Category Archives: Digital

Blog, Digital

7 apps that will make your day more productive

Smartphones have become so integral to our lives that it makes sense to find ways to use them which will help boost productivity.

There are literally hundreds of applications which have been designed to make our day-to-day lives that little bit easier, but it takes time to sit down and research which ones to use. That is why we have compiled a list of the top most productive apps that are currently available and frequently used in our office.

Google Calendar: This application works effortlessly with computers, tablet and smartphone as it automatically syncs, allowing you to schedule meetings and events when on the go. Google Calendar runs entirely in the cloud and does not require installation, which means you can access it from any device that has internet. Google Calendar can be shared so everyone has access to your schedule.

Trello: This online product management and collaboration system allows you to plan projects, follow progress and keep a historical record of the steps that have been taken. Trello has been hailed as a practical and helpful app for people who procrastinate as it gives them tangible goals to reach, setting out each step clearly.

Pocket: Formerly known as Read it Later, this is the ideal app for people who are constantly finding articles they want to read at the wrong time. Pocket is a bookmarking app, which saves articles to the cloud and strips

EchoSign: Developed by Adobe, EchoSign lets you e-sign documents and forms, and send them to others for signatures, speeding up the process of signing contracts.

30/30: Do you need structure to your day? 30/30 is a timer that allows you to assign specific time frames to each of your tasks that you need to complete. It will prompt you once your time for a specific task is done.

LogMeIn: The basic function of this app allows you to work with remote computers from virtually any internet-connected web browser. This is particularly useful for IT staff as LogMeIn allows you to control the computer as it if was right there in front of you. The basic version of the app is free cross and compatibility between PCs and Macs is also possible.

Calm: In a busy office, it is nice to enjoy a moment of calm. Choose from a two to twenty minute break from the online world at www.calm.com

Blog, Digital

Why Responsive Email Marketing is So Important

With 68% of consumers using their smartphones and tablets for email, brands need to take action to ensure they are providing a smooth user experience.

Due to the sheer number of devices that became capable of accessing the Internet, brands and businesses started to make responsive web design their prerogative from 2012 onwards. Where once websites were only accessed on desktops and later on laptops, suddenly netbooks, tablets, smartphones and game consoles with all varying screen sizes had entered the online arena.

The way websites were built changed, they needed to look different depending on the type of device being used – effectively ‘responding’ to the platform – with the goal being to create an optimal user experience across all devices.

So how is this important for email marketing? Well, over 65% of marketing emails were opened on a mobile device in 2014 – this is a huge number of people reading emails on all sorts of screen sizes. Equally as important as your website, ensuring your email communications can be read no matter which device is being used is imperative. The alternative is that recipients are constantly pinching and scrolling to read the content, which will without a doubt impact your click-throughs and conversions.

The inbox used to be a place where users would branch off to various landing pages via external links. A responsive email template should be a more dynamic platform where users can experience and engage with content directly. For marketers, this means there is the opportunity to incorporate more powerful content within emails, which will result in enhanced engagement with both existing and prospective customers, as well as a better overall user experience.

In many cases, the modern consumer will not think twice about deleting an email if the formatting is poor. With the majority of emails being opened occurring on iPhones, Androids and iPads, navigating on a small screen can be difficult, so a responsive design allows calls-to-action and scrolling to be designed and built with the mobile user in mind.

The growth in the number of Internet connected devices is unlikely to decrease, so future-proofing your communications and ensuring your email marketing campaigns look great across all platforms is a must for 2015 and beyond.

Blog, Digital

Google AdWords: How it works and why you should use it

Google is the indisputable No.1 player in paid search. In fact AdWords works so well that one study found that 40% of consumers are unaware that Google AdWords are even adverts.

Today we’re taking a look at Google AdWords, Google’s own advertising service which allows you to place adverts for your website on a search engine results page (SERP). If the words people type in Google match your keywords, your ad can appear above or next to the search results.

This means there’s no need to wait around for your new or existing site to work its way naturally up the rankings.

What is paid search?

Paid search relates to advertising within the listings of the Google SERP and it’s Display Network. These can appear at the top of the SERP or to the side, and can only really be detected by a small yellow ‘Ad’ label, which Google places on them. The Display Network is a group of over a million websites, apps and videos that include specific Google sites such as Gmail, YouTube and Blogger, giving brands and businesses a titanic audience.

How do AdWords work?

In it’s simplest form, pick some keywords that a searcher might use on Google to find your business or products, then create an advert that will appear on the SERP, set a daily budget and you’re good to go.

It’s probably worth noting, that you’re not going to be the only company wanting to attract customers who use those particular keywords. Competitor companies can bid for the same keyword, meaning keywords with the highest bids (how much you’re willing to pay Google every time a searcher clicks, views or completes an acquisition on your ad) are more likely to appear in the search results.

However, it’s not all about how deep your pockets are. Unlike other real-time bidding machines, Google also uses something called a ‘quality-score’.

This is where Google will anaylse how relevant and useful your ad is to the searcher and the keywords they’ve inputted. It will also look at how many clicks your ad has received previously, known in the digital world as a click-through-rate (CTR) and how relevant your landing page is. For example, if the searcher types ‘Blue Ballpoint Pen’ and your advert appears saying ‘buy Blue Ballpoint Pen here’, once the ad is clicked it must lead the searcher directly to a page selling that product. If it goes to a generic homepage, it’s not good enough.

The higher your quality score, the better. Your bid might even be less than a competitor, but your ad may appear above theirs if your quality score is superior.

Why should you be using AdWords?
Online marketing, including PPC ads, is 54% more successful at generating leads.

By running ads that use the right keywords for your target audiences, you’re reaching people that already have an interest in your product or service. Once your AdWords campaign goes live, ads will appear and you’ll see immediate results, compare this to the slow burner of SEO.
The average click-through rate for a Google ad is 3.16% and with ad options like Click-to-Call these networks instantly allow customers to get in touch – 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from Google Search.

In 2014, 72% of Google AdWords marketers plan to increase their PPC budgets. Why not talk to our Certified Google AdWords Expert to start your new campaign today? Click here to get in touch.

Source:
Wishpond, 2014

Blog, Design, Digital

Why Your Business Needs an Explainer Video

Explainer videos have boomed in popularity over the past year due to their effectiveness in increasing conversion rates.

An explainer video helps a brand or organisation to better connect with potential customers by demonstrating what the product or service can do for them and why they should choose your business over other competing businesses. More than three quarters of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service if they can watch a video explaining it beforehand. This makes explainer videos an excellent marketing tool. There’s simply no better time to be using video in your content marketing mix.

If you need any further persuasion, we’ve detailed some of the most important factors behind this unstoppable force.

Increase your conversion rate
Customers expect video content, they engage daily with video sites and apps such as YouTube, Vine and Instagram. In fact, a third of all online activity is spent watching video*. And the proof is in the pudding –

• 85% of people are more likely to buy a product or service once they see an accompanying explainer video.
• 58% of consumers consider companies that product video content to be more trust-worthy.
• 71% of consumers say that videos lead to a positive impression of a company.
• 77% of consumers consider companies that create online video as more engaged with customers.

Rank better in Google search
Part of Google’s process for search rankings considers the amount of time visitors stay on your website, which is one reason online video is seeing explosive growth. Visitors who watch a video are reported to stay on sites twice as long and look through twice as many pages, versus those who don’t use video*. Meaning that your website is 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of a search engine results page if it includes a video*.

Similarly host your explainer video on YouTube and Google will thank you for it. Google owns YouTube, meaning that videos originating from the site rank very high in the search engines.

Easily shareable
In the world of social media, shareable content is king. Explainer videos are often humorous and engaging, which lend themselves perfectly to being shared across Facebook, Twitter and beyond. People are also much more likely to share and watch videos on the Internet than read blocks of text on a page. In turn, creating a video that offers value to the audience and has some key call to actions mean people will link to it, bringing traffic from elsewhere to your website.

Clarify the objective of your product
Explainer videos help your customers to gain a better understanding of your product or service. In most cases, the average customer takes less than a minute to make a purchasing decision and an explainer video will grab their attention immediately.

70% of content marketers already use video in their marketing mix, are you?

Sources:
• Digitalsherpa, 2014
• Kiss Metrics, 2014
• E-consultancy, 2014

Blog, Creative, Design, Digital

Why Retailers Should Embrace Omnichannel

83% of retailers expect to implement an Omnichannel strategy within the next 14 months*

Connected consumers are forcing a revolution in retail. The Omnichannel opportunity is concentrated more on a seamless approach to the consumer experience, rather than focusing on just one solution. Omnichannel is a mix of all the different ways people enjoy to shop, blended together but all saying the same message and giving the same brand experience. Retailers who have adopted this approach do so by combining all available shopping channels including in-store displays, retailer websites, mobile devices, social media, television, radio, direct mail, and so on, to drive sales.

creative-advertising-ideas-for-omnichannel

Research has found that mobile is the channel considered key to the successful implementation of an Omnichannel strategy, with 100% citing it as the most important platform*. Tablet came a close second with 97%, and online received 95%. Fashion brand Oasis introduced iPads into their stores to enable the customer to browse online, pay online and place orders online whilst in store. Customers have the option to try an item on in store, and then order it online and have it delivered, rather than having to queue at the till to pay. This is particularly beneficial if the product isn’t in stock or in their correct size. In the first week of the iPad ordering system opening, 20% of store sales were made through the iPad each day*.

new-technology-for-a-better-future-of-marketing

However, with digital commerce attracting a lot of attention, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how valuable physical retail remains. 61% of the survey respondents still consider bricks and mortar and a kiosk (15%) just as important as an online strategy. While many analysts have predicted the impending doom of offline stores, there is little to no evidence to support this theory. In fact, figures from the High Street Sales Track show that High street retailers enjoyed an uplift in takings during May 2014, with sales up by 1.1% overall and up 0.8% on the same period last year*. Stores’ true advantage comes with their ability to act as an effective piece of an overarching, compelling omnichannel customer experience.

Many of today’s most successful fashion houses, are already blending their offline and online strategies to deliver a better consumer experience and build more effective business.

digital-try-on-clothes-new-idea-in-creative-marketingBritish luxury brand Burberry have reinvented their Regent Street store in London to act as an extension of their website. The flagship store utilises digital technology such as large-scale interactive mirrors, hidden speakers and a hydraulic stage. Above all, the most innovative technology is the chip-technology developed by Burberry, which enables customers to pick up any garment and trigger an interactive video on one of the mirrors which shows how the product was made and what other items compliment it. This gives in-store customers access to the rich levels of immediate information they have grown to expect online. This kind of personalisation has allowed the luxury brand to create a deeper engagement with a customer seeking that very kind of service. Burberry have utilised all of their channels to tie everything together, ultimately making the shopping experience seamless.

buying-clothes-online-anywhere-new-marketing-ideas

By having a consistent presence across all channels, consumers can reach and shop at their convenience, anytime and anywhere. Plus frequent shoppers and those planning high-value purchases are more likely to use a range of channels for their purchase. Consumers want to see the product in-store, compare the product and price online, read consumer reviews and analyse social media feeds before they purchase. The best omnichannel organisations are those who can offer the customer the same value, benefits and options regardless of what platform they use.

Sources:

  1. SLI Systems, 2014
  2. SmartInsights