Content trends: six things everyone’s talking about
We're nearly halfway through 2012 and there are some clear content trends emerging.
Here are the top six hot issues we’re discussing with content owners…
The social media meltdown and how to overcome it
Social media has opened up a huge opportunity: to engage directly with customers, to understand what motivates and interests them, and to increase the size of the audience for your content.
But it’s the very size of the opportunity that’s often the biggest problem. When marketing budget and resources are tight, where do you focus?
And how can you be sure the right message gets out to the right audience via the right channel and that the overall approach is joined-up and consistent?
Does Plan UK's facial recognition ad have any benefits beyond PR?
Non-profit organisation Plan UK has installed a digital billboard on London’s Oxford Street which only displays its full content to women.
Plan’s ‘Because I am A Girl’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the issues faced by world’s poorest women, and prevents men from viewing the content to mirror the fact that girls “are denied choices and opportunities on a daily basis due to poverty and discrimination.”
Digital Vision grant winners announced
At the end of 2011, we launched Digital Vision, a new grant program to allow aspiring thought leaders to conduct new research in the areas of advertising and marketing.
Today we announce the five award winners selected from the scores of applications we received. These winning ideas will receive grants of up to $10,000 USD in addition to research support and publicity from us.
Could M&S' new personalised recommendations be more social?
Marks & Spencer has introduced personalised recommendations to its website.
Customers will be shown other products based on recently viewed items, items that other customers have purchased and top sellers.
M&S says that by adjusting results in real-time users see suggestions that are “highly relevant and meaningful.”
The power of video is the influence you create
The power of the moving image is undeniable and has often been cited as a key influence over audiences.
Whether it’s a political story to tell, one that encourages viewers to donate to a charity or one that sparks a generation to dress in a particular style, according to Forrester one minute of video is worth 1.8m words.
Q&A: Matt Bamford-Bowes on the Next Bigger Better Society
The Next Bigger Better Society is the brainchild of Matt Bamford-Bowes, and aims to get UK teens and their ideas off the ground with the help of an incubator-style fund.
I've been asking Matt about the thinking behind the project, how he intends to achieve its aims, and its first conference this month.
Using social media at live events: best practice tips
Social media has become an important part of a conference or event. Streaming feeds from Twitter and Facebook or providing text-to-screen commentary lets audiences participate in events and allows brands to collect feedback.
However, the risks to a brand’s reputation are enhanced by the sheer number of people who might view inappropriate material.
How to track on page leads in Google Analytics
Everyone involved in a business with an online presence wants to know how much return they are getting from their efforts, however large or small. Unfortunately, not everybody has methods in place to accurately track and attribute their return.
This is the first in a series of posts that will take you through the best ways to track a variety of leads that you may be targeting.
In this post I'll show you how to track on-page leads. The other part(s) will cover leads that involve off page activity, including social interactions and phone call leads, all within Google Analytics.
Social media: what happens when the L-plates come off?
We’ve seen a real shift this year in the understanding of how social media can be integrated within consumer-facing organisations.
The conversation has moved on from ‘how do we get involved in social media’ to ‘which areas of the business do consumers expect to interact with us over social channels?’
Social marketing has evolved, brands have a clear focus on ROI, and the debate is altogether more sophisticated.
