Walgreens launches new Foursquare and Twitter campaign
Walgreens recently started a new social media campaign with New York-based startup, LocalResponse.
When someone checks into Foursquare and tweets about it, Walgreens tweets some of them back with an offer from Halls that can be redeemed in store if they like them on Facebook.
But is this automated campaign the right approach?
Social media for the healthcare industry: examples from MENA
Are you a medical practitioner? Are you wondering how to harness the power of social media for your organization? Do you have a Twitter and Facebook account that has remained dormant because you lack a proper engagement strategy?
Hospitals, clinics and pharmaceutical companies need effective social media strategies to thrive in this age.
Does your email marketing need a new prescription?
Being an email marketer, it’s funny how often you bump into something that makes you think of work! A little while ago after visiting the doctor, I received an email about ordering repeat prescriptions.
So far, so good you’d think. Some good targeting going on there.
But when I gave it a read, what struck me were all the missed opportunities. For example, the email ‘from address’ was totally unrecognisable, and there was litte in the way of clever personalisation that you often see in the private sector.
What’s more, it’s the only email (indeed, the only communication of all types) I’ve had from them in the last 18 months or so. It was an interesting message to kick off our e-relationship.
Why be a stranger?
The future of customer service and social media: infographic
According to Zendesk's new infographic, 62% of customers are looking for more support through social media. Compare that to research by MarketTools at the end of 2011 which shows only 23% of US companies provide customer service via Facebook and 12% provide support via Twitter.
This highlights the continued divide between what customers are expecting and companies are giving.
Closing comments: is it ever a good idea?
Is it ever OK to close comments on a blog, Facebook page or online news article?
It’s a question we often hear, particularly from companies who’ve found, for a variety of reasons, that their online communities have been flooded with posts that they simply weren’t prepared for.
2011 saw some high-profile examples of Facebook page owners taking the decision to block comments.
Durex launches first affiliate programme
Durex is launching its first affiliate programme, aiming to support sexual education while providing information about its products.
This coincides with a major brand push instore, as well as a targeted experiential marketing campaign.
DIY usability assessments for expert users
I firmly believe that observing real users doing real tasks is the 'gold standard' for usability testing, particularly when the designers observe it themselves and see the problems only real users can find.
However, sometimes full user testing falls outside the budget and the project manager will decide to use an expert usability assessment instead.
This works well for websites where an expert usability consultant can put themselves in the shoes of the user and work through typical tasks identifying critical usability issues.
But what if the system supports far more complex tasks, which users take years to learn?
Maintaining momentum in B2B marketing
A planning vacuum means most B2B marketing progresses in fits and starts. Inertia kills momentum.
Ask a consumer marketer for a look at their marketing plan and you're likely to get anything from a 20-page powerpoint deck to a 400-page binder with tabs, spreadsheets, gant charts and dashboards.
Ask a B2B marketer for their marketing plan and you're likely to get a funny look and some awkward rationalisation. "Erm... we're agile here. Our market moves too fast. If we had a plan it wold be out of date in a week." Yadda-yadda-yadda.
Content analytics for marketers
As marketers, we are becoming increasingly data-focused. It is likely that the next generation of CMOs will not just be creatives, but also data scientists standing in the control room of their organisation, with dashboards of live data flowing in from sales, marketing, and customer service activity.
This goes beyond transaction and conversion data, to include details of interactions with brand-authored content, as well as user-generated content and sharing of content on social networks.
So how can content analytics allow you to build detailed customer profiles, analyse customer feedback for trends, and personalise content and product propositions?
Technology powers display growth, but people power its adoption
According to the recent IAB and PwC study, in 2010 display grew by 27% and search by 8%. If you have been following the growth of display and the rise of DSPs (demand-side platforms) you are no doubt aware that growth has been fuelled by RTB (real-time bidding).
Its growth and similarities are closely aligned to ‘traditional’ search bid management techniques. This is great news for the display industry and highlights great opportunities for the search marketer.
However, are search marketers grasping this opportunity, and do marketers and agencies really understand the new display environment?
