Research on UK SME usage and attitudes to online marketing

Over 188 UK small and medium business responded to Browser Media's survey at the London Business Show, providing insight into how SMEs are using and investing in online marketing today. We think you will relate to their findings.

79% felt the website was critical to their marketing, yet 28% are happy with their Google rankings and 4 in 10 are investing in their websites!

The survey highlighted:

SME managers and owners are familiar with social media marketing, email marketing and SEO. Over 50% manage their digital activities in-house and one third have Agency support. The least familiar online marketing tactics are content marketing, affiliate marketing and inbound marketing.

Summarising the research, Joe Friedlein, Founder and Managing Director at Browser Media said:

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New research shows key concerns of CMOs in modern marketing

It’s fair to say that marketing jobs vary quite drastically. I get to see that from an agency perspective every day. Where one marketer may get applauded in one organisation, the same actions in a different organisation might get them fired. It’s not as though there’s a ‘right’ answer to the marketing challenge, either. There are so many variables - market, brand age, business size, product, budget, belief systems and biases, let alone the senior management.

That said, with marketing evolving at breakneck speed, in the wake of changes in consumer behaviour and technology adoption, it’s always useful to look at what’s got the attention of other marketers to help inform our priorities.

Research source and methodology

In this new research by Deloitte and ExactTarget Marketing Cloud, they’ve distilled the responses down to the key drivers. Quick caveat: Let’s take this for what it is,…

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 …

The most popular jobs in digital marketing show what employers are looking for

We showed in our recent review that digital marketing is now bigger than Internet marketing based on searches for knowledge and services related to digital marketing. As demand for digital marketing has grown, so has the number of specialist digital jobs needed in companies and agencies. Google Trends shows us that searches for Jobs in Digital Marketing has overtaken Jobs in Internet Marketing and continued to grow through 2013.

What is the talent gap between digital marketing jobs and resources

Earlier in 2013 we created the second infographic in this post showing the most in-demand online marketing jobs based on LinkedIn skills and the popularity of online marketing jobs in the UK. We have now added this related infographic which shows the Talent gap between…

Recommendations on time management platforms for marketing agencies or in-house marketing teams

In another post I reviewed alternative agency costing models and suggested how simple budgets and quotes for marketing projects can be prepared using a spreadsheet. Larger agencies will require more features to manage multiple quotes and to relate proposals back to live projects. I’m often asked about the project proposal and time recording systems I recommend, so in this post I give some of the main contenders that are most widely used.

If you haven’t already done so, you should consider cost (and job management) platforms. Spreadsheets are useful (especially when starting out), but job management platforms are worth investigating for cross-­agency collaboration on both estimate creation and ongoing time / resource management. Supporting the agency’s profitability endeavours by providing easily accessed and accurate reporting.

Time-recording features

Time recording is seen as a huge pain for most agency staff. But are…

Sharing ideas on managing a remote team using social media

While it might be true that in some cases absence makes the heart grow fonder, this is not necessarily so in the workplace. Fortunately, modern technology and a little bit of extra effort and creativity can help overcome the difficulties of building relationships between team members and colleagues.

Source: Image: Bingmanson / Flickr

Out of sight, out of mind..? As someone who has worked and lived in several countries, I am used to working with people from different cultural backgrounds who speak different languages. However in my current position I have the additional challenge of managing a team which is split between two countries: half of my team are at our Head Office…

If social networks are your online resume, how do you stand out?

Recruiters are now scouring social media sites to either head-hunt candidates and/or to check credentials, and candidates are actively searching for roles, uploading CVs - some without realising that their LinkedIn profile is their on-line resume!.

Earlier on in the year, we interviewed top recruiters who reinforced this view and provided tips for companies looking to recruit the right digital staff online following it through to interview questions.

Reed Global have released an infographic, sourcing information from sites including Reed Employment and the Guardian, to provide the top ten tips on how a candidate can use social media to improve their job search, including savvy ways to produce a CV - ever considered creating an Infographic?

If you are an active user of LinkedIn, we produced a …

Changing your mindset to make yourself more valuable

Back in 2012, I wrote a blog post,  Time to create your own future, it referred to the gradual cultural change facing our global economy, in part due to the recent global recession but also moving away from the Industrial era and moving towards a more globally connected economy. It questioned how many more of us are beginning to change our working culture, how more of us are taking charge of our own destiny, or, even working for organisations, how you can change your mindset to make yourself more indispensable?.

Godin's reference to PERL

In the book Linchpin '"How to drive your career and create a remarkable future", Godin refers to a system used by corporations synonymous within the industrial era and a system that still…

Suggestions needed for good interview style questions for a Digital Marketing Assistant position?

This was the question recently asked by David Pool in our Smartinsights Answers forum.

We had some great responses from members, both on the forum and in our LinkedIn group too. Since so many valuable tips were shared, we thought it would be useful to summarise the tips from the contributors on recruiting the right candidates with the right skills, and ensuring they can ' talk and deliver'.

If recruiting for digital marketing, or landing a role is relevant for you, you may also find our Guide on Recruitment for Digital Marketing useful. This highlights the team structures, roles, responsibilities along with additional interview techniques from recruiters.

Our summary of the interview questions

I have grouped the…

The Modern Marketer is Part Scientist and Part Artist? Are you balanced?

On a daily basis, social and digital marketing platforms are evolving and developing. In the same way, Marketers are embracing these changes through upskilling or using their hidden skills. This Infographic, from SalesForce and Pardot, visualises the new Marketer as having two sides to their skillset as an 'Artist' and 'Scientist' - balancing creativity and analytical skills. This has always been true, but the Scientist is more to the fore today? For example, Social Media = (Artist) and Manage your digital Relationships + (Scientist).   As well as being part artist, part scientist, modern marketers also increasingly have some of the most ridiculous job titles.…