social | Internet Marketing Blog

How to hold a great Google+ on-air Hangout

In the run-up to our Integrated Marketing Week event in New York on June 10th, we’ve been holding a series of Video Expert panels over on our Google+ page.

As with any barely tested, slightly-wobbly video technology, we’ve had a couple of hiccups along the way.

Fortunately we’ve learned from our mistakes, and now you can too. Here’s how to use the new look Google+ to hold a great On Air hangout...

by Matt Owen 20 May 2013 10:01am 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

Five good and four bad examples of brands using Twitter

Twitter is a brilliant tool for communicating with consumers and when used effectively can be a great way of building customer loyalty.

In recent weeks I’ve come across a number of brands that have excellent Twitter strategies and several that I thought were less impressive.

This could be because they were dull, unimaginative or simply weren’t living up to their potential.

So to shine some light on the differences between those brands getting it right and those that perhaps aren’t, here are five good and four bad examples of brands using Twitter...

by David Moth 01 May 2013 11:01am 12 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

Seven tips for charities using Twitter

In recent weeks we’ve blogged about how different charities are making use of Pinterest and Facebook, with the aim of highlighting the different ways that non-profits are taking on social.

One of the main challenges I noted was that it can be tricky for charities to come up with interesting content, especially if they are dealing with difficult or sensitive causes.

With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to look at how non-profit organisations can get started on Twitter and use it to raise awareness or funds.

This not meant to be a comprehensive list for defining a social media strategy, but rather a set of tips and talking points to help those that just starting out on Twitter or are looking to improve their social marketing...

by David Moth 29 April 2013 13:39pm 4 comments

Content marketing: It's not all about the campaign

While it’s only one facet of our social output, Twitter often offers us a good overview of general trends in site traffic and response for Econsultancy, making it a good benchmark for content marketing performance.

A while ago I wrote about identifying and addressing the churn from your Twitter account, and it feels to me as though this churn highlights a more widespread problem with content marketing: The need for consistency.

by Matt Owen 24 April 2013 12:00pm 3 comments

Nine examples of small businesses using social media for branding

Investing time and money on social media is necessary for all types of businesses nowadays.

Here are nine examples of small businesses using social media for branding.

by Pratik Dholakiya 22 April 2013 18:27pm 2 comments

Simplifying content marketing confusion

Content Marketing is the new buzzword. And as with buzzwords, every agency is trying to capture a slice of the action – but this means they all have their own definitions. Which leads to confusion.

Naturally SEOs were the first to jump on Content Marketing as content and links are so intrinsically linked to success, but there’s a lot more to it than SEO.

So to try and ease this confusion I spoke to our resident SEO specialist, David Freeman and we came up with this advice.

by Darren Goldie 18 April 2013 13:34pm 0 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