Digital Marketing Immediate Future

Digital Marketing

Did you know that it was ‘National Voter Registration Day’ yesterday? In conjunction with the Electoral Commission, Facebook issued a series of little reminders to kick-start the countdown to the 2015 UK General Election. Some UK voters will have already seen the “Vote Now” or…

Research and software released this week suggests that computers can predict our personality traits with a higher accuracy rate than our friends, family or spouse. Should we be scared or excited by the prospect of computers using the data we share online to make informed…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year The team would like to thank you all for your continual goodwill and loyalty throughout the past year. It’s been a fantastic 2014 and your support has been amazing. Expect to see a lot more of Immediate Future in 2015 as we…

With the news over the last few weeks that Instagram now has more active users and at $350m is worth more than Twitter, audiences clearly have a huge appetite for rich content. Short-form video is something that brands are already doing really…

As we near the end of yet another jam-packed year we take a look at a selection of content and in social media predictions as forecasted by leading industry experts. Here are some our favourite predictions from the clever folk over at Strategy Digital: Content will…

You’re scrolling through your newsfeed when a friend shares some unfortunate news, and naturally you want to express your sympathy. Do you click “Like”? It just doesn’t seem appropriate! So how about “Dislike”? It’s a question Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has recently been mulling over. The suggested addition…

New research conducted by Group M has forecasted that in 2015, the UK will be the first country where over 50% of total advertising spend will be allocated to digital and online media. Why? Because we are a nation obsessed with social media, online shopping…

From success to scandal, Uber are never far from the headlines. Having announced today the latest $1.2 billion dollar cash injection they have received, you can’t help but ask…How have they created a $40 billion company in 5 years? From stereotypical Silicon Valley beginnings, Uber…

This week, Twitter came out in force to remember the tragic death of Australian cricketer Phil Hughes, with a range of poignant hashtags. The first of the Phil Hughes hashtags was #63notout – a reference to the score he was on when he was hit on the neck…

New research undertaken by RadiumOne has revealed that of all online sharing activity in the UK, only 26% is visible and traceable by marketers. A staggering 74% of all online sharing takes place in Dark Social, the term for one line content sharing…

Brands use Facebook and Twitter in a variety of ways, most of them very successfully. But as effective as they are, existing channels don’t necessarily result in more sales, page views or direct engagement with the customer. Spot.IM, a free, one-size-fits-all social network, aims to…

Nestle relaunched the Rolo online brand earlier in October with the classic strapline ‘Do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?’ via a series of five videos, and the immediate reaction has been largely positive. They’ve racked up over 180,000 views on YouTube in just…

It sounds bizarre, but it’s predicted that by 2017 the CMO will spend more on technology than the technology officer will. (Gartner.) Following on our post on the coming age of Social Intelligence, data-driven marketing is…

Nearly one in two people in the UK will get cancer. But, as we learned from Amanda Neylon, Macmillan Cancer Support’s Head of Digital at the Social Speakeasy, 38% will not die from the disease. Macmillan exist to improve the lives of everyone living with cancer. Engaging and inspiring others…

Focussing on the elements that influence and shape user preferences online, The Social Consumer Study explores how connected consumers are in today’s ‘always on’ environment. What is clear is that buyers are far more likely to invest time, money and trust in an emotional brand – something…

Despite the ubiquitous nature of social media and its increasing impact in digital marketing, the majority of marketers fail to maximise the channel’s full potential. We are seeing it time and time again. What many seem to have forgotten is that social is sold on relationships. In an…

Last week Katy Howell and Tom Ball shared their insight and experiences in b2b lead generation through social. Get up to date on key takeaways from their live discussion here, and discover the difference that creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content can make to attract your target audience…

DCC Ian Hopkins of Greater Manchester Police As a new report is published uncovering Police social media behaviour over the last 5 years we discover hundreds of cases of alleged Police misuse or misconduct of ‘social media’. Several cases of officers blurring the boundaries between…

Mannequins turn hi-tech, revolutionising the window shopping experience, as a select number of retail outlets such as Hawes & Curtis’ in London, House of Fraser’s Aberdeen store and even our very own Bentalls in Kingston will be taking the lead in trialling the innovation. So what is it exactly?…

Image courtesy of Cardspring.com Twitter has recently unwittingly dropped hints they may be shifting closer to becoming an Ecommerce channel with the discovery of a ‘payments and shipping’ option in the settings window of their android app. The discovery followed a tweet by a developer in South Africa, the…

Last month we were joined by Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, perhaps better recognised by their brands Taylors Coffee and Yorkshire Tea. Brand Communications Manager Dom Dwight, AKA Coffee Enthusiast, delivered a presentation on creating inspirational social content. The outcome? We all left feeling rather inspired! Funny and endearing, Dom…

2.7 million views. 100 hours a video. 1,388 channel subscriptions. A lot can happen in a minute. We are of course talking about YouTube, the video sharing behemoth that is the third biggest website in a world and not only has millions of views every 60 seconds: it’s also raking…

Lithium customer service management tool, used by services such as Spotify and Post Office and Skype, plans to incorporate its, recently acquired, online influence scoring app; Klout into it’s monitoring system.

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Recruiters have taken social media by the horns and well and truly learnt its power to connect them with candidates in a totally new and exciting way. Although it is bringing much success for some, it’s not for all. 2014 will be the year that, finally, recruiters globally…

As usual predictions for 2014 abound. Rather than add to the melee with only our voice, we asked some of the most influential movers and shakers in digital to tell us what they thought would be big this year. Interestingly, even though we asked for opinions individually, the feedback revealed…

If you find a little time in-between now and the New Year, it’s a good opportunity to do a little social media housekeeping. Here are immediate future’s top 14 recommendations (seriously, we are doing our tidy up too!) that will improve your social footprint…

Having a firm grasp of Facebook advertising mechanics is a must when it comes to social media marketing. Any creative campaign can be turbocharged by way of Facebook ads, assuming they are managed effectively and optimised in real-time. But Facebook doesn’t always make it easy for marketeers to get started,…

A few days ago, I read an interesting article in Social Media Today, which got me thinking about word-of-mouth marketing via social media. Social has had an enormous impact in transforming the way we talk about and endorse products/services to friends and family. But social…

As we approach the end of 2013, there have been endless articles on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc… listing the greatest social media meltdowns of 2013. Although they provide some valuable lessons on techniques to avoid in your social strategy, they also scaremonger a little. And the downside…

Who hasn’t been trying to monitor their online performance and hit a road block because you can’t access the proper tools? Maybe you’re up to your eyeballs in meaningless figures and graphs? All you need is a little context, some simple analysis, a general overview – but you don’t want…

Social media is a proven way of raising awareness around products and services, providing customer service, and generating leads, but it is becoming increasingly essential for recruiting the best talent for your business. Instead of just finding those candidates that are actively looking for jobs, social media allows companies to…

You may have seen The Social Media Policy Workbook already. But if you haven’t, it’s a resource chock-full of checklists, tips and real life examples to help you create a robust social media policy that can stand up to scrutiny. Now we’ve gone one step further…

I have recently started with immediate future as Head of Talent, recruiting the best talent in social media and keeping the great staff we have already happy in their workplace! On that note, if you work in social media marketing – at any level, or want to – we…

Videos are now becoming much more of a focus for brands within their digital strategy. And with good reason too! A study in 2012 found that social engagement in videos increased by 28% to 70% compared to 2011! It also showed that social media users are twice…

Social media is constantly evolving. Every day there are reports of a brand new feature update or a new tool to try out, but how do you stay on top of all of the developments? Other than following @iftweeter and reading our…

The ‘Social Relationship’ tool within GA is not a particularly new tool, however, are brands using it enough? Brands are very familiar with using the traffic referral reports and setting up goals to identify where direct conversions are coming from, but the ‘relationship’ between social interaction and conversions drives a…

Google has developed yet another mind-blowing research tool. Despite the rather unimaginative name, “The Customer Journey to Online Purchase”, it nevertheless provides extremely valuable data to boost the imagination of online marketers, providing even further evidence to treat social media as an integral part of any serious marketing strategy. So…

Have you ever wondered how to merge the physical and digital worlds together? Mega-brewer Budweiser has figured it out and is doing just that. Budweiser Brazil is testing a new and innovative beer glass referred to as the “Buddy Cup”, which is integrated with Facebook via a microchip embedded…

Have you noticed how blue the colour scheme on most social media platforms is? Apparently it is a very trustworthy colour, subconsciously symbolising intelligence, wisdom and stability. Users can also be quite colourful, not only the content that they are sharing but the shades that their complexion goes through when…

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” Kennedy’s inauguration speech was as relevant to the American people in 1961 as it is to the content marketer in 2013. Why? Substitute the word ‘country’ with ‘audience’…

Slideshare is a great and often overlooked platform. Claiming 60 million monthly visitors, it allows users to upload visual presentations and easily share them. Over time Slideshare has evolved into a thriving social media site in itself. Users are keen to ‘like’, download and share presentations and, similarly to YouTube,…

Are you one of the 200 million people around the world who maintain a LinkedIn profile with at least 50 connections? If you are, you’re probably among the “elite” who received a message of congratulations this week! The congratulatory messages vary slightly in terms of content from person to person…

Socialbakers recently released its Q4 results for the best and worst performing brands on social media, defined by a brand’s level of attentiveness to its community. I was immediately struck by giffgaff’s position at number four in the worst offenders list. This is a…

It seems the social landscape is shifting yet again for B2B companies… 20% of top level executives are spending more time reading Tweets than online news publications. It represents a slow shift which IBM says in the next 5 years will see social media become a primary interaction tool with…

It’s Valentine’s Day? Oh yes, of course! It’s also Day Two of Social Media Week and the line up for the rest of the week is looking fantastic. SMW takes place all over the globe, but there is a host of great events taking place in London…

The new UK Twitter brand pages have finally hit our shores for those companies that can afford it. Let’s put this out there, brands on Twitter still don’t have the flexibility the Facebook API allows. Twitter will keep a tight rein on what users can and can’t…

Few events in the sporting calendar command as much media coverage or social chatter as the US Super Bowl. Last year, French data intelligence company, Semiocast, reported that the American football championship was the focus of 4.5 million tweets, driving a 25% increase in global tweets during…

Still relatively unheard of amongst the masses, RFID or radio frequency identification technology has recently made the headlines as it is potentially going to be adopted for use at summer festivals in the UK. Glastonbury organiser, Michael Eavis has confirmed that he is looking into using the technology – read more…

If you’re in the industry, you’d be lying if you didn’t shudder when a choice nugget of social media consultancy newspeak pops out of your mouth, or a colleague’s. It’s like an involuntary spasm, and you feel like you need a shower after it’s come out. Is…

We’ve taken the three most engaged Facebook pages and for the past week we’ve been watching to see just how much emotion plays a part in their community management. In Part I of this series we laid out our measurement criteria; in Part II we put it to the…

Social media marketing is not new. We’re all familiar with the basics and brands are actively engaging with their consumers on a daily basis. So, why are people still doing it incorrectly? Here, we share what to do and, more importantly, what not to do when it comes to the…

In the last post we looked at figures from the twentieth century and the lessons that could be learned from their experiences when implementing brand social media training. In this post we’ll investigate some historical recommendations crowdsourced on Twitter over the…

Those looking to ensure staff are equipped to represent their brand across social media platforms could do worse than learn from some of history’s most famous and infamous historical figures. So what can your social media training learn from the past? “To be ignorant of what occurred before you…

This is a two-part series exploring online influencers and their role in social media marketing. Part I looks at the reasons why a brand should focus on wooing influencers over journalists; Part II defines ways of identifying and measuring their influence. Traditional PR vs social media marketing Traditional…

When Santa Claus comes to town, the rules are simple. You watch out, you don’t cry and you don’t pout. I put to you that in 2009 the social media marketeers ignored every single one of these rules, pedalling Christmas campaigns that involved risks, made people cry and yes,…

The extension of the ASA’s CAP code to cover digital marketing communications – both on brand’s own websites, but also through social media, has been driven by a need to close the gap related to companies’ claims online, in particular to regulate marketing to children. There is…

With a new football season underway and an eagerly anticipated Premier League campaign due to start this weekend, I’ve been considering my consumption of the global game recently and how it’s changed. Not just for individuals, but for brands as well. Everyone knows football is big business…

We are in the midst of the 2010 Tour de France and the race has come down to just two riders. Andy Schleck is just eight seconds behind “Berty the Accountant” (Alberto Contador)…

Taking a look at the evolution of social media as a communications tool over the past year, it is clear that one thing in particular has changed, businesses now take it seriously and include in their communications strategy. Brands now automatically lose their shine with customers if they do not…

Facebook is a huge success, we all know that. But are major brands being blinded by the sheer volume of people using the channel? First it was Levis who started using Facebook’s latest “like” functionality to allow people to…

This ash cloud has been quite a strain, my wife and baby are still stuck in Dubai five days after they were due to fly home. The good thing is that they are staying with friends and have a great support network. What it has shown me is how great…

The latest volcanic eruption in Iceland has had a dramatic effect on many more millions of people than could have been imagined. As one person commented on Twitter this morning, interesting to see the hand of God can still command such control over us mere humans – or something like…

You might have heard a lot of chatter about real-time search recently, with Facebook buying Friendfeed (a microblogging service with some strong real-time search technology) and Google unveiling Caffeine, a more real-time focused version of its own search technology. Although real-time search is currently…

You might be aware that Twitter recently updated its terms and conditions, so we thought it was worth highlighting what these changes might mean for brands that use the micro-blogging site. Advertising Although no specific announcement has been made regarding advertising, the new terms make it clear…

On the surface, URL shortening services such as https://bit.ly are a great idea, because they can turn long, messy web addresses like this: https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article6788774.ece Into nice tidy addresses like this: https://bit.ly/g4ol9 This is especially useful for posting to Twitter, since it…

Following the release of our Truth about Twitter report recently, we were contacted by Guy Stephens, the Online Help Manager of mobile phone retailer, The Carphone Warehouse, who wanted to highlight some of his company’s experience of using Twitter to support its customer service operation. Since we’re not planning to…

According to the latest predictions from research firm, Forrester, social media marketing spend in the US will rise from $716 million in 2009 to £3,113 million in 2014. The accuracy of these figures may be up for debate – all the research in the world isn’t going…

There’s been a huge amount of discussion about how Twitter can be used most effectively for online PR and marketing, and there’s no shortage of interest in the subject since the mainstream media became obsessed with the platform. The only problem is that most of the current analysis is either…

One of the most interesting changes taking place as the PR industry evolves into an online discipline is the increased emphasis on measurement. In the old days of offline PR, little attention was paid to systematically analysing the relative success of campaigns, because measuring PR is hard to do. Measures…

Just before Christmas, we experimented with some new brainstorming techniques across a number of clients. It got me thinking how there is a lot more to a creative brainstorm when you are planning for social media ideas. Offline, a PR brainstorms rely upon understanding a client: its business or products, its audience, and its requirements. In addition, a good knowledge of what is newsworthy, the media and what is currently capturing the headlines is essential. Of course, this knowledge is necessary for online PR brainstorms too, but you have to add to the mix with a more detailed understanding of social media.

Brilliantly executed viral by Lean Mean Fighting Machine. LEAN MEAN FIGHTING MACHINE “Dem Phones” [tag]viral marketing, video[/tag] © Lean Mean Fighting Machine, “Dem Phones”, Video …

Sadly I missed being on Ian's NMK panel for 'Clients in the Wild' as I just had over 200 staples taken out after an op. But it seems the discussion and subsequent blog by Will McInnes has created a stir - causing several blogging PRs some deeper introspection. Antony Mayfield summarises the issues up rather eloquently. Like Antony , I too am an optimist. I also lived through the similar, if not so public, growing pains of the digital ad agency industry. Back in the 90s these start-ups and specialists departments were dismissed by the powerful TV ad world. And we all know how that has changed now. We now have a very different marketing landscape with digital taking the lead and the more handsome budgets.

Daryl Wilcox has launched video on his site DWpub.com in series called ‘Experts in Communication’ . The whole thing kicks off with a two part video interview with Antony Mayfield explaining why he took his…

Our latest research looking at brand conversation in social media shows that techie companies, [tag]Google[/tag], [tag]Apple[/tag], [tag]Yahoo! [/tag]and [tag]Microsoft[/tag], take the lead in terms of brand mentions in blogs, social networks and photo and video sharing sites.The study, launched at the Online Marketing Show examines the [tag]Interbrand Top 100 global…

Positive and negative comments in groups on social network sites, such as [tag]Facebook[/tag], [tag]Flickr [/tag]and [tag]MySpace[/tag] reveal [tag]Disney[/tag], [tag]Nintendo[/tag] and [tag]Google[/tag] are the most popular brands. This comes from our latest research, [tag]Brands in Social Media[/tag]. [tag]Social networking[/tag] groups are proving very popular in the UK. They are a very…

We are launching research exclusively at the Online Marketing show this week. The study looks at the Interbrand top 100 global brands, to reveal which brands have the largest share of voice and the most positive conversations. The report measures brand mentions across…

Launching with four new categories, AOP publishing awards opens its doors for this year’s entrants. The new categories acknowledge that social media, is making a significant impact on the media business model. They include, use of video, best podcast,…