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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 – 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 – Google, websites – then and now, Twitter election

google-websites-election-smaller1. The Google algorithm update may be a thing of the past
Google’s algorithm updates are known by names such as Penguin or Panda and will regularly move the SEO goal posts, leaving marketers awaiting their arrival with a certain level of anxiety. But this could now be a thing of the past.  Since 2012, the number of updates released by Google have decreased each year.

In a recent post on Search Engine Land, Nate Dame, the founder and CEO of search and content marketing firm Propecta, revealed his thoughts for fewer algorithm updates from Google and the reasons behind them.

To read more, click here.

2. An internet blast from the past!

Can you remember what LinkedIn looked like when you first visited the site in 2003?

Web design has come a long way in the last 20 years, so we’re sure you will enjoy looking at how some of the leading websites have changed since the early days of their existence.

On the list you will see how our favourite social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have all evolved, as well as Google, Amazon and eBay.

To see how the websites have transformed, click here.

3. ‘Twitter can be crucial to connecting people at this General Election’

With the General Election just over a month away and social media at its peak, it comes as no surprise to see that 34% of people in a survey carried out by Twitter have changed their vote from one political party to another after seeing something on the social media site.

The country is now at a point where people are feeling more disconnected than ever from politicians, so it is clear that Twitter could become a powerful tool for improving engagement, with 78% of members of parliament now signed up. Those in the running for the election could take tips from politicians like Barack Obama, who benefited greatly from his social media strategy during his campaign.

It’s expected that the 2015 electoral campaign will top the 7 million tweets generated from the Scottish referendum, but what influence will this have on votes? Head to MarketingWeek to find out more.

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#MarketingTitbits – Twitter, Aldi, advertising fails

twitter-supermarkets-adverts-smaller1. Twitter officially lets you retweet with comments now
Over the years, Twitter has faced criticism from frustrated users who struggled to warm to the limited functionality of the platform, but their latest change could help allay some of those frustrations.

Gone are the days where you had to cut and paste a URL before adding a comment; now it’s available at the click of a button. The “retweet with comment” feature allows users to embed tweets with their own messages, with photo and video retweets appearing as a small preview.

So far the new feature has gained mixed reviews, but what do you think? To find out more, click here.

2. Aldi replaces Waitrose to become the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket

It’s become clear that the rise of German discounters Aldi and Lidl shows no sign of slowing any time soon, as it’s revealed that in the 12 weeks to March 29, Aldi and Lidl’s sales rose 16.8% and 12.1%, respectively. Aldi is now the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket, holding 5.3% of the market share, overtaking Waitrose which stands at 5.1%.

Figures from Kantar Worldpanel show that the big four supermarkets faced a mixture of growth and decline in sales during this period, all the while remaining in the price war which aims to win back their lost shoppers. But as food prices continue to drop, what will the future landscape be for the UK’s supermarkets?

You can read more on Aldi’s success by clicking here.

3. 23 of the worst online advertising fails

When an online advertisement is placed well, it can be one of the most effective ways of targeting consumers. However, there are often some unfortunate moments where brands are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Brands such as Apple, UPS, Samsung, Uber and Nike discovered that there can be a number of unforeseen complications with online ad placement, leading to some unfortunate outcomes.

If you would like to see the list of fails, head to Business Insider.

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#MarketingTitbits – retail technology, reputable brands, royal celebrations

ecommerce-reputablebrands-royal-smaller1. Shoppers using average five connected devices to purchaseWhen purchasing goods both online and in-store, consumers are now on average using five ‘connected’ devices during the process, whether this be browsing, researching, comparing or buying. Devices range from PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and wearables according to DigitasLBi, which examined retailer trends around the world.

The research found that 27% of consumers will hope to find personalised offers online, while 70% believe they would engage with in-store connectivity like GPS or Wi-Fi tracking if the stores offered consumer benefits. But it’s not just devices that are growing in popularity – social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are also seeing increased growth in direct purchasing.

Could 2015 be the year that changes the retail experience fundamentally? To find out more, click here.

2. BMW beats Google and Walt Disney to become world’s most reputable brand

In a recent study carried out by Reputation Institute, BMW topped the list of the world’s most reputable brands, succeeding last year’s joint first place holders, Walt Disney and Google.

The brands were ranked in accordance to their reputations amongst consumers, based on criteria including innovation, governance and citizenship. The top ranking vehicle manufacturer believes its success is down to internet and social media tools, but also face-to-face interaction itself. Other brands joining BMW in the top 100 include Rolex, Apple, Volkswagen, Nestle and IKEA.

To take a look at the list in full, head to The Drum.

3. How brands wished Queen Elizabeth a happy 89th birthday ft Marmite, Beats, Lidl & Tesco

Last week, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 89thbirthday, and brands across the world came out to celebrate as #QueenElizabeth trended on Twitter for the majority of the day.

Sharing their limited edition royal products on social media were Marmite and Pot Noodle, who created animations commemorating the occasion, while other brands, such as Tesco, Lidl and Surfdome showed their humorous sides.

Take a look at how others celebrated the special day by clicking here.

 

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#MarketingTitbits – media mentions, coding, Twitter

media-coding-twitter-smaller1. The companies with the most media mentions in 2013
 Each year, Dow Jones publish their Global Dow Index which includes a list of the companies with the most media mentions for that year. Unsurprisingly US tech giants topped the list with Google being number one, Apple coming in a close second and Microsoft coming in a close third.

To have a look at the rest of the list from Mashable, click here.

 

2. Become a coding expert and a better marketer

 Learning to code is rapidly becoming an indispensible skill; it can open up a whole world of new opportunities, and can make you stand out a mile when looking for a new job. There are many online courses that offer to teach you everything you need to know to become an expert coder, some free and some paid. We think Codecademy is one of the best free websites that can teach you about all different types of coding and how to use them.

To read more about why and how you should learn to code,click here.

 

3. How the top 100 brands use twitter

If your business isn’t already using Twitter then it’s about time you thought about it. It has been one of the fastest growing social networking sites since its launch in 2006. If you don’t yet use Twitter to connect with your customers or if you’re simply in need of some fresh inspiration, have a look at this article which highlights how the top 100 brands use Twitter.

To read more, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Pizza Hut, shopping, Twitter

pizza-shopping-twitter-smaller1. Pizza Hut’s new Xbox 360 app
 In April 2013 Pizza Hut released a new app for the Xbox 360. The app allowed Xbox 360 users to order and pay for pizzas and sides to be delivered to their home, without even having to move from the sofa. In the first 4 months of app’s release Pizza Hut sold $1million worth of pizza, but have still not stated whether they will bring the app to other consoles.

To read more, click here.

 

2. 17 things shops do to make you spend more money

 Have you ever been shopping and returned home with much more than you intended? Despite you not planning on the impulse buys, the shop you bought them from probably did. Whether it was a supermarket or clothing shop, there are many things that shops do to encourage you to spend more money.

Supermarkets tend to place essential items such as milk and eggs near the back of the shop, this is so that you have to walk past all the other items before you reach them, making you more likely to pick something up you don’t really want or need. Not only do shops use sales to entice you, they also use limited-time offers to increase your sense of urgency when making a purchase.

To have a look at the other 15, click here.

 

3. Top 10 UK Twitter trends of 2013

 At this time each year, not only are the biggest trends of the previous year discussed and brought to light, there is also much speculation about what the coming year’s top trends will be.

On Twitter last year, in Britain, 8 out of the 10 most talked about topics were discussions about sporting events. In number one spot on 5th March was Real Madrid beating Manchester United 2-1, knocking them out of the Champions League. Unsurprisingly it was another footballing event in at number 10 on 15th October; England beat Poland 2-0 to qualify for the Brazil 2014 World Cup.

To have a look at numbers 2-9, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google+, Instavid, Guinness

Google+-Instagram-Guinness-smaller1. The beginners guide to Google+
When Google+ first launched in 2011 they had 10s of millions of users sign up within the first few months. Despite constant scepticism since, the platform has been growing steadily and now boasts in excess of 235 million users. Because of the lack of understanding of what Google + actually is, many people and businesses have refrained from becoming a Google+ user. However, we have always felt that if you want to succeed with SEO on Google you need to play by Google’s rules. It is likely that Google + is central to one of these rules. If you are not already active on Google +, we think it would be a good idea for you to have a look at this beginners guide to Google+. To read the article, click here.

2. 10 of the most shared brands on Instagram

About three months ago, in an attempt to keep up with Vine, Instagram released an update that allows users to upload videos as well as photos. The majority of videos uploaded are from regular Instgram users, but 40% of the 1,000 most shared Instagram videos (Instavids) last month came from brands. The videos uploaded are a maximum of 15 seconds long and are already giving the 6 second long video app, Vine, competition. This week, we saw an article from econsultancy highlighting 10 of the most shared brands on Instavid, to have a look click here.

3. Guinness / Jonathan Ross advert #RoundUpYourMates backfires

On Saturday October 26th, Guinness aired three adverts during the break between The Jonathan Ross Show. The advert asked viewers to join in on Twitter with the hashtag #RoundUpYourMates. Unfortunately for Guinness, the campaign backfired and was heavily criticised, being called “painful” and “sexist” amongst other things.  Some of the #RoundUpYourMates tweets included:

Lee McEwan ‏@leemcewan 27 Oct
Interrupting a TV show with a worse version of the same TV show devalued the TV show itself #roundupyourmates

Paul Connolly ‏@PaulConnolly10 26 Oct
#RoundUpYourMates the grand tradition of great Guinness adverts died tonight

Mark Gordon ‏@markjgordon 26 Oct
The @GuinnessGB marketing team must be praying for that hurricane on Monday to take the spotlight off them. #roundupyourmates

To read more from Marketing Week click here.

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What your SME can learn from social media

Last month, we introduced the first instalment of our three part blog, ‘What SMEs can learn from big businesses’. Part 1 highlighted ‘Guerrilla marketing’ and how larger organisations are adopting innovative campaigns in order to raise brand awareness and create that vital social buzz.  This month, part 2 focuses on social media and how more and more companies are including the likes of Facebook and Twitter into their marketing mix to help grow their business and attract potential customers.

Out of the total 7 billion people living on the planet, 1.5 billion use social media. From Twitter and Facebook to Google+ and Pinterest, social media has now become ingrained into our contemporary lifestyles, making it easier to engage and share content with individuals online, no matter what the social and geographical boundaries. But social media is no longer just influencing our personal lives; one in three businesses now use social media, with 58% of consumers ‘liking’ at least one brand on Facebook.

Companies are now harnessing the power of social media to build their brands within the landscape of status updates, pins and tweets. To create successful social media campaigns, an investment of time is essential. However, this alone is not enough. A note of caution – it is easy to rush into tweeting and posting pictures, without really understanding why you are doing it and what you hope to achieve. Like any marketing activity, researching, planning and implementing strategies are critical to turning a great idea into great results.

Here are some good and bad examples how some well known companies have used social media to engage with their audience.

1. In October 2012, Cisco, the multinational networking equipment giant, wanted to make sure that they were listening to their customers and responding to questions and queries in ways that were relevant and accurate. With this in mind, Cisco launched their Social Media Listening Centre. On a daily basis, the centre monitors around 5,000 social mentions across 70 company-related platforms, from Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn and YouTube, to company blogs and forums. According to a recent independent evaluation of these listening activities, Cisco achieved a 281% return on their investment over a 5-month period, amounting to an annual cost benefit of over just over £991 million. This was calculated by comparing what Cisco spent on implementing and training staff to use social marketing tool with the benefits received, the avoidance of marketing and customer service costs to achieve the same results, along with indirect benefits, such as increased staff productivity. The results indicated that the new centre helped Cisco employees deal with more enquiries at a faster rate.

2. To celebrate their 100th anniversary, Oreo posted 100 adverts on their Facebook page over 100 days. During the campaign, Oreo’s Facebook friends went up from 26million to 27million and its Facebook interactions increased by 195%. The posts included relevant topics, quotes about Oreos, humorous cartoons and even Oreo themed recipes. The time invested in developing their Facebook campaign paid off as Oreo won the top Studio Award prize from Facebook.

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3. However, interacting closely with consumers online can backfire if you have not planned your campaign successfully.  Earlier this year, Tesco posted on their Facebook page “Click LIKE if you love getting your groceries delivered.” Alongside people liking the post, there were numerous comments from customers explaining their bad experiences with Tesco’s home delivery service. Tesco did not ignore or delete the comments, instead they responded to every single user, asking for details so they could look into each case and try and solve the problem.

4. Unfortunately, Waitrose’s attempt at #hashtags wasn’t exactly what they had planned either. In 2012, Waitrose invited customers to complete the sentence ‘I shop at Waitrose because… #WaitroseReasons’.  What Waitrose thought was a great way to showcase the affordability of the brand backfired, with Twitter users mocking the brands position within the market and their target audience. For example, ‘I shop at Waitrose because it makes me feel important and I absolutely detest being around poor people #WaitroseReasons. ‘I shop at Waitrose because I was once in the Holloway Rd branch and heard a dad say ‘Put the papaya down, Orlando!’

For a company embarking on using social media as part of their marketing, the seemingly endless choice and possibilities can see daunting. However, adopting the right platforms to represent your brand is important.  Twitter and Facebook are good for creating conversations with customers and responding to queries, complaints or praise. For the brands that are more visual, sites like Pinterest and Instagram provide an array of creative opportunities. The key to successful social media isn’t just about how many fans, followers or mentions you have, instead the secret to building your brand is the interaction between your business and your online community. For your campaigns to run smoothly, creating a social media strategy is essential. It will help your brand stay in the right direction, generate a return on investment, as well as increase your visibility online.

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