Claire Brinkley

After graduating college and travelling the world, Claire started working as a journalist and researcher for Mediaconnect. In this role Claire wrote stories for and about the tech PR community, which were posted daily to their corporate website. She then went on to promote cycling education within Australia, working for AustCycle as a journalist, marketing and PR person.

Report: Australians look to web chat as a customer service tool

On the back of recent findings that highlighted the disconnect between how Australian consumers and businesses use social media, Fifth Quadrant’s Emerging Channels report has also revealed that web chats are growing significantly in popularity as an online customer service solution.

It seems Australian consumers are keen to web chat with brands rather than communicate via social media or a smartphone app, with the study finding that web chats were perceived to have the highest suitability in terms of general enquiries, technical issues, purchase/sales related questions, as well as complaints or service issues.

by Claire Brinkley 05 May 2013 23:30pm 1 comment

55% of mobile search conversions happen within an hour

When consumers search for things on their mobiles more than half usually intend to buy it, according to new research from Google and Nielsen.

The Mobile Search Moments report looks at why and when people use smartphones to search, the actions that result from these searches and how marketers can capitalise on every moment of the process.

Participants in the study were asked to log their mobile searches over a two week period in Q4 2012, which resulted in more than 6,000 mobile searches being recorded, and then follow-ups were conducted by Nielsen to see what actions resulted from these searches.

by Claire Brinkley 26 April 2013 15:04pm 1 comment

Q&A: Ryan Bonnici of ExactTarget on digital excellence and inspiration

Econsultancy has been discussing digital excellence on an ongoing basis for a while now, as digital concepts increasingly permeates business operations, capabilities and structures.

Ahead of ExactTarget's Connect tour, where Econsultancy is a media partner, I managed to catch up with one of the key members of their APAC operations, Regional Marketing Manager, Ryan Bonnici, to get his thoughts on the topic, as well as the peripheral issues of digital innovation, data and technology.

by Claire Brinkley 06 May 2013 05:00am 2 comments

Report: Desktop use in Australia continues to fall

A new report has revealed that not only do Australians read more news than their American and British counterparts but all three countries are spending less time interacting socially on their desktops.

Experian Marketing Services recently discovered that the proportion of online desktop time spent on social media has dropped across many countries, including Australia where usage fell to 24% in 2012, down from 27% the year prior.

by Claire Brinkley 29 April 2013 23:30pm 0 comments

Report: Australian companies need to rethink social plans

A new report has revealed that 7 out of 10 Australian businesses are using social media to deliver customer service, but only 3 in 10 customers are looking to interact via these platforms.

The adoption of social media by businesses is not new, in fact having an online presence is now the norm with even small businesses jumping on board, but a new study highlights that there is quite a large disconnect in Australia between how consumers use social media and what businesses expect from them.

by Claire Brinkley 30 April 2013 23:30pm 0 comments

Australian kids turn to apps in record numbers

If you’re a marketer trying to target and engage the younger generation it looks like interactive mobile and tablet apps are the way to go, as Australian children are using apps more than game consoles these days, with figures doubling in the past 18 months.

The latest 2013 Cartoon Network survey, which looked at the media habits of 1800 children, has revealed that almost 7 in 10 children between the ages of four and 14 now use apps, which is two times the figure from the 2011 survey.

by Claire Brinkley 28 April 2013 23:30pm 0 comments

Analysis: Australian content marketing vs. UK and US

A recent report has found that 96% of Australian marketers use content marketing - which is higher than figures seen in North America and the UK - yet only 29% consider themselves to be “very effective” or “effective” at doing so.

The first ever content marketing in Australia report, compiled by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and ADMA, has finally been released and it sheds some interesting light on how this particular marketing tool is used in Australia.

by Claire Brinkley 16 April 2013 23:30pm 4 comments

Australian marketers increase their digital marketing budgets

Almost three-quarters of Australian companies are planning to increase digital spend this year, with digital marketing budgets expected to increase an average of 28%.

Search engine optimisation and email marketing for engagement/retention will be the top digital priorities, with 65% increasing investment in these areas.

Lead generation, video advertising, paid search and webinars/virtual events will also be a focus.

by Claire Brinkley 15 April 2013 02:30am 2 comments

Australian small businesses inch towards social media

Posting images to Facebook, answering customer queries on Twitter and blogging industry articles has become a regular part of life for many Australian businesses and it looks like this year will see the time spent on social media grow even further.

Bibby Financial Services Australia conducted their bi-annual study of over 200 small businesses in February 2013 and found that a huge 78% are planning to up their time spent on social media in the coming 12 months, highlighting just how important the channel has become.

The study also found that those most likely to use social media are entrepreneurs aged between 18 - 39, with a 66% take up, while just 39% of leaders aged 40 - 64 use the medium.

by Claire Brinkley 15 April 2013 23:30pm 3 comments

Automotive: Mobile and social media playing bigger path-to-purchase roles in Australia

Australian car consumers utilise online resources at all stages of the buyer journey, but offline sources still play an influential role, according to a new automotive study.

The Nielsen Australian Automotive Report 2012 found that when it comes to awareness and discovery, traditional media is still particularly popular with 65% of car buyers using print resources at this stage.

But when car buyers begin the research stage of shopping, they invariably turn online - something Econsultancy has long highlighted. In fact, 73% of new and used car buyers use online media as part of their car buying research process.

by Claire Brinkley 09 April 2013 22:30pm 0 comments