Tuesday 16 September 2014

Why is the Yes Campaign Winning on Social Media?

This week on the Webwindows blog, we ask why the Yes campaign is winning the fight for Scottish independence on social media, and what you can learn from it.

Social Media is King

If Webwindows has learned anything crafting extensive web marketing campaigns over the past ten years, it’s that social media is king.  By using social media to your advantage, you are not only gaining access to hundreds of millions of potential customers, but you can take advantage of these sites’ ability to amass specific information, to target said customers with pin point precision.
This is a lesson that both sides of the debate over Scottish independence – the Yes and the Better Together campaigns – have taken to heart, in their bids to sway the people of Scotland to vote for them. But who’s been more effective?

Who’s got the Most Followers on Twitter and Facebook?

Let’s start by looking at raw numbers. According to ITV, the Yes campaign got on Twitter first. By doing so, @YesScotland has managed to amass nearly 80,000 followers since April 2012. Meanwhile, @UK_Together got on Twitter a month later, and as of the time of writing, it has only managed to accrue just over 36,000 followers.
Furthermore, the Yes campaign was first on Facebook as well, and has gathered more than 266,000 likes, whilst its equivalent on the other side has only managed to rack up 188,000 likes at the time of writing. So in the raw numbers stakes, Yes has won, but what does it mean for that bastion of social media success, share-ability.



What Can Shareability Tell Us About the Success of the Yes and Better Together Campaigns?

As it turns out, it may have had a huge impact on shareability. ITV have gone on to show that using the neutral hashtag, #indyref, evidence shows that the two most re-tweeted images had a significant pro-independence bias.
Meanwhile, the third most retweeted image was a graph. Specifically, it was a graph from YouGov showing the first time Yes beat Better Together in the polls, again something that is more likely to have been retweeted by supporters of independence. This brings up a valid point. Yes has gone up, whilst no has gone down, further illustrating the comparative effectiveness of the Yes campaign on social media.

Get on Social Media as Soon As Possible


So what does this tell you? Well, in Webwindows’ opinion, it shows the effectiveness of a well thought out, consistent social media campaign. The earlier you start, the more followers you amass, the more interest you generate in your ad campaign. That is why Yes is edging out Better Together at the time of writing in the polls. 

Tuesday 9 September 2014

How to Remove Something from Google

This week, Webwindows wants to help you protect your advertising strategy by letting you know how to remove something from Google.

Respect the Awesome Power of Google

Throughout our ten years of providing effective web marketing solutions to businesses, large and small, across the UK, Webwindows has learned to respect the awesome power of Google. One well optimised ad campaign can dominate your search term’s first page on Google.

Because more people search for the products and services on Google than any other search engine on the planet, this means the site can prove invaluable to your marketing strategy. However, sometimes you will be faced with a user who wants to post negative content about you, and when they do, the power of Google can make sure that these posts do a significant amount of damage to the content marketing element of your ad campaign.

What Will Google Remove?

You need to have a strategy in place to deal with such content, but sometimes the best way to deal with it is just to get the content removed from Google. You can’t get everything removed – Google is too dedicated to free speech for that.
They will remove certain things though. These include national identification numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, images of signature, defamatory statements, copyrighted material etc. The last two are your best bet, but in both cases, you have to be able to prove them.

Use Google Webmaster Tools

Once you’ve determined whether you’ve got a case to have something taken down, it’s time to actually remove it. All you need to do here, is report the content in question via Google’s Webmaster tools.
The Webmaster tool is really easy to use, as long as you have a Gmail account. Just find the tool, follow the instructions, garb the link and explain why you want it removed, then wait to hear back from the search engine. If for some reason they don’t remove it though, it is worth contacting the owner of the actual site with the information damaging your ad campaign – they might be willing to remove the information in question.

Google Can Be a Great Tool for Your Ad Campaign.


What Webwindows wants you to walk away from this blog with this week, is the idea that Google is a great tool you can use to emphasise your ad campaign. But that doesn’t mean that you should let the search engine do any damage. Always remember that Google is a double edged sword. 

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Facebook Users More Likely to Self-Censor Post Snowden

With new evidence suggesting that Facebook users are more likely to self-censor post Snowden, Webwindows has seen more clearly than ever the need to tread carefully online.

Facebook’s Strength is it Achilles Heal

Through crafting effective web marketing strategies for companies across the UK for over ten years, Webwindows has seen the damage sites like Facebook can inflict on online marketing campaigns.


Their main strength is their Achilles heel. Sites like Facebook – which has over half a billion users – provide you with access to huge swathes of your target audience. Yet one ill thought out post can damage your reputation with that audience, and sink your entire ad campaign.

America is Self-Censoring itself on Facebook

It seems that individual Facebook users are coming to recognise the double-edged nature of the social media site as well. Specifically, the Guardian reported last week that in light of the Snowden affair, users in America are self-censoring discussions about state surveillance on Facebook.
Specifically, a new poll from Pew Research Centre, found that 86% of adults in the US were either ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ willing to discuss the issue offline, yet only 43% were willing to do so on Facebook. Meanwhile only 41% of respondents were willing to do the same on Twitter, which many see as a more public forum than Facebook.

How likely is the Typical Facebook or Twitter User to Discuss Snowden?

The report shed further light on the issue, saying that: “The typical Facebook user – someone who logs onto the site a few times per day – is half as likely to be willing to have a discussion about the Snowden-NSA issues at a physical public meeting as a non-Facebook user.
Similarly, the typical Twitter user – someone who uses the site a few times per day – is 0.24 times less likely to be willing to share their opinions in the workplace as an internet user who does not use Twitter.”

You Need to Self-Censor on Sites like Facebook and Twitter


This may not directly apply to online marketing – who’s ever going to think that discussing Edward Snowden would help their ad campaign - but it does remind Webwindows of the need to self-censor online. You never know who is going to see a Facebook post, which is why you need to self-censor, so that one ill thought out post doesn’t offend the wrong person, go viral and sink your entire ad campaign.

Be sure to 'like' Webwindows on Facebook

Thursday 28 August 2014

Five Tips for Writing Content for Your Blog

This week Webwindows wants to delve further into the world of content marketing, by letting you know about five tips for writing content for your blog.

You Need to Invest in Content Marketing

Through our role as a web marketing firm that has been putting together innovative web marketing strategies for companies of all sizes, Webwindows has come to understand the power of content. Because Google wants to ensure that readers receive relevant information on page one when they search for something, it’s more important than ever that you invest in content marketing to develop an effective online marketing strategy.
One of the most effective ways to generate relevant content, which will aid your wider advertising strategy in taking advantage of Google, is to create a blog. With a blog, you can produce optimised, relevant content, which you can then use to promote your advertising campaign to a loyal readership.


Webwindows Top Five Tips for Blog Content Creation

Yet writing blog content without professional training is nowhere as easy as American cable television would have you believe, especially if you want to get your content ranking on Google. That is why you should always use the following five tips from Webwindows when creating content for your blog…
1)      Write About What You Know: It’s simple really, the best way to generate relevant content that will help your online marketing strategy is to write about things that are actually relevant to your company. For example, if you own and want to promote a gardening company, write about gardening!

2)      Use Your Search Term as Your Guide: Let’s use the gardening analogy again. Say you’re wanting to promote your new landscaping service, generate content by using ‘landscape’ as your guide. Put it into the Google news tab, see if it’s trending on twitter or being talked about on Facebook to discover what people are reading. Then, the content should practically write itself.

3)      Break up the Text: Did you know that the average user spends about 2 seconds on a web page before moving on. You have to catch their attention and break up text, so they can look for what they want. Do what we’ve done for this article and use sub-headings, lists etc. With numbered lists as well, for example, you can then use it as a benchmark to help you generate content.

4)      Repurpose Old Content: If you’re stuck for something to write about, look at what you’ve done before and put a new spin on it. For example, last week we asked what is content marketing, and this week we’re use that as a base to create an article about the best ways to generate content. There’s really no such thing as a new idea anymore, didn’t you know?

5)      Get the Tone of Voice Right: All of this is useless, if you aren’t speaking to your readers on a level that will appeal to them. That is why you need to decide what tone of voice best represents your company, and use this to determine the type of language you use, the style of sentences you write with etc.

What Would Your Customers Like to Read?


Writing content for your blog can be difficult, but not impossible. Webwindows would ultimately advise that you think about what your customers are most likely to read, use that as a benchmark and go from there. 

Thursday 21 August 2014

UK AOP to Initiate Cross-Platform Digital Advertising Study

Webwindows has learned that The UK Association of Online Publishers has initiated a study to determine the effectiveness of cross platform digital advertising.

Webwindows Stays at the Forefront of the Web Marketing Industry

As experts at driving web traffic, Webwindows is the web marketing company that has been offering a unique range of tools to businesses of all sizes for the past ten years. As such, it is our job to stay at the forefront of the web marketing industry.


Part of that job is looking at the new studies that are released in the web marketing field, and using the information they provide to streamline the service our customers receive from Webwindows. That is why this week, we had to bring to your attention the fact that The UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP), has launched a new study to determine the effectiveness of cross digital advertising.

The Study Will Set Out to Analyse Engagement across Platforms

The research, performed in partnership with Omnicom Media Group, will specifically set out to study the level of engagement across desktop, tablet and mobile platforms. It will centre on data from 21 main publishers. These include The Guardian and Telegraph publishing Groups, IPC Media, Haymarket, Dennis Publishing and Incisive Media. The study will also feature a further 100+ UK media brands.
Beginning next month, the research will set out to analyse cross channel ad campaigns for three of the top brands from Omnicom. It will include videos, display ads and other multimedia platforms. Mobile 5 are slated to provide the campaign’s creative content, whilst digital advertising firm Celtra will create a dashboard for keep track of metrics.

A Game Changer for the Web Marketing Industry

AOP’s managing director, Tim Cain commented on the study. Cain started off by suggesting that this was the first cross-device project of this magnitude, which implies that its results will be a game changer for the web marketing industry.
Cain went on to say:  “One of the biggest challenges for advertising at the moment is working out how to reach consumers across devices, and what’s lacking is how those different devices and the combination of them can create the best consumer response from a brand advertising point of view.”

Webwindows Believes this Study Could Provide Vital Information


In Webwindows opinion, Cain makes a valid point. This study could provide vital information on how advertisers can reach consumers across devices. This will provide key data that will allow firms such as Webwindows to develop even more effective advertising campaigns for their clients. 

Monday 11 August 2014

The Times Experiences Surge in Circulation Figures

Recent data suggests that The Times has experienced a surge in circulation figures, further proving to Webwindows why it’s an effective paper to advertise with.

Newspapers Are an Essential Element of Any Advertising Strategy

When you’ve been crafting innovative web marketing strategies for a range of firms for over a decade, like Webwindows has, you know what works for an advertising strategy.
That is why we always advise that you include newspaper advertisements as part of your marketing plan. Their readers put stock into them, as they build a relationship of trust with their chosen publication as a source of news and editorial content. That trust ensures that they will take any advertisement you place in said publication seriously.
But which newspaper to go with? There are so many, and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Circulation – how many people read it – is often the best indicator. This is quite frankly, because the more readers a paper has, the more people will see your advertisement.

The Times Grows its Circulation Figures

This is why we highly suggest The Times as a newspaper to publish with. New data from ABC suggests that the publication’s circulation grew to reach 393,530, year on year in June. It was the best performing publication amongst the UK’s major papers.


How Did the Other Newspapers Fare With Circulation?

How did the other newspapers fair when it comes to circulation? The Guardian came in second place, with circulation figures of 185,313, whilst the Sunday Times performed the best out of the Sunday newspapers. The Sunday Times clinched circulation figures of 815,759.



When it comes to the fastest growing newspaper website, this prize was handed to the Coventry Telegraph with 92,047 unique visitors. This was a massive 304% rise. Meanwhile the Mail Online continued its dominance by scoring 10,912,083 unique users per day. This was an impressive rise of 35%. The Mail Online was followed by the Guardian, website, which experienced a 17% rise. They registered 5,718,502 unique visitors.

In Webwindows Opinion, the Numbers Speak for Themselves


So in Webwindows opinion, the numbers here speak for themselves. The Times continues to be regarded as a trusted source of news, which is backed up by its rise in circulation figures. That is why it always wise to advertise with The Times.

Monday 21 July 2014

With 11 Million Daily Users, Mail Online Stays on Top

ABC figures have proved the continuing popularity of the Mail Online, as Webwindows has learned it received 11 million visitors per day in May.

Webwindows Will Help You Craft a Killer Web Marketing Strategy

Are you looking for a web marketing firm with a range of key service offered by no other agency? If so, Webwindows – the web marketing expert – is here to help you craft a killer web marketing strategy, sure to lift your bottom line.
We’ve been in this game – offering web marketing expertise to businesses big and small – for over a decade now. We’ve increasingly learned that if you want your web advertising strategy to pack the most punch, you need to advertise on a site that attracts attention.

How Many People are visiting the Mail Online?

And the platform that attracts the most attention continues to be the Mail Online. ABC figures for May have revealed that whilst all major UK newspapers racked up year-on-year growth, the Mail Online continued its streak as most popular online news source.


The figures revealed that the platform racked up 11 million users user’s per day, only slightly down from its best ever performance in January 2014.  In that month, 11.8 million people used the website per day. Furthermore, figures show that back in April, 4.7 million unique browsers in the UK visited the site per day. A total of 6.3 million more, did so from the rest of the world.

Which Other UK Newspaper Sites Are Racking Up More Users?

Meanwhile, figures showed that the title of UK’s fastest growing newspaper site went to Metro. The site registered a rise of 204% year-on-year to reach 1.2 million users every day. This comes following news from Metro, released last March, suggesting its website wold be merged with the Mail Online. This hasn’t happened yet.
Meanwhile, the honour of second fastest growing national newspaper site was handed to The Mirror. It racked up an increase of 97.5% year-on-year, meaning that that it now receives 2.5 million unique browsers every day. Experts have suggested that this rise could have originated from the fact that since August 2013, The Sun, its main competitor, has been behind a paywall.

Online News Sites Are More Popular Than Ever


What these figures should show you, in Webwindows opinion, is the growing power of online news sites. Across the board, they are racking up more visitors by the day, meaning they are more effective than ever, as forums to use for your online advertising strategy. 

Tuesday 15 July 2014

When It Goes Wrong On Twitter, It Goes REALLY Wrong

If you learned anything from Brazil’s epic thrashing in the world cup last week, Webwindows suggests it be, when it goes wrong on Twitter, it goes really wrong.

Webwindows Watched in Shock as Germany Annihilated the Home Team

Webwindows is a web marketing firm which offers a range of key services that make sure you walk away with the right marketing strategy for your business. Part of that job description means we follow current events with a dedication you could only call single-minded
Just like the rest of the world, we watched with a sense of disbelief, when Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 in the world cup semi-final last week. It was quite simply a car crash of epic proportions, and of course, it all blew up on Twitter.


The Match Racked Up a Record 35.6 Million Tweets

Let this be a lesson in how Twitter reacts when you fail at what you do. According to the Guardian, following Brazil’s fierce beating by the German team, Tweeters took to the social media site in their millions to weigh in on the most shocking result ever witnessed in the world of football. The match was the most discussed sporting event ever on Twitter- it racked up a phenomenal 35.6 million Tweets.
Twitter wasn’t the only social media site users chose to air their disbelief, though, as it triggered the highest level of conversation EVER seen on Facebook for any World Cup game (as of the time of writing). Specifically, more than 66 million users had 200 million interactions about the biggest humiliation in Brazil’s football history; Brazil dominated over a quarter of that global conversation on the site.

More Popular Than Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé and Barack Obama

It gets even worse for Brazil though, as data from Twitter went on to reveal that because of the rate that Germany was scoring goals - five goals in an astonishing 18 minutes – the match racked up a record number of tweets per minute. The peak came when Sami Khedira racked up Germany’s fifth (we still can’t believe it) goal – which saw 580,166 tweets posted per minute.
This means that Khedira’s goal was more popular than Miley Cyrus’ infamous MTV VMA’s performance last year- which crested 360,000 tweets per minute, Beyoncé’s 2013 Super Bowl halftime show (268,000) and US President Barack Obama’s Democratic National Convention acceptance speech, which topped at 52, 756 tweets per minute.

Twitter Can Make or Break You!


If you learn anything from this, it should be that when it comes to online marketing, Twitter can make or break you. If you epically screw up, you can be sure that within a few seconds, the whole world will know about it and, all of a sudden, all that effort you’ve put into your web marketing strategy means nothing at all. 

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Don’t Let People Ask you Anything on Twitter!

If you want to craft an effective social media advertising strategy, WebWindows suggests you learn from Robin Thicke’s mistake and don’t give people license to ask you anything!

Welcome to WebWindows

Over the past ten years, WebWindows has evolved to become one of the leading web marketing firms in the industry, offering our unique range of key services to businesses of every size, to ensure that they walk away from us with the effective web marketing strategy they need to take their business to the next level.

Of course, we’ve stood on the front lines and witnessed the rise of social media. In the modern wold, where hundreds of millions, even billions, are on Facebook and Twitter, and where the nature of these sites allow you to target your audience with pin point precession, marketing has never been easier. But only if you do it right.

He Really Blurred the Lines

You may wonder why we’re turning our attention to Robin Thicke. The man’s an American pop star, and until recently he wasn’t exactly a very famous one. What could we all possibly learn from him?

Well quite a lot. Thicke reached worldwide fame last year when he released his song ‘Blurred Lines.’ Dealing with controversial issues (i.e. date rape), it was condemned by practically everybody, with Thicke becoming, according to various news sources, the ‘poster boy of misogyny.’ But what does it have to do with your online marketing campaign?

‘#AskThicke’…. Why He’s a Monumental Misogynist!

Last week Thicke went ahead with his latest online promotional campaign. The problem, was that the campaign was billed as a chance to ask Thicke anything on Twitter with the hashtag ‘#AskThicke.’

Obviously, people who see him as the ‘poster boy of misogyny’ ripped him apart. According to The Independent, particularly negative tweets included “if one of your songs played in a forest and no one was around to hear it would it still be sexist and gross?,” and "when you're not busy objectifying women, making light of rape and justifying sexual violence, how do you like to relax?” They’re only the tip of the iceberg.

Ask Anything Q&A’s Are Horrible Ideas!


This isn’t the first time WebWindows has seen an ‘ask anything’ twitter Q&A session go horrifically wrong. We don’t know why people are still doing it, but if you are, don’t! You will leave yourself open to trolls, just accept that and move on!

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Take a Cue from the Blair Witch Project and Get Creative!

WebWindows suggests that when you’re putting together your web marketing campaign you take your cue from the Blair Witch Project and get creative!

WebWindows: Home of Effective Creative Web Marketing

WebWindows is the home of effective, creative web marketing. Over the past decade we have helped craft first rate web marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes with our unique range of key services.

If we’ve learned anything in those ten years it’s that if you want your web marketing strategy to be effective, it needs to capture people’s attention. Boring ads often go unnoticed, as such, proving ineffective, which is why you need to get creative!

 We All Remember the Blair Witch Project

If you want an example of how to do creative marketing right, look at the Blair Witch Project; often regarded by industry experts as the first ever ‘viral’ online marketing campaign.

Of course, they had far less to work with than you do. A film shot in the days before YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and with a scant budget of $22,000, it ended up reaping a colossal $250 million in revenue, thanks in no small part to a killer online marketing campaign.

They Created the Legend of the Blair Witch
Essentially, the Blair Witch Project’s advertising team got unbelievably creative. Through an incredible combination of “found footage,” cleverly planted rumours on online message boards (it was the late 90’s), and the initiation of a low budget ad campaign, they created a legend. That legend made people curious and brought them to the box office.

It was absolute genius. They managed to craft one of the most memorable online marketing campaigns in history, and they did it by thinking of their product, thinking about its unique selling point and using that through the power of the internet to build unprecedented hype.

WebWindows Suggests You Think outside the Box


That’s why you should take your cue from the Blair Witch Project when crafting your web marketing campaign. They taught the world that it doesn’t matter what you have to work with, as long as you think outside the box!

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Webwindows Explains Why Contextual Advertising Offers Great Targeting.

This week Webwindows turns its attention to contextual advertising, and explains to you why it offers prime targeting for your ad campaign.

Webwindows: Leaders in Web Marketing

Webwindows is an industry expert when it comes to web marketing. For the past ten years, we have been offering top notch web marketing expertise to businesses of all sizes, and the diversity of the Webwindows team, means that no other agency offers the range of services you get with us.
That success has been built on the experience of said team. Through trial and error, we have figured out the best ways to ensure that your ad campaign has the desired effect. That is why we know that contextual ads work.

Contextual Advertising Gives People Easy Access to What They Need

Basically contextual ads (i.e. banner ads) work on the principle of showcasing advertisements to readers, which work in tandem with the content they are already reading. For example. If a reader is perusing a travel guide to France on a website that utilises contextual advertising, the content could be accompanied by ads about flight deals to France.
Logically, this would lead the viewer to click on the banner for more information and this is why they work – because contextual advertising analyses the content a reader is looking at, and presents them with ads that are highly relevant to said content. Give people easy access to what they need, and they’ll click out of sheer convenience.

How Can You Contextualise a Web Advert?

So the benefits are obvious, but how should you go about contextual advertising? In our experience, we’ve found that there are three options generally available:
  1. Keyword Contextual Advertising: This method allows the advertiser to craft their own contextual category, by allowing them to select key words which define the pages they want their contextual ads to appear.
  2. Category Contextual Advertising: With this method advertisers can target ads on webpages that divide into one or more of the 300+ categories, as defined by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
  3. Keyword/category contextual combination: Essentially, a hybrid of the first two. Note, it only works on pages which contain the selected keywords, and have been classified as one of the selected categories.

It’s Obvious Why Contextual Advertising Offers Great Targeting


Therefore it’s clear to see why contextual advertising offers great targeting. You are showing the consumer what they want to see, and giving them easy access to it, with a combination of specific keywords and categories. Giving the consumer what they want is the most effective advertising method there is, because it’s very hard to say no when what you want is presented to you on a silver platter!

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Advertise with the Sunday Times for Surprisingly Good Value

Webwindows have found that if you choose to advertise with the Sunday Times, you get surprisingly good value. It really is one of the best UK newspapers for your investment.

Webwindows: Crafting Effective Web Marketing Campaigns

Here at Webwindows we’re experts at marketing. Over the last ten years we have dedicated our team of professional experts to crafting effective web marketing campaigns for businesses of every possible size and type under the sun.
Essentially, we know what works and we’ve found that a smart advertising campaign presented in the right newspaper is extremely effective in communicating your message to your target audience. Newspapers are trusted sources of information by their readers, and as such, a reader will trust your advertisement exactly because they trust they have built up a relationship of trust with their publication of choice.

There are Distinct Advantages to Advertising with the Sunday Times

Saying that, the effectiveness of newspaper-based advertising strategy is entirely dependent on which publication you choose. The Sunday Times would therefore seem to be a bad choice, since it only prints once a week.

However there are distinct advantages to advertising in the Sunday Times. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), it has one of the country’s highest circulation figures, 840,000 per week, and a readership of 2.5 million people. Therefore one weekly issue reaches more readers of print than the Sunday Telegraph, the Observer and the Independent on Sunday combined.



Reach those Lucrative ABC1 Readers

It also has the ability to circulate your advertisement to more ABC1 readers than any other Sunday publication in this country. ABC1 refers to the most lucrative readership in the country, which typical includes the business community, c-suite executives, wealthy young professionals and university graduates. Studies have shown that a significant chunk of the newspapers audience falls into this category, earning over £75,000, per household, per year.

Furthermore, studies conducted by News 3.0 Initiative have concluded that Sunday Times readers still believe that printed media provides the optimum experience, and that readers are more likely to respond when adverts are placed in the relevant sections of the publication. Essentially, readers of the Sunday Times still value it as a trusted news source.

The Sunday Times is a Valuable Newspaper to Advertise With

There you are. Despite the fact that the Sunday Times is only printed once a week, it is a valuable paper to advertise with, as you are able to benefit from the publications formidable readership, as well as the trust that readership puts into the Sunday Times as a credible news source. 

Friday 13 June 2014

Webwindows Begs You Not to Do What British Gas Did on Twitter

If you want to use Twitter to promote your ad campaign, great, but you need to use common sense. That’s why this week Webwindows begs you not to do what British Gas did on Twitter.

Twitter: A Double Edged Sword

We specialise in advising you about the wonderful world or web marketing here at Webwindows. In our ten years in the game, we couldn’t fail to notice just how powerful Twitter has grown as an advertising platform. With half a billion users, one carefully crafted Tweet can bring your ad campaign to hundreds of millions.
Twitter’s strength is also its weakness. If you happen to miscalculate your Twitter promotion it has the ability to anger those same millions, turn them against you, prompt them to create a campaign to hijack your ad campaign and render it practically impotent.

What not to do on Twitter: The British Gas Edition

If you don’t believe us, remember what happened to British Gas when they made this fatal mistake. By the time the trolls had finished with them, their ad campaign had been disgraced; it had made the headlines in practically every online British publication and ruined their page one on Google. It drove away customers in droves.
So what did they do? Well, as most energy companies have been lately, they decided to raise their prices. Naturally, annoyed customers who were looking for any chance to vent their frustrations.
Then they initiated a Q&A session on Twitter with the hashtag #AskBG. It was like lighting a match next to a powdered keg, as the company’s many frustrated customers gleefully took the opportunity to high-jack the hashtag to ask just why their energy company raised prices so high. Then British Gas made it worse by promoting the campaign on Facebook; the only social networking site with more users than Twitter.

Webwindows Asks: What Should You Take Away from This “Terrible PR Stunt?”


Here’s where Webwindows makes its case. Don’t be like British Gas. They’re a big company, they can handle bad press. Most companies can’t. A campaign like this that angers so many customers has the potential to ruin a smaller firm. If you take anything away from this terrible PR stunt, let it be that you need to know your audience inside out. 

Webwindows are also on twitter - Webwindows twitter.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Online Sales Set For Record Heights

The Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IABUK) reported  last week that online sales are set to reach a record high, as UK consumers spend more online than ever before. At Webwindows, we find this further shows how profitable an online advertising strategy can be.

E-Commerce, Online Advertising: A Marriage of Convenience

The advantages to online advertising are clear, however they’re never clearer than they are in e-commerce. One single truth that has shaped consumers since the dawn of time is that they like convenience. E-commerce provides said consumer with the ultimate convenience, as they only need to click a few links to act on the interest spurred on by the online advert they have just witnessed.
Furthermore there is clear evidence to suggest that online advertising is set to be more effective than ever before, as ad spend in this country is set to reach a record £20+ billion next year, as a result of large growth margins expected in emerging mediums such as mobile advertising and video on demand advertising. Finally, digital advertising is expected to reach more people than ever next year, as a record number of people spend record numbers of hours online, with tablet use growing particularly strongly amongst several sectors of the UK public.

Record Online Spending set to Spur E-Commerce to Milestone £107 Billion Revenue

This is compounded by the fact that IABUK has now found that the average UK household is set to spend over £4,000 online this year, which will aid this country’s e-commerce industry to measure a record breaking £107 billion in profit, according to research collated by IMRG and Barclaycard.
In 2013, this sector grew by a staggering 124% in comparison with the year before, and it’s also important to note that in the lucrative online music market, 79% is now bought over the internet. Other areas of e-commerce that are set to boom include airline tickets, concerts and cinema tickets, amongst many.

WebWindows on the Profitability of Online Advertising for E-Commerce

At WebWindows we recognise that many companies are adopting an e-commerce element, and as well they should, considering the profit this sector is set to record. The rise of this sector means it is more vital than ever to include an online element in your ad campaign, as UK consumers move completely towards digital platforms. 

Thursday 29 May 2014

Mail Online Pulls in Record Revenue

The clear advantages of including the Daily Mail in your advertising strategy became more apparent than ever this month, as the publication reported that its online platform, the Mail Online, pulled in record revenue for the first half of 2014.

Daily Mail and Online: The Best of Both:

Data has further proved in recent months that there are significant benefits to advertising online. The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has found that not only are UK homes set to spend over £4,000 a year on average on the internet this year, but that the internet accounts for a larger share of ad spend in this country every year and that tablet use is growing by significant amounts, illustrating how the platforms people are using to access the world wide web are diversifying all the time.

It’s also important to note here the power of newspaper advertising; it creates a relationship with the reader based on trust, which in turns prompts them to trust the products it chooses to advertise. When you consider that a bare minimum of 4 million people read the Daily Mail every single day, you quickly see why it’s such an effective publication to advertise with.



£28 Million in Half Year Revenue Recorded by Mail Online

This would lead you to believe that an advertising campaign, such as the Mail Online, that enables you to take advantage of the benefits of both for less of an investment, would not only slim down the cost of that advertising strategy, but would provide heightened consumer exposure to said strategy. You would be right.
The latest figures from DMG Media (which includes the Mail Online) revealed that they saw a rise of 39% in operating profit in the first half of 2014, to £50 million. Specifically, DMG found that total revenue generated by the Mail Online rose by £8 million year-on-year to £28 million.

Figures further illustrated that the Mail Online recorded a readership rise of 39.3% last month to hit 10.9 million international readers daily. They also revealed that the Mail online had 180 million global readers in March, with daily averages measuring around 11.3 million. The company has since pointed out that growth in online advertising has offset a 4% decline in its print revenue and 3% decline in circulation revenue.

Webwindows Comments on the Effectiveness of the Mail Online

Considering the fact that advertising contributes the maximum to Mail Online revenue and the clear popularity of the medium, at WebWindows it is clearer than ever that the platform can bring major interest to your ad campaign. It’s effective and efficient, which allows you to diversify your ad campaign in other areas to reach a larger share of your target audience than ever before.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

EU Totals Record €27.3 Billion Online Ad Spend

If you’re looking to advertise in EU markets, then Webwindows and the latest figures for ad spend on the content suggest that you need to include an online plank in your advertising strategy to reach an evolving consumer base.
Online ad spend is climbing in every major market. The UK, for example, recorded an impressive £6.3 billion in online ad spend in 2013, and that number looks set to increase as the year plays out. Furthermore 22% of US ad spend last year was online.

The Annual IABEurope Conference

These latest figures show that the consumers in the EU are just as keen to embrace digital platforms as their US and UK counterparts and the these numbers from the Internet Advertising Bureau Europe (IABEurope) reveal just how the money is being spent in order to secure companies the most effective advertising space in the digital age.Specifically, IABEurope revealed at its annual conference this week that online ad spend on the continent had eclipsed €27.3 billion for the first time ever. Citing AdEx Benchmark research - which according to the Bureau acts as the definitive to the European online advertising market – IABEurope revealed that this meant that online advertisings share of the European market grew by 11.9% in 2013.


The IBAEurope Breakdown of Online Ad Spend

They then went on to further reveal that mobile online advertising has managed to clinch a double digits display market share for the first time; it recorded 11.5% of the growth value, further proving that smartphone technology is rapidly becoming the platform of choice for effective advertising.

Also IABEurope revealed that there has been strong growth recorded for ad spend in the online video market as well, as it increased a massive 45.4%  in 2013, to bring in €1.19 billion. This is a landmark in its own right, as this is the first time that online video ad spend has passed the €1 billion milestone.

IABEurope CEO Townsend Feehan spoke out on what the figures mean. Feehan said: “These results confirm the increasing value contributed by digital advertising to Europe’s economy. Technology innovation is driving growth and it’s important that we continue to foster our European digital businesses to enable a strong European presence on the world stage.”

At Webwindows, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. These latest figures show that if you are looking to target a European consumer base, you need to involve an online element in your advertising strategy.

Thursday 15 May 2014

TV the Most Effective Advertising Medium?

A new study has been conducted by a group called Thinkbox, exploring the effectiveness of television advertising. Webwindows will discuss the findings of the report and talk about the mediums status amongst other forms of advertising in terms of their effectiveness.

The Report

The study analysed over 4,500 advertising campaigns dating back to 2008. They found that the average television advert provides a return of £1.79 for every pound invested between 2011 and 2014. This is an increase of 9p from the £1.70 return in the period from 2008-2011.

TV advertising also created 33% more branded online searches during the earlier period against the later. This is important information if you are implementing an online advertising campaign.

Webwindows can announce that TV advertising proved to have the highest return on investment (ROI) of any form of advertising over the period the survey was conducted. The ROI was driven by an the increasing sophistication of advertisers creating ad opportunities across various media platforms, higher quality content and the falling price of adverts.

The finding of the report was delivered at the annual Payback 4 Summary of TV, radio, press, online display, and outdoor advertising. Each medium was compared on a like-for-like basis. The report found that TV advertising was twice as effective as the next best performing medium, which was press or newspaper advertising. Webwindows recommends choosing a marketing campaign that is best for you - we will work with you to look at your target audience, your budget and resources and decide on the best marketing strategy which will best suit you.

Halo-Effect

The report also showed that TV advertising benefits from a ‘halo-effect’.  This sees product sales boosted for items that are not directly advertised. Also known as the ‘multiplier effect’, this increases the effectiveness of other campaigns running in tandem.

The Effectiveness Practice Leader at Ebiquity said ““TV has consistently demonstrated the highest ROI over a 7 year period, during a period of unprecedented economic and technological upheaval and change. TV is continuing to demonstrate its value as we see the first real signs of economic growth.”

Revenues

UK TV advertising revenues increased by 3.5% in 2013 to reach an all-time high pf £4.63 billion. Webwindows announced that advertising spend will reach £20 billion next year. The figure for this year is expected to rise again due to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.