Ryan Sommer

A Silicon Valley native and PR professional with a tech writing background, specialized in consumer web launches, product review programs, social media momentum initiatives, and blog relations in U.S. and European markets.

Being at the forefront of social media PR, I understand SEO's "white hat" relationship with it very strongly, and I am well versed with new tracking and reporting methods that come along with it.

In 2010 I relocated to the UK in order to work as part of global marketing team for a consumer web product, and I have worked in London ever since through freelance consulting to the burgeoning startup scene and with the digital marketing intelligence community Econsultancy.

Specialties: Branding, identity, community building, community relations, market research, social media relations, user acquisition, web browsers, mobile, desktop software, social networking, web standards, open source, identity/OpenID, design, music, gadgets, blogging, SEO, content marketing

40+ alternatives to Google Reader

Much to the dismay of news junkies everywhere, Google recently announced the planned axing of its popular popular RSS reader.

Here is the most extensive list you will find of alternative RSS aggregation and reading platforms.

Spot any we missed? Let us know below...

by Ryan Sommer 15 March 2013 11:34am 25 comments

Three content marketing tips from LinkedIn on reaching its audience

Since launching over ten years ago, LinkedIn has grown from a Silicon Valley phenomenon and niche social network for business to a content powerhouse that makes corporations drool for its demographic data and targeted advertising capabilities.

Fortunately for marketers, the growth of this social giant also means dedicated networks, segmented by industry, hosting expert blog posts, forums (in the form of LinkedIn Groups) and even a dedicated news stream that can drive millions of pageviews much like the early days of Digg and current Reddit army.

Here are three tips on how to engage with content and track effectively from my conversations with LinkedIn representatives.

by Ryan Sommer 14 March 2013 14:28pm 1 comment

Three best practice tips for integrating paid search with offline campaigns

Paid search is 'always-on' and a numbers game that needs to be aligned with your offline marketing strategy to reap maximum rewards.

In our recent Paid Search Best Practice Guide, which includes over 300+ pages of tips and best practice, we outline how these ads can support cross-channel marketing campaigns.

Read on for three tips from contributor Chris Camacho, Head of Paid Search at Starcom MediaVest Group.

by Ryan Sommer 20 March 2013 13:32pm 0 comments

TUI Travel's Digital Director on the importance of UX

Alun Williams, Digital Director Europe for TUI Travel, is an "unashamed and self confessed hardcore ecommerce practitioner." As a judge for The Digitals this year, Williams is holding UX close to his heart.

Read on for why the right user experience improves the bottom line commercially, and don't forget entries close Wednesday this week. Here is how to enter.

by Ryan Sommer 12 March 2013 12:52pm 0 comments

Deloitte director of strategy on 'mobile first' and 'digital transformation'

So many great insights have been gleaned from speaking to The Digitals judging panel prior to the main event in June.

Here Olivier Binse, Director Strategy Telecoms and Media at Deloitte, shares his views on how we are moving from "mobile first" to "mobile only"and what digital transformation means in context to the The Digitals.

If your company or client is doing great things bridging the gap between online/offline through mobile, or indeed in any aspect of digital, remember you need to submit your work before the March 13 deadline.

by Ryan Sommer 08 March 2013 12:23pm 1 comment

Amaze CEO Natalie Gross on Burberry's digital high street presence

We've been hearing lots of great advice and best practice from speaking to The Digitals judging panel prior to the main event in June.

Here Amaze CEO Natalie Gross talks about Burberry's multichannel approach to the High Street as well as how Amaze approaches digital excellence.

If your company or client is doing great things bridging the gap between online/offline through mobile, remember you need to submit your work before the March 13 deadline.

by Ryan Sommer 07 March 2013 14:28pm 0 comments

#TheDigitals Judge Grant Arnott on what marketers can learn from the adult industry

Plenty of great of advice has been coming to us in the form of Q&As we are hosting on the blog to promote our industry awards showcase The Digitals.

Here Grant Arnott, Managing Director of The Media Pad, explains (among other things) how the porn industry (content aside) has led the way in digital for some time!

More tips from judges on how to make your award entries stand out are on the way..

by Ryan Sommer 05 March 2013 22:03pm 1 comment

Four tips from #TheDigitals judges to help your entry stand out

Through profiling our esteemed global judging panel for The Digitals here on our blog, we noticed a few key themes and reoccurring takeaways.

Brands and agencies still entering before the MARCH 13 deadline take note here!

by Ryan Sommer 06 March 2013 13:50pm 0 comments

Q&A: CACI Director for Digital & Social Toby Goldblatt on digital excellence

The call for participation in Econsultancy's Top 100 Agencies Report is now open.

With 2013 being the year that digital truly goes mainstream in business, and the multitude of predictions on themes to watch along the way, this series of Q&As with marketing heads agency-side will bring analysis and commentary ahead of the report to our blog.

by Ryan Sommer 05 March 2013 13:43pm 0 comments

James Gurd on enhanced campaigns and PPC best practice

As one of the core toolkits of digital marketers, paid search has been rapidly changing. From constant tweaks and updates to the search engine results page, through to consumers changing their habits by using mobile devices, professionals working in this field are constantly trying to stay ahead of the game in order to generate the greatest return on investment.

The recent changes that Google brought out with AdWords through ‘Enhanced Campaigns’ highlighted the need for new, up-to-date material for this critical area of digital marketing. To that end, we have recently updated our PaidSearch (PPC) Best Practice Guide.

Ecommerce and digital marketing consultant James Gurd is the lead author of our updated guide. James worked with leading practitioners from the field of paid search to make sure that the guide (which stands at over 300 pages in length and close to 120,000 words long) was as relevant as possible for all people interested in learning about and improving their paid search skills.

We spoke to James to find out more about the report and discuss how this will be useful for digital marketers today.

by Ryan Sommer 05 March 2013 16:49pm 0 comments