Despite being a hugely popular platform for social media marketing initiatives, Forrester Research has suggested that businesses aren’t a priority for Facebook, and marketers using the platform are indecisive, according to an article published by New Media Age.
Whilst 96 of America’s top 100 brands operate a presence on the social media site, Forrester has stated that marketers lack an understanding of how to get a good ROI (return on investment) on the site.
In their report which has been published today, the company has also stated that Facebook has made it increasingly difficult for businesses – changing content management options and providing a limited amount of data for analysis.
VP principal analyst at the company and the report’s author, Nate Elliot, launched an attack on the approach taken by marketers on Facebook.
He said: “Marketers are all over the shop because they didn’t know why they decided to use Facebook in the first place. They rushed to be there without understanding what they are doing there.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
With over 24million WP blogs already in existence, and over 50,000 new blogs being added daily, it was only a matter of time before WordPress helped its users monetise on those and helped itself to a share of the lucrative ad market. The launch of WordAds this week sees WordPress taking on Google AdSense with a partnership with Federated Media after announcing late last month that this was on the cards.
The observation on the WordPress blog that many of the AdSense ads aren’t always “terribly tasteful” is of course, sadly true, in that this is one of the areas where the algorithm has not always been very accurate, and has meant occasions where inappropriate ads are shown. Which when this is next to your content can reflect more on you than on a faulty algo. Visitors are more likely to remember, and link to, your site where the bad taste ad appeared than to blame the algorithm, which may not be a good thing for PR.
WordPress have not yet announced the revenue split with bloggers, and there are certain provisos when applying to be part of the program such as a custom domain, level of traffic and engagement, content and language, but for anyone with a WordPress.com blog, it would seem to be worthwhile to apply and see if your blog is accepted.
Are we likely to see more competition to AdSense and other Google services? Yes. It is unlikely that the Google bubble is bursting, but there is definitely an appetite for alternatives; although WordPress was always the most likely competitor, there are opportunities for Tumblr, Posterous etc to help bloggers raise money through displaying adverts.
There are other monetisation options for bloggers such as Flattr.com who ran Pay a Blogger day this week. 
Whilst Flattr is still a small network, it highlights an opportunity available for businesses – advertising with blogs.
Whilst using Google’s display network is one option, the targetting can never be as accurate as looking out niche blogs whose readers fit with your target audience for your products and services. Many bloggers are keen to take an ad or two, or will write reviews on your products, offer giveaways and so on, so it is worth discovering which blogs your customers and potential audience look to for information and getting in touch.
Finding this info will lead you to interesting content, engagement with your audience and possibly exciting new joint ventures. So, take 2 minutes today to craft a tweet or status update for your social network and ask for recommendations of blogs that your followers and friends enjoy.
Popular bakery Greggs has launched a social media marketing campaign to ‘crowd source’ lyrics for a new Christmas song, according to an article published by New Media Age.
Greggs hope the song – which will raise money for Help for Heroes – will compete in the top echelons of the chart for the coveted Christmas number one.
Fans of the bakery can submit their own ideas to Greggs’ pages on Twitter and Facebook. Specifically, Greggs are looking for lyrics that “capture the festive spirit of customers.”
The song featuring the crowd sourced lyrics will be performed by Silvers and then subsequently made available from iTunes on December 19.
CEO of Greggs, Ken McMeikan, has stated that the primary aim of the campaign is to raise money for Help for Heroes; however, he also added that the campaign was designed to be fun for customers – having endured a hard year because of the current economic climate.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Google – a popular platform for search engine marketing initiatives – has revealed that Google News is now functional with the +1 feature, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Users browsing Google News when logged into either their Gmail or Google+ accounts will be able to +1 featured content.
Content that has been +1′d will work in a similar way to that on a standard Google search – which sees shared content promoted higher up on an SERP (search engine results page).
However, whereas content that has been tweeted will also feature higher on a Google SERP, SEW has suggested that this won’t be the case with Google News.
It has also been revealed that promoted content won’t always feature at the top of the SERP, according to SEW.
Whilst Google’s +1 feature is gaining considerable momentum – having been integrated into a number of the search engine giant’s functions – it isn’t yet clear whether +1 will have an overall impact on how stories rank in Google News.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
The Ballymascanlon Hotel has withdrawn its defamation claim against search engine giant Google, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.
Located in Dundalk, Ireland, the hotel opened a defamation case against Google – a platform frequently used for search engine marketing initiatives – earlier on in the year.
The claim related to Google’s autocomplete feature which suggested that the Ballymascanlon was enduring financial difficulties.
By typing ‘ballymascanlon’ into the search box, a list of suggestions would appear including ‘ballymascanlon hotel receivership’.
Ballymascanlon’s case was in the process of being evaluated by the Irish High Court, however a ruling hasn’t arrived and the hotel – represented by Oliver Quinn Sr, Oliver Quinn Jr, Niall Quinn and Ballymascanlon Holdings – has withdrawn its claim.
No details regarding whether an out-of-court settlement between the two was reached have been released into the public domain – Google has, however, stated that they are “pleased this case has been withdrawn.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
With today (November 24) being Thanksgiving in the US, many eCommerce sites will be making their final preparations ready for tomorrow’s ‘Black Friday’ sales.
A notoriously busy day, it is vital that everything goes accordingly to plan.
Writing for Search Engine Watch, Frank Watson has produced a basic checklist that contains all of the elements likely to benefit a ‘Black Friday’ sale.
Here are some of the best in a summarised form:
Are your social media channels prepared for a possible increase in traffic? Be sure to keep a thorough eye on each one of your social channels. Consumers are bound to use these channels as a guide for recommendations and offers – making engagement extremely important.
Offer them links and advice and answer their questions when required – this is likely to make your business’ ‘Black Friday’ much more of a success.
Do you have a plan to implement for your PPC marketing efforts? Throughout the day bidding on adverts is likely to increase, so be sure to have an automated alert in place – this will allow you to easily monitor whether or not your bid needs to upped.
Promote your deals on your homepage – It doesn’t matter where your traffic is coming from, you should always ensure that when they get to your homepage they can see your special offers. Strategically you should push the items that will make the most amount of money, Watson states.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, PPC, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
One of the biggest airlines in the world, Emirates, is set to step up its social media strategy with the creation of a Facebook page, according to an article published by Marketing Magazine.
The airline has fallen behind rivals such as Air France and American Airlines – both of whom operate a popular presence on the social networking site – and are set to use their page as a platform for content and a way to communicate more effectively with consumers.
Emirates’ introduction of a social media presence will form part of a much larger business objective – to become the world’s biggest independent airline.
A considerable number of airlines have enjoyed success via social media in recent times.
Virgin America used paid tweets on Twitter to publicise a promotion – one that resulted in the fifth highest number of sales in the airline’s history.
While British Airways has used its own Facebook page as a platform for many social media marketing campaigns.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Cloud-based data management specialists Rosslyn Analytics have asked ClickThrough Marketing to assist with their internet marketing activities.
ClickThrough Marketing, one of the UK’s leading search engine and internet marketing companies, will support Rosslyn Analytics’ continued rapid growth using powerful search engine optimisation and conversion optimisation techniques.
The new initiative will focus on increasing website traffic and tailoring online content for Rosslyn Analytics, recently named as one of the best privately held software companies in the world.
Rosslyn Analytics has developed a patent-pending online RA.Pid data management platform and integrated suite of one-click data extraction, data quality and analytical reporting tools that help business users to quickly identify savings opportunities with better and more timely business intelligence.
“We believe that the key to successful data management is putting consumer-like enterprise tools directly into the hands of business users,” said Lance Mercereau, Director of Marketing at Rosslyn Analytics. “Our cloud services allow businesses to extract, enrich and analyse data quickly and efficiently, at the touch of a button.”
“Our decision to appoint ClickThrough was based on their similarly uncomplicated and transparent attitude to online marketing. We look forward to working with them and expect their innovative approach yields the business results we expect from an award winning agency.”
ClickThrough is delighted with the new appointment.
Phil Robinson, Commercial Director at ClickThrough, said: “Rosslyn Analytics have already seen massive growth thanks to their cutting-edge analytics solutions. We are looking forward to building on this success together with a search engine optimisation campaign that will open up their brand to a whole new audience.”
Since 2004, ClickThrough Marketing has helped clients in more than 30 countries reach out to new online customers with its ethical and client-focused approach and industry-leading online marketing techniques. They offer a fully-managed online marketing service, that integrates Pay Per Click campaigns, social media management and search engine optimisation.
Notes to Editors:
Further Contact:
Alistair Harris, Content Manager
Telephone: 01543 410 014
Email: aharris@clickthrough-marketing.com
About ClickThrough Marketing
ClickThrough Marketing (http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com) is a search and internet marketing agency specialising in conversion optimisation. Since 2004 we have helped our clients in the UK, USA and Europe reach new customers, using our proven, ethical search marketing know-how. We pride ourselves on giving honest, actionable internet marketing advice and online PR services. Whether you are thinking of changing your search or digital marketing agency, or just looking to improve your online conversion rate, our team of search conversion experts can help.
About Rosslyn Analytics
Rosslyn Analytics, the leader in one-click data discovery and business intelligence (BI) software, helps organisations accelerate cost savings and more accurately identify financial and supply chain risks, including fraud. Its technologies provide finance, procurement, accounts payable and other business users with an easy to use ‘single data management’, reporting and forecasting platform, RA.Pid, to efficiently manage one source of spend, expense, tax and contract data., Customers achieve an initial return-on-investment in just eight weeks because everyone within an organization has on-demand access to trusted information. For more info, visit www.rosslynanalytics.com. Follow us on Twitter at RosslynAnalytic.
Please visit http://www.rosslynanalytics.com/ for more information, or you call 020 3285 8008
We spoke previously about how to make more of mobile marketing, so let’s look at yet more methods which you could be using to get more traffic to your websites, social networking pages, and to your bricks and mortar stores.
QR codes, which we have written about previously, have a mixed press. As they have become more popular, so have the types of QR code and number of readers increased, until there is no standard and this has caused customer confusion. However, judging by the fact that even shopping channels on TV are now adding QR codes, there is still mileage in making information available by a QR code.
You need a smartphone in order to be able to read a QR code, so be aware when using them that you are targeting only those with smartphones. This is a growing percentage of the population though and it is going to become increasingly likely that those without a smartphone are not as inspired by the digital world as those who find them essential.
QR codes can be used in a huge variety of ways and there are some excellent websites which cover news and reviews of QR codes, such as Anise Smith’s QR Scoop.it
Google+ has also made life easy for mobile users from day 1 of the field test, with apps for Android and iPhone, and now additional facilities such as being able to join a Hangout from a mobile. This is a great way to engage with mobile users. For some, it may be the novelty of being able to get involved in something that is outside of their previous experience, but for others the ease of access wherever they find themselves when the Hangout is ongoing may fire the enthusiasm to join in.
Hangouts can have infinite purposes and it is worth considering how you could use the Mobile side of Hangouts to reach out to your own customers.
As with both QR codes and Hangouts, one of the side effects of using such features is that you are upskilling your customer base. Whilst these may seem to be features that at present only early adopters and adept smartphone users may understand, the simplicity of use and the additional benefits you can offer – discounts, one to one interviews, direct feedback to your company, focus groups, special offers, etc – will encourage your audience to try them if you provide sufficient motivation to make the effort.
Let us know how you get on!
Australian airline, Qantas, has been left embarrassed after a recent social media marketing campaign went wrong, according to an article published by news.com.au
Qantas encouraged followers of its profile on Twitter to suggest their dream in-flight experience followed by the hashtag #qantasluxury, with each entry subsequently entered into a prize draw.
However, the hashtag drew a huge number of sarcastic and angry responses from passengers who had been affected by the airline’s recent delays – caused by an ongoing strike by Qantas employees.
One user, @2FBS angrily tweeted: “#QantasLuxury is dressing your staff in t-shirts that say “We’re Sorry” and believing that makes up for missing a friends funeral.”
Many other users questioned the timing of the Qantas campaign.
In response to the tweets from users, a Qantas spokesperson stated: “A large number of our customers were disrupted and inconvenienced by the recent industrial action and fleet grounding, however services have returned to normal and our customers can book flights with absolute confidence that they will not be disrupted by industrial action.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
