Spredfast release Social Engagement Index Report which shows different company roles for managing social media status updates
Value/Importance: [rating=3]
Recommended link: Download 30 page PDF research summary - registration required
This report from Spredfast highlights some interesting trends in how businesses are utilising social media channels. The title is a little misleading since it suggests degree of consumer engagement with social media, it goes have some info on this, but we didn't find it so actionable. What we found more interesting is how businesses are managing social media. Spredfast defines 5 roles:
Admins have access to all features and functionality in Spredfast including the ability to monitor, publish, configure, and make administrative changes.
Managers monitor and publish content and manage basic account settings (add and edit users, groups, streams).
Editors monitor and publish content.
Writers create original content and respond to network engagement (content created by this role is often sent through an approval path).
Viewers can…
A tutorial to building a content marketing dashboard in Google Analytics
This post is the third in the series Measuring your content marketing efforts. The first two posts are: The Geek Guide to Measuring your Content Marketing Efforts and Introducing Profit Index: Revolutionary Way to Measure your Content Marketing Efforts.
In the first post I outlined the definition of great content and how this greatness can be measured in monetary terms. In the second post I have talked about a new type of index called ‘profit index’, why you need one and how it can be optimized to increase the conversion volumes and sales on your website.
In this post I am going to explain how to create what I believe are two "top notch" dashboards (in Google Analytics) to quickly measure the performance of your content. Let us start with measuring the performance of a piece of content you have…
More DIY tips for SEO
Whenever I'm training I'm nearly always asked for useful tools that aid the digital marketing process. This is particularly the case when discussing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and the process of getting better search engine rankings.
I have therefore drawn up this introductory guide to the SEO process for marketers, starting with an introduction to search engine spiders Robots. We'll also discuss two of the free tools/techniques that are available from Google to assist you with this initial phase of SEO.
First step:Help Search Engine Spiders or Robots read your pages.
Spiders or Robots are bits of software that read your pages to find new and updated pages, and returns the content to the Search Engines to be indexed. If they can't read your site, then…
New EE site launches to promote new high-speed mobile access
Potential short-term impact: [rating=2]
Recommended link: Guardian introduction to 4G launch
Our commentary on 4G launch
Compared to some developed countries, the UK has limited high-speed mobile connectivity. This has now changed. Well at least in 4 UK cities, that's London, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham who now have access.
Brand “EE”, which is now the the UK’s largest mobile network as owner of the Orange and T-Mobile brands, has made the country’s first 4G service live and is promising to roll it out to 16 cities before Christmas. The initial coverage will be for around 20 million people. The Guardian reports that, as part of the launch, 700 shops which are currently branded Orange, T-Mobile and Everything Everywhere, will be renovated and have the EE brand added to their shopfront alongside the other…
UK PR pros need to conquer the entire digital mix to remain competitive – fast!
A recent post I wrote for Econsultancy entitled “SEOs will slaughter careless PR agencies” generated an almighty storm in its comments section. That’s how I wanted it to be, because the subject of who owns search engine optimisation (SEO) within marketing is really important to the future of PR agencies and, on an individual level, PR practitioners. PR should own organic search, but instead it’s the SEO agencies who are learning PR or partnering with PR agencies to mop up business.
As you may be aware, in the last 18 months Google has unleashed a couple of updates to its algorithm – Panda and Penguin – in an attempt to make search more relevant for users and punish sites which it deems “low quality”. Panda, for example, put the emphasis on trustworthiness, design, speed and rates…
3 DIY SEO approaches to start SEO if you're not an SEO expert
This post discusses a few of the relatively straightforward "do-it-yourself" things you can do in-house to improve your SEO, before you decide to call in outside help. I hope it will also be helpful to small business or startups who don't currently have budget for SEO. As SEO specialists we're often asked by friends, families or colleagues "where do I start?", "What matters?". These are the areas I recommend as a start.
Where to start your DIY SEO?
If you’re not well versed in Search Engine Optimisation (explanation), then the task of optimising your website can appear to be extremely daunting. There is a lot of jargon to learn, numerous horror stories floating about and lots of conflicting opinions to consider.
You have to understand all these issues before you can actually start…
Practical tips to review and improve an Adwords Campaign
When reviewing an account that hasn't been optimised, it's important for the paid search marketer to review that the basics are right. Bells and whistles are all well and good for later on, but if you fail to grasp the foundation principles of a paid search campaign, you’ll struggle to grow successfully. There are always new, exciting and innovative developments in paid search, all of which can distract you from the crux of your campaign.
A strong account structure forms a strong foundation for every successful Adwords account. If a PPC account does not adhere to best practice, the keyword quality score can be restricted, and effective management of the accounts can become a huge, uphill challenge. In this post I give 7 tips that are a core part of my approach to getting more from Adwords campaigns.
TIP 1. Micro manage high converting keywords
Conversions in…
What is Big Data and how can it be applied for marketing?
It seems "Big Data" should be firmly on the agenda for business improvement according to all the major analyst firms. But what is Big Data? How does it differ from traditional data management and business intelligence?
In this post I summarise the view of three experts I talked to about "Big Data", asking how business can apply it.
What is the scope of big data?
Andy Mendelsohn, Senior VP of Database Server Technologies at Oracle.
One way to think about the scope of big data and how it fits in with previous data technologies is to consider the automobile industry, suggests Andy Mendelsohn. “Henry Ford invented the Model T 100 years ago,” he argues. “Today, Ford makes cars, and they have much better engines, and they have their full sensors and computer systems. But at the end of the day, they're still cars.…
An infographic showing how to plan and manage inbound marketing
I'm a big fan of the inbound marketing model, sometimes incorrectly referred to by the narrower marketing activities of content marketing or social media marketing. Inbound incorporates both content and social media marketing and more.
Although there is a lot of advice available on best practice on inbound marketing activities, there isn't so much on how to manage it, so I liked this infographic from a US agency. I think it's a pretty good stab at the describing the end-to-end process.
It's a different take on the inbound marketing process to our inbound marketing funnel we published in February. It does miss a number of key activities (namely the importance of creative, a 'big idea' and outreach) by the nature of simplifying process for an infographic, yet crucially communicates the importance of leads and sales (step 4…
What are the common best practices, are best practices always best?
I was honoured to be asked to give this presentation for Manchester Manchester Metropolitan University Business School to launch the new Faculty of Business and Law, a stunning new £75 million teaching and research headquarters and business hub.
An updated, shorter version of the Manchester Business school deck was also presented to students and professionals at Leeds Metropolitan University and to an IDM Network evening in September 2012 which is included at the end of this post.
Leeds Metropolitan University presentation - November 2012
Manchester presentation - September 2012
We're often told to follow "best practices" in our digital marketing. In the talk I explore the value of this and some of the problems. How do we know what…
