A case study of how Ford have embraced digital and social media
The digital landscape for the majority of sectors has witnessed a meteoric rise in the number brands. These brands come in all sizes and shapes – On one side you have the traditional brands making the steady transition to the world of digital and on the other, the start-up brand, out there to cause disruption to the sector and to offer that something a little different. And they all have the same objective - vying for our attention.
In with the old
The transformation traditional organisations are learning to wrestle with is the fact that moving to a digital future, traditional brands should not still try to control media content that impacts the brand and its perception, rather the brand should instead focus on becoming more transparent and seek to build engagement, credibility and collaboration with its user base.
A case study of…
Three ways to use marketing analytics to increase sales
As there are so many options available when using data analytics, why do some businesses typically rely on one single approach? The analytical tools available for the business leader's arsenal are now better and bigger than ever before, and are targeted to generate better decision-making. Despite this, and the ability of such tools to increase conversion rates, growth and MROI (marketing return on investment), some companies seem frozen by the choices on offer.
This causes business heads to default to their usual performance-management and planning approach, and the typical result is the discovery that even advanced single methodologies have limits. The variety of audiences and activities that marketing budgets support and the diverse time limits for investment requires an approach that's a little more complex. The ideal way for companies…
6 examples of businesses building new systems to innovate their marketing using digital technology
Against the backdrop of CMO’s spending more on technology than CIO’s there has been a lot of debate about where digital strategy should exist within an organisation. Is this missing the point though? Perhaps the question we should be asking is when will corporate and marketing strategy simply become part of an overarching digital strategy that is responsible for the direction of business as a whole.
Since I work in a digital agency you could say I’m bound to see things this way but let’s take a look at the facts. At present many of the conversations that we at Blueleaf have as an agency will start with a brief for a new website but increasingly such discussions go on to encompass marketing issues that are fundamental to the organisation as a whole.
G.R.I.N. and bear it
This is because digital technology…
How to save time and reduce waste through better operational planning
As the digital marketing environment continues to evolve, introducing efficient marketing practices is more important than ever. Coordinating multiple channels, running integrated campaigns and relying on external partners make modern marketing processes complex and difficult to manage. Teams are often reluctant to update their day-to-day management tools and processes as change isn't always easy though always needed! This challenge is faced by every marketing team and can be tackled by making important changes to the way things are planned and managed. By thinking through and then implementing some of these following six steps, you can save time, reduce waste and improve operational marketing management.
Get everyone pulling in the same direction. Defining business and marketing objectives first is crucial, your most powerful leadership tool is clear and specific objectives. Define your battleground, understand where your efforts are likely to…
Ideas on making your marketing campaigns more effective
As the take-up of smartphones continues to grow with 61% of adults now using one - it’s changing the marketing landscape at an incredible rate. Ofcom’s new Communications Market Report offers great context as to why your marketing might be outdated and getting results that don’t match your experience. Here’s 2 snippets:
The average adult in the UK spends over half of their waking hours engaged in media or communications activities. On average, UK adults sleep for 8 hours 21 minutes in a 24-hour period, while they spend 8 hours 41 minutes engaged in media or communication activity.
UK adults squeeze over 11 hours’ worth of communications and media activity into less than nine hours. The total volume of media and communications activities undertaken by an individual each day equate to 11 hours 7 minutes. But as some media activities are conducted simultaneously, this…
How to combat marketing misbeliefs from colleagues that can kill profit
Marketers, by nature, are persuasive humans, yet sometimes they’re stifled by management’s delusions.
In my career, I’ve observed several misconceptions that interfere with effective marketing and, ultimately, prevent the company from growing and becoming more profitable. The reasons behind this are many and varied, but it usually relates to misbeliefs depending on managers' previous experiences. It might be because managers don’t believe in a certain type of marketing investment, or they might simply consider the marketing department a mere backup to the sales team.
Whatever the case, if you’ve ever approached your C-suite executives with a killer marketing plan backed by concrete principles only to be shot down because they can’t imagine doing things differently, you’re not alone. However, if you prepare for possible 'pushback', you can present sound rationales for the importance of marketing efforts.
5 Deadly Marketing Misbeliefs
Here are five common…
A new, free report on digital media and technology use [@SmartInsights statistics alert]
Value: [rating=5] For students, researchers and marketers who need to convince others of the importance of digital media
Recommended link: Ofcom 2014 digital communications statistics report
If you need hard facts and charts for reports and presentations to convince others of the growing importance of digital communications and technologies in influencing the purchase decision today, the Ofcom Communications report is one of the most comprehensive sources available. That’s why we feature it at number 1 in our Top 10 Free Digital Marketing Statistics sources listing.
It’s published each August for the UK and includes an international digital media statistics benchmark in its December edition.
The latest update for the UK has just been published and in this post I have selected from the 61(! ) charts available to ask what I think are some of the of the most important questions about…
A structured approach to implementing a successful social media marketing strategy
A recent survey suggests that 93% of marketers have transitioned to the world of social networking. But this does not mean that we all currently understand its place in our marketing mix, how we should be using it and how to generate an ROI... The shift from one-way outbound messages to real-time dialogue has caught many of us off guard, so much so that 20% of businesses still don't even have a social media strategy in place. In this post I discuss some of the planning decisions we can make to improve management of social media comms. The reason many brands do not utilise social well is that they don’t think about strategy, because we use these tools ourselves to connect with people we immediately think it is easy for brands. Unfortunately…
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04 Aug 2014
How to structure a successful e-retail strategy
The Internet has made it easier for new entrants and existing retailers alike to set-up, launch, re-platform and update online stores. But the speed of change in e-commerce also presents its own challenges, and the temptation is to adopt a tactical approach to online in order to adapt to the ever shifting landscape. However, the importance of a robust e-commerce strategy should not be under-estimated.
'A more tactical approach to e-commerce may seem ‘cutting edge’ but in actual fact may mean that firms are simply making changes to their e-commerce approach because that is what their competitors are doing or because new technology or designs are trending,' warns Kath Dawson, Creative Director at Strategy Digital.
'Businesses looking to make a success of their e-commerce efforts should ensure a robust e-commerce strategy is central to all activity. Without a strategy which clarifies and defines…
What’s New in Marketing? July 2014 roundup
How to achieve Digital Transformation in businesses has been a hot topic through 2014 and this month we have focused our advice on this.
To help get focus and review current use of digital we created this roadmap so you can summarise where you are now and where you need to be in future. It’s taken from our new Digital Transformation guide for Expert members.
Strategy and planning
Our strategy and planning posts also focus on transformation:
What is Digital Transformation? - Annmarie Hanlon introduces the concept and gives examples in this post.
Digital to account for 75% of all marketing spend in 5 years - the need to manage transformation is shown in this post by Dan Bosomworth of new research from Accenture.
Insourcing vs outsourcing for digital marketing - James Carson asks “Which digital marketing activities you should keep inhouse or…
