What’s New in Marketing? February 2014 roundup

Each month we look to keep the focus of our actionable advice from the Smart Insights blog on new approaches to grow business across the customer touchpoints of the RACE Planning framework. In our roundup of marketing developments and advice from February 2014 we have a strong focus on how marketing can support growth across RACE starting with Growth Hacking and Fuelling Growth. I presented our research on approaches companies can use to fuel growth in my keynote this week at the Technology for Marketing and Advertising 2014 conference - the organisers made nice use of Storify for a summary of the event. We also met many Smart Insights members at our stand - it was great to chat to listen to feedback and get new ideas for content and services. In the talk I couldn’t resist using the analogy of how Virgin Galactic…

5 new digital platforms that consumers will be adopting and what opportunities  they give to marketers

Yep, you read that title right! A year in the tech world goes by fast, a lot of developments happen in 12 months. This means that now, as we're well into 2014, we need to be looking further ahead. It seems as if developers are coming out with new and improved Smart devices every day to exploit new levels of connectivity such as faster 4G and fibre Internet networks. Forget smartphones, now, we now have smart watches, smart TVs, smart appliances and even smart cars. So, what are the cutting-edge digital consumer devices to look out for this year, and what do they mean for marketers trying to stay on the cutting edge next year?

1. Smart watches

Easily the most buzzed-about gadget of 2013, expect smart watches (and their leaner cousin, smart bands) to…

Ideas for developing your digital marketing skills

In previous posts we have looked at how marketers can stay relevant by developing their digital marketing skills. Simon Swan asked Are you a T-Shaped Marketer? which is an interesting way of reviewing the depth and breadth of your digital marketing skills and I summarised another infographic showing how the modern marketer needs to be Part Scientist and Part Artist. We also interviewed online recruiters to find out what industries were looking for when employing digital staff and reviewed typical digital marketing roles in our marketing job descriptions outlines. 

In this infographic, we look at social media marketing skills . This shows how soft skills such as listening, nurturing and patience are just as important as some of the hard, technical skills. We're not sure they need to be 'superpowers' though!

Fuelling Internet Marketing Success in 2014

Dave Chaffey summarised the research on approaches companies use to manage the Internet for marketing in this keynote from Technology for Marketing and Advertising 2014. This page collects the resources related to the research and the Fuelling Marketing Success talks to download if you were at the event, or if you couldn't make it. Download free managing digital marketing research report View the 7 Steps to Digital Marketing Nirvana summary infographic Download full Fuelling Digital Marketing Success keynote from Slideshare Download Practical Internet Marketing techniques decks for different business presented by Dave in the CRM/Multichannel Marketing Seminars from the Smart Insights Slideshare page …

Reviewing content strategy for your email marketing

It’s a simple equation. Provide sufficient value in your emails and customers will continue to welcome you into their inbox. Not enough and you’ll be ignored or banished. Value can be delivered in many forms, it isn’t just measured in pounds and dollars. A proven currency for value is content. But want content should you provide to whom across your email marketing? Different email subscribers have different interests and needs depending on their characteristics and situation. The following matrix is taken from Dan’s post on generating content ideas. It provides an easy to use breakdown to review the options for different types of content for a defined segment or persona. You can use it to audit your current content and identify new content types to engage audiences at different points in the buying process. If you’ve already a…

Which factors are the main reasons for shopping cart abandonment?

Cart Abandonment specialists, Cloud.IQ have released a new infographic with some fascinating findings regarding how and why our customers are abandoning their purchases and how we can leverage this opportunity to generate more sales. Some stats of interest: 88% of online shoppers who abandon online purchases before completion are open to being emailed by retailers afterwards.. 35% actually say they will actively welcome these emails For every £100 spent on driving customers to the site, only £1 goes into converting them To see all the stats and the full infographic, view it here.  …

8 Tips for passing Google’s AdWords Exams

As Google continues to put a squeeze on traditional SEO techniques with its algorithm updates (more of which are certainly on the way in 2014), there’s been an increasing demand for pay-per-click services from clients who no longer feel they can compete or get the traffic they need in organic search. This means that if you’re a digital marketer with good experience of using AdWords, now is a great time to get yourself accredited under Google’s AdWords certification programme. The programme consists of two exams, which, if passed, enable you to become a certified expert on AdWords PPC advertising. Even if you’re not too bothered about the accreditation, I’d still encourage anyone who uses AdWords regularly to take the exams, that goes for both client-side and agency-side marketers.

What does the Google Adwords Exam cover?

The exams cover all aspects of AdWords, so in the course of revising…

Specific CTAs now available to increase response for advertisers using Power Editor

Facebook has rolled out a new feature recently that's useful for Facebook advertisers to be aware of since it's specifically to help with boosting direct response.

You can now create ads related to posts that feature a call to action button. In its announcement, Facebook suggests CTAs advertisers may use are:

Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, Book Now or Download.

The feature is only available in Power Editor (the free Chrome app for Page editors) and it's well worth checking out.  For those familiar with creating  what I described in a previous post as "dark" (or unpublished) posts using Power Editor this is simply a new option to click through as part of that process. I'd certainly suggest testing posts with this new button rather than simply including the call to action within…

And avoid boring brand content

One of the key challenges in content marketing is being able to create enough great content. Great? OK, maybe that’s vague, I mean relevant, engaging and it works. Great means different things to a financial services company than say, a BBQ grill manufacturer, a basmati rice brand or sports clothing manufacturer.

The truth is we all have the same challenge when it come to content creation and content marketing - creating dull content is a choice, it’s your choice.

“If people aren’t talking about you, they’re not talking about you for a reason. And the reason isn’t that they dislike you. They’re not talking about you because you’re boring.” ~ Seth Godin

People first...

Use your imagination, take a step back and think about your target audience, not your brand. What your audience needs over what you want to promote. It’s this return to people where it get’s so much…

6 Best Practices for increasing conversion for retail E-commerce websites on mobile devices

Recent research by IMRG and Capgemini on Ecommerce sales trends in the UK stated that 23% of all online retail sales in Q2 2013 came from mobile devices. And of these, tablets accounted for 85%. The dramatic headline was:

"Sales via Desktop flat-line as sales via mobile devices now account for all online growth"

However, an interesting turning point here is that, 2013 saw smartphones go through a greater rate of growth in terms of mobile transactions. This being the case, you will know that it has become  critical for online retailers to optimize their e-commerce websites for mobile.

Improve your e-commerce website for mobile usage

Here’s a list of issues to consider, or best practices, based on our experiences, that will help you provide a better shopping experience that meets the expectations…