Our latest survey has found that most people (68.2%) do not recognise a Google Ad in their search results. This means that almost a third of us DO recognise the Adverts in our search results and almost 80% of those people (78.6%) will then refuse to click on the Ads.
Over the past six years , Varn have conducted research every six months to measure the degree to which people can recognise the Adverts within the Google Search results.
We work with our clients to hypothesise and evaluate holistic click through rates with and without the presence of a paid ads in the SERPs. Where possible we review the revenue per click generated by each channel in the context of search competition to identify the best search strategy. We are often reviewing data about click through rates on Adverts vs Organic listings, and we have always wondered who actually recognises a Google Ad when they search and what do they do then?
We all know how important advertising revenue is to Google. In 2021, Google’s ad revenue reached a staggering $148.9 billion. Add in YouTube advertising revenue and Google Networks advertising revenue, we have a total of £208.7 billion. This amounts to 81% of Google’s total revenue so, perhaps unsurprisingly, advertising and paid search is vital to Google. But how much do people recognise it’s advertising they see when they do a Google search?
We have been curious about this for some time and for the last 6 years, every six months in the UK, we have conducted a survey online asking over 1000 people across all age groups:
“Do you know which links on the Google search results page are paid adverts?”
Our research has highlighted that the majority of searchers (68.2%) still do not realise it is an Advert that is appearing at the top of their Google search results.
This is good news for advertisers, as this large proportion of searchers won’t be put off by anti-advertising perceptions, before clicking on your website. However, it does pose the question that if 68.2% don’t realise they are looking at an Advert, then 31.8% do recognise they are seeing Adverts in their SERPs.
Well, based on our latest findings, 25% of people do recognise it’s an Ad. They will then refuse to click on it. Only 6.8% of the people that recognise a Google Advert will then actually go on to click.
This means that 78.6% of the people that recognise Google Adverts, refuse to click on them!
This implies there is a large chunk of your potential market deliberately choosing to ignore your advert. With an estimated 3.5 billion searches per day in the UK alone, based on our findings, 31.8% of those searches, (1.1 billion) will know that there are Ads in their search results. Of those 1.1 billion searches, almost 80% of those searchers could be actively choosing not to click on your Ad. This is a large amount of people searching and making a conscious choice to ignore your Advert, precisely because it is an Ad.
Given we know these searchers will knowingly refuse to even look at your paid Ad, this means your business will need to try and engage with these people with other ‘search’ tactics. You simply can’t just throw budget at a paid media strategy alone, instead organic search will have an important role to play and a combined or hybrid search marketing strategy is needed.
From Google’s perspective they state that:
“Google’s first responsibility is to provide Search users with the most relevant possible results. If businesses were able to pay for higher rankings in the search results, users wouldn’t be getting the information they’re looking for.”
We examined how Google have presented Adverts to the searcher over time. Interestingly, since 2013, Google has changed it’s adverts over time to be less obvious. In the graphic below you can see how Google search Ads have evolved. The format and styling change frequently and it could be suggested that the graphic signposting of Adverts has become much more subtle over time and more in line with a standard organic listing.
When we look at our Varn research over the last 6 years, the ability to recognise an Advert hasn’t changed a great deal, even though theoretically people are getting wiser to how search engines work. It has remained between about 57% and 65% since 2017 and you can see how this may be influenced by the design of the Google Ad labelling which has since transformed to look more like regular Google listings. This year we see that figure at 68.2%, at a time when the Ad design really is very similar to an organic search listing.
Can you spot the difference…?
It really is not surprising that the majority (68.2%) of people still don’t recognise Ads, as if you line up a paid Advert and an organic search result and see how they actually look to a searcher, you can see there is not much difference at all:
We have also seen that Ads can often take up most of the page of a search result. Combine this with the subtle design cues used to indicate the Advert status, you can see why people may not understand they are looking at just Ads rather than organic search results.
A good example is, if you search something close to our heart…. ‘SEO agency Bristol’. As you will see the paid Ads take up your whole screen when you initially search and you have to actively scroll down to get to the first organic search results. Given that 75% of people don’t scroll past page 1, those Adverts can really take up people’s attention and clicks.
When we compare that back to 2009, these were the sorts of results you would see. It is really quite noticeable the the ‘Sponsored links’ are very clearly labelled.
In order to make sure your website is visible to the biggest search audience possible, it really is vital to make sure you have a search marketing strategy that embraces both SEO (organic search results) and PPC (paid search advertising).
We know from our ongoing research that the majority of the search market will not even recognise the Ad, and we can see from the examples of how Advert styling has evolved over time, why that has remained high. However, we know that we can’t ignore the large proportion of a target market who do know an Ad when they see one, especially as almost 80% of these searchers will then decide not to click. Therefore, it is critical to execute both SEO and PPC in the most optimal way possible, to ensure you are not missing out on potential clients.
Data suggests that approximately 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search and 27% from paid media,so it really is a sensible idea to not put all your eggs in one search basket. Neither organic nor paid search is inherently superior to each other and whilst paid ads do have a cost, you should be trying and testing both paid search and SEO, (with organic search optimisation, you’ll have to test for at least six months). By testing, reiterating and learning from both paid media and SEO, you can see what works for you and your business, short and long term, ensuring you capture all the possible clicks out there.
Given our latest research findings combined with the need to have a strategy that ensures you speak to the widest possible target search audience we have a clear recommendation. The best way to optimise reach and drive rankings and clicks, is to adopt both SEO and PPC strategies and tactics and to ensure you carefully plan and structure both for optimal results.
And Google seems to agree so we will leave the last word to them…
“Using SEO and Google Ads together may give you the best chance of bringing traffic to your site in the short term, and enhancing your business’s presence online for long-term success.”
Get in touch here to find out more about how to perfect your own hybrid model of optimised organic SEO combined with paid search media.
Digital Gaggle, the best inbound conference for marketers in the South West, returns on Thursday 13th October to the Watershed in Bristol with tickets now on sale.
Turn your digital marketing strategy into a roaring success with inspiration from a bumper line-up of industry experts speaking on topics like SEO, social media, CRO, Analytics, UX, Strategy, Creative and more:
Visual Search – Tools and Tactics | Crystal Carter, Head of SEO Communications at Wix
The Mad Science of Data-Driven Creativity | Richard Cook, Social Media Manager at Monzo
Get Paid To Do Nothing with Marketing Automation | Andy Thornton, Senior HubSpot Executive at Noisy Little Monkey
Google Analytics 4 | Jill Quicks, Analytics Consultant and Trainer at The Colouring In Department
How Not To Be A Git. Data Ethics In Digital Marketing | Rowenna Fielding, Professional Data Protection Nerd at Miss IG Geekd
If you’re an in-house marketer looking to meet new people in the industry, snag best practice advice, and get the creative juices flowing ahead of your next marketing campaign, Digital Gaggle is the event for you.
Here’s what previous Gaggle attendees had to say about the day.
“Great energy. Lovely welcoming crowd of like minded souls. Interesting speakers”
“Different kind of vibe, expert speakers, talks not too long, great randomised networking”
“Genuinely interesting and interactive talks full of the latest trends and ideas to take home”
A limited number of tickets are on sale with 30% off until Friday 30th September.
🔜 Bag your place before tickets sell out.
In my 20+ years in marketing, I have heard my fair share of reservations from clients about outsourcing copywriting for their business. They know they need an external resource to get through the work, and they know someone else out there can probably do a better job than their already stretched internal resources. But they worry that their website, feature article, or business blog won’t sound like them if it’s written by someone else.
This is an important point to address, particularly when talking about blogging because your business blog should be an accurate reflection of you and your brand. One of the major benefits of a blog should be that existing and potential customers can get to know you better.
How can this be achieved if it’s being written by anyone outside of the company?
The answer: because that’s what copywriters are trained to do.
A good copywriter won’t insist that you adopt their style of writing in your marketing communications. They will take time to understand your business values, learn your voice, and adapt their style to suit your company. Of course, they will need your input up front on the topics you wish to cover, and the tone of voice you want to portray. For example, are you looking for a serious and authoritative business blog, or are you looking for something a bit more casual and fun? But once these ground rules have been established, they should be able to be left to their own devices to create the glorious content you’re looking for.
The outcome is advice and information for your clients that sounds like you, but better.
I am very grateful to have received feedback from clients many times to say that a piece of writing I have completed for them was exactly what they wanted to say but more eloquently put, or that I have phrased something in a way they wouldn’t have thought of. This is a benefit I can offer as a result of over 20 years of writing copy for different clients, multiple PR & Marketing courses, qualifications, and being able to dedicate all of my working hours to the one task of writing.
Shock, horror, I’m losing control!
Sometimes people are simply nervous of the loss of control. Which as a complete control freak myself, I understand! So, bear in mind that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing partnership. While I wouldn’t recommend physically collaborating on a piece of writing and having more than one writer producing the bulk of the content (that would just get messy), I would always encourage clients to work as closely as they feel comfortable with their writer.
For some this means downloading content ideas and leaving their copywriter to it, but for others for whom this is a new concept, they offer up ideas for the blog but might also offer feedback on some initial bullet points during the planning phase, and work together on the editing process once the work is complete. We don’t always know what we like or don’t like until we see it. If you’re honest about your likes and dislikes in a piece of writing, your copywriter will continue to tweak the style until they are supplying copy that you are completely happy with first time, every time.
I can do it myself
You may be reading this thinking that employing a freelance copywriter is nice in theory, but that you are able to write your own business blog. You’ve done it before, you can do it again. But as your business grows the issue isn’t talent, it’s a lack of time and thinking space. You need time and space to allow the creative juices to flow sometimes, and often you need to research a topic to make sure you have your facts straight. All of this takes time, which becomes in shorter and shorter supply as your business grows.
Shoehorning your business blog into someone else’s role in the organisation won’t work.
Many companies that try to maintain control over their blog content internally end up with an inconsistent blog that doesn’t sound like them anyway because the posts that do make it through, have been rushed. It’s not negligence on the part of the internal writer, but if there are customers to serve, you and your employees will rightly put these customer facing tasks above a blog post.
It can feel counter intuitive at first to spend time recruiting a freelance copywriter but handing over your business blog to a third party is a fantastic way to save time, guarantee the consistency of your business blog, and ensure it continues to sound like you. Because it isn’t rushed. It can remain a well thought out and considered blog, with enough time spent on each piece to sound like the quality focused company you want to portray.
– Flourish becomes Harbour Collective’s dedicated CRM specialist agency
– With a heritage in direct marketing, Flourish has helped brands like Samsung, Twitch, Coca-Cola and Nissan to revolutionise their approach to customer communications
LONDON, 5th September 2022 – Brand communication consultancy Harbour has today announced the addition of CRM agency Flourish to Harbour Collective, its collective of 12 specialist independent agencies and 500+ experts.
Flourish will now become the collective’s dedicated CRM specialist agency.
Headquartered in Bristol and with teams in London and Dubai, Flourish was founded in 2004. With a heritage in direct marketing, the CRM specialist agency has helped brands like Samsung, Twitch, Coca-Cola, Nissan and Crisis to revolutionise their approach to customer communications.
Harbour Collective’s group of independent agencies work together on multiple shared clients to combine skillsets across data and insight, media, content creation, engagement, experience, and delivery.
Ian Reeves, Managing Director, Flourish, said: “We’re genuinely delighted to join Harbour Collective as the group’s CRM specialist agency. Traditionally Flourish and our client partners have been brave and ambitious, and we believe joining Harbour Collective is a reflection of this. As part of a collective we can extend our offering of genuine sector expertise, stand apart from network and integrated agencies and open up a world of further complementary possibilities.
“Meeting with the Harbour team, it was immediately obvious that we speak the same language, prioritising the impactful and the pragmatic. We know our clients will instantly be able to benefit from being part of the wider group and we look forward to supporting existing Harbour Collective clients in enhancing their CRM strategies, capabilities and programmes.”
Paul Hammersley, Managing Partner, Harbour, added: “The understanding and management of customer journeys and experience are key parts of today’s marketing plans, so it’s essential that we have this capability at the heart of our offering. Flourish are one of the best independent agencies in this space, with an impressive leadership team, a strong client base and an excellent skillset across strategy, creative and media, making them the ideal CRM partner for Harbour Collective.”
About Harbour
Harbour is an independent brand communication consultancy that sits at the heart of a collective of specialist agencies. It was launched in 2017 by Paul Hammersley (Managing Partner) who was joined by Mick Mahoney (Creative Partner) and Kev Chesters (Strategy Partner) in 2019. Its unique structure and client offering are designed as a contemporary alternative to the large legacy agency groups. Clients include McCarthy Stone, Tilney Smith & Williamson, The Athletic, BT, Match.com, Fitbit and John Lewis.
https://harbour.london
About Flourish
Flourish is a specialist CRM Agency, focused on the development and delivery of data-driven and creative communications and content in the B2C, B2B, B2G and NFP sectors. Based in Bristol, UK, the business opened its doors in March 2004. Since then, Flourish has extended its footprint with teams in both London and Dubai to support regional economic growth and a Global client portfolio.
With a heritage in Direct Marketing, Flourish has sector-leading CRM expertise, focusing on driving action at every stage in the Customer Journey, whilst acknowledging individual customers’ needs and circumstances. Flourish has helped brands like Samsung, Twitch, Coca-Cola, Nissan and Crisis revolutionise their approach to customer communications and, in-turn, maximise lifetime value through a blend of data, technical and activation solutions across a range of audiences, channels and touchpoints.
If you’d like to discuss how Flourish could help your business maximise the value of your customer audience then reach out to Ian Reeves via email on [email protected]
Blog writing for business is one of the most effective marketing tactics B2B organisations can deploy. It draws traffic to your site and provides buyers with useful information. The effects of blogging are cumulative: the more you do it, the better it gets. And – most important of all – it’s a channel you own. You’re not beholden to anyone or any other business, it’s your space to do with as you will. In an age of scattered attention and ever-changing social media algorithms, that’s a precious commodity!
Here’s why writing a blog for business is a worthwhile investment.
A business blog shows people that you’re credible, that you have something to say and you’re willing to share it. This transparency helps to build trust with your potential clients.
Trust cannot be underestimated when it comes to winning over B2B customers. These are savvy buyers and they want reassurance that you’ll do what you say. Get it right and blogging is most definitely good for business. According to research by FocusVision, 65% of B2B buyers say that vendor websites are influential in their decision making – more than any other type of content. A regularly updated blog ensures your website stays relevant for those potential customers: it provides them with answers to their questions and gives them confidence in your offer.
A blog on your site is important for business because you own it! Your business blog is your space. Unlike the rented space on social media, your blog belongs to you. It’s not at the mercy of sudden algorithm changes. And there’s no risk of a favourite feature suddenly disappearing and taking your audience with it.
According to information published via HubSpot, a blog is in the top three owned media channels for B2B marketers, along with a website and an email newsletter. Blogs drive traffic, increase visibility and generate leads. While they take a little work to maintain, the payoff is an engaged audience, buyers that trust the brand and more opportunities to do business.
Blogging for business and SEO go hand-in-hand. Google loves authoritative websites – sites that it perceives users find helpful. The figures are hard to ignore: blogs can lead to a 434% increase in indexed pages and an increase in indexed links of up to 97% (DemandMetric).
And while technical chat isn’t exactly a turn-on for all of us, a site that ranks means a better chance of ending up in front of the right people. 55% more people, as HubSpot estimates that’s the uplift in website visitor numbers among businesses that blog versus those that do not.
A consistent schedule is critical when writing a business blog. The frequency depends upon your industry, your audience and how often you can reasonably commit to writing. There’s no point making a commitment to blog daily if you know that doesn’t work for your schedule. It’ll only set you up for failure, cause you to feel disheartened and scupper the blog’s future before it’s begun.
If you’ve never blogged for business before, then a blog per month is a great place to start. A blog each month keeps your content fresh and your audience engaged without taking over everything else. A once-a-month schedule is especially good for businesses with small teams or solopreneurs who want to create content, while still having time to actually do their job.
If you do have the capacity or resources to blog more often, do it! There are no hard and fast rules. If it works for your audience and meets your goals, you can write blogs for your business as often as you like.
No matter how often you blog for your business, the key is to stick with it. If content is King, then consistency is Queen! Remember, the aim of blogging is to build trust between your business and your audience. And while showing your hand in the form of content does build trust, so too does doing what you’ll say you’ll do. If you commit to posting once a month, then do it. If you commit to posting every week, do that.
Blogging delivers results. It must do, or why would businesses keep investing in it when there are many other demands on marketing budgets? Short articles of less than 3,000 words were ranked third among the B2B content that generated the best results, according to the Content Marketing Institute.
And while blogs are a great way to draw traffic to your business’ website, you don’t have to wait for people to come to you. Pair your blog with a regular newsletter and you’ve got a powerful duo: ‘1,000 small business owners ranked email marketing as the second most effective medium for building brand awareness’ (Campaign Monitor, 2019).
Like your blog, your newsletter list is your property. It’s made up of people interested in what you do, who trust you enough to give you their details. Don’t ignore them. Deliver your blog to your newsletter list and build a relationship based on shared knowledge and mutual respect.
Blog writing for business has many benefits. It nurtures a relationship between your brand and your audience, builds trust, draws traffic to your site and increases opportunities to do business.
To succeed with blogging for business, keep the following in mind:
Laura Summerhayes is the owner of and copywriter-in-chief at Great Copy Matters. Working with B2B service businesses, Laura crafts compelling, engaging copy that lets people know why they should work with you. Like the idea of a regular blog, but prefer to let someone else do the hard work? Feel free to get in touch to discuss how writing a regular business blog could benefit your brand.
JonesMillbank, Bristol-based video production company, were commissioned by Cheltenham-based global coffee brand SOHO Coffee Co. to produce a range of brand-level photography.
“Whilst not our primary service, we’ve always supported clients with photographic commissions given the similarity in the disciplines. In fact most of our film crew started their lives as photographers” said Russell Jones, Co-Founder and Director.
“SOHO Coffee Co. are a new client but their values resonated with our own; SOHO actually stands for Simple, Original, Honest, Organic”.
The photography is part of a brand and menu overhaul, utilising bold colours and real people, with large-scale OOH and digital advertising in mind.
The JonesMillbank team worked alongside food stylist Joanna Resiak (www.joannaresiak.com) and makeup artist Naomi Lake (www.naomi-lake.com).
“It’s always a pleasure working with talented specialists. Both were fantastic and Jo made syringing egg yolks onto sausage sandwiches look easy” said Joffie Burt, Head of Production.
Visit jonesmillbank.com/work/soho-coffee/studio-photography for a selection of photos and behind the scenes stills, else keep your eyes peeled at your local SOHO Coffee Co branch and online.
***
JonesMillbank are a passionate full-service video production company
They work exclusively in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, Battersea, The Royal Mint, IDLES and Randstad.
jonesmillbank.com
01173706372
[email protected]
As a marketer with 20+ years’ experience, I’m a big believer in using an array of tactics to get your message to market. People will argue for and against print heavy or social media dominant campaigns, but I believe that the more tactics you use, the wider you cast your net, and the more successful you’ll be. Of course, your messages and your approach need to be targeted within this net, but there is rarely a one size fits all solution, so the more ways you can reach your known target market, the better.
But are business blogs widely accepted as part of this marketing mix, or are they a nice add-on as and when marketing teams have the time? If blogging doesn’t have a regular spot in the marketing plan, should it be given a little more credence?
How important is blogging to your business?
Some people may wonder whether blogging for business is as relevant in 2022 as it was in the mid 2000’s when blogs were the up and coming ‘fashionable’ thing to do. In an era of podcasts and video streaming, you could be forgiven for thinking written blogs have lost their way and are now irrelevant in the marketing mix.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
According to a study conducted by Data Box entitled The Shift in Your Content Marketing Mix: 25 Marketers On What’s Changed in 2 Years 68% of marketers find blogging more effective than they did 2 years ago.
In addition, according to DemandMetric 70% of people prefer to learn about a brand through articles, rather than through an advert.
A changing picture
As with most things in life, achieving success from business blogging is a changing phenomenon. What worked 20 years ago, might not work as well today, but that doesn’t mean we should throw away the potential that exists in blogs.
For example, it used to be the case that the more blogs you could produce, the better. But that is no longer the case. It’s still true that consistency matters – out of date blogs are not a good look on any website – but quality has risen in importance.
Consumers today are looking for advice.
They want to conduct in-depth research before they buy, so if they can find everything they need from one website, they are more likely to trust that brand, revisit the site, and probably make their purchase. There are a couple of ways you can build this trust through quality blogging, and this might be through one or two longer blog posts, or it could be through a series of interlinked posts that cover different aspects of the same topic.
Whichever you choose, make sure you keep the customer in mind, because they are looking for more factual, helpful information and advice, than they are heavy handed sales and marketing messages.
Spread the word
Business blogging earns a spot at the marketing table for the content it generates for a company website and for the SEO benefits it brings, but it has also become increasingly useful for social media content too.
In 2022, more people are buying through social media channels. Accelerated by the Pandemic, more of us are opting to buy from brands we get to know online. So, the more information you can offer up online, the more trust you can build with your audience.
With longer, quality content being generated for blog posts, there is more to disseminate into smaller social media posts. These could be promotional posts to drive traffic to the blog, teasers about what’s to come, or multiple excerpts from the blog to continually drive the message to your target audience.
It’s a two-way relationship
Building a relationship with your existing and potential customers is an ongoing process of give and take. Having more of a presence online via a business blog and the resulting additional social media content, allows you to interact with your audience and gather invaluable feedback about their likes, dislikes, and requirements.
Analyse the data you get back from each post. What have people responded well to and what hasn’t gone down so well? Create polls and ask direct questions in your posts to find out what your audience would like to hear more about. This can help you give them the advice that they need, and of course generate even more content for your business blog and social media channels.
Need a little back up?
Of course, it’s easy to say that blogging is a great element to add into your marketing mix, but who has the time to stay on top of regular, informative blogs? Blogs are like feature articles. They require time to think, plan and research. And unless self-imposed timelines are set, they are not deadline driven. Which is why they often slip down the priority list of marketing agencies that are managing entire campaigns, or busy team-members within the business who have been recruited to populate a business blog alongside their day job. If this sounds like you, don’t despair.
You can have all the benefits of blogging without the hassle.
Believe it or not, many companies outsource the copywriting of their blog to external writers. Some people think it’s not a task that should be outsourced because it’s too personal. And if you hand over the reins of your business blog to a third party, it will no longer sound like you.
But a good blog writer will portray all the information you want to portray and more and ensure your blog sounds like it’s been written by you, but even better – read more about how we learn your voice here. Not necessarily because they are a better writer, although hopefully they do have more experience in writing if that’s their day job, but because they are able to give your business blog the time and attention it needs and deserves.
Add blogging to your marketing mix
If you haven’t included a business blog in your marketing plan before, or you have and it’s continually slipping down the priority list, perhaps now is the time to start.
On a scorching weekend in July, two of us creatives from Flourish were lucky enough to flee the heatwave and head to the air-conditioned sanctuary Amsterdam RAI. But we weren’t there for the cool air. We were there for TwitchCon – a convention like no other that sees gamers and cosplayers mingle with drag queens and ASMR enthusiasts to indulge in a weekend of live streams, community meetups and IRL (that’s In Real Life to you and me) events. Here’s what we learned.
Cat Dickie, copywriter
1. There’s SO much more to live streaming than gaming
Let me tell you a secret. I’m not a gamer. And I didn’t go to a single gaming panel at TwitchCon. If you think that sounds a bit like going to Glastonbury and not seeing any music, let me remind you that there’s much more to the world’s biggest festival of performing arts than bands and DJs. And in the same way, there’s way more to Twitch than gaming. In the Just Chatting category alone there’s travel and adventure streams, feminist groups, drag, body painting – the list goes on. TwitchCon attendees were a wonderfully diverse bunch. That’s the wonderful thing about streaming. It brings people together from every walk of life. Which brings me to my second point…
2. Community is the backbone of Twitch
Communities are formed through shared experience and passions. So, it’s no surprise that on a platform like Twitch, where creators in every field come together to do what they love the most, community is front and centre of everything. Unlike pretty much any other social media platform, Twitch deals in live content, meaning real, shared moments and shared experiences happen every minute. Real friendships are formed through streaming, and that was tangible at TwitchCon.
3. Audiences can smell authenticity
One panel I attended was memorable in that the hosts – three women who were there to tell us about how women in streaming support one another – chose not to sit behind the table that had been laid out for the panel, but on it. Legs crossed, comfortable, open. There was nothing contrived about their choice – they just did what felt right to them. Like choosing a favourite seat in the living room. Midway through, they invited a woman from the audience, a fellow streamer, to join them. This realness, this authenticity, was a running theme throughout the event.
4. Streamers are at the top of their game
They might be streaming from their bedrooms, but affiliates and partners are incredibly good at what they do. Hours and hours of work has preceded their ability to make a living from streaming. For the cosplayers, thousands of hours go into making costumes. It’s skill and passion that makes streamers go big, and turns them in to stars. There was so much talent under one roof at TwitchCon.
5. Transparency and support keeps streams coming
It struck me how open panellists were about sharing tips about their craft. There was no secretiveness or reluctance to share. They wanted to get more and more people on board and encouraged people to join the space. There was no feeling of exclusivity, or mystique around what makes good content. The Twitch community is open, and want more and more people to find their niche and join in.
Michael Barbour, Designer
1. Creativity
The way that Twitch use their brand guidelines has been eye opening for me. The themes they use are bold and clear, with block colours and accompanying textures. The imagery created, echoes what is happening in their community and ties in the brand in nicely. From the signage to the immersive experiences at the conference, everything on display was innovative and purposeful, as well as consistent and well thought out.
2. Meaningful Wellbeing
Twitch really care about their streamers and viewers alike, and actively promote healthy wellbeing whilst streaming and using the platform. They are constantly improving the safety on the platform to keep streamers feeling appreciated.
3. Charity
The way charities team up with Twitch is a relatively new and out-of-the-box way to generate fundraising. Having visited some of the charity seminars, I really learned how Twitch as a platform can improve a charity’s reach within their communities, touching new audiences and finding new ways to promote income generation online via streaming. Read more about how charities can enhance their fundraising through streaming on the Flourish website.
4. The Diverse Community
The community cannot easily be sub divided into genres. There is such a vast collection of different people and interests to follow and connect with, and the sky is literally the limit on what content can be found on Twitch. It’s as diverse as the internet itself!
5. Tools Available to Streamers
The toolkit that is available to streamers is ever growing and expanding. They are introduced to a bunch of new tools that are going to help us as an agency and streamers alike. I was also interested to find out how much they actively promote the use of other social media channels for streamers.
To read more about the Flourish team’s experiences at TwitchCon 2022, visit our recent website blog. If you’re reading this and intrigued to hear more about the marketing opportunities and potential via the use of streaming, feel free to get in touch with the Flourish team.
In the past 3 years, eCommerce businesses have experienced the impact of a number of global crises.
Right now, we’re still living through the aftermath of a global pandemic, rising inflation, and the war in Ukraine. And these global events have shaken even the most successful eCommerce brands.
Over the past 6 months, retail brands have started losing some confidence in marketing spend amid worries of a bleak future. However, knee-jerk reactions can do more damage than you think.
There are opportunities for those brands willing to invest. And to help you through these turbulent times, we have released a new guide – Global Issues: The Threats Affecting eCommerce.
You can download it free here. Or scroll down to find out more about everything included in the guide before you make up your mind.
In our latest guide, we take a closer look at the global crises impacting eCommerce brands, how brands can react and excel in these uncertain times, as well as the top 5 trends defining the eCommerce landscape in 2022.
It covers…
Digital advertising revenue reached $189 billion in 2021, jumping 35% – the highest increase since 2006.
But as we’re sure you’re aware, the picture is not rosy for many retail brands. Inflation, war, pandemics, and supply chain shortages have all created a difficult terrain for brands to flourish.
Consumers have responded to these crises by cutting back on their spending. The less people are willing to spend, the less people will be actively clicking on your ads.
The future eCommerce landscape looks tough. But there are still opportunities out there if you focus on the marketing trends that are emerging. It’s these trends that will help you succeed in 2022 and beyond.
You can get a free copy of the guide here. And if you have any questions, feel free to drop us a message.
There has been a lot of hubbub in the marketing world recently about the upcoming Government campaign encouraging businesses to cut their marketing spend to allow them to cut prices for consumers amidst the cost of living crisis. Is this a sensible move for any business, and should all marketing activity be treated equally in this scenario? How will business blogs fare in these discussions and how will you weigh up your options?
Yet again we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation – this time with the cost of living increasing exponentially. You hear about these things on the news and brace yourself for change, but when you go to the petrol pump and it costs almost £90 to fill up your family car with petrol, the pain is real! So, the fact that the Government is attempting to affect change for the masses is a necessary course of action. However, is cutting marketing spend really the best way to go?
Don’t take your eye off the future
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim to be a political expert and I wouldn’t want to be making these decisions. But I do know marketing and anyone with any experience in the field will know that promotional activity has a lead time. If industry cuts marketing spend now, business won’t stop overnight, but gradually the pipeline will dry up. Conversely, more money spent on promotion now will result in more business further down the line. Many industries are still in very fragile states of recovery after the pandemic, so to pull back on marketing now, could be damaging to their future prospects.
Whether to cut back on marketing or not, is of course not just down to the Government either. Businesses always need to keep an eye on every line in the budget, and especially over the last two years will have wanted to make sure there is no wasted spend and every part of the business is as efficient as it can be. And of course, when making decisions about your marketing spend, it’s not necessarily an all or nothing scenario.
Manage your mix
The best marketing campaigns consist of a mix of marketing tactics including public relations, direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, and online campaigns. If you are committed to best practice and you are already measuring the success rate of each tactic, perhaps there is an area you can easily cut back on because you can clearly see in your metrics it’s not performing as well as other activities in your marketing mix. Or perhaps you need to review your mix to make sure you’re getting the most for your marketing spend.
Blog it
If business blogs don’t yet form part of your marketing mix, now might be an excellent time to instigate one. Business blogs are a fantastic low-cost option to build and maintain a consistent presence online, while creating content to use on social media platforms. An increasing number of businesses are moving their marketing spend online anyway, so whether you need to cut, adjust, or increase your marketing budget in 2022, business blogs are a fantastic, cost-effective option to have in the mix.
