X Immediate Future

5 steps to extracting content from your business

One challenge for me day-to-day is helping clients extract the best content possible for their digital activity. When we think about B2B content, we think whitepapers, videos, case studies etc. However, more often than not, the most valuable content is not stored in the form of a document or a…

Becoming The UK’s Most Social Beverage Brand – Pepsi Max at Social Speakeasy

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With Pepsi Max’s new “Genius” campaign officially kicking off this week, the timing of Aman Matharu, Digital Marketing Manager at PepsiCo’s, address at our most recent Social Speakeasy couldn’t have been better. Aman addressed an eager crowd of Social Speakeasy attendees on a balmy spring evening to share the secrets…

The swinging sixties has all the answers to digital innovation

Most people, when they think of the 1960s, will probably recall the ‘swinging sixties’ or the relaxation of social taboos (clothing, music, drugs, sexuality, formalities and schooling). You may even bring to mind the conflict that raged in Vietnam, the Kennedy assassination or the Apollo 11 mission placing Neil Armstrong…

5 ways to take your advertising on LinkedIn to the next level

We use the LinkedIn paid platform for clients on a daily basis. Despite its rather dated layout and reasonably thin set of features (when compared with the big boys like Google and Facebook), there is no doubt, for me, that LinkedIn still very much has the edge…

Facebook’s WhatsApp exceeds expectations by hitting 700M active users

The world’s most popular mobile messaging service, WhatsApp which launched back in 2009 and has now reached over 700 million active monthly users across the globe. WhatsApp’s co-founder Jan Koum made the announcement on his Facebook page. The company was acquired by Facebook for $19…

Instagram Ads expanding to the UK

Fashion brands are almost always amongst the best in class when it comes to maximising the power of rich and visual content across their digital channels, particularly pioneering activity on visual social networks such as Vine, Pinterest and Instagram. With highly creative, engaging imagery and video content at their fingertips…

Facebook Diversity report reveals…well…exactly what we all expected!

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…

How campaigns are using Thunderclap to maximise reach and activate supporters

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…

Fix what matters to customers: Royal Mail’s Martha Roberts discusses the importance of social customer service

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…

Are you maximising the effectiveness of LinkedIn Groups to generate leads?

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…

Maximise your social media measurement with Lucy Wren at the Social Speakeasy

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…

Social media battle of the sexes

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…

The flexible working myth

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…

3 social media essentials from the Thorpe Park experience

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…

Real-time marketing: Which brands excelled at Super Bowl XLVIII?

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…

Content marketing in 2014: How B2B brands can excel

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…

The best of #xmasjumperday – social media celebrates

Happy #xmasjumper day everyone. In the IF offices this week we have already seen some fairly horrific Christmas jumpers and no doubt it’s similar in offices all over the land… According to Topsy, recently acquired by Apple, there have…

What it takes to be truly excellent in social media

Social media is an exciting, yet demanding arena of work to be in. I suppose that’s what makes it good fun. The skills and capabilities required for social media excellence are sometimes chopped up and divvied out to specialists within large agencies. For others, agency and in-house folk alike, all…

Luxury fashion brands are benefiting from social media

© fanfreluche_designs “Chanel fdc postage stamps”. Photo. Attribution 2.0 Generic There has been a boom in the use of social media by the luxury fashion market over the past few years, with almost all well known brands from…

Examining the impact of the new LinkedIn Showcase Pages

With every company, there are always multiple areas to focus on and different products to promote. But how do you ensure that when promoting online on sites such as LinkedIn, your focus is evident and not just a jumbled-up mess of completely different areas? If this is a…

Russell Brand v Jeremy Paxman: The social media reception

Since the interview aired on BBC Newsnight less than a week ago, social media commentary about the Brand v Paxman debate has exploded. On the official BBC Newsnight YouTube upload of the interview, there has already been 7,562,772 views: that’s a whopping 1,260,462 views per…

Generations X, Y, Z and… C?

Marketers LOVE “big” words! You may find them throw words like demographics and segmentation around but without any real purpose. Understanding your customer demographic and being able to segment your audience is the foundation of marketing and is key to marketing success. So, in this case, these “big” words should…

3 Ways that B2B companies can maximise Instagram

As you may know, visual content is key for brands looking to find success on social media. The rise of visual content has coincided with the rise of popular platforms like Instagram, to take advantage of the power of photos. Over 150 million users, an estimated 5 million photos uploaded…

Netflix Supports their Community and is far from ‘Breaking Bad’ it is ‘Breaking Good!’

What is Netflix? Netflix is the world’s leading internet TV Network with more than 37 million members in 40 countries watching more than one billion hours of TV programmes and films per month. Since Netflix launched in the UK it has received a mixed response. It has challenged the…

LinkedIn expands its education arm – with the introduction of LinkedIn University Pages

Yesterday LinkedIn announced a feature just launched on the social network, ‘University Pages’ – essentially data hubs relating to universities and their alumni, from all over the world. So far, the new feature has been released to a seed number of universities including University of Oxford…

Exploring lesser-known social platforms – Part 2: Viadeo

Today is the second post in my 3 post attempt to look at lesser-known social networks. As you may remember, in my previous post I assessed the usefulness of Plaxo, a cloud-based contact book. Today we will explore Viadeo. What is Viadeo? Everyone is talking about LinkedIn these days,…

‘Fake fan-gate’: We examine Dispatches’ look at the murky side of social media

Fresh from unravelling truth within the NHS, examining the issues of South African police and children in the Taliban, the current series of the award-winning Channel 4 documentary Dispatches turned its attention towards social media last night. In the programme, entitled ‘Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans’, the…

Exploring lesser-known social platforms – Part 1: Plaxo

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog entry, Why Summer is a Good Time to Reassess Your Social Media Presence, encouraging us, amongst other things, to use this quieter summer time to explore new social platforms. Out of curiosity I took my own advice and, having gained some inspiration…

LinkedIn takes the next step in content marketing with new Sponsored Updates

Marketing for B2B companies on LinkedIn just got more interesting. At the end of this month, LinkedIn is introducing ‘Sponsored Updates’, which gives users the ability to promote updates on LinkedIn beyond their own followers or connections. In a similar style to ‘Promoted Posts’ on Facebook, LinkedIn…

Will you be the next data gamechanger?

I am delighted to publish a guest blog from one of the most brilliant data geeks I know, Jacqui Taylor Founder and CEO at FlyingBinary. For those that have yet to meet Jacqui, she is a super clever lady: a web scientist in fact. After implementing a…

Are Enough Brands Exploring the ‘Social Relationship’ with Google Analytics?

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…

Get the user experience right and the leads will follow. Right?

Last week Twitter announced a brand new addition to its suite of Twitter Cards – one designed solely to help brands capture leads and drive purchase. The Lead Generation Card will now enable brands to push incentives and offers directly to consumers, who by expanding the tweet will see their…

Gazing into the crystal ball of B2B in social: Google+ looks to be the next big event

Social media is a fast-moving, ever-evolving beast – for all marketers it’s a constant challenge to stay one step ahead of the game. We can’t be 100% sure of the future of social, but we can certainly have a jolly good inkling… The results of B2B Marketing’s Social Media Benchmarking…

30 examples of UK social media policies and guidance

I was quite surprised by our recent social media and the law report that showed 19% of companies didn’t have a social media policy. I did think that wasn’t too bad. But last week, we conducted a Mock…

Bricks to Clicks: what to expect in 2013

The recent demise of even more well known High Street retailers such as HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster should serve as a strong reminder that the world has changed! 80% of shoppers were reported to have researched online before making a purchase this past Christmas and the average shopper…

Choosing and using the right tool from the social media toolbox

As the space of social media continues to grow, so does the general confusion regarding the best ways to proceed with appropriate content marketing strategy. Where do you start? PCMag have published an infographic that provides a useful overview of popular social media platforms. The figures are thought-provoking and help…

Make good user experience your resolution of 2013

With a brand new year stretching ahead of us now is the time to take all those bad digital habits of 2012 out in a big black sack along with the wilted tinsel and scrunched wrapping paper. And User Experience or UX is the perfect place to start. In 2012…

Three considerations before exploring social customer service

A few weeks ago Econsultancy reported that just 11% of retailers use social media channels to respond to customers; while 81% of businesses use the channels for marketing purposes. Pair this with the fact that 46% of consumers expect great customer service online, not to mention 78% of consumers…

RFID: blurring the lines between on and offline experiences

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…

Are cats the new Pizza Express? The value of social currency

Estate agents used to say, that if Pizza Express opens in a new area, it’s a sure sign property prices in said area are about to rise; and smart property investors should pay attention. So I put it to you, if a meme spreads across YouTube, it’s a sure sign…

The Social Shopping Explosion. By Gender.

In October, we unveiled the findings of our social shopping research. We’ve therefore had a few months to turn the data over and tease out any interesting trends … “If you’d like to reach more women, you might like to consider incentivisation; but if you’re looking for…

CAP Code Extension. Are you ready?

With the new CAP code coming into effect on the 1st March, the ASA has today launched a new media campaign in order to raise awareness of the code’s extension to cover content (including user generated) on websites and owned social media platforms. Whilst there are still…

All I want for Xmas is my two favourite blogs

It’s that time of year again: lists, retrospectives, best ofs, highs and lows. Take twelve months of experience and package it up into a pithy blog post or a commemorative special issue. I am, frankly, powerless to resist. My list of the top ten albums of 2010 has been under…

immediate Insights – Are customers the new product experts?

One of the most intriguing trends emerging from the social shopping explosion is the re-positioning of the consumer as product expert; the level of trust we now place on strangers. A recent post on ReadWriteWeb provided some further statistical evidence of this movement with specific reference…

The Social Shopping Explosion

Today we are launching our report on social shopping and its impact on consumer behaviour. Online retail has traditionally been characterised by price-driven sales and purchase-driven consumers. The focus, for retailers, has been on engaging the…

Wait, hold on – stop the SXSW interactive bandwagon! I want to get on

As I far as I was concerned, SXSW (South by Southwest, for those of you not familiar with the acronym) was a music event, a chance for A&Rs, managers and sundry other music industry…

Exclusive research into brands in social media

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…

Online PR clinic and social media toolboxes at OMS

We’re exhibiting at the [tag]Online Marketing Show[/tag] this week. The event will be good. We went last year and found ourselves constantly in the throng of online marketers – discussing Online PR till we were hoarse. Last year, visitors wanted to know what online…

Traditional Media will have to become social media relations experts

Emily Bell has run an article in today’s Media Guardian commenting on the Guardian’s new look homepage that grabbed my attention. Most interesting is a point referenced to Jeff Jarvis, highlighting the recent drop in importance for the homepage. Visitors to…

Episode 2 Thank FCK, Practical AI for Marketers.

Katy Howell 00:11 Hello, hello, hello. It’s me again. I’m Katy Howell, CEO at a media future and I’m you know, for anybody else in the UK who’s watching, Isn’t it lovely? Look at the sun on me. It’s glorious sunshine. We’ve forgotten what you are. So today I’m really excited. This is part of our series, which is we don’t have time for this, which…

AI will save you hours each week, as long as you stay in charge of what matters.

D2C has a channel problem

D2C has a channel problem Why platform roles and better creative are replacing the old channel plan Direct to consumer brands don’t need more social channels in the plan. What’s needed is a clearer ‘platform stack’ (sorry not being nerdy, but this is the best term I can think of!).

Snapchat: You’ve got to see it (B)2Believe it

Snapchat for B2B. No, we’re not joking – and no, we won’t apologise for the poor joke attempt in the title. The US platform says that it is the ‘new destination for B2B marketing’. A bold statement. But is it backed up by data? Well – sort of. But also…

AI promised time back. It lied

AI promised time back. It lied If you’ve switched AI on and somehow feel busier, you’re not imagining it. You’re now managing a tool, training it, checking it, and explaining it to everyone else. The day job still exists. That’s why we ran our “Thank fck, practical AI for marketers”…

Reset the marketing machine

Reset the marketing machine Why marketing feels heavier than it should, and what leaders can change to make the work move again Somewhere between the planning deck and the fourth approval round, a lot of marketing teams have picked up a load of extra weight. The work is still there,…

Why B2B marketers are getting influence wrong

Why B2B marketers are getting influence wrong If your influence plan is measured in impressions, you’re probably buying noise. ’Cos buyers are building shortlists without you, Forrester says 92% start with one. So you know how you start planning for lead generation with a list of buyer jobs to be…

Chill, You’re Still Creative: How To Keep The Ideas Flowing

Creativity doesn’t show up just because you stare at a blank screen and will it into existence. It usually appears when you’ve been feeding your brain good stuff and giving it a bit of room to wander. In a way, it’s like going to the gym, but for your ideas:…

1 to Watch: The Powerful Rise of Communities Over Followers.

The powerful rise of communities over followers is important for both B2B and B2C. For years, social media success was measured by one thing followers. More followers meant more clout. More clout meant more customers. Sounds easy. Not anymore. We’re seeing a powerful shift in the world of social media.

Arrest the organic B2B slump

It’s time for a reality check on what organic B2B social is delivering for you and your followers. Is it worth the time and effort you’re putting in? Chances are, it’s not. But there is a way to counter this… The reality check We recently did a presentation to one…

Chaos sells

Make it weird, make it work Chaos culture is the internet’s new default language for attention. It sort of is an all-encompassing terms for absurd humour, fast cuts, deliberate mess, meme logic, and a kind of playful nonsense that’s very online. It’s significant because it matches how people behave now,…

How Brands Win on Reddit

A Graphic Designer’s Guide to Creating High-Performing Content on Reddit Reddit is not Instagram, it is not LinkedIn, and it certainly is not a glossy, brand-polished platform. Reddit is community-first, conversation-driven, and unapologetically honest. For graphic designers producing promoted assets or organic content, success on Reddit does not come from…

Video vs Stills: It’s Not About Winning, It’s About Strategy

Scrolling through social media in 2026 feels a lot like flicking through a hundred TV channels at once. We’re deep in the age of social entertainment, where the difference between a streaming platform and your Instagram feed is barely noticeable. With algorithms pushing short-form video and people spending well over…

Thought leadership for commercial impact

A 2-hour masterclass for fintech and financial services marketers. Build B2B thought leadership that earns trust, performs commercially, and shows up in AI answers. Templates, prompts, measurement.

AI-assisted comms that keeps trust

A 2-hour masterclass for fintech and financial services teams. Use social listening and AI-assisted comms to spot friction early, protect trust, and reduce churn and renewal risk. Templates and metrics included.

AI social search for fintech and financial services

A 2-hour masterclass for B2B fintech and financial services marketers. Build content that gets found in social search and cited in AI answers. Includes the “hidden AI buyer”, templates, and metrics.

Episode 1 When Buying Groups Collide

This is the first episode of we don’t have time for this. It’s for marketers who are doing more with less, while buying decisions get messier and social, search, content, brand, comms, all of it, keeps getting judged like it’s a nice-to-have.Today’s pain is simple. You’re marketing to three generations…

Social Commerce: Questions, trust, checkout

Social commerce is growing up, it’s less about checkout, more about reducing regret Social commerce keeps getting framed as a platform feature. Shoppable posts, live shopping, one-click checkout, the lot. That framing misses the behavioural shift happening under our feet. People are using social to do the hardest bit of…

TikToks Streaming Ads. Smarter Launches 2026.

Let’s be honest social media is like a train that never stops. It changes direction without warning, speeds up when you’re not ready and occasionally throws in a plot twist just to keep you on your toes. This year will be no different. So yes, buckle up it’s going to…

LinkedIn wants YOU to post more (and pay more)

The era of UGC driving rumbles on – with LinkedIn now saying that content generated by individual profiles is proving more effective for B2B lead/sales generation than business pages. Yes, people buy from people so we can understand this logic. We’re more likely to engage with a personal post than…

100% proof social

You know what’s oddly cheering. Most brands have loads of proof that they’re worth buying. By proof I mean the specifics that make a claim believable when someone repeats it to a friend, or a colleague, or their partner on the sofa. Customer stories with detail. Before-and-after that feels properly…

The Job That Never Switches Off

If you work in social media, staying informed isn’t optional. It’s part of the job. Trends, platform changes, cultural moments, crises, memes, conversations, they all shape what we publish and how it’s received. Being aware of what’s happening in the world helps us create content that’s relevant, sensitive, and credible.

When buying groups collide

A B2B buying decision rarely happens with one person. It’s usually a buying group with different roles, risks, and opinions, and the deal moves when your champion can explain the choice internally. That’s why forwardability matters more than engagement.

Design & Disability

Design and disability are so often discussed in terms of basic “accommodation” and “access,” yet my visit to the V&A’s Design and Disability exhibition completely shifted that perspective. Rather than framing disability as an issue to be fixed, the exhibition presents it as a culture, a rich set of identities, and a radical design force shaping practice from the 1940s right up to today.

All hail the lurkers

Lurkers are your biggest audience and they’re deciding in silence. They watch in feeds, sanity-check you in comments, communities and reviews, then repeat whatever proof is easiest to quote internally. That’s why social feels harder, it’s no longer a click machine, it’s an answer surface. Ofcom shows AI summaries are now common in search results, and YouTube remains the UK’s biggest social utility by reach and time spent. If your story is inconsistent, your evidence is scattered, or your customer proof is buried, lurkers can’t do the job of trusting you for you.

How do I know if my B2B social is working?

Yep – it’s a 101 for finding out if your B2B social campaigns and content are delivering. Think you know it all? Think again. The sands of marketing are shifting…again. Aligning metrics and business objectives. Most B2B marketers can tell you the engagement rate. And they certainly know the level…

Threads just became pay-to-play

Meta has started rolling ads into Threads timelines globally from late January 2026. That’s the moment Threads stops being a side app and becomes a paid, recommendation-led public square. Threads has passed 400 million monthly active users, and Meta has put daily actives at around 150 million. The strategic implication for B2C and B2B is the same; distribution gets easier to buy, credibility gets harder to earn. Threads rewards coherence in public conversation, how you answer, how you sound, how specific you are. Treat it as a trust surface, because that’s where decisions get shaped now.

2026 design trends worth using (not just admiring)

Feeds are getting tired of “perfect”. A lot of the most interesting work going into 2026 is reacting against hyper-digital polish with visuals that feel more handled: scanned textures, mismatched elements, collecting layouts, and deliberate “imperfections” that make the human hand visible again. That matters for social, because audiences clock…

Book review: Marketing & Psychology

I don’t read a lot of marketing books cover to cover. Most get a flick-through, a speed read (or even a Blinkist), then quietly shelved. But Marketing & Psychology by Dr Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise, I read it properly. With a…

TikTok Trends 2026: The Shifts Brands Can’t Afford to Ignore.

TikTok has released its annual trend prediction report for marketers, designed to help brands understand where the platform – and its users – are heading next. If you’re trying to grow your presence or plan smarter content for the year ahead, it’s well worth…

How 2016 broke social

2016 is when social stopped being “posts in a feed” and became a ranked system that decides what gets seen, shared, trusted. In 2026 that same logic sits everywhere, in-platform search, Google snippets, and AI overviews that summarise your brand before anyone clicks. Ofcom says around 30% of UK keyword searches now show AI overviews, and 53% of adults often see AI summaries. The uncomfortable truth is that buyers get a machine-written version of you, then sanity-check it with humans in DMs and group chats. Brands win when their claims are clear, proof is easy to find, and real people show up consistently.

The Organic Bounce-back Playbook for B2B Teams

AI is helping B2B organic content rebound on LinkedIn and Reddit, so SEO optimisation for posts has never been more important. We’ve got a playbook to help you get started on boosting that organic visibility on Google and LLMs. First things first – we do often preach here at Immediate…

Three generations, one yes

B2B marketing feels slower because you’re selling to a buying group, not a decision maker. Forrester says the average buying decision involves 13 people and 89% of purchases involve two or more departments. Add three generations with different trust cues and you get rework, internal debate, and “one more version” forever. Buyers are also doing more research without sales, which makes guessing expensive. This LinkedIn Live with Tejal Patel is about buyer behaviour, trust cues, and what social is doing in research and validation, so you can build one narrative that travels across the group and saves your team time.

When buying groups collide

Three generations, one buying decision. Join Katy Howell and Tejal Patel to learn the trust cues, buyer behaviours, and proof that cuts rework and speeds decisions.

The 2026 Social Media Reset: Less Infinite Scroll, More Intentional Connection

We’re only a couple of weeks into 2026, and social already feels…different, in the best way possible. This year isn’t just about flashy new features or the next viral sound; it’s about making the internet feel more human, more useful, and a lot less exhausting.

Is your feed the key to 2026?

Buyers are hunting answers, and social is deciding who they trust The short answer Mahoosive behaviour change for customers is already here. Search is being replaced by an answer layer, and social is feeding it. When Google’s AI Overviews show up, people click less, sessions end sooner, and your carefully-crafted…

The People Behind the Posts

Social media is where brands get seen, heard and remembered. But behind every post, reply, and campaign is a person juggling deadlines, algorithms and constant feedback. If we ignore the mental health of social media professionals, we risk burning out the very people who keep our brands visible. Social media…

Surprising Hashtag Limits introduced on Instagram.

Instagram has announced a significant change to how hashtags work on the platform, introducing a new limit of five hashtags per post. The update, which will be rolled out gradually, is part of Instagram’s ongoing efforts to reduce spam, improve content quality, and refine how people discover…

Using Reddit to Find and Reach B2B Audiences

Reddit has quietly become one of the most useful places for B2B marketers to understand where real buying conversations are happening. But not by pretending to be ‘part of the community’. No, brands should not be joining subreddits to “spark discussion”.Thought leadership doesn’t really work anonymous forums – and the…

Signing off for Christmas. Properly.

We’re closing on 24 December and back on 5 January. Before we switch off, a straight take on what 2025 proved about social, what actually worked, and what we think will matter most in 2026.

Your 2026 plan is hiding in your 2025 panic

Your 2026 plan is hiding in your 2025 panic I have spent the last couple of months sat with marketers who are knee deep in 2026 planning. Everyone is wrestling with the same mix of fear and ambition. Budgets are flat or shrinking, targets are going up, AI is quietly…

Design Trends for 2026: Where Creativity Gets Clever

As 2026 rolls in, design feels smarter, warmer, and far more personal. We’re waving goodbye to the overly polished perfection of past years and stepping into an era that blends aesthetics with intelligence. The upcoming trends reflect a world that’s as intuitive as it is beautiful, with a little dash…

Motocaddy: From cold to credible in a week

Social that proves its value: relevant reach, stronger conversion quality, and measurement that stands up in the boardroom.

LinkedIn’s AI: Pay More, Think Less

It’s been a while since AI really took off on social networks. On LinkedIn, it’s been a mixed bag – and we don’t see AI as all bad, but we do see the limitations. If you’re doing paid or doing one-click content/responses…we advise you to read on. Firstly, some stats…

Community isn’t a channel, it’s how your social actually works

Community isn’t a channel, it’s how your social actually works Over the last few weeks I have lost count of how many marketers have said some version of this to me: “We’re thinking about community for 2026.” Often it comes with a hopeful look, as if community will magically fix…

Early Access Reels on Instagram: Tips for Creators.

A few weeks ago we wrote about Instagram testing a brand-new way to help creators grow their audiences, and it centres around Early Access Reels. This new feature lets creators publish a Reel that only their followers can watch for a set period of time. Anyone who…

Sleigh Your Socials: Playful Christmas Design Inspiration

Christmas on social media is a brilliant excuse to play, experiment, and add a little magic to your feed. It’s not just about throwing red and green everywhere; it’s about capturing that cosy, festive feeling in a way that still feels true to your brand and your style. Start with…

Storytelling in the Age of Social Media

Storytelling has always been how humans make sense of the world. From myths around the fire to bestselling novels and blockbuster films, the same basic patterns repeat: a character wants something, faces obstacles, changes along the way, and emerges transformed. Social media has not killed this tradition; it has compressed…

The hidden AI layer between your brand and your buyers

The hidden AI layer between your brand and your buyers Every marketer I speak to is talking about how they use AI. Very few are talking about the AI they cannot see. While we are all busy playing with tools and prompts, LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, X, Snapchat and…

The Q4 paid social trap

How can CMOs stop Q4 paid social costs from spiralling? CMOs cannot change Q4 seasonality, but they can change how exposed they are to it. Instead of leaving all budget in live auctions when CPMs peak, use Meta’s Reservation buying to pre book key Q4 reach at fixed prices, then keep a smaller auction budget for agile tests and trading. Lock creative and plans earlier in the year, use Q2 and Q3 to find winning hooks and formats, and use AI to build CPM and ROAS scenarios. You turn Q4 from a chaotic bidding war into a planned portfolio with clear risk and upside.

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5 steps to extracting content from your business

Becoming The UK’s Most Social Beverage Brand – Pepsi Max at Social Speakeasy

The swinging sixties has all the answers to digital innovation

5 ways to take your advertising on LinkedIn to the next level

Facebook’s WhatsApp exceeds expectations by hitting 700M active users

Instagram Ads expanding to the UK

Facebook Diversity report reveals…well…exactly what we all expected!

How campaigns are using Thunderclap to maximise reach and activate supporters

Fix what matters to customers: Royal Mail’s Martha Roberts discusses the importance of social customer service

Are you maximising the effectiveness of LinkedIn Groups to generate leads?

Maximise your social media measurement with Lucy Wren at the Social Speakeasy

Social media battle of the sexes

The flexible working myth

3 social media essentials from the Thorpe Park experience

Real-time marketing: Which brands excelled at Super Bowl XLVIII?

Content marketing in 2014: How B2B brands can excel

The best of #xmasjumperday – social media celebrates

What it takes to be truly excellent in social media

Luxury fashion brands are benefiting from social media

Examining the impact of the new LinkedIn Showcase Pages

Russell Brand v Jeremy Paxman: The social media reception

Generations X, Y, Z and… C?

3 Ways that B2B companies can maximise Instagram

Netflix Supports their Community and is far from ‘Breaking Bad’ it is ‘Breaking Good!’

LinkedIn expands its education arm – with the introduction of LinkedIn University Pages

Exploring lesser-known social platforms – Part 2: Viadeo

‘Fake fan-gate’: We examine Dispatches’ look at the murky side of social media

Exploring lesser-known social platforms – Part 1: Plaxo

LinkedIn takes the next step in content marketing with new Sponsored Updates

Will you be the next data gamechanger?

Are Enough Brands Exploring the ‘Social Relationship’ with Google Analytics?

Get the user experience right and the leads will follow. Right?

Gazing into the crystal ball of B2B in social: Google+ looks to be the next big event

30 examples of UK social media policies and guidance

Bricks to Clicks: what to expect in 2013

Choosing and using the right tool from the social media toolbox

Make good user experience your resolution of 2013

Three considerations before exploring social customer service

RFID: blurring the lines between on and offline experiences

Are cats the new Pizza Express? The value of social currency

The Social Shopping Explosion. By Gender.

CAP Code Extension. Are you ready?

All I want for Xmas is my two favourite blogs

immediate Insights – Are customers the new product experts?

The Social Shopping Explosion

Wait, hold on – stop the SXSW interactive bandwagon! I want to get on

Exclusive research into brands in social media

Online PR clinic and social media toolboxes at OMS

Traditional Media will have to become social media relations experts

Episode 2 Thank FCK, Practical AI for Marketers.

AI will save you hours each week, as long as you stay in charge of what matters.

D2C has a channel problem

Snapchat: You’ve got to see it (B)2Believe it

AI promised time back. It lied

Reset the marketing machine

Why B2B marketers are getting influence wrong

Chill, You’re Still Creative: How To Keep The Ideas Flowing

1 to Watch: The Powerful Rise of Communities Over Followers.

Arrest the organic B2B slump

Chaos sells

How Brands Win on Reddit

Video vs Stills: It’s Not About Winning, It’s About Strategy

Thought leadership for commercial impact

AI-assisted comms that keeps trust

AI social search for fintech and financial services

Episode 1 When Buying Groups Collide

Social Commerce: Questions, trust, checkout

TikToks Streaming Ads. Smarter Launches 2026.

LinkedIn wants YOU to post more (and pay more)

100% proof social

The Job That Never Switches Off

When buying groups collide

Design & Disability

All hail the lurkers

How do I know if my B2B social is working?

Threads just became pay-to-play

2026 design trends worth using (not just admiring)

Book review: Marketing & Psychology

TikTok Trends 2026: The Shifts Brands Can’t Afford to Ignore.