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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. 

My iPhone is the least valuable thing I carry. I like it that way

My iPhone is the least valuable thing I carry. But I didn’t realise that until my iPhone was stolen (pick-pocketed in Barcelona).

The thief didn’t get my keys, passport or wallet. If he had taken any of those items then I would have been unable to start my car, unable to leave Spain, or unable to pay my hotel bill.

Instead, he stole my iPhone4, which basically meant I couldn’t call, email or tweet. Within three days of the theft I was using a replacement iPhone5 (free upgrade from O2), and all my family photos & apps were restored from an iTunes back-up.

App marketing: competitor and target audience analysis

Target audience and competitor analysisWith so much competition across the app stores, it’s essential for businesses to consider their marketing strategy long before the planning and build of their app, not just as an afterthought.

There are a huge number of apps out there. The market leaders, Apple and Android, have nearly 800,000 in their individual app stores.

The Windows Phone Store now has over 150,000 and BlackBerry announced 70,000 apps at the Blackberry 10 launch in January.

With so many apps to contend with, it’s essential for businesses to be conducting target audience analysis and competitor analysis right from the beginning in order to stay ahead of the competition.

The rise of social commerce engagement on mobile devices

26% of consumers access customer reviews and consumer conversations on mobile devices for PCWorld and Currys. This trend is only going to accelerate. 

Retailers and Brands must ensure they provide their customers with a seamless mobile experience that includes all their social elements. 

They cannot afford to wait. Those who fail to will simply lose customers. 

Is editorial the new e in ecommerce?

Since the very first emergence of an add-to-basket logo, brands and publishers have been evolving their product content to create a more inspirational offering, one that can lead smoothly to a transaction.

However, the road from inspiration to transaction has often been a bumpy one.

Start Me Up! A profile of Rankinity

As content marketing and SEO grow in importance for all sorts of online business, so does the need for real-time keyword analysis.

Rankinity allows you to check positions of a website for certain keywords in all popular search engines in real time.

The founders of Rankinity are hoping that flexible reports and wide means for joint operation (it can take a lot of cross-department teamwork to successfully manage SEO) will make their service “an irreplaceable assistant both for a SEO savvy and a website owner”.

Start Me Up! A profile of Curalate

Curalate offers visual analytics for marketers looking for metrics on popular sharing platforms like Pinterest. 

The startup recently announced Instagram reporting which makes it the first analytics provider to give metrics for Instagram and Pinterest within the same dashboard. 

We spoke with Curalate to find out what has been making them tick.

H&M’s slick app is undermined by poor checkout UX

H&M first launched its mobile app way back in 2010, however up until January this year you couldn’t actually use it to make a purchase.

Most major retail apps are transactional these days so it’s surprising that H&M has taken this long to make the upgrade, particularly as research shows that a majority of consumers expect to be able to make purchases using retail apps.

Now it just so happens that I’m on the look out for new some jeans, so I thought it was the perfect chance to see how easy it is to buy something using H&M’s Android app…

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. 

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.