Whether they realise it or not, most people will have been exposed to remarketing ads whilst surfing the web

Remarketing ads are text, image or video ads which appear all over the internet to encourage you to return to a website you visited previously. The theory behind this is that if you didn’t covert (buy something, make an enquiry, etc) on your first visit to that site then you might do if you return for a subsequent visit. As an advertiser, there are a number of platforms you can use to display your remarketing ads, such as Facebook and Google AdWords. Of these, AdWords is probably the one that will give you the widest reach. Using remarketing in AdWords is a fairly straightforward process. First you need to create  an audience list – i.e. define which people you want to remarket to. This could be, for example, everyone who has visited your website…

The ‘digital’ opportunity is enormous, with staggering growth in all territories and sectors

Along with the opportunities come some significant challenges as you adapt to highly demanding digitally-savvy customers. These challenges are caused by the pace, complexity and the degree of change.    This shifting environment means that digitally-led business transformation is a complex and on-going journey - an evolution to transition and optimise your business. Even digitally native companies know that they have to innovate and stay ahead of the game because of growing disruption and rapid technological change.

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Smart Insights members can also use…

It’s well reported that 2017 was Facebook’s hardest year to date so far

Concerns about inappropriate content, fake news, and privacy scandals with third parties have marred the Facebook name. So much so in fact, that it has lost almost $100 billion in market value recently. So is that a signal that our advertising love affair with Facebook could be over? As one of the biggest worldwide advertising platforms, it’s unlikely, but advertisers are calling for greater transparency.

Privacy update

In response, Facebook has announced that it is updating its terms on privacy and data sharing. This move will give users a clearer picture of how the social network will handle personal information, in the hope that it doesn’t encounter more Cambride Analytica cases. The updated terms of service aims to focus on how Facebook gathers and uses data, and why users see the ads that they do. According to chief privacy officer Erin Egan and deputy general…

With a well-performing homepage businesses get to spend less money on advertising or other traffic / lead generation methods

There is a reason why smart people spend so much time and money to optimize their homepage. With a well-performing homepage, they get to spend less money on advertising or other traffic/lead generation methods (because the handful of people that come across their website actually convert). They don’t need to work with unsure customers who always cause troubles (too many questions, late payments, etc.) because they have customers/clients in reserve. And they don’t feel obligated to produce hundreds of web pages only because they’re not getting enough leads from their homepage. The list goes on. But as Sam Ovens explains only practice makes you self confident. Having all those benefits I mentioned above is not an easy work -- it needs…

Shared knowledge is the new currency of scale

The workplace has changed in spectacular ways since the turn-of-the-century. The biggest development is the increased importance of knowledge. Knowledge has become the most valuable commodity in almost every industry from food services to SAAS development. Workplaces that create a culture conducive to knowledge sharing are going to thrive in the coming years. How do you create a workplace that revolves around knowledge sharing? Here are some tips to achieve this goal. [si_guide_block id="5676" title="Download FREE Resource – Digital marketing plan template" description="Our popular marketing planning template built on the Smart Insights RACE planning system."/]

Reward successful teams more than individuals

Most traditional workplace models focus on rewarding individual employees for their contributions. While this approach can motivate employees to work harder and be more innovative, it…

The field of Influencer Marketing has grown by a whopping 198% in 2017! 

‘Influencer’ seems to be a recurrent buzzword in brand marketing, to raise brand awareness and increase engagement with specific segments of the user base. Many companies, albeit SMEs or large corporations, have become increasingly interested in utilising both micro and macro influencers, to establish effective influencer relations and in turn, run successful brand engagement campaigns for their audiences. As Adweek states, influencer marketing has expanded exponentially over the past two years, where the industry has gone from being just a rising marketing tactic to an essential part of most marketing budgets in 2018. In fact, according to State of Influencer Marketing Report 2018 by klear, Influencer Marketing, as a field, grew by a whopping 198% in 2017! 

Increased budget allocations

According to another report on Influencer Marketing by …

Why integrating SEO with other marketing channels is imperative for a successful online strategy

Having a defined and targeted Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy is without a doubt a critical factor in driving traffic to your site. However, for a fully optimized marketing strategy, it is vital that SEO is also integrated with other offline and online channels, across the customer lifecycle. Smart Insights’ Customer Lifecycle model shows a visual representation of what a fully integrated marketing strategy should include, using the RACE framework: To achieve long-lasting, quality results, SEO needs to be integrated into your overall marketing strategy. SEO is vital to the first stage of RACE - reach. SEO is reaching your audience via search engines and meeting them with the answers to the questions they ask. This will not only help to maximize conversions but, will also ensure…

After two days of appearing in front of Congress, Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook platform largely avoided any negative repercussions, it grew!

Last month, Facebook experienced the biggest “scandal” in the history of the company when it was revealed that tens of millions of users had their data improperly and illegally compromised in the interests of targeting voters for the 2016 US presidential election. A clamor was heard from Facebook users worldwide and when the public DEMANDED answers, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify before Congress. After two days, he exited unscathed. Not only did Facebook largely avoid any negative repercussions, it grew.

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What…

Back at the start of the year, we told you that Mark Zuckerberg had boldly announced a significant change to our Facebook newsfeeds

An updated algorithm would see posts prioritized by family and friends over public branded content. [embed]https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104413015393571[/embed] I said it was bold.

Why the change?

This flip-reverse in direction has come out of a lack of mobile advertising inventory on Facebook, and a general dissatisfaction amongst users that the platform isn’t ‘very social’ anymore. Just take a look at your own newsfeed and you’ll probably see post after post from brands whose Pages you follow, video content from media outlets or sponsored adverts, but you’ll also have noticed a few other posts sneaking in. I’m talking about posts your friends have commented on, or events they have expressed an interest in. Facebook wants more of this kind of content. It wants to predict which posts you might want to interact with your friends about,…

How marketers can take advantage of the latest Facebook update

The dust has now settled following Facebook’s announcement of a change in their algorithm to ensure users see more content from friends and family and less from brands and pages. In a bid to boost the number of meaningful interactions people have with Facebook, the change has led to fears of a further slump in visibility for some business pages but also optimism from influencers and brands with a dedication to high quality content. [si_guide_block id="5750" title="Download our Premium Resource – Smarter Facebook Marketing Strategy Guide " description="This guide will allow you to create a plan for managing Facebook communications in your company or for your clients. It will help you grow your following and use Facebook more cost-effectively."/]

’Content shock’ is still a challenge for marketers

For many brands the new algorithm change will not be a huge surprise and for the largest…