How drones are changing the face of digital marketing

Posted on January 21, 2016 by alexandrapatrick

Drones are a fast growing technology that is predicted to make an impact in the delivery of digital marketing in 2016. Drones or camera equipped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming the creative martketer’s must-have ‘digital’ gadget, here’s why.

For sectors like, commercial property development, food production, the arts, conservation and weather monitoring, it has potential to significantly change the way we promote and market products and services in the future.

drones, digital marketing

Top 10 facts about drones and their digital marketing potential

1. How drones are changing delivery – drones are changing the way we can capture memorable events such as securing unique vantage points for weddings, filming sporting events from the air or even supporting journalists report news in smart, fast television packages.

2. What digital services – drones can be used for creative photography, aerial surveying for the web, capturing competitive intelligence about infrastructure and on-site facilities, or micro video services to communicate personal greeting or brand messages.

3. Financial benefits – investment in a drone can save you money, no longer do you need to hire a helicopter; drones can go slower and lower to make aerial videography and photography readily accessible on a tight budget.

4. Future capabilities – drones are said to be able conduct detailed structural examinations, 3D modelling and thermal imaging and remember drones have the flexibility to be used for both indoor and outdoor footage.

5. Good value features – in 2016 drones have better video quality, longer flight times and lower price tags, new UAA are faster, safer and making them more economical and commercially viable.

6. Drone figures – in 2015, world sales hit 4.3 million, worth about $1.7 billion, annual sales of drones are tipped to reach 120,000 in the US by 2020 and by using them for services like low altitude banner advertising can help make it a feasible, visible  return on investment

7. Regulation – the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK have strict limitations, air space rules must be checked and abided by particularly for resort or hotel advertising showcasing high-end tourism property or golf courses.

8. Social media integration – Facebook has dedicated a new department called the Connectivity Lab, focusing their efforts towards developing aerial tech and widens its reach.

9. Optimise digital channels – you can consider building a YouTube channel to showcase your video footage and aerial imagery; drones are currently popular among Youtubers, particularly for sharing dare devil videos.

10. Make money – via YouTube, you can promote your products and drive traffic to an online store or website and sell in-video advertising and product placement through enrolling in the YouTube advertising partner programme.

So if you are considering investing in a drone to make money consider how you can add value in a smarter, faster, quicker way to make it a truly economic game changer for your business. It is imperative that you do check safety issues for marketing briefs that might cause injury and be mindful of the regulatory issues about restricted airspace.

Share your drone thoughts as a digital trends for 2016 below or on Twitter.

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Review of digital health trends in 2015

Posted on January 6, 2016 by alexandrapatrick

There were a number of digital health trends that were predicted to be big in 2015 such as health tracking tattoos and virtual visits. Indeed in 2012, a PwC survey found 59% of doctors believed a widespread adoption of digital health in the near future would be unavoidable, in 2014, 86% thought this.

Daily healthcare app usage has increased over this period too, moving towards doctors on demand apps that offer medical consultations. So looking back here’s what happened in health-related tech in 2015.

digital health trends

10 digital health trends in 2015

1. Wearables – people are still into wearable fitness trackers but there were concerns about the personal information stored in these devices in 2015, for example there were concerns about health insurance providers getting an insight into data but these have been resolved.

2. Solar-powered contact lenses – Google has a patent for these hi-tech contact lenses that track data including the blood temperature and blood alcohol levels of the wearer.

3. Health-tracking tattoos – these became a reality in 2015 where biometric tattoos could sense and track your temperature, heart rate, and hydration levels.

4. IBM Health Cloud – big data got bigger in 2015 in digital health and the IBM Watson’s new Health Cloud can now interpret huge amounts of data, helping researchers to match patients to clinical trials and develop drugs.

5. Virtual visits – in the US digital women’s health clinics called Maven were set up where nurse practitioners and doctors in clinic could answer questions about birth control and pregnancy and, in some cases write prescriptions virtually.

6. Online mental health visits – are becoming more common, these save patients  money visiting clinics and is particularly beneficial for those in rural areas.

7. Google symptoms – this is a knowledge graph that captures common medical conditions that are verified by doctors, this helps make health searches less scary and encourages patients to ensure they get things treated before they get worse.

8. Cybersecurity – has been a big thing in 2015 and it’s been addressed with dedicated resources to fix issues of medical data theft particularly with the rise in popularity of wearables.

9. Augmented reality (AR) – is just beginning to become popular with AR devices being used for teaching surgery and helping nurses find veins when drawing blood.

10. Built in sensors – in 2015 there were moisture, proximity and fingerprint sensors by 2018 there will be built in iPhone sensors for ECG, blood pressure, mood and fatigue.

Looking ahead IBM say they will have 30 billion sensors connecting everything with everyone by 2017. And pioneering 3D printing reshaping body parts such a patient’s face and pelvis is a growth area to watch. There will be an increasing push towards regulating wearables, particularly as it is predicted a third of wearables ate said to become invisible by 2017.

Share your digital health trends thoughts for 2016 below or on Twitter.

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Does your business need PR? 10 insights into PR for business in today’s digital space

Posted on December 16, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

PR quite simply means getting your business known about by the public and media. PR should be strategically controlled to ensure the public view your business the way you want it to be understood. The ‘perception’ is about the identity, image and the content you want to share about your business.

For some businesses they require PR to encompass reputation management which is about dealing with a crisis in a positive way. Given the fast paced real time digital space we all exist in, PR for businesses has evolved and has integrated into a wider range of marketing activity.

PR for business

Here are 10 insights into PR for business

1. Building relationships – that are mutually beneficial for both business and the publics, so this is about driving engagement through communicating content to key connections to build and sustain your brand.

2. Positive perception – needs to be strategically managed so that your business is seen, heard and been where it should be; creating this awareness and shaping it positively must be aligned to your brand values.

3. Continual change – evolves and your business needs to be armed with communication tactics to stay on top of current trends and topics to sustain brand awareness; it’s not just about sending out traditional press releases.

4. Multichannel PR – is about exploiting both traditional offline PR and online channels such a social media and paid content campaigns to maximise your publicity and drive current news about your organisation.

5. Engaging publics – is simply about encouraging two-way communications through dedicated, meaningful connections that is in real time and always fluid; social media is key for rapid engagement and spreading your reputation online.

6. Marketing integration – is key to ensure PR is part of the whole marketing mix and is focused on the consumer; it’s about what they need to hear and how they want to hear it through digital and traditional channels.

7. Content is key – when communicating your business to target audiences, aim to share relevant, refreshing content to build longer lasting public facing relationships.

8. Compelling storytelling – can be less of a hard sell, PR for business is about creating stories that resonate and has genuine meaning to those you are targeting, encourage word of mouth and getting customers to spread positive stories all helps.

9. Data-driven content – is about driving measurable actions that can be tracked and tied to budgets that will give you a return on investment;, the trick here is to ensure content still remain of interest and fun.

10. Strategic delivery – is critical for long term success, so careful planning and close management will preserve a business’s reputation, a PR toolkit needs to continually evolve and meet wider public needs.

If you plan to heavily invest in a marketing campaign to launch a new product or service, PR will filter throughout that integrated delivery. Whether it’s networking, entering awards, doing charitable work or maintaining your social media profiles its all PR. Share your PR for business thoughts below or on Twitter.

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10 easy to follow tips to create a content marketing strategy

Posted on December 3, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

Content marketing is about storytelling. A content marketing strategy outlines how to create, publish and distribute content to your key audiences.

Every business wants to attract readers, viewers, listeners to find out more about their business or brand. So you must give something back to get new customers and sustain the loyalty of existing ones.

If it’s engaging content that people consider to be worthwhile or valuable they will revisit your website, converse on social media channels and in turn be more valuable to you.

content marketing strategy

10 tips for a content marketing strategy

1. Content goals – be clear about the unique value in the content you can provide and document the opportunities it can open up and obstacles you may encounter to deliver the strategy.

2. Specific audiences – describe in potted profiles the audiences you want to write content for, this means understanding their needs at different points of buying or using your product or service.

3. Content messages – outline your brand story, what makes you different from your competitors, how you can inspire, entertain and motivate your target audiences continually over time.

4. Content channels – detail the platforms or channels (both online and offline) you will use to tell your story and how they will connect together to communicate a cohesive brand conversation.

5. Share the process – whether you’re a big or small organisation, share your content plan to encourage individuals or teams to create and distribute content that is on message and aligned to the strategy.

6. Common components – determine the most common channels used for your strategy, such as social media networks, blogs, imagery, videos and content tools like ebooks, reports, infographics or webinars.

7. Monitor traffic – track the analytics of your content, the success of blog topics, how often striking imagery is shared, which videos that get the most views to you can invest in creating content that is cost-effective and will generate leads.

8. Assign responsibility – ensure there is a dedicated resource to manage and control the creation and design of content to ensure it attracts and delivers new business over time.

9. Optimise and innovate – remember to make the content SEO friendly, avoiding duplicating content across channels and create call to action design devises that can be clicked on easily to find out more.

10. Review and refresh – ensure your goals stay consistent and revisit your strategy to ensure it stays on target and relevant, that topics remain fresh and engaging

The content marketing strategy should be considered as a long term project to help expand the brand’s digital footprint and generate more business. Content marketing is about brand synergy to sustain a return on investment. Share your content marketing strategy thoughts below or on Twitter.

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Is Instagram right for your business? Here are 10 reasons to consider Instagram

Posted on November 23, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

Instagram seems to be in the social media favourite at the moment, with 400+ million daily active users that share 80 million pieces of visual content daily. But is Instagram right for your business?

Instagram is considered to be important for brand building; it’s even overtaken Facebook and YouTube as celebrities consider it to be the  ‘most influential social marketing tool’.

For those businesses that aren’t in the know about Instagram, it’s an online photo-sharing social networking service that is beginning to play an effective sharing platform role in marketing strategies. In fact Forrester has named it the ‘the king of social engagement’.

instagram for business

So here are 10 reasons to consider Instagram for business

1. High engagement – Forrester research found Instagram delivered brands 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook, and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter.

2. Engagement goals – to make Instagram work for your business be clear about what you want to achieve; increase sales or traffic to your website, increase brand awareness or branded mentions.

3. More actions – Instagram delivers more sales and consumer actions than other other social platform according to a study which documented the 15 biggest biggest influencers on consumer behaviour.

4. Most responsive – Millennials were found to be the group most responsive to posts on the image sharing app, with 68 per cent of 18-24 year-olds saying they more likely to purchase an item if someone they followed on Instagram shared it.

5. Brand voice – it’s vital to have an authentic brand voice that is consistent and cohesive across all images, use your company name for SEO and your Instagram visual style can build on your brand strength

6. Videos – limit to 3 – 15 seconds, make sure you tell a story with your caption to give it context, encourage engagement and conversation through sneak peeks and offer behind the scenes looks.

7. Polls – you can initiate polls to canvass opinion and you can track performance to see if the poll is resonating with your community, you can also see which images are performing better than others, Iconosquare is good for this.

8. Popular sectors – this photo sharing app is already considered important for publishers, retailers, restaurants, or travel companies and brands such as Red Bull, GoPro Starbucks, Ford and NFL use it too.

9. Community building – Instagram is a hub where like-minded people share inspiring images, you can also consider a strategy to collaborate with a popular instagrammer or influencer in your sector

10. Content strategy – if you decide to use Instagram for your business, develop a content strategy by outlining how often you will post, what time of day, defining content themes.

Remember if you develop an Instagram social media account; integrate it into your marketing channels, using it as an opportunity to build a wider presence. If you start it, commit to it. Share your Instagram for business thoughts below or on Twitter.

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Social media trends in 2015 – top ten key insights to consider for business

Posted on November 5, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

In 2015, so far, there is a number of interesting social media trends that are worth watching as we look ahead to 2016. So if you are looking towards planning your social media budget for 2016, these insights might help you consider what to spend time and money on in the future.

social media trends 2015

Top 10 social media trends in 2015

1. Share of social media for business – most businesses view three networks to engage customers, 93% Facebook, 79% Twitter and 71% LinkedIn.

2. Facebook is a pivotal video platform – 50% of Facebook users watch at least one video on this social network per day.

3. Mobile first – from a survey of 3,720 marketers around the world, 75% of all video views from Facebook occur on mobile devices.

4. E-commerce features – more social networks are offering e-commerce features, for example Facebook, Twitter and Google offer “buy” buttons.

5. Content rich social media – Pinterest is growing in popularity, for example there has been a 96% increase in men’s fashion pins in 2015.

6. What’s shared on Facebook – 53% of views on Facebooks come from video shares, the News Feed is expected to be mostly video in the next five years.

7. Messaging apps – these are increasing in popularity, in fact six of the world’s 10 most used apps are messaging apps.

8. Brand reputation – in 2015 brands are relying on social media to enrich, differentiate and improve brand reputation by responding to customer queries responsible and on time.

9. Rise of wearable tech – has moved on from wearing for simple tasks, for example, in healthcare doctors are becoming increasingly interested in how wearable tech can be used to provide information about health.

10. Vlogging channels – out of the top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels, 17 provide vlogs as their primary style of footage, showcasing an amazing opportunity for brands to get involved.

These are some of the key social media trends in 2015. We’re interested to hear your thoughts so far in 2015, please share your ideas in the comments section below or on Twitter.

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What digital really means to McKinsey – top 15 insights

Posted on October 22, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

It’s trending, according to McKinsey & Company; businesses are rushing to become more digital. Yet what does digital really mean? Digital might be about technology or a new way of engaging with customers or quite simply a new way of doing business.

The only cohesion is that there is a distinct lack of alignment and common vision about where the business needs to go.

McKinsey, digital insights

What McKinney thinks about digital – top 15 insights

1. Common purpose – businesses must have a clear and common understanding of exactly what digital means to them and what it means to their business.

2. The McKinney approach – they believe that digital should be seen less as a thing and more a way of doing things; create value at new ways of doing business, special customer experiences, and building support structures.

3. Be open to a new way of doing business – understand where there is new value, identify new profit streams in existing sectors.

4. Unlock value from emerging growth sectors – understand new developments in the marketplace and evaluate how they may present opportunities or threats to your business, what’s new in your business sector?

5. Customer decision journeys – how are they evolving? What are their behaviours and expectations, it’s critical to get ahead of trends that can deliver or destroy profitable value.

6. Understand each step of a customer’s purchasing journey — the supply chain is critical to developing the flexibility, efficiency, and speed to deliver the right product in a way the customer wants.

7. Monitor your market – use data and metrics to focus on delivering insights about customers that can drive marketing and sales decisions, this information can build environments to encourage the generation of new ideas.

8. Remember customer loyalty – proactive decision making based on market intelligence, that delivers content and experiences that are personalised and relevant to the customer.

9. Analyse how a consumer is interacting with your brand – the customer may shift from a mobile phone to a laptop when making a purchasing decision, review the relevant touchpoints that will enable companies to blend digital and physical experiences even more.

10. Real-time automation – helps customers complete a task, it can increase the number of self-service options that help resolve problems quickly, personalise communications to be more relevant, and deliver consistent customer journeys no matter the channel, time, or device.

11. Journey-focused innovation – companies need to be innovative in how they interact with and sell to customers by expanding existing customer journeys into new businesses and services to create more information, and increase the value of the customer-brand relationship.

12. Build foundational capabilities – technological and organisational processes allow an enterprise to be agile and fast.

13. Digital mind-sets – being digital is about using data to make better and faster decisions, devolve decision making to smaller teams, and develop more iterative and rapid ways of doing things.

14. System and data architecture – in the context of IT, digital is focused on creating a two-part environment that supports critical functions to run at a slower pace and support fast-moving, customer-facing interactions.

15. Digitised IT – is about the commitment to building networks that connect devices, objects, and people where cross-functional IT teams automate systems to iterate on software quickly.

In summary, digital is about unlocking growth now. How companies might interpret or act on that definition will vary, but having a clear understanding of what digital means allows business leaders to develop a shared vision of how it can be used to capture value.

Share your comments below or on Twitter.

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10 branding insights, how brands continue to evolve digitally and emotionally

Posted on October 8, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

Brands need to continually evolve to engage smart consumers. Successful brands identify emotional values to position themselves to be believable and a step ahead of their competitors.

We’ve sourced these recent insights about how brands need to continue to adapt and
differentiate to stand out.

brands

1. Social connectivity – Coca Cola is the first brand to receive a dedicated Twitter emoji, a innovative way to build social connectivity.

2. Demographic decision making – 71% of female millennials won’t purchase without believing in the brand, authenticity is the key to trust and brand storytelling.

3. Too much information – from a survey of 2,000 adults, 29% of UK consumers feel brands share too many social media updates.

4. Real time – Michael Kors is the first brand to use Instagram’s new video advertising capabilities in the UK, it has a series of video clips showcasing its new footwear range.

5. Visual identity – Ryanair has toned down the colour scheme of its uniforms, marking latest move to reposition the budget airline as a ‘quality’ service.

6. Back to basics – Eight out of 10 UK consumers now buying supermarket own label products like Tesco (Everyday Value) and Asda (Smart Price).

7. Engaging live streaming – the launch of Twitter’s live streaming service, Periscope has opened up a whole new platform for brands and celebrities, who can share even more content with their fans.

8. Logo identity – Mini is planning a new product and brand strategy that will show the BMW-owned auto company release a paired back logo, new font and new visuals.

9. No.1 in publishing – the most engaging newspaper brand on Twitter is The Telegraph, if you want to develop a strong brand digitally, social media needs to be part of the package.

10. Storytelling – New research into the importance of brand storytelling has found that eight out of ten (79 per cent) UK adults want brands to tell stories as part of their marketing.

These are growing trends about how brands are emotionally engaging with their consumers. In 2015 there are ever more opportunities for digital brand engagement to open up new and profitable revenue channels. How does your brand engage? Share your comments below or on Twitter.

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10 Facebook facts – why Facebook is still socially acceptable for businesses

Posted on September 25, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

It’s a fact one in every five minutes spent online is on social networks. And in August 2015, over 1 billion people used Facebook on a single day for the first time since its creation in 2004. In July 2015, Facebook quietly refreshed its brand logo with a number of minor changes to the typeface – this reinforced its need to not play around with its core visual brand identity.

We’ve been looking at some recent findings and here are our top 10 Facebook facts why it still remains socially acceptable for businesses.

facebook facts

1. Facebook context – Facebook is the largest social media property in the UK through acquiring Whatsapp and Instagram and with the development of Facebook Messenger.

2. Facebook reach – Facebook has 1.23+ billion monthly active users, 94.5+ million mobile users and 757+ million daily users.

3. Facebook demographics – the majority (97%) of all adults aged 16+ with a social media profile say they use Facebook, (48%) of those with a profile say they have one only on Facebook.

4. Videos – are the most shared post type on Facebook, averaging 89.5 shares per video, it has the highest level of engagement.

5. Time spent – the average U.S. Facebook user (222 million) spends 14 hours a month on their mobile Facebook News Feed.

6. Mobile share of time – Facebook owns 13% of all time spent on mobile devices, the majority of users watching videos.

7. When to post – posts published on a Sunday get 52.9% more interactions than the average Facebook post.

8. Facebook targeting – Facebook will soon be able to target ads based on what articles people ‘Like’ and ‘Share’, this is an important move for brand marketing.

9. Global spend – quarterly global spend on Facebook advertising has grown 114% year on year, with 63% of Facebook ad budgets directed towards mobile phones and tablets.

10. Like the dislike – Zuckerberg announced Facebook ‘dislike’ button to express empathy in September 2015, not everyone likes it.

Do you feel Facebook still has a place in your business? Or does LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ have more relevance for you? Let us know how Facebook has worked for you, leave a comment below or on Twitter.

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Top 10 tips on how to publish on LinkedIn Pulse

Posted on September 8, 2015 by alexandrapatrick

LinkedIn has 347+ million members from over 200 countries. LinkedIn Pulse can help you reach out and engage members more cohesively.

LinkedIn Pulse is a publishing platform that has transformed the professional network. Members can publish posts about the latest news and insights relevant to their communities. It’s a simple way to widen your reach and establish a thought leadership authority.

LinkedIn Pulse

Here are top 10 tips to use LinkedIn Pulse

1. Take a look – Select ‘Pulse’ from the interests tab in the main navigation, then select ‘Top Posts’ and take a look at what people are writing about and how they are using it.

2. What to write – focus on writing on your areas of expertise and experience but make sure your voice is authentic, professional and humble.

3. When to publish – think when you might look at posts, so it’s unlikely to be Monday morning or Friday afternoon, people tend to be most active on Thursdays and Sundays.

4. How much to publish – there is a recommendation to publish around 400 to 600 words weekly, but you could try different styles and schedules to see what resonates more with your groups.

5. Be a thought leader – express your opinion respectfully and share insights that are relevant and evidence based so consider adding videos and presentations to reinforce your points.

7. Choose the title carefully – this is the first thing that connections will see, so make it useful by adding ‘How to…’ or ‘7 ways to benefit…’ questions don’t tend to work well in a title.

8. Add an image – images can be included in your post to bring life to your points, it also helps breaks up chunks of content, but don’t add too many, eight is considered too much.

9. Bios – consider adding a bio at the end of each post, who you are and what you do and how you help others, you can also add other social media links.

10. Before and after you publish – always remember to read through and check your spelling and grammar before you publish, use the Preview option to do this; review your comments after too.

Remember your posts are searchable so create topical content that is appealing to attract more followers. Plus, you can share your posts not just on LinkedIn but using Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Let us know how LinkedIn Pulse has worked for you? Leave a comment below or on Twitter.

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