August 18, 2015
Recent history and advance in technology has brought many changes to the marketing playing field. Customer expectations are at an all time high and the influence mainly comes from social media. Which is why you need brand advocates to help you engage with your customer base.
August 6, 2015
We are half way through 2015 and Google algorithms, content strategy and mobilisation are still the buzz words in marketing. But what trends will remain? What will be the most popular? What is the next big thing? In this article The Island wants to give you an overview of what conversations are happening in the world of marketing and what the on-line world is saying the top 10 trends will be in the coming years for marketing. 1. Mobile is going to be front and centre (more than it already is) Evolution in technology and what consumers use mobile tech for makes this one of the major influencers of the trends to come. Mobile tech allows brands to create a more personal relationship with its consumers, wherever they are, and whatever they are doing. 2. Transparency will be key to brand-customer relationships. Right now, customers are looking for more engagement from their favourite brands. Genuine brands, who are straightforward with what they deliver to consumers, will see positive effects of their behaviour. It’s all about a good chat, not a good sell. 3. The demand for quality content will not slow down. Content, especially visual content, will be head of the pack when coming to the online marketing world. The customer is definitely being lead by their eye and, in a way, it feels like a more traditional print attitude to advertising. Grab them with the visual. Additionally, the rate at which a brand can create quality content will have a big impact on their success. 4. Customer produced content will be even more important. The strength of user generated content will surpass that of brand created content as brands start to give marketing power to their customers. From on-line reviews, to social media posts and blogs, brands will need […]
August 4, 2015
Welcome to our last post for the responsive design series. If you missed our previous posts, be sure to check them out here. In this post we will provide you with a check-list of things you need to consider when making your website responsive. 1. Lighten the load Make sure our website is fast when being loaded. According to Google, around 70% of mobile users will leave a page if it takes more than 5 seconds to load. Make sure the images you use on the website are compressed as much as possible to allow short loading times. 2. Make it touch screen friendly When using fingers to navigate around websites you are less precise than when using a mouse. Make sure the buttons on the site are big and easy to spot. Allow your content to interact with the device it is being seen on. 3. Be clearly readable Smaller screens mean smaller fonts, make sure you choose a font that is just as clear when being read on a big desktop pc or on a smartphone. 4. Be shareable Enable shareable content for users to quickly like, comment and share to other users from any device and across platforms. 5. Stack elements Work out which elements are important for your users when accessing your site on the go and make sure all your core information is there. If you feel like your website needs a makeover or isn’t responsive enough then get in touch and see if we can work with you. [contact-form-7 id=”400″ title=”The contact form”]
July 30, 2015
While there are advantages of having in-house personnel manage your SEO campaigns, there are many more that come with partnering up with a dedicated digital agency, specialized in SEO. Here is a list of some core advantages. 1. Ongoing training and expertise. Search engines are dynamic, rankings and visibility change every time the search algorithms are updated but it can also mean new opportunities for you. Understanding this is critical to a business and its success. It is vital to have ongoing search engine marketing training. This is exactly the job a digital agency performs. They monitor and stay ahead of industry trends. 2. Resources at hand. There are many parts to an effective SEO program, many ongoing. A successful SEO plan doesn’t favour one or the other element but it creates a balance. Think about an SEO program as a table and the elements the legs. If one of these is missing you are bound to have a lopsided table. Balance them out and you will be working with a well-oiled machine. Here are some examples: Keyword research Content edits Inbound connections Social/search integration On-line reputation management In-depth reporting 3. Team v. Individual. This probably goes unsaid, but would you prefer to have a team of specialists working on the project or an individual managing your account? Agencies offer a team of experts that will be constantly monitoring and working on your account. Something to remember: having a dedicated team means that time and resources are more efficiently allocated to perform tasks that produce results. 4. Cost effectiveness One of the biggest constraints that decision makers face is the question of how much does a certain service cost. If you were to hire an SEO specialist to keep in-house it would mean a salary plus a benefits package. When hiring an […]
July 30, 2015
The Island are looking for graduate developer to work with us on our exciting projects and websites. Get in touch if you are interested...
July 28, 2015
On-line search engines have been buckling down on calibrating their algorithms to give high quality results based on location. Google is the best at doing this, thanks to an update that rolled out almost a year ago. It is important to know that local search can change your SERP presence but even more so it is important to know how to act on local SEO in the most effective manner […]
July 23, 2015
Welcome to part 2 of our responsive design series, if you missed the first post, be sure to check it out here. In this second post we will talk about some of the benefits responsive design has to offer. 1. Flexible web design No matter what device the user experience will be the same. It helps your business be recognized and to be honest people enjoy a good user experience, there is nothing worse than waiting for ever to load a page or complete a login. Happy customers definitely mean happy business. 2. Cost effective website Compare the cost of ‘owning’ one site or owning two…maths aside, you can easily save money and time as you will be able to concentrate on functions, content and updates for a single website that will work seamlessly across devices. 3. Search engine optimization Google itself recommends a responsive web design and the importance of SEO in today’s market means that everything must be on point. If you use the one website for your business you will be able to concentrate properly and create effective SEO. Also all your results will be in the one place. 4. Improved conversion rates A well designed website that is optimized and consistent will for sure have a positive impact on the conversion rate of your site. People will be familiar with functionality and layout, therefore providing them with a better user experience that translates to engagement. 5. Future viability of your website Responsive sites are made to adapt to different systems and characteristics, meaning it is pretty sure that once designed, and designed properly, it shouldn’t require too much work when newer devices hit the market. This point links back to cost effectiveness. [contact-form-7 id=”400″ title=”The contact form”]
July 21, 2015
As a small business or start-up the first step is to get on-line exposure. Your main goal will be to get more individuals talking and purchasing your products. It doesn’t matter how big your business is. Here is a list of reasons why you should focus your efforts on building your business through SEO. 1. More than 100 billion searches are made every month. This means that every day an average of 3.3 billion searches are performed every day. This is a huge amount of activity. Indeed, even the most modest percent would mean a huge amount of new guests to your little business’ site.With this number of people on-line, why would you not want to be a part of it? 2. SEO Traffic and Sign-ups are free. When you undergo an ad campaign on social media you are linked to your budget. When that runs out so does your exposure. Luckily, organic traffic driven by search results is completely free. Sure, you need to pay an SEO agency or professional to work on the optimization of your website and someone to take care of your content, but these are considerably less costly than a continuous ad campaign. All the content can stay on your website for a long time, but always remember Google loves fresh content, so keep updating to stay relevant. 3. You can become an authority via Hyper-targeted content. One of the most ideal approaches to demonstrate your skills is to be perceived as a power in your field. If everybody on the web knows you have the best content in your industry, then they’ll send individuals to you. 4. You can increase customer engagement and relationship building. Are you of the opinion that content is only for web search tools? You should reconsider. The reason that organizations put […]
July 15, 2015
There is no denying that this era’s customers are smarter in choosing which businesses and services they decide to associate with. There is a plethora of information available to them from the brands themselves as well as the many voices in social media. However, they are now also more distracted and more sceptical than ever when it comes to being bombarded with promotion. Millennials, who have grown up with social media as a marketing tool, are very savvy when it comes to being marketed to, and are the most active at opting out of communications if they feel overwhelmed. There are many challenges for marketers, as they perform various tasks to maximise reach, convert the enlightened and build customer loyalty. Social media is great for reaching high engagement levels and pushing great content. More so now that mobile is overtaking our daily life. Brands need to optimise their social media presence and digital content experience to open up to the amazing opportunities today’s technology can deliver. If you can master the 3 tips listed below to improve customer satisfaction, you’ll be in a great position to draw in those meaningful connections while at the same time creating genuine associations with completely new groups of people. 1. Influence and encourage fans to be loyal and involved. We live in a world where marketing isn’t as exclusive as it used to be. Trends are set by the press, niche influencers and your client base. In light of this new reality, retailers need to use creative approaches to interact with consumers, in which they are engaged as brand promoters. If customers can relate personally to content, they’re significantly more prone to share it. 2. Let go and practice platform agnosticism. In this modern era, there is no need for digital marketing campaigns to only drive traffic to destination […]