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#MarketingTitbits – Rugby World Cup, Snapchat Campaigns, Logo Colour Swap

rugby-snapchat-colour 21. A marketer’s essential guide to the Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup, taking place in England and Wales this year, is regarded as one of the biggest sporting spectacles on the planet. This year, the tournament is predicted to have 20,000 hours of broadcast coverage, making it potentially the most commercially lucrative to date.

So what does this mean for marketers? Newspaper group Trinity Mirror believes the Rugby World Cup presents vast opportunities for advertisers to reach the UK population. Research shows that 66% of us plan to follow the tournament this year, providing a massive opportunity for marketers to showcase their brand!

The tournament is fast approaching, so click here to find out more about making the most of the marketing opportunities it will generate.

2. Five seriously creative Snapchat campaigns and their results

Social media has proven to be an effective marketing platform; however many marketers still aren’t using it to its full potential. Snapchat may not seem like an obvious choice for some marketers, but some of the most successful brands are using the platform to run intriguing and effective campaigns.

Brands such as McDonald’s and Calvin Klein have excelled with their targeted campaigns, all with the help of Snapchat. Calvin Klein developed a campaign whereby celebrities were asked to produce selfies and share on Snapchat. The impact was considerable, with Calvin Klein experiencing 140,000 content views and a 15% increase in Snapchat engagement.

Click here to find out more about 5 effective Snapchat campaigns.

3. Here’s what 22 famous logos would look like if they swapped colours

We already know that simplicity is often key to a successful logo. Likewise, if you’ve spent hours agonising over colour combinations, you’ll appreciate the importance of getting the balance right? A Brazilian graphic designer, Paúla Rupolo, recently experimented with swapping brand logo colours with one of their competitors, and the results have been brought to us by AdWeek.

Click here to see what the impact is of switching the brand colours of Sprite and 7UP, Real Madrid and Barcelona, UPS and Fedex, Amazon and Ebay and more.

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#MarketingTitbits – Masters of Marketing, Instagram, Google Analytics

award-photo1. Get your nominations in for brand of the year at the Masters of Marketing Awards
Marketing Week are seeking nominations for the ‘brand of the year’ category at the Masters of Marketing Awards, held at this year’s Festival of Marketing. They’re on the hunt for their readers to name the brand whose work has impressed them the most in 2015.

The Masters of Marketing is a new way of celebrating the most inspirational work in the marketing industry. The ‘brand of the year’ must be capable of showing the power of marketing to the wider business community, as well as demonstrating marketing excellence to their consumers.

To find out how to nominate, click here.

2. How Instagram is changing the way brands look at photography, online and beyond

Instagram has completely reinvented the way people see themselves and others. Design teams are beginning to see the benefits of moving away from over-edited photography and instead are favouring Instagram’s more organic look.

As Nathan Iverson states, evp and design director at Deutsch LA, “Instagram certainly isn’t pioneering the use of effects, but it is resurrecting and evolving an old-school aesthetic”. For advertisers, the network has quickly become one of the top ad platforms for major brands, so designers are beginning to move from traditional designs in favour of content that looks more natural.

Click here for more information.

3. How to stop referral spam from screwing up your Google Analytics stats

Google Analytics users will know the dreaded task of finding ways to stop referral spam, but we might have found the solution. Referral spam has been a trend for the last year or two, and is virtually impossible to prevent. It occurs when some corrupt website owner attempts to send bogus referral traffic to a website or product; however this is not actual traffic.

So how do we get rid of referral spam? Econsultancy shows us how Google Analytics filtering allows the website owner to filter out any concerning referral traffic so they can’t interfere in the future.

To find out how to do so, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Periscope, millennials and social media platforms

periscope-millennials-social-smaller1. Periscope has 10 million users but advertising is ‘nowhere near top of mind’
Since its launch back in March, Periscope has gained huge popularity and has gone on to sign up more than 10 million users. Yet despite reaching this impressive milestone, Periscope’s CEO, Kayvon Beykpour, has said that the company is not focused on users, but engagement levels instead.

Unlike parent company Twitter, the platform is choosing to brush big marketing campaigns to the side so that investment can be made into developing their product. However, Periscope is not the only live streaming service available, as established sites such as Facebook begin to join the band wagon.

Find out more on their unusual approach by clicking here.

2. Millennials and mobile: what marketers need to know

Millennials are often a mystery to marketers; they have never experienced a world without the internet and will soon account for one third of all retail spending. But one thing that millennials are not a supporter of is traditional advertising.

According to a new article by Econsultancy, marketers need to catch their attention by appealing to their sense of adventure through curating content that is amusing, exciting and entertaining. Millennials value personalisation with a brand, and with more looking to vloggers or social media sites for inspiration, this is more important than ever.

Click here to find out more.

3. 7 social media platforms that could explode before 2016

During the last decade, social media has experienced exponential growth thanks to the opportunities that it provides to the modern marketer. Forbes has compiled a list of the top 7 platforms that could explode onto the scene this year and threaten the reign of Facebook and Twitter.

The list features fairly new companies such as presentation sharing site, Slideshare, and Hyper, which combine the ideas behind the likes of Instagram and Reddit. However, the inclusion of one of the ‘original’ social networks may surprise you.

Take a look at the full list 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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#MarketingTitbits – Amazon, MAS#TAGS, curling

books-mashtags-curling-smaller-11. Amazon’s 100 books everyone should read in their lifetime
Amazon Book editors have recently published a “bucket list of books to create a well-read life” that “over many months, the team passionately debated and defended.” They decided that the list should be in alphabetical order “because our assumption is that no book is more important than another.”

The list encompasses books old and new, the oldest being Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice of 1813. From Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone toGreat Expectations and everything in between, look at the complete list here.

 

2. Birdseye creates Mashtags – the new social media potato snack

As we’re sure you are already aware, social media is a hot topic. Millions of people, young and old, use social networking sites all over the world and along with the use of social media, has come a change in the vocabulary we use. Last year the word “Selfie” was announced as The Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year, alongside this, “hashtag” has also become an increasingly prominent word in today’s society.

Many businesses have welcomed social media with open arms and have used it to their advantage, but Birdseye have come up with a whole new spin on it. They have released a brand new potato snack called Mashtags, essentially potato smileys in the shape of social media icons. To read more, click here. 

 

3. Sir David Attenborough provides curling’s best description yet

In recognition of British Curling Olympic success, we thought we’d point you in the direction of this. If you listen to the Radio 1 weekday drive time show you might have already heard the charming description of curling from Sir David Attenborough. The English broadcaster was a guest on Greg James’ show last week and Greg asked him to read a description of curling, the result was both hilarious and enchanting and we recommend giving it a listen here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook, Vine, YouTube

Facebook-Vine-YouTube-smaller1. This is what happens on Facebook when you die
You may have never wondered what happens to your social media profiles when you die. It is not something most people would think about. However, different social media channels treat death in different ways. Until recently, Facebook has chosen to restrict a person’s privacy settings to just friends once they have died; however this has now changed.

Now, when a person dies, their Facebook privacy settings stay the same, they say they “are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see.”

Facebook have also added an extra touch for friends and family. If you are a Facebook user you will know that recently you have been able to access your “Look back” video, showing you your life on Facebook. After a father’s plea on YouTube to be able to see his deceased son’s “Look back” video, users can now request to see their friend’s videos upon request after they die.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. 14 best branded Vines of February 2014

Today, many brands are using Vine to connect with their customers. Companies such as McDonalds, Xbox, Microsoft and General Electric are doing great things on Vine and using the relatively new social media platform in an innovative way.

If you’re in need of inspiration on how to use Vine or just want to have a look at who is doing it well, have a look at the 14 best branded Vines of February 2014here. 

 

3. YouTube’s 20 most shared ads of February

Unruly Media have put together a list of the most shared adverts on YouTube from February 2014.

Three’s “Sing It Kitty”, Coca-Cola’s “Social Media Guard” and Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” all feature on the list. To have a look at the full 20, click here.

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How to use image-based social media channels for your business

top-imageAs the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, perhaps this is why so many companies today have adopted platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat to promote their brand.
If you are using social media channels on a regular basis, it is important to bear in mind that Facebook images receive 50% more interaction than text-based posts and Twitter images are the most shared and clicked content.

As an SME, it can be a challenge to adopt creative social media campaigns when larger companies are famously interacting online. However, there are multiple benefits to a number of sectors when adopting image-based social media platforms.

 

Instagram

Since the launch in October 2010, Instagram has grown to over 150 million monthly active users. What makes this tool unique is that it centres on the use of photographs and captions only, providing fun, alternative ways to grow your brand presence and promote your company offering. Here are a few tips for using Instagram in your business.

  • Show a more personal side to your brand. Introduce a clearly defined personality and voice.
  • Offer an exclusive view into the lifestyle that your brand makes possible.
  • Inspire movement around your brand. Encourage people to capture photos and create campaigns with a #hashtag.
  • Know your audience. Take time to learn what people love about your brand and fill their newsfeeds with photos that capture this.
  • Offer followers exclusive benefits. Introduce them to a new product or service before it goes live for the public.

Last year, Kellogg’s came up with an idea to convert Instagram photos into their own currency. The Special K store in Stockholm was turned into an Instashop that encouraged customers to upload a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #nyaspecialk (nya – meaning new) to receive a box of their new Special K cereal. The campaign follows Kellogg’s first pop up shop in London where customers could pay for a packet of Special K Cracker Crisps by tweeting a message about the new snack

 

Pinterest

Pinterest is now the fastest growing image-sharing social media channel. In 2013, Pinterest drove 41% of social media traffic to ecommerce sites. The social media site is described as the world’s biggest collection of everybody’s favourite things.

There are multiple opportunities for businesses that explore this creative platform. To set you in the right direction, here are a few top tips.

  • Create specific boards, include products, case studies and company life.
  • Relevance is key. Keep up with the times and pinning regularly is essential.
  • If your company has information buried away in dated PowerPoint presentations, create useful infographics to share with your target audience.

Petplan, the pet insurance company, created an engaging destination for pet loving parents. Their aim was to produce relevant and easy-to-digest pet health information available in a visually compelling format. After researching the trending pet topics on Pinterest, Petplan began creating boards with images from their popular pet health magazine, fetch. Over time, the company created specific educational boards like “Health Tips” and “Breed All About It”. After developing their presence on Pinterest,  Petplan saw an 87% increase in new site traffic, a 35% increase in page views and a 12.5% increase in insurance quote requests.

 

Snapchat

Snapchat allows users to take photos and record videos, which can then be sent to a controlled list of recipients. It has been reported that Facebook offered to buy Snapchat for over $3 billion, which highlights how important the app has quickly become. If you are worried that Snapchat might not be appropriate for your business, here are a few tips to help you use this platform effectively.

  • Make your snaps straight to the point. Your audience will be able to see them for a maximum of 10 seconds.
  • Keep it light-hearted, one of the main reasons for Snapchat is to make people smile, so be funny!
  • Personalise responses when possible, which reinforces the human aspect.
  • Quick competitions are a great way to engage with your audience via Snapchat.

The Co-operative is the first major UK retailer to use Snapchat for marketing. The ‘Snaptop’ campaign offers students £30 off all laptops online when they add Co-operative Electrical as a friend on Snapchat.  The Co-operative’s campaign is about targeting a specific audience using a platform they love, with something they need, at the time of year they need it.

The expectations of brands on social media are getting higher, which is leading to businesses having to turn away from traditional mediums and create more engaging and interactive experiences for followers. As images continue to generate higher engagement rates than text-based content, businesses will need to re-evaluate their marketing in 2014 to ensure that campaigns reflect the ever changing social media environment.

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LinkedIn Changes: April 2014

blog-imageSince its launch in May 2003, LinkedIn has become an essential tool for business professionals and companies. As well as being a networking tool and virtual CV for users, the Company Pages have developed hugely over the years and now enable significant brand development potential. They allow your company to connect and engage with followers interested in your brand.
Currently, if you have a Company page on LinkedIn, you have the ability to display the products and services that your company has to offer. Alongside the specific products and services images, links and descriptions can be added. However, as of April 14th 2014 this will change. LinkedIn have announced that they will be removing all “Products and Services” sections from company pages. To help overcome this, LinkedIn have recommended ways of conveying the same information to your followers. 

Company Updates

Company updates can be seen both on your Company Page as well as on the newsfeeds of your followers; they can be added to and updated on a daily basis. Not only this, but they give you a chance to engage with your followers and the people who are interested in your brand. To take advantage of this, it is important to ensure that the information you are sharing is appropriate for your brand and target audience. Remember it is your Company not you or your individual employees speaking.

Showcase Pages

Similar to the soon-to-be defunct “Products and Services” section, these are subpages of the Company Page. Here, companies can showcase the specific services they offer and post regular updates to their followers.  Contrastingly to the “Products and Services” pages, these can be followed by users in the same way they would follow an individual Company Page.

Other features include:

  • Analytics are available so that you can track what content your followers are interested in and engaging with. This is separate to the Company Page as a whole.
  • Groups can be featured on the page, allowing you to promote networks that you are part of or are linked to your company.
  • Just like the Company Pages, you can add the Showcase Pages to your Hootsuite account, making sharing content that little bit easier.
  • If an individual is following one of your Showcase Pages this does not mean they will automatically be following the Company Page. This means users can be segmented and only be informed of the news that specifically interests them.

Company Recommendations

Company Recommendations are currently a part of “Products and Services” pages. When these disappear there will be nothing to replace them, or if there is LinkedIn have given no indication as to what this might be yet.

If you are an admin for a Company page, you can easily save the recommendations by copying them into a document. If you’re not able to do this before the 14th April deadline, you can still request a copy of the recommendations direct from LinkedIn through their Customer Support Centre until 30th May.

Although the section of the Company Page dedicated to recommendations will be gone, there is nothing stopping you from creating a Showcase Page dedicated to these testimonials, keeping them all in one place and easy to find for your followers.

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#MarketingTitbits – Lego, blogging, Marc Jacobs

lego-blog-marcjacobs-smaller1. Lego to co-create marketing campaign with UK fansLego is calling upon all UK fans to help create a marketing campaign by suggesting new product ideas for a global market. Lego’s head of global community co-creation said despite the fact the company is not expecting the new products to be the next Ninjango or Lego Movie, it is hoping to build on the trust it already has within its UK community of fans. Lego are also encouraging the fans to promote this new marketing campaign via their own social media profiles.

Similarly, in the past, Lego have invited fans to give input to their marketing. For example, students in Canada sent a balloon with a Lego figure attached to the edge of space and scenes in the Lego Movie have been created by fans. To read more, click here. 

 

2. Blogger vs. Word Press: which is better for beginners?

If you’ve never written or had a blog before and you’d like to but don’t know how to get started, this is a great article for you. The two most widely used blogging platforms out there are Blogger and WordPress but it can be difficult to decide which one is best for you.

They differ in terms of ease of use, aesthetics and how easy they are to integrate to social media channels but really it all comes down to what type of blogger you are. If you’re looking for a blog that is simple, without much room for customisation, then blogger may be the one for you. However, if you’re more serious about blogging in the long term and want your blog to be totally unique, WordPress is probably the platform for you.

To read the full article, click here. 

 

3. Marc Jacobs takes to Twitter to find face of new campaign

Last week, Marc Jacobs made a controversial decision to find the face of their campaign not by the traditional method of model agencies, but through Twitter. The designer brand asked fans to post a selfie with the hashtag #CastMeMarc.

This is not the first time the company have taken to Twitter; during London Fashion Week they opened a ‘tweet shop’ allowing customers to make purchases simply by tweeting about the brand! To read more, click here.

 

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#MarketingTitbits – Twitter, Ribena, Innocent

twitter-ribena-innocent-smaller1. Like it or not, you’ll have Twitter’s new profile by May 28th
Last month, Twitter announced that they will be updating the Twitter profile design. It’s true that the new design bears more than a passing resemblance to Facebook, but like it or not, you will be using it from May 28th.

You have probably already seen the new design, as new users and some existing users have been using it over the past month. It appears that some Twitter users aren’t happy about the change and have been expressing their opinions over Twitter.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. Ribena ad banned for ‘exaggerated’ health boasts

In a bid to make their marketing “more consumer friendly”, Ribena got an advert banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The company had reworded health claims associated with the vitamins present in its products, such as “Vitamin A… helps keep your vision in tip-top condition” and “Vitamin C… it helps immunity”. Unfortunately, the ASA claimed that Ribena implied the vitamins make the body perform better when in reality they just help the body to maintain its normal function.

To read more, click here.

 

 

3. Innocent juice campaign will run despite Indian mangoes import ban

As of May 2nd, the EU decided that the shipments of mangoes from India must be suspended. This is because some consignments of the fruit were found to be infested with fruit flies, which were deemed to be dangerous if brought over to the UK. David Cameron has said he will “do his best to reverse this ban so we can keep the special relationship with India”.

However, in the meantime, Innocent had to make a decision about whether they would run their new advertising campaign, which features the story about Bedrul who produces the mangoes that go into one of Innocent’s juice blends.

To read more and to watch the advert, click here.

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