Do I really need to create a content marketing strategy?

That should be your first question before you even look at possible options to support your marketing strategy.

Yes! As we’ve learned time and time again, not only do you need a content marketing strategy, but it needs to be documented. If you do this, you’ll feel significantly less challenged with every aspect of content marketing, and will be able to use content marketing tactics and social media channels much more effectively. With a clear, documented strategy, you’ll be able to justify spending a higher percentage of your marketing budget on content marketing.

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Google has recently held a large selection of events and announced some cool interesting features being released. Whilst there were no massive surprises updates were in line with recent tests seen in the wild) there’s still work for marketers to do to understand their impact.

Here’s a summary of things to look out for in the coming weeks and months.

Pins Set To Change Maps UI?

Below is a shot showing a Starbucks pin along with a page preview at the bottom and a familiar directions button. Google didn’t add detail to how these pins would work but initially they’ll undoubtedly be just a pin, with the user needing to tap on the map to view more.

Could it be that route options may eventually offer to find points along a journey for me to eat or shop, you could call it a tailored adventure?

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Think of the online customer as a spoilt child – and that child doesn’t like waiting. A delay in delivering a mobile friendly website causes them havoc, rushing away as if you have the plague – all this happens because of a few schoolboy errors.

The digital generation has no patience for disappointment in user experience. They want it now, they want it their way. We’ve identified six issues that are particularly annoying for mobile users, and any one of these mistakes could drive visitors away from your site.

1. Your website simply fails to load

Even the giants of American marketing sometimes fall short in the most basic ways, by making sites that entirely fail to appear on mobile devices. Although visibility into the mobile UX can be challenging ‒ especially when you factor in the sheer number of mobile devices and the slowness and inaccuracy of many mobile testing tools, it’s no excuse for making a site that doesn’t work at all on mobiles.

Doritos recently had a high profile campaign designed to leverage the excitement surrounding the Batman vs. Superman movie – but it didn’t go to plan, as it did not work at all on mobiles. Can anything be sadder than pouring buckets of money into a high-profile campaign, only to have it not appear? All that money created irritation, not excitement.

Tip: Make sure your website displays on all market-leading phones or tablets!

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Myths and rumours are never ending in the world of SEO, smaller and more inexperienced businesses will worry and tend to make mistakes online thanks to these SEO myths. To help those who suffer from these problems about SEO rumours, in this article, I will discuss The 5 Most Common Local SEO Myths.

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What is Virtual Reality?

Answering the technical version of “what is virtual reality” is actually really simple. Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst it is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions. Cool right?

Virtual reality is either the emperor’s new clothes or the most exciting area of media today.

Whatever your own belief, brands are getting to grips with VR, making use of emerging agency expertise in this area.

We explore brands testing out Virtual Reality, from automotive, food and drink, and retail.

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Last week’s roundup of digital marketing changes includes good news for AdBlock Plus, even better news for Zoella, plus a whole load of insight into customer loyalty, data privacy, mobile payments and Donald Trump!

Right let’s get the round up of the last week’s digital marketing stats!

60% of customers abandon baskets due to slow delivery.

A survey has discovered that customers are abandoning online baskets because their expectations for delivery are not being met.

40% of consumers said delivery is a very important factor in determining whether or not they make a purchase. Likewise, 77% said that free shipping would be more likely to encourage them to buy from a retailer again, and one in three said they are usually irritated when a company charges for delivery.

With Walmart announcing the launch of ShippingPass, an annual membership that competes with the likes of Amazon Prime, the future of retail is predicted to be fast, free shipping. We have tested Amazon Prime in-house many times and especially the one delivery slot, we think this fast service is truly the future of shopping.

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Business have to stay competitive in their marketing to stay attractive to their audiences, this is falling to marketing trends. Surprisingly many businesses big and small don’t keep up with the trends and fall behind the market.

This means they need to be strategic and creative. They need to think long and hard about their target audience, their brand, and the message they want to send.

Below we mention some emerging marketing  trends that businesses are adopting to build a loyal consumer base. Some of them may seem risky, but in the evolving world of marketing, taking some risk is necessary.

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Proximate is a solution designed to allow anybody to start using Bluetooth Beacons to promote location-based offers and information to smartphone users, direct to their handsets.

Learn more below.

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It seems to be the fashion of late to redesign your logo, Google, Instagram and Budweiser changing its name to America, we see this as a good time to review the challenges companies face when rebranding.

It can be a tough decision to make as to whether a rebrand is right for your company. Timing, cost and brand recognition are all factors that come into play.

For established brands, whose logos were conceived in a non-digital age the challenge becomes even bigger.

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Lead generation forms sit at one of the most critical points in your marketing funnel – the point at which a visitor can become a lead.

Because of this, forms have an unhealthy amount of influence on your marketing results. When you double the conversion rate of your form, you double the effectiveness of every single traffic source, marketing channel, and campaign that relies on it. And despite the importance forms have, we rarely give them the attention they deserve.

Below are some strategies you can use to take your forms to the next level.

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