Combining conversations from different platforms

It started with a moan over dinner. I was chatting with sometime Smart Insights blogger Yusuf Bhana about how well things were going on the Musicademy Facebook Page but how frustrating it was that we end up hosting one (somewhat limited) conversation about a blog post on the blog and then another (altogether more animated) conversation about that same blog post on the Facebook Page.

"My philosophy has always been to host conversations in the places where your community want to have them and over the years as Facebook has become such a mainstream place for content marketing for many consumer brands, inevitably a lot of the buzz we create online has moved there, away from the blog".

Centring your content sharing and discussion on Facebook has advantages in terms of virality (albeit organic reach right now is shockingly poor do to yet another algorithm change…

New platforms and techniques for rapidly engaging online audiences

The increasing pace of life means that what little time we have is becoming more and more squeezed. This compression of time is leading to a compression of communication which has some notable implications for brands. One of the big trends for 2014 is the rise of image centric sites such as Pinterest which according to the Global Web Index grew 150% in 2013 and shows no signs of slowing. This format of image based content represents the ultimate distillation of information and ideas.

Density of communication

We’ve gone from reading websites and blogs, to scanning tweets to glancing at rapid sequences of images. It’s the editorial equivalent of skipping a fry up for a breakfast bar on the train.

Video continues to grow as shown in …

Techniques to increase Facebook 'Likes'

Boosting engagement across different social media networks is a concern for many marketers today, even though the commercial objectives may vary for different types of brand. In Facebook the aim will be to increase 'Likes' or new Fans though ultimately leading to improved brand awareness or increasing sales from new or existing customers.

The success of a Facebook update to achieve these goals can depend on many factors, including time of postings, content. This infographic from KISSmetrics reminds us of this. Remember that, as for all marketing channels, 'testing' is key as the sector and audiences vary across businesses.

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What can we learn from brands who were early social media adopters?

As many of the savvier global brands have found, being an early adopter of a new social media site can be an unprecedented opportunity for branding, visibility and platform building. In fact, doing so is a key strategy for staying relevant in an ever-changing business and marketing environment. In essence, being early means getting to be a real leader, determining just how companies will use that new space; it also means getting to connect directly with key influencers before the platform gets too crowded with competitors. But with that leap of faith comes real risk, and there's always the chance you could fail at a very public level. That, after all, is why many staid brands hesitate to join in, clinging to advertising models that are fast becoming irrelevant. The irony of being a successful early adopter is that you…

Practical ideas to test in the often neglected preheader

The small kid with glasses that gets picked last for the football team? That was me. And that's the email preheader, too... At least that's what it often feels like: it's there to tick the box on the "what goes in an email?" checklist, but it doesn't get much copywriting love. In case you're wondering, the preheader is the line or two of text, usually in a smaller font, right up the top of an email. Here's the preheader at the top of a National Express mail: It's one of the elements I cover in the email module of the Smart Insights online copywriting course, and its potential value stems from two plausible marketing roles. First, while an inbox display typically focuses on the from name and subject line of each email, it may also include the first…

Examples of 3 Facebook Applications that every B2B organisation needs on its brand page

You will know that on every brand’s Facebook Page there are four app thumbnails, three of which are customizable and whose positions can be moved. I've marked them 1 through 3 below. Some companies choose to use this space only to feature their Page’s Like count or Facebook’s 'Notes' and 'Map' apps. These companies are not making the most of their precious Facebook real estate! In this article I'll show examples of 3 better alternatives.

Essential apps for your Facebook page

Much like the cover photo, apps are a feature of the Page that capture the attention of Page visitors first. For B2B companies that want to squeeze the most value out of their Facebook Page, there are three essential apps that should live on the Page at all times: Newsletter app Resources app Testimonials app.

1.…

5 new digital platforms that consumers will be adopting and what opportunities  they give to marketers

Yep, you read that title right! A year in the tech world goes by fast, a lot of developments happen in 12 months. This means that now, as we're well into 2014, we need to be looking further ahead. It seems as if developers are coming out with new and improved Smart devices every day to exploit new levels of connectivity such as faster 4G and fibre Internet networks. Forget smartphones, now, we now have smart watches, smart TVs, smart appliances and even smart cars. So, what are the cutting-edge digital consumer devices to look out for this year, and what do they mean for marketers trying to stay on the cutting edge next year?

1. Smart watches

Easily the most buzzed-about gadget of 2013, expect smart watches (and their leaner cousin, smart bands) to…

Ideas for developing your digital marketing skills

In previous posts we have looked at how marketers can stay relevant by developing their digital marketing skills. Simon Swan asked Are you a T-Shaped Marketer? which is an interesting way of reviewing the depth and breadth of your digital marketing skills and I summarised another infographic showing how the modern marketer needs to be Part Scientist and Part Artist. We also interviewed online recruiters to find out what industries were looking for when employing digital staff and reviewed typical digital marketing roles in our marketing job descriptions outlines. 

In this infographic, we look at social media marketing skills . This shows how soft skills such as listening, nurturing and patience are just as important as some of the hard, technical skills. We're not sure they need to be 'superpowers' though!

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Reviewing content strategy for your email marketing

It’s a simple equation. Provide sufficient value in your emails and customers will continue to welcome you into their inbox. Not enough and you’ll be ignored or banished. Value can be delivered in many forms, it isn’t just measured in pounds and dollars. A proven currency for value is content. But want content should you provide to whom across your email marketing? Different email subscribers have different interests and needs depending on their characteristics and situation. The following matrix is taken from Dan’s post on generating content ideas. It provides an easy to use breakdown to review the options for different types of content for a defined segment or persona. You can use it to audit your current content and identify new content types to engage audiences at different points in the buying process. If you’ve already a…

And avoid boring brand content

One of the key challenges in content marketing is being able to create enough great content. Great? OK, maybe that’s vague, I mean relevant, engaging and it works. Great means different things to a financial services company than say, a BBQ grill manufacturer, a basmati rice brand or sports clothing manufacturer.

The truth is we all have the same challenge when it come to content creation and content marketing - creating dull content is a choice, it’s your choice.

“If people aren’t talking about you, they’re not talking about you for a reason. And the reason isn’t that they dislike you. They’re not talking about you because you’re boring.” ~ Seth Godin

People first...

Use your imagination, take a step back and think about your target audience, not your brand. What your audience needs over what you want to promote. It’s this return to people where it get’s so much…