Research shows how PR specialists use social networks

This new Social PR Survey, including data from the Social Journalism Study shows how important social media is to PR Specialists. So how are PRs using social media? Is it to post their own content, repost content, monitor brands, engage with the media or join in conversations? As you'd expect, it's popular with more than 2/3 using social media on a daily basis. This report shows how it breaks down.

So, how active are PR Professionals who are using social media?

As expected, reasons for using social media include promoting their own content (74%) and a secondary goal is to reach out to the media.

The most used platforms when using Social Media for PR?

In terms of the preferred platforms, they primarily promote their content across Facebook and Twitter, with the latter…

From the politically driven to the funny, our favorite adverts of 2017 so far

We look at some of the best ads from 2017 so far. We have featured some of the most clever, moving and funny ads from the year. We also feature ads that have been thought-provoking covering some of the more controversial topics this year such as politics, immigration, and gender issues. Here are our top 25...

KFC Cauliflower Burger

When KFC's #cleaneating burger hit Facebook, the video went viral. Poking fun at healthy living influencers and the #cleaneating community, the advert features fake 'influencer', Figgy Poppleton-Rice.  Thankfully, the clean eating burger was a spoof, its real purpose to launch their new 'The Dirty Louisiana' burger.

Skittles 'Romance the Rainbow' Superbowl Ad 2017

Superbowl is one of the biggest advertising opportunities in the US, costing around 5million for a 30-second slot. Only the biggest and best brands…

Do your social media priorities align with these key social media trends?

In a short span of a decade and a half, social media has taken over the world. It has exploded its way into our lives and and the way we live. Social media platforms have reached a 37% worldwide penetration, and 73.91% of all internet users are social media users. Irrespective of who your target audience is, there’s no ignoring social media as a marketing channel. Social media marketing has evolved rapidly, during its existence. When Facebook was launched, simple posting, even once a day, would yield businesses massive reach and impact. Today, organic post reach is at an all time low, and declining. With the crowd of new users on social networks, platforms like…

Chart of the Day: What challenges do a successful digital transformation programme need to overcome?

Our latest Managing Digital Marketing Research report showed that many businesses are actively pursuing Digital Transformation with over one-quarter (30%) of businesses already having a transformation programme in place. 33% are planning to start a digital transformation programme within the next 12 months. By its very nature, successful digital transformation requires significant changes to diverse areas including marketing, technology, and skills. This new July article from the McKinsey Quarterly highlights a range of challenges according to a survey of senior respondents in large businesses. It's useful since it highlights the main risks that need to be managed in a transformation project: The biggest challenge featured as the headline and recommendations of the McKinsey article is not digital-specific, but relevant to any large change management project, i.e. Cultural and Behavioural changes. The other challenges…

Chart of the Day: Do you test? If not, why not? (Quality assurance) - Part 4 of 6

This week in our email marketing series, we will be looking at testing our emails. (Catch-up on previous episodes.) While I'm typing this, I'm thinking of reasons why you wouldn't test your emails. And you know, other than being unsure how or what to test, there isn't a single reason why you wouldn't. Mistakes happen, we are human. And believe me, I have made my share of mistakes - actually some pretty huge cock-ups. That sinking feeling when you realise something has gone wrong. You try to stop the dispatch, but it doesn't matter. It's out there now. As Confucius said, "table your mistakes, learn from them, then move on." I learnt from my mistakes and now I'm probably one of the most cautious email geeks there are. So have…

How is cart abandonment and remarketing changing in 2017?

The global cart abandonment rate for Q1 2017 was 75.6%, down 1.2% from the previous quarter, which included the Christmas shopping season. 

This data is taken from more than 500 ecommerce sites and tracks abandonment rates across six key sectors. 

There is plenty of variance between the sectors studied, and it's interesting to see why. For example, while fashion site experience lower than average abandonment rates, at 68.3%, abandonment in the finance sector is much higher, at 83.6%. Travel sites also experience high abandonment rates, at 81.7%. 

Broadly speaking, the more complex the on-site experience and purchase process, the higher the abandonment rates. So, a fashion retailer with a simple checkout and relatively low-cost items will experience fewer drop outs than a travel site with more expensive products and longer forms to complete. 

We know…

Brands using Instagram stories as part of their social media strategy and what we can learn from them

One of the most important reasons for businesses to use Instagram Stories is relevancy in their followers’ feeds. Having stories that appear at the top of your follower’s feed helps keep your brand at the top of their minds. If you gain enough influence on Instagram, stories can also appear at the top of the explore page, helping gain a wider reach. Firstly you might need to define which platform is best for your business Instagram stories or Snapchat? As Instagram’s features become very similar to Snapchat, it has become confusing for marketers to determine which platform is best to use for their business. Check out our blog post where we look at their differences and help you choose which platform is best for your business. Once you know what platform is best, you…

No one trusts online ads anymore. Will blockchain change all that?

As the digital advertising landscape grows increasingly complex and fragmented, publishers are facing rising economic pressures. Meanwhile, users are concerned about privacy, security and the overall online experience. They lack control over the tracking and collection of their data, and often find their online experience degraded. The problem is simple: consumers have grown weary of an ad environment that has gone too far, while publishers fight to remain economically viable.

At the heart of all these problems, the lack of trust is poisoning the entire advertising ecosystem. Every time there’s a misguiding click, a mis-selling offer, an intrusive pop-up or ‘sponsored articles’ that aren’t really articles… trust goes further south. Click by click, day by day. In addition, when taking into account advertiser problems such as fake ad impressions or fake social…

The must-know essentials to increasing your footfall through destination marketing online

If you work in the destination sector, you’ll ultimately be judged on ticket sales. We notice time and time again that the leisure and tourism attractions that smash their ticket-sales targets are the ones that fully understand (and influence) the modern consumer’s reliance on the internet when booking holidays or days out. Today’s consumer will turn to the internet to research where to go, what attractions to visit whilst there, where to avoid, and what events coincide with their stay. It’s your job as a destination marketer to get your attraction noticed during this research stage. This article will teach you how and will include details on how and why you need to... Create buyer personas Work from a content calendar Influence each stage of the buyer’s journey Employ the right tactics Ensure your website is traffic-friendly [si_guide_block id="81120" title="Download Paid Member Resource…

Snapchat look to attract more advertisers with their new ad platform 'Advanced Mode'

Snapchat have announced an update very similar to Facebooks Power Editor, 'Advanced Mode'. This feature has been designed for Snapchat advertisers within its Ads Manager. The new platform allows advertisers to efficiently target, test and update their ad campaigns. With the aim of encouraging advertisers to spend more money.  It should also help give them a competitive edge against Facebook and Instagram.

Whats new?

According to Snapchat advertisers will now be able to do the following: Create a list of you favorite Snapchat audiences by saving them and using them in future campaigns Use spreadsheets to edit and design campaigns in bulk A new place to upload videos, images and other assets to use in your campaigns Automate and quickly create hundreds of ad creatives and targeting variants Order metrics and data easier with reports and…