Leading up to the festive period I seem to have been fairly tide down to my work, so I’m well overdue a blog post. On that note, may I wish a Happy New Year to all and I hope it’s kicked off to a good start!
I’ve certainly hit the ground running this year and social media, or as it’s increasingly known - SMO, is high on the agenda. I recently sat down with digital agency Base One to discuss strategy and planning ahead for 2011. As an in-house marketer I feel it’s always important to get an external view/opinion from an agency professional simply to see if you’re on the right track.
Working within the same organisation for even a few months can change your perception of the brand, its products and services from what the public might see. Don’t take it as criticism, but an intelligent marketer will always seek out others opinion and feedback.
I find it to be a fascinating exercise and always helps stir up some interesting ideas of how to re-energise your existing social media strategy, including activity on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You’ll usually find that the simplest changes can make the biggest difference in helping engage customers with your social content.
Friday, 14 January 2011
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Juggling too many balls? - Choosing a digital agency
Managing a digital strategy can be a tough old gig! With so many new trends and techniques constantly coming to the fore, staying on-top can be a mindfield. It’s therefore important to determine what support you will need to achieve your goals. One key consideration is whether to manage your resources in-house, or contract an external agency.
There are numerous digital creative and web technical service providers out there, all keen for your business - so how do you decide which one is right for you? Of course budget, reputation and location are all essential, but some of the finer details can often become overlooked.
In my experience there two types of provider out there: Full-service agencies, offering a wide range of services, from web design and development to search engine marketing (SEO & PPC) and social media strategy etc. On the other hand there are the smaller, more niche providers who tend to specialise in a particular area.
There are pro’s and con’s to working with both. Larger, full-service agencies are capable of fully developing and managing the majority of your digital activity, though may lack expertise in some of the more intricate areas. Smaller agencies can be great a fulfilling creative, conceptual briefs, but may not fully consider the bigger picture that is your overall strategy. None of this is gospel, but my advice is simple - when you start searching for a provider, be sure to take a look at both.
There are numerous digital creative and web technical service providers out there, all keen for your business - so how do you decide which one is right for you? Of course budget, reputation and location are all essential, but some of the finer details can often become overlooked.
In my experience there two types of provider out there: Full-service agencies, offering a wide range of services, from web design and development to search engine marketing (SEO & PPC) and social media strategy etc. On the other hand there are the smaller, more niche providers who tend to specialise in a particular area.
There are pro’s and con’s to working with both. Larger, full-service agencies are capable of fully developing and managing the majority of your digital activity, though may lack expertise in some of the more intricate areas. Smaller agencies can be great a fulfilling creative, conceptual briefs, but may not fully consider the bigger picture that is your overall strategy. None of this is gospel, but my advice is simple - when you start searching for a provider, be sure to take a look at both.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Gazing into my crystal ball!?
While clasping my morning coffee, I recently came across an interesting comment piece focusing on the growing trends in marketing and shifts towards digital media. I found it highly entertaining that the contributors where predominantly from an ‘online’ background. Needless to say the article was a little one sided!
There was one particularly striking quote made that “digital will eventually ‘kill-off’ traditional print publication and direct mail.” I’m no clairvoyant, but the thought that online will effectively replace offline marketing communications was slightly saddening even for me.
As an online professional naturally I’m bias towards the use of e-Marketing channels, however that isn’t to say I’m altogether against offline media. What might not be right for one campaign may be perfect for the next. It’s fair to say that current technology allows us to more accurately measure your average email campaign from direct mail, but that isn’t to say it’s any more or less engaging.
Achieving high response levels time and again requires marketers to correctly assess and determine the right tools for the job. Data, content and creative delivery all play a major part in how successful you are in engaging with the target audience. Disregarding more traditional offline media could mean you miss that one key customer. Personally I’m much more for the multi-channel approach!
There was one particularly striking quote made that “digital will eventually ‘kill-off’ traditional print publication and direct mail.” I’m no clairvoyant, but the thought that online will effectively replace offline marketing communications was slightly saddening even for me.
As an online professional naturally I’m bias towards the use of e-Marketing channels, however that isn’t to say I’m altogether against offline media. What might not be right for one campaign may be perfect for the next. It’s fair to say that current technology allows us to more accurately measure your average email campaign from direct mail, but that isn’t to say it’s any more or less engaging.
Achieving high response levels time and again requires marketers to correctly assess and determine the right tools for the job. Data, content and creative delivery all play a major part in how successful you are in engaging with the target audience. Disregarding more traditional offline media could mean you miss that one key customer. Personally I’m much more for the multi-channel approach!
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Function Vs Form
I recently came across an interesting forum discussion on LinkedIn regarding usability and copywriting. The majority of comments were negative, highlighting how copy takes second place to creative. I must say the conversation was fairly one sided, but made me think about where and how situations like this occur and what can be done to avoid them.
Firstly it’s important to understand the core technical, visual and content elements that compose a website. Each one requires careful consideration and in many instances can be developed, designed, and written by different individuals. These can include:
- Programmers & Developers
- Graphic designers & Illustrators
- Marketers & Copywriters
- Ecommerce Professionals
- Search Engine Optimisers etc…
All roles are equally important and depending on the scale of a project, require good management skills to coordinate and liaise with the various internal/external agencies involved. If you’re lucky enough to be this person, I salute you! It may seem like a daunting task, but is also a great opportunity for you to shine amongst colleagues.
Whether the aim is produce a high conversion Ecommerce platform, or brand-led experience, many people will have their own opinions of what a website should fulfil in terms of sales and brand communication. This is where “too many cooks spoil the broth!” It’s therefore vital to take a step back and look at the bigger picture; what did you set out to achieve and is the website doing this? Silly as it may sound, you could be surprised with what you end up with.
My point to all this is that you need to maintain balance and humility. Any factor, be it aesthetic, functionality or practicality should never outweigh another. User experience is key to any successful website and one weak link in the chain or tiny oversight can promptly undo months of planning and preparation.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
“Everyone’s doing Social”
When was the last time you heard someone say that? Many brands now participate in social media activity in some shape or form. Whether you run a corporate blog, Twitter account or Facebook profile, we’re all taking steps to improve customer relations, brand visibility and profitability. However, before diving-in arms wide open, you need to assess the relevancy and potential impact on your business.
Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account simply to be seen isn’t enough. To truly leverage a greater response from the social web, individuals and brands need to engage in conversation, share knowledge, resources and insight. This will go a long way in helping to show your audience the value you bring to the community. Slowly but surely a following will gather around your content as more recipients begin to sit-up and take note of what you or your brand have to say.
Another key point to take onboard is the tone of voice, or channel in which you chose to approach your customers. Remember that individuals are more likely to respond to a real person than a brand. A good example of this is IBM’s social strategy, whereby instead of operating a corporate presence, they actively encourage their employees to blog, tweet and post relevant content from the company.
Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account simply to be seen isn’t enough. To truly leverage a greater response from the social web, individuals and brands need to engage in conversation, share knowledge, resources and insight. This will go a long way in helping to show your audience the value you bring to the community. Slowly but surely a following will gather around your content as more recipients begin to sit-up and take note of what you or your brand have to say.
Another key point to take onboard is the tone of voice, or channel in which you chose to approach your customers. Remember that individuals are more likely to respond to a real person than a brand. A good example of this is IBM’s social strategy, whereby instead of operating a corporate presence, they actively encourage their employees to blog, tweet and post relevant content from the company.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Preparing for Search
There are several approaches to implementing a sustainable and progressive search marketing strategy, but all must begin with the same core components – keyword research & analysis. I recently attended a seminar at this year’s Internet World from MediaCo, highlighting that anyone who thinks they’ve cracked search can soon find themselves sharply falling down the rankings.
It’s been said many times before, but simply diving-in with the hope of making a positive impact can lead to disappointing results. Whether you chose to invest in paid advertising solutions or employ the services of a third-party agency, it’s vital to correctly access the right approach for your business.
I’m not about to start unwrapping the secrets of search, as I simply don’t have them! I can however provide a few simple tips to help you get the ball rolling
So, first things first - create yourself a keyword list of search terms you wish to target. Over time you will refine this into primary, secondry and even 'long-tail' terms, helping keep a record of how well you’re ranking within the search results. Now, get online and see how your competitors are performing. You may be surprised to find that your competition offline may not necessarily be the same online. Additionally take note of the number and type of results being bought back by the search engine. It’s no good trying to rank highly for a term, which simply has little relevance or volume.
This simple piece of research can help you determine the search terms you have a better chance of performing well for and which have simply become too saturated by the competition. A useful tool for testing and reviewing your keyword selections can be found on Google Adwords.
Remember, one of the hardest things working in-house for a company is to become too familiar with the product/service terminology. Be sure to keep intouch with your customers and precisely how they would typically search for you online.
It’s been said many times before, but simply diving-in with the hope of making a positive impact can lead to disappointing results. Whether you chose to invest in paid advertising solutions or employ the services of a third-party agency, it’s vital to correctly access the right approach for your business.
I’m not about to start unwrapping the secrets of search, as I simply don’t have them! I can however provide a few simple tips to help you get the ball rolling
So, first things first - create yourself a keyword list of search terms you wish to target. Over time you will refine this into primary, secondry and even 'long-tail' terms, helping keep a record of how well you’re ranking within the search results. Now, get online and see how your competitors are performing. You may be surprised to find that your competition offline may not necessarily be the same online. Additionally take note of the number and type of results being bought back by the search engine. It’s no good trying to rank highly for a term, which simply has little relevance or volume.
This simple piece of research can help you determine the search terms you have a better chance of performing well for and which have simply become too saturated by the competition. A useful tool for testing and reviewing your keyword selections can be found on Google Adwords.
Remember, one of the hardest things working in-house for a company is to become too familiar with the product/service terminology. Be sure to keep intouch with your customers and precisely how they would typically search for you online.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
To Blog or not to Blog…
It’s easy to criticize and highlight potential flaws in a company's social media strategy, but successfully planning and implementing one within, or on behalf of an organisation can be a much harder task than you may think.
In the early stages of development, marketers, Ecommerce and online professionals alike face a variety of challenges to identify the right channels and social platforms to target. With so much currently existing within the social media landscape, time management and resources can become spread fairly thin. It is therefore vital to research your audience and find out exactly how they are already interacting with online communities.
A common method to social media planning is the cooperation between sales and marketing teams to engage with prospects and existing clients on a corporate or individual employee level. Key areas of social media activity within companies have been identified by Forrester Research as the following:
Centralised: All social media deployment comes from a single organised group.
Cross-functioning: An internal team is assembled that includes representatives from many different departments and is responsible for social media strategy.
Distributed: Employees adopt tools without central organisation. As a result, different teams launch blogs and social profiles.
Once you’ve setup ‘base camp’ for all your social activity, you then need to look at an agenda. It’s not enough to create a social presence simply to be seen, but correctly setting and understanding goals will go a long way in helping to determine the right approach and ROI to measure for all your efforts.
In the early stages of development, marketers, Ecommerce and online professionals alike face a variety of challenges to identify the right channels and social platforms to target. With so much currently existing within the social media landscape, time management and resources can become spread fairly thin. It is therefore vital to research your audience and find out exactly how they are already interacting with online communities.
A common method to social media planning is the cooperation between sales and marketing teams to engage with prospects and existing clients on a corporate or individual employee level. Key areas of social media activity within companies have been identified by Forrester Research as the following:
Centralised: All social media deployment comes from a single organised group.
Cross-functioning: An internal team is assembled that includes representatives from many different departments and is responsible for social media strategy.
Distributed: Employees adopt tools without central organisation. As a result, different teams launch blogs and social profiles.
Once you’ve setup ‘base camp’ for all your social activity, you then need to look at an agenda. It’s not enough to create a social presence simply to be seen, but correctly setting and understanding goals will go a long way in helping to determine the right approach and ROI to measure for all your efforts.
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