Retail

How Tesco, De Beers and others use digital to enhance the in-store experience

Tesco’s new ad screens will be installed at the checkouts in the retailer’s petrol stations to deliver personalised ads while people are queuing to pay. Diamond brand De Beers recently announced that it was launching a new iPad app that shoppers can use in-store to tailor the design of their engagement ring. Check out these and more in this post from David Moth.

Argos’ new Christmas gift site is a bit bonkers but very good fun

Argos has launched a new Gift Guide minisite that aims to provide struggling shoppers with inspiration for Christmas presents. See what we think of it.

Why more emails at Christmas almost always means more money

Parry Malm’s point is this: retailers who send out more (not crappy) emails this Christmas period will drive more revenue from all their channels, both online and offline.

15 stats that show why click and collect is so important for retailers

43% of Argos’ online sales comes through click-and-collect. Read more about what a major part of omnichannel click and collect has become. 

Will the number of consumer reviews in PPC ads affect credibility? 

Consumer reviews work. They have been shown to drive sales, and so now they are used by most retailers online. The problem is, marketers know this too, and it’s no surprise that reviews are used as much as possible, particularly to improve seller ratings for PPC ads.

Should Amazon ditch its unverified reviews? 

Reevoo has just published a plea to Amazon, asking for the online retail giant to ditch all but its verified reviews.

Why is Hamleys failing to make the most of ecommerce? 

This post takes a close look at the site, and the general impression is that it hasn’t kept with the growth of ecommerce over the past few years.

Social

How to set up and access Twitter analytics 

Matt Owen, Head of Social at Econsultancy, gives you a leg up.

Forrester says Facebook is failing marketers; here’s why I disagree

November saw the release of a controversial report from Forrester, claiming that ‘Facebook is failing marketers’. Matt Owen issues a rebuttal.

10 brilliant new examples of branded Vines

My favourite is from Tide.

20 inspirational Twitter wallpapers you should copy

Twitter wallpapers/backgrounds aren’t integral to business, but if a user has found themselves on your profile page, why not hit them between the eyes with some marketing?

Digital in the org

Digital transformation: the importance of culture

Ashley Friedlein has seen a number of recurring characteristics of a ‘digital’ culture or mind set. And, no surprise, these correlate very highly with what Econsultancy has defined as modern marketing.

Stakeholders: when they just don’t get it

Leah Ryz has learned that it’s not just what you say, but also very much the way that you say it as well. 

Storytelling, branding, advertising

Telling stories: five successful marketing examples

Research shows that stories, anecdotes and metaphors are more memorable than data. Chirstopher Ratcliff looks at some brand stories.

What can high street banks learn from Wonga.com?

I don’t accept banks have a more complex proposition than Wonga. They have more products, but this means being more ruthless when it comes down to getting that messaging, mission statement and navigation correct on the homepage. From there, the subpages will present the same challenges as the home page should.

Coca Cola’s storytelling: three lessons in content marketing and creativity 

Last year, Coca-Cola launched the Journey website as its own media outlet, using an editorial, image-heavy format. Fuelled by the brand’s Content 2020 plan, the redesign was described as ‘the most ambitious rethink of Coca-Cola’s web properties’ since it launched the first website in 1995. Monica Savut takes a peek.

Six examples of prankvertising: they’re big but are they clever? 

The latest trend in advertising has its roots in the hoary old world of Candid Camera style practical jokes.

How digital has transformed the NBA

With the aid of social media, online streaming and stats, the NBA has improved the fan experience. Bola Awoniyi shows us how.

Top 20 most shared video ads of 2013 

Unruly with its Top 20 most shared ads of 2013. Christopher Ratcliff adds his two penneth. 

Analytics

How to create a custom report in Google Analytics 

Custom reports are perhaps the most useful feature in Google Analytics, as they enable you to find the data and presentation that best suits your business goals. 

How to get up and running with Google Analytics in six steps

Does what it says on the tin.

 

Five Google Analytics dashboards and custom reports for small business

To get you started at your SME.

Mobile

75 epic mobile case studies, blog posts, stats and reports

Round-up within a round-up.

13 local SEO tips on improving your visibility 

With the growth of mobile and the increasing use of local factors by Google in desktop searches, ranking for searches in their locality is ever more important for businesses.

SMEs 

17 steps small retailers can take to adapt to the internet

So what can small retailers do? Starting with planning, Andrew Warren-Payne has outlined some steps you can take to use the internet and other digital technologies to your advantage.

How small businesses can make the most of Twitter 

Essentially social media costs nothing but can be a fairly time consuming practice depending on how many platforms you choose to use. Social media is also the key way for a small business to develop awareness, raise its profile, gauge its market and interact with existing and future customers. 

Google

What will Google’s paid search ads look like in 2014? 

Dr Peter J Meyers, marketing scientist at Moz, has been keeping tabs on tests carried out by Google and he has some very interesting predictions of what the SERPs will look like next year.

How to make money from AdWords without using the experts 

Enjoy hearing about Nick Whitmore’s learning curve. He’s already made the mistakes for you.

PPC agency payment models: performance based 

In essence, any paid search program should be performance based i.e. the agency and client should agree the strategy, objectives and KPIs, of which the agency will then be measured against. The distinction in this instance is when the remuneration of the agency is directly linked to the financial performance of the paid search campaign.

Conversion

Eight cultural differences that impact conversion 

How does colour, type, payment and more affect conversion globally? 

Domains 

Nominet ploughs ahead with UK domains despite opposition

Graham Charlton argues it’s effectively a tax on the UK’s digital economy.

Blogger outreach 

The 10 most common mistakes of blogger outreach

The following list is accompanied by 10 genuine, real emails which Henry Elliss (as a blogger) has received in the past year. He used them as grist for the mill and wrote this post about mistaken blogger outreach.