The Marketing Team http://the-marketing-team.co.uk Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:47:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 New company dog http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/georgie/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/georgie/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:43:37 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=463 Many of our clients will remember Dizzie, the original company dog. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Dizzie last year, but here’s Nick with our new member of staff, Georgie, who joined us yesterday aged 7 1/2 weeks.

]]> Many of our clients will remember Dizzie, the original company dog. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Dizzie last year, but here’s Nick with our new member of staff, Georgie, who joined us yesterday aged 7 1/2 weeks.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/georgie/feed/ 0 Facebook’s share of UK social networking declines http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/facebooks-share-of-uk-social-networking-declines/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/facebooks-share-of-uk-social-networking-declines/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:43:01 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=457 Facebook usage in the UK has fallen by more than seven percentage points in the last year, fuelling concerns that it may have hit saturation point.

The social network – which is expected to make an initial public offering (IPO) this year – still attracted significantly more online attention than its nearest competitor, accounting for . . . → Read More: Facebook’s share of UK social networking declines]]> Facebook usage in the UK has fallen by more than seven percentage points in the last year, fuelling concerns that it may have hit saturation point.

The social network – which is expected to make an initial public offering (IPO) this year – still attracted significantly more online attention than its nearest competitor, accounting for 52.6pc of all visits to social networks in December.

However, Facebook has lost substantial ground since the previous December, when it took a 58.5pc share of the UK’s social networking market, according to data from Experian Hitwise. It slipped 1.3 percentage points last month alone.

The decline has raised concerns that Facebook is running out of steam in the markets where it is best established, whilst its competitors gain ground.

“Facebook’s growth is levelling out,” said James Murray, market research analyst at Experian. “Because Facebook had such a clear lead, it was always going to be difficult for Facebook to maintain [its position]. It has probably reached near enough its maximum growth.”

The figures will come as a blow to the company, which has been investing heavily in extending its reach and enticing users to click on its adverts, ahead of its long-awaited IPO. Facebook is expected to float with a possible valuation of $100bn (£64.4bn) – the biggest technology IPO ever.

By contrast, YouTube, the user-generated video site owned by Google, grew its traffic by 45pc last year. It accounted for just over a quarter of all UK visits to social networks in December, putting it 7.4 percentage points ahead of the previous year.

“We’re expecting video to be even more influential as a marketing channel, and marketers will have to adapt their strategies to incorporate a multi-channel approach in order to secure customers both on and offline,” said Mr Murray.

Twitter and Yahoo! Answers also made gains, but remained tiny by comparison, with 3pc and 2pc of all visits to social networks respectively.

Google’s social network, Google +, did not register in the top 10 most visited social networks at all. However, Google grew its share of search engine usage market in the UK, edging up from a 91.3pc share of the market to 91.8pc.

Microsoft, its nearest competitor, was a minnow by comparison. Its suite of sites accountted for 3.6pc of all search engine visits in the UK in December, whilst Yahoo!’s popularity for searches fell nearly a percentage point to 2.5pc.

Source: Daily Telegraph online

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/facebooks-share-of-uk-social-networking-declines/feed/ 0 Branded domain suffixes for larger firms http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/branded-domain-suffixes-for-larger-firms/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/branded-domain-suffixes-for-larger-firms/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:41:04 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=454 The most radical ever shake-up of the rules governing Top Level Domains means addresses ending in “.coke”, “.ford” or “.google” could appear online next year.

ICANN, the international quango in charge of the web’s addressing system, opens the application process today after six years in development.

As well as “dot brand” TLDs, new “open” . . . → Read More: Branded domain suffixes for larger firms]]>

The most radical ever shake-up of the rules governing Top Level Domains means addresses ending in “.coke”, “.ford” or “.google” could appear online next year.

ICANN, the international quango in charge of the web’s addressing system, opens the application process today after six years in development.

As well as “dot brand” TLDs, new “open” TLDs – whereby once up and running anyone could buy a web address ending in the new suffix – will also likely to be snapped up. There is expected to be strong competition to run new suffixes such as “.web”, which could potentially have mass appeal among website owners who could not get the “.com” address they wanted.

To successfully apply for a new web address suffix, companies must pay around £120,000 and show they are technically and financially capable of running a domain registry, a database that connects web addresses to websites. Only the owner of a brand will be able to create a branded TLD, but major companies have so far remained silent on whether they will apply.

Source: Daily Telegraph online

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/branded-domain-suffixes-for-larger-firms/feed/ 0 Google Search criteria change http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/google-search-criteria-change/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/google-search-criteria-change/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:30:17 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=400 Google has changed the way it serves up results in response to search queries, aiming to assess whether a user wants up-to-date or historical results.

This change is expected to affect about 35% of searches, and are yet another move to make results more relevant and beef up features which Google believes set it apart from rivals.

The . . . → Read More: Google Search criteria change]]> Google has changed the way it serves up results in response to search queries, aiming to assess whether a user wants up-to-date or historical results.

This change is expected to affect about 35% of searches, and are yet another move to make results more relevant and beef up features which Google believes set it apart from rivals.

The update builds on changes made in the ‘caffeine’ update in August 2010, and reinforces the need for businesses to keep their web presence up to date.

For more information on how you can improve your web presence, keep it fresh and build on your search engine visibility  just call us on 01832 735082.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/google-search-criteria-change/feed/ 0 Social media and the small business research http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/social-media-and-the-small-business-research/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/social-media-and-the-small-business-research/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:42:11 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=387 Research published by Socialnomics shows many small businesses – while understanding that this is a phenomema that isn’t going to go away, don’t know how to exploit social media tools to market their businesses effectively.  For example:

88% believe social media will affect their businesses 63% report some social media footprint for their businesses Yet . . . → Read More: Social media and the small business research]]> Research published by Socialnomics shows many small businesses – while understanding that this is a phenomema that isn’t going to go away, don’t know how to exploit social media tools to market their businesses effectively.  For example:

  • 88% believe social media will affect their businesses
  • 63% report some social media footprint for their businesses
  • Yet 96% don’t actively manage their social media presence

To doanload or read the digest of the research, just click here.

For more information about Using social media as one of your marketing tools, have a look at our unbeatable social media service.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/social-media-and-the-small-business-research/feed/ 0 Mobile Phone Commerce expected to boom by 2012 http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/mobile-phone-commerce-expected-to-boom-by-2012/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/mobile-phone-commerce-expected-to-boom-by-2012/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:42:45 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=376 According to a recent prediction from Barclays Corporate, British consumers are expected to spend nearly £20billion a year buying goods “on the go” – using mobile phones and tablets by 2021.

If you’re thinking e-commerce and wanting to catch some of this consumer trend, call os on 01832 735082 for a chat about how we . . . → Read More: Mobile Phone Commerce expected to boom by 2012]]> According to a recent prediction from Barclays Corporate, British consumers are expected to spend nearly £20billion a year buying goods “on the go” – using mobile phones and tablets by 2021.

If you’re thinking e-commerce and wanting to catch some of this consumer trend, call os on 01832 735082 for a chat about how we can help you.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/mobile-phone-commerce-expected-to-boom-by-2012/feed/ 0 Pay Monthly services extended http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/pay-monthly-services-extended/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/pay-monthly-services-extended/#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:46:19 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=370 Following the huge success of our pay monthly website option with business across Northants and beyond, we’re proud to announce that we’re rolling out the idea across a wider range of services – for more information, click here.

Many small businesses will find these options not only affordable, but excellent value. For more information, just . . . → Read More: Pay Monthly services extended]]> Following the huge success of our pay monthly website option with business across Northants and beyond, we’re proud to announce that we’re rolling out the idea across a wider range of services – for more information, click here.

Many small businesses will find these options not only affordable, but excellent value. For more information, just call us on 01832 735082.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/pay-monthly-services-extended/feed/ 0 Bags of Class! http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/bags-of-class/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/bags-of-class/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:43:07 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=367 Michelle Love’s handbag, purse, scarf and accessories business, Bags of Class, based in East Northamptonshire, has grown beyond measure in the last 12 months, and Michelle wanted a website that gave her the flexibility to keep the content up to date herself. A bit of a technophobe, Michelle is delighted with the site and emailed . . . → Read More: Bags of Class!]]> Michelle Love’s handbag, purse, scarf and accessories business, Bags of Class, based in East Northamptonshire, has grown beyond measure in the last 12 months, and Michelle wanted a website that gave her the flexibility to keep the content up to date herself. A bit of a technophobe, Michelle is delighted with the site and emailed us to say:

“Just wanted to say I have been playing no the website , and cannot believe I have just put something on it xxxxxx”

For more information on Michelle’s business and to see her website, just click here.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/bags-of-class/feed/ 0 Small businesses do better with a website http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/small-businesses-do-better-with-a-website/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/small-businesses-do-better-with-a-website/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:20:56 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=245 Google UK have released research showing that small businesses with an internet presence are growing at four times the rate of those without a website – but that many of the companies that had not launched online were put off because they thought it was “too complex and complicated”.

It doesn’t have to be that . . . → Read More: Small businesses do better with a website]]> Google UK have released research showing that small businesses with an internet presence are growing at four times the rate of those without a website – but that many of the companies that had not launched online were put off because they thought it was “too complex and complicated”.

It doesn’t have to be that way – our websites start from just £35/month, with no set-up fees. So if you want to talk to us for a no-obligation quotation, just get in touch – give us a call on 01832 735082.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/small-businesses-do-better-with-a-website/feed/ 0 Energy Consultancy Reviews Strategy http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/energy-consultancy-reviews-strategy/ http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/energy-consultancy-reviews-strategy/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:23:33 +0000 siteadmin http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/?p=243 A major energy management consultancy has chosen us to help them review their marketing strategy.

We have already completed an analysis of the core messages the firm is using for its sales and marketing approach, helping it to communicate its real strengths to its potential customers. The next stage is to convert these messages into a range . . . → Read More: Energy Consultancy Reviews Strategy]]> A major energy management consultancy has chosen us to help them review their marketing strategy.

We have already completed an analysis of the core messages the firm is using for its sales and marketing approach, helping it to communicate its real strengths to its potential customers. The next stage is to convert these messages into a range of materials and an effective set of conversion tools to take the long established business into the  future in a market-leading position.

]]> http://the-marketing-team.co.uk/energy-consultancy-reviews-strategy/feed/ 0