Digital Marketing Immediate Future

Digital Marketing

With 20.33 million daily active users, TikTok is fast becoming the place to be. What started as a platform viewed for the younger audience, the demographics of users have broadened (popularity increased during 2020), and more and more brands are exploring this new venture. But how should brands approach…

With so much change, disruption, and discussion around what’s next all around the world, it can be difficult to stay in touch with what really matters at the moment. For a brand on social, if you aren’t on top of key trends, how people are feeling and why…

#ICYMI Katie Patterson, Senior Account Manager at IF, sat down with Lois Engstrand, Global Senior Marketing Manager, at ClauseMatch to discuss her journey of building a marketing department out of nothing. So what really goes into strategising and building a marketing function at a start-up?…

Let’s get real, most of the content you’re scrolling through on social right now is BORING. Social feeds are a sea of pointless pictures, yawn-inducing infographics, and videos that would send an insomniac to sleep! BUT then… you’re stopped in your tracks by something stand-out, thumb-stopping, and exciting!…

Last week we informed you that Facebook was looking to cash in on creating a rival product to the widely popular Clubhouse. While this is true, it seems that Instagram is still trying to catch up with other social networks and enable users to have more than two…

Reactive social media is something we’ve seen a lot of recently and was considered a growing trend in 2020 after everyone turned to social at the start of the pandemic. When done well, this type of content can really pay off, but it doesn’t come without its risks.

Social media marketing is an excellent tool that bridges the gap between businesses and consumers. When used strategically and a clear understanding has been met, great outcomes can be achieved. So there’s no doubt why we’ve seen so many companies flood to social channels over the past year.

Here we go again! Another rundown of the latest happenings in social media from the past week. So, sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy another edition of Social Snapshot! Twitter is caring for the customer Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular and this means your digital…

It won’t surprise you to hear that an unprecedented number of brands adopted social media marketing in 2020. The ongoing COVID challenge forced many to do things differently and in many cases doing things they have not done before. Regular viewers of our Serious Social Live videos or regular…

As the daughter of two baby boomers, I’m the first to admit that I have had little faith in the digital capabilities of this demographic. I can’t count how many times I’ve pleaded with my parents that their iPad camera can, in fact, capture more than their forehead,…

We’ve almost made it to the end of January, and what a month it has been! Now you’re back in the full swing of working you might be falling behind on social news, which is where we come in. So, sit back, grab a coffee and get up to…

For many people working outside of our industry, social media marketing seems easy. Wrong. What they don’t know is how much effort and hard work goes on behind the scenes. And it’s not just down to one person. To be successful in social media marketing, you need to collaborate –…

New year, new… well, nothing? If you’re feeling like nothing has changed and the world of social media is as exhausting as ever, we’ve collated a few best-practice thoughts for you – you’re stronger than you think! Be agile, not fragile Change is the only constant… who said…

As we hurtle straight into January 2021 with the speed of a bunch of social media marketers who are just insanely grateful that 2020 is over, I know that time will be short to read lengthy blogs! So instead, here are my top recommendations for who to follow…

The time of year has arrived where marketers and platform experts take a look back over the past 12 months and start making predictions for what’s to come. And although many of us are starting to wind down for our well-deserved Christmas break, these insight-filled blogs and guidelines…

In recent days, gamers have swarmed social media to show their disappointment in the launch of the highly anticipated video game, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’, some of which have been waiting over ten years for its release. To the dismay of many, the game released to platforms in an unplayable state, making…

If you’re not storyboarding your social media then you’re set for 2021 failure. Brands who continue delivering arbitrary social media face a significant challenge ahead. Against the backdrop of a brutal 2020, some will think my comments harsh and not what they want to hear. My counter, as I…

Whenever a planning phase is imminent, such as the start of a new year or preparing a campaign proposal, a key element is often missed – results and data from the last campaign. If you’re on top of things and managing to review your social marketing data regularly,…

Let’s face it Covid restrictions have transformed trends, behaviours and shaped the way we live our everyday lives. And when it comes to shopping, things are very different from what they were seven months ago. Ever-changing consumer habits have forced many companies to re-think their retail and distribution models,…

As it’s less than a month until Christmas, it only seems right to write a festive-inspired blog and get everyone in the holiday spirit This week, TikTok launched a holiday playbook for small businesses, to help with marketing plans ahead of…

Over the years, as social media has become the be-all and end-all of where online content is consumed, the quality and style of creative imagery have continued to advance and achieve a wide range of results. As social is an ever-evolving landscape, trends and fads come and go from…

Building your brand personality on social will set you in good stead for the future – more than that, it’ll ensure your audience understand who you are and what you stand for, building up brand trust. The key to building this up is consistency – write in a…

The new normal, post-Covid world, or whatever you may call it, is going to change everything. From the way we work to the way consumers behave. If we look to the future, it’s looking pretty bleak – we can’t sugar-coat that. Brexit, the continuation of covid, a potential recession…

2020… what else is there left to say? A soul-sapping, up and down rollercoaster of emotions that has forced some to do the unthinkable. Yes, that’s right people. Christmas trees are sprouting up in front-rooms across the UK as families and friends alike look to ’light up…

Supporting businesses, Christmas and a few new platform announcements – it’s social snapshot time, so let’s just jump right in! Twitter offers Christmas insights Like all of 2020, Christmas is going to be different this year. So, to help marketers prepare for the unusual festivities, Twitter has shared…

Can you quite believe that we are a mere few weeks from the end of 2020! For many, it can’t end quick enough, but for brand marketers, we KNOW there’s never quite enough time to plan for the year ahead. We’ve just launched our…

In this day and age, almost everybody and every business are on social media. For us individuals, it’s a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and occasionally show off something we’re proud of. But for businesses, it’s an important aspect that should be included in your…

Increasingly, brands look to digital-only events to replace the much-loved physical events that have welcomed footfall to conferences and exhibitions across the globe. However, pivoting to a digital-only event can be tricky. At the start of this year, few would have predicted the scale of home-working and the speed…

Cross-app communication, Instagram’s 10th birthday and Facebook’s new Groups feature – it’s been a busy week, so let’s dig in today’s Social Snapshot: Facebook introduces cross-app communication between Messenger and Instagram Facebook announced it will begin rolling out new functionality, allowing Instagram and Messenger users to communicate…

It’s been a whopping ten years since Instagram launched and changed the face of social media. Feel old yet? WE DO! So, first things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Instagram! From the selfie revolution to the rise of the influencer, IG has helped shaped the digital revolution and has…

Entrepreneurs rightly state that employees are our biggest and most valuable resource. Yet many businesses are not unlocking the potent potential presented by social media. As business leaders start to scale the upper echelons of industry, they understand the importance of having an inside-out voice. Thought leadership or opinion…

Facebook recently had a showcase event in which they provided an overview of their latest advances in VR and AR which include; Project Aria Facebook’s take on “smart glasses” – which, by the way, will be a pair of Ray Ban’s – is…

If anyone tells you otherwise, I would strongly question their credentials and motive. For years we’ve seen flash in the pan speakers pedal false philosophies portraying a vision of quickfire success by adopting a simple tactic. At times that involved people positioning social media as the great hope –…

Our purpose at IF is to break the social boring – what does that take? Bravery. Courage. AND preparation. The campaigns you see out in social which tackle taboos or hit a topic head-on – and then succeed – they’ve taken time to prepare, to look at what…

Successful social media campaigns are achieved not by a single “viral” tweet, but by experience, understanding and preparation – there are SO many hurdles that social media marketers have to leap, and often because social is seen as “easy”. We’ve got news for you, it’s not!…

The B2B landscape is an interesting one. There’s a common misconception that B2B organisations are low on usable content, but it’s simply not true. The landscape is actually flush with more information and eye-catching, challenging content than perhaps a lot of businesses realise. What do I have right now? Think…

‘The audience you want, versus the audience you have.’ It sounds like a jargon fuelled line you’d hear in a Harry Enfield comedic skit featuring the character of a cheesy marketing exec spewing lingo to make themselves look good. However, the ‘loadsamoney-esque’ dialogue is an important strategic facet…

There’s no doubt that 2020 so far has been a little tiring for marketers. With limited resource and time during the workday, let alone the demands of working from home, some social media marketers might be looking for a little help with content planning. It’s not just about finding a…

Ah, content planning – the bane of many digital marketers! As CJ rightly pointed out in his last blog and podcast (check it out), you might *think* you don’t have enough content to run on social media. And if you think that, you might fall…

72% of B2B marketers use social media advertising or promoted posts, so it’s no secret that paid social media is vital to generating sales and delivering ROI. But with the influx of users and increase in social advertising, how do marketers set themselves apart to ensure…

More ads on YouTube, pinned comments on Instagram – the social media landscape is ever changing, but we are here to keep you up to speed. Join us for another social snapshot: YouTube is adding more ads YouTube videos are usually at least 10 minutes long. That’s…

Tik Tok for business has just recently launched, providing a plethora of tools to help brands and marketers utilise the short-form video app for their ad campaigns. “TikTok For Business is where you can unleash your brand’s creative side.

In recent weeks there has been a reoccurring question framed at us, “if social is noisy what’s the point in publishing content? Covid-19 has sent it crazy, hasn’t it?”. It’s an obvious answer, but, ‘you need to be at the races – you need to be in It,…

Both TikTok and Pinterest have experienced huge gains during the last few months. Engagement on Pinterest is up 75%, and TikTok users grew by 34% in April. If you’re not sure how to get started with either platform, here are a few ideas. Pointers for Pinterest With 367…

As always, there’s a lot going on in the world of social media. The top players have been busy introducing updates – from e-commerce roll outs to Bitmojis (yes, MORE Bitmoji). So, buckle up, grab your notebook and get your social media on. Pinterest adds ‘shop’ tab…

Brand as Broadcasters is the concept all business running brand events need to truly deliver greater cost efficiency and standout innovation Running brand events comes at great cost. Marketers have to evidence cost efficiencies that yield tangible returns for the business. Formats have to keep being refreshed to…

When it comes to conversion, the goal you might be setting doesn’t have to be a purchase – you might wish to measure conversion on increasing followers, engagement on your posts or sign-ups to an email list. Whichever conversion you’re measuring, we’ve got some top tips on what…

Don’t let the title fool you, we’re not suggesting that you simply reintroduce old content into your social feeds. In fact, we feel so strongly against this that we went as far as dedicating an entire Serious Social podcast episode to NOT repurposing content. There is, however,…

Life has changed. Work meetings are now interrupted by children (our own Managing Director recently had to pause everything because his son was just so darned proud he’d beat a level in a Lego game, which, to be fair, is very impressive). The Emmys will now be televised,…

As the online population grows, so does the pool of consumers – some with time, and money on their hands. In recent weeks, e-commerce businesses in sectors like crafting, beauty and home accessories – as well as gifting – have started to boom. If you’re starting out in…

Though lockdown is in full swing, we haven’t all gone mute as a result. In the B2B tech sector, conversations around AI, cybersecurity, cloud, etc. are all staying strong – but have the discussion points changed, and what can you do to adjust your messaging so you remain…

It’s a question that really puzzles me. Along with ‘why do some businesses try to mimic the market leader?’ or, ‘why do B2B companies continue to use awful stock photography of people pretending to be businesspeople?’ or, ‘why do travel companies persist with blue filters?’. At the risk…

While the streets are quiet and the shops are shut, the bars and cinemas are closed – and so are the theatres. But in the theatre, when they are “dark” (there’s no live production), there’s a tradition to leave a “ghost light” centre stage. Partly for the safety…

Very few of society have faced anything like what we all front up to today. Fluid developments continue to alarm and challenge us. Businesses have been placed in a period of uncertainty whilst they seek support from the government. For now, all we can all do is follow the…

If you, like us, find yourself suddenly working from home, figuring out new technology and ways of staying connected and bonded to your team on one hand, as well as navigating the current landscape in marketing on the other, we’re here for you. Rapid change and uncertainly can…

Twitter is growing – are you missing out? Their Q4 performance report states that they have added 21% more monetizable daily active users to the platform – this takes them to 152million. What does monetizable mean? It’s a user count of how many accounts Twitter can…

IGTV may not have grown as quickly as anticipated, but with additional features on the horizon and monetisation in testing, it could very well be IGTV’s time to shine! Top creators are currently making their megabucks on Youtube and Facebook, swerving IGTV for the simple fact that monetisation isn’t an…

The UK events industry is worth £42.3 billion – and it’s still growing. Gone are the days of cold calls, handshakes and flyers. Today’s event marketers are reaching you when you’re walking, talking, surfing or just casually browsing your favourite job listings site. When you really think…

In October 2019, Instagram launched a new @Creator account to provide tips and advice for Influencers, citing it as “THE place to learn more about what it takes to be a creator from the team at Instagram + the creators who inspire us every day”. Since its launch, the…

When it comes to running a business there are fundamental practices that most follow to ensure a happy workforce, satisfied customers and general success. If bad practices exist, and you don’t treat your customer base correctly, failure is likely to follow. So, how does this relate to social media? Well,…

At IF we love all things social. So, we’re always interested in staying up to date with the latest happenings and bringing them to you in our weekly Social Snapshot! Read on to find out what’s been happening in the past week……

Would you create a White Paper giving it only cursory effort? Would you slap any old image and message on a Billboard? Would you grab any piece of copy and image and throw up on your website? If shooting a TV Ad, would you corral the troops into an…

After 5 years of back and forth boomerangs, Instagram has decided to take things to the next level, adding not one, not two but three new features for the ever-popular platform! According to Instagram itself, they are ‘creative twists that’ll make you say yaaassssss’. And will also help you to…

More controls for conversation on Twitter – is this a positive change to reduce trolling or the beginning of closed communities on the platform? One of the latest announcements from Twitter was made during an appearance by Suzanne Xie, Twitter’s director of product management, at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las…

We may be easing back into the world of work after a joyful Christmas break and new year celebrations, but the world of social media has welcomed the new year with open arms; announcing new policies, tests and features almost immediately. To help you stay up to date with the…

Why Media Buyers and networked Creatives agencies are doing Social Media wrong If you were to jump into a DeLorean equipped with Flux Capacitor and punch in a date of…

It’s hard to remember life before social media platforms popped on the scene and revolutionized how we communicate with others and how we express ourselves. Social media was once a place where friend networks were in the thousands. And let’s be honest, it’s not like many people would…

That’s right, it’s that time of year when we all prophesied about what the future year will hold. We usually look back and back-slap the 2019 forecasts that bore a molecule of resonance and success. Some will make simple to prove assertions like ‘live video demand will increase’. Yup, sure,…

If you’re a small business looking to grow and haven’t considered the potential benefits of using social media, you may want to keep reading. We’ve put a concise list together touching upon just some of the many reasons social media is an effective tool in helping grow your business. Increase…

Let’s be honest, we sometimes overcomplicate marketing activities. Planners can be accused of planning a plan to create a plan. Creatives are claimed to create complex artwork for the sake or showcasing their talent. Strategists are believed to strategise the best approach for strategic construction of a tweet in line…

Whether it’s a new platform update, testing a feature or ways to improve social strategy, we’re always fascinated to find out what’s been happening in the world of social media and learn new things. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best articles from the past week we just have to…

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a critical tool for any business as it can ensure you stand out in a very crowded online environment. But did you know that social media also has a part to play in your SEO plans? How? By tying into what Google looks for –…

Marketing teams are busy. Task lists swell daily. I’m not sure any marketer manages to achieve everything they set out to annually. Evolving sales collateral, event planning, commissioning reports, briefing the spring, summer and Christmas Ads, launching NPD, or improving demand generation. There is much to achieve as a team.

At IF we love all things social. So, we’re always interested in staying up to date with the latest happenings and bringing them to you in our weekly social snapshot! Read on for a roundup of the best articles we just have to shout about… Twitter’s testing tweet…

Included in Facebook’s latest Graph and Marketing API update, the social media platform has announced that in 2020 they will limit the number of ads a page can run at one time. Your initial reaction might be that this update could limit capabilities for your business. However, according to…

We recently saw the amazing Kipchoge run the marathon in under two hours. Kipchoge and his team achieved this after their dedication and focus over many, many months. So, you are asking yourself, what has this got to do with social? Here’s why! The big ‘C’ – commitment Like a…

The age-old question… when is the best time to be posting on social media? It’s a tough one to answer. Especially if you don’t have the time to test with scheduling times, or spend time looking into the all-important data. You may have landed with huge engagement figures on Wednesday…

Huh, I hear many of you say. But, it’s true. Having spent months creating a meaningful report or white paper flush with extensive insight and valuable intellectual property, it’s a given that you’re going to place it behind a gate to gather critical data on potential customers. After…

If you’re a B2B marketer, there’s no doubt that you’ve had to sit through countless meetings, presentations and lesson modules that follow the same three-pronged strategy: 1. What’s the buyers’ problem, 2. How does my technology fix it? and 3. How can I prove that my product is the right…

The future of Instagram looks fun, funky and a whole lot more filtered! That’s because they’ve recently opened up the Spark AR filter creation platform for all users, allowing anyone to create augmented reality filters and publish them on Instagram stories! This will open a whole host of new options…

Neuroscience or more aptly neuromarketing is regularly written off as a ‘fad’ by marketers, all the while they respect the uprising of machine AI and big data. If only they realised neuromarketing is an amalgamation of AI, big data and behavioural science, all rolled up into this neat little package…

It’s astonishing the number of people who proclaim this without having even tried using the platform for B2B. “Facebook is more of a consumer channel. We use Twitter and LinkedIn.” Yet, when pressed, the spokesperson rarely has any supporting evidence or experience as to why they’ve landed at this conclusion.

Summer is traditionally the time many of us slow down – heck, we all slowed down in the very recent heatwave – as many of us go on our holidays or enjoy time at home. And while many things go quiet over the summer, does social media? Well no, there…

We love a good B2B brainstorm – it’s one of our (many) nerdy fascinations. So, when given the opportunity to attend the B2B Marketing Ignite 2019 conference, we simply couldn’t resist. Not to mention, our dear friends and clients at Fujitsu would be speaking on account-based marketing,…

This phrase is relatively new, but the social savvy will recognise it instantly as the hybrid of neuroscience and marketing. Whilst mixing psychology and sales isn’t something new (charm pricing, duh), for the first time social is recognising the power neurology has on marketing – explaining why books like Choice…

With all the rumours that surround privacy on social media platforms and the common suspicions we have about being spied on through our popular handheld devices, Facebook is clearly trying to take a step in the direction of transparency. We all get spooked after having a conversation in our non-screen…

It’s a question we’re frequently asked, and one that doesn’t seem to go away. It’s clear there is still much confusion around the metrics you should pay attention to, versus those that are nothing more than a positive signal. Too many people in industry mistake the latter for stellar achievement.

All businesses are after results – but how do we make sure our social strategy lines up to deliver? While it might seem obvious, strong social needs a strong foundation. Here are the 3 tenets meaningful social content can’t live without: Know your audience Whether you’re in the B2C or…

The very strong chance exists that you enjoy a BBQ! After all BBQ & at-home eating & entertaining is now the UK’s No1 summer home leisure activity, with three out of four households now owning some type of BBQ grill. So you probably aren’t missing out in hosting, attending and…

Music and audio experiences are huge parts of consumers’ lives. Just consider the spectacular rise of podcasts. 6 million adults now tune in to a podcast each week. Ofcom reported that the number of weekly podcast listeners almost doubled in the past five years — from 3.2m…

Another week has passed, which means one thing… time for another Social Snapshot! This week we’re bringing you a variety of content; channel reports, platform updates and ways to help you improve your social strategy. We’re always here to help! Facebook’s working on a new ‘preview’ option for page posts.

It’s always interesting to find out what’s happening in the world of social media, but we understand that sometimes it’s hard to keep up. That’s why we’ve rounded up a range of articles that we just want to shout about! Keep on reading to find out what’s been happening… Fortnite…

Do you know enough about tracking users engaging with your social media activity? Without a tracking pixel implemented on a website, you cannot retarget users who land on your site, create website user lookalike audiences or exclude users who have already visited/converted within a campaign – it means that your…

Seasonality is a very important factor in the marketing world. Our behaviours online certainly change over the seasons. Only a couple of months from now hits the summer slowdown. Consumers are spending less and employees are holidaying more, and a lot of businesses fall into sloth-mode. But, you can also…

Fanfare, please! LinkedIn has finally introduced interest targeting options to their paid campaign manager – three cheers! So all those hashtags you’ve been faithfully adding to organic content and wondering “what exactly is this doing for me?”… wonder no longer, they are indicators for users’…

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Coming from us? We must be bonkers. But, hear us out! To do good, meaningful and impactful social media, you need to be serious about it. Here are 8 reasons why you might want to reconsider your use of social media. If…

When planning messages and creative for campaigns which require an action to be taken, we’ve always got the customer journey in mind. The simplest approach is to ensure you are present to inspire and delight when research takes place, when the action is taken and then following the action to…

Right now as we head into the dead of winter, our summer holiday is just a distant memory. But it’s now, as we turn the heating up at home, that we dream of going away. Our latest research makes it clear that social is a travel essential.

It’s been a good year for social media. Marketers are steadily shifting more of their budgets into social media marketing. In the second quarter of 2018, global advertising spend on Instagram was up 177% year-on-year and, subsequently, influencer marketing continues to grow. But, because social media influencers are…