Research shows that still 59% of Twitter users are not receiving any response

Brands understand that social media can support their customer care programme if it's well-resourced and they have a clear strategy according to this Social Media Customer Service 101 infographic from West Interactive which focuses on Twitter customer service. It's working well for leading brands such as Nike and you may have seen Nationwide are promoting Twitter for customer support on their current TV campaign in the UK. Though how good are brands at providing a good user experience across their social media channels as '17% of consumers expect this media as a channel for responding to their customer service questions'.   Companies who are succeeding with social media as a channel for managing their customer service…

How do consumer purchases vary by age and product - new UK statistics

We know the overall popularity of online use and purchase with 38 million adults in the UK (78% of the population) now using the Internet and 75% of us have bought goods and services online. We have all seen the shopping landscape  evolve over the years, as we see more charity shops lining our streets and vacant properties - is this due to the accessibility of information, technology, convenience, changing demographics as older generation are using the internet, or consumers looking for a bargain.

So what are consumers buying online?

The popularity of product purchase will naturally vary based on the need for consumers to touch and view products, but how big an impact does this make? The Office of National Statistic's report sheds light on this highlighting that Clothes were the most popular online purchases by 49% of adults,…

What is Digital Transformation and what can hamper it?

This new infographic summaries a new report from Infomentum exploring barriers and steps to digital transformation. It starts with a definition of digital transformation, which although by Brian Solis, isn't as dynamic as you might expect. It also doesn't get to the main success factors which, for me, are people, process and tools in that order.  Here's the definition James Carson and I cooked up in our Digital transformation toolkit: "Digital Transformation: A staged programme of business improvements to People, Process and Tools tools used for integrated digital marketing to maximize the potential business contribution of digital technology and media". The infographic goes on to explore the barriers and how to overcome them but keeping them straightforward for a CEO. Possibly too simple, but the second part of the infographic does highlight the success factors and reason for change. …

Updated Webcertain 2015 Global Search and Social Report

Value: [rating=4] The international search and social findings report from Webcertain spans 32 countries and measures social media engagement in terms of account ownership, visitation and usage. It has a snapshot of each market and shows which platforms are important, which you certainly won't know unless you're a specialist in these areas. Did you know that the Japanese are the least socially active - on average they spend 30 minutes a day on social networking sites? Or that Baidu is not the sole search engine in China, as Qihoo 360 degree (Haosou) search engine accounts for 30% of the market.

2015 report Findings on Global Search & Social Report

Our commentary: This well-established report will be of particular interest for marketers responsible for international marketing since it helps puts some key data surrounding…

An interview with Ann Holman discussing approaches for encouraging change

The Managing Digital Marketing 2015 research from Smart Insights showed that many businesses are planning a programme to manage digital transformation. Around a third of businesses are planning a transformation programme, with another third of businesses already underway with their programme. So, what can companies who are about to embark on Digital Transformation learn from those who have already started? In my interview with Ann Holman, Strategic Digital Director helps answer this question, since she works with companies on their digital transformation. She set-up Our Think Lab to focus on R&D around digital and social media, providing consultancy on digital transformation. The interview discusses the importance the barriers and levers to change and suggests why larger organisations needs to act more like a start-up and…

Will this be Google's biggest algorithm update of the year so far?

Importance: [rating=4] Recommended link: Google’s official announcement - ‘An update on Doorway pages’ Wow, this seems a strange one! It feels like back to the 1990s when Doorway pages were a common SEO technique to get ranked in Altavista which was popular before Google even launched. When Google launched in 1998, their push to create more relevant results soon saw them outlaw Doorway pages and issue webmasters guidance to avoid them. So a definite sense of Déjà vu for me and many other search marketers I’m sure! I’ve rated this alert as 4 out of 5 since although this webspam penalty is clearly aimed at targeting SEO spammers, there is always the risk of false positives from companies who are looking to practice ethical SEO. Google has issued a warning on their Webmasters Tools blog and updated their definition of doorway pages,…

Do you know why you are disengaging your social media fans?

Social media channels give Marketers the opportunities for reach, to build a community and quality followers; Followers on Twitter, Fans on Facebook or connections on LinkedIn. This is part or our online PR strategy - though how many strategies include monitoring followers who leave? Fractl and Buzzstream surveyed 900 social media users to find out these answers and the reasons for losing followers.

So what is motivating Social Media users to stop connecting?

The survey found that 21% unfollowed as a result of boring content, due to an overload of posts on Facebook or cluttering feeds. Less can be more...So do consider your maximum frequency by comparing it to others in your sector or run a test where you reduce frequency. There are …

How fashion designer brand Michael Kors integrates Instagram and other social media to boost Ecommerce and store revenue

Luxury high-end fashion designer brand Michael Kors recently reported that it achieved a 20% uplift in sales in North America and 73% across its ecommerce site at the end of last year with strong growth in the UK and Japan up to 72% for the quarter also. What's behind this growth? An integrated approach to marketing according to the Chairman's CEO Ido, he explains: 'As a company, we believe that a dynamic and integrated approach to marketing will better inform, engage, educate and inspire our customers as we continue to grow our brand awareness global.' In 2013, they ranked in the top ten fashion brands according to Starcount for their use of social media and the following year, Michael Kors was named as the 'most searched for high street brand'…

Big Data’s Impact on Email Marketers

If you aren’t talking about the opportunities for content marketing in 2015, you are probably talking about the opportunities for ‘Big Data’.  Next to content marketing, big data is a hot trend in marketing right now. Everyone is talking about how they can take advantage of all the data they have on hand; how to slice it, dice it and serve it up with a actionable meaning.

Missed opportunities that changes everything

Currently, only 25% of businesses are putting their own data into action. This indicates a significant amount of missed opportunities, the likes of which can be extremely valuable once companies discover how to use data in order to drive more engagement, greater reach and growing their business. Emarketer.com reported that when KPMG asked CFOs and CIOs about the impact of big data on business strategy, more than half stated that it was changing everything. That’s a…

How European marketers are using retargeting

Adroll Targeting data has been analysed from 4,000 European Advertisers to find out how retargeting campaigns are working and what the future holds. The report shares key findings including: 1. 88% feel it's equal or better than search. 2. 64% plan to increase their spend this year. 3. The top 3 goals are 1. Brand awareness 2. To increase sales and 3. Retention.

So what's the hottest topic for retargeting?

According to the report on the 'State of the Industry - Europe' from adroll.com, Facebook improves engagement when it's included - increasing impressions by 1.77% and 2x more clicks. [si_guide_block id="43325" title="Download resources – Ad Retargeting Guide" description="Gain practical advice on retargeting, planning segmentation, creative, retargeting methods, partner selection, tracking and evaluation."/]  …