The UK's economy shrank by 20.4% in April alone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are forecasting the worst world recession since the Great Depression of the 1930's. The uncertainty of the economic landscape ahead of us all is a concern for many businesses. However, there are ways to help your business prepare for whatever is around the corner and completing a full marketing audit (assessing all marketing activity, benchmarking effectiveness and developing new strategies), is a sensible...

In May 2020, Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of Facebook Shops. Since abandoning the development of a stand alone Instagram shopping app in 2018, Facebook has been developing what they claim will be 'a top tier shopping destination'. The Coronavirus pandemic has created a surge in online shopping and in reaction Facebook have brought forward the development of their Facebook Shops platform. So, is it something businesses should be embracing as part of their social media strategy?  What ex...

You've dived into your Google Analytics and you know where your website visitors are coming from and how they find and use your site. You also discover that your bounce rate is really high. Is this a problem and if so, what can you do about it? What exactly is a bounce rate? A website bounce occurs when a user visits your website, views just one page and then exits immediately. They essentially 'bounce' off your website. Your bounce rate is calculated by dividing all single page sessions by all...

Since the UK lockdown, time spent online has increased exponentially. In fact, UK daytime internet usage has more than doubled. Consumers spending more and more time online will, and has, created opportunities for some businesses, notably ecommerce businesses. The key for these businesses is retaining new customers in the short term and beyond the lockdown period.  Email marketing Email marketing is an effective and cost effective channel for retaining new customers. There are a variety o...

In these challenging times, it’s essential that businesses keep talking to their customers; this really is not the time for marketing 'radio silence'. While cashflow may be a concern for many businesses, the great news is that marketing doesn't have to involve big budgets. In fact, there are lots of highly effective and impactful, low cost marketing activities businesses can (and should!) utilise.  Email marketing  Mailchimp offer free email marketing up to 2,000 subs...

Effective website copy which is informative, persuasive and compelling will not only help to convert sales and enquiries, but also greatly assist your SEO efforts. However, in our experience it's often one of the biggest stumbling blocks during a new website project. A combination of resource, time and experience can leave a new website ready to go but with no content.  Who are you writing for? Writing effective website copy is not the same as writing effective print copy. In general, website ...

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a pretty simple phrase for what is, in reality, a huge area of digital marketing. Generally speaking, when people refer to SEO they're talking about making sure their website appears high in a search engine's listings. So what on earth is technical SEO?  What is technical SEO? Technical SEO is just one part of SEO (which also includes content marketing, keyword optimisation, link building and UX design); it's the process of ensuring your website functionalit...

In these uncertain and changeable times, businesses staying connected with their customers is critical. The Government's latest advice calls for longer periods of self isolation and increased social distancing, so the challenge of reaching your customers is only going to become more difficult. However, social media can help and now is the time to embrace all the functionality that each channel offers.     Facebook  Facebook Live is an ideal way of broadcasting to your customers in real time...

What are Google search ads?  Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how to write effective Google search ad copy, let's start off with the basics and look at what Google Ads paid search (previously called AdWords) is. When you type a search query into Google, you're presented with a list of results displayed on the the search engine result page (SERP). This list is often a mix of organic and paid results. The results that have been paid for will have a green box with the word "ad" before th...

The digital marketing landscape is continually changing, making it difficult to know where to focus your time. So here's a round up of the digital marketing trends we think everyone should keep an eye on during 2020.Google's speed addictionYour website needs to (ideally) load in under 3 seconds! Any longer and less pages can be crawled by Google, which can have a negative affect on your search rankings. Check your website loading speed and if it needs to improve, look at compressing fil...

The festive selling period is now well and truly underway and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. But don't panic - even if you've left your marketing planning out in the cold, there's still time to make the most of your Christmas sales!Be present in the right placesConsumer interaction with brands and products are typically quite complex. We live in a fast moving, communication-led world with information and conversations possible in a variety of ways across multi...

Basket abandonment rate for eCommerce websites can be frustratingly high. The average rate for abandoned baskets sits around 65%, but for some sectors it can be as high as 80%!Costly delivery and the customer not being ready to purchase top the list of reasons for basket abandonment. However, website UX design is also a major influence. According to Invesp 11% of abandoned baskets are attributed to a complex checkout or basket process and 24% of shoppers are saving selections and deciding l...

If the first bite is taken with the eye, then high quality food photography that tells your brand's story, should be at the heart of your marketing campaign. To get the most out of your food photography it really is worth spending time to clearly define your brief and think carefully about where and how your images will be used.What type of food photography do I need?Before commissioning a photographer, think about the different types of images you may need. As a minimum we would sugges...

B2B ecommerce is seriously big business. The global B2B ecommerce sector is forecast to be worth £5.2 trillion by 2020. As digital savvy Millenials take over senior buying and procurement positions, businesses need to be ready to meet and service their needs.  Historically, B2B digital marketing has been slow to evolve, falling behind its B2C counterpart. However, in recent years there's been rapid growth in B2B ecommerce sales, so it's a proposition that deserves serious conside...

Social media is supposed to be free, right? Isn't good social media simply creating engaging content and watching it go viral? Why then would you want to pay for social media advertising?What is social media advertising?Social media advertising comes in many forms. There are three main types of advertising:boosting a specific post digital display advertising remarketingBoosting a postOn a crowded platform with a lot of accounts making a lot of 'noise', boosting a p...

Yes, we know that summer has only just arrived, but if you want to capitalise on the Christmas gift market you'll need to have your Christmas packaging wrapped up very soon.   Ideally, your Christmas packaging will be completed and include pack shots, pricing and samples, by the end of June.  Why so early? Several of the big retailers have large media Christmas gift launches in the summer and #ChristmasinJuly has gained a lot of traction over the last few years. In fact, there is...