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#MarketingTitbits – Android Pay, YouTube ads, Pizza Hut projector box

android-youtube-pizza-smaller1. What Google’s Android Pay will mean for brands
Earlier this month, Google announced the launch of the much anticipated Android Pay to take on rival Apple, as they enter the mobile payments market. Google could be seen as already having an advantage over their tech giant rival, as Android holds the majority of smartphone users, but they will require the support of both businesses and consumers in order to succeed.

An advantage of mobile payments that has become clear through the launch of Apple Pay is the low transaction costs for businesses, alongside the increase in security that customers are actively searching for. Brands, therefore, have much greater motivation to support mobile payments as the platform continues to change the way consumers engage with commerce.

To find out more, click here.

2. Watch: the 5 most popular YouTube ads of the past decade

YouTube has gained immense popularity over the past decade since it was introduced to the world in 2005, and now, in honour of its 10th birthday, YouTube has asked viewers to vote for their favourite ads of all time.

Entrepreneur has compiled a list of the top 5 voted for ads, and you may be surprised to discover which one hit the top spot! Click here to take a look at the adverts and see which is your favourite.

3. Pizza Hut has a new box that turns into a movie projector for your smartphone

Pizza Hut’s latest marketing stunt is bringing Hollywood blockbusters to your doorstep through the design of their new ‘Blockbuster Box’. Along with their pizza, Hong Kong residents will find a special lens and a perforated hole with which to begin their movie night.

For customers who aren’t Netflix users, Pizza Hut has printed a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to download a free movie. The Blockbuster Box comes in four different styles to appeal to all movie fans: action, sci-fi, romance or scary movie genres.

Click here to find out more about the limited edition boxes.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google Analytics, Virgin’s vacation policy, email marketing

analytics-vacations-emails-smaller1. Seven Google Analytics tips for beginnersGoogle Analytics is an invaluable tool for businesses to use to understand their websites and its engagement with visitors. The level of insight it can provide is staggering; however, for those unfamiliar with it, it can be slightly daunting when you first visit the page. Luckily we have some tips to help you plough your way through and make the most of this useful tool.

Setting goals around session duration, pages viewed per session and customer events is a great place to start. You can also receive email alerts just so you don’t miss a thing that happens on your site. And don’t forget to connect to your AdWords account!

To find more tips click here.

2. Virgin’s Unlimited Vacation policy: PR ploy or new employment paradigm?

Richard Branson is known to be an innovative, forward-thinking and publicity savvy business leader but last week he took things to a new level with the idea of unlimited vacations.  Although this may seem like a dream situation for employees it also raises some interesting questions about how to make it practical.

On one hand it empowers employees with the flexibility to holiday whenever they wish, which potentially makes for a happier work force. Equally, it demonstrates Virgin’s trust in their staff. However, it also raises lots of questions around the practicalities of the initiative and the stress the rest of the team are placed under when a key team member is away.

So is this just another clever publicity stunt, designed to get people talking about the Virgin brand, or is it an example of an enlightened employer looking to do the best for his employees? For more information on the unlimited vacation, click here.

3. Why is email seen as the poor relation in digital marketing?

Since the email was created in 1972 by Raymond Tomlinson, it has been a vital tool used by marketers to reach out and engage with their customers and target audience. But as ‘digital marketing’ becomes ever more complex, questions are being asked about how effective email marketing is for companies?

According to a recent Email Marketing Industry Census from Econsultancy, the percentage of organisations that are sending over 1m emails has increased from 15% to 22% in the last 5 years but the survey showed that average annual e-marketing spends had stayed fairly static at £5,000. The survey indicated there is a perception that e-marketing is a cheap, but low value marketing tool and not particularly valued as highly as other digital marketing channels. However, when analysing the ROI from e-marketing, the survey found some surprising results.

To find out more, click here.

 

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#MarketingTitbits – marketing focus, social media blunders, Google Panda

marketingfocus-social-google-smaller1. Why consumer trust, storytelling and collaboration are Nestle, Mars and Airbnb’s focus for 2016
Speaking at Cannes Lions festival, marketing heads from some of the UK’s top brands shared their views on their priorities for 2016.

At the top of most brands’ lists was the consumer. On one hand, Nestlé’s global head of digital and social media stressed the importance of consumer trust and transparency, while on the other; Airbnb shared their focus on storytelling. However, for Mars, top of their agenda was to build closer relationships and to figure out whom to collaborate with, as the lines between marketing and sales blur.

To read more on their focuses for 2016, click here.

2. 10 of the biggest social media blunders ever

If you want to build your company’s presence online, social media can be an ideal way to do so. But while social media is often a powerful and beneficial tool, there are times when brands fall into the trap of negative publicity.

Entrepreneur has compiled a list on what not to do on social media, which include mistaking national tragedy for fireworks from American Apparel, JPMorgan Chase inviting public hatred, LG making fun of an iPhone with an iPhone and many more. For examples of embarrassing blunders, look no further.

Click here to see them all.

3. What does the latest Google Panda update mean for your business

Since the latest Google Panda update was released, speculation has been escalating as to whether rankings had been affected or not. Although Google hasn’t made an official announcement, fluctuations in ranking can often point to changes. So what could this mean for businesses?

The original Panda update was introduced to combat the issues surrounding what makes ‘good or bad’ pages, and consequently stop any ‘bad’ pages from ranking high in search results. It’s become clear that this recent update is concentrated on the quality of content. Businesses should be regularly producing new content that is relevant, useful and engaging, while also updating older pieces of content.

Find out more on how the update may affect your business by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Instagram marketing, brand taglines, Google+ changes

instagram-travel-google-smaller1. What brands need to know about Instagram marketing
By 2017, Instagram’s mobile ad revenue is due to quadruple to reach $2.81bn, making its mobile display ad business bigger than both Twitter and Google in the US. There are already more than 500 brand campaigns and Instagram continues to add new features to make the service more appealing to advertisers.

As Tom Richards points out from We Are Social,Instagram already has a parent company in Facebook that has already built up and multi-billion dollar social ad business and can use its learnings to help Instagram grow even faster. Marketers have used the site to sell an image of their brands, in particular fashion and travel sectors.

For more on Instagram’s expansion, click here.

2. Lost in translation: when brand taglines don’t travel

Brand taglines such as KFC and Mcdonald’s are the most recognised in Britain today, but when they cross oceans they can mean something entirely different. We searched the depths of the internet to find the best, or worst.

KFC’s ‘finger licking good’ slogan is known all over the world. But when the fast-food giant hit China, the translation of their tasty slogan wasn’t so appetising. Pepsi experienced a similar problem in China where their slogan ‘come alive you’re with Pepsi’ translated into something completely different. Due to this, sales have dropped significantly since the launch of the campaign.

Click here to find out more.

3. What the Google+ changes mean for marketers

Since its launch in 2011, Google+ has been an integral part of the Google experience, as the search giant used it to unify its disparate services. Google has made it clear that it knows it is never going to compete directly with Facebook for social networking supremacy. However, as Bradley Horowitz explains, Google’s VP of streams and sharing, a Google account will be all you’ll need to share content.

For marketers, the diverging fortunes are a reminder that the most meaningful platforms of tomorrow are equally likely to come from companies nobody has heard of. Either way, marketers still using or interested in Google+ can now treat it as something other than a poor Facebook competitor.

Take a look at more Google+ changes by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google, app, social media

google-scent-socialmedia-smaller1. 10 Google Doodle is celebrating the World Cup in style

For those of you who use Google, you are probably now used to the company celebrating historic moments through their Google doodles. The animations, interactive games and imaginative cartoons have been used in the past to celebrate things such as Valentine’s Day and the birthday of the Rubik’s Cube.

However, this month Google have been brightening up the search engine with a new Google doodle for every day of the World Cup. If you have missed these ingenious doodles then click here to see all of them. 

 

2. This app can send scented text messages

Last week, a Harvard University professor unveiled a brand new app for the iPhone. oSnap has been developed by him and his students and allows the user to send text messages accompanied by a photo and a scent to one another.

The app lets you take a photo and then asks you to tag scent notes that go along with it, up to 8 in total. The message is then sent and the user on the other end can use the oPhone to receive the photo and accompanying smell. Despite the fact that the phone is currently only available at the Natural History Museum in New York and Le Laboratoire in Paris, the team are currently raising support hoping to make the phone available in homes.

To read more, click here. 

 

3. 19 social media fails of this year so far

Especially for those who are new to it, it can be hard to find the right content to use on your social media channels. Our first piece of advice is to find content that is relevant to your followers and post as regularly as possible.

Our second piece of advice is to not do what these people have done. Have a look at this article from Econsultancy that highlights some of the most cringe worthy and horrific social media fails of the year so far, enjoy!

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#MarketingTitbits – smart homes, Street View, Dove

myspace-instagram-worldcup-smaller1. Myspace is sending old users their old photos to win them back
Myspace, which was founded back in 2003, was at one time the most visited website in the United States, surpassing Google. Despite several redesigns to the social network’s layout, Myspace has lost many users and this year they have set up a new campaign to get old users back.

The social network has started emailing past users old photos of them from their profiles, along with a line that reads “The good, the rad and the what were you thinking…” and a link that takes them directly to their Myspace profile.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. 16 of the best branded Instagram videos of May 2014

Instagram is now one of the most widely used image-based social networks. It is not just individuals use the platform to share photos and videos with their followers; many brands are doing the same thing.

This week we saw a great article highlighting some of the best branded Instagram videos, including Nike, Vogue and Google Glass.

To read the full article and watch the videos, click here. 

 

3. 10 most shared branded ads for the 2014 World Cup, so far

With the start of the World Cup steadily approaching, we have already seen many brands cash in on the event. Brazil-themed products are springing up everywhere, some good and some bad.

Some of the best World Cup-themed adverts include Nike, Samsung, Emirates and Coca-Cola and all four appear in the 10 most shared so far. To have a look at the full list, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google, social media, quotes

Google-socialmedia-quotes-smaller11. Study says that Google is now the world’s most valuable brand
For the last few years, Apple has been credited as the world’s most valuable brand. Their place in the number one spot has been envied and aspired to by many, but none more than Google.

However, this year the results are in and Google have finally managed to overtake Apple, taking the title of the world’s most valuable brand. The BrandZ study is undertaken by Millward Brown and estimates Google’s brand value at $158,843,000, compared to Apple’s $147,880,000. Here are the top 10 brands and the brand value of each in dollars.

  1. Google 158,843
  2. Apple 147,880
  3. IBM 107,541
  4. Microsoft 90,185
  5. McDonald’s 85,706
  6. Coca Cola 80,683
  7. Visa 79,197
  8. AT&T 77,883
  9. Marlboro 67,341
  10. Amazon 64,255

To read more, click here. 

 

2. What are the best social media marketing campaigns of all time?

In late 2007, 100,000 businesses were already using Facebook to interact with their customers. Today, millions of businesses all over the world are doing the same thing. This just goes to show how relevant social media has become for business, within a 7 year period.

We’ve found an article from Econsultancy this week highlighting some of the best social media marketing campaigns over the last 7 years. Some of them include Old Spice, GoPro, Barak Obama’s Presidential Campaigns and Oreo. To read more, click here. 

 

3. 15 quotes about creativity from advertising legends

Today, in any industry, creativity is a must. Whether you are thinking of ideas for a company name, new product or logo, it can sometimes be hard to get inspiration. To help you get inspired, here are some wise words from advertising legends.

“Most ideas are a bit scary, and if an idea isn’t scary, it’s not an idea at all.” Lee Clow, chairman, TBWA/Media Arts Lab

To read more, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Gmail, Google, Vine

Gmail-GoogleAuthorship-Instagram-smaller1. Gmail offers unsubscribe link and the world of email marketing comes to an end
If you send emails out to your database on a regular basis, this might be one for you to read. As you may already know, if you receive what feels like millions of sales emails in your inbox each week, it can be really hard and time consuming to unsubscribe.

Many companies will hide the unsubscribe button in reams of small print at the very bottom of the email and you just don’t have the time or the energy to look through it all. However, times have changed if you use Gmail. They have now made it even easier to unsubscribe from emails that you no longer want or need in your inbox.

To read more about how you can unsubscribe or people can unsubscribe from your emails, click here. 

 

2. The value of Google authorship for your content strategy

You may never have heard of Google Authorship before, but if you’re updating your blog or website with regular content, you should be thinking about it.

In basic terms it is Google’s new way of making more credible content appear in people’s searches. Any content that you post to your website will link to your Google+ profile, giving your company a face. This boosts the click-thru rate of the post by up to 150% when it appears in search engine results.

Depending on your AuthorRank you may be eligible for Google Authorship. This looks at things such as how regularly you post, how many people are in your Google+ circles and your authority among other social media channels. To read more and to find out if you’re eligible, click here. 

3. Has Instagram killed Vine?

Instagram is one of the most widely used image based social media channels in the world. Instagram has roughly 130million users against Vine’s 13 million users.

13 million users is nothing to be sniffed at and if your target audience falls within the typical Vine demographic, it could be the place for you. However, with the strength of Instagram clear and growing by the day, as a marketer where should you spend your time Vine or Instagra? To read more about the Instagram vs. Vine debate, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – social media, Anchorman, Google

socialmedia-anchorman-google-smaller1. 9 ways social media marketing will change in 2014
 Social media is one of the fastest developing industries out there today. New social networking sites can grow almost overnight and can fizzle away before you’ve even noticed them, for this reason it is essential that marketers keep up!

This week, we saw an interesting article from Mashable that outlines how 9 successful entrepreneurs plan to change their social media marketing in the coming year based on their predictions.

These predictions include “Social won’t be used for sales.” And “LinkedIn will become the most important publisher” but to have a look at the full list and the basis on which they have been predicted, click here.

 

2. What Anchorman 2 taught us about content marketing

During the run up to the release of Anchorman 2, Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team were everywhere. Not only did Ron himself feature in a series of Chrysler adverts – his presence lead a 40% increase in Durango Dodge sales. Mr Burgundy appeared on radio stations, collected an award at the MTV Movie Awards (on behalf of an absent Will Ferrell) and released an autobiography.

Clearly – there are many lessons that can be learnt from Anchorman 2’s marketing, especially for content marketing. To have a look at what these lessons are, click here.

 

3. 12 inspiring marketing campaigns from Google

It is arguable that Google doesn’t need to market itself, with 2,161,530,000,000 searches in 2013 alone. However, whether or not this is necessary, they still do. Like many things they do, Google do their marketing well. From email marketing, billboards, Google+ marketing and TV ads, we’ve found an article the showcases Google’s most inspiring marketing campaigns.

To take a look at them and read more, click here.

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Safety First

You may be aware that earlier this week the BBC launched their ‘Share Take Care’ campaign, encouraging everybody to actively protect their online activity. As a society, we are concerned about the photographs, status updates and information we share with fellow family members, co-workers and friends, taking time to monitor our own security settings. However, how many of us apply the same effort and methods to protecting our business accounts online?
Social media presents businesses with many opportunities, including customer support and the ability to communicate quickly with customers and suppliers. The communications giant NETGEAR recently commissioned a piece of research looking at how important social media has become for businesses. NETGEAR asked 300 small business owners and IT managers how they were using social media in their company. Nearly half of those polled said they were using social media to stay in touch with their customers and nearly 60% said they were using social networking for internal communications. But only 29% said that had made moves to educate their staff about the risks social media may present to their business and what they should be doing to monitor their brand awareness online.

The reputational risks of social media can easily equal or exceed the reputational benefits. The reason is simple; the vast reach of social media platforms enable brands to communicate every second, globally, providing both opportunities and risks. You may remember last year, TLC Business highlighted key areas to help protect your business online.  We thought now would be the prime time to inform you again of the simply steps you can perform, in order to secure your business and its reputation on social networking sites.

Educating employees:

The developments in social media are here to stay, so empower your employees with best practices and guidelines.

  • Create, update, communicate and enforce a company policy that specifies social media do’s and don’ts, including how employees may interact with visitors and use visitors’ information.
  • Identify the key players who will be responsible for developing, executing, and monitoring your social media strategy. Assign at least two administrators for your account. The admins should monitor and promptly respond to new Facebook and Twitter policy changes and features, always considering the impact on the business
  • Sit down with your team and explore the topics and voice you would like to channel to your target audience; create a content plan that employees can follow and use as a guideline throughout the year.

Monitoring conversation online:

Here at TLC Business we recommend Google Alerts as a vital tool to monitor what is being said about your brand. Google Alerts is about understanding what type of information is out there that’s tied to your name, and most importantly your business.

Google Alerts are email updates that are sent to you for whatever keyword or phrase you decide to set the alert. As soon as your name is mentioned anywhere on the Internet, you are sent an alert immediately.

There are other tools out there that do a similar thing but be aware that the results are not definitive, the web is a massive place.

There are only 5 pieces of information that you need to provide to start using Google Alerts:

  1. The word or phrase you want to be alerted about: company name, your name, your products, etc
  2. The type of search: news, blogs, video, discussions, or everything
  3. How often: as it happens, once a day, or once a week
  4. Volume: only the best results or all results
  5. Where the alert should be delivered: email address or feed

One of the latest social media activities to come under fire is a campaign ran by McDonalds. The fast food chain started a campaign on Twitter promoting #MeetTheFarmers, to show how good McDonalds is, but suddenly they changed gears to #McDstories; which unfortunately backfired when people shared their horrifying stories.  See below for some of the tweets circulated worldwide:

  • #McDStories Take a McDonalds fry, let it sit for 6 months. It will not deteriorate or spoil like a normal potato. It will remain how it was
  • ‘These #McDStories never get old, kinda like a box of McDonald’s 10 piece’

Like any business feature or marketing activity, creating and communicating a clear plan is crucial to avoid mistakes. If you are worried how your brand is going to be perceived online, spend time evaluating the right message you want to send out to your target market, what information they will find useful and more importantly what messages can be monitored and dealt with by your team.

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