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

Customer services on Twitter

More and more consumers are turning to Twitter to complain about poor customer service, particularly when they feel let down by existing channels. However, few companies have the infrastructure in place to manage queries directed via social networking sites. The company will need a specific workflow that feeds complaints made via social media into the traditional customer service process and ensures that queries are resolved efficiently and communicated effectively.

It is important that responsibility for each complaint is communicated internally right from the off, as often the social media manager will not be the person dealing directly with the case, but will need to constructively communicate any developments to the consumer. It seems that at the very least consumers expect a response from businesses when they engage with them through a brand social media channel, regardless of whether that platform is an official customer services outlet. It is therefore imperative that every brand carries out an online reputation audit and highlights any potential hotspots, allowing brand managers to implement processes for responding to consumers.

Mobile enabled site

Just under half of the UK population now owns a Smartphone, and Google’s mobile operating system Android is powering half. Consumers are using mobile internet on the move and so it makes sense for businesses to ensure that at the very least their site and store locator is negotiable via a smart phone device; and that the site or app is compatible with both Android and iPhone technology. Mobile offers brands a real opportunity to be useful to their customers. Using existing technology such as QR codes and near field communication, retailers should look to alleviate consumer bug-bears by helping customers check availability or price compare. Businesses can 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 item in store. Businesses are really missing a trick if they do not target customers on the move.

Rewards

Consumers expect rewards for showing their support of a business or service online. A recent survey amongst consumers who are ‘fans’ of businesses online found that 65 percent of respondents are connecting with brands to take advantage of promotions, contests and games. Whether it’s an offer, a voucher code or simply a free prize draw, if you are looking to extend your brand presence online then it is valuable to offer an incentive. Consumers are used to being rewarded for participating in brand related activity online, and therefore are most receptive to companies that offer useful or entertaining apps, fan pages or online services.

A social experience

The growth of social networking has shown that, given the right tools, consumers will participate in conversations and share with friends. In order to be more social, brands should put the user first – responding to how users socialise online.

When shopping for a new dress online, a customer will search for information from a range of sources to decide what to buy. They may browse fashion websites, ask for recommendations from friends, look at celebrity blogs or pictures or look for advice through Facebook/Twitter. It is therefore important that a brand looks to replicate this process through their online marketing activity. This could include signposting customers to product reviews or allowing them to connect with like-minded individuals through a forum or Facebook community.

Making reviews and opinions an integral part of the shopping experience replicates offline behaviour where users will often seek the opinion of a friend before purchase. It is also important that the brand can be contacted with ease and those questions or queries are resolved efficiently. A major part of the social experience is about opening a two-way dialogue.

[1] Practical Ecommerce, January 2012 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3255-Social-Media-Users-Look-for-New-Products-and-Offers-Survey-Finds

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

Launched back in 2005, Google Analytics was the first by-product of Google’s acquisition of analytics software maker Urchin, offering users the opportunity to understand how people search. These days, Google Analytics is capable of measuring website traffic, analysing search terms that are effectively driving click-through, tracking data drawn from social media buttons and even highlighting the specific ads or prompts that drive purchase. And whilst Google doesn’t release its user figures, analysts estimate that the free tool has tens of millions of users. The new Real-Time offering is set to be bigger and better, it’s been in beta for the past year but already boasts a host of clients including Travelocity, Gucci, and Papa Johns as paid-up members.

There are additional services available offering tools that work in conjunction with Google Analytics. For example phone call data, AdWords and even your CRM can be integrated with Google Analytics to effectively track website activity and phone call leads from entry to sale completion. So what does all this data tell us? Well, when used correctly it should offer deeper insight into how best to optimise paid search activity, how to target bloggers based on what they are really interested in and which display ads deliver the most traffic through to website or even purchase. However, with so much data to analyse and so many tools to master, many brands only make it so far as evaluating their activity and don’t take learnings forward to deliver real value in future.

It’s not just Google Analytics that recognise the value of such data to consumer brands, Facebook Pages offers a range of Insights designed to better equip marketers in tailoring their Page activity. This week Facebook launched ‘People Talking About’ an application that will measure user-initiated activity related to a Page, including posting to a Page’s Wall, “liking,” commenting, sharing a Page post or content on the Page, answering a Question posed to fans, mentioning a Page, “liking” or sharing a deal or checking in at your Place.

The other metrics, which are designed for administrators of brand and media Pages, include “Likes,” “Friends of Fans” and “Weekly Total Reach.” While “Likes” is self-explanatory, Friends of Fans is the actual number of friends your fans have, and weekly total reach is designed to be an accurate assessment of how many total people have posted something about your Page, how many news organisations (within Facebook) have referenced it and how much viral distribution elements of your Page have received. This should help brands better understand the virility of their activity and caveat the problems experienced in the past in terms of tracking Page content through personal profiles.

Analytics really is big money, and brands are paying out through the nose to track and measure social media activity, in a business environment where many marketers are reluctant to see the value delivered by online community based campaigns. With so much pressure on Social Media Managers to deliver data to support spend, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the real value in measuring your social media activity is not in justifying last year’s activity but in optimising and delivering great campaigns over the coming years.

Lindsey Reaney
Social Media Consultant, Golley Engage

With the recent acquisition of Zagat, an online restaurant reviews site, Google has taken its first step into acquiring businesses for their content and not their technology. So, is Google diversifying its portfolio by investing in the publishing industry, or does it intend to draw advertising revenue by optimising third-party sites such as Zagat thus guaranteeing reviews appear higher up in the search results listings. The latter route would prove a bold move – at present, a lot of Google’s usefulness is in its transparency. Consumers trust the search engine, and therefore value the brand, selecting it as their browser homepage and adopting the name into their vocabulary. If consumers no longer feel that the internet giant is impartial in pulling its content this could seriously affect the trust held by the end user.

That said, all in all there are only about 1 in 3** of us who understand how a search engine such as Google generates results. For instance, 24 percent believe that a website’s position in the listings cannot be influenced by the people running that website, whilst 22 percent believe it is entirely down to how much money has crossed hands. Over 19 percent have no idea where the data comes from and one in twenty believe results are generated at random. With much of Joe Public still in the dark as to how the technology works, Google could potentially pull off this contentious move without consumers becoming aware of the conflict of interest.

With other review sites such as Yelp and Open Table attracting more users than Zagat, it is difficult to see what Google stands to gain if its interest lies purely in accessing the publishing industry, though this is unlikely to make publishers feel any less uneasy about the move. More likely than not, Google, like most major consumer brands worldwide, has recognised the value in endorsement from third parties; PR is a vital component to maintaining brand health online, as it offers consumers a reason to believe. More and more consumers are consulting review sites before making purchasing decisions; IF Google does choose to walk this path, what it takes from the consumer in transparency, it gives back to brands through trusted, word-of-mouth recommendation.

*http://www.itpro.co.uk/635515/more-brits-browse-with-bing

**http://www.topclickmedia.co.uk/pay-per-click-advertising-blog/brits-don%E2%80%99t-understand-google

Lindsey Reaney

Social Media Consultant, Golley Engage

It remains to be seen as you could argue that they serve a niche market. Average UK TV viewers are currently more interested in catch up TV than streaming. The latest research from TGI, for example, shows that 30% of consumers have watched catch up TV in the last 6 months compared with the 12% who say they watch live television. At the same time, this demand for catch up is already catered for across a variety of mediums, built into the latest Freeview boxes, also accessible via consoles such as the Wii and paid-for services like Virgin Media.

However, this is not to say that we won’t have fully wired home entertainment hubs featuring one day in our living rooms. The latest high-end televisions from Samsung, for example, blend internet widgets seamlessly into their interface which – if linked to the likes of Apple’s App Store – could have real appeal. While the technology remains expensive, history has taught us prices of new gadgets go down very quickly. As a result, it remains unclear whether the likes of dedicated boxes such as Google TV have a long term future.

Claire Strong

Facebook has often been criticised for its reportedly ‘lax’ attitudes towards users security, especially in light of Google+ ‘circles’ offering users greater control over what they share. The social networking giant has responded with the following security measures that aim to hand back control to Joe Public:

EDITING YOUR PROFILE

You can now amend the privacy settings for each element of your profile down the right-hand side of the screen, so that you decide exactly who can see what. By selecting ‘view as’ from the menu you can see your profile as another user would see it.

TAGGING IN PHOTOS

One of the most significant changes to the current security measures; you can now approve photo tags before they are visible on your profile/brand page. If you do find yourself needing to untag images on a brand page, you can also request the photo be removed altogether, or even block the person who uploaded it.

THE PUBLISHING BAR

The bar where you can add a link or update your status has also changed. Not only can you tag your location and who you’re with using the ‘inline audience selector’ (a drop-down menu with the options of ‘public’, ‘friends’ or ‘custom’), you can also choose who sees each update.

These security measures won’t do much to abate user concern over Facebook’s invasive Instant Personalization service. Internet Personalization is a service that allows brands to pull information from a user profile to offer a more personal experience on a webpage. For example, if you visit an internet shopping site, the brand in question can pull information directly from your Facebook profile to ascertain details such as your gender, age or the pages you ‘like’ and use them to make suggestions as to what you might like to buy/read. In short, for us as marketeers, it’s gold dust. The downside of course is that as a user it means more and more information about us is out in the ether, vulnerable to threats from hackers and some of the more invasive forms of online marketing.

The main criticism for this new bout of Facebook security measures is that it is all administered on an opt-in basis. Users are required to jump through lengthy hoops to successfully increase the level of privacy offered by the site. Personalization services, on the other hand, are opt-out. From a user perspective, this could become yet another reason for consumers not to trust the site. After all, these new measures mean you can restrict your profile’s visibility from just about anybody, except Facebook.

Lindsey Reaney
Social Media Consultant, Golley Engage

“Let me be clear – and I’m sorry if this wasn’t obvious – we are not currently supporting brands, organizations, and non-human entities in the Google+ field trial. Supporting these non-human entities is an obviously great feature – we have no allergy to it at all! It’s just not part of the system we are currently testing.”

Online speculation is rife about how Google’s functionality will enable brands to incorporate SEO and Google Analytics into their marketing mix. The platform is expected to offer all the same content streams as its rivals but will really come into its own when it comes to searchability and tracking.  In light of the statement issued by Google, asking brands to avoid setting up profiles until the feature is live, GolleyS has been exploring some of the rumours.

Search Engine Optimisation

Currently brands are struggling with the challenge of driving traffic to a Facebook page as Google search fails to rate Facebook amongst top results. Google offers second-to-none SEO, commanding 65% market share of all US based search. So one can only assume that a brand page sitting on Google+ will benefit from increased search support, offering a major pull to big brands. Many companies are investing huge budgets in creating content for Social Media, hiring agency support and bolstering the in-house team (see issue 3 of Engage). So providing reassurance that it will work with, and not against, your advertising spend is a real win.

Google Analytics

Google analytics is amazing. No, really, it’s brilliant. Anyone who has used it will tell you that the insights it offers into how consumers use search to explore your product is truly mindboggling. You can ascertain website dwell time, which content proved popular and where your website traffic is coming from.  Google+ will no doubt integrate the same detailed analytics into its branded page allowing companies to drill down into who their fans are. The only potential pitfall with this approach is that Google should look to err on the side of caution when sharing information about its users, so as not to undermine features like Circles which offer increased control over privacy.

Greater Compatibility with YouTube

YouTube content is one of the most widely shared content channels on Facebook – With more than 150 years of YouTube video having been shared by users of the social networking site. Offering brands the opportunity to see how many people are watching their video content through Google+ and increasing the ease of sharing between the two sites is a sure fire way for brands to track the content that fans really want to watch.

For now, we will watch this space with regards to what Google+ will offer brands once it launches the functionality later in the year. Google should, however, look to learn lessons from Facebook in terms of respecting user’s privacy, as this is the one very real barrier to dominating this space.

Lindsey Reaney
Social Media Consultant, Golley Engage

Following Rebekah Brooks arrest, and with many consumers questioning the ethics of the tabloid newspaper industry, your brand could be increasingly vulnerable on the basis of your media spend. So can investing in the online space and looking to influence consumers directly through new media channels safeguard your corporate image.

PwC says internet marketing is projected to rise by 11.2% between now and 2015, to £17.7bn. This certainly suggests that more and more brands are recognizing the power of digital marketing and the ability to open a two-way dialogue with consumers instead of relying on a third party.

Lindsey Reaney
PR Account Manager & Digital Consultant

Brands know that consumers are concerned about the use of their data and the impact on their privacy, and that much of the blame is attributed to the use of “cookies”.  When you visit a site for the first time, a cookie is downloaded onto your PC. The next time you visit that site, your PC checks to see if it has a cookie that is relevant and sends the information contained in that cookie back to the site. The site then ’knows’ that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors what is presented on screen to take account of that fact.

However, some cookies are more sophisticated. They might record how long you spend on each page on a site, what links you click, even your preferences for page layouts and colour schemes. They can also be used to store data on what is in your shopping cart, adding items as you click. My view is that the humble cookie can generally be a force for good if used responsibly and I am making a clear differentiation between cookies used for legitimate purposes and illegal software e.g. spyware or malware when I say this.

At Golley Slater we have run many campaigns for our clients demonstrating that with well executed behavioural targeting techniques that are respectful of user’s privacy, both the digital agency and site owner can deliver an improved experience for their visitors. However, due care needs to be taken in the selection of technology and the design of targeting programs to ensure the brand is protected and gains an enhanced reputation for trustworthiness and relevance.

If the industry guidelines are followed, behavioural advertising is safe and transparent. At the same time, cookies don’t reveal individual’s personal information (e.g. name, workplace, email) rather they are only interested in collecting information about browsing activity. This could include products that might have been viewed on a particular site, enabling marketers to deliver advertising that best reflects that individual users interests.

Another key consideration must be one of consumer acceptance. Currently opt-out rates from behavioural targeting are incredibly low. Conversions from behavioural targeting ads are far higher than standard display advertising, with some of our clients seeing double their standard site conversion rates. So in our experience consumers are not finding them intrusive, they are responding positively. But if consumers are concerned or want to be rewarded for giving their data to brands what options do they have?

Services such as i-Allow.com, yourprivacy.co.uk and the IAB site, youronlinechoices.co.uk are now emerging that enable consumers to control how their data is used, even get paid by brands for access to their data. Their mission is to prevent companies tracking, compiling and selling personal information without the consumers consent and in some cases reward. I need to make it clear though that this is not just online data usage but also mailing and telephone lists as well.

So while it is true that new technologies are enabling previously unimaginable levels of surveillance and tracking, it’s also making it possible for people to specify what privacy actually looks like. I think that the philosophy of online engagement with consumers is worth noting here. The online world is created by individuals not manufactured for the masses, brands can not control this consumer created space they can only visit and when they do they must be responsible, entertain and engage, and be open not closed.

Open means letting go and allowing the consumer to co create and get involved with your brand. A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G said recently “Consumers are beginning in a very real sense to own our brands and participate in their creation. We need to learn to begin to let go.”

What David Oglivy, probably the greatest Mad Men of all time, said in the 1960’s is still true today: The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. Probably better, in today’s environment to say she is your daughter! Brands, Agencies and media channels forget that at their peril!

Chris Lovell, Group CEO