A study commissioned by Deloitte, found that Facebook activity supports 35,200 UK jobs and fuels £2.2bn in revenue. This figure includes the direct economic impact of Facebook – such as paying tax, profits and wages – as well as the broader impact it has had in enabling businesses to reach customers, make sales, create and monetise apps and even boost demand for products such as broadband and smartphones. So how can creating apps help to boost your business and what should you watch out for?

Use feedback to build relationships. Using Facebook poll applications and tracking software can help you understand more about how consumers interact with your products. By giving consumers a voice, you are more likely to reap the benefits of a ‘social’ experience.

Geolocate your business. Survey results indicate about four in 10 (39%) smartphone operators use one or more location-based apps. Add your location & display it on your fan page using Google maps. You can show your address, office location, event location etc.

Drive traffic to your site. If used in the right way, and thanks to iFrame implemented through Page tabs, Facebook can act as a prompt for driving traffic to your website.

Word of mouth³. The new Facebook Timeline has given birth to a whole gaggle of new apps. Now, once you’ve given consent to a frictionless app to share stories on your wall, the app will be able to do so whenever you use it afterward, without having to notify you. So as soon as you look up a recipe on Foodily, listen to a song on Spotify or buy tickets on Ticketmaster, Facebook will share this endorsement with your community.

Commerce. Applications such as Facebook Marketplace have made social commerce a real possibility. Many analysts believe that online shopping through social networks is the next logical step forward.

Frictionless sharing could present a risk for small businesses. While it may be too early to accurately assess any additional risks these apps may present, it may be a good idea to inform IT specialists, risk managers and HR managers. It is more important than ever that employees are equipped with best practise guidelines.

Lindsey Reaney

Account Manager, Golley Engage

A company that invests in building the right content on its Facebook Page is more likely to increase Fans and achieve a lift in customer engagement, but it is important that this serves a communications objective.

1. Make specific targets

Whilst most brands are looking to grow the fan base on their Page, that in itself should not be your objective. Companies should look to deliver a key message or to promote a video or campaign through a particular tab; and by doing so will successfully secure fans along the way. By integrating YouTube or your website into a tab, you can seek to improve your customer’s familiarity with your product range or organisation; helping you to deliver against traditional business objectives.

2. Have a clear tab strategy

By implementing a clear strategy around tabs, companies can create a simple consumer journey for its customers. Companies should look to inform and entertain customers, and to separate out these paths. Take advantage of events tabs to publicise calendar hooks, and ensure info tabs are up-to-date.

Tabs should complement one another, it should be clear to a user where the information they are seeking is housed and campaign tabs should not be abandoned or left unpopulated.

If you are looking to hold a dialogue with your customers, do not over complicate things; instead, focus on keeping the wall engaging and fresh.

3. Incentivise

Whilst valuable content and a thriving community are important to the survival of any business in a social environment, it is still important to consider the consumer journey and to offer an incentive to drive consumers to the page from an external source. The more signposts you put in place, and the more you reward customers for engaging with your business through the platform, the more your community will grow.

4. Attract, reward, share

Once you’ve determined your strategy, it’s time to build great content. The best tabs are the ones that encourage repeat use and expose customers to a specific product or service. Try to consider how your customer uses the platform, and the sort of information they might choose to share; according to a recent report for instance, video will soon account for 90% of all online traffic [2].

5. Audience

The most important factor in any social media programme is the audience. Identifying your target consumer and building content that they can enjoy is imperative to the success for the page. Remember, you are talking directly to your consumer, not through the media or a third party, so make it count. Above all, make it relevant.

[1] http://clearslide.com/view/mail?iID=V8YFCRBY2JCCKGKSFMAK
[2] http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/video-soon-to-be-90-of-online-traffic-0117979

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

When Google acquired Android Inc. in 2005, no one could have predicted the success story it would go on to become. With the 2008 launch of the HTC Dream, the first commercially available handset to run Android, Google’s operating system went from strength to strength, slowly but surely biting into the Apple market share. According to a recent Guardian report, about 42 million Android devices were activated in December alone, suggesting that there are now just less than 280m active Google Android devices worldwide – that’s 47% of the market share. [1]

Of course, we’re not just talking about mobile phone devices. Now tablets and e-readers account for a huge share of tech sales, and with a number of tablets running the Android OS stealing customers from Apple’s rival iPad, there is no doubting that Google Android is packing a huge punch in the market. But why? Here’s what we’d put Android’s success down to:

ANDROID

Google released the Android code as open source, and it is this that lies at the heart of the battle between the Android OS and Apple’s iOS. Unlike Apple, with Android, compatibility is the name of the game. The so-called ‘Android Open Source Project’ (AOSP) is led by Google, with “the goal to create a successful real-world product that improves the mobile experience for end users” and ensures the continued compatibility of all Android devices. Google also heads up the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of 34 companies, including HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola and Samsung, committed to developing open standards for mobile devices.  On the surface of it, the majority of users won’t even be aware of the open source nature of Android. However, for a number of reasons, it has a profound effect on the service they receive:

- Fast reactions

There is a huge community of developers able to write apps that extend the functionality of Android devices. So instead of just one company working on the code, an unlimited number of people are able to do so, meaning that open source software tends to be more secure than proprietary software because thousands of developers are monitoring the code every day. As a result bugs in the software are quickly fixed.

- Creativity

The open source nature of Android means that developers’ creativity is encouraged rather than quashed. Working with the open source Android code gives developers a huge amount of freedom to produce exciting new apps.

As of October 2011 there were more than 400,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from the Android Market as of December 2011 exceeded 10 billion [2,3] – a measure of the popularity of Android with developers and customers alike, and therefore with brands interested in investing in apps.

- Freedom

So long as the user gives approval at installation time, Android apps are free to do whatever they want, i.e. ‘accessing the internet’ or ‘reading the state of the phone’. Apple apps, on the other hand, are tightly restricted – they are not allowed to communicate with each other for any reason, or run in the background. The increased functionality granted to Android apps, makes the possibilities for developers and users far more wide-ranging than their Apple counterparts.

APPLE

However, Apple is still indisputably a world leader in the tech field and still boasts the largest market share. So how can Apple fight back against the attack of the Android?

- Love

Apple has the so-called ‘sticky factor’ – the addictive desirability of its products that keep customers coming back to them time after time because they love the brand.

- Money-making

Whilst the open source Android offers many advantages to developers, Google has not yet made an app market that makes publishers more money than Apple, so developers are continuing to pick iOS over Android because it is here that they can make the most money.

- Upgrade time

The upgrade path from developer to user is much shorter for Apple users. Android upgrades have to go from Google to the phone manufacturers to the carriers to the devices, whereas iOS upgrades can be sent from Apple directly to devices. As a result, Android users can’t get an upgrade until they buy their next phone, whilst Apple users don’t have to wait.

- Innovation

If there’s one thing that Apple represents, it’s innovation. The consistently exciting new Apple releases, such as Siri, iCloud, iTunes Match and iMessage, ensure the successful future of Apple. As long as people still believe they are getting the latest, and the best, from Apple, they will continue to remain loyal members of Team Apple.

So when it comes to one of the biggest battles of the 21st century tech world, one that defines and divides the tech universe, there’s a real dichotomy – and the choice is yours. Whilst Apple is all about making it as easy as possible for the user, Android’s motto is “it’s your phone, you have the right to do whatever you want with it”. The choices they make over the next few years are critical for both operating systems. Will Apple endeavour to let go of the reigns a little and increase compatibility? Will Android be able to improve its ‘sticky-factor’ so that customers come back time and time again? We don’t know, but it’ll certainly be an interesting ride.

[1] http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-30/tech/30571342_1_android-platform-smartphone-windows-phone#ixzz1ihCS2ozs
[2] http://www.t3.com/news/android-market-reaches-500000-app-mark
[3] http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/10-billion-apps-detailed/

Phillippa Holmes
Account Executive, Golley Engage

A number of retailers have simply cut prices. Heavy discounts have already been introduced in the run up to Christmas in an attempt to lure customers in to make purchases. Last Saturday Oxford Street and Regent Street were both closed to vehicles, acting as a further incentive to attract consumers into some of the biggest chains’ flagship stores. Nevertheless, takings fell by 10% in comparison to the same Saturday of last year.[3]

It’s clear that retailers need to be more imaginative if they want to encourage paying customers in-store. One that’s clearly doing something right is John Lewis, which has managed to break its November sales records both online and in-store. In total, the company took £123.5m last week, a 2% rise on the previous record, achieved in the same week of last year, and up by 12.2% on the same week two years ago.[4] So what’s its secret?

The company doesn’t seem to be doing anything hugely differently to their past activity, or to other high street players. It has a ‘pick and collect’ initiative, pioneered by another high street stalwart, Argos. The retailer has also relentlessly marketed itself around the ‘never knowingly undersold’ mantra for its 85^th year; a week-long campaign earlier this month promised to price-match competitors, proclaiming: “If our competitors have a sale, we have a sale.” In addition to this they have produced yet another successful Christmas ad which has attracted widespread media attention, topping viral charts upon its release.

The brand’s consistent dedication towards making shopping easier and worthwhile for the consumer, combined with savvy business strategies, seem to be what is driving the company’s success. Its ‘pick and collect’ service has been extended to 100 areas without a John Lewis store, where products can be picked up from the local Waitrose instead. It also has a never-ending refunds policy whereby there is no time limit on returning unwanted items, which is surely a big attraction for Christmas shoppers buying gifts.

It’s clear that this is striking a chord with recession-fearing consumers that may have put larger scale purchases on ice, from summer holiday plans to kitchen upgrades. In this respect, the retailer offers a manageable luxury – a cost-effective antidote to all the doom and gloom. With John Lewis’s latest plan to open up four new stores next year and to further expand its in-store services, it may be in a position to capitalise on market trends in a way that no other high-street retailer has yet been able to manage.

Alicia Barham

It is clear that Facebook has made significant changes to the platform over the last few years to create a marketable product that can be sold to businesses interested in communicating to Facebook’s 800 million members. From the very beginning, Facebook has been built on the concept of sharing; if users did not share photos, comments and content with their friends then Facebook as a platform would fail. It is, after all, sharing that leads to dwell time, and dwell time is advertising gold dust. Over half of Facebook’s 800 million users spend anywhere between 30 minutes and 4 hours a day on the site, and this time is spent interacting with the userface. With annual revenue of $1.6 billion in the first half of this year, up $800 million from the previous year, it is clear that Facebook has much to gain from users’ sharing.

It is no great surprise then that Facebook has evolved the platform in favour of improving advertising click-through rates. On Monday, Facebook began posting ads to the ticker, the real-time rolling tally of your Friends’ Facebook activity. Facebook has dubbed them “sponsored stories,” but they are essentially posts that an advertiser has paid to have displayed. While these stories are paid content, they’ll appear as the activity of your Friends or as Pages people have ‘Liked’. TechCrunch noted that Sponsored Stories are particularly attractive to advertisers because they have a 46 percent greater click-through rate than typical ads, which means they could provide these companies with more revenue. So, what of the user experience? Zuckerberg has come under fire for compromising users’ privacy in favour of commercial gain:

“I want to reaffirm the commitment I made when I first launched Facebook. We will serve you as best we can and work every day to provide you with the best tools for you to share with each other and the world. We will continue to improve the service, build new ways for you to share and offer new ways to protect you and your information better than any other company in the world.”

So, are consumers likely to turn off in droves as Facebook becomes more and more accessible to brands? Well whilst Zuckerberg’s view, that introducing brands to Facebook creates a more realistic ‘real-world’ experience, is a little self-serving, it is certainly true that we’re more accustomed to advertising than ever. Advertising is part of the world that we live in, even if it is not a part of our world; we are no more likely to log off Facebook than to turn off our televisions. There is a school of thought that argues that the way we use Facebook is intrinsically personal, quite different from the way we consume other media, and therefore any branded presence is invasive and unwelcome. Given the impulsive and whimsical manner in which we use Facebook, this seems a little severe; users are quite happy to while away the minutes on Farmville, so why shouldn’t much-loved brands offer up equally engaging content?

Last night’s documentary could encourage consumers to think twice before engaging with brands on Facebook, it might even make users question their privacy settings, but as social media marketers our challenge remains the same. Engaging consumers on Facebook requires a strong idea, something creative and engaging that will encourage users to trade their ‘Likes’ for a piece of the pie. So to echo Maitlis’ summary, ask not what Facebook can do for your brand, but what you can offer your customers.

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

Recent research predicts that 67 million e-reader devices will be sold in 2016, compared with 25 million this year.¹ Within these huge sales figures the Kindle dominates the market, but rival e-readers are still big business. Earlier this year W H Smith partnered with a Canadian firm to launch the Kobo and the Kobo Touch, whilst Barnes and Noble have their Nook range of e-readers and Apple is furiously trying to ensure the Kindle doesn’t push its iPad out of the market. Many daily newspapers have branched out to the e-reader world too, with the majority of the national papers now available to download on Kindle.

So is it true that e-readers spell the end for independent bookshops, and the humble paperback? Given that the best-seller ‘One Day’ has sold over one million copies in paper back in the UK alone, it seems that despite the ‘e-reader fever’, we’re still buying books in significant numbers. So what are the advantages of the good old fashioned book over the sleek e-reader? Here’s our list of the pros and cons of the Kindle as we see it:

Pros

1. All clear ahead: The electronic ink and screen used by Amazon definitely lives up to the marketing spiel, making the reading experience very similar to that of reading a printed page.
2. Reading on the go: The Kindle is light and small and fits easily into your bag, meaning weighty tomes no longer need to be left behind in the morning.
3. Books galore: There are thousands of books available at the push of a button in the Amazon store (which you can access on the Kindle) thus removing the need for long-winded transfers or synching is necessary. Typically e-books are cheaper than their printed counterparts too, and many of the Classics are available for free from the Amazon shop.
4. Long life: Some might say having a battery life on your reading material is a huge e-reader drawback, but the need to charge your Kindle is so irregular that it really isn’t an issue. Just don’t get caught short!

Cons

1. No sharing: One of the best things about reading can be recommending a book to someone else and passing on your copy. With the Kindle this isn’t a possibility.
2. Too risky to read: Whilst a huge benefit of the Kindle is its portability, this is often outweighed by the worry of losing such a high value item. If you’re catching the bus to the pub for the evening, you might think twice about putting your Kindle in your bag.
3. Losing the plot: Sometimes following the story relies heavily on a great deal of flicking back and forth to timelines and family trees at the front of the book. Amazon has thoughtfully given the Kindle a bookmark feature, but it can be a bit fiddly, and it’s certainly not as easy as turning a page.
4. Bragging rights removed: The Kindle could mean the death of the trophy book cabinet. We all know someone who displays their high-brow reads for all their guests to see and admire!

The president of the Association of American Publishers, Tom Allen commented earlier this year that consumers “have made e-books permanent additions to their lifestyle while maintaining interest in print format books.” And we would agree – there are undeniably a huge number of advantages to owning an e-reader, but there’s certainly a place for both in our lives.

So will you be buying your loved ones an e-reader this Christmas? Go on. They come highly recommended.

[1] http://www.businessweek.com/technology/five-reasons-ereader-sales-will-nearly-triple-by-2016-11152011.html

Phillippa Holmes
Junior Account Executive, Golley Engage

Research has shown that mobile commerce looks set to grow by 55%[3] over the next five years. Traditional e-commerce relies heavily on consumers having time on their hands to browse and an affinity to a particular website or brand, m-commerce is proving much more impulsive. If consumers see products they like for a reasonable price, they buy – there and then. In short mobile offers a great opportunity to connect with consumers on-the-go.

Source: Forrester Research

Just under half of the UK population now owns a smartphone, and Google’s mobile operating system Android is powering half – followed by RIM’s BlackBerry models with 22.5% and Apple’s iPhone at 18.5%. These smartphones are GPS enabled and offer brands the unique opportunity to connect to consumers through location-based targeting. By focusing your advertising spend within a small geographical area, targeting a specific audience profile, you can communicate with consumers in an extremely cost-effective manner.

Consumers are increasingly becoming reliant on their mobile devices, 90% of consumers in the UK have their mobile phone to hand while they are watching TV,[4] and a recent report by the Science Museum placed the mobile phone in tenth place on the list of things UK consumers could not live without – polling higher than central heating or painkillers. Whilst this confirms the mobile offers an incredible opportunity to reach huge audiences, brands need to exercise caution when engaging with consumers through their mobile devices. Consumers are much more likely to find commercial messages intrusive, and once they are turned off they are unlikely to switch back on.

Instead, m-commerce should aim to capitalise on existing opportunities to further engage the customer and should, above all else, place the consumer at the centre. Consumers are using mobile to seek out further information in store, so using existing technology such as QR codes and near field communication, retailers and major brands should look to solve consumer bug-bears. M-commerce offers retailers the opportunity to use advertising as a prompt to launch local store locators, or to fulfil an online order for a consumer who can’t find the right size in store. Savvy brands will be looking to do more than just advertise on handsets, they will instead need to target users with effective marketing campaigns whilst on the move. 2012 is not just the year of m-commerce, it is the year of cross platform, integrated, consumer-lead marketing.

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/31/half-uk-population-owns-smartphone

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

There is no question that the functionality of the platform has been well considered.  Google+ offers a much more professional interface, and applications have been designed to aid businesses.  This is a major advantage of Google being late to market when compared with platforms such as MySpace or Facebook. The result is that your page looks a lot more ‘grown-up’ and the user experience less cluttered. A number of big brands including Volkswagen, Motorola and Android have joined Google+ and clearly made an impression. VW USA has over 800 followers so far, and Google+ itself has over 7,500 followers; and it’s easy to see why.  The clean interface allows users to hero images, video and brand updates.

Here are our five favourite features of the site:

1. Professional – The clean and simple user interface looks and feels powerful and professional, which makes it an attractive environment in which to promote your business, and is something which Facebook will struggle to compete with.
2. Integrated – The option to ‘+’ all sorts of things across the web, and the ever-present Google+ notification bar makes the whole thing feel like a very inclusive system. The real win though is that when you search + in front of a brand or product their Google+ page will automatically be the top search result, making SEO for SMEs a walk in the park.
3. Inclusive – ‘Huddles’ is Google’s answer to messenger. It allows users of its Android app (as well as a forthcoming iOS version) to chat and share media with their Circles, whilst on the move. This offers a targeted option for making announcements or issuing discount codes/coupons.
4. Functional – ‘Hangouts’ provide an opportunity to video chat with up to ten people at a time.  They appear in news streams giving friends/acquaintances the option to join or leave at any time, allowing face-to-face chat and YouTube video sharing. A simple video presentation is a very real possibility with this feature, and two-way dialogue is made quite simple.
5. Available – As part of the Google suite, it will be difficult for businesses to restrict access to Google+ in the same manner that Facebook and Twitter use is limited in many offices.

There are, however, some serious questions about levels of engagement on Google+ site. Despite attracting over 25 million users to the platform, traffic appears to have dropped off.  The Mail on Sunday reported a 60% decline in traffic to the site in October. The real test of Google’s social network is what people do after they join. Traffic-analysis firms have consistently reported Google+’s traffic to be declining from its early peak, and sharing amongst users is certainly not making headlines when compared to the 60 million status updates on Facebook every day.

So, with user engagement significantly lower than on Facebook, and many consumers signed up but not active, is it worth building a presence on a network that users seem a little non-plussed about? Well yes, actually.

It’s still early days for the search engine and leading industry authorities remain confident that consumer adoption will pick up. Yet more importantly still, if nothing else, the cross-platform integration offered by the whole Google package ensures that at the very least Google+ is a really effective SEO solution, particularly for SMEs.

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

There is no question that today’s consumer is better informed than ever before; with information readily available to us at the touch of a button, we are becoming savvier consumers. TripAdvisor has recognised that more and more customers are seeking impartial recommendations, and online review sites are readily becoming the answer to our burgeoning appetite for ‘real’ reviews written by ‘real’ people. Offering complete anonymity to its users, TripAdvisor allows ordinary people to post reviews without asking for any supporting evidence, elevating the user to the position of a traditional travel expert. It is precisely this anonymity, seen as a key benefit of the service, which is leading others to criticise the site. Our very nature determines that we are more likely to post a review when we are dissatisfied, and therefore sites like TripAdvisor are actually negatively weighted against the companies featured. A Netflights.com spokesman said: “We’ve seen the influence of online reviews grow sharply in recent years and there’s no question our customers see them as a valuable tool in the decision making process”.

Collate positive feedback

Incentivise consumers to review your products and services, and ensure these reviews are placed on your website or blog. Customers are naturally more inclined to post about a negative experience, so give them a reason to say something nice. Perhaps offer a ‘recommend a friend’ discount for uploading a positive experience to the site.

You can’t stop people writing bad reviews, but you can make sure that negative reviews are outweighed by customers sharing positive experiences.

Control your search engine results

A typical search engine results page lists about 10 results, and these should be managed regularly to ensure the best results are featured most prominently.

To improve your brand’s position, push links to sites and reviews that show your brand in a positive light.

Ensure you are doing everything within your power to fully optimise your website too, make sure your code is properly formatted, and make sure your content is keyword-rich.

Deal with customer complaints offline

It is important that brands track, and respond to negative comments online. The best way to track down online complaints is use social media monitoring software to track what is being said about your company. Forewarned is, after all, forearmed

With social media, directly addressing the complaining customer will help other users of the platform to see that you are concerned about customer experience, but moving the conversation offline in most cases is the best course of action.

Perspective is important

Be sure not to overreact to comments about your brand that you perceive as negative. Remember consumers do not have the same insight into your brand as your internal team, and it is important not to appear defensive in responding to flippant remarks. Instead use customer feedback to inform future communications.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

A threat to your brand reputation online can quickly get out hand, and it’s important to act quickly to manage the problem.

Whether you use an agency or an in-house team, you must ensure that the right skills set are on hand to manage the problem. Proactively managing your reputation will pay dividends, particularly through search, where any negative results will cost you dearly. Google is the first stop for consumers 9 times out of 10, and making sure your brand is reflected kindly through search will safeguard your brand in the long-term.

[1] http://www.travolution.co.uk/articles/2011/11/04/5163/travel-review-sites-overwhelmingly-trusted-survey-finds.html

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

Martin Long, Group MD, PR