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#MarketingTitbits – writing tips, LinkedIn, marketing fails

writing-linkedin-fails-smaller1. 12 handy tips for writing better web copy
Some people consider writing for the web more difficult than it actually has to be. If you fall into this camp, Econsultancy may be able to help. They have put together some handy tips to keep in your mind when writing web copy.

If you haven’t heard of the inverted pyramid method, you have now! Put simply, include everything an individual would need to know in the opening paragraph. As the reader progresses through the article more in-depth information can then be revealed. It is a common journalist trick to engaging the reader quickly.

Other important factors for better web copy include: knowing your audience, using short paragraphs (in web terms this is a mere one or two sentences) and numbering or bulleting to format and break up chunks of text.

The tips don’t stop there. To see the remaining tips,click here.

2. LinkedIn to let marketers use more of its data to track users

As the biggest business-orientated social networking service, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn is expanding its offerings. The latest development is the introduction of advertising products that allow marketers to track their 300+ million users across the internet, followed by a targeted send of personalised messages to those users.

It comes as LinkedIn reveals plans to merge with its latest acquisition, Bizo, a digital marketing group bought in 2014 for a sum of $175m. Brands like Groupon, Lenovo and Salesforce are currently trialling the new product, with Groupon marketing executive Stephan Heller revealing the success that it has brought them.

If you would like to find out more about LinkedIn’s new venture, click here.

3. Five marketing fails

After the unfortunate mistake of the Hull Branch of Krispy Kreme relating their promotional club to the KKK a few weeks back now, PR Week has given us a round up of some top historic marketing fails.

You’ll find some use of mistaken language from not one, but five brands! Named and shamed in these mistakes are Sharwoods, Wang, Honda, Umbro and an Italian mineral water company.

Click here to see how these brands got it wrong.

#MarketingTitbits – content writing, Halifax, learning to code

content-heartbeats-code-smaller1. 17 fantastically useful tools for content writers and bloggers
For content writers and bloggers, writing can often be a stressful and difficult set of skills to master. But with the help of Econsultancy, we can show you some of the best tools to help you along the way.

If you’re someone who struggles with content generation, not to worry, you can check out Portent’sor HubSpot’s topic generators. With these tools you can avoid the hassle of wracking your brain for one or two ideas – you’ll get hundreds! But if you’re looking to improve the quality of your writing, you can use Grammarly, which highlights any fault in grammar, punctuation and spelling, while Unsuck-itwill help you to breakdown business jargon that can often confuse readers.

There are many more useful tools available, so click here to see how your content can get a refresh.

2. Halifax is replacing passwords with your heartbeat

With technology growing and developing at a rapid rate, it’s no surprise that the security of bank accounts is now top of the agenda. Cybersecurity has always been important to the population and now Halifax is looking to develop wristbands that will identify your own unique heartbeat in order to access your account, replacing the humble password.

The trial follows a new service that was launched by the Royal Bank of Scotland in February, which uses fingerprint recognition as a log in method, while Google and Yahoo are developing their ideas for using facial or voice recognition as an alternative.

For a demonstration on the new tech, click here.

3. BBC is giving away 1 million Raspberry Pi computers so kids can learn to code

The BBC has recently revealed its intentions to highlight how learning to code should become a critical component of a child’s education in today’s digital age. Next year, they plan to give away 1 million microcomputers to year 7 pupils.

The Micro Bit is currently being developed and will be a small piece of wearable hardware that will aid in learning coding and programming. Due to the shortage in skills surrounding coding, it’s no surprise that organisations such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung and Code Club are all getting involved.

To find out more on the BBC’s latest initiative, click here.