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Should You Be Thinking Mobile First?

Should You Be Thinking Mobile First?

People are addicted to mobile phonesIt’s a fact that most website visitors are now accessing the web using a small screen device such as a smartphone or tablet, so doesn’t it make sense to design your website for these devices as a priority over laptops and PCs?

My Site Got Flipped Turned Upside Down

There’s a fast growing trend to flip the traditional way websites are designed and built on its head by thinking Mobile First. Mobile First does of course present different challenges when designing a website. So what might some of  these be?

Mobile Internet Is HUGE!

Firstly we need to change the way we think about mobile internet, this not a fad that will fizzle out, this is not the future of the web, this is right now and it’s huge. Vast amounts of data are transferred across mobile networks every minute of everyday, whether people are looking up businesses, web surfing, seeking directions, catching up on Social Media, sharing photos, watching catch up TV, the list goes on and on.

So ask yourself; Is this going to stop any time soon? Are people going to be quick to give up this way of consuming and creating content?

Some People Only See Mobile Sites!

Another staggering fact is this, many people will only ever see the mobile version of your website!

The internet is no longer that thing we use when we get home or to the office, it is in our hands, bags, vehicles and back pockets, and current trends would suggest this is only set to grow. If you are a website owner it makes sense to ensure that you offer a platform that is as inclusive and offers the best user experience as possible no matter how your visitors view your content.

So Why Take The Mobile First Route When Designing A New Website?

A major factor was an announcement by Google way back in 2010 that mobile was going to be the answer to everything, and Google have certainly backed this up with action. Not only are they producing their own smartphone and tablet hardware but more crucially they are now serving up mobile friendly search results to users of their search engine, as well as continuing development of the mobile platform for Youtube, and before you roll your eyes it’s worth remembering Youtube is one of the largest search engines on the web in its own right, and no matter how simple a channel you may have it is a fantastic resource for being found online.

Mobile Goes Beyond Just The Device!

It’s not just Google, big business is putting smartphone technology at the centre of their products. If you look at all the major hardware producers they all put a huge amount of R&D into mobile devices, not only Phones and Tablets but also other whizzy little add ons like TV streaming Dongles, bluetooth speakers and many more. Camera makers produce apps the can control, view and upload pictures from your camera wirelessly, carmakers are adding mobile integration to their vehicles that control specifically designed apps, such as Car Play, Android Auto and Alexa. Mobiles maybe small but their impact is big.

Isn’t Responsive Design Mobile First?

Traditional mobile sites tended to be cut down versions of the desktop website with technologies and graphical items removed as they were either to heavy for the processing power of a mobile device, it was difficult get everything on the small screen or were to big and data hungry for use over a mobile network. Then there is the Touchscreen, different devices deal with website elements, such as menus, in different ways. Responsive website design has gone a long way to alleviate these issues by helping designers to create a simple and easy user experience, however the trend is still to build a desktop site first then cut back on functionality for mobile devices.

Make It Mobile First And Your PC Will Be Happy

By taking the Mobile First approach a lot of these factors are overcome early in the project, it will also have the added bonus of offering the same user experience on all platforms. Browser compatibility is converging all the time, the popular browsers now offer support for the vast array of website technologies in use today, so by designing your website with lightweight yet powerful functionality that runs smoothly on smartphones and tablets you can be more confident of these functions working on larger more powerful laptops and PCs. This is not always the case if you reverse the process.

Will you think Mobile First when it comes time to upgrade your website? You probably should.

Is PPC Still an Effective Form of Marketing?

Is PPC Still an Effective Form of Marketing?

PPC has always been a fast and simple way to get a campaign online, it gave rise to the internet marketer and affilliate marketer who could sell or promote digital products with minimal overheads to anyone who surfed the web, and a good number of these marketers made a good, and on face of it, easy living.

As with so many online systems change is fast and continuous, with rising CPC prices affiliates are now moving away from PPC as the risk of paying for clicks and making a lower return increases.

So is PPC an Effective Marketing Tool?

YES, but don’t be mistaken, just creating a campaign and sitting back waiting for sales is not the answer, and could prove very costly. PPC now offers a fantastic array of demographic targeting that it’s critical to know your market and who your customers are, just as it is with any marketing. Would you display at a motoring exhibition if you supply outdoor cooking equipment to the restaurant trade?

What about Organic SEO Marketing?

Though we are concentrating on PPC, it’s worth remembering that SEO is a critical part of your online marketing, however this is a slower, long term process and much more competitive. It’s worth also pointing out that PPC can provide market data which can be applied to your SEO and help capture even more of the market share organically.

What Type of Analytics are There?

The tools for targeting your audience whilst collecting valuable analytics data are ever increasing, it’s now possible to target potential customers according to more metrics, demographics or behaviors than ever before, and this is set to continue. Taking an organised approach will help to quickly identify which campaigns convert, which need tweaking and which ones need a total rethink.

What About Real World Interactions?

During the development of PPC there has been somewhat of a disconnect when it comes to measuring customer actions in the real world. As improvements in collecting relevant data are made traditional metrics such as ad clicks and impressions are being backed up with offline outcomes, such as shop visits, over the counter sales and other customer interactions. This helps to show more tangible activity and therefore real world effectiveness.

What About Building Better Customer Relationships?

There are a variety of channels available to reach customers, such as face to face networking, inbound marketing, organic SEO and of course PPC, these are not channels that should be used exclusive of each other. PPC is a fast way to reach out to customers whilst the data collected can be invaluable to your other marketing methods, it is also worth remembering that by not using PPC your not using all the marketing options available to you…

No Nonsense Branding

No Nonsense Branding

Crazes and trends are inevitable. There is one around every corner. Marketers unfortunately, for them and audiences tap into pretty much every one. But what would happen if you took the marketing budget and creativity away? Are there benefits to having a raw, authentic, simple brand?

Is branding suppose to look pretty or is it suppose to work?…Not for form over function.

Google

One example of a brand that keeps it simple, is one we all know and love. Google. You’ll have noticed that Google recently updated their branding through changing the font; something that doesn’t happen very much with this particular brand. Other than that, the colours have stayed the same. The search engine is still on a blank white screen. It really is as simple as that. And how successful is Google?

In fact, some people believe that Google’s makeover was a distraction or intention to seem friendlier as people are becoming more aware of the data that Google records of us and provides for other companies. A brand that we know and trust, that is there to help us when in actuality it is much more powerful than that.

Apple

Another well-known one is Apple. If you try to find the background behind the Apple branding you’ll find many conspiracy theories thrown out there and deep hidden meanings behind an apple, but ultimately be disappointed to find that the Apple logo was made the way it is because without the bite, the logo looked like a cherry when made small.

The apple in the first place, also had no significant meaning that has been confirmed, but what we do know for sure is that Steve Jobs worked in apple orchards when he was young. Perhaps this is the only reason. Nevertheless, it was a simple, no nonsense brand that has made it massively successfully in the tech world. No fancy branding. No pretentiousness about the logo. Just an apple.

You

A lot of experts, marketers, branding companies and other business people stress the importance of creativity, complexity and unique brands. There may be pros and cons to this, but at the end of the day, the brand image itself is not enough to be successful. Content and following through with the quality of your product or service is what really counts.

“Holoportation” Another VR Blog…

“Holoportation” Another VR Blog…

VR has been a topic thrown around the mix every now and again. Virtual and Augmented Reality is really transforming digital technology, but we are still in the young stages. Or are we?

While we have been going about our daily routines, Microsoft has been working hard on the ‘Holoportation’ in the backgrounds.

So what is it? Why is it different? And why is it important enough that it’s made its way onto our blog? All very good questions…

Holoportation is a “3D, real-time hologram of someone who is a world away, but still interacts with you.” Basically, its everything a hologram in the Hollywood Movie world told us it would be. Somehow, in our lifetime it has made its way into reality. Can you believe it? The Star Wars age is with us.

We are not quite at Tony Stark’s level in terms of holographic computers, however…

It’s still pretty interesting! You can see it in action in this video below:

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It definitely would make long distance calls much more interesting. Or even a replacement for business meetings when we aren’t physically close enough or well. There are so many possibilities for the Holoportation, and we can’t wait to see how it progresses. Let us know what you think.

“Chat 2.0”? Will Snapchat become “the best way to…

“Chat 2.0”? Will Snapchat become “the best way to communicate”? (You know, besides being in the flesh…)

There is always a new update for the latest social media trend of platform that everyone’s using. Could Snapchat be next? Word on the street is that Snapchat has been making some unique updates, and apparently on the road to becoming “the best way to communicate”. Based on the trending dog filter, it’s probably fair to say that they could be right…

Here are some of the features of the new and improved Snapchat 2.0:

Video Notes

Live Video Calls

Audio

GIFs

Stickers

Traditional Texts

Send images from your phone’s Camera Roll

Auto-advance ‘Stories’

Will Snapchat over take Facebook? Looking at it from a young person’s perspective… The youngsters do not have to filter the content they share as their families and potential employers do not have access to this (as of yet). With only 24 hours access to the content, they are more willing to upload it even if it is riskier, or potentially the less interesting parts of our day for friends and fellow snappers. Of course, the Snapchat privacy protects you if your content is taken and abused which arguably could encourage this market to embrace the riskiness associated with the app.

If Snapchat really does take off, will businesses and marketers inevitably saturate yet ANOTHER social media platform? Forcing us to discover a new social media platform in the hope to escape. There are signs that it is being used for business purpose already. Many makeup artists, celebrities and Vine stars are using it to promote their work while creating content around it meanwhile updating viewers about future projects and personal life insights.

As it stands now, Snapchat is still for the most part an app for the public. No ads interrupt you during your time on the app, and businesses have not yet embraced it in mass. But this is why there is a gap in the market if you have a business that could find a use for this interesting output. You never know, quirky filters and ‘Stories’ could even be the best way to communicate with your target market.

Marketing to Millennials

Marketing to different Generations

Suspect 1 Profile

The Millennials aka The Fresh Meat

Age: 20-35 years

Skill: Can see through promotional lies. The Millennial is open-minded and accepting of other lifestyles and cultures.

Weakness: Filter out promotional materials, being exposed to so much of it and often miss out on deals. To target their weakness, you have to aim for their funny bone.

Unpredictable by nature, the Millennial is prone to impulse buying. Growing up during the rise of technologies and social media, a Millennial is comfortable with digital media, online shopping as well as being knowledgeable of other lifestyles and keeping up with the latest crazes. They tend to be highly responsive to funny content, out-of-the-box ideas, images and videos as a format. The red flag with the Millennial is that they are so comfortable that they filter our the promotional material. In fact, they are even immune to typical sales strategies and recognise a trustworthy brand from one that isn’t as if it were second nature.

The Solution: Get rid of those Christmas cracker jokes, and take a minute to come up with a funny one liner for your campaign. Try to be original if you can or revamp an old campaign. Stick to digital. Maybe throw in one of those cheeky pop-up discount promotions that appear as they try to navigate away from the page (There are statistics all over the internet that says that this is a deal-breaker for unsure customers).

Is the world resting on your shoulders?

Is the world resting on your shoulders? Appealing to a Global Audience

Are you trying to appeal to a global audience? (No pressure). It is great that you have such a large market to sell your products and services too. This does mean more work for you though.

The more data that you gather or communicate with, the more difficult it becomes to discard any unnecessary ‘junk’ posts that do not actually benefit you. There are a few things that you can do just to take the weight off a bit:

  • Create more specific searches.
  • Use a tool online where you can filter the services from where you’ll gather the information.
  • Manual analysis also (so that you can discard data coming from unreliable sources).

 

As you are trying to reach such a variety of people, you probably have to handle a few social media platforms too. You’ll know already that different social groups or geographical locations focus on different social media sites.

One way that you can try to make your data more specific is by tracking these groups in their native language, which means you get less confused data and you can analyse where your audiences are coming from.

If you do keep up with this over time you can create a meaningful message that changes depending on the audience, their social trends, language, local news and events. All of this combines to create a more personal service remember so it will be worth it!

When is the best time to blog?

When is the best time to blog?

Why are you creating content? To build customer trust right! Right. So what do you need to do? You need to establish who your customers are and what they want.

Keep this in mind; nicely balanced with knowledge of consumer behaviour on different social media platforms and you have already got everything you need.

Don’t post all of your content across all of these platforms. Use them differently!

  • Linkedin
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Google+

Think about what time of day your customers are using these platforms. It will make all of the difference when it comes to how much interaction you get on your posts.

Your blog is your story

They say that your blog should tell the story of your company. Like any story, there will be some highs and lows and different chapters in the life that is your business.

The more authentic you are about your successes and failures with your customers, the more likely they will trust that even if you make a mistake, you will resolve it. Lay your blog out in a chronological order. Tell your story.

We aren’t all experts! Don’t just be related, be relevant

You are the expert. We trust that you know what you are doing. All the way down to the final details. But we don’t need to know all of the final details. If you want me to buy a camera from you, we want to know what the camera’s selling points are and how this can make for better photos and videos.

We don’t want you to tell us about the mechanics of the camera and how it physically works. We just want to know that you know that. Try to talk about what the benefits are for the customer and not just talking about any feature of your product or service (that is related, but not relevant) because it is content you know that you can write.

Coschedule Review

An Exclusive Coschedule Review

Here’s one for all of those fellow marketers and small business owners out there. As a business owner you probably know that you need to prioritise responsibilities and day-to-day jobs. Too often, marketing/social media can take the back seat because we are just far too busy with other important things.

Drum roll please… Enter Coschedule!

After researching a number of similar marketing calendars, tools and services it was a blessing to pick Coschedule out of the haystack.

Why do we love Coschedule?

We’ve been discussing Coschedule in the office and our overall consensus is that collectively we are all pro-Coschedule! Our favourite thing about it is the convenience and usability. One of Coschedules unique qualities is that it is not just a calendar for you to use to get organised.

It actually connects to your social media profiles so that you can schedule posts across Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, Twitter…you name it. It is a social hub for you to create the posts and actually schedule them ahead of time so they automatically post for you. And you can edit them right up until the set time of the post with no problems. Admittedly, it did take some time before we stopped checking that the post went out – you know, just in case.

Are there any functionality problems with the tool?

Only once or twice in the couple of months that we have been using it has one of the links we have included in our posts not worked. Honestly this has only happened not even a handful of times and it was a problem easily fixed.

After discussing Coschedule in the office, the other one of our favourite little bonuses were the emails that Coschedule send you on a regular basis. They don’t over-saturate our inbox but they actually do have some super helpful tips and tricks that we haven’t considered using before, which is great for us as we are now trying some different approaches. We are getting organised, and opening our eyes to new ideas at the same time.

So this article wasn’t an extensive pros and cons list about Coschedule, rather our favourite little features in case you were considering using it or even just looking for a marketing tool in general to get you organised.

Thanks Coschedule!

Who’s Marketing Whom? Co-creation

Who’s Marketing Who? Co-creation

Customers are not just spectators who absorb marketing campaigns and accept it these days. They are very much a part of the creation and marketing themselves and you should tap into this opportunity to create a personal experience around your brand.

Part of the reason for Social Listening is to create an experience for your customers, and for this to be seen by other people that may be interested in your products or services. Try to think of yourself as the customer. You probably trust another person who has used the product or service more than the company itself, and might even look into reviews before committing to buy it.

If you encourage your audience to make their own content around your product and publish it to the Internet, you are adding value to your business and possibly reaching more people than before. Also, by not focusing on transactions or sales all the time, you are probably likely to get more of them.

Be aware that people are attempting to do things for themselves before going to a business for help. It is so easy for them to access information from a trustworthy person that can walk them through a process on YouTube or online forum. Perhaps scan the Internet for the information that might hinder your sales, and prioritize these users who uploaded the content as ones you would like to engage with.

By scanning the web for readily available information that may be hindering your sales you may find the places already being visited by potential customers. If this is the case should you not prioritise these platforms as ones where you become the accepted expert..?