February 2016

It all started with a bacon roll…

Last month I attended a digital strategy networking session with 3 colleagues… It was a really simple occasion, with just 3 speakers which is quite enough when it comes to digital-points-of-view.  A quick resume follows, including the gems of the event:

Lynsey Swales of SocialB – SEO, Social Media & Digital Marketing Expert/Trainer/Professional Speaker UK/Int. DMA Vice Chair Social Media Council

No. 1 is a good website: Good design, Clear ‘call to action’ so clients can find what they want straight away, Content & Google wants to see you updating regularly, Navigation (across the top is best) focus on getting people to the right part of your website, Credibility (get your accreditations up there), Mobile Friendly & your social media buttons clear.

For SEO compile a list of all the key words for your product or service – an Excel doc will do – show this to everyone who does anything online for the business – don’t assume you know what people will Google.  These key words should appear in URL title and meta descriptions, headings, images and Alt descriptions, but not so over the top that clients switch off (it’s only for Google).  Some great content Lynsey.

Tom Bowden – Director at Footprint Digital Ltd

Whatever you do in Marketing – Measure it, Test it – don’t just put a system in place and hope marketing works.  On Adwords – providing you’re generating business, they make good sense.  In his delivery he did some live tests for the audience to participate in choosing which bar or button they would have clicked, and showing what actual digital tests had proved, e.g. 3 Google adverts with slightly different wording and which had infact generated the highest response.

Thanks Tom, enjoyed you’re tests & the audience interaction was great.

Mili Ponce – International Strategist on Social Media Marketing, Traffic and Lead Generation, Web Conversion and PPC

In Jan 2016 there is 7.395 billion people alive, 3.419 billion Internet users, 2.307 billion active social media users, 3.790 billion unique mobile users (this is 51% of the total population!) and 1.968 active mobile social users.

Social Media use across the world is 31% but in North America it is 59% of the population; South America 50%; West Europe 48%; East Asia 48%; Ocenia including Australisia 45%; East Europe 45% and Central America 40%.  After that there is Southeast Asia at 37%, Middle East 26%, South Asia 11%, Africa 11% and Central Asia 6%.

Reddit is popular, given that the website looks a shade 80-ish… definitely worth looking at it if your product is technologically niche, scientific, innovative.  Facebook is everything, talk to your clients when they are in their lest defensive mode.

Social media is about brand-awareness, not about your products & services, it’s about your great relationships.

ROI on Direct Mail/marketing sent out by post is now up to 10% – this is largely thought to be due to the lack of post we receive that more envelopes get opened.

If your website is not getting a 10% return (100 visits, 10 actions) then social media is not worth starting… Food for thought that, Mili.  Another bacon roll please.