Posts Tagged ‘Online Marketing’

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Google Launches Business Photos

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Google announced yesterday they will be releasing a new feature for Google Places called “Google Business Photos”. The new photo offering will be integrated in to the already popular pages service which Google provides for free to online businesses and is aimed at enhancing current places pages that it shows in organic search results.

The type of business’s Google are interested in speaking with are restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and other storefront businesses. Visitors who then search for your business online will have a unique opportunity to view panoramic views of the interior of your business premises. The new service which is aimed at small business owners will give brick and water company’s the opportunity to promote their business visually online and will be a great way to show potential customers what your business is really like.

According to Google’s head of local search Marisa Mayer who was speaking yesterday at the “Social Loco” conference in San Francisco. Google Places now has over 5 million reviews and ratings and continues to grow as Google maintain their focus on local search. Google is inviting local businesses from a few city’s in the US, Australia and Japan to apply initially, Google will then send a sponsored photographer who will take interior shots of your business.

If you would like to find out more information on Google Business Photos or apply just follow this link

If you are a business and would like to find out more about Google Places and Local SEO, and how this can benefit your business online then please feel free to give us a call on 0141 241 6190

Matthew Marley

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Google Launches + 1

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Yesterday Google launched its new “+ 1” service which is designed to enhance the social functionality within its search engine. The new service which is Google’s version of the Facebook “like” or the “retweet” button will add a “ + 1 button” to search results within Google and allow users to publicly share recommendations with friends.

To recommend something all you have to do is click on the “+1 button” on any webpage, this will then share the information within you Google Profile and social circle, which will mainly be your contacts from other Google services including Gmail, Google Reader, Google Buzz and Google Chat , although Google has confirmed that It would be interested in using data from other services including Flickr, Quora and Twitter which Google considers “open web apps”.

According to Google Product Manager Rob Spiro “The beauty of “+1′s” is their relevance – you get the right recommendations (because they come from people who matter to you), at the right time (when you are actually looking for information about that topic) and in the right format (your search results),”.

One of the main concerns of many people in theonline marketingworld is how will this effect organic search and SEO ?, Google rep Jim Prosser confirmed that +1 would not have any effect, however this is something that Google is very interested in and may look at incorporating in the future.

Will this be another failure like Buzz and Wave or has Google finally managed to put together a social product that the users will actually find useful ! what’s your thoughts ?

If you are in the US and would like to experiment with “+ 1″ then you can check it out here Google.com/experimental

 

Matthew Marley
360innovate

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Is Bing Coming To Facebook ?

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Last night AllFacebook.com – The Unofficial blog of all things Facebook, reported the company could be testing a new web search feature at the top of their pages. The search box which would more than likely direct traffic to Bing due to Microsoft’s relationship with Facebook could be a game changer in the search industry which is dominated by Google. However I can imagine this wouldn’t come cheap; Bing would have to pay a substantial amount to have its search engine on such a valuable property like Facebook. This isn’t new to Social Networking; Google was willing to spend millions per year on MySpace allowing its users to have access to search within the site when it was in its peak.

Could Facebook be looking at another revenue stream, before its IPO next year? According to the Search Engine Land who Facebook contacted last night, they have not been testing this feature and have said that they user who posted this screenshot could in-fact been infected with malware.

See the full statement below

“We are not testing the placement of a separate web search field and have no plans to do so. We believe the second search field or “Search the Web” box appeared on peoples’ accounts as the result of unknown actions by a third party targeting the browser (potentially a browser plugin or malware) unrelated to Facebook. If people think their browser may have been affected by malware, we offer a remediation process which includes a free browser-based virus scanning tool built by McAfee. Users are required to run this Scan and Repair tool and clean their machines of malware before accessing their account.”

This could be true, however I’m not sure if I’m buying it. Bing will continue to be a major player in the search industry and a deal like this could have a significant impact especially with Facebook’s continued growth. I wouldn’t count them out just yet, many people focus primarily on Google when implementing a SEO or Online Marketing strategy, and this is not recommended, something as small as the addition of a search feature in Facebook could shake up the industry over night !

Matthew Marley
360innovate

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Lucozade Targets Social Media Users !

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Lucozade, the soft drinks giant are just one of many global brands who are now targeting users with social media marketing.  According to musicweek.com the drinks giant will use spotify to promote its new instant win campaign which will come packaged in various flavours of new Lucozade bottles. The competition which starts today will give customers a chance to win access to over  1 million add free tracks on the social music service.

Spotify have also confirmed that they will enhance the Lucozade promotion by offering access to exclusive interviews and tracks from contributing artists, which include Tinchy Stryder.

To take part in the competition you will need to purchase one of the promotional bottles, you will then find a unique identification number, once you have this number all you have to do is head over to their website and enter your code.

Adam Williams, Spotify UK sales director, said there was a ‘great synergy’ between the brands. Andy Mahoney, brand manager of Lucozade, said the partnership ‘comes at exactly the right time for both brands’.

This promotion is thought to be the first of its kind that has made use of the ‘social capabilities’ of  Spotify for online marketing , although advertising is a big part of Spotify marketing strategy this is the first joint venture for the growing music company which should see its US launch in the next few months.

Matthew Marley 360innovate

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Adding Value – Not just a phrase in buzzword bingo

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Having the bank holiday out of the office gave me a bit of time to review the previous week’s activity. One thing in particular stood out; a fantastic initial meeting with a potential public sector client.

During the build up to the election the TV and newspapers have spent a lot of time talking about cuts in public sector budgets, because of this the meeting really stood out.

As with most clients in the public sector the big topic for discussion right now is budget savings or efficiencies.  It’s never easy to get clients to sign off budget for new projects during a time of economic uncertainty, even more so when an impending general election means that nobody knows the breadth and depth of the cuts.

That’s why face to face conversations with clients are so important. Not emails, not conference calls, time spent in a clients company, helping you understand what’s important to them.  What challenges do they face?  What are their key objectives?  What internal and external factors influence their decision making?

The phrase “adding value” is one which is too often used in games of buzzword bingo. In fact it’s up there with “low hanging fruit”. In this case it is particularly pertinent. The conversation eventually got round to the budget cuts that client will no doubt have to make, and it’s there where online can come to the fore.  How can an online agency add value and become indispensible?

They may have no products to sell, however it’s just as important to measure the success of past and present activity.  Just because it’s been the way things have been done in the past doesn’t mean that it’s right to keep on doing it. In difficult times reviewing every last penny of your marketing spend is the right thing to do.  Spending time taking stock of present strategies informs your future planning.

Online can’t do it all, there will always be a need to engage with your audience through offline channels and in the case of this client it’s as important to speak to primary school children as it is pensioners. So overall reach is hugely important; however at what cost?

Are there better, more effective ways to communicate with your target audience? If so then the legacy strategies have to go.  Difficult times call for inventive use of budgets.  It’s time to break the status quo.

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User generated content- friend or foe?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

User generated content refers to content on a website or similar form of media which has been produced, written or compiled by the users of that media/website. The greatest example of user generated content is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is produced, maintained and regulated by its users; it is the fifth most popular website in the world (Econsultancy) and although it has been subject to several practical jokes it still remains a trusted source of knowledge and information.

The various ways a brand can integrate user generated content within their online presence are;

  • Web Forum
  • Branded social network
  • Open comments on the blog
  • Review section
  • Video/photo galleries
  • Brand wiki

Web Forum

A forum is a place for people to talk and discuss various matters. They are commonly characterised by topic and are created by fans of that particular topic/product/service. Brands can use a forum as a place to talk with and connect customers encouraging them to  discuss the product/service and post questions giving the brand a means of providing additional customer service and technical support.

Examples of brands using forums; BT, Nintendo and Joomla!

Social network

Social networks are the likes of Facebook and Bebo where friends can connect with one another the platforms allowing them to easily talk online, share content and generally interact with other users of the website including brands. A growing trend is the establishment of brand run social networks  where fans of that brand can connect with the company and other fans allowing them to share experiences, keep up to date with the brand, get exclusive promotions and interact with the people behind the brand. Although creating your own social network  gives you greater control and flexibility it is possible to create a similar community on any exisiting social networks; Asos demonstrate both options by having their own community page and a very successful Facebook page with over 170,000 fans.

Examples of company specific social networks; Asos, Reebok andToyota.

Blog

A blog is an online diary or web log, they are increasingly being utilised by businesses to communicate with stakeholders, however, a blog shouldn’t be a one way street it is there to engage users and encourage feedback. Although not entirely user generated a blog is an ideal place to encourage customer feedback, ideas and conversation and in that sense it is a tool for generating user content. For efficient use of commenting facilities minimise the moderation of comments where possible, respond to any comments left and actively invite readers to get involved by posting their thoughts and comments.

Examples of company blogs engaging with readers; Econsultancy, Playstation and Spotify.

Reviews

Many websites, in particular ecommerce sites, are now providing review facilities providing customers with the chance to provide feedback on the product or service that they recieved. User generated reviews and recommendations are one of the most powerful selling tools for any business  so having positive reviews posted beside products can play an influential role in the decision making process of a potential customer. There are many ways for reviews to be displayed in a website, with most content managed systems it is fairly simple to turn on a review facility, there are also companies such as Feefo who follow every sale with an email requesting feedback which is then displayed on the website adding further authenticity to the review.

Examples of review facilities; MyWardrobe, American Apparel, First Direct and Comet

Video/Photo galleries

On your website you can provide a gallery displaying videos or photos submitted by customers. A gallery could be used in conjunction with a competition, as part of a review facility or simply to show off the product/service. The benefit of having user generated photos and videos is that it can be used across several channels, within the website, on the social media profiles and on a dedicated YouTube channel for videos.

Examples of user generated galleries; Firebox, Oxo and Asos (again!)

Brand Wiki

A company wiki can be utilised for internal use as an effective and affordable alternative to an intranet. Users create, amend and edit the content within the wiki so its not something a company would want to let loose to the general public but along with being an excellent hub for employees to post information and communicate with one another. Within Wikipedia many larger (or reknowned) companies will have a page, it is impossible to completely control the information posted on the page, however, you can ensure that the information is factual, up to date and non slanderous. For any issues with the company wiki read this blog post.

The Pros and Cons of it all

Using and promoting user generated content is an excellent way to engage with customers and can in many cases be an excellent source of inspiration for improving or marketing your service or product. Further to this user generated content can form an integral part of an advertising and online marketing campaign; many companies including Doritos, TMobile, Asos and Oxo all use customer made videos and photographs in some form of marketing material as a means of selling their products.

Of course whenever a company invites people to generate content they are running the risk of receiving a bit of negative comments, to curb this many opt to moderate comment and reviews facilities ensuring only the ‘good’ ones get through. Doing so can have a negative effect; you run the possibility of no one commenting or alternatively no one trusting the comments being made. Instead of moderating consider allowing negative comments to be posted and read by one ‘n’ all but ensure that you respond to it. By engaging upset customers you are showing that your company accepts its mistakes and seeks to learn from them. Look to BT on Twitter who actively enage with customers having difficulty with their BT service turning a nasty situation into an incredibly positive one.

For any company seeking to encourage user generated content the best course of action is to have a set of moderation guidelines and procedures in the case of negative comments or publicity ensuring that everyone understands how the publicity and comments are to be dealt with.

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Enter Offline, Win Online

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

We at 360innovate are keen marketers and social media fans, and we are always on the look out for brands and organisations using unusual ways to promote and market themselves online.

One recent example of using a fun and interactive way of increasing an online presence is MPHO, a London singer. At a recent gig in Glasgow the singer asked all the crowd to pose for a photograph, just before posing and shouting the obligatory ‘cheese’ MPHO announced that the photograph would be posted on the MPHO Facebook page and a member of the crowd in the photograph would be selected and be the winner of lots of  goodies. To find out who the winner was of course would require logging into Facebook and going to the MPHO page. Such a simple yet effective way of getting offline fans to interact with the online presence, where of course they can access further information and songs from the singer.

MPHO Facebook Comp

Using a way of involving the customer and making it a more personal experience (or fan in this instance) from the word go is one of the most effective means of getting your offline customers online. B2C companies could follow this photograph example by holding competitions offline then posting the winners on their website or social media profiles.The same could be applied to B2B execs showing at an exhibition- all business cards collected will entered into a prize draw the winning one will win a prize then have their scanned business card posted on the company website/Twitter/Facebook/blog.

Having the customer there in front of you is the easiest way to get them to participate; and the curiosity/eagerness to win will get them online. It’s a win-win situation. Increased brand awareness, increased traffic to your website or social media profile, puts the company in a positive light and at the end of it one lucky person gets a prize!

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Real Time Search, No Flux Capacitor Needed!

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Recently there has been a lot of talk about real time search. But what is real time search and what makes it different from the search we have come accustom to? Well its very simple, real time search is when search results are found from micro blogging, social media, and many other web posts  to supply you with the most up to date information literally seconds after it has been published. However, with real time search comes issues like relevance of results. Unlike search, where the results are mostly show in accordance to their relevance, with real time search there are no guarantees as to what shows up. But for most people, getting the most up to date buzz on a hot topic is very appealing even if the results are not quite what you were expecting.

Here are a few real time search engines that have gotten a fair bit of attention lately:

OneRiot scans Twitter and Digg to give real time search results. It shows you the trending topics as they develop keeping you in the loop of the goings on in these two popular social sites. Also, it shows you the most shared posts on Twitter, to let you know what everyone is talking about.

Tweetmeme searches Twitter for links that best suit your search. The results are ranked in tweet popularity and you can define your search by the hour, day and week, depending on how fresh you want your results.

FriendFeed searches though all of your friends posts from different sites. This is quite unique as it only gives results from people you are connected with. However, it may be more opinion driven results rather than factual.  But it gives you a good insight into your friends activities.

Scoopler mixes live tweets and popular content in the results. This real time search engine actually shows the tweets as they are being posted giving you a constant stream of new information. Also the sites content is laid out coherently making it user friendly and a pleasant interface to use.

Social Mention is great for keeping an eye on who is talking about your brand or company. It searches through social media to supply you with results that are up to date and shows you what sentiment the mentions are, such as positive or negative. It also tells you the top keywords your brand or company is being found for.

Collecta monitors the update streams of news sites, popular blogs and social media sites including Flickr to give you search results that are up to the minute.

If you are wanting to search the web and get the freshest buzz on what’s going on, what’s being said, and what’s hot this minute, real time search is definately for you. Try these site out to see what ones best suit your needs. If you know of any other effective real time search engines then let us know.

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Google launches free services to help local businesses.

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Today Google has announced the launch of Google Local Business. As part of an initiative to empower local businesses Google are giving  a set of free tools and resources to help them to take advantage of the Google Business Listings.

What are the Google Business Listings?

“A potential customer does a search on Google.com or in Google Maps, comes across your listing, clicks on it to see your reviews and details, and then gets directions to your location.” Official Google Blog

Providing businesses with the necessary tools on the Local Business Centre dashboard to analyse impressions, user engagement, top search queries and which postal codes users are travelling from will allow companies to fully utilise the, often under appreciated, business listings.

The new tool will provide businesses with an even greater understanding of  users searching behaviour and how they are finding companies. Further to this, having the ability to see where people are travelling from gives businesses an insight into users offline behaviour and allows them the ability to merge offline marketing activity with online searching, is a national telly ad resulting in a influx of searches from a wider range of postal codes?

Google’s primary aim of the business centre is to get businesses online and engaging with their online customers. For this tool to really be succesful Google needs to ensure it is communicating with the small businesses they are targeting, they need to communicate with them and help them understand what the business listings are. It is all very well us folks in the online industry singing the praises of the Business Listings,  we understand the search engines and how they operate (well we like to think we do), a large number of small (offline) businesses do not, which is why they turn to internet marketing and search engine optimisation companies to handle their online presence. It is this barrier in understanding which may prevent Google Business Centre from being as successful as it actually could be.

If you are a business get to the Local Business Centre to register.

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March Madness

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

In the USA March Madness refers to the the national basketball tournament but in 360innovate March Madness refers to the hectic (but very exciting) month we have had!

We have saw the launch of several client websites and the addition of some pretty exciting clients and contracts.

TLC Childcare

360innovate are to update and refresh the existing TLC Childcare website, providing a cost effective and user friendly content managed system.


Datec Technology

Datec Technology is one of Scotland’s leading electronic recyclers and IT Asset management companies in Europe. 360innovate have been appointed to provide a new website for Datec, the company requires a content managed website that reflects the current branding and allows for its future development.


UTOP Travel

Having already been appointed the task of designing their website, which we did with great applaud,  UTop Travel have now decided to invest in some online marketing.


GMI – Gas Measurements Instruments Ltd

Gas Measurements Instruments Ltd designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of robust and durable gas detectors. 360innovate won the contract to provide GMI with a content managed web solution replacing the existing website with a a fresher look and additional funcitonality increasing the interaction of users.


Cumbernauld College

360innovate are delighted to announce that we will be launching an online marketing campaign for Cumbernauld College, turning the existing website into marketing and enrolment tool that will greater support the traditional marketing campaigns run throughout the year.

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