Balloon Dog

Don't know Google+? Google don't know you!

We knew Google+ would be a game-changer; we only questioned how much of one it’d be and how they’d achieve it.  Now we know: welcome to the new digital world order that is, ‘Google search, plus your world’.  

Since they launched their Social Media platform last June, speculation’s been rife as to how they would drive membership and how it would affect the business of search.  Well now we know: fundamentally.  Ladies and Gentlemen I’d like to welcome you to the dawn of the new digital world order that is Google, search plus Your World.

So what is Google, plus Your World?

In a nutshell it’s Google’s way of ranking your search results based on peer recommendation.  It does this by looking at what people have shared, have +1 or are talking about in Social Media.  There’s even a feature within that allows you to personalise your search so it brings up information just for you, such as your photos and those shared with you.  Of course when I say Social Media I actually mean Google+.  As part of the change Google will be ranking G+ content higher than any other.

And how will this affect your online business?

It has the power to revolutionise it.  Whilst exact details are hazy at the time of writing, it seems clear that the shift of emphasis from traditional search engine techniques such as number of backlinks, page impressions, relevancy of content etc. will increasingly play second fiddle to what you and I say and share within G+. 

For some time now Google have been seeking ways to make search deliver peer-to-peer recommendations as well as eradicating ‘black hat’ SEO techniques.  Plus Your World will certainly help with both.  More importantly perhaps, it will force recalcitrant businesses that aren’t engaging on Social Media to get involved.  And this, in our opinion, can only be a good thing for businesses and customers alike.

 What should I do?

If your business has an online presence and you want it to be found you need to get on Google+.  Pages are free and easy to set up - a guide can be found here.  That done you need to devise a strategy for G+ engagement and start building your businesses’ community.  If you’d like any help or advice with this please get in touch by mailing digital@balloondog.co.uk

Here at balloon dog we’ve been huge fans of Google+ since the platform launched.  Its functionality is increasingly business-friendly, its easy to use and integrates well into other areas of the Google’ empire.  The big question for us was always what was going to be the killer feature that would increase its population from national to continental – something else we now know…

You can read the official guide to Google, plus Your World here.

 

2012: are you mobile optimised? Take our five-point test...

It’s been a long time coming but mobile’s year is here. The ramifications for businesses large and small are huge and we all need to adapt to survive and thrive. To see if you’re ready check out our 5-point mobile test. And just in case you're not convinced by mobile's arrival take a look at these jaw-dropping stats:

• 2012 will see mobile browsing overtake desktop*
• 57% of professionals view their mobile/tablet as their primary computing device*
• In 2011 37% of mobile usage was web browsing – a figure that’ll top 50% in 2012**
• 48% of mobile owners made a purchase with their phone in 2011*
• 4G will hit the UK in mid-2012 and will give mobile capacity a huge boost

So are you ready for mobile? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you have a strategy for adapting your digital service delivery to mobile? Mobile’s set the web free and your new mantra needs to be SoMoLo… (that’s social, mobile, local to you and me!).

2. Is your website optimised for mobile browsing? If not you risk alienating the majority of the your audience.

3. Is your social media offering set up for mobile? The days of 9-5 moderation have been replaced by 24-7 interaction.

4. Are your emails small-screen friendly? Can they auto-detect screen sizes and repurpose accordingly? It’s what your precious subscribers demand…

5. Do you have an app and if so is it available across platforms? iPhone’s days as the pre-eminent device are numbered. Android has already taken over in the US and will supersede iPhone globally this year. Add to that the revamped Windows phones and Blackberry Tablets and its anybody’s game.

So how did you do? If you answered no to any of the above and you’d like some advice then please email us on tellusaboutit@balloondog.co.uk.

* Econsultancy
** Google 2011 Mobile Survey
*** Return Path

Digital Professionals: Pause for thought...

The current swathe of social media and digital information at our disposal is both amazing and frightening at the very same time.

The digital social tools we use are growing at a phenomenal pace, allowing us all to share ideas and thoughts worldwide in the blink of an eye. But without a little time away to formulate these thoughts and ideas, we risk regurgitating (or re-tweeting) the same things round and round to one another.

I recently considered myself how much time I spend online. Technically I am connected all day through a mobile device but I try to spend at least two to three hours a day away from the reach of digital devices, to allow me to ‘think’.

In order to be innovative we need this quiet time to formulate our ideas. But in a world where the digital space seems omnipresent, where do we go to think?

I have times I walk the dog with headphones and times I walk without. It's always when I'm unplugged that I get the ideas that stay with me and evolve. Solitary thinking space is fast becoming a rare occasion, but it’s always been important and always will be.
I find such a space not only important for personal thought, but also for contemplation and cataloguing of all the information flowing in. No software exists yet that enables us to sub-consciously filter and file the barrage of data we consume on a daily basis (watch this space though), so it’s still up to us to do it manually.

Some recent studies suggest that our gluttony for digital media may come at a higher price than we think - a severe impact on cognitive function, in particular memory.
Last year a report by Baroness Susan Greenfield, leading neuroscientist and former director of the Royal Institution, claimed that social networking sites risk "infantilising" the 21st-century mind. Our social-media-saturated brains are, she said, characterised by a short attention span, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity.

But, is there any solid evidence to suggest that activities such as ‘twittering’ can really affect our brain function? "Nobody has studied this question directly," says Dr Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, "Although a causal relationship has not been confirmed, many studies have found an association between more time with technology and a lower attention span."

So, should we view those fronting the digital backlash as the enemy? Behind the sensationalist articles and bandwagon reporting there are definitely some interesting studies into the evolution of our brains, but how much of it is just scaremongering?

One of the more extreme perspectives comes from Adbusters, who advocate a piece of software for Android phones that enforces a compulsory period of digital detox each day – you specify the period of time e.g. 1hr, 2hrs etc. and it shuts down your phone for that amount of time each day, except for emergency calls. They believe such measures are necessary...’Because sometimes we need a moment to breathe between tweets, emails, SMSs, IMs, phone calls, RSS updates, GPS tracks, photos, and the rest of our digitally mediated existence. Sometimes we need to take a moment to engage with the world around us. Our phones can be addictive brain-sinks that sap our life energy for frenetic distractions’.

This seems a little extreme, and a smidgen of common sense and old fashioned self control should negate the need for such drastic measures. Unless you truly are ‘addicted’ to your smart phones, in which case a more professional type of help may be required!

However, until the equipment comes enabling us to filter, stem and channel all this input our only defence is to (occasionally) reach for the off button, which is exactly what I’m going to do right now.

Peter James
Senior Communications Planner
Balloon Dog

Brands: to engage or not to engage – that is the question…

Engagement is the new black. The Internet, email and particularly social media have fundamentally changed the way we do business so that audiences are no longer talked at but with. Customer contact has been elevated to customer conversation while product marketing has become collaborative in a way that was unthinkable a decade ago. Taken in the round these developments are exciting and, if executed properly, beneficial to all. But, like black, is engagement for every brand? Is it only for certain occasions? And are there some for whom engagement just isn’t right and who are simply seeking it out of a fashion-following instinct?

This question struck me following a friend’s recent Facebook post that delightedly informed me that ‘Toilet Duck’ had an official page, one that boasted a whopping 195 (now 196) fans. Initially I shrugged this off as an aberration, suspecting either the hand of a territory-protecting brand manager or one hoping to raise a rye smile. A cursory investigation, however, made me think again as I discovered even more unlikely brands such as Railtrack, Carillion (one of the UK’s leading road maintenance firms) and even The National Funeral Directors Association have similar social media presences.

Now I’m not saying these redoubtable organizations don’t have something useful to say – they undoubtedly do. But having something to say and seeking engagement isn’t the same thing. These are brands whose products we’re happy or required to use but will we ever want to truly engage with them? What could one want to say to Carillion, for instance, aside from stop digging up my street, and, as importantly, what could they have to say to us other than we’re going to dig up your street? In either event it’s a discussion regarding a specific incident to be handled by customer service, not a catalyst for a public relationship.

Of course the lure of engagement is easy to see; the marketing press is awash with tales of brands receiving adoration or making financial hay as a result of engaging with stakeholders. Oreo’s ‘Jingles’ competition, Pepsi’s Super Bowl good cause donations and Interflora’s free flowers have engaged millions and delivered the sort of positive sentiment scores that traditional media struggle to achieve even with a far larger spend. And its not just glamorous B2C brands that have benefited, even highly technical B2B companies have enjoyed the fruits of engagement as evidenced by Cisco Systems Integrated Router launch of 2010 (I know, but it's actually better than it sounds!). This campaign was rooted in social media engagement and as well as smashing sales and awareness targets it saved Cisco an estimated $1 million into the bargain (told you!).

Such spectacular successes need to be caveated though; these brands are fortunate enough to have audiences who are naturally keen to engage and who have assigned appropriate resources to manage the interactions such campaigns can stimulate - something any engagement-seeking brand has to be able accommodate over the short and long term because true brand engagement, needs to be equitable and sustained. There’s nothing worse than brands soliciting a relationship only to run out of out things to say, become repetitive (or, worse, boring) or lack the resource to respond to what’s being said back to them.

Resource and content planning can significantly reduce these issues, but the best-laid plans of any brand engagement strategy can be left in tatters by an unforeseen audience reaction. This was spectacularly evidenced by McDonald’s recent ‘McHashtag’ debacle. The fast food giant paid to have their ‘#McDStories’ promoted on Twitter in the expectation that fans would share happy stories of McDonald’s experiences. Unfortunately - but probably not unpredictably - the hashtag was hijacked and was used to share stories that had been anything but happy and McDonald’s ended up with a McFlurry of negative engagement.

Ultimately there’s little doubt that stakeholder engagement can be fantastic for a brand. It can facilitate meaningful relationships, drive advocacy and deliver insights that are marketing gold. It isn’t for every brand though. Those with limited lines of conversation and/or resources to manage engagement; those with indifferent or inaccessible audiences or whose sole interest is a sale could find their marketing efforts better focused elsewhere. And at the end of the day brands shouldn’t be afraid not to follow the fashion to engage, particularly if their audience is reticent to do so. Personally I have no desire to have a relationship with Railtrack, Carillion or even Toilet Duck, happy, as I am to avail myself to their products and services. Instead I’d rather they spent their time (and in Carillion’s case the taxpayer’s money) quietly doing their jobs, leaving me in peace to work on my video for the new Oreo jingle.

balloon dog’s 10 Rules of Twitter Engagement

 

Following the staggering, yet utterly believable, revelation last week that 80% of the 200m tweets posted each day are of no interest to anyone we thought we’d put together our own guide to successful tweeting.  And to make it more digestible each one is tweetable…

1. Have something to say.  Silence is golden so unless you’ve something to contribute to, comment on or converse about, keep your tweet shut!

2. Hold the hashtag.  Hashtags aren’t always your friends so deploy wisely if you want to avoid a McFlurry of hashtag hell. http://t.co/BHhFzlwX

3. Don’t whine, whimper, wallow or whinge on about the travails of your day.  A trouble tweeted is a follower deleted

4. Be enigmatic – but don’t be lazy.  If you’re posting a link then give your followers some idea of what it’s about

5. Be brief

6. Share today’s news not today’s fish and chip paper.  Keep shares fresh and don’t share out of date/heavily shared material

7. Give some insight into your business.  Tales from the coal/fashion/finance/media face are what followers like to hear

8. Quality is all.  Fewer, better quality tweets to a quality audience will bring quality results.  Quantity is vanity

9. Interact with followers – Twitter's about conversations remember.  So what do you think of these 10 rules?

10. Make it fun.  Twitter is a social network and you need to be able to make followers smile once in a while

There, that wasn’t so hard was it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

balloon dog bag gold at the DMA awards

December 7^th was a night of epic celebration for the balloon dog team, when we took gold for the targeted email and direct marketing campaign we created for online property portal, Rightmove.

The campaign, which sought to challenge perception amongst estate agents about the benefits of Rightmove membership, was a resounding success, achieving a terrific 23% sign-up rate when launched in London, and a 20% rate when rolled out nationwide.

These terrific brand payback results were a consequence of our creative approach, which let the facts about Rightmove speak for themselves, proving the value of the site with key localised statistics.

A thoroughly chuffed Creative Director, Cordell Burke, stated, “The DMA awards are the premier awards in the direct industry, so to win the B2B Direct Mail category is a fantastic achievement.”

Congratulations go to the creative team of Mike Bayfield, Ian Fox, Chris Haynes and Cordell Burke, along with the client-side team of Nathan Langton and Christos Karakanna, and, of course, Rightmove’s marketing manager, Natalie Marques.

In need of a hand when it comes to handling data?

Are you confident of the rules regarding cookies? Up to speed on the specifics of handling data? These days, on- and offline marketing activities are each covered by a host of regulations designed to ensure the protection of personal information. And while this is good news for us as individuals, as companies, complying with these complex regulations can be a minefield.

With the Information Commissioner recently pledging to make liberal use of his powers to fine companies caught not complying with data protection laws, there’s never been a better time for balloon dog to launch our data protection consultancy service.

We can help clients become (and remain) compliant in their data handling procedures, assess whether your marketing strategy and communications are legal, and conduct staff training seminars on the regulations. Whatever your needs, our consultancy service can be tailored to suit your business.

For more information on what we can offer your business, contact keith.carlton@balloondog.co.uk

Mo Bros

As mentioned in a previous blog, some of the balloon dog gentlemen, along with thousands across the world, grew a 'mo' to support the awareness of men's health and raise money for the Movember Foundation charities, The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research. Here is a gallery of those final Mo's!

The team did a fantastic job and raised £1237.00 for the cause! Thanks to all who donated.

 

A Christmas Carol...

’Twas a cold, misty night just before Christmas and the Norwich Park & Ride was lonelier than King’s Lynn’s Facebook page. 

I was returning from an exhausting day marketing cars, insurance and batteries via social media and, having staggered off the bus, I Ioped back to where my trusty Renault Lagu a lay waiting. Reaching it I pulled out my key only to find said Lagu a strangely unresponsive.  It remained shrouded in darkness, cold to the touch and unmoved by my increasingly colourful urgings.  

A quick technical investigation (repeatedly trying the doors and shouting F**K!) led me to the sage conclusion that I was locked out.  Undeterred, I deployed my Ray Mears' survival skills and did what any stranded adventurer would do:  I called my wife, Carol.  Spontaneously she delivered a cunning plan to solve my problem and with help only from her, my iPhone and Google I released the key from the fob and I was in!  

'Hurrah!'  I delighted, but my joy was short-lived for no sooner had I placed the key in the ignition than the @^*()(! alarm screeched its banshee wail to the trickle of passing commuters.  Cunningly I panicked, scrambled out and slammed the door with furious force.  Silence again filled the air.  Relieved, I stepped forward and pulled the handle hoping for a quiet sit and a ponder, but it was not to be.  The door was locked…

Umbrage now turned to anger and seething accusations regarding the car’s parentage and in particular the nocturnal activities of its mother; I hatched my second cunning plan of the evening and phoned Carol.

From her packed train she advised I call the RAC, an idea I questioned, stating, 'I don't have their f&&king number, do I…!'  A deus ex machina then entered the scene as I did as advised, checked my wallet and found my membership card.

A phone call later and all I had to do was stand and wait for the orange cavalry to arrive.  It was as I was scanning the horizon that my hopes took another battering: I remembered that the gates to the Park & Ride closed at 7.30 prompt – a deadline my would-be saviour was, I feared, destined to miss.

The next couple of minutes will not rank amongst my most dignified and to any unnerved witnesses I can only apologise.  At the time though, acting out a tableau I have subsequently named 'Malcolm Tucker after he’s caught his unmentionables in the Daily Mail’s revolving door', seemed eminently justified.    

Soon after though, running wonderfully ahead of schedule, the RAC van crossed the horizon and slipped through the gates. ‘Hello,' chirruped Graham, my knight in orange armour, and before I could say, ‘I saw that on Top Gear once…’ he set about besting our indolent French opponent.  

For an hour he wrestled with it, aided only by a piece of wire and an idiot but in the end we had to admit temporary defeat, his observation that all would’ve been well had I not locked the key inside coming without a hint of the welter of scorn it so richly deserved. It was then I had my third cunning idea of the night, and I rang my Carol.  

Ten minutes, and one devastated study later, she'd taken to the road with the spare key and promises that she wasn't going to do me what God did to the Sodomites.  In the meantime I sat with my new best friend and talked of music, cars and the supper he'd now missed by being an hour late clocking off.

50 minutes later Carol drew up to the now closed gate, passed me the key and wished me luck as she waved me goodbye... at least I think it was a wave...  

In a flash Graham had the car open; the bonnet up and the engine purring like a very old and extremely asthmatic cat. The hour was now 9.15 and with a new chum, a cold bum and dreams of warming rum (alright, gin!) I headed back into the Norwich night.

The moral of this tale is a familiar one:  don't buy your father's 03 Lagu a without RAC cover… and leaving your side lights on all day isn't ideal either!

Giles Luckett - Senior Digital Strategist

Barrels of flaming fun

We’re a nation not adverse to some odd traditions. Risking broken bones and dislocated joints to chase wheels of cheese down hills or welcoming New Year with a dip in the North Sea. A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to survive witnessing one such tradition, the famous Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary.

The premise is simple – take a large wooden barrel, stuff it with material dipped in tar, set it on fire then run it round a small village on the shoulders of the local inhabitants, doing your best to avoid burning the spectators. Importantly, only those born in Ottery St Mary are allowed to participate, though I’m not sure they’d have too many people signing up even if this wasn’t the case. How the tradition was established is unknown but presumably it was a rite of passage that marked the transition from boyhood to manhood.

"Well, son, it’s time to become a man. Here’s a flaming barrel – get running."

Any forward-thinking protests about the activity clearly never gathered sufficient support and so it is that the tradition still happens every year on the 5^th November. 

We arrived around 9pm so we’d already missed the children’s event (apparently the youngest victim/entrant was 11) and the women’s event but we were just in time for the men’s. The narrow streets of this small village were swollen with 27,000 people, wrapped up against the November night. iPhones, cameras and video cameras were all held aloft, trying to capture images of the action happening in the distance.

 

The imminent arrival of a barrel is marked by a plume of thick black smoke blotting out the street lights and a cheer from the crowd that radiates out like ripples in a pond. Then, suddenly, flames start dancing forward and the crowd does its best to part to allow the barrel and its carrier through. There are no lines to stand behind, no safe distance at which to witness the event – it’s a simple case of getting out of the way as much as the throngs of people behind you will allow. In a time when Health & Safety is king, how an event like this takes place is astonishing. The advice to the crowd coming through the PA was brief – ‘Lean back to allow the barrel through and please don’t sit on people’s shoulders’; the officials in their fluorescent jackets were not there for crowd safety but to ensure that the barrels carried sufficient fuel to remain balls of fire for as long as possible. It’s a mad and crazy (and utterly dangerous) tradition but without doubt the most memorable celebration of the 5^th November. If you ever get the chance to go, do - before the Health & Safety bods get their fun-sapping hands on it.

Will Cole - Senior Activity Director