Using mobile micro-targeted in-store content to improve the shopping experience and boost sales

This is an interesting new mobile technology being trialled within American stores, to help retailers engage with their shoppers in-store, turn browsers into buyers, with opted-in micro-targeted digital real-time content. Since Swirl was released last month, stores Alex and Ani, Timberland, and Kenneth Cole in New York and Boston are already taking advantage of this. This Vine clip gives you an idea of how it works. Demand is evident as Swirl's survey and recent Shopper Infographic has shown that 76% of women surveyed prefer to shop instore for clothes, 53% have 1 - 5 apps on their phone and women are happy to share personal information if there is value for them!.

How does Swirl…

7 low or no-cost marketing techniques for startups without funding

Whilst many big name startups do receive funding, they're the exception. The startup I co-founded has never raised a penny in external funding, so in this post I share some of the low or no-cost marketing techniques we used when launching MyCurrencyTransfer.com and MyTravelMoney.co.uk. We completely "bootstrapped" our comparison business, but using some of the methods I describe here we’re now helping over 120,000 visitors per month find a fairer and cheaper deal on foreign exchange. Yes, it was exhausting in the early years. Yes, the pace of growth was infuriating at times. But would Stevan (my co-founder) and I have done it any other way? Absolutely not! In this article, we’ll share some of our startup ‘war stories’ and show you how you can also market your startup on a shoestring.

1. Build…

12 tips and examples from using Instagram to market a restaurant

If you haven’t heard of Instagram already then:, where have you been?! It’s a popular photo sharing app available to both Android and iOS smartphone users? Instagram was launched in 2010 by co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and has enjoyed phenomenal growth, helped in part by Facebook purchasing the app in 2012 for a mere $1 billion in cash. But even with this social giant becoming their owners, Instagram continues to stand out on its own as a very credible social network that should not be ignored. If you need convincing of its potential value to marketers then just take a look at these current stats: 100 million Monthly Active Users 40 million Photos Per Day 8500 Likes Per Second 1000 Comments Per Second.

So how can you…

6 examples show how you can get your charity noticed

Enewsletter readers may be looking for this post Learning from the top 10 most meaningful brands 2013 As a marketing agency, The Marketing Bureau (TMB) knows the importance of a strong brand and awareness of digital marketing which is why they want to reach out and share their knowledge with others. This post was written to help charities who may not necessarily have access to the resources featured in these examples. Please read, share and enjoy to make the most of your marketing and to grow your charities. Over the past there’s been some great campaigns undertaken by charities which have helped them get noticed. Here’s a selection of TMB's  favourite campaigns that never fail to draw attention to themselves (and even raise a chuckle or shed a tear).

1. RNLI does the Harlem Shake

The RNLI has grasped the latest…

New data shows relative importance of different social channels on volume and quality of Ecommerce site visits

Value/Importance: [rating=4]

Recommended link: E-commerce Monetate 2013 Quarterly report

We're alerting you to this regular research from Monetate since it gives potentially useful benchmark data for Ecommerce marketers to compare themselves against. It also highlights trends such as the impact on Ecommerce sites of increasing mobile usage and the influence of social media which we focus on in this alert.

The data is based 500 million visits amongst their clients who include Ecommerce brands such as Best Buy, Frontier Airlines, Aeropostale, The Sports Authority, and PETCO.

The focus of the Q1 2013 Ecommerce Quarterly report is social media, VP of Marketing Blair Lyon explains:

'We focused this EQ on social commerce since the data show that companies have not yet cracked the code in leveraging social media to drive e-commerce traffic. We know that social…

A Blueprint for the perfect LinkedIn Status update

This infographic from Salesforce on a 'Blueprint for the perfect LinkedIn Status update' is worth scanning whether you use LinkedIn for personal or business development. The value in using LinkedIn for engagement was shown by this LinkedIn research that found that:

50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to purchase from a company they engage with on LinkedIn'

Boosting engagement across any social media platform through engaging updates is key and their infographic provides some simple tips to do this. For more detailed advice, see our LinkedIn for marketing guide.

…

An analysis showing how using the right calls-to-action can increase content sharing on blogs, Twitter and Facebook

Great content is naturally sharable based on the visuals or copy you use to describe it. But this latest infographic from Dan Zarrella shows how you give content a further boost to reach a larger audience by including the right type of call-to-action to encourage sharing.

This is great insight since there are big differences based on using the right CTA, particularly on Twitter… expect to see a lot more “Please RT/Like/Share” in social media. Remember you can overdo it… Please RT can look desperate if used too much… creating compelling content that is more naturally shared is still most important to shareability.

…

Integrating content and social media marketing

The vast majority of businesses will first experiment with social media long before they get underway with content marketing. Creating a coherent plan is the key to success in both. A content plan helps to integrate content and social media marketing activities. I will be explaining the approach I recommend in more detail in the next Smart Insights webcast. This post gives some of the background. [caption id="attachment_25503" align="alignright" width="150"] Which way first?[/caption] Companies tend to work first with social media marketing because social platforms are…

Combining CRM and Big Data to drive Loyalty

Vaughan Chandler, Head of Customer Insights at Qantas, shared their successful strategy for growth using CRM and applying Big Data at the recent eCircle/Teradata Connect conference. In this case study, I summarise how they are using data and innovation to understand their customers, drive loyalty and ultimately increase ROI. Qantas is Australia's largest international and domestic airline, with many sub-brands to it's name including Qantas Loyalty. With 9 million members, more than 400 programme partners, and 50% household penetration - Qantas Loyalty is extremely successful: Focus on data and creating real-value through their communication; collecting data, segmenting and using technology, with targeted email campaigns is key. Qantas started in 1997 as a Frequent Flyers programme for high flyers and in 2007 created their Qantas Loyalty, launching …

A briefing and research on native video advertising effectiveness

Native video advertising is potentially quite controversial. The term refers to advertising that is designed to blend in with the page it is placed on. In other words, it is advertising that is trying to look like it isn’t advertising. Genius? Or just sneaky? Native video advertising is watched by viewers by choice. The power of choice over being ‘forced’ to watch is undeniable. When a viewer chooses to watch an advert the impact on branding is far more positive than when a viewer has no choice. In this article I am going to share the findings of two recent research studies into the effectiveness of native video advertising. I am going to look at the value of the findings and also raise some questions about the ethics of a native approach.

Sharethrough

Sharethrough are a native advertising platform who believe in thoughtfully integrated brand…