Digital Marketing Blog Posts

National CBI Website & Search Contract for Epiphany

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Company News, Digital Marketing, Press Release

The UK’s leading business lobbying organisation, the CBI, has appointed Leeds-based Epiphany Solutions to build and develop a series of microsites and engagement tools which will help it communicate more effectively with businesses throughout the country.

In addition to enhancing the CBI’s communication with its existing members through dedicated sites which have improved member interaction, Epiphany will also improve the visibility of the CBI as a whole which will aide in the recruitment of new members. (more…)

E-Commerce Sites need to offer more Payment Options to Maximise Sales

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Digital Marketing, E-Commerce

Potential sales are being neglected by some of the UKs largest e-commerce sites and online retailers due to the lack of different payment methods available to customers. According to a YouGov survey (commissioned by ClickandBuy) over 50% of regular online shoppers will cancel a potential purchase if their preferred payment method is not available.

So beyond the standard Visa and other credit and debit cards, what other payment options can e-commerce stores offer to maximise their sales?

(more…)

How Important are Social Media Sites?

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Blogging, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Optimisation

Today I am answering the above question, to which my answer is a very resounding “extremely important”.

To explain why social media is so important I feel that I should explain my very mundane morning. It is currently 10.23am on Monday 1st June 2009 and already today I have:

  • visited Twitter through Twitroid and Tweet Deck;
  • caught up on blogs released overnight through an RSS aggregator whilst on the train, I am also kept up to date on new blog posts throughout the day via Outlook on my laptop;
  • browsed forums to catch up on the latest Liverpool FC news;
  • visited Youtube for coverage on Britain’s Got Talent;
  • logged on to Facebook to see if any friends have any up-coming birthdays;
  • monitored Yammer for internal communication;
  • used MSN Messenger and Google talk to keep in touch with friends and colleagues;
  • started thinking about  this blog post;
  • searched Wikipedia to see what it has to say on social media.

My day is only 3 hours and 53 minutes old but the combination of sociology and modern technology that is social media has dictated the majority of my morning already. (more…)

Attracting natural links from the Linkerati

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Digital Marketing, Online PR, SEO

Google loves links; it’s how it decides which webpage it wants to rank the highest for any particular term. Originally this was just largely a numbers game, the more links pointing at a webpage you had the higher it would rank.

As the web’s entire link profile has been changed (and manipulated) by search marketers certain ‘natural links’ have gained more importance in the eyes of Google; links embedded deep within the belly of a blog post, for example, carry more weight that those placed in a blog roll.

Whether you’re looking to grow your website ‘organically’ or simply improve your current linking profile, you need to understand how you can attract more natural links. As time goes by, attracting natural links will become increasingly important as Google continues to weed out as many ‘un-natural’ links as it can.

When we say ‘we wish to attract natural links’ what we are really attempting to attract are the people who create these links. The hardcore geeky nucleus of the web who create the vast majority of worthy content, actively use social media and, most importantly, create outbound links – the ‘Linkerati’. (more…)

Arguably the World’s most successful Social Media Marketing Campaign

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Blogging, Digital Marketing, SEO, Social Media Optimisation

So what happens when a tourist board uses the power of dreams, the internet and social media…..?

Last year Queensland tourist board proposed an audacious publicity stunt involving one person inhabiting Hamilton Island for 6 months, implementing social media to record their experience by blogging, taking photos and producing videos of their experience, whilst being paid $150,000!

A micro site of tourism Queensland was launched in July 2008 sending the social media world into frenzy, creating such a buzz that by the 22nd of February 2009 – the application closing date – over 35,000 applications had been submitted.

(more…)