Content planning made easy

Over the past 18 months to two years it seems there has been ever-increasing volume of advice on content marketing. You would have to have been on a very long holiday or living under a rock to not notice how content marketing is a huge topic and an industry worth $44 billion and that's just in the United States. While there are many posts exhorting us to "create awesome content" there is a big practical challenge of how you plan and resource this content creation. One specific problem many of us face is how to encourage other specialists in our companies to create content which we have covered in this post based on a discussion on persuading others in your company to create content for you. I wanted to add to this by reviewing the issue of when you're face with a blank piece of paper…..what content…

12 tips and examples from using Instagram to market a restaurant

If you haven’t heard of Instagram already then:, where have you been?! It’s a popular photo sharing app available to both Android and iOS smartphone users? Instagram was launched in 2010 by co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and has enjoyed phenomenal growth, helped in part by Facebook purchasing the app in 2012 for a mere $1 billion in cash. But even with this social giant becoming their owners, Instagram continues to stand out on its own as a very credible social network that should not be ignored. If you need convincing of its potential value to marketers then just take a look at these current stats: 100 million Monthly Active Users 40 million Photos Per Day 8500 Likes Per Second 1000 Comments Per Second.

So how can you…

Integrating content and social media marketing

The vast majority of businesses will first experiment with social media long before they get underway with content marketing. Creating a coherent plan is the key to success in both. A content plan helps to integrate content and social media marketing activities. I will be explaining the approach I recommend in more detail in the next Smart Insights webcast. This post gives some of the background. [caption id="attachment_25503" align="alignright" width="150"] Which way first?[/caption] Companies tend to work first with social media marketing because social platforms are…

Making User-Generated Content a core feature of the online fashion-buying experience

You may know Boticca since they are active content marketers who have worked with bloggers to build a strong social media presence with 35,000 Twitter followers, more than 50,000 Facebook fans, 50,000 Pinterest followers and 3,000 Tumblr followers. They're a great example of how to engage through content and then convert that interest to sale and advocacy through permission marketing. In this example we take a look at their latest Instagram campaign since more marketers are looking to tap into it since its growth has continued since it was purchased by Facebook. They use Instagram by linking to the Gallery from the Boticca.com homepage, in a section call "The Edit", which is a selection of photographs curated by Boticca's visual merchandisers.

The photographs in the Gallery…

10 permission marketing principles and campaign examples integrating web, email and social media marketing

It is now nearly 15 years since Seth Godin launched his permission marketing mantra. Yet it remains highly relevant - I still recommend newcomers to online marketing download and read his permission marketing principles.

But how does permission marketing apply today? In this post I show examples of how digital marketers today are applying Permission marketing principles  to their email marketing and social media marketing activities today.

In his book, Godin explains the principles of using permission marketing both in the offline world and online world, but he doesn't describe in detail how to best achieve permission marketing using web and e-mail.

For each of the core principles of permission marketing, I identify, define and illustrate my principles of ‘e-permission marketing’ which show how web,social, e-mail and offline communications can be…

Legal services: Engaging the non-engagable through content marketing

For law firms, word of mouth has always been the principal generator of work. This may seem surprising given the wealth of marketing tools at their disposal, but the reason is actually quite obvious. Both individuals and businesses perceive purchasing legal services as high risk. People generally don't fully understand their legal rights, and if they do, making a purchase is typically an infrequent act, arising out of a situation of distress (litigation, divorce, death). So people look to friends, colleagues and 'opinion leaders' for their experiences and recommendations, to reduce any risk they may feel exposed to. Historically law firms have sought to leverage the power of word of mouth through 'thought leadership' activities, 'early' forms of content marketing; monthly newsletters, articles in trade publications, local seminars etc. But things have moved on. Or to be more specific, moved online: word of mouth has expanded…

Why businesses need to adopt an omni-channel approach

The recent (and well publicised) reports of a number of high street retailers such as Comet, HMV and Jessops going into administration has reinforced the need for businesses to continue to adapt their strategies or suffer the consequences as a result. Prominent high street retailers that failed to capitalise on the e-commerce boom (making the move online too late) have consequently been dealt a harsh lesson in reality.

The opportunity online

On the flip side 2012 was another strong year for e-commerce with UK retailers achieving 14% year on year growth (IMRG) with similar growth is expected in 2013. Combine this with the incredible growth of mobile/ tablet commerce and this year presents a real opportunity to online businesses. According to the latest BRC-Google Online Retail Index tablet searches increased 238% in the fourth quarter and the IMRG m-Retail index reported…

Reviewing the level of attendance for webcast and webinar events

Webinars and webcasts are still a key tool of the B2B marketer. As you may know, Smart Insights use the BrightTALK webcast platform for featured Expert commentators and content partners. As is standard with webinars, these feature a live interactive session reviewing slides and then an on-demand follow-up. We thought we would share the internal data on webinar attendance from BrightTALK since it could help B2B marketers who are planning or reviewing attendance for online events. Webinar Attendance - No Show, Live and On Demand You can see the number of no-shows against and Live and On Demand viewings- this is in line with what we see - a good level of On Demand access as well as the live viewings. They have also shared the growth in numbers before an agent and then how…

The Truth about Video Email Marketing

Look in your email inbox, and on any given day you’re likely to find several emails that feature videos. They can range from informational, educational to simply entertaining. But what is all the fuss about? Does video email marketing really lift response rates? Can anyone use video in their email marketing? What are the best tactics (or best practices for that matter)? Let’s find out!.

Video Email Marketing Statistics and Reports

Simply including the word 'video' in an email’s subject line saw an increase of 7%-13% in overall click-through rates (CTRs) in 2011, according to Experian’s 2012 Digital Marketer Benchmark and Trend Report. Embedding a video in an email generated an average conversion rate 21% higher than emails containing a static image alone. And Videoretailer.org reported that using the word 'video' in the subject line…

Examples of the cultural customisation needed for international retail sales

Our friends at Practicology recently held an event looking at approaches to customising Ecommerce for local markets. We thought it would be useful to share the presentations for marketers working on tailoring their proposition to increase international sales. We highlighting the retail e-commerce case studies from Clarks and Debenhams, along with multi-channel research from Amplience.

In their presentation, they shared '6 strategies in play' for e-commerce:

1. Do nothing: Don't allow anyone to buy from overseas.2. Standardisation: Switch on the buy button only.3. Adaptation:  Localise some aspects.4. Localisation: Fully localise the customer proposition online.5. Multi-channel market entry: Lead with online, open stores.6. Lead with stores; then localise online.

Clarks case study : Going Global with e-commerce

Head of E-commerce for Europe at Clarks, Dave Elston shared his experience on Clark's global e-commerce strategy and…