2014 Immediate Future

Archive: 2022

This week Facebook released their employee diversity report, a new ideal brought about by Google to provide more transparency over large tech companies’ employee intake. In theory, this is a nice practice which would reveal the fair and positive mix of race, sex and ethnicity amongst the…

“Leads are metrics that, as marketers, we rely on. Because leads mean money.” That was Kipp Bodnar, VP of Marketing for Hubspot. Generating leads is one of the primary goals for marketers, yet only 1 in 10 marketers feel their lead generation campaigns are effective. Why is it that marketers…

Content, content, content. I am not quite sure how many times I use the word “content” in a day but if I did, and I got a £1 for every time, then I would be buying myself Google Glass (even if they are £1000, seriously!). So back…

OK! I am going to come out and and say it – I am very excited about yesterday’s launch of Google Glass in the UK. As a bit of a technology and social media geek, this is awesome news and I can’t wait to see the British public’s reaction to…

Today’s social media practitioners are digital pioneers. They are setting benchmarks and establishing best practice for businesses all over the world. They are setting the social media agenda, and we think it’s time they were recognised by the wider industry for their outstanding contributions. So we are shining…

Glastonbury is the festival to be at year after year, and its only two days away! Although you may be in the deepest darkest fields of Somerset, don’t forget if you’re lucky you may still be living in the world of 3G. Make sure you know the schedule, remember the…

Spreading campaign messages via Twitter with the use of hashtags or recruiting dedicated supporters has always been a labour of gaining organic strength. Relying on the persistence and influence of others to spread the message. Now we see the emergence of new apps that access supporters’ social…

If the thought of mass-surveillance makes your skin crawl, things are about to get a whole lot creepier after a recent revelation was made denoting under UK legislation, government bodies are permitted to snoop on all your social media activity. So think twice before sending that Snapchat, it might come…

Twitter’s strengths lie in fast conversation around events as they happen with an inherent wealth of live breaking news. As one of the biggest international sports tournaments kicks off today (pun very much intended) the platform is ready with several new features to up its user sign…

Facebook App install advertisements are slowly becoming an old familiar in your app based news feed, carefully honed by Facebook’s famous targeting tools. Personally I can vouch for their effectiveness of targeting (unlike the time I got an email from Pinterest…

It was high time that tinder broke the mould and gave the app an update. However, I am not sure this is what people had in mind. The use of online dating sites and apps for meeting new people has become increasingly popular. The stigma that was attached to meeting…

Hootsuite quietly ushered in a rebrand and updated service offering overnight, but it wasn’t long until Twitter feeds were booming with the news. The familiar owl icon has now been replaced with what resembles an avian Darth Vadar. Hootsuite has definitely met the dark side mirroring…

One of the original 21st century social platforms that has somewhat survived 2 purchases, a revamp and an exodus of millions shifting to (and from) it’s once thriving user base to other emerging, more dominant, platforms (Facebook). Responsible for introducing many users to their first taste of blogging, photo sharing,…

It goes without saying that the internet has greatly revolutionised society, the way we live and interact with the world and each other. However, it’s hard to believe just how young the internet really is. It’s only just over 10 years ago we were starting to use high-speed broadband, instead…

Marketers are spending more money on content marketing than ever before. But without a clear content strategy how can brands calculate ROI? We all know that for brands using social media, great content is key. But it’s knowing what to do with that content that is what brands need to…

Social media initiatives are really beginning to take centre stage for European marketers as indicated in a recent Adobe survey of 350 professionals. As part of the Digital Roadblocks report, it was clear to see the emphasis European companies are putting on digital in areas such as personalisation of email,…

This weekend the British public were treated to a very generous helping of sport! For many of us sports fans there was so much sport it was hard to keep track of it all, but with rigorous planning I think I managed to catch most of it on TV! The…

As we come to round off a season of Indian, Columbia and, more closer to home, European elections, it’s clear that more of us are turning to digital channels not only to champion our political opinions but at the very least inspire action. With many warning against…

As businesses begin to appreciate the value that quality visual content can bring in capturing the attention of prospects, which in turn drive clicks and sales, video becomes an ever more compelling part of a brand’s content strategy; Cisco predicts that by 2017 video will account for…

Social media is not simply a broadcast channel – and brands that use social media solely for this purpose are never going to get the most out of social media. Social media is a two-way conversation, so get prepared to join in. Social customer service has exploded in popularity over…

Curating your social media feed can be a tricky business. You may be overrun with photos of your friend’s babies or hourly updates on wedding planning from that random girl from one of your university classes… The content bugs you, but not enough to delete that friend…

This week Twitter launched a new feature allowing you to mute those pesky users who Tweet too much or sporadically at a time that is just not working for you. Useful right? Probably not so much for brands… Disclaimer: I followed @JustinBieber to illustrate the muting of someone who…

With the popularity of mobile apps and the development of tablets and smartphones, it’s no secret that businesses (especially social platforms) are focusing their efforts on becoming more mobile. Why wouldn’t they? You go to work to work – you have your mobile device to be ‘social’ outside of work…

It’s exactly a month yesterday (14 May 2014) that over 200 Nigerian school girls were abducted from their boarding school by local Islamic militia group Boko Haram. The media and western world initially skirted over the story as just another political tragedy in Nigeria’s…

Want to learn more about your customers? You can with Facebook’s new ‘Audience Insights’ tool! Whilst the feature is currently only available in the US, UK marketers can expect to see a wider expansion in a few short months… And we can’t wait to get our hands on it!…

For businesses using social media, it’s not about the ‘feel-good factor’ of the odd like here or a couple of retweets there. It’s about one thing: ROI. So which social media platform generates the most ROI? New research from Shopify on social commerce has discovered that out of all social…

Over the past year or so a new model of community management has emerged, long gone is the 90-9-1 model. Passive observers are minimising and hyper contributors are increasing, motivated by the sheer desire for social recognition. People have greater accessibility to contribute and are more…

Many marketers recognise the advantages in using social media, but those sentiments aren’t always shared. Particularly by the board. So the challenge is how to prove social value? We invited Richard Clark, former Online Controller at Argos.co.uk and a founding member of the Marketing team at Best Buy in the…

As pressure increases on Twitter to monetize their platform through developing an already powerful targeted tweets and promoted post service. The platform, having recently undergone a major design re-haul, has now stepped up a further development to attract retailers to promote their products and retail campaigns directly…

You may or may not have read countless articles, suspiciously pointing the finger at Twitter’s re-design and how it closely matches the appearance of another popular social network. Or you’ve logged into your account and have been taken aback by an enormous cover photo. Yes Twitter has had an image…

There has been a lot of controversy around the recent changes to Twitter’s photo focused profiles. Not entirely sure what I am talking about? Discover how “The new Twitter profile layout now shows the world who you are” They really do look very similar to Facebook! Behind the scenes, as…

In the wake of the terrible tragedy at Corpus Christi Catholic College yesterday, where 61 year-old beloved teacher Anne Maguire was stabbed by one of her own 15 year-old, pupils, my thoughts turned to the difficulty in policing social media. In a situation like this, where the identity of an…

LinkedIn’s recent set of proposition from their marketing solutions team again illustrates the focus the platform is placing on content, and being the centre point for your daily fix of industry news and views. After announcing widening the publishing platform up to all users, LinkedIn have…

Print media is widely seen as a dying medium with the lack of targeting and personalisation seen in comparison to digital advertising. US print media has seen a spend dip from $35.8bn in 2011 to a projected $32.2bn in 2014, whereas…

Twitter has finally launched a new profile layout design for all its users rolling out a long overdue makeover of its previously and somewhat stuffy browser based layout. The new design falls inline with Twitter mobile design updates and instantly shows a big focus on visual enhancement…

Would you like to know which social media site offers the top tools to target users, or the best platform for building brand awareness? Look no further as the Direct Marketers Association’s Social Media Council introduces the first ever social media scorecard for the…

Selfies dominate visual social media, with Piper Jaffrey recently announcing that Instagram, the selfie hub, has now surpassed Facebook and Twitter to be the top social network among teens we can see the 2013 selfie total of 35 million getting higher and higher! In…

We social media lot are unique. The job requires many skills and ‘special’ characteristics- creativity, organisation, energy and a love for everything techie. The campaigns we run seem effortless from the outside but trust me, every tweet, Facebook post or LinkedIn update requires meticulous planning.

Most of the consumption of digital media is now very much based on image, text or video via our mobile handsets. Countless mornings see the commute of the working masses, heads down, staring deeply into their handsets narrowly avoiding road accidents and lamp post encounters. For those…

What is real-time marketing about? Responding to customers, following trends and ultimately creating a strong, relevant relationship with your audience. It doesn’t sound so bad when you sum it up like that. But real-time marketing is easier said than done. Our research report ‘In the Social…

With over 2 million of them on LinkedIn, Groups are a core part of the platform. Whether it’s to enhance your credibility or to generate leads, we take a look at the important role that Groups can play in your marketing activity. With over 8,000 Groups created every week, there…

Twitter has already carved out its name as one the top social media sites to market and advertise from but in an effort to become more ‘social’ it recently revealed two new features that allow users to upload up to 4 photos in a single tweet and…

I doubt you’d ever think of Zuckerberg strutting his stuff on a high fashion catwalk, but how about a super model owning a social network? Flame haired super model Lily Cole has done just that, making her first steps into the social media realm with the launch of her…

Ok! I’m going to share with you all what I honestly believe the power, potential and future social media could be (but you’ve got to promise that you’ll continue reading- as what I am about to say is a little “out there”). Social media has the power to change how…

There are now countless blogging platforms on the web that specialise in a multitude of great features but which of these features do we actually need? Some of the most innovative new blog platforms strip away the list of add-ons and focus on the basics. Now, more than ever before,…

Paraphrasing some recent advice at our Social Speakeasy from Jerry Daykin of Mondelez International, “If you want to become a real-time engagement focused business then you need to break some of the traditional marketing practices”. Advice that is mirrored in our brand survey results on real-time social engagement. Where brands…

Out of a plethora of April Fools pranks yesterday, there were some innovative, stand out ideas that showcased some of our digital friends’ creative thinking at its best. Here are some of the best; with ideas ranging from the weird, wacky and downright genius. With LinkedIn’s recently…

LinkedIn is running ‘full steam ahead’ in its content marketing efforts as it announces the release of two new content analytics tools, dubbed as the “Dynamic Duo” for businesses. Read on to discover why the news should come as music to the ears of B2B brands marketing…

Whether it’s writing headlines for blog posts or creating content for Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, the key to creating great content is testing. Test everything – from the topic, to the length of post, to the image and time of day – it requires constant testing and optimisation to find…

$ Two-thirds of brands manage real-time social engagement in-house, but half have other marketing roles too. Our benchmark report on brands in real-time social media shows that 50% of those at the coal-face of social engagement are also managing other roles in marketing and communications. So are…

The year of the ‘Selfie’ has been marked on several occasions with anything from free-world leaders Barack Obama, David Cameron and Danish leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt snapping away at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, some of the worlds finest air force pilots and astronauts displaying…

As the interweb continues to become more saturated with sites competing with each other to provide the most shocking, informative and funniest news; it is becoming increasingly difficult to cut through the noise and find reliable sources of creative content. Whilst most of us are accustomed to sourcing…

Rumours are circulating the net of Twitter’s planned revamp and eventual elimination of the platform’s most prominent symbols, the #tag and @reply. With conjecture that testing is well underway, we take a look at what the change could spell for brands. Testing and updates to the functionality…

Brands know that they need to be monitoring conversations if they are to make the most of real-time social engagement. Our survey, ‘In The Moment’ benchmarks real-time social amongst leading brands. It shows 62% of marketers think the most important best practice is monitoring trends, headlines and…

Best of Branded Content Marketing: 10th Anniversary Edition from Justin Kirby I know everyone is talking about content. But I urge you to take time to read the eBook, Branded Content Marketing. For a start…

Measuring, analysing and benchmarking your social activity is essential. It highlights what you are doing well, when you need to improve, and whether you are delivering what your customers want. But in truth, social media isn’t about promoting your business at all. It’s about engaging with your community (something easier…

With the ever increasing world of social apps encouraging us to connect friends and family, the new app, Cloak has been developed to specifically help you avoid people you don’t want to see…think exes, co-workers and the guy who likes to stop and chat. It has been…

The simple and versatile platform that combines a coherent interface with simple functionality. With an endless variety of customisable templates the platform has been a vast canvas for the more visually driven blogger to be truly creative. At face value Tumblr has the reputation of being mostly populated with junk…

Everyone is talking about real-time social engagement – it was certainly hot topic at SXSW. So at immediate future, we thought we would ask blue-chip brands for their views. A chance to benchmark the status of real-time marketing. You can download the full report,…

Before Destiny’s Child ‘Bootylicious’ starts playing in your head… stop! I’m referring to a different sort of Jelly – the question-and-answer app launched in 2014 by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone which has already become the 76th most downloaded app in the UK. What is Jelly? Jelly is a…

For many brands using social media, you want to prove one thing: that your campaigns are delivering ROI. Whether it’s the number of Facebook likes, Twitter followers, the number of retweets, clicks to your landing pages, email registrations or product downloads, there are a multitude of metrics that…

So, I am sure over the past few days you have seen the Argos “badman” tweets doing the rounds as examples of great social customer service. For those of you who haven’t seen the posts, here is the story… @Argos_Online YO wen u gettin da…

There is no doubt about it, we are taking more pictures than ever. It has got to the point that Facebook has a quarter of a trillion photos, 14.58 million photos uploaded an hour and 4,000 a second– and just think about all those photos that don’t…

If you’re a frequent social media user or even manage other peoples social accounts you will almost certainly have fail-safe methods to keep your profiles clear from inebriated access and prevention from any kind of unwanted drunk tweeting, or ‘Drunkbooking‘ of…

For all you ladies out there, it looks like we’re taking over social media, and smartphones are our weapon of choice – in a metaphorical sense of course! According to research conducted by PR agency Porter Novelli, also published by marketingmagazine.co.uk, women are dominating the social media…

For brands using social media, visuals matter. No matter the platform and whether its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest, incorporating visual elements into your posts is essential. But its more than just using a random photo with your posts to fill the image quota on your posts. Quality, original and…

We are thrilled to learn that Katy is on the BIMA Hot 100 list this year. It’s a wonderful accolade, and to be ranked among the digital industry’s brightest stars for the second year in a row is outstanding. There are a lot of very proud and smiley…

So this week I am staying away from social media, but looking to gauge responses on topics for staff retention and candidate attraction. Leave a comment below and share what you think about flexible working! This is a sore spot for many people the world over, flexible working, or indeed…

We all have decisions to be made throughout the day, some big, some small, all require us to think and consider which option is best. If you’re indecisive you probably base your decisions on an external influence, which could be a friend’s advice or a news article. Social media plays…

Being head hunted by a leading social media agency is a massive compliment and also quite daunting. When it comes via social media, then you know you have pitched your professional personality well, that someone sees you as a potential employee! When I was originally contacted by Indiana at immediate…

Fashion House Temperley London is helping raise funds for the Somerset flood victims. The fashion house has created a dedicated web page to educate people around the terrible flooding in Somerset and the West Country, helping raise awareness of the crisis which is close to…

Whether it’s the press, financial traders or marketers, everyone has had an opinion on the recent acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook. Did any of you see the unfortunate (funny) typo, by the BBC which turned the news story into Facebook acquires “massaging service”? Uh oh! Last week,…

To be an excellent recruiter, you must be an excellent marketer. Although the stereotypes in personal attributes to these two careers seem poles apart, the link between them is getting stronger. It is no longer about job boards or who you know (although that does play a part). It is…

The way consumers purchase products has changed. The internet, and particularly social media, has transformed the ways in which consumers buy and research products. No longer do you simply walk into a shop and purchase a product you have never used before. Consumers are researching the product online: reading reviews,…

Roll up! Roll up! Brands that are already investing heavily in LinkedIn will be licking their lips at the prospect of the new publishing power about to be at their finger tips (see the full article on the LinkedIn blog). LinkedIn influencers, launched in 2012, saw powerful…

The Brits are well-known for a lot of things, from drinking tea to inventing the game of cricket. But who would have thought that the sport of CURLING would capture the nation’s heart? I think it is one of those sports where it takes a little time to get into…

Furore in the capital this week has been combined across several major awards and industry events. The Baftas, The Brit Awards and as you may have noticed on your Twitter trends or Pinterest boards; London Fashion week. Brands, labels and designers galore compete for their annual chance to set…

Back in November last year, the amazing Marketing Director at Thorpe Park, Jason Wills, joined the Social Speakeasy to tell us how he drives the success of his social activity. The insights were so valuable that I thought it was worth revisiting. And in particular highlighting…

Since it’s inception Google+ hasn’t had the greatest cut through compared to the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram when it comes to the world of creatives. However, the tables are turning and Google+ is starting to enjoy further mainstream success as yet another channel for us to…

2012 Summer Olympics in London, affectionately coined as the ‘Twitter Olympics’, saw the use of social media as a tool to bridge the gap between athletes and their fans. Social has garnered a new kind of enthusiasm around the Olympic Games, changing the way we consume and talk about…

It’s 14th February, which means one thing… Valentines Day! Brands are celebrating in full effect, but which ones should you be looking out for? And are you getting involved? The UK population will be spending an estimated £595 million this Valentine’s Day, with many consumers choosing to…

You have built your empire with blood, sweat and tears. You have a small, dedicated team who stand by you. They love working for you, they love the culture, the hours, pay, flexibility offered and the general working environment. So who wouldn’t want to work for you? Well it seems…

The times of thinking my parents are the un-coolest people in the world are behind me, but to be honest with you I would never have them as a Facebook friend, especially my dearest mother. I have nothing to hide from her but I think it is more the embarrassment…

Key to any effective social media strategy is the ability to monitor what people are saying about your brand across social networks, blogs and forums. There’s a wealth of data available at your fingertips – the challenge is how best to turn that collated data into real-time actions. We asked…

If you’ve logged into Facebook this month, you will most definitely have seen a ‘NekNomination’ video in your Newsfeed. In fact, it’s probably why you are reading this blog post right now… The NekNomination trend, which is essentially Facebook chain mail, has skyrocketed in the past few weeks. A quick search…

Coding has always been that skill that was either honed by those of a more technical nature or of those that are forced into having to use code to develop something that simply wasn’t there before, or even adapt current code to fit another bit of code – phew. If,…

Social media has been bringing humour into a somewhat dismal situation as commuters take to social media, specifically Twitter, in the wake of the London tube strikes. Surprisingly the sentiment has not been quite as negative as expected. I’m sure many of you have seen signs of chaos, with endless…

Real-time marketing is a hot topic right now. Gone are the days when it was acceptable to schedule tweets and Facebook posts to go live during an event, it’s now all about real-time social media marketing and the ability to display near-instant creativity. Social media itself is a perfect fit…

I personally think, in this era, you should be able to apply for a job virtually, send your LinkedIn profile, and have a video as a CV. As long as it has the following elements, then why does it need to be a plain old Word doc? Unfortunately I am…

So often in social media we are concerned with what is happening “in platform” that we forget the bigger picture. Over inflated company valuations that we are so familiar with nowadays are down to one thing – data. G+ is the 2nd biggest social network in the world due to…

Call them what you like, Generation Me, the Lost Generation but they remain top of the lust-list for advertisers and companies alike. This new sub-demographic spawned from Generation Y can be described as “the most sophisticated and therefore the most important media consumer that the planet has even known”, and…

The ever dividing gap of age generation is now so evident within the digital sphere of social media. With statistics evident of teens turning from Facebook or Twitter it’s safe to ask what the social media platforms are they turning to have or don’t have. The inevitable…

My view of Facebook advertising has changed in 2014. I used to think of ads as a supplement to boost campaigns. Now, I’d describe advertising as an essential activity for any brand or business using Facebook for marketing. Without the investment, you will struggle to create any cut-through (so if…

What better way to network than virtually, especially when job searching? LinkedIn, you can call out to your connections to let them know you are job searching. You can be introduced to their connections, for maximum networking opportunities. As LinkedIn is a professional networking site, you can also…

It goes without saying that social plays a part in most of our everyday lives. Our focus, time and attention can only lie with a few of these networks, and those that struggle to remain on top are either forgotten or left to float like driftwood. You may have heard…

If you read my last blog post then you would have seen that I came to the conclusion that it is next to impossible to predict the future of social media. This has got me thinking about the aspects of social media that we take for granted, everyday things that…

It’s not like we haven’t been here before pondering this troublesome question… Social media ownership has been a much debated topic over the past few years and it remains extremely pertinent as social media marketing matures, platform demographics shift and customer behaviours evolve. Unfortunately there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach or…

OK, I’m no psychologist, so I would have to hazard a guess on the applications of Freud’s psychodynamic theory to social media – I’ll leave that to the psychologists amongst us! What I can tell you though, is that thought processes and emotions play an important role in social media…

In our recent blog post, ‘6 social media 2014 predictions from some of the most influential industry authorities’ one of the core predictions identified for this year was to embrace the power of content. ‘All the research at the end of last year suggests that marketers know…