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Marketing Opportunities for the Oculus Rift
Last week, big news broke that Facebook purchased Oculus, a virtual reality gaming system that is currently in development. While core gamers are angry about the acquisition, marketers are intrigued. Once Facebook begins integrating virtual reality technology into its social network, marketers will be able to flex their creative muscles in new and innovative ways.
A great example of virtual reality marketing is O2’s ‘Wear the Rose’, a virtual sports experience for the Oculus Rift. Using the device, rugby fans can virtually train with the Six Nation England rugby team. They are fully immersed in a kick-about with the team, able accept passes, get tackled and take part in team talks.
Now that Facebook has purchased Oculus, this type of marketing will be more readily available to brands that currently advertise on the social network. Car manufacturers can offer virtual test drives and offer consumers a look at their vehicles in action. Television shows can immerse viewers in their fictional worlds and interact with their favourite characters. With a bit of creative thinking, the marketing and branding opportunities are endless.
Google has been reluctant to integrate ads into Google Glass technology – but, we hope Facebook will be more daring. We feel that virtual reality advertising is something to embrace. If it is used correctly, marketers won’t simply bombard users with ads. Rather, there is the opportunity for brands to immerse players in creative and unique virtual worlds, allowing consumers to experience their products, properties and services in new ways.
Win Marketing is looking forward to the possibility of using virtual reality in our future marketing campaigns. For more information on our creative campaigns and marketing strategies, visit Win Marketing’s website or give us a call at: +44(0)1509 265890.
Mobile Advertising To Overtake Traditional Ad Spending
2014 will be a remarkable year for the mobile advertising market in the United Kingdom. According to reports, this will be the first year that mobile advertising spending will overtake newspaper ad revenue, marking a significant shift in the marketing world. So, it is important to begin looking ad mobile advertising opportunities.
According to eMarketer, mobile ad spending will increase by 90% in 2014 to £2.26 billion. Spending on mobile ads will account for 15.1% of total media spending, compared to 13.8% of spending on newspaper ads. By next year, eMarketer predicts that mobile ads will account for 21% of all media spending.
Mobile marketing will continue to thrive and overtake other advertising media. In 2016, spending on television ads will drop to 23.1% of total media spending while mobile’s share increases to 26.2%. By 2017, mobile is predicted to become the largest ad channel in the United Kingdom.
These statistics are representative of the shift in media users. People are leaving their laptops at home and becoming increasingly reliant on their smartphones and tablets. As such, mobile devices are the ideal target for web marketers.
So, now is the time to get involved in the mobile advertising market as it becomes increasingly important to incorporate mobile ads into your internet marketing strategy. You can start by investing in Facebook advertisements, which will ensure that your brand’s ads are included in the newsfeeds of both desktop and mobile Facebook users.
It is also a good idea to explore advertising via mobile content that is available on iTunes and the Google Play Store. Using Google’s Display Network, you can reach the ever-expanding audience of mobile app users by ensuring that your ads appear in games and other widely used applications.
For more information on how to optimise your mobile advertising strategy, visit Win Marketing’s Web Marketing page or give us a call at +44(0)1509 265890.
How to Avoid Google Penalties
A penalty is Google’s way of removing low-quality content to help improve search results for users. The search engine wants to ensure that users are always redirected to high-quality, relevant content. So, if you have received a penalty, then it is time to make some charges to your content marketing and SEO strategies.
Low Quality Links
One of the main reasons for Google penalties are low-quality links. Previously, directories presented an easy way for internet users to find particular services, but these sites have become outdated. Nowadays, they are solely used for link building – and the links they provide are very low-quality. If your business is listed on many directories, you are likely to be penalised.
Exchanging links excessively is another sure-fire way to receive a penalty. While link exchanges are a viable way to boost your website’s visibility, Google can tell that something is not right when dozens of links back to your site suddenly appear. It is obvious to the search engine that the links have been bought and that they are not high quality.
Low Quality Content
Penalties are also issued when it is obvious that content has been written solely for link building purposes. This is why some websites have been penalised for excessively featuring irrelevant guest blogs. Another way to get penalised is by writing low-quality content on article sites simply to insert a link to your website. Ensure that your content is always relevant to your target audience and that it serves a useful purpose for readers, rather than being self-serving to build links.
How to Recover From A Google Penalty
If you have received a penalty from Google, it is not the end of the world for your website. You can improve your visibility again by cleaning up your low-quality backlinks. On Google Webmaster Tools, you can see most of the sites that have linked to you. Identify the sites with the bad backlinks and remove them.
It is a simple task when removing links from message boards or article sites. You can simply sign in and correct the text. However, you may need to contact webmasters to remove low-quality links from directories and spammy websites.
When it comes to Google penalties, the best defense is a good offense. Practice good SEO marketing from the beginning and ensure that you build high-quality links with relevant content. To find out how you can improve your SEO strategy, visit Win Marketing’s Web Marketing page or call us at +44 (0)1509 265 890.
Market Research Tips: Getting the Right Answers from Surveys
Market research is a useful marketing tool that helps brands get insight into the behaviour, wants and needs of their target audience. One of the most popular forms of market research is the survey, and it is important that your survey gets you the answers that you need to benefit your marketing strategy.
1. Ask The Right Questions
It is important to know what you’re looking for when you conduct market research. While it’s easy to come up with a list of questions that you want answered by potential clients and industry professionals, they must be tailored to the scope of your research. Do you want to know who your key customers are? Do you want to know how customers feel about particular products and services that you offer? Are you scoping out new locations for potential expansion? Ensure that you are asking questions that will get you the right answers.
2. Speak to Right People
When conducting your market research, be sure to speak to the people who will provide the right answers. If you want to learn more about testing in the cosmetics industry, it is best to survey test engineers rather than sales associates or marketing professionals. Target your research to the people that will have the most insight on the topic you are learning about.
3. Get the Right Names
In that same vein, know exactly who you want to speak to. Some preliminary research will provide you with the names of the individuals that will have the information you need. Cold-calling can lead to voicemails and unreturned calls, so it is best to have a name in mind when you call a company to speak with someone about your research questions.
4. Tap Your Existing Client Base Using Social Media
If you’re looking for more general information and do not necessarily need professional insight, consider the wide variety of online tools that are available to you. You can post online surveys to message boards and your social media pages to get opinions from customers. Your email subscription list is also a great resource, as you can send your survey to existing clients.
For more information on how marketing research can benefit your business, visit Win Marketing’s Market Research page or speak with one of our team members by calling +44(0)1509 265890.
Three Ways to Use Snapchat In Your Marketing Campaigns
In order to create a successful web marketing campaign, it is important to continually embrace new technology and social networks. Snapchat is one such tool, a new photo-based social network which is becoming hugely popular among smartphone users. It presents great opportunities for social media marketing campaigns, and Win Marketing has thought up some potential ideas.
Win Marketing explores social media marketing via Snapchat.
Exclusive Promotions
You can send snaps of promotion codes and coupons to your followers. Using Snapchat to send out promotional material is certainly a great idea for businesses which rely on web marketing, because it encourages existing and potential clients to follow you on yet another social network to increase brand awareness and possibly sales.
Contests
Everybody loves a good contest, and Snapchat is the perfect platform for fun competitions. You can send out close-ups of your products and ask users to guess what the item is. You can also send photos and request that followers send relevant ‘snap backs’, awarding a prize to the first one to do so. Another popular option is a scavenger hunt, in which fans send in snaps of items relating to your brand. These are fun ways to engage fans and spread brand awareness.
Sneak Peeks
Consumers love getting the inside scoop on new products and services from their favourite brands. By sending out snaps of new items, you can give your followers an insider look into your business. Since they won’t be able to share the content, it encourages them to spread your brand’s message via word-of-mouth. As such, you can expect to obtain a few more followers on many of your social networks from potential clients who want to know more about your brand.
So, get on Snapchat and have fun! You can really engage your target audience with this new social networking tool. We’re already there – add us at ‘winmarketing‘!
For more information about how Win Marketing can help promote your brand through Snapchat and other social networks, visit our social media marketing page or give us a call at: +44 (0)1509 265890.
