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Avril McArdle, Seven Marketing Tips For Small Businesses, Digital Marketing Insitute blog, January 9, 2013

When it comes to research, I’m a real believer in paralysis by analysis.  Although, when it comes to rolling out digital marketing strategies analytics are crucial at measuring their success.  Numbers are what drivers in the importance of understanding the web and the future strategies of driving the business online through sales and future revenues.  The next phase of the web and digital is to realise all the information at hand that can be resourced in terms of identifying needs and servicing them digitally.

Smartinsights most popular posts include:

These are the most popular posts on Smart Insights:

The Perfect Landing Page. Landing page examples and 12 tips

Digital marketing strategy and planning Word template

Mobile Marketing Statistics 2013

Amazon.com case study

8 Online revenue model options for Internet businesses

What is the difference between efficiency and effectiveness marketing measures?

SOSTAC ® marketing planning model guide

Creating a B2B Marketing Plan [infographic]

Marketing models that have stood the test of time

The difference between paid, owned and earned media – 5 viewpoints

Digital marketing statistics 2013

The 6 Best Link Analysis Tools for competitor benchmarking for SEO and Online PR

Introducing RACE = A practical framework to improve your digital marketing

Digital marketing trends 2012

SWOT Analysis Template

Most popular search engines – UK, US and Worldwide

Display advertising clickthrough rates

Web design personas

Email marketing & Enewsletter systems and software reviews

A new way to get subject line standout

There are also sites such as google analytics blog although it is very technical and highly complicated written by google eyed academies.  Smart insights to me offer simplified laymens terms when it come to crunching the numbers and providing insights.

David Chaffeys report writing is structured for the beginner, it’s written so it dowsn’t need to be decoded and can be read with some grasp of understanding.

Report writing is written with text and visually aided to interpret and understand resulting in control.It reads……

Google Analytics adds Data Hub and Trackbacks to the Activity Stream Reports

Value/Importance: ★★★★★

Recommended link: Google Analytics post: the Activity Stream in Social Reports

In March 2012, we highlighted Google’s new Social Analytics as they were then described in the Beta we were reviewing. In August 2012 the Social Analytics feature became part of theSocial Reports we now see in Google Analytics as a standard feature.

This latest update to Social Report has two new additions:

1. Data hub activity – This feature, shown below, was originally available through a drilldown, so isn’t entirely new, but is now highlighted in the menu as Data hub activity.

It’s an interesting reminder from an SEO perspective that Google is able to track comment activity on a blog. If you’re setting up a blog it’s worth using a Google Data Hub partner. I recommend using Disqus which we use, or Livefyre.

You are the digital guru David Chaffey!

Who has the best digital blog offering?

Digital blog offering

These sites that were chosen have all got different things going for them and are mostly approaching their blogs from different points of view. Some are solely to promote the company while others are informative and even then some are more informative than others.

From a news point of view, the Digital Marketing Institute and Williamegan.ie (Dublin Digital) win the up-to-date news dissemination hands down. Their blogs are jam packed wtih information for every type of use, and also from every angle. Take in comparison wolfgangdigital.com. This blog is run by a company that deals primarily in SEO, PPC and Google Adwords and so, as a result, their blog contains information about these subjects.

Digital Doughnut also deserves a mention for its coverage of digital issues but the blog is laid out differently to the others and is therefore more difficult to follow.

Although we mentioned at the beginning that content is key for SEO, it is also important that these blogs look well and are easy to manoeuvre and use.

Here again Williamegan.ie and the Digital Marketing Insitute excel in ease of use and then the vast majority of the rest are good. While researching for our own blog, a couple of exceptions on the ease of use side of things came to light.

Firstly, Cybercom will only allow the user to search on the blog once every 15 seconds. Now that may not seem to be a long time but when you are frantically searching for something under a strict deadline that 15 seconds seems like an eternity.

The other exception is Digital Doughnut, a very informative site, which uses different headings/tag words to all the other blog. From a user’s point of view, if the phrase/article/information you are looking for is not readily available or obvious, it can make things a little more difficult.

Interestingly, one of these blogs was recommended to us as an informative, up-to-date, insightful view of all things digital – http://www.beatricewhelan.ie/blog. However when we tried to source the blog,  we got a 404 not found message. Beatrice does have her own website but states on it that she blogs on two others. website extraordinaire blog and bloggertone.com. On the former, the server was not available and on the latter there were no posts. However, we did track her down on the Digital Marketing Institute blog.

Overall we would have to conclude that these blogs do provide a service to those who use them. While some are ‘idiot’ friendly, others are very much targetted to those who are immersed in the digital sector. They are all informative in their own way but as in everything there are those that shine more than others.

Google Adwords – who gives us the best information?

What can we learn about Google Adwords?

Wolfgang Digital prides itself on its Google Adwords and SEO campaigns so it is inevitable that the site’s blog has plenty of information regarding these two topics and how they relate to business.  In this regard, one of their most interesting posts discusses how the evolution of multi-device internet activity is causing changes in Google adword capabilities. Infographic courtesy of Wolfgang Digital.

Cybercom, on the other hand have plenty of information about Adwords but it seems all quite old. They seem to concentrate primarily on news in their blog…but there’ll be more on that in another posting.

Digital Doughnut’s blog doesn’t see to have any information available on Google Adwords where as the Digital Marketing Institute offers several entries throughout its blog which includes mention of the topic. Indeed in other entry entitled Getting your Business found using Google Adwords, from Fuzion’s Greg Canty dated July 312012, he goes so far as to recommend a book available on Amazon (see graphic below).

Dublin Geographic Specific Digital Marketing Blog

http://dublindigital.ie

William Egan presents a very focused blog on the Dublin geographic market.  Easy to navigate and must be congratulated on his contribution to the digital marketing blog scene.  News is clearly broken down under digital marketing, google, social mediaand SEO news.  Regular posts and updates.  Although his fan numbers and followers are low, we predict great things for this blog and the industry evolves.

Digital Campaigns to Inspire…

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I enjoyed simple zesty.com and the creative bang that they deliver everything from viral videos, blogs and campaigns on what’s hip, creative, innovative with the big brand guys to the social media gurus and channels.

These are some of my favourites: Vivienne Westwood

Harrowing Campaign Turns Mannequins Into Domestic Abuse Victims

Also  Cool Titles such asThis Week’s 10 Most Talked About Viral Videos – 24th Marchincludes Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Gets The Lego TreatmentIt seems to be a new rule that when the trailer of a blockbuster movie movie comes out, a parody will quickly follow. The latest Star Trek trailer gets the LEGO makeover as we see all the iconic scenes recreated using the iconic bricks.I had endless fun going through the simple zesty site.  A great place to be creatively inspired for brainstorming digital marketing ideas.

Volkswagen Launch Incredibly Smart Youtube Campaign Around Crappy Music Covers by Niall Harbison from Simply Zesty published on Digital Marketing Institute blog on May 25, 2012

When you are watching a video on Youtube the last thing that you want to see is an advert and most users try to find the little x button and close them down as quickly as they possibly can. It’s been a major problem for Youtube over the years as they try and find a revenue model that fits the site but car brand Volkswagen have come up with a small innovative campaign for used parts that is brilliant in it’s creativity and also wonderfully simple. They’ve also managed to turn the ads in to something that people actually want to click on rather trying to avoid because they improve the user experience. They selected some of the worst copy cat videos from around the world which were covering classic hits and placed banners on the videos that said “Don’t accept imitations” and the beauty was that when you clicked on the advert it took you to the original version of the song on Youtube. From a user experience perspective people knew that clicking on the ads would bring them to what they were actually looking for while Volkswagen were able to drive home the message that their parts were the best in the business and that originals are better. Not every brand is going to be able to copy this campaign nor will it solve Youtbube’s revenue issues long terms but it is a wonderful use of ads by Volkswagen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gE0KLVdFwYk

The Best Email Marketing Blogs – Top of the Charts Digital Marketing Institute

Top tips for flawless email marketing

There are certain essential basics in your email marketing that have to be absolutely right in order for your message to get through and be read.  While the content will change from issue to issue, you still have to ensure that your email gets through the SPAM catchers, is opened by the recipient and is then read.  An added bonus is for it to be forwarded on to the recipients’ colleagues.

So, let’s have a look at the top eight fundamentals and best practices.

1.       Subject Line – apart from your name, this is the first thing that the recipient will see and therefore will be a huge decider on whether your email gets opened or not.  Be sure to use a system that allows you to test various Subject Line options.

2.       Your name – do not send your newsletter from “sales@yourcompany.com” or marketing@yourcompany.com.  This is sure-fire way for it to be blocked and pushed into the “bulk email” or SPAM folder.  Send your emails from a real person.

3.       Unsubscribe option – let people get off your database if they want to.  In fact, it is a legal requirement to give your recipients an option to unsubscribe.

4.       Forward to a friend – if you want to spread your message, then allow people to easily forward your email to a friend or colleague.  Therefore, include a “forward to a friend” option within the email.

5.       Images – keep the images small and tight – if you send lagers images, your email may well be blocked.  Also, make sure that the images in the email are formatted correctly – how often have you received and email with incorrectly formatted images which then causes the text to be incorrectly formatted (which, in turn, may cause someone to prematurely delete your email without reading it)?

6.       Use of BCC – Just never use this as an option – if you are considering sending email newsletters or bulk email), use a third party email marketing application (there are plenty available at a range of prices – we use email-marketing.ie, but there are lots around)

7.       Content – keep your messages and content focused and relevant.

8.       Footer – allow people to contact you so add your contact details into the newsletter (best place is the footer).

http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/blog/blogging-2/8-top-writing-the-flawless-email-newsletter-tips

Mobile traffic marketing

The Digital Marketing Institute blog covers mobile in depth on its blog. Beatrice Whelan attended the Mobile conference in August 2012 and wrote a blog entry ‘Mobile Marketing – Seven tips to get you started from the Mobile conference.

http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/blog/marketing/mobile-marketing-seven-tips-to-get-you-started-from-the-mobile-marketing-conference

Interestingly the very last paragraph states that Gavin Duff from Amplify Search Marketing Solutions said that tablet conversion rates are higher than mobile but the cost per click is lower than on desktop search.

More recently, as in January 2013, Anthony Quigley from the DMI wrote a piece stating that Apple is dominating mobile traffic.

According to a new report from Walker Sands, the amount of website traffic coming from mobile devices jumped from 17.5% in Q3 2012 to 23.1% in Q4 2012this represents an 84% hike from 12. Q4 2011.  The research is based on web analytics data across a range of Walker Sands’ B2B and B2C clients across multiple industries.

http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/blog/android/apple-dominates-mobile-traffic

From the Digital Doughnut site there was this informative and interesting way of incorporating Facebook into your mobile marketing strategy. John Horsley, wrote on March 28, 2013 that

Hubspot have created a really useful E-book about mobile marketing on Facebook that I wanted to share with you.

Over 500 million people use Facebook on a mobile device. Are you looking to catch up with the rapidly evolving mobile marketing landscape? See how you can combine you efforts on Facebook with mobile marketing to generate more leads and customers.

Learn how to optimize your Facebook presence for mobile users. This eBook will walk you through the steps to increase brand awareness and lead generation on the Facebook mobile app and mobile site.

After reading this 42-page eBook, you will know how to:

• Create mobile friendly marketing campaigns

• Update your website for mobile apps

• Design posts that are optimal for mobile devices

• Use Facebook ads on mobile

• Measure the success of your campaigns

Download the E-book here bit.ly/16kddG9

Content is key for SEO

Structure and Content is Key for SEO

Great digital marketing blogs has little to do with the way it looks, although design can give a blog an edge.  The body of text makes for a credible blog.  As text is important, the typography you choose to use should take the reader into consideration.  How people interact with your content visually is important.  Each blog has a visual hierarchy and blog posts must have structure.  There are headlines, sub-headlines, regular text, links, and block quotes.  Each layer of the structure has a different goal.

The Headline– The point of your headline is to grab the readers’ attention, and that’s why it’s often the largest piece of text in your blog post.

The Sub-Headline– Your sub-headlines also grab attention, and their main purpose is to turn scanners into readers. In order to do so, they must be as compelling as your main headline, and thus, larger than other text on your page (aside from your headline).

The Links– Your links are often a different colour than the rest of your text, and that’s the way it should be. It must be remembered that links beckon clicks.

If your blog doesn’t have structure, you’ll confuse your readers and they won’t know what they can click and what they can’t click.

Different blogs have different objectives, ranging from increasing profile/awareness, revenue, e-mail database building/conversion. The effectiveness of any blog correlates with the intended blog objective.  It should be re-iterated that the core body of text is how the receiver evaluates the relevance of the blog, and it will be on this basis we will review our identified bloggers.

Beatrice Whelan gave a presentation on blogging for SEO success to the KLCK Bloggers Network and this presentation outlines what we have said above. Have a look and see what you think.

http:///prezi.com/msd4wrcm7_rv/blogging-for-seo-success

dublindigital.ie  http://dublindigital.ie/top-5-seo-tricks-beginners/ (William Egan)  offers great insight for beginners…

Facebook blogs – who does it best?

Facebook Blogs

The Digital Marketing Institute blogs come in first delivering highly engaging relevant marketing focused Facebook blogs.  And in second place, Magicbeanlab.com presents critiques and learnings from findings to advise marketers on campaigns.

Cybercom comes in behind with highly focused relevant blogs for industry and brand managers.

William Egan’s posts are text heavy and referenced -based offering practical tips on the us of Facebook for businesses. DigitalDoughnut is random in its posts and the main criticism is there little structure to the flow of the posts and the industry sector they are serving.

Digital Marketing Institute Blog – Heineken Beer Tender

Snapshot of Cybercom Posts:

Campaigns – Magicbeanlab:

Rather than simply buying seconds and using spots to promote social media campaigns, visits to Facebook pages or rallies to Tweet a branded hashtag (brandtag), think about it as a way to tell a story that can live beyond the spot or beyond the campaign.

(Brian Solis, ‘The future of TV is more than social, it’s a multi-screen experience that needs design’, May 2012)

All the bloggers had some posts on Facebook.  The depth of the posts varied.  The more technical sites such as Wolfgang do not address social media as their niche is in PPC and Google Adwords which we will address in another post.  And in the words of Alfred Hitchcock – Good Evening!

Digital Marketing Blogs

A Review of 10 Digital Marketing Blogs

We identified 10 popular digital marketing blogs.

http://www.cybercom.ie/blog – award winning innovative digital marketing agency.   The blog operates through a medium of business promotion. It’s primarily a B2B blog with a focus on industry.

http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/blog – Digital marketing networking site for professionals whose main objective is to provide training and learning to marketing professionals/students.  Broad portal of digital marketing experts and academics.  Broad topic coverage.

 http://www.iprospect.ie/blog/ – Global digital marketing agency with a focus on SEO services, PPC management, mobile advertising, cross channel marketing and email marketing.  Taking learnings from the American markets and Case Studies posting the latest insights for marketers.

http://blog.magicbeanlab.com/data-viz/the-engagement-thing/ – Appearing independent and described as data-driven social media insights and opinion.  Digital marketing guru, stats and analytical, research driven findings.

http://www.williamegan.ie/ – dublindigital.ie  New kid on the block, Dublin-based marketeer bringing a fresh perspective to digital marketing trends and overall marketing strategy.  Geographical and micro marketing with an ‘on the ground’ feel with no agenda.  Independent, easy to navigate displaying a broad scope.

http://www.simplyzesty.com/ – Creative digital marketing agency, Finds the most cutting edge creative campaigns and artistic work (borderline not marketing, but great place to get inspired!).  Highly engaging.

 http://www.wolfgangdigital.com/blog/ – Digital marketing agency, highly technical with a focus on Google adwords.  Low level of content. 

http://www.smartinsights.com/blog/ – David Chaffey, expert academic who specialises in consultancy and training.  Research based findings.

http://www.digitaldoughnut.com/ – Community of digital marketers – highly interactive and engaging, formed on linkedIn in 2008 – portal for bloggers.

Top 10 blogs identified for review

The Blogs above were identified through SEO google listings, referrals, accreditation (Digital Marketing Awards) and company brand awareness.  On scanning individual blogs, content was the driving factor on selection although design was also a consideration.

The design is vital for building trust, although  if people can’t find what they want in the content, the design is pointless.  The resource pages were an important element of the blog to clearly outline the content.

Links to the websites are under blogroll to the right of this site.

Over the coming weeks we will examine the content of the above identified blogs.  As students of digital marketing, the blogs are subjective and the reviews are based on our opinions.  The blogs all share the same focus of digital marketing. As a result key words emerge  and relevant subjects appear across all blogs cross referencing and referring to similar subject matter including email to RSS, SMS to SEO, digital marketing campaigns, social media, facebook, google, linkedin, technology, advertising and marketing, mobile, video, training and analytics.