Tag Archives: social-media

Bigmouthmedia Looks Towards A Pivotal 2010 For Digital Marketing

Bigmouthmedia predicts that 2010 will be a pivotal year for the digital marketing industry, with mobile and social media playing a significant role in a series of developments set to sweep through the sector.

Bigmouthmedia analysts believe that an evolving search landscape, the continued rise of social media and advances in mobile technology will combine to make the next year one of the most eventful in the sector’s history. With these and other factors blurring the boundaries between PR, marketing and customer care, the company also predicts that the shape of the search business itself will begin to change.

“Digital marketing has always been a dynamic industry, but the introduction of real time search, the continued convergence of devices and the apparently unstoppable rise of social media have all come together at the same time, and we expect this to have a major impact upon the search landscape in 2010,” said Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia’s Head of Search.

“The industry has matured, and already we are seeing some of the more prehistoric SEO business models out there beginning to fail. Major clients increasingly require partners with international scale, and as the downwards pressure on costs continues, small-scale agencies are going to struggle to cope in what is likely to become an environment dominated by a handful of major players.”

Bigmouthmedia’s sector-by-sector predictions for the year ahead indicate that the digital marketing business could be facing one of the most challenging years in its history.

Retailers are expected to continue investing in social media strategies designed to monetise direct marketing channels like Twitter and Facebook while simultaneously expanding their mobile marketing activities.

In the travel business, operators seeking to offset a fall in revenues caused by the global recession will increasingly look online. Some 57% of travel marketing budgets will be spent online in 2010, while the majority of companies are also predicted to increase spend on Social Media & Online PR and Search engine optimisation as they attempt to come to terms with this evolving channel.

In the world of finance, the advent of the widely predicted new supermarket banking services look set to dominate the sector’s year. A scramble has already begun, meanwhile, to win over the significant increase in consumers expected to return online and begin shopping for services again in 2010.

“The search marketing business has weathered the economic downturn better than most, but there is no room for complacency. For every one of the opportunities these new developments bring there are technical and logistical challenges to be overcome,” said Girdwood.

2010: The Year Ahead in Digital Marketing is available for download from bigmouthmedia.

Via EPR Network
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Bigmouthmedia And Econsultancy Reveal Companies Plan Increased Social Media Spend In 2010

The Social Media and Online PR Report, published by Econsultancy in association with bigmouthmedia, has revealed that most companies are planning to invest more in social media next year but are struggling to find the time and resources to manage their activity.

The report is based on a survey of over 1,100 companies and agencies, and is the most comprehensive study of its kind around how companies are using online PR and social media for marketing and customer service.

The results showed that 86% of companies plan to spend more money on social media in 2010, and a further 13% are planning to keep the same level of budget. 54% cited their biggest barrier to better social media engagement was a lack of resources, with 90% of businesses stating that social media is taking up more time internally than a year ago.

“The growth of social media and online PR has been meteoric, but until now there have been very few hard facts available on precisely how UK business is using the new channel and what they’re getting in return for their investment,” said Phil Gripton, Managing Director of bigmouthmedia UK.

“These statistics – the most detailed yet available – show that while an increasing number of companies are embracing social media, many are struggling to effectively manage their engagement and are consequently failing to make the most of a potentially enormous opportunity.”

The research found that many companies are experimenting with social media without yet reaping any measurable benefits. Only a quarter of companies said that they have gained “real, tangible value” from social media whereas 60% said they had gained “some benefit but nothing concrete”. However, 52% of respondents who are heavily involved said they have gained real value, compared to only 13% of companies who “experimented but not done much”.

Michelle Goodall, Econsultancy’s social media and online PR consultant at Econsultancy, said: “Before they think about their strategy and the best tactics, companies need to go back to basics and think in detail about how online PR and social media can help them deliver against their business objectives.

“The reality is that most businesses understand how to listen, what to measure and where to engage but are struggling to define the value of engagement and reputation in social spaces.”

There view of the benefits of Twitter is mixxed, with 31% of respondents saying there are “tremendous opportunities” available, but half reported their companies are “open-minded but not fully convinced about the value to the business”.

The majority of organisations (62%) are using the micro-blogging site for publicising new content, with 54% using the channel for marketing or brand monitoring (47%). Only 27% of companies are using Twitter as a customer service tool for reacting to issues and inquiries, while 25% use Twitter as a customer feedback tool. 7% felt that Twitter is over-hyped and a fad.

Via EPR Network
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Bigmouthmedia Unveils British Business Top Social Networking Executives

A new bigmouthmedia survey has identified the UK market’s biggest business users of online social networking tools.

Following extensive research, Carnival Cruises’ John Heald and On Holiday Group CEO Steve Endacott have been revealed as the business leaders trading in Britain that have most readily adopted services like LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter as part of their essential marketing tool kit.

“Social networking may have become one of the most talked about trends in the online world, but until now there has been little hard evidence showing to what extent the business community has embraced these tools. Our research shows that while many leading executives are now deriving measurable benefits f r o m this rapidly developing channel, some of the UK’s most prominent organisations have failed to get to grips with this important trend,” said Lyndsay Menzies, bigmouthmedia Chief Operations Officer.

While the social media has been one of 2009’s most hyped phenomena, little evidence exists as to what extent businesses are deriving benefits f r o m the plethora of available services. In order to gauge real-world attitudes to the tools, bigmouthmedia assessed the online networking performance of 50 CEO’s & senior marketing executives selected f r o m the FTSE100 and the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.

Carnival’s Senior Director John Heald emerged as the clear winner in the FTSE100 category. He uses a combination of Facebook and blogging to reach out to past, present and future customers.

“The internet has changed the way that people want to communicate with companies, and even the FTSE100 has to come to terms with that. Customers have become accustomed to a certain level of transparency and informality in their dealings with business and even large-scale enterprises need to adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.”

Heald’s use of social media proved to be a relative rarity amongst the FTSE100 executives sampled. Only 25% of them engage in any form of online networking, compared to 80% of senior players f r o m Fast Track companies.

Topping the table f r o m the fast growth companies listed in the Fast Track 100 is On Holiday Group CEO and founder Steve Endacott. The former MyTravel chief employs a range of tools including Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, Plaxo and Xing to promote his travel company and believes that they are an essential part of the modern business toolkit. “I believe that these are tools every business has to get to grips with. There’s a generation of consumers growing up with social media, and unless you truly understand the culture there’s a real danger of losing touch with them,” he said.

LinkedIn emerged as the senior executive’s networking tool of choice. Half of those surveyed use the service, while 80% of the FTSE100 managers that engage in online networking use it as their only application.

“Social media is simply about listening and interacting with your customers, using channels that many staff will already be familiar with, such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Digg. It is common sense, and it’s perhaps unsurprising that the majority of the FastTrack companies are ahead of the curve in this respect,” commented Econsultancy’s Chris Lake.

“What’s needed is a shift in mindset. Firms should embrace customer feedback and act on it. By engaging with customers you increase satisfaction, which is a proven way of generating repeat business and referrals. Why wouldn’t you want to do that? “

About bigmouthmedia 
Founded in 1997, bigmouthmedia is Europe’s largest independent digital marketing agency. With a team of over 200 staff located across 13 offices in 10 countries on 3 continents, the company maximises exposure for major brands online through a variety of fully integrated digital marketing channels: Search engine optimisation, PPC, Online Media Planning, Affiliate marketing, Social Networking, Brand Monitoring, Online PR and Web Analytics. The bigmouthmedia on Twitter, bigmouthmedia on Mobile Twitter and bigmouthmedia on friendfeed services provide constant up to date digital marketing news to ensure subscribers are fully informed and aware of all industry developments.

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