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#MarketingTitbits – Hootsuite, shopping and Science World

1. Hootsuite – for begginers
If you haven’t heard of Hootsuite already then it is about time that you did. The social media management site now has 7 million users in over 175 countries around the world. It is basically a website that allows users to integrate all their social media channels and control posts across them; particularly handy for businesses.

This week, we’ve found a great article on Mashable entitled ‘A beginner’s guide to Hootsuite’. If you don’t already have Hootsuite or a struggling with it then we suggest you check it out. To read the article click here.

2. How is shopping changing in the future?

The way that we do our shopping is changing rapidly. More people shop online now than they ever have before, especially the generation of 14-19 year olds. This week we came across a very interesting article in Marketing Week that explores how the face of shopping is changing and how brands can and need to keep up with it. To have a look at the article click here.

3. Wonderfully creative adverts from Science World Vancouver

The Science World Museum in Vancouver is notorious for its slightly controversial exhibits –Body Worlds and The Science of Sexuality exhibitions being just two examples that courted controversy. This risqué and alternative attitude extends into their marketing. They are now known across Vancouver for their innovative and attention grabbing campaigns. They have amassed a vast array of eye-catching and intelligent adverts that have been used around the city to raise awareness. We think they are brilliant, so thought we’d share some with you. To have a look at some of them and get inspired click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Stella Artois gifting app, some humorous Twitter accounts and 35 books that everyone should read..

  1. Stella Artois launches social media gifting app

Stella Artois, the Belgium larger company who have been brewing larger since 1926, have been notorious for their advertising for years.  Their distinctive European cinematic style shows that their marketing is well thought out and inspiring, they have even used notable directors for their television campaigns, such as Jonathan Glazer.

This year Stella Artois released a new app which lets users send gifts to their friends. Users can buy a voucher code and send it to their friend who can then use it at participating bars and pubs to buy one pint of Stella Artois.

To read the full article from Marketing Week then click here.

2. 10 branded Twitter accounts that raise a laugh

Twitter is now the second most popular social networking site in the world with 500million users and nearly all of the top brands have a Twitter account. However, some brands that are on Twitter still haven’t mastered the art of engaging with customers in conversation on Twitter! If you’re in need of some inspiration on how to create conversations with your customers on Twitter, then have a look at this article we found from Econsultancy, they’ve highlighted some of the brands on Twitter that have a sense of humour and like a laugh.

3. 35 books everyone should read at least once in their lifetime

Oscar Wilde once said “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” For that reason we thought we’d share with you a list of 35 books that everyone should read in their lifetime – at least once.

From a heart wrenching lecture from a dying American professor to the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we think this article is well worth a read, not to mention the books on the list. To have a look click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Coca-Cola advert banned, must-follow twitter accounts for entrepreneurs and digital marketing campaigns from McDonald’s!

Coca-Cola advert banned for misleading exercise claimsThe Advertising Standards Authority has clamped down on Coca-Cola this week. Their advertising campaign that shows a can of coke to have 139 calories and all the things you can do to burn these calories off has been banned. Allegedly this advert has led consumers to believe that they can burn off 139 calories by laughing for 75 seconds.

Coca-Cola has come back to the ASA by pointing out that only 10 people out of the 39 million people that saw the advert contacted the advertising watchdog.

To check out the advert and the full article, click here.

5 must follow Twitter accounts for entrepreneur

Twitter is great at connecting us mere mortals with celebrities, politicians and thought leaders, but with everyone and there dog on the social media platform, finding who to follow for relevant and interesting Tweets can be challenging. As an entrepreneur, twitter can be a great source for advice and tips from the people who have already been there, done it and done it well. Have a look at these 5 must-follow twitter accounts for entrepreneurs, from Richard Branson to Tim Ferriss.

http://mashable.com/2013/07/12/twitter-for-entrepreneurs/

10 brilliant digital marketing campaigns from McDonalds

McDonalds is the largest food chain in the world and is no stranger to digital marketing. In fact, over the last couple of years the marketing gurus at McDonalds have come up with some very clever digital marketing campaigns. From the “Ask McDonalds” YouTube campaign, where over 20,000 questions were answered, including “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in store?” and “Is your beef actually 100% pure beef or is that the name of a company?”, to the McDonalds Iced Fruit Smoothie App.

To check out these and everything in between, click here.

 

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TLC Business host Social Media Seminar for SMEs

Web-imageTLC Business hosted our annual marketing seminar last Thursday. This year’s topic was social media for SMEs, clearly an area of interest for businesses because the event was a sell out. Attendees were treated to a morning of presentations from experts in LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and given insights into how to use social media effectively in their businesses.
We are delighted the seminar was well received and we all left the session with a whole host of hints, tips and guidance on how to start using social media more effectively in our businesses.

For those that were unable to attend and attendees that would like to review the slides in more detail, we have uploaded the speaker’s presentations and top tips below. To download them, just click on the link:

Joshua Spencer – TLC Business
Social Media vs. traditional marketing

James Potter – The LinkedIn Man
With LinkedIn, are you collecting, connecting or cashing in? and LinkedIn Top 5 Tips

Samathan Russell – The Social Sardine
Facebook for Business

Mark Edmunds – ShootingBusiness
Attracting traffic to your site, finding clients and increasing online conversion with YouTube

Wendy Kier – The Business Mechanic
Twitter, Social Media Marketing and Business Promotion

If you have any questions about the topics discussed or in deed anything marketing related, give us a call on 01962 600 147 and we’ll answer them. Thank you to all those that took the time to attend and good luck with implementing your actions from the day!

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Top Marketing Tips For July

  1. Free Online Photo Editor – Photo editing applications often require you to have the image stored on your computer.  Free Online Photo Editor lets you edit images stored on your computer and it also accepts direct URLs of images stored online. Once you provide the image to the editor you can perform numerous editing tasks that include resizing, rotating, adjusting the brightness, sharpening, enhancing, adding text to images, and much more.
  2. Tweet Topic Explorer  is a tool that lets you quickly check what a Twitter user has been tweeting about. The normal way to check would be going through the user’s Twitter timeline which can be time consuming. This tool helps you avoid that by showing the main topics in a tag cloud format. Check out the TLC Biz twitter topic image below, I have no idea why the word dog is in there…..Josh?
  3. The Big Book of Graphic Design is the independent, international, and indispensable collection of graphic design from around the world. The work is grouped into seven categories: Corporate, arts, music, education, editorial design, self promotion and unpublished. A great book to help you with some graphic designs ideas for your business.
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The Rise in Digital Media – Continued

The nights are drawing in and winter is on its way, so what better time for companies looking to boost their marketing by getting online and involved in social media on the dark and dreary afternoons that we have been experiencing lately. Following on from Joshua Spencer’s presentation on digital marketing in July, we examine some more benefits to digital media and what it can do for your business.
Digital marketing is hugely effective for connecting with consumers in an interactive and engaging way. An increasing number of people are interacting and communicating within the social media sphere, and therefore investing in an online presence for your business is very important. Effective use of social media is no longer an option for companies, it‘s now a requirement.

Last week the luxury fashion brand Burberry told the Financial Times that they were investing more of their marketing budget into the digital arena, a total of 60%, more than three times the average.  In the past, Burberry relied heavily on traditional methods of marketing, such as print advertising; however they now feel that they need to be totally connected with whomever touches their brand and engaging with their audience via social media is a means of achieving this. The shift to digital marketing highlights how quickly industries are moving away from traditional methods of marketing in order to interact with consumers globally. Reaching out to consumers on multiple channels makes it more important than ever for a business to make sense of this new ‘marketing mix’

Create a two way conversation

As we have mentioned in the past, digital media can be a valuable asset not just for larger B2C organisations but also for your everyday SME. Twitter is currently dominating the marketing landscape, used by 82% of the B2B social mix. When it comes to expanding a business, “tweeting” has real value, enabling a two way conversation with customers, as well as promotion for any organisation. It is used by small businesses, as well as global companies, facilitating customer feedback, free marketing, improved brand recognition and a stronger connection with customers. Starbucks use of social media is a brilliant example of this.  The coffeehouse giant posts new offers and participates in interactive discussions with their customers about the offers on twitter daily. Computer company ComCast also offers a friendly Twitter customer support, including a photograph of the member of staff you are talking to.

Audience participation

Video is another personal yet dynamic way to engage with consumers, allowing them to participate and interact with a brand in order to obtain more information. Google recently reported that 35% of B2B marketers already using online video will increase their video budgets in the future.   A tool which is mainstream and accessible to all, video enables businesses to accumulate larger audiences quickly and effectively. The value of video is reflected in HSBC’s recent campaign. The bank held a competition for a £15,000 student bursary last year, and the decision to keep the media interactive was integral to the success of campaign. Students uploaded a 90 second video to Facebook stating why the money would help them change the world. Response to the campaign was outstanding: there were 50,000 interactions in one month and more than 2 million impressions. Check out Sprites Zero Skate ‘n’ Splash video below and HSBC’S winning entry.

This interactive YouTube video lets you instantly skip from one segment to the next, deciding exactly what you’ll see and when you’ll see it. Using keyboard keys 4 to 9, you can replay the skateboard tricks, skip others, and create your own rhythmic masterpieces.The promotional YouTube video, dreamed up by Coca-Cola Germany for Sprite Zero, minimizes branding because it’s creators “wanted the focus to be on the content and the interactivity.” They added, “This sort of video is quite different from what we at Coca-Cola usually do, in terms of ‘edginess’ and branding.”

 ‘Likes’ are not the be all and end all

Facebook is used by 67% of B2B marketers and 200 million people access Facebook via a mobile device each day.  It is guaranteed to expand your business presence on the web. However, it is also important to be careful with the type of interaction your social media attracts.  A recent study has shown that the more “likes” a brand has on Facebook, the less participation there was to a page by consumers.  A study by L2, an organisation for digital innovation, has found that the quality and not the quantity of consumers is extremely important.  Therefore, in the fast changing social media landscape, it is important for businesses to keep their pages up to date and interactive.

Another huge advantage of social media is that it is a free or low cost marketing strategy.  It brings a new dimension to an organisation’s communication – forecasts indicate traditional marketing will represent only 30% of SMB marketing budgets by 2015.  The objective of social media marketing is to draw the customer closer to your brand. Once engaged, maintaining an effective dialogue must be a priority. It is no good collecting likes, connections and followers. The real power of social media is only realised through regular communication and relationship building. Only then can your start turning followers into customers.

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September’s Top Marketing Tips

  1. Since the Twitter timeline displays tweets as they are posted, your timeline often does not immediately show tweets from users who tweet less frequently. Their tweets are buried by users of more tweeting frequency. Shuush aims to amplify the people that don’t usually get heard, and scale back those with frequent updates.
  2. Dropbox as you may know is the easiest way to sync and share your files online and across computers. Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your iPhone and iPad and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.
  3. Graphic Design That Works: Successful Design for Logos, Brochures, Promotions, Websites and More. A guide to creating an eye catching and innovative design. This book will help companies looking to grab a consumer’s attention with memorable logos and in depth promotional campaigns. The book explores designs from early conceptual stages to initial drafts and final executions.
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November’s Top Marketing Tips

1. Twitter Tool: With so many twitter tools available, it’s hard to know what to choose. This is a list of ten Twitter applications used by social media and industry experts!2. iPad Magazine: Write and publish your own iPad magazine. The Magplus platform is a creative system for making issue-based media for touchscreen tablet devices.

3. Teach Yourself SEO: Useful links and information to help you teach yourself SEO. These resources provide analysis of the search engine industry and helps website owners improve their rankings with Google.

 

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Marketing Trends 2012

2012 has arrived and we are very excited! It is time to look at the challenges and opportunities ahead and start planning your marketing strategy for 2012, if you haven’t done so already.
Relationships are key

According to numerous marketing sources and we’d agree, the future of marketing lies in customer relationships. This is supported by the rise of social media, where consumers can engage with your brand at anytime. Gone are the days when companies could control external communications concerning their organisation. The power now resides with the consumer or client. Listening and responding to their needs is vital.

Traditional advertising is over

Your customer’s ability to identify whether what’s being promoted is something useful to them or just “advertising” has become infinitely more acute. According to Andrew Baird at Amazing Business, ignoring ads is at an all time high, so successful marketing relies on being shared online. Customers can then “like”, recommend and share their opinions through this medium.

Word of mouth marketing

Now more than ever, a consistent online presence is crucial to business success. Through conducting regular client surveys on behalf of our clients, TLC Business has persistently found that referrals, whether on or offline, are still a vital tool for sourcing a new service. The rise in social media activity has made it much easier for consumers to recommend or advise against a service and have their message shared far beyond their own social circles. This is further verified by the Buyersphere 2011 report on changing B2B buyer behavior, which identifies referrals as one of the most influential channels when appointing and sourcing a supplier.

Integrated on and offline

Alongside active consumer engagement, TLC Business emphasises the importance of  on and offline marketing convergence.  With all the noise about digital marketing, it is easy to forget that more traditional marketing methods can still be incredibly effective. Using both mediums together can result in greater returns on your marketing investment. Integral to successfully implementing this strategy is ensuring all your marketing efforts support each other, working in unison, rather than each independently in its own bubble. For successful integration, make sure online and offline business campaigns are consistent, coherent and in sync with each other.

QR codes

TLC Business’ Director, Josh Spencer, believes that 2012 will be the year QR codes finally realise their potential and become more widely used. For those that haven’t heard, QR is short for Quick Response. These barcodes are used to take a piece of information from an advertisement or product and transfer it to a mobile device. For small businesses, this code can be added to a wide variety of marketing material, including: stationery, adverts, promotional items, posters, stands etc. and direct users to a specific landing page. Using this tool means that information about your business can be accessed instantaneously and at any time. Crucially, it also gives businesses a fantastic way of measuring the effectiveness of a variety of marketing tools that previously would have proved difficult.

Don’t get lazy

Don’t rest on your laurels. What has worked in the past will not necessarily prove effective today. Make sure you adopt strategies that are up-to-date with today’s “switched on” consumers and exploit the latest improvements in marketing tools and technology. For businesses looking to grow their client base and improve customer relations, developing a well rounded and relevant marketing plan is essential. In today’s fast moving society, marketing strategies should be constantly evolving and changing; tools that were successful in 2011, may not be as effective in 2012.

Do your homework

The beginning of a new year also allows business owners the opportunity to diversify their marketing. Research shows that 57% of entrepreneurs interviewed said that marketing was their top priority this year. SMEs that want to continue to build their reputation in the marketplace in 2012 must be aware of consumer needs. Experimenting with different channels will enhance your opportunities, so what better time to try new approaches. Determine those channels that are most profitable and those that aren’t. The New Year marks a time for change, and small businesses are no exception. By refreshing your marketing strategy, you can breathe new life into your business and make 2012 a great your for your business.

We are looking forward to joining you on your journey!

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Top Marketing Tips For January

  1. E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber. You may have heard us mention this great book in the past. E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for anyone thinking about starting a business or for those who have already taken that risky step.
  2. Having multiple social networking accounts online means having to individually update your profile picture on each network. Avatar Harmony helps you synchronise your profile pictures between Facebook and Twitter.
  3. Create your own QR code online. QR codes are a square matrix type barcode that hold encrypted information. They are widely used in marketing to provide an extremely easy way for end users to be directed to web content, initiate an SMS, and receive contact information as a Vcard and more.

 

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