Digital Marketing Blog

Start Me Up! A profile of Tablo

Tablo wants to be Wordpress for eBooks. Think it has what it takes?

Most of us in PR and content marketing are looking for the right tools to augment an ever increasing demand for content generation and that can also help create lasting value for referral traffic on different web platforms.

I personally forsee a lot of SaaS startups and cloud collaboration popping up soon to address this market, and we've profiled startups like Flockler, and 87seconds in the past, which are examples fitting this mould.

A new entrant, Tablo, addresses the eBook market specifically. Whether you are an author, or a web marketer, I suggest paying close attention to founder Ash Davies responses below!

by Ryan Sommer 21 May 2013 16:44pm 0 comments

How the top 10 US retailers use Pinterest

Pinterest is no longer the darling of the social media world, but its relationship with brands has become cosier recently with the launch of its business pages and new updates that enable companies to show product information on their pins.

The power of Pinterest as a tool for driving traffic and sales is an issue we’ve investigated extensively on the blog, as well publishing a Best Practice Guide on the subject.

However some brands remain unconvinced and either don’t have an account on the social network or give their pages limited attention.

So to find out who is yet to jump on the bandwagon, here is a look at how the top 10 US retailers use Pinterest...

by David Moth 21 May 2013 14:18pm 1 comment

Yahoo's Tumblr acquisition sends clear message to advertisers

It's official: Yahoo has purchased popular blogging platform Tumblr for more than a billion dollars - $1.1bn to be exact.

The internet's latest nine-figure acquisition is probably one most industry observers wouldn't have predicted.

After all, despite that an ex-Googler, Marissa Mayer, is at Yahoo's helm, there were few prior indicators that she was looking to make a billion dollar purchase.

And if there had been, Tumblr, while incredibly popular, doesn't seem like the company that would have made it to the top of the list as Yahoo's track record with acquisitions of user generated content startups is not all that impressive.

From Geocities to Flickr, Yahoo has proven to be a master of reverse alchemy in the space, repeatedly finding ways to turn gold to lead.

by Patricio Robles 21 May 2013 13:42pm 0 comments

Six brands that have been busy experimenting with Google Hangouts

We’ve been keen exponents of Google Hangouts for some time here at Econsultancy as they’re a great way of sharing content and promoting our brand.

In recent weeks we’ve hosted several Hangouts as part of our preparations for Integrated Marketing Week which has helped us to identify and iron out a few bugs with the system.

Our head of social Matt Owen has become something of an expert on Hangouts as a result and yesterday blogged his tips for hosting a successful event.

Currently I feel that Hangouts are one of the few reasons for bothering with G+ as user interaction with brand updates is generally extremely low.

And on the same theme, here are six examples of other brands that have been experimenting with Google Hangouts...

by David Moth 21 May 2013 11:51am 1 comment

Just 15% of consumers believe it pays to be loyal to brands

Only 15% of British consumers believe strongly that it pays to be loyal to their favourite brands, according to a new survey by Epsilon.

However if brands can offer what consumers want – which half of respondents identified as being value and quality in the products or services they are offered – they have a good chance of encouraging customers to remain loyal.

The research, which was conducted among 419 British respondents, also shows that the recession appears to have made UK shoppers more frugal.

More than half (57%) of respondents said that they will shop around to find the best deal and just (15%) are prepared to pay the premium for luxury products and new-to-market products.

Looking at what drives repeat purchases, just over a quarter (28%) of British customers see rewards programmes as an incentive to secure their loyalty.

by David Moth 21 May 2013 11:14am 1 comment

Five things to consider when creating a magazine app

According to the PPA TAP Report, 55%of UK tablet owners have read a digital magazine on their tablet in the last three months.

So with magazine apps becoming an increasingly important part of a brand's digital content repertoire, how do you decide whether a magazine app is for you?

And once you know you want an app, what steps do you need to take to make it happen?

Here are five key points that will set you on the right path.

by Robin Barnes 21 May 2013 10:33am 0 comments

How Appliances Online went from 2,500 to 1m Facebook fans in just two years

Online electrical retailer Appliances Online (now rebranded as AO) has seen impressive growth on its Facebook page, recently hitting the milestone of 1m likes.

According to AO, it is also making Facebook sell, something not all retailers have managed to do.

It has seen a 60% in branded search traffic, which has led to a 58% uplift in sales driven by brand terms.

To find out the secrets behind this growth, I've been asking AO Social Media Manager Yossi Erdman...

by Graham Charlton 21 May 2013 10:07am 12 comments

Make your website user friendly with core building blocks

I tend to keep an eye on the UK’s most popular websites (Alexa is a good source for this data), as I know that my clients and their customers are likely to be familiar with their navigation features, tools and interfaces.

There is a risk that creating something ‘too new’ or ‘too different’ can give rise to negative user feedback, a recent case in point being Microsoft® Windows 8 lacking a Start button.

For most projects, delivery timescales are tight and there isn’t time to experiment with wild and fanciful navigation.

More importantly, users want to find things quickly. They don’t want to have to ‘learn’ how to use your site, it should be intuitive to them.

by Luke Brason 21 May 2013 09:44am 2 comments

The rise of the temporary organisation

What's permanent? What's temporary? Perceptions of time frame the way we work together.

I was debating project and service management standards the other day. (Yep, I lead a sad life.)

To be honest, it wasn’t much of a debate. We all agreed on the big stuff – that projects and services overlap; that we all need to work together to deliver value; that people and skills matter more than standards and controls.

A lot of motherhood and apple pie really. Boring.

Throughout the debate, I felt we were missing something. There was a big divergence in our underlying mindsets; we just weren’t getting at it. Afterwards, I realised this was due to the framing of the debate.

by Graham Oakes 21 May 2013 09:18am 0 comments

How much longer will events be the most effective demand channel?

Almost half (47%) of trade-show visitors go with the express plan of buying within 12 months of an event, and fully 81% of attendees can make the final call or recommend on purchases.