The internet is a great enabler of choice, helping us to make decisions about our everyday lives. Oceans of information – to inform, educate and share – are available at our fingertips, wherever, however and whenever. Many of us lap up new fast-moving technology and enjoy the opportunities it brings. However, for some it is bewildering and confusing.
This
week the IAB hosted an event on ‘How to be safe and social’ to explore
how brands and consumers are protected when engaging in social media. This
follows research from the IAB and ISBA that found that only 55% of UK
brands currently have a social media policy with many also cautious about
the perceived lack of control they face when using social and embarking upon
real-time conversations with consumers. Read more »
On 10th January, Britney Spears’ latest single, Hold It Against Me, premiered on iTunes and other online mp3 shops to buy before it was played anywhere. Interestingly, Britney’s single instantly went to number one in the US without any prior airing on radio or online. It was the brand, hype and immediate praise on social media that sent it to the top. Read more »
Changes to online advertising over the last 12 months have forever altered how marketers should use the internet. Improved tools, better metrics, greater understanding and new businesses have created a number of new opportunities for brands. Below I’ve listed ten of them… Read more »
Earlier this year I co-authored the IAB and Microsoft’s Search & Social Media report with the delightful Amy Kean. Included in this I wrote about brands considering social network pages instead of microsites. Benefits include strong SEO performance and potentially improved user experience because people inherently know how to use the likes of Facebook. Read more »
Social media lets us physically view a record of actual social interactions, which is marvellous. However, as leading social media practitioners know, of more interest are the reasons people socialise in the first place. Read more »
Earlier this week the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced its intention to extend its self-regulatory digital media remit from 1 March 2011. This will cover business’ own marketing communications on their own websites as well as in other non paid-for space under an advertiser’s control, such as social networking sites. All paid-for digital advertising, such as PPC search, display and (commercial) classified, is already covered by robust rules to protect consumers and promote trust within the sector.
The IAB Search Council’s conference held last week – Search for Brands – aimed to prove that search can be used for brand building. As part of this, the IAB in association with Microsoft Advertising launched a new, in-depth report exploring the brand building relationship between search and social media (download free on the IAB site).
At the end of last year I wrote about the top priorities for digital media regulation in 2010. One of which was the industry’s extension of the remit of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) into new areas of digital media space.
The results of an IAB and Opinion Matters survey amongst brands appeared in Marketing Mag today under the headline ‘Major Brands Sceptical of Social Media’. The article presents a few stats from the study, which investigated the views of 80 senior-level marketers. These included the fact that almost a quarter (22%) of brands have made social media a core part of their communications strategy, whilst our research found that only 7% of respondents haven’t yet embraced social media in any way.
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