out some of the others, including fails from celebrities like Rita Ora and Robin Thicke.

2. YouTube crams every big Internet moment of the year into one insane mashup

Since 2010, YouTube have released their yearly ‘Rewind’, reminding us of the biggest moments from the year gone by. This year is no different as last month they debuted ‘Turn Down for 2014’. One thing that the video reinforces is that we spent the majority of the year very, very wet.

The video re-enacts some big moments from 2014, including, the Ice Bucket Challenge, viral videos like ‘First Kiss’ and the ‘Devil Baby Prank’, which we spoke about a few weeks ago. You’ll also find references to other things, such as popular songs that have topped the charts. Can you spot them all?

Grab some popcorn, press pause on 2015 for 5 minutes and rewind by clicking here.

3. Twitter’s year in review: World Cup, Ferguson and Ellen’s golden tweet

Twitter’s Year in Review microsite allows you to look back on 2014 through the eyes of Twitter. If it happened in 2014, then it happened on Twitter, which reinforces the ever growing influence of social media in modern day life.

Some of the biggest moments from the previous 12 months include a few of the world’s biggest entertainment awards ceremonies, with the likes of The Brits, The Grammys and The Golden Globes all making an appearance. Other events that played out over Twitter include the World Cup and Ferguson riots.

If you’d like to throwback to the biggest moments of 2014, then you can do so by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook video, Mark Zuckerberg, news articles

facebook-markzuckerberg-articles-smaller1. Facebook video use has increased by 75% globally
In March last year, Facebook launched its premium video platform, competing with the might of dominant video rival YouTube. Statistics have recently been released indicating that 75% of smartphone users now watch videos via Facebook from their devices 2-3 times per day. With predictions for the use of video to grow even more, it’s no surprise that the likes of Twitter and other social networks may be planning to join in.

Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the power that video has to offer, with positive reviews from many brands who say metrics improved as a result.

What do you think of the evolution of video? Will you be using it for your business? To see more, click here.

2. Join Mark Zuckerberg on his 2015 reading challenge

Each year, Mark Zuckerberg makes a rather extreme New Year’s resolution, and this year is no different. Previously, he chose resolutions that included vowing to eat only meat from animals he’d killed himself, while another year involved learning to speak Mandarin. After thousands of suggestions as to what his 2015 resolution should be, Zuckerberg has chosen to read a new book every other week and is challenging you to do the same.

The purpose of this challenge is to learn more about the world we live in – about culture, beliefs, technology and history, etc. If you’d like to get involved with the Facebook founder’s year ahead, he’s set up a page named ‘A Year of Books’, which you can like to join in with the discussions.

To read more into the announcement, click here.

3. The Marketing Year – the top 10 news articles

2014 was a year of ups and downs for the retail world, but what was included in Marketing Week’s top 10 articles of the year?

Tesco is one of the brands that will be wishing 2014 a swift goodbye after appearing in the list 3 times, resulting from the accountancy scandal and the ever-lasting discussions surrounding the future of their original building block – the Tesco Clubcard. Others hitting the top 10 include Coke and John Lewis, while brands such as Paddy Power sit with their heads bowed as they faced the wrath of the ASA with controversial ads.

f you’d like see more about the articles, you can do so by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – YouTube ads, negative SEO, Marmite

youtube-negativeseo-marmite-smaller1. The top 10 most popular YouTube ads of 2014
Now-a-days, the most popular YouTube ads tend to be made for an online campaigns, instead of airing on TV, so it’s no surprise that most of the top 10 featured in Marketing Week’s article have followed this trend.

Included in the list are the likes of Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Always and Pepsi, who all created ads with a social media audience in mind, however, also aired shorter versions on TV. A lot of brands are now creating and sharing stories within their advertisements and this can be difficult to do in a TV ad space of typically 30 to 60 seconds, and this is where YouTube comes in. Consumers are now happier to spend time with branded content online, dependent on the entertainment and relevance delivered.

If you’d like to see the top 10 adverts, you can click here.

2. What is Negative SEO and how can you protect your website?

Negative SEO is the process of using techniques similar to those of black hat SEO, but to attack and undermine a rival’s website that can lead on to damage their rankings in search results.

This can be done in many ways, including:

  • Having a huge number of links directed to your site that are low-quality and spam-heavy with keywords that have little to no relevance.
  • Copying content from your website that is then distributed across the internet, which could possibly interfere with Google’s policy on duplicate content.
  • Damaging your reputation by being negative about your business. That could involve fake social media profiles being created, etc.

You can click here to learn more about negative SEO and the steps you can take for your business to avoid it.

3. Marmite looks to replicate 2013 success by bringing back revamped ‘End Marmite Neglect’ campaign

We spoke about the ‘love it or hate it’ brand back in November when they picked up 2014’s Brand of the Year Award, and as predicted, Unilever have chosen to start a ‘full-scale Marmageddon’ with their parody on animal rescue programmes, entitled ‘End Marmite Neglect’. Although this approach attracted over 500 complaints back in 2013, the ASA chose to take no further action with the ad, allowing the jar to make a comeback this year.

But will this campaign follow in the footsteps of the 14% sales increase that it produced in its first run?

Keep an eye out for the ad, but for now, you can read more by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google Translate, Twitter, SEO

googletranslate-twitter-seo-smaller1. Report: Google app will soon let you translate voice to text in real time
Google Translate has helped many of us over the years to overcome the language barrier, but now Google are taking their electronic dictionary to new heights with the introduction of real-time voice translation. Although the app offers voice-to-text translation at present, the update will allow it to automatically recognise a language and then translate it to the language you desire.

It’s not yet apparent when the new update will be released and with 90 languages to work on, it’s no wonder the project started way back now, in July 2013.

To learn more about the upcoming feature, click here.

2. Prince William and Kate now have an official Twitter account

The day has finally come! Kensington Palace, which is home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, has created its own Twitter account, gaining over 130K followers in just over a week. Much to the disappointment of many around the world, there are no plans yet for the royals to be tweeting personally.

Instead, the Twitter account will provide updates on engagements, following in the steps of Clarence House and The British Monarchy, who both have Twitter accounts officially dedicated to the Royals.

To check out more details, click here.

3. How social and mobile work with SEO

Marketing generally works best when it is integrated. Different channels interact and build on the work each other does, combining to deliver an enhanced ROI. With this in mind, consider how can social media and mobile marketing work together to lead to improved SEO rankings?

One of the keys to making this work is to optimise the posts and content you are putting out through your social media channels – think keywords and location. The new Google Pigeon update, which focuses on geographic location when generating mobile-based search results, delivers the most relevant local businesses for the searcher. Google will reward sites that are mobile-optimised, so maybe it’s time to get working on that responsive-designed site.

Click here to discover more tips on how to succeed in the SEO, mobile and social media world.

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#MarketingTitbits – John Lewis, mobile optimisation, Instagram

johnlewis-mobile-instagram-smaller1. John Lewis’ director of comms on upholding the reputation of a loved brand
As one of the UK’s biggest brands, it’s no surprise that John Lewis has a tough task on its hands maintaining the reputation that has been built up over the past 150 years. Communications Director, Peter Cross, has spoken to Marketing Week and reveals his thoughts on the pressure that he faces.

Cross describes the challenge as a ‘privilege’, explaining that working in retail today requires bravery to allow you to stay ahead of the game. He also tells of an annual sales report revealing that at a time of digital evolution, 85% of the brands sales involved the store in some way, showing that roles of different channels are being reshaped to enhance experiences for the modern shopper.

2014 marked a huge 150-year milestone for John Lewis, but what does 2015 hold for the high street giant? To find out, you can click here.

2. 23 reasons why mobile users will abandon your site

Mobile commerce seems to be in a never-ending cycle of growth, with 37% of all retail sales over the Christmas period being completed through a mobile device. However, there are still many ways in which brands are failing to provide the best user experience through these devices, so we’re revealing just some.

Examples of brands that have been caught out for their mistakes include Currys, for the unwelcome appearance of numerous pop-ups, Tesco, who make people’s lives that bit more difficult with their tiny links and Thomas Cook, who wouldn’t appear to make many conversions through mobile whilst pages load at an extremely slow pace.

If you’d like to see the remaining guilty parties, click here.

3. How to build your business on Instagram

After launching a clothing business from the comfort of his own home, Alan Wardle and AnyForty have finally moved into their own offices after 6 years, and declare Instagram as its key marketing tool. But how do you succeed on the photo-sharing app?

Instagram has allowed creative businesses like AnyForty to build a solid customer base that can be constantly updated with new visual content that is fun, exciting and relevant. Alan shares a number of tips, which include scouring for relevant hashtags that could be beneficial to your business, replying back to photos your business is tagged in and always keeping followers up to date by posting fresh content on a regular basis.

To read more about the success of this start-up and how you can do the same, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Amazon, GIFs and Instagram video

amazon-GIFs-instagram-smaller1. Amazon to take on Google and Microsoft by offering corporate emailThe Wall Street Journal has recently reported on Amazon’s plans to shake up corporate email with the introduction of WorkMail, a cloud-based email service with a $4 per month price tag, rivalling the likes of Gmail and Microsoft Outlook 365.

The move suggests that Amazon is looking to expand its services further into the business sector, running as part of Amazon Web Services, which controls technology behind consumer brands like Netflix and Pinterest. The email software will offer encryption features and the ability to only store content in designated countries, also.

To read more into Amazon’s bold move, click here.

2. Making GIFs just got easier with Imgur’s new GIF creation tool

For those who aren’t sure, GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format and is a loosely compressed graphic that can commonly be found on websites, made up of simple shapes and a limited number of colours. And now making your own GIFs is easier than ever.

Imgur is a free image and GIF hosting website and has released a video creation tool which allows users to create looping GIFs from videos found on the likes of YouTube and Vimeo. All you have to do is copy and paste a video link, select your start time and duration between 1 and 15 seconds, and have your GIF come to life.

To see a demonstration and more information on the new tool, you can head to Mashable by clicking here.

3. 12 best branded Instagram videos from January 2015

Instagram has risen up the social media ranks with their video sharing feature over the past year, competing against other top channels such as Vine. Lots of brands are jumping into the scene and Econsultancy have compiled a list of their favourites from last month, so we’re outlining just some!

In the top 12 you will find Samsung showing off their advancements in technology, Mr Porter showcasing possibly all of their product line in 15 seconds and Starbucks, who are expressing their love of coffee. But we doubt the list could be complete without the inclusion of GoPro and Red Bull, as both brands take us to extremes to share their passion for video.

Check out all of the videos by clicking here.

 

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#MarketingTitbits – hashtags, social analytics tools, SEO tips

hashtags-analytics-SEO-smaller1. Use hashtags to generate greater brand engagement
Are hashtags a fad? Their growing popularity has seen them start to overtake the infamous Facebook ‘like’ button for brands looking to drive consumer engagement. Such is growing obsession over hashtag creation for brands, that some are even employing ‘specialists’ in the field. They may seem like clever creations, but if the brand doesn’t generate any actual positive engagement via this process is there any purpose to them?

Take the hashtag #FirstDraftEver for example – it featured on an ad for ‘Avocados from Mexico’ in what was their first appearance at the Super Bowl. It generated 25,000 mentions in the first 24 hours. This may sound impressive, but the problem was that many Tweets didn’t mention the Mexican brand itself. So did it drive brand awareness?

If you’d like to read more about how hashtags can be used to boost your brand, click here.

2. Five tips for picking the right social analytics tool

Have you ever considered the use of a social analytics tool for your business? If you’re in need of help, Econsultancy has created a few tips to help you along the way.

When using social analytics tools, it is important to focus on how business goals can be achieved rather than social goals. Ask yourself questions – what problems can be solved? What price gives your business the best value? These are important considerations that will lead to a successful investment in tech.

To see the full list of tips on social analytics, click here.

3. 32 simple SEO tips for small businesses

SEO can be a complicated concept for many people to grasp, but the good people at Econsultancy have put together a great list of tips, you can be sure to come away with some valuable insights you can implement straight away. We’re outlining just a few!

Firstly, by creating a blog, you can update your site frequently with valuable content that is interesting and engaging for readers, which in turn will build a strong online presence for your business. Another idea would be to take a look at your competitors; see what they are doing in terms of keywords and site optimisation and how you can improve upon them in order to stand out from the crowd and give people a worthwhile user experience.

To find out more about SEO and how your business can improve, you can check out the list of tips by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – writing tips, LinkedIn, marketing fails

writing-linkedin-fails-smaller1. 12 handy tips for writing better web copy
Some people consider writing for the web more difficult than it actually has to be. If you fall into this camp, Econsultancy may be able to help. They have put together some handy tips to keep in your mind when writing web copy.

If you haven’t heard of the inverted pyramid method, you have now! Put simply, include everything an individual would need to know in the opening paragraph. As the reader progresses through the article more in-depth information can then be revealed. It is a common journalist trick to engaging the reader quickly.

Other important factors for better web copy include: knowing your audience, using short paragraphs (in web terms this is a mere one or two sentences) and numbering or bulleting to format and break up chunks of text.

The tips don’t stop there. To see the remaining tips,click here.

2. LinkedIn to let marketers use more of its data to track users

As the biggest business-orientated social networking service, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn is expanding its offerings. The latest development is the introduction of advertising products that allow marketers to track their 300+ million users across the internet, followed by a targeted send of personalised messages to those users.

It comes as LinkedIn reveals plans to merge with its latest acquisition, Bizo, a digital marketing group bought in 2014 for a sum of $175m. Brands like Groupon, Lenovo and Salesforce are currently trialling the new product, with Groupon marketing executive Stephan Heller revealing the success that it has brought them.

If you would like to find out more about LinkedIn’s new venture, click here.

3. Five marketing fails

After the unfortunate mistake of the Hull Branch of Krispy Kreme relating their promotional club to the KKK a few weeks back now, PR Week has given us a round up of some top historic marketing fails.

You’ll find some use of mistaken language from not one, but five brands! Named and shamed in these mistakes are Sharwoods, Wang, Honda, Umbro and an Italian mineral water company.

Click here to see how these brands got it wrong.

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#MarketingTitbits – YouTube, LinkedIn, billboard campaigns

youtube-linkedin-billboards-smaller1. YouTube tops the list as favourite digital brand among children
Childwise, a market research company, has published a report highlighting that YouTube was the most popular site for 5 – 16 year olds over a 7-day period following a survey of the age group.

YouTube visits outnumbered the likes of Facebook, Snapchat and Google, and children / teenagers rate the video streaming platform as their favourite website (23%) and favourite app (8%). Amongst the children surveyed, 11-16 year olds were more likely to put video sites and vloggers at the tops of their favourite brand lists, whereas 5-10 year olds preferred social gaming brands.

It was notable that the popularity of Facebook amongst younger audiences continues to deteriorate. Do these findings indicate a changing of the social media guard?

To read more about the survey, click here.

2. How to use LinkedIn’s publishing tool to increase your social reach

Last year, LinkedIn released its publishing tool which allowed users in the US to create and post blogs on the platform. It has now granted publishing power to those outside of the US too, which means LinkedIners in the UK can now benefit from the function. You can add a headline, insert images to support  the blog and header, and copy and paste directly into the text box, which will preserve any links you have. How can you use this to your advantage?

One way of doing this is explained by Matt Owen from Econsultancy. The concept involves multiple people posting different blogs to their own LinkedIn pages, covering a wide range of connections.

For a thorough explanation on how you can make the most of LinkedIn’s publishing tool, just click here.

3. Bruised woman on London billboard heals as people pay attention to her

Canary Wharf in London saw the first in a short series of billboard campaigns surrounding the issue of domestic violence last week. Using facial recognition technology, the ad is designed to catch the eyes of busy passers-by.

The poster promotes a simple message, informing people to look at the bruised face of a woman and watch as the bruises heal when more people pay attention. The campaign was brought together by ad agency WCRS, charity Women’s Aid and the photographer Rankin.

To take a look at the striking adverts, head to Mashable.

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