It was big news when Microsoft announced that Hotmail would come to an end and be replaced by their Outlook internet platform. And from an advertising perspective, it left us with a hole to fill as Hotmail was one of our go-to publishers.
With Outlook we were left wondering what our ad choices would be as nothing had been officially announced (though we suspected that the space to the right of the page, filled with internal messages, would come in handy!).
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For the past year, we have heard a lot of noise surrounding the growing concept that is showrooming, the term brick-and-mortar retailers either embrace or resist. The reality of the fact is that retailers are falling into a catch 22 situation, with in-store price comparisons becoming the most common showrooming activity. The evolving consumer is gaining control and this can only hurt retailers if they choose to ignore the changing retail experience. A recent study has identified that two-thirds of UK smartphone users have retail apps on their phones, and are the most likely to be searching for a bargain.
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In light of the recent social media faux pas caused by two restaurateurs featured on Gordon Ramsay’s show ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, we thought it might be a good idea to share our top tips on how you should respond to consumers online now that Hell’s Kitchen has given us all a lesson on how not to respond!
- Approach
Consumer engagement is no longer a series of one-off experiences. Engagement online is about an on-going dialogue between you, the business and them, the consumer.
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You probably hear the rumours, but speculation over the Facebook phone is over.
Rather than develop a whole phone, the folks at Facebook were actually developing a user interface system for android compatible phones, which brings Facebook to the centre of your phone (and potentially world, if Facebook have their way).
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Twitter recently announced that it will be rolling out keyword targeting on the social media network. This is a new advertising venture which will support promoted tweets to reach targeted users based on their live conversations.
This new feature, according to Twitter, will allow businesses to “reach users at the right moment, in the right context”. Using keyword search, it will enable your business to promote products or services more specifically.
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We all appreciate a discount and finding a good bargain – and with the evident popularity of deal sites and increased mobile purchasing behaviour, it’s now even easier for consumers to find one.
This is putting more pressure on retailers to offer the best discounts around and, where historically discounts have always been a sure fire way of driving big sale volumes on a quick turnaround, it’s now crucial to make sure they are not affecting your margins.
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A recent article on Marketing Land highlighted Australia as an opportune location for merchants looking to expand their programme overseas.
‘As marketers continue to scope out new opportunities overseas, the affiliate channel will be embraced as one of the most effective ways to enter new markets’ Scott Allan, Marketing Land
Australia presents many new opportunities for the affiliate channel. Vast technological advances alongside a rise in online spend are key drivers for the affiliate channel and e-commerce down under.
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Whilst customer retention is a valuable strategic goal of any business, new customer acquisition is also a key focus for many businesses.
The affiliate channel can be a great way to drive new business as this channel offers the opportunity to place your brand in front of the large and engaged audiences of the most influential affiliates in the UK – for example, Top Cashback, Quidco and Net Voucher Codes each have more than a million members.
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In an effort to steal some of Google’s market share, Bing is now further incorporating social into its results pages with the inclusion of questions and answers powered by Klout.
These answers will appear within the main search results when a person directly asks the question within Bing.
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