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Are UK retailers not responsive enough on social networking sites?

By Cheryl | Posted in Internet, Marketing, Social networking | May 13, 2011 – 12:44 pm

facebook twitter iconsEconsultancy conducted a survey last month looking in to the behaviours of companies on social networking sites.

Key sites such as Facebook and Twitter were measured to show how companies responded to questions and comments from customers.

Twitter

  • Statistics show that 20 of the top 25 retailers had an account on Twitter, with a reported average of 69,000 followers.
  • Despite the researchers actively engaging with the brand and asking questions, none of the retailers followed them back. This means customers can’t get in touch to provide details to help get their problem sorted out, or to move the discussion to another channel.
  • Only 25% of retailers with a Twitter account responded to a question directed at them.
    While 20% responded to negative comments which had been directed at them, compared with 10% that replied to positive ones.
  • For those that replied the average response time was 94 minutes, which isn’t bad. By comparison email response times were 10 hours on average, which says a lot about the quality of email service.

Facebook

  • Fewer (72%) of the 25 retailers had a Facebook page, but the average number of fans was higher, at 258,000.
  • Retailers responded to questions more promptly on Facebook, an average response time of 78 minutes, while 88% gave a helpful answer.
  • When it came to responding to positive or negative comments, the figures were different. Just 17% responded to a positive comment on their wall, taking an average of 112 minutes to respond. Just 11% of brands responded to a negative comment left on the wall.

 

So, why don’t companies feel the need to engage with customers via social sites?

If businesses aren’t generating sales out of social networking, they are less likely to take valuable time out of their day to comment.

Is that the right way to think though? Social networking isn’t something that you should think of purely for sales; it’s about maintaining relationships with your customers.

Sometimes it’s worth outsourcing the service; this way you are not ignoring customers, but your also not using up valuable internal resources.

The report also revealed that only 52% of retailers have a blog on their website and 12% a YouTube channel.

Companies are using social networking as a way to bombard people with marketing, when in reality it should be looked at as free advertising. Millions of people around the world use these services and a simple comment can help provide a positive image for your company; for this to happen though, communications must be mutual.

Vodafone Webbox – Turning your TV in to a Web Browser

By Cheryl | Posted in Internet, News, Twitter at 12 | February 28, 2011 – 12:54 pm

vodafone webboxVodafone recently announced that they would be releasing the Vodafone Webbox, which allows your television to become your web browser.

The device, which is actually a keyboard, plugs into your TV and allows internet access instantly. The keyboard comes equipt with a RCA connector,which can be found on most television sets, and with a Vodafone SIM card inside. The device runs the Opera Mini 5.1 browser and has a GPRS/Edge modem, with the 3G version hopefully not too far behind.

The company hopes it will allow people in developing countries to access the internet without fixed-line Broadband. The fact that you don’t need a PC and can use your existing television to access the internet means that Vodafone could be on to a real winner, especially in the emerging markets.

The Webbox will hit the South African market first under Vodacom, the African mobile telecommunications company owned by Vodafone, with others following suit throughout the year.

Will it work?

First of all, its a stylish keyboard and won’t stand out in any living room. The downside? Speed. This is not the product for users who are constantly browsing and streaming media as it will struggle to keep up; although it’s perfect for simple browsing and checking email.

Successful?

With countries such as Africa were there are many homes without internet access, this is the perfect and cheaper alternative. However, the company may find it harder to break markets such as the UK, as people now expect high internet speeds.

2011 – The Year of Mobile Advertising

By Cheryl | Posted in Android, Apple, Internet, Marketing, Mobile, Social networking | February 21, 2011 – 12:55 pm

Mobile AdvertisingAccording to vast amounts of research posted on the net, Mobile Advertising is going to be big business this year.

2010 saw an influx of Smartphone’s hitting the market and it is now estimated that 70% of the world’s population owns a mobile phone (some people even have more than one!).

The success of mobile internet can be somewhat contributed to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It is claimed that over 25% (more than 100 million) users access Facebook from their mobile making it’s an advertiser’s paradise.

The most commonly used type of mobile advertisements includes web banners and SMS, with gaming and music videos also proving popular. Many advertisers have jumped on this type of media as mobile phones outnumber TV sets and PC users, allowing them greater views and higher revenue.

The mobile market is ideal for companies wanting to expand their brand. What better way is there to publicise and communicate with customers than through a device they use everyday?

Mobile advertising continues to grow every quarter and was worth £28.6m in 2010. The market has come about quickly considering there wasn’t a huge demand for it a few years ago; showing how much emphasis there is on Smartphone’s and the ability for users to access data on the go.

Although it’s not just Smartphones that have shaped the market, tablets such as the Apple iPad, have set the benchmark for the coming years.

It is likely that mobile video advertising will be one of the main marketing trends this year and could be worth the big investment for companies. It is proven that visual marketing is more successful, so it’s not hard to imagine how lucrative a full screen video advertisement on a mobile phone would be.

The world of mobile advertisements opens up a whole new world for developers and businesses alike; the question is, how long will it be before businesses rely on mobile advertising more than internet advertising?

Ready for take off: Google satellite service will launch in 2013

By Nicola | Posted in Google, Internet, Twitter at 12 | December 2, 2010 – 12:59 pm

A Google-backed satellite venture that could help to provide the internet to developing countries is set to launch its services in 2013 after securing a staggering $1.2bn of funding.

The strategy will see eight ‘cost effective’ satellites launched after the company behind it, O3b, finalised $770m of debt financing and $410m of equity investments last week.

O3b, which stands for the “other three billion” people in the world who don’t have regular access to broadband internet, say the satellites provide much needed connections between mobile operators’ base stations, located in emerging markets, and the web.

Mark Rigolle, O3b’s chief executive and SES’s former finance director, said that they company had already signed deals worth between $500m and $600m. In an interview, he added: “We want to connect the unconnected and we are looking forward to be able to start doing that in 2013.”

O3b is planning to enable broadband connections for consumers and businesses in more than 150 countries including in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

“I am delighted to welcome an innovative newcomer to the ICT market, especially one whose strategy offers the potential to extend broadband connectivity to millions more people worldwide,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, the UN agency for Information and Communications (ICTs) Technologies.

“The company’s plan to have services available by 2013 mean this solution could also play a significant role in harnessing ICTs to help meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015,” he added.

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How many adults access the internet daily?

By Jemma | Posted in Fact Friday, Internet | November 12, 2010 – 12:53 pm

internet

These days we look back and think, ‘what did we do before the internet?’. For a few years the internet was something for us young people to spend hours on, but as time has gone on the internet has become key in all jobs and even home life. The older generation have jumped on the bandwagon and here are the key facts and figures on how they have took over the internet.

  • In 2006, 30.1 million adults in the UK (60 per cent) accessed the internet almost every day. This is nearly double the estimate in 2006 of 16.5 million.
  • The number of adults that have never accessed the internet decreased to 9.2 million from 10.2 million 2009.
  • Within the last 12 months, 31 million people have ordered goods off the internet. These internet shoppers represented 62 per cent of all adults. Sporting goods and clothes were the most popular buy, with 52 per cent of internet shoppers purchasing these products.
  • 6.4 million people listened to the radio or watched television over the internet in 2006 and in 2010 17.4 million are tuning in.
  • 73 per cent of households (19.2 million) in 2010 had an internet connection. The region with the highest level of access was London, with 83 per cent; the lowest was the North East, with 59 per cent.

We can expect these figures to grow year after year as the world continues to rely heavily on online activities. One of the main reasons the older generation has been persuaded to join the online community is Facebook. Yeah…I’m bored of hearing that name too.

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How much has the internet expanded in the last ten years?

By Jemma | Posted in Fact Friday, Internet | October 29, 2010 – 11:56 am

wwwThe internet is a world wide phenomenon and in the past years it has grown immensely.

Where did it all start?
It all started with the time-sharing of IBM computers in the early 1960s at universities such as Dartmouth and Berkeley in the States. People would share the same computer for their Computing tasks and it has grown from that point.

Here are the Top five numbers of users from 2000

1 United States – 95.1 million
2 Japan – 47.1 million
3 Germany – 24.0 million
4 China – 22.5 million
5 South Korea – 19.1 million

Here are the Top five numbers of users from 2010

1 China – 420.0 million 22.5 million
2 United States – 239.2 million 95.1 million
3 Japan – 99.1 million 47.1 million
4 India – 81.0 million 5.0 million
5 Brazil – 75.9 million 5.0 million

I think it’s fair to say there is a large comparison between the two and that the numbers will only increase year by year.

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Is Yahoo set for a revenue revival? Search results updated in a bid to attract more users

By Nicola | Posted in Internet, Twitter at 12 | October 26, 2010 – 12:04 pm

Search engine giant Yahoo has jazzed up its results in a bid to achieve a revenue revival.yahoo-logo

New changes launched recently mean that users will be able to get more information and at a quicker rate, especially when searching about entertainment, sports and major events.

Although some of the shortcuts were implemented some time ago by Yahoo, there will be even more options from this week that will be promoted in the corner of the user’s screen.

It seems the global company is becoming more marketing minded as well as it now plans to use online billboards known as display ads.

Why the change?
One of the main reasons for this change could be the fact that Yahoo wants to distinguish itself from its main search partner Microsoft Bing, which it currently relies on for most of its search results to save money.

Talking of cash, Yahoo keeps $88 of every $100 from search advertising clicked on its site, with the rest of going to Microsoft. All the revenue from searches done on Bing goes to Microsoft.

Makes sense why it’s making these changes…

The official quote from Yahoo?
“Our goal is to understand what people care about and to make it fun for them to explore the most personally relevant, interesting, and informative content so that they can get things done faster and stay in the know,” Shashi Seth, senior vice president of Yahoo Search and Marketplaces, said in a statement. “Yahoo’s new immersive Search is a cornerstone of the overall Yahoo experience, creating more ways to connect people with whatever and whoever interests them.”

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Can Bebo make a comeback?

By Cheryl | Posted in Entertainment, Internet, Twitter at 12, website | September 20, 2010 – 11:43 am

Bebo was launched in 2005 and with 34 million users and 7 billion monthly page views, it became a huge hit. The site allowed users to customise their profile by posting blogs, music, videos, photographs and questionnaires.

AOL acquired the site at its peak in 2008 for $850 million, but was soon overtaken by other sites, most notably Facebook. After interest continued to wane, AOL announced in April 2010 that it was planning to sell or shutdown Bebo, eventually selling the site to Criterion Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum (rumoured to be less than $10 million…ouch!).

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong had this to say about the deal:

“The deal will allow Bebo’s users to remain within the social platform that they know and love, while enabling a new owner to bring new possibilities and experiences to bear. Criterion Capital Partners are specialists in facilitating growth plans and turnarounds and are well placed to drive Bebo’s effort to strengthen its foothold within the highly competitive social networking arena”.

Despite over a 50% drop in unique visitors in the span of a year, CCP believe that they still have a strong user base, with the UK currently being home to their largest number of users.

Can Bebo’s luck be turned around?

Can CCP turn around a company that has a declining user base and ad revenue? You don’t see it happen often so it’s very much a hit-or-miss situation, especially as it would be in direct competition with Facebook (and their 500 million users). With details of how they plan to rejuvenate Bebo’s fortunes not yet released, people continue to wonder what they can possibly do to drive people back.

Will it work?

With social network giants such as Facebook and Twitter, I don’t fancy its chances…

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Fact Friday – How many visits does it take?

By Jemma | Posted in Fact Friday, Internet, website | August 20, 2010 – 2:27 pm

globeEver wondered how your favourite websites fare in the world wide web, and what it takes for a website to reach the top ranking?

The amount of visitors that popular websites receive each month is enormous, let’s take a look at how big the numbers are…

1. Facebook – 540,000,000
2. Youtube – 490,000,000
3. Yahoo – 450,000,000
4. Live.com – 370,000,000
5. Wikipedia – 310,000,000
6. Msn.com – 280,000,000
7. Microsoft.com – 210,000,000
8. Baidu.com – 170,000,000
9. qq.com – 130,000,000
10. Mozilla.com – 130,000,000

To see the difference between 10 and 100 just look at Dell.com, which is the 100th site on the list with 21,000,000 visitors.

How do you get there?
To get into the Top 1000 sites you would need at least 4.1 million visits per month, with 7.4million for the Top 500 websites visits.

To reach the Top 100 you would have to achieve 22 million visits a month, and to be number 1 (the tip top of the list), you would need a massive 540 million visits. Should be easy, right?

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Online Scams

By Jemma | Posted in Internet, website | August 20, 2010 – 11:32 am

scamcardOnline scams are not an irregular occurrence and they are vastly becoming a more serious issue. Most people are aware when they are trying to be scammed, but what about people that aren’t?

Facebook dislike button
A recent scam included the infamous Facebook ‘dislike button’, which tricked users into allowing an application to access their profile and post spam messages on their account.

I’ve won!
There is always an amazing prize to be given away and guess what, YOU’VE won it. Don’t be fooled. If you haven’t entered anything, you definitely haven’t won anything.

Lottery wins are one of the most common email scams and if you respond to these mails it asks you to pay a fee to cover expenses for the ‘winnings’ to be delivered. You could also become a victim of identity theft.

Spam attack
Most people agree that getting ‘spam’ is annoying and a lot of people have lost money to bogus emails that have arrived in there inbox. A few ways to protect yourself are:

  • Don’t give out personal details e.g. credit card details to companies you don’t know and trust
  • Read the small print – don’t sign anything without reading it thoroughly.
  • Resist the urge to ‘act now’ despite the offer, it’s important to take your time.
  • Basically if it sounds too good to be true it probably is….
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