Three years ago, I started a new job as an SEO copywriter with the express directive of making websites visible in search results.  Now, 36 months on, and it is consumers who are making themselves visible online, through social networks and digital communications platform.  Is SEO dead?  Can we actually continue to make ourselves visible, when consumers choose whom they want to see – and indeed, whom they want to be seen by?  Is there any point? Read more »

Don’t let the title of this post fool you; by no means I am suggesting that social media is no longer an intrinsic part of everyday life in 2010.  What I am claiming, however, is that the current ‘gold rush’ is most definitely coming to an end.

In short, we’ve moved on exponentially from the early days of social media and businesses are now recognising that this discipline needs to be treated as an integrated part of digital marketing strategy rather than its own, poorly organised entity. Read more »

As an SEO copywriter at heart, I have long maintained an avid personal and professional interest in this crucial digital discipline.  Needless to say, the arrival of Google Instant – an engine that delivers results *as you type* – has caused something of a stir in digital circles.  Will this spell a complete re-write (literally) of large digital websites?  Or will well-optimised platforms be nicely positioned regardless of the change in search method? Read more »

Not content with revolutionising the MP3 and mobile markets, along with creating some of the most iconic and desirable consumer products of the 21st Century, Apple has now turned its Midas touch to the social media sphere.  But will the oddly named ‘Ping’ network prove to be another runaway success for Steve Jobs et al, or is this a step too far for Apple’s all-consuming tentacles? Read more »

The advent of social media has seen more and more of us expose our personal lives online.  From photos on Facebook and videos on YouTube, to updates on Twitter and Foursquare check-ins, our personal lives are very much in the public domain – but have you ever stopped to consider the effects of your social footprint during the recruitment process? Read more »

Back in the 1400s, Constantine battled vainly to cling onto a crumbling, outdated empire that had finally lost its way in a modern and evolving world.  Like Constantine, many marketers also remain in the past, burying their heads in the sand and trying desperately to cling onto past glories.  Are they all doomed?  Or does the traditional marketing empire simply need to refresh its politics? Read more »

Last week saw the publication of research by Agency i360, which examined the type of communications brands are pushing out on Twitter.  At first glance, the report’s findings seem to portray a damning indictment of digital marketers, who it transpires are only using 16% of their tweets for customer conversation.  So are these marketers missing the point?  Or is this research short-sighted? Read more »

The days when the global Twitter stream was devoid of derogatory remarks about Foursquare is now a thing of the past.  Even heavyweight Twitter users, many of whom naturally extol the virtues of all social media channels, seem to jump on the anti-Foursquare bandwagon with alarming alacrity.

That view is supported again this week by a report from Forrester that recommends marketers hold off on “check-in” services until they are more popular. Read more »

Along with the new A-Team film, our annual staff rounders night and the phenomenally excellent ‘Mad Men’, email marketing has been a hot topic at the Stopgap Group office this week.  Top ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s has announced that it will be decreasing its email marketing communications in an effort to focus on customer communications within the Social Media space, which has divided opinions within our marketing microcosm, as well, it seems, as the wider industry.

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That’s it – I’ve HAD it. For years now, I’ve paid one telecoms service provider after another for my mobile phone, month in, month out. And you know what? In all these years, I’ve never ONCE received any return on investment for this!! Can you believe it??!! I’ve been a good customer, paid on time, and have never once received a single penny back from these communications charlatans. I’m cancelling my contract – there’s simply no ROI to be had from my mobile phone. Read more »