We are proud to announce that Micrositez is now in a partnership with Your City Office.

Much has changed in the past 500 years, but London is still one of the most financially relevant cities in the world, with the city host of some of the top companies in Europe. Therefore, those who want to augment their profile in the region as a business aim to occupy offices in London. For many upstart or small-manpower-based businesses, the rental cost of these office buildings can be expensive.

Virtual-office business solutions are a less-expensive alternative and are becoming more popular. You can find virtual office London providers that own various office buildings in the city to choose from.

With a dual offering of address and live communication services, a prestigious business address in London or the city of your choice can be attained at an affordable price, complete with telephone number and access to meeting rooms. By dispensing with the restraint and cost of a physical office, the virtual office has proven to be the ideal solution for countless modern businesses.

As part of the Montague Faber & Mason Group, Your City Office has established a presence as www.yourcityoffice.com. Based in the UK with head offices in Mayfair and Berkley Square, the company’s six-year experience within the industry has attained access to more than 50 virtual office locations around the world. Coupled with its virtual office solutions, City Office’s longstanding office Space Brokering service – with access to more than 100,000 locations worldwide – has facilitated thousands of businesses in meeting their ideal office-space requirements. With principled commitment to sound business practise, City Office endeavour to remain competitively priced has rewarded the company with thousands of satisfied virtual office clients and a turnover of £4M+ in office space contracts alone in 2011.

Please help us welcome Your City Office by contacting them today online.

London office space, Virtual Office, virtual office London, Your City Office

Building and maintaining a brand is a holistic process that requires all the media available to a company. Social media is increasingly important to this process, and it is a tactic that cannot necessarily be executed in the same fashion as conventional advertising.

Telling ordinary, fictional stories isn’t what makes content marketing engaging for customers and especially prospective customers. What is impactful is telling interesting, colorful, true stories that help the target cohort understand a product or service. So, a company might benefit from hiring a brand journalist to unearth real-life success stories from within an organization.

A brand journalist is under the auspices of a company, who scripts and produces videos and podcasts, writes blogs, shoots and finds photos, hosts webinars, maintains social media, assembles graphs, and provides other information that adds depth and dimension to a company’s message.

There are several reasons a brand journalist would be good for business – as one large and renowed company found out.

For one thing, they recognize good stories. Journalists are inundated with information, both useful and useless, and separate the stories that people want to hear. They are especially discerning because each time they set out to produce content, they ask themselves for any good reasons why an audience should read what they’re about to write.

Secondly, brand journalists know how to simplify. Journalists not only spot quality stories but also know how to deconstruct complex subject matter so it is easily digestible. A good brand journalist can tell engaging stories about unwieldy topics, highly regulated industries, and normally uninteresting products.

Finally, like news journalists, brand journalists rely on facts. A company that chooses to hire a brand journalist chooses to produce content that transcends marketing copy or collateral – they are hiring someone who cares more about a bottom-line and is conscientious about the information he/she knows the public will read.

Journalists are trained to investigate the credibility of information, researching to substantiate opinions and assertions with facts, and attributing data to the right sources. All this augments a company’s credibility as a voice in its industry.

However, as brand journalists are employed by organizations, it’s important to understand that they essentially are public relations professionals and not unbiased news media. The Poynter Institute aptly points out that the distinction is still necessary.

Does your company have someone who finds and tells success stories as part of its branding? Tell us on our Google+, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

brand journalists, content marketing, poynter institute, Public Relations, social media credibility, Social Media Marketing, social media news

Two new people join LinkedIn every second. The business social media network is quickly becoming the best place to look for employers and find new business partners. But what are those recommendations, anyway?  Recommendations are literally recommendations, from past employers endorsing your work. A LinkedIn profile is not complete without them, according to Mashable.

1. Ask for specific recommendations

Stop waiting for people to send you recommendations –they won’t. Don’t be afraid to ask people to help you out, but as always, be courteous.  If you chose to send a recommendation request, LinkedIn already has text to send but you should take that out and write your own personal note. Ask them to specific details like if sales went up or debt went down while you worked there.

2. Don’t ask everyone

Sending out a request to all of your connections is not the way to go. Most of those people aren’t qualified to write you a recommendation, you shouldn’t ask. Keep it to people in the industry you are looking for a job and people that you actually worked with.

3. Don’t ignore a request

Even if it someone you don’t know well, don’t leave the request hanging out in space. Tell them you don’t feel comfortable writing a recommendation, but in the future if the circumstance changes, you’d be happy to write for them. Always answer your requests.

4. Be careful about how you recommend

If you worked as part of team, only have one recommendation from that team. If everyone in your office recommends you it comes off as cheesy and not as genuine.

5. Update recommendations

Recommendations are just as important as your work history. If a recommendation becomes irrelevant, delete it. Be sure to monitor your recommendations as well.

LinkedIn is becoming a great networking site and all businesses should have profiles. It’s a great place to find clients and interact with possible employers. Recommendations are just another aspect of your profile that will help get your name out there.

Tell us what you think: have you ever recommended people before on LinkedIn?

Let us know  on our Google+, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

business, company, Employer, jobs, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Recommendations, Professionals, recommendation, social media

The audience is on social media, so that’s where businesses need to be.

While many businesses are still using old marketing models, often seeing social media as a fad, customers are using social media more and more for different areas of their lives – not just keeping up with friends and family, but getting their news, shopping for products, and discussing their needs and preferences.

Facebook alone has about 900 million active users, half of whom log into Facebook on any given day. Therefore, shouldn’t marketers be engaging them there? In order to stay relevant and top-of-mind with customers, now is the time for businesses to engage in social media. Here are three of the main reasons why your business needs to leverage social media now.

According to eMarketer, advertisers spent more on online marketing than in newspaper ads in 2010. In 2011, the budget for online advertising grew and surpassed newspaper advertising by almost $ billion. Doesn’t that say something? This figure indicates the growing number of mindshare to be captured online.

Social media is an inexpensive marketing tool that businesses can use to enter the online advertising environment. In contrast to traditional paid ad models, the only real cost of social media marketing is the time required to build and maintain a presence.

The real power of social media lies in the potential influence of word-of-mouth by online consumers. If a customer has 7,000 followers on Twitter and tweets something positive about your business, then that tweet is like a free online advertisement with a potential reach of 7,000 new customers, plus any Twitter followers of those 5,000 people, and so forth. This principle also applies for Facebook wall posts and LinkedIn questions and answers, as well as group discussions for business-to-business marketing.

Not only is the base of social media customers growing, but this cohort is increasingly accessing social sites from their smartphones. This month, Facebook had to warn its investors that its ad business is in jeopardy, because more users access via mobile, where not nearly as many ads are available. According to Nielsen, almost 40 percent of social media users access social sites from their mobile devices. This means that many users are interfacing with social media sites 24/7.

Let us know what you think on our Google+, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

consumer influence, engagement marketing, facebook, mobile advertising, smartphone engagement, social media, social media advertising, social media influence, word-of-mouth

Many small businesses don’t understand SEO from their CEO and that’s OK, says Mashable. There are simple steps small businesses can take to help themselves. These tips will help a small business achieve a Google ranking, even it’s not high. Having a Google Ranking, whether it’s low or high is essential in today’s business world.

Have a Blog

The easiest way to help with Google rankings is fresh content. There are many free blogging websites companies can use to host their blogs, we prefer WordPress because we can customize it to your liking.

Keyword Research

Check out search engines and what comes up for your key terms. See what the competition is doing and copy it, to some degree. Find three relevant keywords you want to target.

Onsite Optimisation

Sprinkle your keywords throughout your website. Don’t stuff them all in one place; Google will think your site is spam. It’s good to use your keywords in blogs as well. The best way to optimise is through your websites coding, which is what we do here at Micrositez.

Google Places

Make yourself a free Google Places page. If someone searches your company’s name that will usually be first result. Be sure to have your phone number and location and a picture. It helps direct people to your site.

Back Linking

Going to social media sites and posting about your company can help create traffic to your site. Just don’t post so often that its spam. Facebook is really good at monitoring posts so when you post, make sure it’s relevant and original content and not just a link. This creates a link back to your site which will increase its value to Google and up your rankings.

These methods will help create a Google ranking for a small business. Depending on how popular your keywords are will determine your success rate. But at Micrositez Digital we can help with SEO in a professional way that will get you into the top 10 results. We deliver on our commitment to getting your website there!

Do you think these steps are simple enough for small businesses?

Let us know what you think on our Google+, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, SEO

blog, CEO, facebook, Google, Google Rankings, keywords, Mashable, SEO, SEO Marketing, Tags, WordPress

Nokia stands as the only major smartphone maker to not have a tablet. Despite not having a tablet, Nokia is moving ahead with the launch of an e-reader app called Reading. On Friday, Nokia said it would begin the global campaign for Nokia Reading, a Windows phone app originally announced back in February for reading e-books on Lumia phones, reported by TechCrunch.

The first round of countries to get the app include: France, German, Italy, Russia, Spain and the UK. Other countries will be able to get the app later in the year. The app will run on the 900, 800, 710 and 610 Lumia models.

The strategy to being launching in Europe first, and is unique, but Nokia has its motives. Competitors like Amazon took a while to start making versions of the Kindle in languages other than English. Nokia made their strategy clear in a blog post, “While eBooks are becoming a common sight in countries like the US and the UK, they are still in their infancy – or basically unavailable – in many parts of the world.”

Nokia is planning on translating English-written best sellers, too. Books like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes are on the list to be translated. Nokia says the list continues to grow.

Reading is having discoverability problems and Nokia aims to fix it with a few different software options. Nokia has included a “collection” widget to help direct users to most popular books and new releases, organized by genre. The firm has also built in a predictive search and fonts that are particularly small-screen friendly, to ease the difficulty of reading on a smartphone.

Other enhancements like a News Stream and better functionality will be available as free updates.

“We have built a reading service that focuses on how people read on their mobiles,” Nokia’s product manager for the Reading app, Rhidian Williams, wrote in a post. “It’s a service that recognises that people read different kinds of content at different times of the day, and it brings this content together in a reading hub that will encourage readers to come back to it frequently.”

What’s your favourite e-reader app? Do you plan on downloading Nokia’s Reading?

Tell us what you think on our Google+, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

Amazon, E-book, E-reader, kindle, Lumia, mobile device, Nokia, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, Smartphones, tablet

Social media giant, Facebook, announced the launch of its App Center on Thursday, despite the latest news of its growing revenue concerns.

Facebook said the new app store will become the new place for finding games, according to the BBC. The new center will help developers get their social web and mobile games discovered by more people, Facebook claims. It will also spotlight free and paid apps that use Facebook’s social graph and it will be on the Facebook website.

“For the over 900 million people that use Facebook, the App Center will be the new, central place to find great apps like Draw Something, Pinterest, Spotify, Battle Pirates, Viddy and Bubble Witch Saga,” Facebook said in a post, reported by the Guardian.

While the App Center isn’t yet live globally, it will be in the coming weeks according to Facebook’s Aaron Brady.

“All developers should start preparing today to make sure their app is included for the launch,” he wrote in a developer’s blog on Facebook.

Brady did note the App Center is not designed to compete with Apple’s App Store and Google Play. It’s designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook, he said.

All of the news comes after Facebook announced the users of its apps for smartphones and tablets is growing much quicker than the number of advertisements it currently has, according to the Telegraph.

Facebook admits it has not developed a mobile advertising strategy… yet.

“We believe this increased usage of Facebook on mobile devices has contributed to the recent trend of our daily active users increasing more rapidly than the increase in the number of ads delivered,” Facebook said.

More and more people are using the mobile platform to post statuses and pictures to their Facebooks. But Facebook has yet to figure out a way to make money off of it. Analysts say if Facebook doesn’t solve this problem, it will hurt its financial growth.

So the question is, would you use a Facebook App Center? Do you think Facebook is taking on too much?

Let us know on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

Aaron Brady, Advertising, Draw Something, facebook, Facebook App Center, Facebook Moblie, mobile revenue, pinterest, Spotify, Viddy

The success of social media, like plotting a course on a map, is largely based on one aphorism: Before you can know where you’re going, you have to know where you are. Social media is not the end result, it is a means to an end – one tactic that’s part of a larger strategy.

It’s true that most businesses are engaging stakeholders on social media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are doing it correctly or that everyone should be doing it. Having no social media presence at all is better than having a bad one or a poorly-managed one.

Here are three questions we need to answer before haphazardly starting social media.

1. 1. What is our measurable business objective?

A lot of people start using social media because they hear about it in the news and others tell them that “it’s a great way to market your business.”

That is true, if it’s executed the right way – but most don’t know why they’re doing it or what to expect from it.

It’s a big problem if we can’t define what success should look like before we begin. Inbound marketing tactics such as social media and contact marketing drastically can improve marketing ROI – as long as we have direction. We don’t need to know the ROI, but we do need to understand how it’s going to increase revenue, decrease costs, or increase customer support.

So we should organize our social media goals before jumping in head-first. Then when we understand it, we’ll appreciate it more and invest more time and effort.

2.  Are our expectations realistic?

Being successful in social media is much more difficult than people realize. Yes, it’s inexpensive, but it’s not a side responsibility that should be taken care of in downtime – it needs planning and consistent attention if it’s going to be effective. On top of all that, social media is constantly evolving and it can be challenging to keep up with trends and changes.

If we’re not prepared to allocate time, effort and manpower to social media, we shouldn’t start it. For instance, there should be a social media manager. The entirety of social media should not be relegated to an intern.

We can’t launch a new website and expect SEO traffic to flood the website the next day.

3. WHY should our target cohort care?

In an age when customers can influence public perception via social media, that dictatorial one-size-fits-all philosophy no longer works. Not only that, but if most businesses try to operate on that, they will get buried alive.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of customers or potential customers. What are you interested in when you’re on Facebook or Google+? Why should anyone read our blog posts, Like our Facebook page, or comment and interact with us online?

The key to social media is engagement. Without it, people’s attention won’t be held long enough to buy something. If we want people to interact, then we need to get them to care, which isn’t easy. We need to experiment with different ways to engage them, then observe what they respond to.

Every Tweet should not be a sales pitch. Social media is not about generating transactions – it’s a different beast: it’s about building relationships. There’s nothing wrong with simply engaging people in conversation and let it naturally evolve into a prospective sale – as long as this is not forced.

People don’t interact with marketers because we’re awesome – they do it because there is some sort of benefit to them. Maybe what they see posted makes them laugh, cry or shocks them into taking action. Either way, it’s not about us. To succeed in social media, we must be laser-focused on our audience and their needs and desires.

Have you learned what works and what fails with social media? Tell us about it on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency, Social Media

content marketing, engagement marketing, objectives, ROI, social media, social media roi, social media strategy

Everyone in digital marketing knows blogging is a must. However, creating fresh content can be difficult – especially for small businesses. Here, at Micrositez Digital, we have quite a few tactics and strategies we use to keep blogs interesting. One of the keys to blogging is to have readers. Posting keyword-filled content isn’t going to be appreciated and passed along in your industry.

We’d like to share with a few of our favourite blogging tips, when you’ve got writers block.

Lists are a great way to create content that is easy to read. Many people do not read as much as they used to. Lists are easy to attract the eye. Use bullet points when easier than writing sentences. Readers will be able to easily skim your list and see what your company is about.

How-to blogs are always a favourite of readers. It shows what your company knows and helps build credibility in your community.

Be sure to add-in photos and videos. This shows your company’s personality and also catches a reader’s eye. Text-heavy articles aren’t appealing and generally don’t garner clicks. Always have a place for photographs of your office and employees. This gives readers a face to the name and are more likely to remember your company if you provide a concrete image.

Use your past client’s experiences as testimonials on your blogs. Keep in touch with clients so you have something to show to future clients. Create lasting relationships with businesses in your area. This utilizes a larger client base and keeps good spirits in the community.

Reward customers with contests. People love to win things and pick up free goodie bags. Giving away a 10% coupon can do wonders with client retention.

Also, consider the possibility of recording a podcast. Sometimes blogs are too wordy or too complicated, so give recordings a try.

Make sure you are taking the time to update your blog regularly. As with anything on the internet, trends happen quickly and drop off quickly. Staying on top of content can make all the difference.

If you don’t have time for regular blogging, give us a call. Need help or tips?

Contact us on our Enquiry Page, Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, SEO

blog, business blogging, community, content, creative, lists, Micrositez, podcasts, SEO, small business

According to a recent study, Facebook and Google privacy policies are so confusing to users, they have been compared to government notices, credit-card agreements and bank reward-program rules. One would think the two companies easily could make this information more clear, which seems to imply they don’t mind obfuscating their policies.

After reading the privacy policies, 33 percent of respondents felt less comfortable with how Facebook gathers and stores information about activity, and 47 percent of Google users felt comfortable with its own policies. Consumers have a weak understanding of how Facebook and Google collect and track user information and activity, and how and with whom information is shared.

Seventy percent of respondents correctly answered questions for comprehending government notices and 68 percent of respondents correctly understood credit-card agreements. On a scale of 0 to 100 – a score of 80 indicated good comprehension – respondents respectively scored 39 and 36 for the privacy policies of Facebook and Google.

Despite Google’s recent consolidation of its various privacy policies, users who participated in the study still expressed more discomfort after reading the revised policies.

Key findings for Facebook:

• Users are required to leverage an Application Programming Interface (API) in order to understand how their information is being used. Less than 40 percent of respondents who use Facebook understood how an API can be used to access and view public information.
• Fifteen percent of respondents correctly understood exactly what happens to their Facebook accounts after they’re deleted.
• Twenty percent could accurately identify how to block outside apps and websites from accessing their personal account information on Facebook.

Key findings for Google:

• Twenty-three percent of Google account-holders understood their profiles are visible to anyone online.
• More than half were not aware that the privacy policy also applied to their use of Google Maps, Google Talk, Blogger and YouTube.
• Thirty- eight percent of respondents understood that Google connects search activity to a user’s IP address, regardless whether they sign into a Google account.

Ways the two internet megaliths’ privacy policy documents may be improved:

• They can succinctly convey what information is collected, how user information is tracked, filed and shared, and how account-holders can manage their privacy. Consolidating the policies is not the answer, nor is expecting users to read technical information intended for web developers – which is what Facebook does when it directs users to information about the Graph API. Current policies take even the most dedicated and concerned readers hours to trudge through because of their length, numerous links to related information and complex, detailed wording.
• Users should be allowed to opt-in to share and publicize their information. By setting the default privacy settings at the most conservative and letting users decide to expand how their information is retained, online service providers can meet the stated needs of their users. Between 70 and 80 percent of the survey respondents agreed with the Obama Administration’s plan to streamline online tracking of consumers’ personal information and make it easier to understand exactly what is done with their information.

Do you have concerns about online account privacy policies or how your information is used by companies? Let us know on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency, Social Media

facebook, facebook privacy, Google, google privacy, information collection, information sharing, information storage, information tracking, online privacy, privacy policy

Facebook is one of the top social networks in the world today. This site gets more and more recognition daily from their advertisements and content. They have become more than just a social network, they have became a communications system that has taken its toll on a lot of entrepreneurs.

Marketing on this site is one of the most popular actions that a lot of businesses have taken advantage of. Everyone knows that Facebook can be very helpful in expanding a customer base, so therefor when you are deciding to start putting up ads, you need to know exactly what should be done. Here are some very simple steps to making sure that your ad makes the proper impact that is intended.

First things first, you need to make sure that there is clarity and design in the message that you are trying to portray. Although Facebook is almost all about socializing, this area of is just for marketing. When setting up your page you need to realize that this is not your ordinary social page, this needs to be all about your business and what it offers. All of your important information like contact information, discounts and coupons needs to be very visible.

Next you will need to make sure that there is something that will catch the readers eye like promoting special memberships, discount codes etc. This is the perfect way to make your future customers take action.

Third, you will need make sure that all of your advertisements need to be easy and simple to understand. No one wants to have to figure out how to retrieve their discount or coupon. Make things very self explanatory when offering products. You want your viewer to be able to be directed towards exactly what you want them to do.

Using images is also another great idea for your marketing ad. Pictures attract more traffic than words do, this happens the most on the internet. A picture should be the first thing the viewer sees other than it being a big patch of text. This will bring a lot of people to your page and keep them coming back. There are a lot of different strategies to making your ad perfect but these steps should help start you off on the right track. Make sure that when you are making these ad’s that you are targeting the right people and keeping up with your own business deals. People want to be a part of the best businesses so if your ad is not appealing, you wont be getting the traffic that you are looking for.

Will you make the right decisions when producing your maketing ad? What else do you think is very important when it comes to making your first marketing ad on Facebook?

Let us know your opinion by finding us on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency, Social Media, Pay Per Click

facebook ads, facebook advertising, facebook marketing, facebook pay per click, online advertising, pay per click, social media advertising

Cabinet Officer for the UK’s Office of Cyber Security, Francis Maude, made a comment that the London Olympics will not be immune to cyber-attack. Maude made the remarks while visiting Estonia, a country that is considered a pioneer in cyber security.

Maude said attackers “would seek to disrupt the Games,” nothing that the Beijing Olympics saw 12 million cyber security incidents in 2008, according to the BBC.

“We have rightly been preparing for some time a dedicated unit which will help guard the London Olympics against cyber-attack,” Maude said. “We are determined to have a safe and secure Games.”

Maude noted that many UK government networks have been compromised and are the targets of foreign intelligence agencies and groups working with them. He added that the threat from these groups is accelerating.

Last year, the UK government created a team to specifically combat cyber-attacks on the 2012 Summer Games. A team for cyber security is necessary because technology is always changing.

“High-end cyber security solutions that were used 18 months ago by a limited number of organisations to protect their networks may already be out in the open marketplace – giving cybercriminals the knowledge to get round these protective measures.”

The government’s responses must be fast and flexible, Maude added.

“What works one day is unlikely to work a matter of months or even weeks later.”

A few worst-case scenarios are being tested throughout this month on computer systems. This comes just as extra security precaution; Olympic bosses said they do not have a specific threat at this time.

Last month, the government got a lot of criticism for regulating the internet with a heavy hand. A rumour states the government has plans to extend “snooping” abilities online.

Maude said despite the risks the Games face the government is actively resisting the temptation to over-regulate and control the internet.

“We need to protect the internet from hostile actors- the criminals, the hackers, the terrorists – who want to exploit it for less positive ends,” he said.

During Maude’s three day visit he will also see NATO’s Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

Do you think the UK government will be able to defend the Olympics from a cyber-attack?

Let us know on our Facebook page or Google+ page, or follow us on Twitter.

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

2012 summer olympics, Cyber Attack, Cyber Security, cyber threat, francis maude, intelligence, London, London 2012, NATO, olympics, uk

Social media analytics is the data that measures key activity and engagement around people’s social graphs. We can have all the data we can gather, but it is not meaningful unless it communicates something tangible.

But let’s face it, social media measurement is hard. The reason it is so emergent as a marketing practice and we focus on it is because so many people are engaging it all the time – if the audience is on social media, then businesses should be as well.

Even when we search online for tips on how to measure ROI on social media, it’s hard to turn up anything concrete. All this points to the fact that everyone knows social media is important, but is at a loss at how to do tracking. The reason why is there really are no processes and standards around it – despite industry efforts. Most businesses still can’t clearly articulate what success looks like, while most of social data – 90 percent of it – is not structured and hard to rein in for business insight.

One place to start is for a company to start defining its measurements by first determining how it envisions interactions with its customers, and then simply measure how interactions – not necessarily business yield – are actually happening. Social media is not all about generating business, but by building relationships with key stakeholders.

The next step is for a company to audit how they measure the interactions they can observe – as some interactions always will be elusive – and zero in on the two to three key performance indicators that clearly indicate how well social media campaigns are doing. Certain things the audience may be saying may not directly have to do with the bottom line, but can be helpful in understanding a brand’s audience. For example, comments where people speculate what can happen in the future, or location-based check-ins and the comments connected to these.

Social media telemetry, as well as the information that cannot be measured present real data aggregation, analysis and normalization challenges. Often, public relations and marketing strategists don’t have the means to process big social data.

It’s possible for a company to sort through this complex data challenge by building up “Social CRM,” new methodologies and toolsets that collect the social media chatter by organizing it with prospect and customer profiles. This type of filing can be really helpful in tying social media with purchase information, which in turn models sales effectiveness.

Tracking social media ROI boils down to strategists’ ability to connect social media efforts with an individual sale. That sale can take the form of coupon redemption, a donation through a click-through ad, or retail location visits as a result of a location-based ad. If strategists can track each social action, they can track sales effectiveness. Marketers also can analyze their social data with their website data.

Various social media CRM tools are emerging as an asset to marketers, and there are other tips out there for measuring social media ROI.

Please let us know your feedback on our Facebook page or Google+ page!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

social crm, social media, social media analytics, social media crm tools, social media roi, social media to sales, social media tracking

Facebook launched Timeline for brand pages last month and it didn’t just change social media strategies. It also changed the way consumers physically looked at pages.

Mashable did a webcam eye-tracking study with EyeTrackShop and found that participants spent less time looking at wall posts and more time looking at the cover photo on brands’ timelines than they did on their old Facebook wall layouts.

The one thing Timeline limits is branding. The cover photo is the only chance a company has to brand itself on.

“The new Facebook Timeline limits the effective branding space, and the top portion of the page must be effectively utilized,” suggest the study’s authors.

The study was done in the US and recorded the eye movements of 30 people when they were shown brand profile pages; before and after they were converted to Timeline.

The participants looked at brand pages like “The Muppets” and Pepsi in 10-second intervals. The study recorded what participants looked at on each webpage, for how long and in what order. Images captured this data.

From what Mashable found, there are some suggestions as to what a brand owner can do to increase visibility to consumers.

First off, ads on Timeline are less visible than on Facebook Brand Pages. Only 30-40% of participants looked at ads on brand Timeline pages and 80% looked at them on brand pages. Ads placed higher up were more noticeable.

Cover photos are the centre of attention. Wall posts used to be the star attraction, but viewers looked at cover photos first and for the longest amount of time. Cover photos with faces got the most attention.

Content was looked at last. Viewers either looked left or right then noticed content. . Information like the number of “likes” is more visible. This can make a difference when a viewer is trying to decide whether or not liking a brand page is worth it.

The key to branding with the new Timeline is going to be all about cover photos. If your cover photo is eye catching and interesting, the better chance a viewer is going to stay on the page. Perhaps the most surprising thing from the study is content isn’t necessarily king for Facebook. Brands may find themselves in a catch-22 with the new Timeline, where ignoring content or a cover photo isn’t an option.

Please let us know what you think about this study and/or Facebook’s Timeline on our Facebook or Google+ page..or follow us on Twitter!

Micrositez:  Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

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Analysts expect the mobile phone industry to reel in more than $1.5 trillion in revenues this year, with 28 percent of that figure, $400 billion, to be attributed to mobile data.

The research notes that within the revenues expected for mobile data, non-messaging revenues led by apps, streaming media and mobile web browsing finally have surpassed those of traditional messaging such as SMS, as smartphone usage continues to grow. Non-messaging, the research says, will account for about $212 billion, 53 percent of the total. Non-messaging includes apps, games and mobile web browsing, and music and video streaming.

Still voice is still accounting for a majority of the value in mobile, and OTT services provided by third-parties such as Apple, are still only a small piece of the pie.

The research reports that in the U.S., smartphones now account for 69 percent of all mobile phones sold. This is the highest rate, with the worldwide average at roughly half that. Some operators expect 90 to 95 percent of all sales to be smartphones this year. Most smartphone users are also using social media on their phones. O2 in the UK led that charge last year. Right now, the UK ranks in the top-five mobile nations by revenue.

Consider that the world population now is more than 7 billion people. The total global base of mobile subscribers now stands at 6 billion. Though it took 20 years to reach the first billion, the speed at which this has accelerated is remarkable: It took about 15 months for the number of mobile users to go from 5 billion to 6 billion.

Though the U.S. dominates the market, much of the actual growth now is coming from developing countries. Together, China and India are adding 75 million new subscribers each quarter to the global base. China alone already has 1 billion mobile subscribers, the first country to reach that milestone. India currently has the highest subscriber growth rate.

For more detailed mobile statistics, visit mobiThinking.

Please let us know how the mobile industry is effecting your industry on our Facebook or Google+ pages or follow us also on Twitter!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

global mobile use, mobile growth, mobile revenue, mobile statistics, mobile subscribers, OTT, smartphone

Every year, Google changes an algorithm to shake up the world of SEO. Google representatives announced that new changes to how search results are generated will be taking effect throughout the year.

Google and search engine optimisation companies are in a struggle. Google wants to keep search results relevant and correct for users, while some search marketing companies are out to get their websites to the top, even if they are faulty or misleading.

Back in 2000, it was extremely easy for any website to manipulate Google search results. As long as a programmer added in a lot of keywords the Googlebots would pick up the website and shoot it to number one. Unfortunately, Google search results were filled with spam websites. That’s why they made the change. More recently, backlinks have been the answer to getting your site to number one.

People on the internet do offer all kinds of crazy deals, promising to give you thousands of backlinks cheaply. This practice is wrong. Google has continued to try and combat these spammers with different algorithms.

Many SEO experts think that Google is going to start integrating activity into the algorithms. It would essentially track whether or not people are actually visiting a site. Time would also play a factor. Are people on the site for seconds or minutes? The longer people spend on site, the better the content must be.

When trying to figure out what Google is going to do next, there are three things to look at. First, Google wants sites with great content that is relevant to specific keywords. Things like keeping a current blog with good content and keywords will help ratings.

Second, Google looks to links from other authority sites to give it credibility. If you write a blog for your site about new legislation being passed in your state, link it back to your local newspaper. Google loves that.

Third, Google is watching what people are doing when they land on a site. Are they clicking on things? Are they on the site for 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Make sure your website is easy to navigate. If it’s too busy people will leave and click on the next site.

There is as always a way to manipulate this, but its short term. Once Google finds out the unethical promotion you are using, your sites’ ratings will plummet.

This is where social media sites are really going to come into play. Directing people to your website with sharable content will help boost site activity.

At Micrositez, we always anticipate what types of changes Google is going to make. However, we have never used backlinks excessively or tried to cheat the system. With us you will get great content for your website and social media. It will be shareable and generate fans. Ethical responsibility is something we are proud to uphold, no matter Google’s rules.

Please join us on our Facebook page or Google+ page!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, SEO

backlinks, Google, keywords, search algorithm, search marketing, SEO, social media, spam

Today Facebook announced its new Antivirus Marketplace, providing its users with full-version antivirus software free for six months. The mammoth social network has partnered with Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee, Sophos and TrendMicro to offer this software and to augment Facebook’s URL blacklist system with their own URL blacklist databases.

The AV Marketplace is offering a lot of free software because hundreds of millions of Facebook users don’t have security protection on their computers. Facebook makes licenses available to download full versions of antivirus software such as Microsoft Security Essentials, McAfee Internet Security 2012, Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition, Norton Antivirus and Trend Micro internet security for PCs and Macs.

Unlike the other options, Microsoft Security Essentials is free forever, not just for the first six months. After six months, many of these will require a fee.
The AV Marketplace is accessible from the Facebook Security page or at on.fb.me/FBAVMarketplace. Facebook hasn’t gone in-depth on its strategy, but it eventually may expand on its list of antivius partners to offer further free alternatives to account holders. Facebook says arming its users with antivirus software will “empower them to stay safe no matter where they are on the web.”

To buttress these measures, Facebook’s more than 901 million users now will be protected by the combined intelligence blacklists of the IT security industry. Facebook’s own URL blacklist system, which already scans trillions of clicks per day, now will incorporate the databases from the security companies that are providing AV software.

Additionally, Facebook said its partnering companies will write posts on Facebook Security to provide important security material helping users keep themselves and their data safe. All this is accessible by Liking the Facebook page.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people who use Facebook, and the security of their data,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “The Facebook Security Team has pioneered many innovative defense systems against viruses, spam and phishing attacks, as well as extensive automated enforcement mechanisms that quickly shut down malicious pages, accounts and apps. Truly effective security requires cooperation and we are excited about this partnership with many of the leaders in the security community to better help us defend against existing threats, anticipate new ones and arm people with the tools they need to protect themselves.”

Will Facebook’s new AV Marketplace be useful to you? Tell us on our Facebook page or Google+ page!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

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The buzz about the first social media Olympics has been circulating for a while now, and so has the ban on fans taking photos of athletes and posting them to their Facebook and Twitter pages.

It even states in the terms and conditions of a ticket purchase, that ticket holders cannot publish images, video or sound online, according to the BBC.

Despite the warnings, statements and ticket conditions, Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of organisers Locog, said “We live in an internet world… and there’s not much we can do about it.”

The approach the Olympics organisers are taking is simply to protect media rights, he said.

“Media rights are sold – can we police everything these days? Absolutely not, the internet has changed the world and we’re not going to be silly,” Sir Keith.

Some of the events, like the cycle road race, triathlon and marathon, will be able to be watched without a ticket.

“But the reality is that we live in an internet world where Facebook downloads and uploads are happening every day of the week and there’s not much we can do about it,” Sir Keith told the BBC.

The cycling race starts from The Mall, continues through west London and out to Surrey and back around. Spectators will be able to watch from the road, freely taking video and photos without any authority to stop them.

Sir Keith added, “In a venue we can control it [photos and videos] a lot more and we do.”

However, Helyn Clack sees spectator footage as a different beast. As a cabinet member for the Olympics at Surrey County Council, she said the authority was considering compiling spectator footage for its own purposes.

“We wouldn’t want to stop people taking films of the race as it comes through Surrey,” she said.

In Clack’s opinion, she wants to be able to look back and see what they were able to accomplish after the Games are over.

A London 2012 spokesman said:  “We are understand that spectators will want to share their photographs of London 2012 events on social media networking sites and we are not looking to stop them from doing this,” he continued: “ However, we are looking to stop people who seek to use them for commercial purposes. Clarifications of this matter will be provided when the tickets are distributed.”

So who’s right? Should spectators be allowed to snap photos as long as they don’t sell them? Tell us on our Facebook page or Google+ page!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

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Adobe released on Monday the updated version of its design software package, including new version of Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. The package consists of 14 tools that will go on sale within 30 days.

Photoshop is getting GPU (graphics processing unit) acceleration and the capability of moving objects within pictures. Also, video editing will be standard in this program. Illustrator now has the Cocoa interface from Mac OS X.

Just as last time, British consumers will have to pay a lot more than those in the United States. The premium for the high-end Master Collection is 38 percent, and the United Kingdom versions of the lower- and mid-range suites cost 28 percent more than their US counterparts – all before sales tax.

Each application in the CS6 lineup may be bought as an upgrade or as a one-off purchase, as in the past. However, now they’re also available through Adobe’s new Creative Cloud subscription service, which also launched Monday.

“Creatives get a ton of innovation across CS6, with milestone releases of all our flagship products,” said David Wadhwani, Adobe’s digital media chief. “With CS6 and Creative Cloud, we’re also introducing new products, new mobile workflows and advanced publishing capabilities that show we are laser-focused on ensuring design, web and video pros have everything they need for the delivery of high-impact content and apps.”

The Master Collection, which has the most comprehensive non-subscription bundle of CS6 tools, will cost £2,223 – all prices here exclude VAT – when it goes on sale within 30 days. US customers will pay $2,599, which works out at £1,614 at today’s exchange rate.

The cheapest package, Design Standard, costs £1,032 in the UK and $1,299 (£807) in the US, while the mid-range Design and Web Premium, and Production Premium bundles cost £1,509, compared with $1,899 (£1,180).

It’s unclear why Adobe has priced its product at such a difference. In the past, the company has justified its UK premiums by pointing to the complexity of the European market and suggesting that it’s more difficult to achieve economies of scale in the UK than it is in the US.

As an alternative, Creative Suite users can choose Creative Cloud. Explore the options and figure out what is cost effective and won’t be redundant with what you already have.

Please let us know if you’re excited about this new product and your opinion on this on our Facebook page or Google+ page!

Micrositez:  Digital Marketing Agency UK, Web Design UK

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Marketing plans have taken on digital forms in recent years, especially with social media. Many companies have used social media pages like Twitter and Facebook to target specific marketing campaigns. Hashtags are an integral part of these digital advertisements and sharing is another feature that must be used for success.

Here are a few tips to make sure your social media campaign is all that it can be, from SocialMediaToday.com:

Keep hastags short and precise. Do not add words together to make puns. Use it sparingly so it is not used negatively.

1. Check your Twitter account at least 5 times a day. Trends grow and die within hours. It’s important to monitor them, in case you can capitalise on them.
2. Do not share entire blog posts! Simply tease to them to bring people to your content.
3. Use action words in posts on Facebook, “Check this” “It’s here” or “Out now.”
4. Keep a calendar with things that seem frivolous, like celebrity birthdays. These things trend on Twitter in a HUGE way.
5. Make sure all of your pages have widgets for each of your social media pages.
6. Don’t follow random people on Twitter. Use sources like peerindex.com to look at lists. Or use Klout to find big influencers on your topics.
7. Be aware of the time of day. If it’s lunch time, try and tie that into your post. Or even the day of the week. Followers are more apt to respond to a post about weekend plans on a Friday, for example.
8. Make sure images on Facebook are attractive and aren’t taking over your page.
9. Don’t spam! Make sure you aren’t clogging your reader’s newsfeeds and Twitter feeds with multiple posts a day. Sometimes less really is more!

Please share a tip or two with us on our Facebook page or Google+ page…or follow us on Twitter!

Micrositez: Digital Marketing Agency UK, Social Media

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