Anticipation for new Xbox builds – sparking more social media buzz than Galaxy S4 and Facebook ‘phone’ combined

The new Xbox gaming console, which will be unveiled today, has produced 66,000 more online conversations than the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Facebook phone operating system combined, in the month leading up to its launch, according to global social media monitoring software provider Synthesio. By Catriona Oldershaw.

Digital channels will help mainstream music capture emerging markets

A decade ago, the music world was reeling from the effects of Napster, the file-sharing website which was shut down amid growing legal battles. Apple’s iTunes service provided a solid income stream for labels and a user-friendly experience for consumers. By Gregory Mead.

More than 8 in 10 finance directors question the trustworthiness of Linkedin profiles

Four in 10 (39%) finance directors cite ‘opportunity to exaggerate experience/skills’ as the main reason for lack of trust. Experience (65%), references (38%) and education (37%) deemed the most important elements in a LinkedIn profile. Directly received employment applications considered more trustworthy than LinkedIn profiles. By Phil Sheridan.

Social TV: A World-First Study

A pioneering neuro science study of social TV viewers by MEC Australia and the country’s biggest TV network has revealed that interacting with social media while watching television drives a 9% increase in program engagement. By James Hier.

Tech Start-ups – Have you taken full advantage of your new business structuring?

This article looks at how you can take best advantage of the different business vehicles in your new business structuring. Tim discusses the main issues to be away of, as well as the key areas to consider to optimise opportunities. By Tim Housden.

How to evaluate your business idea

All successful businesses were once just a spark of an idea, a momentary “What if…?” moment that shifted your business brain into first gear. By Simon Goble.

Humour wins on social media, study finds

Online videos drive deeper engagement than text articles, according to a new study, with humour attracting the highest amount of likes, shares and comments. However, adverts and a lack of video quality can turn people off. New Media Knowledge took a closer look. By Chris Lee.

The Future High Streets Forum and multichannel retailing

The recent launch of the Future High Streets Forum is testament to the fundamental changes the high street has undergone. The move to online has arguably been one of the most significant factors contributing to this change so it was a surprise that the first meeting of the Forum did not discuss the influence of ecommerce and digital on retailers. Tony Heyworth, International Marketing Director, LivePerson, looks at how retailers can take advantage of ecommerce and, more specifically, multichannel, to engage their customers on the future high street, today.

Just one in 10 businesses preparing for overhaul of the internet addressing system

NetNames’ survey demonstrates that business executives need to rethink online strategies before the introduction of generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). By Simon Jackson.

Marketing strategy - the long and the short of it

Marketing activity has always traditionally centred around campaign cycles, with activity peaking and troughing throughout the year. But thanks to the digital age in which we now live, consumers are demanding a constant and consistent 24-hour, seven-day a week engagement with brands. By Mark Inskip.

UK digital community responds to the “Instagram Act”

The UK Government has approved the easing of photographic licenses, leading to fears that some online images will be freely available for use without the permission of their owners. New Media Knowledge took a look at the “Instagram Act” and its perceived implications in the eyes of some of the UK’s leading digital marketers. By Chris Lee.

Content marketing more than just a buzzword

With the return of the Content Marketing Show on 31 May in London, New Media Knowledge caught up with the event organiser to learn more about where content marketing is headed and what delegates can expect. By Chris Lee.

Mobile and tablet ad spend surges

Mobile phones and tablet devices now account for a quarter of all spend on paid search advertising in the UK, according to a new study. The findings support similar data from the US, so what does this mean for digital marketing strategies? New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

The Inbox Abyss: Marketing emails sent before business hours go unread

Almost all marketing emails sent before business hours go unread, and the best time to send an email is actually as people leave work, according to new research from Pure360, the email and SMS marketing specialists. By Abi Jacks.

Translating the big data language problem

Keith Laska, CEO SDL Language Technologies Division, outlines how machine translation technologies will help organisations cope with the growing big data challenge.

91% of people trust business to keep data safe despite rise in breaches

Research reveals people take care to protect data but forget to get basics right. For instance, 61% always or frequently use the same password across multiple websites or applications. By David Gibson.

Turbulence for the CMO: Charting a path for the seamless customer experience

Four in ten marketing executives unprepared to meet objectives due to lack of funding and internal inefficiencies, Accenture study finds.Investment in digital marketing and analytics set to rise. By Brian Whipple.

Do you speak IT? - The Rise of the Chief Digital Officer

Campbell Williams of Six Degrees Group discusses the potential outcomes of a power struggle between marketing and IT and the rise of a new role – the Chief Digital Officer.

Marketing is best kept simple: Interview with Charterhouse

While multi-channel environments would appear to add complexity to modern marketing campaigns, brands need not over-complicate matters for themselves, according to one expert. New Media Knowledge sat down with Charterhouse to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Get innovative!

Bradley Howard, Head of Digital Media at Endava, explains that organisations need to embrace a culture of marketing innovation to deliver long-term success.

Retailer expansion into Asia slows as the focus switches to multichannel reorganisation

The world’s largest retailers have been scaling back their global expansion activities, particularly in Asia, and turning their attention inward by integrating operations and strengthening their store, internet and mobile sales channels, new analysis by Accenture (NYSE:ACN) reveals. By Chris Donnelly.

CIOs should adopt design thinking to address “wicked problems”

Human-centered design thinking and approaches are now gaining mainstream credence among private sector decision-makers focused on innovation. This is a concept that seems to be unfamiliar in most CIO offices in the public sector, says global analyst firm Ovum. By Nishant Shah.

The 50 Shades effect - using your online data to optimise your customers’ experience

Recent news that customer insight helped adult retailer Lovehoney develop a new product range around the 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon, highlights the power that online retailers have at their finger tips to help drive their online (and, indeed, offline) businesses. By Katrin Jahnke.

A 5-minute guide to becoming a flexible employer

Robert Rutherford, CEO of specialist IT consultancy QuoStar Solutions, offers a short guide to becoming a flexible employer.

Emerging markets and mobile data will drive global telecoms revenue up to

Some bright spots for growth in telecoms revenue are emerging from the gloom of the global economic crisis, but there is no question that service providers will struggle to drive growth in traditional revenue streams in the next few years. Looking to new strategies and new business models is critical to survival and growth. By Pablo Iacopino.

Ad spend rises again – especially for mobile platforms, IAB finds

Digital ad spend grew by 12.5 per cent in 2012 to hit a record £5.42 billion in the UK, with mobile making up 10 per cent of ad investment. What do the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) figures reveal about UK digital ad trends? New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

The psychology of social media: Interview with a psychologist

People who boast about their fitness, post photos of their meals and parents who talk ceaselessly about their children are the most annoying social media users, according to a recent survey. What drives people to post what they do? New Media Knowledge lay down on the couch to talk with social media marketer and trained psychologist, Xavi Izaguirre of consultancy Total Media. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for March 2013

Keynote Systems, the expert in internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top eleven UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

The current state of the SEO industry

In early 2012, the author Tom Sizer-James, an SEO specialist looked at 101 agencies (sourced from Econsultancy’s supplier directory), and produced an infographic to show the current state of the SEO industry. He has now completed the 2013 edition looking at the same 101 agencies as last year to document how they have developed since 2012.

Amazon is going mobile, threatening the very core of Apple's business

Magister Advisors believe Amazon aims to become a major mobile device company, with serious implications to the other players. By Victor Basta.

Website optimisation: A path that could make you millions for your business

Everyone is familiar with the television game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. It has been a rousing international success: 81 different versions of the game with 39 versions currently airing, spanning almost just as many languages. In India alone there are five versions for five different languages. The central theme of the movie Slumdog Millionaire is around the show. By Tom Waterfall.

Footfall now irrelevant indicator of retail success

The combination of growing smartphone penetration and widespread economic pressures is having a profound effect on consumer shopping behaviour across Europe, according to Tradedoubler Insight Unit’s latest study1.- Performance Marketing: from first impression to last click. By Dan Cohen.

Look beyond technology to the cultural aspects of gamification

Organizations should keep in mind that gamification is about more than just the underlying technology, says Ovum. By also considering the strategic, organizational, cultural, and psychological aspects of reasonably priced and low-risk gamification applications, businesses can improve productivity. By Adam Holtby.

It is a mobile world

Affiliate Window has prepared this infographic on m-commerce, which highlights the growth across various sectors, specifically group buying (Groupon), Electricals, Clothing, travel, and department stores. By Loic Moisand, CEO and Co-Founder of Synthesio.

Defining Social Media Listening Maturity Infographic

When tackling the social media listening and engagement issue, all brands have to face similar challenges. The journey presented below is a simple summary of the different steps brands have to go through to become social media champions. If you are to launch a global project, it will be important to take into account the different levels of maturity, as they will change the way you should approach listening for each country. By Loic Moisand.

People more stressed by no internet than loss of water, heating or TV!

When asked how long they could cope without the internet 27% said they simply couldn’t cope at all! By Claire Sellick.

LinkedIn for Business: Best Practice Tips

Business social network LinkedIn is arguably one of the most useful social media channels, enabling Premium members to connect with more than 200 million business people worldwide. So how can businesses best utilise LinkedIn for business? New Media Knowledge caught up with an expert to find out more. By Chris Lee.

Data protection: Google it!

Data protection law has been with us for almost 30 years but perhaps it is now finally coming of age with news that the data protection authorities in various EU countries are launching joint action against Google for alleged breaches of data protection laws. By David Ashplant.

Mobile email big business within the performance channel

One of the most rapidly evolving phenomenon’s in how consumers are accessing information digitally is the devices they’re turning to in order to access their emails. In fact, 41% of emails are currently viewed on a mobile device. By Matt Swan.

The dangers of crowdsourcing: Interview with Scoopshot

In the week when The Guardian media company launched its own user-generated content website, New Media Knowledge caught up with one technology firm that aims to streamline the all-important authentication process. By Chris Lee.

What to consider when procuring video

Rob Crombie looks at the critical difference between price and value when procuring video services.

Make content work harder

Ingrid Froelich, SDL Content Management Technologies Division, explains how marketers can maximise the use of content for successful audience engagement.

Quantifying risk (and why we are so bad at it)

The dichotomy between perceived risk and actual risk is constantly evolving. Business managers may have been advised that they need firewalls and antivirus software, but managing less understood risk, such as security breaches and data thefts, is rarely a priority. By Peter Bassill.

Social media presents an opportunity, but many banks are not exploiting it

Retail banks are still hesitating to fully integrate social media into their digital marketing strategies, according to a new report from global analysts Ovum*. By Jaroslaw Knapik.

Brands warned: Speak only when spoken to on social networks

A recent study highlighted the fine line between online marketing by brands and perceived intrusion by their target consumers. New Media Knowledge asked around for best practice in establishing listening and engagement structures. By Chris Lee.

Busting the digital marketing misconceptions

Within the article, Malcolm Duckett, CEO of Magiq, looks at how digital marketers can take a multi-faceted approach that will allow them to deliver real-time personalisation to engage new visitors, develop targeted campaigns to turn loyal visitors into purchasers, and implement efficient email campaigns that give greater returns than the last. By Malcolm Duckett.

Group Buying Ahead of the Mobile Curve

It is no secret that mobile commerce has shown considerable growth over the past couple of years. In this time we have seen a staggering increase in traffic and transactions across the network occurring on a mobile device. By Matt Swan.

The real benefits of controlling your own company hosting

As online business continues to expand at record levels, websites facilitating digital power players are growing ever larger, more complex and more sophisticated. By Abby Hardoon.

Introducing “programmatic buying”: What is it and why does it matter?

“Programmatic buying” looks set to be one of the digital marketing buzzwords of 2013. Analysts at IDC predict a 53 per cent growth between 2011 and 2016, while Forrester claims it will take over the bulk of digital advertising spend. But just what is “programmatic buying” and why does it matter? New Media Knowledge caught up with specialists Rocket Fuel to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Ad serving solutions for networks & agencies: How to choose the best

Anton Ruin, CEO of Epom in Ukraine, speaks of what you should expect from a worthwhile ad serving enterprise solution.

56% of London marketers see online and social media channels as most effective marketing channels; 3% back cold-calling

London survey, conducted by Crimson Hexagon, proves online and social media messaging now overwhelmingly preferred when marketing to target audiences. By Curt Bloom.

New study reveals UK mobile consumers show strong purchase intent but less immediacy than US searchers

You may have seen this week the IAB/PwC digital ad spend report which found that mobile spend in 2012 more than doubled (147 per cent) to £525m, up from £203.2m, it is crucial to understand the UK mobile searcher. It is becoming clear that if mobile advertising campaigns are to be successful that they must be tailored to distinct device and category nuances. New independent research – in fact, the first ever Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study in the UK – reveals critical insights about mobile purchase behaviours, including preferred research tools, activities and mobile purchase influences. By Bill Dinan.

Sponsorship – how the nature of the game is changing

Sponsorship was once viewed as something of a badging opportunity, in particular within the broadcast arena where a brand ident might top and tail an ad break and little more. By Pete Davis.

Smart Devices, Smart Security

Once mostly prohibited by IT, smartphones and tablets—such as Android-based phones and Apple iPads—are now being used by hundreds of millions of employees worldwide to access, transmit and store corporate information in today’s 24x7 business environment. By Mark Bower.

Anti-social networking? Two studies reveal disruptive nature of social media

One in ten Facebook users report receiving abusive or insulting messages on Facebook, meanwhile women admit to “sacrificing sex” to indulge in social networking. New Media Knowledge looks at two new studies into social media behaviour and its impact on our personal well-being and lifestyles. By Chris Lee.

Machine learning – is there a place for it in search optimisation?

SEO has changed radically over the past few years becoming much more technical in its approach. Alchemy Viral explores the new buzzword in SEO circles – machine learning – and if there is a place for it in search optimisation. By Andreas Voniatis.

More traffic and sales through mobile handsets in March than in the whole of Q1 2012

March saw us record our one millionth sale through mobile devices this year. It took us until August to reach this milestone in 2012. Traffic volumes through mobile devices were 3x higher than they were in March 2012. March saw us record the highest volume of traffic we have ever seen through the iPhone. By Matt Swan.

ICANN’s Trademark Clearinghouse opens its doors for registration

88 per cent of major consumer brands to submit trademarks for protection across all new Top-Level Domains. By Jan Corstens.

Google+ Hangouts best practice for business

Google+ is finally gathering momentum amongst marketers and one of its functions in particular – the Google+ Hangouts video conversation system – is proving to be popular. New Media Knowledge sought an expert to explain best practice of the Hangouts for business. By Chris Lee.

Consumers taking control of their entertainment ecosystems

Consumption habits are evolving and becoming more sophisticated, Accenture survey finds. By Francesco Venturini.

Facebook & Android: NMK members comment on the new application

Facebook announced last week a home screen or "launcher" application for Android which will take over the user's phone home screen on an Android device and provide a Facebook-centric experience and way of interacting with the device. In this note, Ovum comments how the new approach will benefit the company. Magister Advisors argues that Facebook is clearly adopting a new strategy. And Synthesio analyses the online response for the announcement in the first day. By Magda Hercheui.

Facebook phone launch, Analysys Mason comments

The ‘Facebook phone’ is due to be announced at an official event scheduled for tomorrow (4 April). Facebook have invited the press to ‘come see our new home on Android’. Ahead of the launch, Analysys Mason’s Principal Analysts Ronan de Renesse and Stephen Sale comment on their expectations for the new device.

Innovative councils embrace crowdfunding to fill budget gap for civic projects

Local councils are being hit especially hard because of cuts in the budget. As a result, funding for civic improvements has plummeted by half. Some councils are at the forefront of technology turning to online crowdfunding as a mechanism for tapping new sources of funding for civic schemes and social ventures. By Andy Teacher.

What are the 5 mistakes digital freelancers make?

In this article, Dan Jacobs discusses the advantages and challenges of working as a digital freelancer. Professionals need to learn firstly how to promote themselves, in a very competitive market.

Only 50% of UK Top 100 Online Retailers Websites Have Optimized for Mobile

UK Retailers lagging behind American counterparts in mobile commerce, despite demand from European consumers. In US, optimization reaches 100%. By Arish Alito.

Marketers make online content their top priority

Some 34.8% of marketers are making content marketing their main focus during 2013. That’s twice as many as in 2012 and places content marketing above search engine optimisation, mobile communications and media buying in marketers’ overall list of priorities. By Ian Whiteling.

Consumers’ high expectations of mobile apps revealed

Consumers prefer mobile apps over mobile websites but have very high expectations of them, according to research out this month. New Media Knowledge met with the report’s author to hear what mobile marketers can learn from the findings. By Chris Lee.

Google’s Art, Copy, Code conundrum

Google’s Art, Copy, Code experiment is designed to reimagine how advertising is done. Will it work? A new type of copywriting specifically designed for AdWords is already showing an interesting way forward. By Paul Booth.

Cyber threats: Are we in a state of denial?

A 2011 estimate from researchers at McAfee put the global black market economy for hacked cards, accounts and email addresses at over $750 billion per annum. Perhaps it is time we acknowledged that just as there is an entire black market economy subsidised by illicit activities and street crimes, the cyber equivalent is also growing every year. By Peter Bassill.

Mastering Google’s New Pay-to-play model for shopping

Google has rolled out its new paid-for Google Shopping format in the UK. While some retailers might fear having to pay for what was until recently a free service, data from the US – where Google has been charging for its Shopping service since October 2012 – demonstrated impressive returns for retailers who got in early. Here, Irina Bukatik, Senior Product Manager at campaign management platform Kenshoo, describes how retailers can make the most of the new Google Shopping.

When social media shaming goes wrong

A high profile “outing” on Twitter and a supporting blog post recently resulted in two individuals losing their jobs in the US. New Media Knowledge quizzed its public relations contacts to get a consensus on what went wrong and the lessons learned. By Chris Lee.

The three C's of successful customer experience

Ian Truscott, Vice President, Product Marketing, SDL Content Management Technologies division, highlights the critical success factors that companies must consider in order to deliver successful customer experiences.

Yomego releases metric for measuring social engagement

Specialist social media agency Yomego has released a comprehensive working model to measure engagement in social media and even, potentially, to assign a monetary value to interactions. Unlike previous attempts to solve this social media conundrum, however, Yomego has been taking a collaborative approach - and in publishing the model is calling for further input into in this industry-wide issue. By Steve Richards.

Supermarkets, Fast Feeders earn Temkin Group top customer experience ratings

Temkin Group’s third annual survey finds USA companies improving the customer experience but only one-third received “good” or “excellent” scores while much work lies ahead for the one-quarter of companies that received “poor” or “very poor” evaluations. By Bruce Temkin.

Future business: New digital sustainability tool launched

The Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency, and Forum for the Future, the global sustainability non-profit organisation, have launched ‘Horizons’ (beta), a free digital tool designed to help businesses identify sustainability issues, risks and opportunities, and integrate them into strategy, commercial decisions, and innovation. By Rod Alexander.

Engagement: Leading the Display Metric Revolution

In digital marketing, clicks and views have become a standard measurement of user responsiveness to an online ad. However, there is an industry consensus that traditional display campaign measurement tools are inadequate, according to a leading expert. New Media Knowledge caught up with Tony Zito, CEO of Rakuten MediaForge, to learn measurement best practice. By Chris Lee.

Organizations make strides in adoption of analytics, but struggle to capitalize on investments

Only a fifth very satisfied with business outcomes of their analytics efforts, Accenture research finds. By Narendra Mulani.

Dealing with internal threats from social media: the legal standpoint

Hardly a week goes by without an organisation being called on to fire fight a social media crisis created by one of its own staff. But what legal options do brands have to deal with the threat posed by off-message staff? New Media Knowledge sought legal counsel to find out. By Chris Lee.

How to make it relevant: Optimising the digital marketing experience

Digital is no longer a channel. It is the modus operandi for consumers, marketers and successful corporations. Efficient production, personalised delivery and reuse of content across platforms, countries, languages and agencies are required to drive superior marketing performance. Many companies are finding that cloud-based digital marketing platforms provide the foundation to deliver the most relevant customer experiences at scale and optimise marketing performance. By Anatoly Roytman and Aseem Chandra.

Key tips on Linkedin

LinkedIn is widely regarded as the most important social media platform for B2B, boasting 200 million members across 200 countries – a vast pool of opportunities for you to take advantage of. Here’s a beginner’s guide on how to get the best out of its features. By Sean Blanks.

Key tips on Facebook

Sean Blanks offers SMEs tips on how to best market their businesses using social media channels, focusing on Facebook in this article.

When social media becomes the Elephant in the Room

SiteVisibility CEO Jason Woodford looks at how companies can no-longer elude the evolution of social media.

Consumers demand more choice for help online

Online engagement tools are expected to be available - as much as traditional channels for contacting customer services. By Tony Heyworth.

Five tips for improving website performance

On the Internet nothing causes people as much grief, anger and aggravation than a slow loading website. Christopher Hamilton, support manager at Inviqa has put together his top tips for improving website performance. From using the correct optimisation code to having a font delivery network, these simple steps can ensure that users remain switched on to the site.

Smartphones can save the high street if retailers embrace new technologies

Dan Cohen, regional director at Tradedoubler, analyses how retailers should embrace new technologies and incorporate mobile devices into their marketing strategies.

Is there a secret to going viral? Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake analysed

Following hot on the heels of 2012’s record-breaking viral video, Gangnam Style, this year’s meme-inspiring phenomenon is the Harlem Shake. New Media Knowledge quizzed the experts on the ingredients for viral videos and what inspires people to create imitations. By Chris Lee.

Advertising to the over 40s: The new rules of engagement

They say these days that the 40s are the new 30s and that for advertisers, chronological age is becoming less and less of a measure by which to segment audiences. By Richard Ardley.

Selling to the minority: How to sell social media to the sceptics

Despite its rapid maturity, social media marketing is still avoided altogether by a great many brands. According to a recent study, 87 per cent of UK organisations have a social media strategy in place, but what about the remaining 13 per cent? New Media Knowledge asked around to find out answers on how to sell social to the sceptics. By Chris Lee.

Ovum comments: Samsung Galaxy S4 launch

Samsung today announced the latest in its Galaxy S series of phones, the Galaxy S4. Jan Dawson, chief telecom analyst at Ovum, provides this initial reaction.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for February 2013

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Another change for Facebook… will this one work?

Facebook announced another change to the newsfeed yesterday. Ameet Chandarana offers his views on the change and what it means for companies advertising on Facebook.

Littlewoods – Mobile Case Study

With mobile commerce experiencing considerable growth over the past couple of years, online department store Littlewoods was keen to ensure it made the most of this growth curve. By Matt Swan.

Descriptive Domain Names Face Extinction

The days of using a descriptive domain name to tell consumers what your business does are numbered, even though this may have been a popular approach in the past. By Shireen Smith.

The rise of the community

Matthew Gidley, director of insight and strategy at Momentum UK looks into the concept of the New Community and explores the challenges and opportunities that marketers must address in the wake of this social shift.

Talkin’ ‘bout my generation: Marketing to Gen Y

Sub-30 year-old, tech savvy “Generation Y” is a hot consumer target for brands, but as a recent study demonstrates, marketing to this audience offers both opportunities and threats. New Media Knowledge took a look under the hood. By Chris Lee.

How can marketers achieve better inbox placement rates?

Emailvision, a leader in relationship marketing and customer intelligence, recently hosted a webinar on how marketers can achieve better inbox placements rates. In the webinar, Andrew Bonar, Deliverability Expert, reveals his considerations for marketers and his eight top tips on how to achieve better inbox placement rates with Gmail.

How did Britain’s “Big Four” supermarkets perform on social media during “Horsegate”?

In the wake of the scandal surrounding the discovery of horse DNA in meat products on sale in UK supermarkets, how did the leading four brands perform during the social media fallout? New Media Knowledge caught up with one agency which was tracking those supermarkets’ activity to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Facebook banks on replicating mobile Ad success with its News Feed redesign

However, conflict between user experience and driving more ad dollars looms large. By Andreas Pouros.

Best practices for your 2013 media plan

The UK economy is forecast to continue to struggle throughout 2013, and marketers face a struggle to optimise their media value this year. Accenture Interactive’s experience working in the UK media marketplace suggests ten opportunities the marketing team should incorporate into their 2013 media plans to drive marketing performance across print, digital, TV, out of home (OoH) and cinema advertising. By Neal Deeprose.

Top 10 tips on writing B2B technology PR brief

When you are considering hiring a B2B Technology PR consultancy one of the first things you need to do is put together a brief. If you don’t have any previous experience of working with PR agencies this can be a daunting prospect, especially given the number of technology PR agencies out there. By Amy Redhead.

IP law impacts businesses large and small

It’s not just Apple vs Google, IP law impacts on almost every business now and in many cases the law is struggling to keep up with facts on the ground. With such uncertainty, in many situations, both sides to a dispute can end up as losers. By Catherine Gannon.

Why 2013 is by no means the year of ‘non-events’

Without doubt, 2012 was a glittering year for major events, both sporting and otherwise (thanks to the Queen), so you could be forgiven for feeling that 2013 looks a little flat on event-based opportunity front for brands. By Simon Orpin.

Tap into the Power of Engaged Employees

Highly engaged employees are easy to spot. They try harder on the job and drive business results. According to Temkin Group’s 2013 Employee Engagement Benchmark Study, they are twice as likely both to work after their shift ends and to do something good for the company that is unexpected of them. By Aimee Lucas.

Paid-search for smart mobile devices to end desk-top dominance in the UK

Smartphones and tablets are transforming Paid-search advertising; conversion rates on smart mobile set to match those of desk-tops. By Jon Myers.

Optimising the mobile customer experience

Ian Truscott, Vice President, Product Marketing, SDL Content Management Technologies division, highlights six key questions marketers need to consider to enhance a mobile engagement strategy – to create a better customer experience.

Tech trends 2013: A counter-intuitive view

Industry commentators are wrong: Success in the mobile industry will be all about software. This will be Facebook’s year. Amazon will emerge as a force in mobile. Blackberry will be pureed. We also may expect innovation from developing markets and the rise of ad tech. By Victor Basta.

Niche is the “Future of Social Networks”: Interview with Racepoint Group

Despite hitting one billion users, Facebook faces a battle for user attention against niche social networks, according to one UK commentator. New Media Knowledge caught up with Cathy Pittham, Managing Director Europe for communications consultants Racepoint Group, to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Is big data the emperor’s new clothes?

Love it or hate it, technology is full of buzzwords and one of the latest is ‘big data’. By James Southgate.

Clash of compliance cultures: Old vs. new World

In the last few years, US companies have not been shy about expressing their feelings on the EU’s Data Protection Directive (DPD). There’s a major social media player, for example, with a European HQ in Ireland that’s been publicly critical of a proposed “right to be forgotten” rule for letting consumers delete their online data. There’s also a search engine service that, while not openly objecting, is instead suggesting it’s already doing a darn good job of meeting the DPD’s rules. By Andy Green.

ASOS and Debenham’s most visible fashion retailers, online

Beyond the bright neons, lively animal prints and stunning designs, the battle for the online customer was evident at London Fashion Week. Leading fashion retailers moved well past physical audiences to showcase their latest collections in a bid to grow their online footprint. By Krishna Rao.

Mobile operator data revenues to pass voice by 2018

The world’s mobile industry community met for its annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February to showcase and discuss the latest developments. The show’s organiser, GSMA, announced at the show that data revenues will surpass voice revenues for operators in the next five years and highlighted some of the potential benefits of mobile connectivity. New Media Knowledge looked at the implications of this shift. By Chris Lee.

Software: the legal do's and don'ts

Leading information technology and intellectual property lawyer Dr Michael Servian of Freeth Cartwright’s Stoke on Trent office shares his expertise when it comes to legal matters relating to software.

Three D or not 3D... that is the question!

Are we getting closer to a 3D revolution in the advertising industry? You might think we’re a way off, but actually it may not be that long before 3D brand advertising goes mainstream. By Andrew Murchie.

Popular wallpapers for new PCs and how to get them for free

A great a computer deserves a great desktop wallpaper and screen saver. Sure, you can just use the wallpaper application that comes with your computer, but wouldn't it be more fun to have a larger variety? Here are a few tips on how you can without spending a dime. By Joseph Stark.

Nissan launches car via mobile app

Japanese car maker Nissan has launched its new car – the Juke Nismo – via a popular mobile driving game. New Media Knowledge caught up with the people behind the project to find out why they chose this route to market and the results it has seen. By Chris Lee.

Foreign markets open up online opportunities for brands and businesses seeking profits overseas

Foreign markets begin to offer online brands and business the chance to chase profits overseas, as growth in both internet usage and ecommerce wealth of nations continues to increase dramatically. Markets that were once unattractive to popular brands are developing rapidly both on and offline, making them easier to enter and trade successfully in a relatively short space of time. By Karl Young.

Brand Keys 2013 Customer Loyalty Index

Finds seismic shift in how consumers emotionally engage with products and services. In some categories, engagement drivers boost brands; in other brands are disappearing. By Robert Passikoff.

Search myths uncovered

Have you ever been given advice that you’re not sure whether to take? There are many myths and unhelpful assumptions in how to manage your Pay Per Click (PPC) activity. PPC has a complex structure, with a huge volume of data in constant evolution. By Judy Chan.

Exploring the Internet’s impact on personal identity: Interview with G2 Joshua

A new UK Government study into the evolving sense of personal identity has cited online personas as playing a key role in the next ten years. New Media Knowledge caught up with one online expert to learn what the implications of these changing senses means for marketers. By Chris Lee.

Turning the EU Privacy Directives into best practice for digital marketing

The digital era has brought a gold-mine of knowledge about consumers: Where they shop, dine and holiday, the websites they visit, their hobbies and life events. Armed with this knowledge companies are tailoring products and services and timing promotions effectively. By Anatoly Roytman.

Are affiliate feeds and tools worth the investment?

The significance of affiliate marketing has been heavily discussed since Google’s Panda and Penguin updates with some advertisers and brands considering content affiliate sites to be in decline – even dying out. Affiliate advocates on the other hand believe these sites can evolve, making use of new technology to improve branding and increase sales. By Lee Brignell-Cash.

5 things you didn’t know about SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is now so well-established that it has become synonymous with business collaboration. For many years now, large enterprises have been using SharePoint software– primarily for document management and setting up intranet sites. By Jon Milward.

Defusing the digital talent time-bomb

SiteVisibility CEO Jason Woodford suggests that training and development will be the key to retention.

Social media: the missed opportunity

According to new research from Barclays, up to half of all sales are now generated through social media for one in ten restaurants, hotels, pub and travel operators. Mike Saul, Head of Hospitality and Leisure at Barclays, comments on the findings from a representative sample of 126 UK hospitality and leisure operators, across the hotel, travel and leisure space.

How to control Windows Store Apps in Windows 8

With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft introduced the Windows 8 App Store, a portal for installing homogenous applications on the RT desktop. As well as providing a seamless experience for Microsoft to push their desktop products direct to consumers, the Windows Store includes many applications from 3rd party vendors. By Kris Zentek.

Brands deploy social but fail to engage, study claims

Brand engagement among the UK’s fastest growing technology companies is falling despite an increase in the adoption of social media by those firms, according to an industry study. New Media Knowledge sat down with the report’s author to find out what cultural shifts were happening in social media usage by the UK’s growing tech firms. By Chris Lee.

Gaming as content (and some brands that got the hang of it)

Not so long ago, gamers were an alien life-form. They were easily identifiable within a group, and like most stereotypes, there was a style to match the obsession. Before geek got chic, gamers lived on the fringes of cool, sitting up late watching science fiction re-runs and taking part in passionate discussions on internet forums. By Carla Faria.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for January 2013

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Social Network Nations: China

New Media Knowledge continues its tour of the world’s emerging digital powerhouses with a close look at China. Unsurprisingly, China has the largest social media user base in the world, but what platforms are the Chinese using and how? We asked around for a little local knowledge. By Chris Lee.

Google’s “Enhanced Campaigns” – A challenge for advertisers?

Digital marketing agency, Greenlight, says Google‘s “Enhanced Campaigns”, will prove a challenge to advertisers, the biggest being that of how third party tracking solutions can integrate into it. As it currently stands, advertisers could be forgiven for thinking Google is upping its game against third party tracking solutions and trying to create a system whereby any solution outside of Google’s is rendered less useful, says Angela Knibb, campaign manager at the agency.

Social media intelligence offers unique opportunities for marketers

The theory behind social media intelligence is to go beyond basic metrics and turn social media data into actionable marketing and business insight. By Wayne St. Amand.

Ten billion mobile coupons to be redeemed this year, up 50% on 2012

The number of discount coupons redeemed through mobile and tablet devices is expected to reach 10 billion this year, up by more than 50% on last year, a new report from Juniper Research has found. By Windsor Holden.

Virtualisation needs physical consideration

There are many things you simply would never do in the real world – would you give every person in your street a key to your property? If you do you’d be expected to live with the consequences. Yet, in the virtual world, all too often organisations are happy to hand over bunches of keys that open every sensitive file and exposes the softer underbelly of the network. Why do they do that? By Andrew Avenessian.

Link building – Are you at risk?

A lot of companies want to do their SEO in house. The reasons are varied but normally reasonable: saving on cost; up skilling an in-house team; or integrating resources closely. However, all too often the companies come to us agencies when they have a problem. By Kevin Taylor.

Transactis Home Shopping Index shows ‘etailing’ continues to grow despite economic uncertainty

Database marketing firm’s analysis of millions of transactions reveals that online has solidified its place in the retail mix as mobile device use spreads. By Richard Higginbotham.

Intellectual Property and Copyright Law

Digital media businesses can function with minimal investment in business premises and equipment. However, the intellectual assets of the business, including websites and published media, may be of great value. Here we examine some of the main intellectual property rights applicable to digital media businesses. By Dominic Higgins.

Valentine’s day shoppers receive poor service online

Romantics waited over five seconds for worst performing Valentine’s Day gift pages to load, Keynote Research finds. By Robert Castley.

Top 10 things to ask geolocation technology providers in 2013 – Digital Element comments

Over 2013, popular content and ad geolocation technologies, such as IP-address based intelligence, will increasingly dominate the marketing industry. But what are the essentials marketers should know when it comes to deploying geolocation technology to help drive results for their online initiatives? By Rob Friedman.

Just because everyone now has access to a publishing platform online, doesn't meant quality editorial is a dying art

“My gut feeling is that my next project will only have a small element of print if any", says Louise Chunn, former editor of Good Housekeeping, In Style and Psychologies magazine. In this article, she reflects on the demands and realities of running a successful website.

‘iPhone 5’ searches up a staggering 594%

Apple’s revenue may have missed expectations as sales of the iPhone reportedly disappointed. However, data from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, shows no slump in the number of online searches pertaining to iPhones, in the lead up to Christmas. By Krishna Rao.

Ovum reveals mobile BI has finally arrived, enabling leaders to adapt to a new “connected” business reality

Business intelligence (BI) on-the-go is finally here, thanks to the arrival of high-performance mobile devices and the evolution of robust data-carrying infrastructure, says Ovum. By Fredrik Tunvall.

Data breaches erode our trust in business & government, yet we risk causing data losses daily at work

New Yougov survey from Check Point shows how the public demands that organisations safeguard data, but don't practice safe computing at work - risking more data breaches and losses. By Terry Greer-King.

Sharing for Success: IABC UK Gift of Communication

IABC members share their experience and knowledge with junior communicators and third-sector organisations at the Gift of Communication in East London. By Tessa O’Neill.

Businesses must utilise the online world to capitalise on their niche

With the downfall of Blockbuster, HMV, Jessops and Comet, Digital River, Digital River, an e-commerce expert, cautions brick-and-mortar businesses not to lose sight of what their customers want and the growing importance of fully integrating into the online world. By Michael Hechler.

Traffic through mobile devices was up once again in January

With a number of consumers receiving smart phones and tablet devices for Christmas, they are more readily turning to these devices to access the internet and browse advertisers’ sites. 19.63% of all network traffic came through mobile devices. This was up on December’s figure of 19.04% and a 120% increase on the share of traffic seen in January 2012. By Matt Swan.

Businesses need equivalent of DeleteMe Mobile for iPhone

Varonis welcomes arrival of DeleteMe Mobile, but warns there is not equivalent Internet data removal service for businesses. By David Gibson.

A guide to DIY SEO

It’s not so dark if you open your eyes… By Henry Lewington.

Why PR people are the real kings of content…

An insightful blog about why content is (and has always been) king and how utilising your PR agency/freelancer or hiring one is more important than ever. By Raman Sehgal.

Could your employees detect and deflect a spear phishing attack?

Spear phishing is a real problem for businesses today, and has caused many companies to hit the headlines because of major security breaches. This article explains what spear phishing is, and gives tips about what sort of things in emails should raise a red flag, both in terms of the sender and the content, and recommendations for the procedures that companies should follow. By Scott Greaux.

Ovum predicts turbulence for the Internet economy, as more than two-thirds of consumers say ‘no’ to Internet tracking

The Internet economy is at risk of crumbling, following the recent data privacy scandal of WhatsApp and the on-going concerns surrounding Facebook and Google use of users' data. Ovum’s research shows that these incidents have significantly harmed the reputation of Internet companies as a whole - only 14% of consumers now trust that their personal data placed online would not be exploited.

Traditional marketing more influential than digital advertising and social media

Impact of advertising on mobile devices and social networks is minimal. By Geraint Evans.

Start planning for 5G mobile comms, academic warns

The fourth generation (4G) of mobile communications networks may be attracting a lot of news attention in the UK, but the industry should already be looking towards its fifth generation successor, 5G. This is the view of a leading academic from the University of Surrey. New Media Knowledge got in touch to find out more. By Chris Lee.

Bombarding consumers with marketing results in brand resentment

Research shows a worrying percentage of consumers online won’t share any personal information with retailers in exchange for better targeted offers. By Neil Hamilton.

Mobile marketing best practice: Exclusive interview with Ensighten

Mobile platforms will be a key battleground for brands in 2013, with the UK currently leading Europe’s app market. So how should brands already marketing on mobile platforms and those looking to start out go about mobile marketing? New Media Knowledge caught up with tag management specialist Ensighten to find out. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for December 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

HMV Twitter crisis wake-up call for brands

Despite Twitter being seven years old in 2013, many big brands have still failed to grasp its potentially damaging nature. This was graphically illustrated by entertainment retailer HMV in the UK recently when its social media manager posted updates about impending redundancies live on Twitter. New Media Knowledge assessed the damage and asked around for a Twitter best practice recap. By Chris Lee.

BlackBerry gambles on new OS and devices to reverse ailing fortunes

Smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM) has launched its new BlackBerry 10 operating system (OS) and two handsets in a bid to reclaim rapidly-lost market share. But what does the industry make of the rebrand? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Facebook ad revenues are up - but is the trajectory sustainable?

Facebook has confounded critics who thought it would be incapable of making money from the rapid growth of mobile device usage. By Andreas Pouros.

NMK members discuss the new BlackBerry 10

NMK has received some commentaries from members related to the new BB10. Analysys Mason thinks the new devices may be a success, but the company needs more than technology and design to succeed. QuoStar Solutions asks whether Research in Motion may have taken a major step in making BYOD commercially viable. Ovum states Blackberry 10 platform offers a differentiated user experience. And Crimson Hexagon analyse the conversations on Twitter to understand what people are talking about the new devices. By Magda Hercheui.

The New BlackBerry Brand

Robert Passikoff analyses in this article the impact of BlackBerry 10, and the company’s strategy of changing the discussion on Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD). BlackBerry is looking to position the company as the smartphone that allows you to shift from work mode to personal play with something they call “BlackBerry Balance.”

How to create a social media strategy built from your competitors’ data

Your competitors, you monitor them constantly, and you analyse them endlessly. In this article, you’ll learn how to use data on your competition to build an effective social media strategy. By Alexandra Cojocaru.

Can you trust what's written on the Internet?

And what really happened to brands like Facebook, Nike, Amazon, Google and Twinkies? By Robert Passikoff.

Five ways to keep your customers returning to buy, rather than returning your products

Whilst online retail figures are continuing to soar, unfortunately so are customer returns. This problem is inherent to the internet as customers often find it very difficult to get an accurate feel for the product prior to it arriving on their doorstep. The article outlines some simple tips on how online retailers can help customers make the right decisions and choose the product best suited to their needs, ultimately increasing customer loyalty and reducing the number of costly returns. By Tony Heyworth.

Publishers are leaving mobile money on the table

Inbar Chap, Co-CEO of of advertising network DMG, argues that too many websites are still failing to optimize for mobile readers and losing out on ad revenues.

What is semantic search and why is it important?

Semantic search is likely to be a significant factor in online marketing in the very near future. What is it, how does it work and why it’s important? By James Swede.

Facebook’s Graph Search, a story of ‘Three’ halves: Investors, users and businesses

Further to speculation that has been building up over week, Facebook has announced recently an addition to its social network - a smart search engine it has called ‘‘Graph Search”. It will allow people using Facebook to more quickly find answers to questions about friends in their Social Graph. By Andreas Pouros.

Can digital marketers save television advertising?

The latest Ofcom International Communications Market Report shows UK consumers are the most likely in the world to access TV content over the Web. Where does this leave the 30-second TV advertising slot? New Media Knowledge spoke to a branding expert to find out. By Chris Lee.

That was the year that was

Last year saw content marketing become a big hitter in the marketing discipline stakes. Julia Hutchison, head of Content Marketing at Group FMG and former Chief Operating Officer for the Content Marketing Association, looks at what lessons marketers need to learn for the year ahead to make the most of the growing medium.

10 Content Marketing Trends for 2013

Ingrid Froelich, at SDL Web Content Management Solutions, highlights ten key content marketing trends for 2013.

Personalisation research: How retailers personalise across 5 channels

Personalisation wants to roam free. Your results will suffer if you limit it to certain channels. They will suffer if you don’t integrate your strategy. And they will suffer if you don’t integrate your data. By Elias Moubayed.

The lifecycles of social networks: Has Facebook peaked in the UK?

With reports that Facebook user numbers have plateaued in the UK and with Facebook-owned Instagram seeing usage drop by a half after it revealed unpopular terms and conditions, New Media Knowledge asked the experts whether they believed Facebook had peaked in its mature markets. By Chris Lee.

Ovum says “data will be the new cloud computing oil” in 2013

Ovum has published three “Trends to watch reports” on Cloud computing and reveals that 2013 will see cloud computing continue to grow rapidly. By Laurent Lachal.

Ovum finds “live-to-work” ethos is driving faster BYOD adoption in high-growth markets than mature markets

Employees in high-growth markets are more willing to embrace the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon and the personal productivity benefits of enterprise mobility compared to those in mature markets, finds Ovum. By Richard Absalom.

Auto industry needs to offer consumers a better customized online experience

Consumers believe better digital marketing could make car-buying process faster, Accenture survey finds. By Luca Mentuccia.

Seven deadly sins of social media

Seven negative social media comments make consumers think worse about a brand, just one more and they will think twice about buying from it. By Zoe Bevis.

Email deluge leaves little time for “real work”

Research conducted by Varonis, the leading provider of comprehensive data governance software, found that surging numbers of emails cause workers to spend countless hours sorting, filing, flagging and tagging instead of focusing on action items. By David Gibson.

Changes the business world has made to how it recruits MBAs and other talent

In this article, Emma Collins discusses the new importance of maintaining an online presence, how the internet is changing professional job recruitment, and some of the changes new job seekers should be aware of.

Creating + fostering (engaging relationships) = healthy brand

The face of customer engagement has changed. The explosion of social media and mobile devices has led to a shift in the speed and direction of interactions as customers now expect real-time relevance in their conversations with brands says Glen Manchester, CEO and founder of Thunderhead.com.

Innovations in out of home we’ll be seeing more of in 2013

When we talk about how digital marketing channels have evolved in recent years, often we refer to the take off of social media, the advent of mobile and the general implications that the Internet has had on marketing innovation. But there is another sector – one I feel that is slightly overlooked – that has benefitted hugely from the technological advancements that digital has to offer. By Simon Orpin.

Social Network Nations: Brazil

New Media Knowledge is taking a look at some of the most digitally savvy countries in the world, starting with Brazil, home to nearly 64 million social network users. As one of the fast-emerging “BRIC” nations, we look at how Brazil’s digital economy is set for growth. By Chris Lee.

Government pressure over intellectual property

Intellectual property lawyer Dr Michael Servian of Freeth Cartwright’s Stoke Office discusses the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group on intellectual property.

The past, present and future of email as a channel

Just to get some necessary housekeeping out of the way: this is not going to be another article that harps on validating whether there is any staying power left in email. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think one has to pay homage to a humble beginning before being able to truly appreciate the possibilities of full potential. By By Jai Williams.

The digital revolution: A shining light for the entrepreneurs of the future

The most recent season of Dragons’ Den in the UK has come to a close in December and it has been another rollercoaster ride with some surprising investments, and some interesting rejections. Whilst the figures and the forecasts often come under intense scrutiny, what we don’t find out is how the entrepreneur got to the position that he or she did. One thing is for certain, that in nearly all stories, the internet will have played some part in the journey… By Jay Short.

NMK contributors react to the launching of Facebook's Graph Search

Analysts believe the now platform will enable advertisers to better target their audience, and that this change may allow Facebook to become a bigger threat to Google. By Magda Hercheui.

Facebook unveils Graph Search: What impact will it have?

Facebook has launched Graph Search, its latest addition in its “mission to make the world more open and connected”. So what is Graph Search and how will it impact existing marketing strategies? New Media Knowledge asked around for answers. By Chris Lee.

How the NHS could have benefitted from an Agile, user centred design approach

According to an Oxford University large IT projects are 20 times more likely to fail than small ones and  with the NHS having already spending a colossal amount of money on what was meant to be the world’s largest collation of civil data, how much of this spend could have been avoided with an Agile, User Centred Design approach?  By Danny Bluestone.

Can your phone double up as your life-coach?

Researchers are developing a smartphone platform that enables careful monitoring of lifestyle to pinpoint and help avert triggers for stress and negative emotion. By Dirk Trossen.

Infosecurity Europe: Some previsions for 2013 for the social media platforms

In this article, Ronan Kavanagh, CEO, SpamTitan, discusses critical security aspects related the use of social media in work places and beyond.

What will 2013 bring for cyber security?

Will our cyber security get better or worse? In this article, Imperva's CTO and Co-founder, Amichai Shulman predicts for the year ahead.

When you’re a real brand there’s always a snowball’s second chance

We’d be willing to bet that when you heard the news, Hostess Brands – the bankrupt maker of Twinkies, Wonder Bread, and Ding Dongs – was shutting down production, you either made the sound, “awwww,” or at least thought it. By Robert Passikoff.

Accenture Interactive's 2013 media management predictions for CMOs

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are currently considering what to look out for in the coming twelve months, and how they can optimise value for their business. Accenture Interactive has surveyed the UK media marketplace and suggests ten predictions CMOs should incorporate into their 2013 media management plans for a prosperous new year. By Conor McGovern.

Video content marketing best practice: Interview with Tempero

With more than half of business-to-business marketers using video content, how can they ensure they maximise the returns on their investments in video marketing? New Media Knowledge caught up with digital agency Tempero to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Selling Through Social Media

The sales landscape is changing rapidly, and we as sales professionals need to understand how the modern day buyer makes their purchasing decisions, and then adjust our sales techniques accordingly if we are to be successful in the years to come. But who exactly is the modern day buyer and how can we interact and engage with them? By Sean McPheat.

Marketers losing trillions in lost sales due to website translation

A $30 trillion internet sales black hole is being lost in translation because marketers in the United Kingdom are not localising their websites for different countries. By Waheed Barghouthi.

Joined up customer service essential in era of Social Web

Despite the hype, social media’s role in customer service is still minimal - but it is growing. With a new study claiming that a third of customers have deserted a brand after poor customer service, New Media Knowledge caught up with a customer service expert to learn best practice. By Chris Lee.

Cybersecurity: Ensuring you have the appropriate weapons to fight the threats

In recent months it has been hard to avoid hearing the latest business buzz phrase of cybersecurity. By Mike Howie.

Infographic: The Growing Impact of Social Media

Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. By John Delaney, Nathan Salminen and Eunice Lee.

Christmas period smashes online retail records

The Christmas 2012 period saw unprecedented ecommerce activity as shoppers looked around for sales deals, according to a study from market watcher Experian. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

City firms “failing” at social media: Report

With two-thirds of FTSE 100 companies apparently failing to embrace or perform on social media channels, New Media Knowledge quizzed the experts on the challenges of running social media at large organisations. By Chris Lee.

The changing laws of physics – What would Sir Isaac Newton say?

In a world where physical is affected virtually we need to change our thinking. By Jeff Hudson.

‘Generation Tech’ – young, gifted but a long way from bad

Young employees take more risks with software. This doesn’t have to be a problem. By Paul Kenyon.

Return path study reveals marketers’ inbox placement rates continuing to decline

Latest quarterly report from the email intelligence company shows 70 percent of all collected “this is spam” reports stem from email marketing campaigns. By George Bilbrey.

B2B email subject lines – use the‘£’ sign to double interaction rates

Latest Adestra research of over 1bn emails shows ‘money’ words are in and ‘whitepapers’ are out. By Jim Buchanan.

Google’s mortgage comparison service of little threat to incumbents

Leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, says Google’s latest entry into mortgage comparison poses little threat to incumbents in its current form. By Andreas Pouros.

Smart devices and social media to drive new culture of online, always-connected customers in 2013

New analytics solutions, multichannel metrics, and better collaboration tools will be crucial in 2013, as enterprises feel the pressure to understand and pre-empt the needs from the always-connected customer, says Ovum. Vendors will need to step up and add these capabilities fast, or else risk losing business.

What is the “smarter web” and what does it mean for business?

There has been plenty of talk about ‘big data’ and what it means for business. But as the Internet itself gets more intelligent there are repercussions for businesses as they struggle to pull together systems and data, and make sense of them all. New Media Knowledge caught up with AYO Digital to understand best practice in the era of the “smarter web”. By Chris Lee.

Set the content standard

Arjen van den Akker, product marketing director at SDL, explains that to keep up with the increasing frequency of new offerings, marketers should consider more innovative solutions for managing the volumes of online content required to satisfy their market’s audiences.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for November 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Big data measurement best practice: Interview with eMetrics

“Big data” is definitely one of the key challenges facing marketers today, so just what is it and how can brands get a grip on it? New Media Knowledge caught up with Jim Sterne, founder of the eMetrics Summit, to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Perspective: The antidote to brand myopia

Brand myopia happens when brands lose perspective. It’s easy to do, even for very smart people, when you spend day after day talking about one subject. But it’s critical that it stop, because things are moving too fast, and too much is at stake, to not insist that every tool at a brand’s disposal aid the brand engagement that drives profits. By Robert Passikoff.

Is your online Ad Spend being wasted?

There's no doubt about it. Online advertising spend is at an all-time high. In 2011, the UK spent £4.4 billion on online advertising; in 2012, this number is expected to top £5 billion. With so much money invested the online brands want to be sure that their budget is not going to waste.  By Darren Hamer.

What will the digital marketing landscape look like in 2013?

As 2012 has just closed, what does next year hold for the digital marketing industry? New Media Knowledge did some crystal ball gazing and asked around for predictions. By Chris Lee.

Telligent predicts the trends for 2013

There will be big shifts in the industry in 2013. Firstly, more enterprises will be moving away from Facebook and creating their own on-domain social media platforms for both their employees and their customers. Secondly, social media platforms will become much more embedded in employees' daily work routines than it is now. By Rob Howard.

Boosting Your Sales Efforts with the "F" Factor: How friends, fans and followers impact today’s sales teams

Sales teams already maintain contact with prospects and customers through traditional channels such as phone and email, it just makes sense that social media will be weaved in. As business managers decide how to best leverage sales people for social media objectives, Amanda Hinkle, senior digital marketing strategist at Strongmail discusses her top tips and tactics to consider implementing.

May the (En)Force(ment) Be With You: Security Lessons from Star Wars

From applying security policies to DLP and effective user authentication, there are many infosecurity lessons to be learned from the classic space opera. Terry Greer-King, Check Point’s UK managing director shows how companies can avoid the Empire’s mistakes.

The customer centric challenge

Ingrid Froelich, at SDL Web Content Management Solutions, explains how marketers can deliver a successful customer experience strategy.

HTML5 vs native applications: The debate

Both HTML5 and native applications have their advantages and disadvantages. Keynote weighs up the pros and cons of each, their impact on performance, and the implications of choosing one over the other in different scenarios. By Tim Murphy.

SMS – then and now

Twenty years ago, on December 3rd 1992, Neil Papworth made history. With the now immortal words ‘Merry Christmas’, he proved that it was possible to send a message from his PC over the Vodafone network. Short message service, or as it’s more commonly known today, SMS was born and has revolutionised the world. By Andy Kemshall.

Research shows British consumers hostile to messages from brands through social media

But new study from GI Insight also reveals that nearly two-thirds have still friended company pages despite negative gut reaction. By Hermione Thompson.

How the growth of mobile adds impetus to email marketing

Two-thirds of the top 100 UK advertisers do not have mobile optimised websites, according to a recent study. Email marketing also suffers from a similar lack of mobile user friendliness in the view of email marketing platform dotMailer. New Media Knowledge caught up with the company’s managing director to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Google’s Remarketing for Search could have huge impact on existing remarketing approach

Marketers urged to get on board with Google’s latest Remarketing for Search product or get left behind. By Krishna Rao.

‘Toxic’ data is crippling email marketing

More and more companies rely on generating leads from consumer collected online, but research reported by Eloqua shows that 14% of this data is faked, while 30% is valid for just one year or less. By Ahmed Ahmed.

Was 2012 finally the year of the mobile? The industry debates

The fabled term “year of the mobile” has been touted for a number of years, but was 2012 finally the tipping point? New Media Knowledge asked the industry for opinion which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was divided on the subject. By Chris Lee.

How can marketers capitalise on the social media revolution?

In this article, Chris Boorman explores what modern marketers need to be doing to further their understanding of how their customers are engaging with their brand. It’s time to tool up, leave no data behind, analyse all data, deliver a 360 degree view of their customers’ digital footprint and leave no data behind.

Mobile wallets, not everywhere they’d like to be

In this article, Robert Passikoff discusses mobile payments, pointing out some obstacles for the diffusion of the new technology for lack of standards.

The Performance Channel Proves Key for Growth of M-Commerce

Last month we looked at the latest mobile trends through Affiliate Window. With Christmas fast approaching we once again look at the important role mobile is playing in the run up to this peak trading period. By Matt Swan.

Location-based advertising and commerce – what lies on the road ahead?

The mobile location-based services industry already has 10’s of millions of users and with the continuous integration of additional services, it needs to source a revenue stream to finance the complex infrastructure. By Tsipi Joseph.

4 in 5 smartphone and tablet owners use their devices while watching television

80% of smartphone owners and 81% of tablet owners use their devices in front of the television. Retail websites amongst the most popular sites to visit and browse. Almost half (41%) of users have been encouraged to browse for a product after seeing something on a television programme or advert. By Derek Eccleston.

Analysys Mason study demonstrates how the fundamental sustainability of the Internet extends to developing countries

Study for the Internet Society explores impact of increased demand for new Internet services on its future growth. By Michael Kende.

Ovum reveals firms face huge security risks as 80% of BYOD goes unmanaged

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon has entered the mainstream, with nearly 70 percent of all smartphone-owning professionals now using their personal device to access corporate data, according to Ovum. However, almost 80 percent of today’s BYOD activity remains inadequately managed by IT departments, leaving businesses not only at risk of data loss but unable to claim they took reasonable preventative measures, says the global analyst firm. By Richard Absalom.

The value of affiliate marketing beyond sales attribution

Is affiliate marketing set to become extinct, or will it survive by adapting to the ever-changing digital world? Rob Durkin, CEO of FusePump, examines the current status of affiliate marketing, discussing its value beyond generating sales.

Top tips on International SEO: Interview with theMediaFlow

International search engine optimisation (SEO) is a big concern for many companies. New Media Knowledge caught up with Pete Handley from UK search marketing firm theMediaFlow to learn more about Google’s latest movements in international search. By Chris Lee.

The rapid rise in online video and engagement

Video is set for a rapid rise in the next four years and social channels such as YouTube are recognising that engagement is more useful than simple click-through. By Kerry Butters.

IBM study finds steep rise in UK companies, recognising the value of Big Data

63% of UK companies agree that Big Data provides a competitive advantage - up from 34% in 2010. Social media provides wealth of untapped potential with only 39% of UK companies currently exploiting it for Big Data. Lack of advanced analytics skills for tackling unstructured data cited as biggest challenge against Big Data. By Rafi Mendelsohn.

How to develop an “image strategy”: Interview with Taggstar.com

We live in a visual world. Online images can inspire, spark conversation and generate sales leads, according to the founder of an image app site. New Media Knowledge caught up with Fraser Robinson, CEO and founder of Taggstar.com to learn how to develop an “image strategy”. By Chris Lee.

Cloud provider assurance: Trust but verify

Can an organization trust an IT service provided through the cloud? A survey by KuppingerCole showed that “Cloud security issues (84.4%) and cloud privacy and compliance issues (84.9%) are the major inhibitors preventing organizations from moving to a private cloud.” By Mike Small.

Lucky Thirteen: Trends for 2013

13 Critical Trends for 2013

The New Year, 2013, approaches. And as everyone knows, the number 13 holds great symbolism. By Robert Passikoff.

Managing the social impact of least privilege security

The technical problems associated with using Windows pre-Vista as a standard user, i.e. without administrative privileges, has left an expectation that users should have full control over their PCs, including the ability to install unauthorised software and change key operating system components. By Paul Kenyon.

E-Retail and the High Street must co-exist to thrive

Thanksgiving weekend demonstrated the importance of online shopping, with Black Friday sales reaching £624 million. However, this doesn’t mean the fall of the high street. By Jeremy Michael.

The politics of social networks

Groucho Marx noted, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, misdiagnosing it, and then applying the wrong remedies.” But if you’re really looking for trouble try posting someone on Facebook about your political preferences! By Robert Passikoff.

Mobile video advertising: Present opportunities & future perspectives

Adam Jablonski, CEO of Epom, a global provider of ad serving solutions, speaks on the perspectives of mobile video advertising.

The changing world of smartphone and tablet devices

Over the past few years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of smartphone and tablet devices, changing forever the way in which people shop, browse and interact with brands. By Derek Eccleston.

Protect yourself: how to stay safe when shopping online

As we ramp up to the busiest time of year for online shopping, news that many online retailers aren’t able to completely protect their customers’ data from hackers will worry many people when shopping online, especially with smaller or less known websites. By Steve Watts.

TV and video have come out of the box, Accenture survey finds

Consumers expanding range of devices and providers used to find and view their favorite TV and video content. By Gary Morgenstern.

Ofcom to release new airwaves to make way for 5G mobile broadband

Freeview TV signals will be shifted to avoid a data ‘capacity crunch’ caused by increasing demand for smartphones and tablets. By Andrew Ferguson.

Facebook Exchange means better opportunities for digital marketers

In this article, Todd Herrold, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Kenshoo Social, comments on the advantages of Facebook Exchange.

Making mobile ads work: Interview with InMobi

Mobile advertising is evolving fast. More than half mobile ads now involve rich media according to ad platform Inmobi and studies indicate increased budgets for mobile ad campaigns. New Media Knowledge spoke with InMobi’s general manager for UK and Ireland to learn about the future of mobile advertising. By Chris Lee.

Business Secretary announces new investment in SME clusters to fast track economic growth

The UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board (www.innovateuk.org), will invest up to a further £6 million in new Launchpad competitions in the next six months to accelerate the development of existing clusters of innovative high growth SMEs around the UK. By Nick Sheppard.

Inaugural Content Marketing Show brings UK creative industry together

The first Content Marketing Show in London drew in hundreds of UK-based marketing practitioners in November. With content marketing very much in the spotlight, New Media Knowledge spoke to those at the forefront for their insights on where the industry is heading. By Chris Lee.

Cyber Monday goes mobile

UK mobile site traffic increased 36% compared to last year. By Carin Van Vuuren.

Engaging with Christmas shoppers on marketplaces

Sam Hodges, Product Manager at FusePump, explains how retailers can make the most of online marketplaces this festive season, whilst improving the customer’s Christmas shopping experience.

Mobile device shapes a shopper’s path to purchase

Brands need to target mobile investment carefully to ensure effective performance marketing through mobile. By Dan Cohen.

Security best practice: How to keep the keys to the kingdom safe

Organisations of all sizes and industries maintain extensive financial, customer and mission-critical business data. However, when sensitive information is misused or compromised, organisations will often pay a heavy price. By Calum MacLeod.

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

Nah, it's just the American Airlines brand plummeting to Earth! By Robert Passikoff.

Selling online: Putting the customer first

In this article Damon Segal identifies three key areas a budding online business should master to maximise its selling potential.

Online is definitely the new offline this Christmas

Statistics show that more shoppers are going online, showing that many people are happy to buy online without touching the product. By Jonathan Roos.

Tablets offer hope for traditional publishers: Time magazine case study

Print media has been under incredible pressure from the Internet but could have found a new ally in tablet computers. Time magazine is the latest “traditional” publisher to successfully exploit a tablet-owning audience. New Media Knowledge caught up with the agency behind the move. By Chris Lee.

Facing up to over-servicing

New study shows optimism from marketing agency leaders is being tempered by concerns over rising service levels. By Darren Upson.

Getting insight from your Facebook fans: Interview with Microstrategy

In a world where just six per cent of Facebook fans engage with brand pages, organisations must strive to be more relevant to their target audiences on the world’s largest social network. A new app aims to provide brands with a highly detailed view of its fans and target audiences. New Media Knowledge quizzed its makers on how it works. By Chris Lee.

Media companies will face challenges to three core models in 2013: business, operations and content

Charlie Marshall, strategy lead for the Media and Entertainment industries at Accenture, has talked to Magda Hercheui, NMK editor, on the future of the media industry following the release of the company’s recent 2013 Communications, Media and High-Tech Predictions. The article below discusses three main challenges the media industry is going to face in 2013: the creation and trialling of new business models, the design of operations which fully support these business models, and the better use of content generated by or ‘curated by’ the audience.

New book casts spotlight on the future of Customer Relationship Management

Credit card companies can predict divorces before the couples themselves, according to a new book on customer data. New Media Knowledge took a look the experts’ view on the future of customer data and – critically – the trust relationship between brands and their target markets. By Chris Lee.

Brands providing poor customer experience face a tough festive season

Survey of festive spenders reveals that consumer shopping experience online and in-store can make all the difference. By Henry Smith.

The road to success is driven by more than technology

In this article, Dominic Gramatte explains how company may bring their digital strategy up to speed.

M-Commerce sees steady growth in the performance channel

Affiliate Window has been monitoring mobile activity across the network for the past two years. This article investigates the trends that have been seen across the network in terms of traffic, sales and conversion rates, along with the devices that are driving these trends. By Matt Swan.

Teletext steals Icelolly’s lead to become most visible site for holidays

Teletextholidays.co.uk has knocked leading holiday price comparison site Icelolly.com off top spot, to emerge the most visible site for holiday-related searches. This is according to the latest quarterly research, ‘Holidays – Issue 14’ by leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Mobile messaging Adspend to Reach $7.4bn by 2017, driven by increased use of location-based ads

Advertising spend on mobile messaging will reach $7.4 billion by 2017, a new report from Juniper Research finds. This growth will be driven by a dramatic upsurge in the use of location-based SMS to deliver relevant ads to consumers. By Charlotte Miller.

Almost half of consumers with smartphones use instant or over-the-top messaging services

Mobile handsets are evolving quickly and the way people use them is changing just as fast, according to Analysys Mason’s latest consumer smartphone usage report. By Stephen Sale.

Google Analytics best practice for ecommerce websites

Around 80 per cent of ecommerce sites incorrectly use Google Analytics, the website analysis tool, according to a study from digital consultancy DBD Media. New Media Knowledge caught up with the report’s author to learn Google Analytics best practice for ecommerce. By Chris Lee.

Smartphones can save the high street

Four in ten mobile searches lead to a purchase in-store, Tradedoubler study shows. By Dan Cohen

Making the most of Pay Per Call marketing: Interview with ResponseTap

Phone calls made to brands have been shown to drive higher revenues and better conversions than website clicks, according to call tracking company ResponseTap. “Pay Per Call” is seen as a way for brands to reward affiliates who drive phone leads, so New Media Knowledge caught up with ResponseTap’s co-founder and CEO Ross Fobian to find out more. By Chris Lee.

Forget big data, the real challenge is dead data

Outdated customer information costs British businesses millions. By John Joyce.

Denial of Service Attacks: companies may mitigate the risks

Hacker intelligence initiative report deconstructs hacktivist operations, analyzes technical tools and discusses detection and mitigation techniques. By Tal Be’ery.

The Season to be Shopping: Making the most of CSEs this Christmas

With more than 90% of people set to do some or all of their holiday shopping online this year, are retailers utilising all their options? Sean McAuley, Commercial Director at FusePump, discusses how merchants can improve their product listings in Comparison Shopping Engines (CSE) this Christmas.

By invitation only

Michele Turner, CMO of leading mobile consumer interaction specialist mBlox, considers the opportunities and challenges marketers face when developing a mobile marketing strategy.

University websites fail to click with prospective students

In the wake of UCAS figures revealing 2012 applications are down by 7.7 per cent on last year, specialist digital agency Nomensa warns that UK universities are missing vital applicants by failing to treat prospective students as online consumers. By Simon Norris.

Ecommerce in the cloud – the benefits

This article explains why SMEs should consider cloud services to launch their ecommerce site. By Simon Armstrong.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for October 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Gearing up for the flexible working world: How to adopt “mobile CRM”

In an “everything, everywhere, right now” era, business customers are arguably more demanding than ever. New research shows that small businesses are starting to embrace the changing customer service culture and embracing more flexible working patterns to service it. New Media Knowledge caught up with one expert to learn how companies can embrace “mobile CRM”. By Chris Lee.

The next generation of apps

It is staggering to think that Apple’s App Store celebrated its fourth birthday in July – in some respects it does feel like it should be much older than that. This is probably because apps have come a long way in such a short time. By Kevin Galway.

What is Branch and will it benefit marketers?

This year has seen the emergence of yet another social network, Branch. The site aims to “empower people to talk about the world around them” in extended form over the 140-character world of Twitter. But will Branch provide any value for marketers? New Media Knowledge caught up with digital consultant Danny Whatmough to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Privacy compliance laws: why the European Commission has finally got it right

ISACA’s Marc Vael tells you why the European Commission’s new privacy rules are an opportunity.

Malware incidents forecast to increase as 95% of smartphones & tablets remain unprotected

A new report from Juniper Research finds that only 5% of global smartphones and tablet devices have security software installed, despite a steadily increasing threat from malware, fraud and device theft. By Nitin Bhas.

Make your rich media reach media

Wouter Maagdenburg, SDL Media Manager Product Manager, explains how marketers can use the best tools for rich media management – to successfully reach their audiences.

77% of smartphone owners still use catalogues to browse proving that integration of all channels is key for success

Around 3 out of 4 (77%) of smartphone owners have researched or browsed using catalogues over the past six months according to the latest consumer research from eDigitalResearch and Portaltech Reply, signalling the importance that more established and traditional channels still have to play in the overall multichannel customer journey. By Derek Eccleston.

How to avoid spam: Top tips for email marketers with Alchemy Worx

Email spam is the validation of the power of email as a marketing tool, according to one industry expert. New Media Knowledge caught up with email marketer and writer Dela Quist to learn what constitutes “spam” in 2012 and what email marketers can do to improve results from their campaigns. By Chris Lee.

Mobile payments: Fantasy vs. Reality

The Premier League of search: How England’s football clubs rank

Search and social marketing analytics software provider Searchmetrics has ranked England’s Premier League football clubs’ websites by search engine and social media visibility. But what appears to be a bit of fun has serious business implications, according to the study’s authors. New Media Knowledge spoke to Searchmetrics to understand more. By Chris Lee.

Enterprises and outsourcers alike must own their social media strategies and offerings

Social media as part of customer relationship services is still a young market, and strategies around it remain underdeveloped due to confusion and resistance at the executive level of several industries, says Ovum. By Margaret Goldberg.

When the business world came round to Apps...

Adrian Simpson, Chief Innovation Officer at SAP UK and Ireland, discusses how and why the value of applications is being realised in the enterprise space.

Confused.com closes the gap on MoneySupermarket as Google steps in

Comparison website Confused.com is on the move and closing in on MoneySupermarket’s online visibility for insurance-related searches, reveals the latest research from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. However, with Google having made its entry into the car insurance comparison space, the incumbents will no doubt be keeping watch of what could be deemed a pretty formidable competitor. By Krishna Rao.

Mobile transactions to hit $730bn by 2017 as real-world purchases soar

“Couch Commerce” trend to drive user adoption, Juniper Report finds. By Windsor Holden.

Passwords – They’re not going away so you have to get them right

For most of us, passwords are the only ‘block’ between a criminal and our personal information – and they are used almost everywhere. So how can you come up with passwords that are secure but memorable? By Andy Kemshall.

Mobile advertising best practice: Interview with Adfoni

Advertising is all about people, according to mobile ad buying platform Adfonic. New Media Knowledge caught up with the company to learn mobile ad best practice in the light of its report into mobile ad behaviour. By Chris Lee.

1 in 5 IT staff have accessed executives’ confidential data

Lieberman Software reveals 39% of IT staff can get unauthorized access to sensitive information. By Philip Lieberman.

New holistic search approach needed, argues The Search Agency

A holistic approach to search marketing is required to cater for the increasing amount of Web queries taking place outside search engines, according to consultants at The Search Agency. New Media Knowledge quizzed the company over its new holistic search offering. By Chris Lee.

Marrying social with mass appeal

According to a recent Nielsen study just over 90% of consumers value advertising through earned media above all other forms. The question for brands is just how do they go about creating a consistent, immersive experience that encourages online users to share their brand experience? Liz Wilson, chief executive of creative agency CMW, argues the case for marrying above-the-line activity with a more personalised online and social media experience. By doing this brands can use online activity, such as social media apps, to generate data, engage with the consumer, and encourage them to develop a close relationship with the brand.

BYOD V.2 and spotting the next big trend

An analytical look into how the BYOD trend began may help us to be more prepared to spot the next big trend, says Christos K. Dimitriadis, international vice president of ISACA.

The value of a mentor

The founder of Glasshead writes about the benefits of having a business mentor to his new creative business. By Lambros Atteshlis.

Ambitious creative lack business and financial focus

Creativity and service performance take precedence over business operations. By Carole Beatty.

Addressing the consumer demand for mobile experiences

By now, if you’re not tired of hearing about mobile, you will be soon. There is, however, good reason for the buzz. An abundance of studies and surveys indicates three trends that should make you drop everything and make sure your mobile marketing strategy is up to snuff. By Justin Williams.

Exclusive interview with Financial Times’ community manager

While the Internet has put intense pressure on the print publishing sector, social media has enabled established players to reach new audiences and demographics with their content. New Media Knowledge caught up with the Financial Times’ community manager to learn how it has used social media to grow its audience and foster an active and engagement community. By Chris Lee.

Google change will require greater diversity to stay on top, says Mediarun

With Google researching the possibility of reducing its page one search results from ten to seven and favour due to be given to paid results on Google shopping it is high time companies revisited their overall spend to ensure they are getting the most from their budget, according to experts at leading search marketing agency, Mediarun. By Alex Wares.

Life after The Apprentice: Exclusive interview with Whisk founder Nick Holzherr

BBC’s The Apprentice 2012 finalist Nick Holzherr comes with a rich history of starting up tech firms. New Media Knowledge caught up with him to talk about his latest venture, Whisk, which helps people convert recipes automatically into shopping lists. By Chris Lee.

New survey finds 76% of IT professionals in the dark about unauthorized application downloads on their networks

Avecto survey reveals Gen Y most likely to demand elevated admin rights, indicating generational split on privilege management within the enterprise. By Paul Kenyon.

Marks & Spencer tops eChannel Retail Benchmark study after launching a new generation of mobile channels

Online and high street favourite, Marks & Spencer have topped the latest eChannel Retail Benchmark results from eDigitalResearch. The study shows that Marks & Spencer’s mobile site outperformed all other retailer’s in study, even scoring higher than their own traditional website. By Derek Eccleston.

Proactive or reactive: Should that be the question?

Avecto examines the difference between proactive and reactive digital forensics and explains their contribution in the fight against malware and malicious activity. By Paul Kenyon.

New broadband price comparison service helps Internet users to compare prices

A new broadband price comparison site has launched to help the UK’s estimated 45 million internet users to save while they surf. By Andrew Kamau.

How should I market my startup?

Using social media as a means to market is often touted as a panacea for the conundrum of achieving a low enough CAC to ensure the business model is profitable. But is social media as effective a means to generate awareness and demand as people claim? By Alan Gleeson.

“Fake reviews” set to grow, Gartner warns. What does this mean for marketers?

Analyst group Gartner warned this week that enterprising spending on online reviews will result many being “fake” by 2014. Brands could even face litigation. So what does this mean for marketers and what is best practice to achieve genuine online reviews? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

SEO as easy as ABC for UK businesses…

SiteVisibility eBook goes on sale with proceeds heading to the NSPCC. By Jason Woodford.

Pinterest best practice for marketers

Emerging social network Pinterest is now the fourth largest referral network of traffic to websites behind Google, Facebook and Twitter. With such incredible click-through potential, how can marketers make best use of Pinterest? New Media Knowledge caught up with marketers Sociabull for answers. By Chris Lee.

It is time for e-shoppers planning their Christmas purchases

96% of e-shoppers expect to do some shopping online this Christmas. 26% believe that they will spend more online this year in the run up to Christmas. And 41% of smartphone owners will consider making their Christmas purchases from their mobile, a number which has risen by almost 20% in just 12 months. By Derek Eccleston.

Getting personal with mobile

Ingrid Froelich, at SDL Web Content Management Solutions, explains how marketers can get closer to mobile customers.

Facebook could capture 50% of global Search market in just a few years

Regardless, Google and Facebook will both be front and centre on the ‘Social Search’ stage. By Andreas Pouros.

Programmatic buying: are the ‘Mad Men’ just looking on?

Online video advertising has grown 100% each year for the past three years and shows little sign of slowing down. At the same time a new way of trading this media is emerging. The days of long lunches and ‘Don Draper’ deals are slowly being replaced by discussions about floor prices, optimum bid strategy and server locations. By Brian Fitzpatrick.

Mobile data growth in the West will not be strong enough to avert mobile industry contraction

Severe contraction is possible, with data growth dangerously slow and network costs unhealthily low, according to new research from Analysys Mason. By Rupert Wood.

Men respond better to Facebook ads and are cheaper to reach, study claims

Despite the fact that women make up the majority of Facebook users, ads targeting men enjoy a better response rate and are cheaper to run, according to a new study. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers and quizzed the report’s authors on what the findings mean for marketers. By Chris Lee.

Mobile device use in customer research more than doubled in 12 months

Smartphone and tablet device use for customer research has more than doubled in a twelve month period from July 2011, according to the latest device tracking from eDigitalResearch. Results show that in July 2011, just 4.2% of eDigitalResearch surveys were completed on a mobile device, a number which has more than doubled to 9.2% in June 2012. By Derek Eccleston.

Facebook’s new mobile ads: what’s the marketing opportunity?

Facebook has introduced its first “non-social mobile ad unit”, allowing app developers to buy mobile newsfeed ads for the first time. So what does this mean for marketers? New Media Knowledge met up with specialist Betapond to find out. By Chris Lee.

New research shows a positive surge in nation’s pride

Over three-quarters of the population are “proud to be British” in August, compared to just over half the population in June. By Russell Barrow.

Online advertising: A perfect market?

There's no denying the increasing importance of highly sophisticated digital technology in the advertiser's toolkit. Not only can digital ads be scientifically targeted based on a vast catalogue of consumer data and measured accurately against ROI, but one day all ads could be purchased for precisely the right amount at that moment. Advertisers would be spending in the most intelligent way while customers would be only exposed to the most relevant advertising. It would be a win-win situation – a perfect market. But while manual bidding remains rife, we are far from achieving this. By Dominic Trigg.

Targeted rich content, branded communications, competitions and promotions can generate new business leads and customers

Tim Penton reveals in this article the best practices businesses need to adopt in order to deliver a successful lead generation campaign, achieve the highest possible cut through and how social media and website creation feed into this.

NFC mobile payments set to exceed $180bn worldwide by 2017

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the NFC retail payments market will exceed $180 billion globally by 2017, more than a seven-fold increase over 2012. The leading regions of North America, Western Europe and Far East & China will contribute 90% of this market value as smartphones with NFC payment technology become standard. By Windsor Holden.

Consumerisation of IT drives adoption of cloud-based business applications

Employee productivity gains motivate small and mid-sized businesses to accelerate adoption of cloud-based applications despite IT concerns, points out survey. By Adam Weinroth.

Mobile Shopping Behaviour: Key drivers and barriers affecting the adoption of smartphones and m-commerce

Webcredible carried out a study to discover the underlying natural behaviours of smartphone users of all ages and social groups, in order to help retailers identify trends and build better mobile user experiences. By Trenton Moss.

Social media: the challenges faced by fashion brands

We’re seeing increasing numbers of high profile fashion brands using multiple social media presences to create engaging online communities, but the ethos of transparency and instant communication of social media can present brands with major challenges that they must be ready for, says Tamara Littleton, CEO of social media agency eModeration.

New “social memory box” launches: Interview with start-up Loccit

With the plethora of social networks hitting our screens and impacting our lives, one organisation offers users the chance to aggregate content from the social network of their choice into a secure online diary and create offline albums. New Media Knowledge caught up with Loccit’s founders to learn how it works. By Chris Lee.

10 steps that can save you money and your reputation

Every organisation faces one challenge to their IT security position – the user. It doesn’t matter how much security training and advice a person is given - if they want, and can, do something then they will. Unfortunately, a user with admin rights – wittingly or unwittingly – is akin to a loose cannon. You just don’t know when or where they’re going to strike, and the results can be devastating. And once a problem occurs it all too often turns into a downward spiral that can bring down your reputation and your business. By Paul Kenyon.

Content Marketing Show highlights rise in emerging practice

A new marketing convention in London this November aims to share best practice in the emerging field of content marketing. New Media Knowledge caught up with the organisers to learn more about what visitors can expect and content marketing best practice. By Chris Lee.

The benefits of video research to bring international markets to life

CNN, KPMG and one of the world’s leading mobile phone brands are all examples of companies who use videos of their consumers to feature in presentations, help with sales and marketing, and share consumer insight across an entire organisation. By Charlotte De Maria.

Security awareness: Once is never enough

Unless IT Security is a core element of someone's job, it is not necessarily considered their on-going development needs. All too often employees get just an initial presentation from the IT department when they start and are expected to remember it, keep up to speed with changes and adhere to ever changing IT security policies and procedures. By Dominic Saunders.

Facebook for new business

Barely an hour goes by these days without some multinational brand desperately appealing to you to ‘Like’ them. Admittedly, this is on their Facebook page rather than them wanting to join you for drinks, but with an estimated 845 million global users, Facebook popularity for a business is now directly linked to the health of its turnover, so the race is well and truly on to get you engaged and keep you that way. By Nick Leech.

Collaborative marketing platform Kaboodle promises to “liberate and empower” marketers

The cloud-based collaborative software market gained a new player this month with the launch of Kaboodle, a tool designed to help marketers manage campaigns more effectively. New Media Knowledge caught up with Kaboodle’s founder to learn how it works. By Chris Lee.

Flame virus spreads like wildfire

The identification of the Flame malware program by Kaspersky Labs has raised the IT security bar another notch. In doing so, it has highlighted the vulnerability of networked environments to highly targeted attacks; a vulnerability that is only increased by the introduction of USBs and other forms of consumer memory. Victoria James, Marketing and PR Director at Nexus GB, warns against the threats of Flame, which spreads like wildfire.

Could interactive gaming save the fractious daily deal market?

Internet retailing giant Amazon has entered the daily deal market with its new AmazonLocal offering. But with the likes of Groupon struggling to impress investors, what’s the best way for daily deal operators to incentive their public? New Media Knowledge spoke to new daily deals site WishFree.com to learn how online gaming could help. By Chris Lee.

New Wildfire data quantifies the impact of a brand’s most active fans

The study The Brand Advocate Factor looks at 10,000 social marketing campaigns that ran on Facebook over the past nine months, with the top performing 10 percent coming under the microscope to see what drove success. By Victoria Ransom.

Engaging your mobile and social audience

Commercial Director at digital marketing software business Pure360, Marc Munier, provides top tips on how to reach your increasingly mobile and social audience.

Giving marketers access to insight faster than ever: Interview with Usurv

A new online poll service has launched in the UK aimed at giving marketers rapid access to consumer data. But with so many online survey services already available to marketers, is there really room for one more? New Media Knowledge quizzed the founders. By Chris Lee.

Apple and Amazon dominate online space for Brown Goods

Amazon UK was the most visible brown goods advertiser online whilst Apple remained the most visible website for brown goods-related searches, reveals the latest research from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

How to use social media to get ahead in your career: Interview with ThinkSpa

There is a new kind of “social climber” emerging in the workplace, according to one social psychologist. This climber uses social networks to get ahead in their career. New Media Knowledge caught up with Mamta Saha of ThinkSpa to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Internet connected TVs to reach 650m by 2017, driven by smart home entertainment services

A new report from Juniper Research forecasts that the number of residential TVs, connected to the Internet via different platforms such as Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and consoles, and also via built in wireless or Ethernet connectivity, will reach almost 650 million by 2017. By Nitin Bhas.

Microsoft, Apple and Intel top the tech logo recognisability chart

New research unveiled in August shows that among UK shoppers, the top three most recognisable logos for technology brands are Microsoft, Apple and Intel. They were identified with certainty by 92.7 per cent, 86 per cent and 85.6 per cent of consumers, respectively. By Mike Nicholson.

Constant contact survey reveals that small businesses need help evaluating social media marketing success

Data shows savvy small businesses are finding success with Facebook marketing, attracting new customers and generating repeat sales. By Annette Iafrate.

What can brands learn from The Premier League’s new social media guidelines?

In this article, the industry viewpoint from Kelda Wallis, business manager at Tempero.

Future of publishing

Consumption of media has been dramatically changed by the digital revolution and publishers are now developing mobile, online and app strategies to target readers and disseminate news. However, understanding and measuring what readers want on these channels and how to tap into new audiences is the challenge that publishers are facing. By Conrad Bennett.

Social media and sport – can brands play the field right?

The Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament kicked off this week and it will be, by admission of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the “most socially-networked event in the history of cricket”. By Ruben Pillai.

Psychology key to online marketing success

In mid-September, Brighton took centre stage for the UK’s digital marketing scene with the Brighton Digital Marketing Festival 2012 and BrightonSEO in successive days. One of the key themes to emerge was understanding the psychology of Internet users. New Media Knowledge was there to report. By Chris Lee.

Facebook ad revenue slowdown – a mobile problem

With Facebook’s inaugural results perceived as being underwhelming, and Facebook looking to mobile to grow revenues, the challenge of how it monetises people’s usage of its network over mobile phones continues to be a primary concern for investors. By Andreas Pouros.

Working better together: why collaboration is key for creative success

Henry Waterfall-Allen, Co-Founder of digital agency Zeta, looks at how the digital age has transformed marketing and how different departments within agencies can collaborate better together to make campaigns a success.

Mobile checkout optimisation

Mobile traffic increases year on year by staggering volumes worldwide. In many developing countries and emerging markets, mobile traffic is the only traffic; handsets are more accessible and practical than laptops and desktop computers. By Andy Parker.

How can developers make money from apps? Interview with Flexion Mobile

Mobile apps are big business. Analysts predict that direct revenue from mobile apps and subscriptions could reach almost $40bn by 2015, yet many app developers struggle to understand how to maximise their income. New Media Knowledge caught up with Flexion Mobile to learn how it aims to solve this problem with its “wrapper” technology. By Chris Lee.

Business leaders approaches and obstacles to data security unlocked

The launch a new report entitled Secure Your Data, Protect Your Business, from law firm DMH Stallard, saw a lively discussion amongst over 40 senior business leaders on both the strategic and technical issues surrounding data security last week. By Frank Jennings.

Developing apps across platforms: Interview with 5app

The UK’s mobile app development sector is booming. With two-thirds of smartphone users’ time spent on apps, it seems that this trend is set to continue. New Media Knowledge caught up with mobile app software developer 5app to learn how its technology helps developers create apps across multiple mobile platforms. By Chris Lee.

Most UK businesses are still ignoring ‘cookie’ laws

EU laws requiring websites to obtain ‘informed consent’ from users before employing cookies to store information from a computer or mobile device came into force at the end of May. By Gary David Smith.

Over 50s: The good years?

25% of respondents in a survey equate being over 50 with “being old” and bodily deterioration where as 45% associated their generation with freedom, less responsibility and well deserved time for oneself in retirement. In some degree, they are also into smartphones and social networks. By Charlotte De Maria.

Strong sales of Galaxy S3 help extend Samsung’s lead over Apple in smartphone market

Samsung ships 52 million in Q2 2012, double Apple’s, market poised for Apple to strike back with next iPhone, and Sony continues to under-achieve given potential. By Daniel Ashdown.

Why retailers must embrace an omni-channel marketing strategy for ecommerce success

In the early days of online retail, the purchasing journey undertaken by the consumer was a straightforward one – browse a retailer’s website, decide on a purchase and make it with a few swift clicks of the mouse. This has changed. By Carsten Kraus.

Survey finds the average kid could crack your password using social networking tools

IT Professionals believe security is woefully flawed as children crack passwords. By Andy Kemshall.

Directory Enquiry: Is there still search value in online directories?

Search marketers have often praised the value of online directories to build inbound links and therefore search rankings. With Google increasingly focussed on quality and social signals for search ranking is the age of the online directory for search marketing over? New Media Knowledge asked the experts. By Chris Lee.

Consumer attitudes towards mobile marketing revealed in independent industry survey

Survey finds consumers most open to email marketing; smart phone users most likely to purchase. By Kara Trivunovic.

Search industry divided on salaries, study finds

A new study into the UK’s search marketing industry has highlighted disparity in salaries according to location and experience. New Media Knowledge took a look at the numbers and spoke to the author to learn its implications for the market. By Chris Lee.

Honda 2KC – The Power of Dreams campaign

To promote the international launch of the new Civic model using existing video assets across a number of European markets, Honda wanted to engage consumers through an interactive ad experience. By Daniella Cross.

One million people petition Google to allow third party YouTube recording

Philip Matesanz, a computer science student, argues in this article that YouTube should allow people to download its content. He believes most content creators are to benefit from that, and ask people to organise themselves through a petition.

Mobile search and discovery market to generate $15bn by 2017

A new report from analyst firm Juniper Research forecasts that revenue from mobile search and discovery will reach $15 billion by 2017, nearly three times the revenue it expects to be generated by these markets in 2012, with ad space in these markets representing prime real estate for advertisers. By Daniel Ashdown.

Gmail in Google search results: Marketers will have a data gap to plug

Google has announced a trial which will enable people using the search engine to see search queries feature results from their Gmail account. The search giant also said it is extending Google Knowledge Graph to every English speaking country. By Krishna Rao.

Retailer use of Google+ grows considerably over the past three months

The latest Social Media Benchmark results from eDigitalResearch show retailer use of Google+ has grown considerably over the past few months, with All Saints claiming the number one spot in the league table after adding over 600,000 new followers since April 2012. By Derek Eccleston.

New Facebook study sheds light on retail fans’ habits

A new study from comScore has shone the light on the social network giant’s user habits while another study implies that Facebook ads continue to rise in value. New Media Knowledge took a look at the numbers and asked around for insight. By Chris Lee.

Four Facebook updates you should know about and how to use them for your business

This piece looks at how to assign difference roles to admins of your business's Facebook page. It also gives the lowdown on In-app following, so users are able to get content related to specific apps, along with the inside track on the benefits of using Instagram photos on your business page instead of just a regular picture. By Tamsin Fox-Davies.

Making sense of “conversion rate optimisation”: Interview with DBD Media

A new service aims to help ecommerce sites to maximise their conversion rate while cutting down the dreaded bounce rate. New Media Knowledge caught up with the agency behind the service to get some ecommerce best practice tips. By Chris Lee.

Salary survey reveals SEO entrepreneurship is best rewarded in Brighton

2012 BrightonSEO Salary Survey also identifies wage inflation amongst SEO Trainees. By Kelvin Newman.

One-year of Google +

As we have approached one-year on since the introduction of Google+, we thought we would take it upon ourselves to publish a White Paper which explores the best methods to use the platform as marketers. We have inevitably witnessed discussions about the success, or lack of it, of Google+. By Kelvin Newman.

How to conduct app-led consumer research: Exclusive interview with Roamler

What happens when you incentivise your target audience to perform creative tasks in the name of consumer research via apps? This is exactly what Dutch firm Roamler did. Now the app is available in the UK so New Media Knowledge caught up with the company to learn more. By Chris Lee.

In-app mobile advertising spend to top $7bn in three years

Increased usage of immersive ads to drive growth, Juniper report finds. By Charlotte Miller.

Toilet humour: Interview with digital urinal games maker Captive Media

UK innovators Captive Media made headlines late last year when its urinal games began popping up in London bars. A few months on, New Media Knowledge caught up with the firm to see how things were going. By Chris Lee.

Digital marketers must learn to fail

Failure is not a word businesses like to hear often, but Webtrends’ Kelly McClean says digital marketers must learn to fail if they are to be successful with online campaigns. Using digital analytics is the key to measuring the success of any online and mobile campaign and ensuring the best results.

YouTube’s crown is wobbling, expert warns

YouTube’s viewing figures have dropped month-on-month in 2012 prompting one industry expert to advise brands to think differently about their online video strategy. New Media Knowledge caught up with him to find out why. By Chris Lee.

Unemployed men retreat to the web

New research shows recently-unemployed men in the UK are spending up to 15 hours-a-day accessing the Internet to help cope with losing face-to-face contact with friends and work colleagues. By Mark Ferguson.

The smartphone is everywhere…

Smartphones are popular on the toilet, whilst watching TV and when visiting family and friends. These are the first results of a new online survey on the usage of smartphones, organised by InSites Consulting in the UK, the US, Belgium and the Netherlands. By Anke Moerdyck.

How much did we share during the Olympics?

RadiumOne has prepared an interesting infographic about sharing during the Olympics, considering over 300 billion items were shared on the open web in the 17 days. By Lyndan Linnebank.

BBC’s ‘VirtualBagel’ experiment does not prove Facebook Advertising ineffective

The effectiveness of advertising on Facebook is being called into question following revelations from the BBC that its ‘VirtualBagel’ experiment, an imaginary business which it started in a bid to test it, received 1,600 ‘likes’ in just 24 hours despite the fact that the ‘VirtualBagel’ page offered no products or interesting content. By Hannah Kimuyu.

Twitter best practice: Interview with Buddy Media

Twitter is now widely ingrained into business models and a new study has highlighted ways brands and individuals alike can make the most of their Twitter activity. New Media Knowledge caught up with the report’s author to learn more Twitter best practice. By Chris Lee.

The Bring Your Own Services (BYOS) paradox

Research finds 80% of companies do not use the cloud services they want due to security Fears. By David Gibson.

Why charities have been slow to adopt social media…and why they must do so soon

Social media isn’t new by any means, yet there are still charities only paying lip service to having an active presence on social networks. Why have charities been slow to embrace social media and the benefits it can offer and what should they do if thinking of taking their first steps. By Martin Campbell.

Web users turn to Google before their friends for advice

A new study claims that people turn to Google before their friends when seeking information on a product or service they are thinking of buying. New Media Knowledge quizzed the study’s author why, in such a socially networked era, Google appears to be the first port of call for personal choice. By Chris Lee.

Improving customer experience on Smartphones & Tablets

Ingrid Froelich, at SDL Web Content Management Solutions, explains how marketers can create better customer experiences on these different mediums.

A pin – worth a thousand words?

The volume of visual content is growing at a phenomenal rate; more than 1bn photos are already uploaded to Instagram creating a platform for consumers to display their status. But will this emerging visual economy, of curating and sharing desired objects, replace ownership as a status symbol? Toby Southgate, CEO, UK & Ireland, The Brand Union explores the issues surround monetising social media content when there is potential disparity between ‘shares’ on social media platforms and actual sales.

Home insurance search volumes down 22 per cent

The number of internet searches for insurance products in April dropped 11 per cent on January’s volume. And despite the extreme weather, home insurance, saw the biggest dip, reveals a report by leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Why search engine marketing might be soon superfluous

Do you still obediently place keyword ads on Google or other search engines in the hope of attracting a lot of new customers? Do your new business opportunities hinge on clicks through to your page? Search Engine Marketing is a big focus for many companies around Europe, but if you read the results of an eye-tracking study from the US, you might well start to doubt whether this strategy actually works. By Jean-Marc Noel.

iPad edition breathes new life into British Journal of Photography

One of Britain’s oldest print magazines has turned to the iPad to improve its fortunes. New Media Knowledge took a look at the British Journal of Photography digital edition. By Chris Lee.

London 2012: The first ‘social’ Olympics

Atos, the worldwide IT partner to the Olympic Games, expects one billion people to share London 2012 content via social networks. But what will the Olympic Games look like by 2020? Atos has published a report on that and New Media Knowledge took a look. By Chris Lee.

Betting on sportsbooks and exchanges benefit from mobile and tablet trend, reaching $45bn by 2017

A new report from Juniper Research has found that online sportsbooks and betting exchanges have been among the leading beneficiaries of the consumer smartphone and tablet boom. By Windsor Holden.

Social video best practice: Interview with Ebuzzing

Social video has already delivered more than 5.6 billion views in 2012, so how can brands best capitalise on the potential marketing gold that is social video? New Media Knowledge got some tips from Ebuzzing and talked social video best practice. By Chris Lee.

It's possible there's too much technology in our lives, even for Millennials

There’s no question that Millennials are tech-savvy — they’re even occasionally called “Digital Natives” because technology and digital media have been a part of their lives since birth. But we’re seeing a little backlash despite all the benefits because technology is becoming something of a creepy stalker. By Melanie Shreffler.

The agency vs in-house conundrum…the impact of Google Panda on staff resourcing

The downturn of the last few years has inevitably led brands to scrutinise every pound spent on marketing. In some cases, brands have concluded that it is more cost effective and efficient to manage their search marketing activity in-house. In this article, Ben Potter discusses the advantages and challenges of both options.

Google Business Photos – ‘Street View’ for business interiors

Nicola Williams, Google approved photographer for Google Business Photos, gives us a brief overview of why we should be considering it for our businesses and our clients.

Are online businesses properly locking their proverbial shop doors at night?

Every day, several thousand websites are blacklisted, sent to Google’s very own version of solitary confinement due to them having been compromised by malware or malicious computer code. By Abby Hardoon.

“Twitter joke trial” decision a victory for common sense, say experts

In 2010, Paul Chambers was convicted for sending a “messaging of a menacing character” on Twitter. Two years on and with celebrity support, the decision has been overturned in what campaigners call a “victory for common sense”. But where does this trial leave Twitter, its users and the law? By Chris Lee.

Internet trolling: What is it and where do Internet users stand?

As Internet “trolling” – effectively bullying on social networks often under the cover of anonymity - continues to dominate national headlines, New Media Knowledge asks the experts where the line is drawn between expressing an opinion online and becoming a troll. By Chris Lee.

Why the next few months will make a big difference if you want to publish an illustrated book

The rise and rise of the eBook has made it much easier for most people who want to be authors to get their book out there for people to buy. Kindle Direct Publishing allows you to upload your own eBook to Amazon, or use a site like www.smashwords.com to get your eBook into online stores like Barnes and Noble, Sony, or the iBooks store. By Antonia Chitty.

Twitter advertising: Best practice interview with Total Media

Publisher Random House recently became the first UK publisher to use promoted tweets to push a book when it launched the Fifty Shades of Grey title. New Media Knowledge caught up with the agency behind the ads to understand Twitter advertising best practice. By Chris Lee.

‘Like’ a new job? Facebook could be where it’s app

With unemployment in the UK at it’s highest in decades and over one million 16-24 year olds out of work, young as well as many experienced professionals are stopping at nothing to find work. More than ever it is imperative that candidates start to think outside of the box and look for new ways to stand out, so they can get off the CV pile and into that all-important interview. Many job seekers are now turning to Facebook as a new way in. By Juan Urdiales.

How can Pinterest make money? Interview with Semphonic

With more than 18 million users, Pinterest is growing fast, particularly in the United States. But how can the new darling of social media actually start making money? To get the answer, New Media Knowledge caught up with Web analytics experts, Semphonic. By Chris Lee.

Fashion accessories - Bling loses its shine to ‘Lingerie’

Consumer online searches for fashion accessories took a turn in April, with the number of queries using the term ‘Jewellery’ dropping 18 per cent on January levels, reveals the latest fashion retail-related data from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. Meanwhile searches for ‘Lingerie’ dominated and maintained the lead. By Krishna Rao.

UK consumers rank top contributors to personal data deluge

Research suggests a younger, data-driven, generation, clued up on the currency of information. By Chris Boorman.

Market Intelligence Survey 2012

Digimind, a global provider of intelligence software, recently published its Market Intelligence survey 2012. By Orlaith Finnegan.

LiveOps talks social customer relationship management best practice

With an estimated 70 per cent of all customer queries over social media going unanswered, the cloud-based service LiveOps Social has been widely adopted to help organisations improve their own social customer relationship management. New Media Knowledge caught up with the company behind the service. By Chris Lee.

How to take advantage of seasonal SEO

Kelvin Newman of SiteVisibility looks at how you can timetable your way to seasonal organic search campaign success.

Everything you know about digital measurement is wrong, says Semphonic

Digital marketers who think they know how to measure the impact of their digital campaigns and engagement may well need to rethink their whole approach, according to one Internet analytics company. New Media Knowledge talked to Semphonic about digital measurement best practice. By Chris Lee.

Beyond Clicks: Brand advertising online

From its humble beginnings, online advertising delivered measurable campaigns that were targeted at driving clicks and instant action. While this is still an important part of the online battleground for customers, brands cannot afford to miss out on the opportunities to influence consumers further up the purchasing funnel. By Dominic Trigg.

What a multichannel retailer should include in a search marketing brief

Back in November 2010, I wrote about the importance of, and what to include in a brief when looking to appoint a search agency. Whilst much of the advice remains the same, an awful lot has changed in the last couple of years which in turn impacts how a retailer needs to brief prospective agencies. By Ben Potter.

Could you bring your company to its knees?

There’s a saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’ which seems to resonate in the executive corridor of far too many organisations. In this cautionary tale, we use the saying to create a fictitious scenario. This is created to illustrate just how dangerous double standards can be. Our unfortunate protagonist is the managing director, who believes the rules don’t apply to them. By Dominic Saunders.

Survey finds people stress more about losing their phone than their wallet

In this article, Andy Kemshall, co-founder of SecurEnvoy, discuss the security implications of the survey findings.

Improving email marketing campaigns is a bigger priority than social media for online marketers

New research from Emailvision reveals that 58% of online marketers are placing a bigger priority on improving their email marketing campaigns over building their social media communities. By Henry Smith.

iPhone users account for 80% of the heaviest smartphone data users

A new Analysys Mason report on consumer smartphone usage identifies ‘real-world’ data, apps and content trends.

Best Practice in Social Media in Healthcare

Social media presents both opportunities and threats to the healthcare sector with many regulatory considerations to take on board before engaging with the public. So what’s best practice for social media in healthcare? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Measuring the efficiency of a multichannel strategy

A truly multichannel strategy implies a seamless integration of all business areas within a given brand ecosystem. So which metrics are the most relevant to multichannel success? By Maria Morais.

How to tweet marketing messages without offending the ASA

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) recently ruled that tweets from England footballers breach a major UK marketing code. So just what marketing messages can you – and can’t you – tweet? New Media Knowledge asked the experts. By Chris Lee.

Small cells and WiFi Solutions to take nearly 60% of mobile traffic over next 5 years

Integrated solutions offer new revenue potential for operators. By Nitin Bhas.

Facebook fan loyalty falls first to fourth place in Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index

According to a recent update to the Social Networking Category of Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, the IPO has caused the Facebook brand to lose consumer engagement and loyalty – the ultimate leading-indicator of profitability – a 7% loss in overall brand equity. By Robert Passikoff.

Achieving and maintaining privacy on your website

Keynote’s Ray Everett explains how website owners need to fully understand how third party advertisers are using their site visitor data, in order to truly comply with increasingly stringent web privacy regulations.

Going “glocal”: Building global marketing campaigns with local know-how

We may live in a “Global Village” but the local approach is still essential when it comes to marketing products and services online. New Media Knowledge caught up with a leading marketing consultant to learn more about how marketers could truly go “glocal”. By Chris Lee.

Consigned to history by the smartphone

It might seem hard to believe but the mobile phone was first introduced to the UK in 1985. Just twenty seven years later and the device that we now love is hardly recognisable to those first Motorola handsets. And it’s not just the size and battery life that’s changed. Let’s face it, if you were to upgrade your handset tomorrow, would you just be looking for one that can make calls! By Steve Watts.

Affiliate marketing for all! Interview with Have You Seen

High-traffic websites are no longer the only ones that can make money from affiliate marketing, now it can be any member of the general public as well thanks to a new service. New Media Knowledge spoke to the makers of Have You Seen to learn how it works. By Chris Lee.

mCommerce quadruples in just two years

The latest research results from eDigitalResearch and Portaltech Reply shows that 64% of smartphone owners are now using their mobile devices to shop online, a number that has quadrupled since June 2010. By Derek Eccleston.

Mobile marketing on track for rapid adoption in 2012

Mobile marketing programmes and budgets are projected to increase, but many businesses are still held back by lack of strategy and resources, according to StrongMail survey. By Kara Trivunovic.

More than 1 in 4 mobile users in the US and Western Europe will pay in-store using NFC by 2017

A new report from Juniper Research has found that more than 1 in 4 of US and Western European mobile phone users will use their NFC-enabled mobile phone to pay for goods in-store by 2017, compared with less than 2% in 2012. By Windsor Holden.

How to get more revenue from your website with the help of ad server

Here you can find some useful tips and ideas that help publishers increase revenue on their websites with the help of ad server. By Adam Jablonski.

Increase in consumer trust and awareness key for widespread uptake of NFC mobile payments

Increasing consumer awareness and building trust around contactless mobile payments will be key if providers and brands expect to see the widespread adoption of NFC technology in 2012 as predicted. By Derek Eccleston.

New e-waste recycling service estimates the average British household could make £800 by trading in unwanted gadgets

A new e-waste recycling scheme has estimated that the average British household throws away a staggering £800 worth of recyclable electrical appliances every year. By Mark Schneider.

How to use Google Hangouts for business

Google Hangouts, the search engine’s group video chat and content sharing facility on Google+, is proving to be a big hit with celebrities, businesses and politicians alike. So how can businesses make the most of the feature? New Media Knowledge tapped up its address book. By Chris Lee.

Marketers' Perceptions Research: Apple v Android

42% of marketers think android devices will be the 2013 business tablet of choice. In this article, Kathryn Cave, Editor of IDG Connect, examines new research into marketers’ opinions of tablet growth, discussing how today’s marketers will impact tomorrow’s business landscape.

How to create more impactful Google AdWords campaigns

Less than a fifth of small businesses actually recoup the cost of their investment when advertising using Google AdWords, according to a recent study. New Media Knowledge caught up with the report’s author to learn how this trend could be reversed. By Chris Lee.

What widget is right for me?

Many publishers focus on driving traffic to their websites by adding Facebook and Twitter widgets, consequently missing out on valuable data insights that other sharing tools such as AddThis and ShareThis offer. Undoubtedly a step in the right direction, these tools don't offer a direct revenue stream which publishers can also find if they choose their sharing widget correctly. By Harvey Sarjant.

Just how good is Google’s proposed new search function?

Intrigued by the search giant’s move into semantics, Carsten Kraus, chief executive of Europe’s leading online search and navigation specialist FACT-Finder, considers the functionality the new search system may offer and how it compares to others currently in use.

Games and infotainment to drive mobile entertainment revenues to $65bn by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research has found that strong growth amongst games and infotainment applications, in part fostered by a burgeoning consumer tablet market, will push mobile entertainment revenues to more than $65bn annually by 2016, up from $36bn last year. By Windsor Holden.

Clouds-based management tool that’s free for small business users

A clouds-based solution that allows users to keep a closer eye on progress, milestones, billed hours, contractors and budgets is being made available free for up to five users in small businesses. ByAlex Konanykhin.

Getting the most from cross-and up-sell programmes

Email as a marketing tool is quite possibly the most powerful one in the box, and used properly can generate a substantial increase in business. By Kara Trivunovic.

The key to email marketing success: Interview with eCircle

Despite predictions about the death of email, the indication is that email marketing appears to remain effective, so long as best practice is followed. New Media Knowledge caught up with email marketing consultant Philip Storey of eCircle to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Facebook isn't cool anymore, but Millennials still rely on the site

Facebook’s IPO is just around the corner, putting a fresh focus on the social net. In tech terms, Facebook is kind of an old site having been around since 2004, and Millennials have grown a little tired of the site. But that’s not to say they aren’t using it. By Melanie Shreffler.

Google increases author images in search but UK loses out to US

More than one in ten Google UK searches now includes new author images and biographical information in top 100 results, according to a new study, but UK publishers, journalists and bloggers are losing out to their US counterparts in a battle to generate more Google traffic. New Media Knowledge caught up with the study’s author. By Chris Lee.

User-generated flavour map mash-up to document global tastes

An interactive global flavour map mash-up has been launched today where users can pin flavours through Google Street View – it aims to be the world’s most comprehensive collection of taste and flavour recommendations. By Adrian Johnson.

The hype around Big Data – What’s it all about?

Why is everyone so hyped over Big Data? Possibly it’s because people are now realizing the power of Big Data. By Conrad Constantine.

Thousands of global citizens gather through Rio+Social to address sustainability challenges and build a better world

Global leaders in digital media, technology, and philanthropy, gather in-person and online with private sector, government, and civil society stakeholders to address the future we want. By Amy DiElsi.

Ovum comments: Microsoft looks set to acquire Yammer

Microsoft, desperate to get a slice of “the next big thing”, is reportedly spending $1.2billion on Yammer, a provider of social networking software (think Facebook and Twitter) for businesses and institutions. By Richard Edwards.

Web app allows media to explore eyewitness news across social networks

iWitness, a free new web application (open source) for the aggregation of eyewitness news from social media platforms was launched last week. Developed by New Context in partnership with designers of the application, Adaptive Path, the free web app allows people to explore content from social media services such as Flickr and Twitter by time and place. By Mike Doel.

Study shows that uncluttered web pages make ads work better

Research from SAY Media and IPG Media shows ads on clean web pages are more useful, trusted and effective. By Giles Ivey.

TUI uses call tracking technology to increase holiday sales conversions

TUI, one of the world’s largest travel companies, required a system which could track both its online and offline activity to improve its online marketing strategy and sales. It chose a system called AdInsight Clarity. New Media Knowledge looked at how it worked. By Chris Lee.

£45.38 billion missed by UK retailers due to poor customer service

New research report analyses impact of customer service across the UK on brand loyalty and sales. By Jeremy Michael.

Search visibility aided by social shares, study says

Although search marketers do not know Google’s exact algorithm for rankings, it is clear that signals from social media sources are becoming more and more influential, according to a new study. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers and quizzed the study author. By Chris Lee.

In the US, equality comes to Father’s Day 2012 spending

Brand Keys foresees 10 percent spending increase, same as Mother’s Day. By Robert Passikoff.

Is sponsoring the Olympics a waste of money for 52% of the unrecognised official brand sponsors pre-Games?

With around 50 days to go until the opening ceremony, Vox Pops International went to source the word on the street about the event the world has been waiting for… The London 2012 Olympic Games! By Charlotte De Maria.

LinkedIn breach bigger than 6.5M, estimates Imperva

It was revealed last week that LinkedIn had 6.5million passwords leaked. Imperva's Application Defence Centre (ADC) has been following this breach closely on hacker forums and believe that the breach could actually be bigger than 6.5million. By Tal Berry.

Facebook: ‘Self-Image,’ Trust & Security,’ rapidly eroding post IPO

Facebook fan loyalty falls firm first to fourth place in brand keys customer loyalty engagement index. By Robert Passikoff.

Social gambling to push mobile wagers to $100bn annually by 2017

A new report from Juniper Research has found that a surge in social gambling activity, along with the introduction of intrastate casino and lottery services in the US, will help push global annual wager via mobile handsets and tablets to $100 billion by 2017, up from just under $20 billion last year. By Windsor Holden.

76% of people conduct online searches in two or more languages

It might be assumed that not many people conduct online searches in more than one language. However, results from a global survey undertaken by leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, suggest quite the opposite, that a significant 76% do. Occupations one might most readily associate with the Internet - IT and Marketing - topped the list of those who are most likely to search in more than one language. By Krishna Rao.

Putting the ‘R’ in CRM

The social customer is increasingly empowered to make their voice heard, and it is often the disgruntled individual who shouts the loudest. Many organisations already monitor customer feedback. However, the challenge lies in acting on this information quickly and efficiently, to build a customer relationship, and present a tangible return on investment (ROI) for social media. By Ivar Kroghrud.

QR codes outperform SMS marketing for Ladbrokes

Betting store Ladbrokes says its customer acquisition response via Quick Response (QR) codes has generated twice as much interest as marketing via text message (SMS). New Media Knowledge spoke to the people behind the project to see how QR codes can work best for business. By Chris Lee.

SEO case study: How iAnnounce grew organic traffic by 20 per cent in three months

With high organic (unpaid) search rankings essential to online businesses, receiving a 20 per cent rise in traffic from organic search in just three months can make a massive impact to a website. This impressive statistic was delivered by search specialist theMediaFlow for one of its clients. New Media Knowledge asked how. By Chris Lee.

The power of integration: Making email marketing work with social media marketing

Just like the Twix chocolate bar advert states, “It’s All in the Mix” when it comes to integrating email and social media. So, what can marketers do to create the right mix? How can the email and social media channels be successfully combined, like caramel and chocolate, to satisfy your audience? By Kara Trivunovic.

Twitter trumps Facebook as primary source of social media intelligence

Survey shows 80% of companies monitor social media but Facebook and Google+ are not regarded as essential sources to monitor. By Orlaith Finnegan.

World IPv6 Launch marks the beginning of global IPv6

Today sees thousands of Internet service providers and websites around the world permanently enable IPv6 for their products and services for the World IPv6 Launch, organised by the Internet Society. By Mike Sapien and David Krozier.

Mobile app downloads to pass 66bn annually by 2016, up from 31bn last year

A new report from Juniper Research has found that consumer app downloads to mobile devices are expected to reach more than 66 billion per annum by 2016, more than double the 31 billion that occurred in 2011. By Windsor Holden.

Benefits and downsides to the BYOD trend

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) isn’t the most eloquent (or elegant) acronym to come out of the IT world. However, some say it stands for a new era where employees’ preferred devices are also used for completing work tasks. But is BYOD really the ultimate social integration and cost saving trend for businesses? Dominic Jones, managing director at IT support provider Barton Technology explains why this new trend may not be as inclusive as it claims to be.

China: the rise of the next e-commerce power

China is on its way to becoming the world’s next e-commerce power, overtaking the US by 2015. China’s emerging middle class, increased access to the Internet and desire for brand-name goods are giving the e-commerce market a boost. This offers a great opportunity for Western brands to enter the Chinese market via the online channel. By Marie Mure-Ravaud.

How to create a brand experience on tablet PCs

As tablet PC sales soar, how can brands best create immersive experiences for their customers over these devices? New Media Knowledge spoke with a mobile industry expert to learn more. By Chris Lee.

It’s personal: mobile marketing and the radically changing face of consumer interaction

The mobile market isn’t just growing; it’s drastically changing in nature. In this article, Michele Turner discusses how to benefit from the opportunities of these changes.

Creating apps that matter: Exclusive interview with Noise Inc

Are there too many apps on the market and are companies in danger of creating apps for apps’ sake? New Media Knowledge quizzed app experts Noise Inc for the answers. By Chris Lee.

240 million mobile smartphone users to stream TV services by 2014

Multiscreen TV Services to drive Increase, says Juniper Research. By Charlotte Miller.

Connect Lite – A DIY accounting solution

Accountancy firm Brookson’s newest product is a free piece of software that provides self-employed professionals with a simple way to manage their finances. By Isobel Samuel.

Lyle & Scott uses traditional PR to boost search rankings

Clothing brand Lyle & Scott recently sought to improve the search rankings for some of its range using traditional public relations (PR) outreach to build links and authority. New Media Knowledge spoke to the PR consultant behind the strategy. By Chris Lee.

Londoners would love to see in-cab services advertised on the outside of taxis

Taxi passengers would prefer to be able to hail cabs with wi-fi, phone charger and payment facilities. By Andrew Barnett.

Small businesses want tablets

With all of the discussion of consumer devices in the workplace and the recent launch of the iPad3, the market insights group at Spiceworks wanted to find out what small businesses think of tablets. In doing so, it became evident that this device is not just for the consumer. By Adam Weinroth.

Are you being served - online? Most British firms fail the online customer service test, warns survey

Huge disparity found between the public demand for, and actual availability of, live chat to address customer service issues online. By Kurt Bager.

Facebook ad rates rise for brands, study finds. So is Facebook marketing worth the effort?

The cost of advertising on social network Facebook has increased by almost a half since early 2011, according to a study, so are brands really getting value out of Facebook? If not, what should they be doing? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Facebook sponsored ads – 44% of people say they would ‘never’ click on them

Should brands bother with Facebook advertising if 44% say they would never click on a sponsored ad? By Krishna Rao.

Recognising innovation: Using social media inside the enterprise

Westminster Business School is working with the City based Law Firm as they seek to access and share knowledge through the development of a social media framework as they develop their social business intranet; Edge.

An ethical hackers view on the dangers of mobile malware and what steps to take to stop it

In this article, Jaime Blasco, from AlienVault, discusses the security risks of mobile technologies. He explains why malware infections are rising and some techniques to prevent such problems.

Google and Facebook will both be front and centre in 'social search'

Findings from a survey undertaken by leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, indicate that Google+ might be more successful than most have initially speculated and that Facebook could potentially capture close to a quarter of the search market globally were it to launch a search engine of its own tomorrow. This market share would make Facebook the second most utilised search engine in every major market except for China, Japan, and Russia, where it would occupy an uncontested third place. By Krishna Rao.

Social Network Analysis (SNA) surges into vertical markets, reveals Frost & Sullivan Survey

After proving its power in the telecommunications industry, SNA moves into retail, online gaming, and finance and banking sectors. By Joanna Lewandowska.

Millennials are leading the social media explosion

Nearly every month this year, we've heard about some small social network that's the next big thing. Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and others have been making headlines in 2012 for their rapid growth and popularity with Gen Yers. By Melanie Shreffler.

89% of consumers feel that new EU cookie directive is a positive step

9 out of 10 people feel that the new EU cookie directive is a positive step for consumers, according to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG. By Derek Eccleston.

New cookies law lead-in period nearly up: What should businesses be doing?

The 12 month lead-in period for the new cookies law, which means businesses have to gain user permission before accessing personal information, is nearly up. Organisations must carry out their own assessments of how they use cookies and then tailor a solution to that use and their customers. The law demands business to be fully compliant by 26 May. By Kim Walker.

Five top tips for successful email marketing in tough climate

A recent study has demonstrated that worldwide the delivery of marketing emails fell sharply in the second half of 2011. With smarter filtering, increased email volumes and deteriorating sender reputations, just how can email marketers successfully vie for attention? New Media Knowledge spoke to Return Path for the answer. By Chris Lee.

Making the most of the $43 billion mobile market

With the value of mobile vouchers set to exceed $43 billion globally by 2016 according to a recent study, how can organisations ensure that mobile vouchers work to their advantage? New Media Knowledge caught up with a leading mobile expert to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Consumer Mobile App Revenues to Pass $50bn by 2016 Fuelled by Smartphone & Tablet Growth

A new report from Juniper Research finds that annual revenues from consumer mobile applications will approach $52 billion by 2016 as consumer smartphone adoption accelerates in tandem with the emergence of a mass tablet market. By Windsor Holden.

The RSA Security breach – 12 months down the technology turnpike

It’s been 12 months since the security world woke to the horror that RSA Security’s systems had been compromised and – as the company has reluctantly confirmed – its many tens of millions of SecurID hardware tokens would have to be re-issued to clients. Andy Kemshall, CTO of SecurEnvoy, reviews the IT security fiasco and what could have been done to prevent the fallout.

Northern & Shell talks about its entry into mobile apps

One of the UK’s largest media companies recently developed a range of apps to provide a wider service to its audience as well as increase engagement. New Media Knowledge took a look at the background and challenges faced by publishers in an app-heavy world. By Chris Lee.

Ovum says the intelligent network is arriving fast and will transform the role of the CIO

The enterprise network is being bombarded. According to Ovum, the number of smartphones in use will exceed 600 million in 2015, making the intelligent network more relevant than ever. By David Molony.

Measuring the offline impact of online marketing

Online marketing is extremely traceable. But how can you measure the impact of your online marketing when the impact actually occurs offline – for example, by phone? New Media Knowledge caught up with a company which claims to have the answer. By Chris Lee.

Automation works: Direct link between using email automation and improving ROI

Latest Adestra/Econsultancy research shows doing any email automation dramatically increases results. By Henry Hyder-Smith.

Car insurance searches soar at the expense of home and travel

UK consumers made close to 2 million searches for insurance products online and queries for car insurance were the most popular. By Krishna Rao.

Your social content recipe: cross-platform, optimisation and ad amplification

You have great content, but how do you make sure that it is not going to waste? How can you utilise the power of social media to make sure people are seeing it? By Luca Benini.

Tips for starting a successful post-purchase programme

As a marketer you've spent a lot of effort getting consumers to a point of purchase and convincing them to follow through with a sale. But what happens afterwards? Sure, if it's an online sale, you send them a confirmation email – but if you stop there, you're missing a big opportunity. Kara Trivunovic.

Topman bounces music and lifestyle platform back into action

Leading high street retailer Topman has teamed up with London-based agency Bounce Digital to re-launch its music and lifestyle platform, CTRL. New Media Knowledge caught up with the creators to learn how content is bringing Topman closer to its audience. By Chris Lee.

HTML5 set for rapid trajectory in 2012

New research from Kony predicts a surge in HTML5 adoption this year, due to increased demand for quality, cross-platform mobile applications. By Sri Ramanathan.

Consumers “overwhelmed” by brand messaging on social media, research finds

Consumers love brand activity on social media but half of consumers feel they are bombarded by brand messaging on Facebook, according to a new survey. Too much communication and too little creativity can be “fatal” for brands on social media, according to the report’s author. New Media Knowledge caught up with the author to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Keep it clean

Clutter is killing online media. Today’s digital experiences are often a jumble of conflicting messages. Multiple ads fight with poorly presented content leaving viewers confused and this leaves the medium misused and devalued. Giles Ivey, EMEA & APAC Managing Director at SAY Media (http://www.saymedia.com/) explains why it’s time for the internet to clean up its act.

Ovum expects smartphone shipments to reach 1.7 billion in 2017 and Android to dominate as OS

Smartphones will outperform the overall market for mobile phones, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.9% for the period 2011–17 to reach 1.7 billion units, according to Ovum. Predictions show Android as the dominant operating system over the next five years as handset vendors rush to make it their primary smartphone platform. By Adam Leach.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for April 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Is the digital industry ready for corporate trade?

There’s still great turbulence in the UK and indeed, world economy. As a result, many businesses’ marketing budgets – particularly in the digital sector - are coming under intense scrutiny. By Paul Sumners.

Technology gives performance marketers the edge

Rob Durkin, CEO at FusePump examines how new tools that simplify the creation of product data feeds, advertising units and widgets can help merchants drive sales online by enabling affiliates to build unique content and monetise traffic.

Half of companies could be open to data security breaches

The Adestra/Econsultancy Email Marketing Industry Census 2012 has unveiled some frightening statistics – not just lack of awareness around data security issues, but a basic disregard for preventing security breaches. By Henry Hyder-Smith.

Is there a place for small business on the mobile web?

With internet marketers hailing each of the last 10 years or so as ‘The Year of the Mobile’, it seems as though the reality is now upon us. By Abby Hardoon.

National Rail Enquiries launches new mobile site for enquiries on the move

With more than half the UK population now owning a smart phone and able to regularly surfing the Internet on the move, National Rail Enquiries has launched a new version of its mobile site for instant rail updates. New Media Knowledge took a closer look. By Chris Lee.

Businesses at breaking point - Surviving the customer service storm

There’s a cold front brewing for UK businesses, if recent industry statistics are to be believed. A reduction in customer service can have a direct and detrimental impact upon the bottom line, as customers are more expectant than ever before that they are treated as king in this digital age. By Chris Boorman.

The shift to streaming happens at age 18

In this article, Melanie Shreffler discusses when Millennials start preferring streaming.

Marketers failing to grasp search, brands say

Three-quarters of marketers are failing to integrate search fully into their campaigns, according to new research. With brands potentially missing opportunities to maximise the impact of content and campaigns, New Media Knowledge asked around for answers. By Chris Lee.

Online video ads: how to give your audience what they want – and benefit your brand

Brian Fitzpatrick discusses how video ads may become viral and attract a great audience, mainly through meeting the needs of brands and consumers.

Mobile tickets quadruple to 23 billion globally by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the number of tickets delivered to mobile phones worldwide will more than quadruple to 23 billion by 2016, compared with 4 billion tickets estimated to have been delivered during 2011. By David Snow.

It’s personal: mobile marketing and the radically changing face of consumer interaction

The mobile market isn’t just growing; it’s drastically changing in nature. Last year saw great developments in the mobile sphere; Gartner, for example, found that 428 million mobile communication devices were sold worldwide in the first quarter of 2011 while, according to IDC, this same timeframe saw the global mobile phone market grow by 19.8%. By Michele Turner.

Mobile moves from push to pull

A new report from Juniper Research finds that a growing user acceptance of ‘push’ mobile banking and a sharp rise in smartphone adoption will drive users of transactional mobile banking services up from 185 million in 2011 to over 550 million in 2016. By Windsor Holden.

Social media influence increases: Pan-European survey reveals multichannel customer experiences

eGain’s cross-industry benchmarking report charts consumer buying behaviour, experience, and interaction channel preferences across customer lifecycle. By Zara May.

Trust: A key word in our world of virtual interactions

Trust/trəst/: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. By Ross MacDonald.

The mobile app debate: Web or native

As mobile internet access continues to widen its reach, the dilemma for marketers has become whether to create web apps or ‘native’ apps designed for specific devices. New Media Knowledge met up with an industry specialist to weigh them up. By Chris Lee.

A string of integrated campaigns can leverage the number of social media followers

In this article, Derek Eccleston discusses how the specialist retailer Ann Summers has seen some of the biggest growth to their social media fan base in recent months after a string of successfully integrated marketing campaigns, according to the latest Social Media Benchmark results from eDigitalResearch.

Daily deals sector set for massive change in 2012

The online daily deals market will see increased growth, more competition and improved targeting in the year ahead, according to research from industry specialist, Buyometric. New Media Knowledge took a look at the figures.

Rio+Social: Social Media & Technology to Take Historic UN Conference to a Global, Digital Level

Hans Vestberg, Ted Turner, Pete Cashmore, Fabio Barbosa, and Gro Brundtland among first speakers confirmed. By Amy DiElsi.

Learning to wear the European Union’s data directive with style

In this article, David Gibson discusses the impact of having a common set of privacy standards to be applied to organisations across the entire European Union.

How Facebook's Instagram acquisition will impact social sharing

Although $1billion is a huge amount of money to pay for one company, the investment is reflective of the sharing phenomenon that has taken the Internet by storm over the past year (nma.co.uk 10 April 2012). Today, the Internet is no longer a place to visit in order to just collate and gather information, but a platform which consumers primarily use to connect with friends and peers and share ideas and content. By Rupert Staines.

Instagram/Facebook: Is this the beginning of the end for web?

Facebook’s purchase of Instagram has given us a unique insight into where the Social Media giant sees the future of its industry, and the price it has paid tells us that it is not on the web. Is this the beginning of the end? By Dale Carr.

Agile learning: How to make the best of Internet potential

In this article, David Jennings comes back to the proposition of developing agile learning, using available resources such as broadband and online content that is available for free.

Managing social media engagement for financial organisations

Financial organisations can reap great benefits from using social media to connect with customers, according a new guide by eModeration. By Tamara Littleton.

Spend on tablet games to account for over one third of all mobile games revenues by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research finds that the rapidly increasing tablet user base and the unique form factor of this device will push total end-user games revenues on tablets to $3.1 billion by 2014, up from $491 million in 2011. By Charlotte Miller.

Favicons and Gravatars: How they help with branding online

Business success is all about being everywhere online but how can you ensure that your branding crosses over and follows you wherever you go? How can you ensure that your customers realise that it’s one of your blogs or comments they’re reading? By Erica Douglas.

Mobile broadband will act as a strategic disruptor in 2012

Emerging market operators will continue to experience strong connections growth in 2012. Mobile broadband will be the main driver of this growth, but it will also act as a strategic disruptor, finds Ovum. By Angel Dobardziev.

The growth in online collaboration: Sony’s +U volunteering app

Online collaboration is all the rage right now. New Media Knowledge caught up with Sony Europe to talk about its +U collaboration app and find out how it is being used to help foster volunteering. By Chris Lee.

Critical success factors for dating websites

In today’s digital age, what makes a dating website a success? Global Personals CEO and co-founder, Ross Williams, shares his knowledge and expertise.

Stick, twist or bust: Thoughts for digital marketing investment in 2012

After the news that Britain could be sliding back into recession, it might appear a strange time to argue for increased investment in digital marketing channels, such as search. Inevitably, battening down the hatches and hoping for the best will be the default strategy for many retailers. By Ben Potter.

97% of companies ignore ‘Priority Inbox’ in email marketing campaigns

Adestra/Econsultancy Email Marketing Industry Census 2012 uncovers latest findings in market. By Henry Hyder-Smith.

66% of the population suffer from Nomophobia, the fear of being without their phone

First identified in 2008, it would appear nomophobia – the fear of being out of mobile phone contact, is sharply increasing in the UK. A recent survey of 1,000 people in employment, conducted using OnePoll, discovered two thirds of respondents fear losing their mobile phone. By Andy Kemshall.

The search industry discusses its future at Brighton SEO

Brighton hosted one of the premier search marketing conferences in the UK last week to discuss the future of search marketing and exchange best practice tips. New Media Knowledge went along to listen and learn. By Chris Lee.

Men are better at sharing than women… on social media

The fairer sex only divulges more information about shopping. By Rachel Phythian.

Amazon’s ‘Kindle’ and RIM’s ‘Blackberry’ attracting more searches than Apple’s ‘iPhone 4s’

Over 13 million UK searches were conducted online for consumer electronics in February with Amazon’s ‘Kindle’ and Research In Motion’s ‘Blackberry’ attracting more queries than those for Apple ‘iPhone 4s’. By Krishna Rao.

Mobile commerce market set to accelerate with NFC Facilitating $74bn transactions by 2015

A new study by Juniper Research forecasts that NFC will facilitate transactions valued at $74bn by 2015 as NFC is increasingly used for the payment of goods in-store and as transport tickets; this is over treble the estimated value of this market in 2011. By David Snow.

Despite surge in m-commerce, retailers struggling to meet mobile demand

Keynote Systems, a leader in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, is tracking the mobile site performance of 21 of the top retailers across seven countries. Results for January show that consumers are having to wait for up to a minute for some mobile sites to load, with an index load time average of just under 14 seconds. By Robert Castley.

Five easy steps to enhance the security of mobile device use

Mobile devices are quickly becoming a target rich and high return on investment environment for malicious attackers. By John P. Pironti.

Pure play retailers outperform multichannel rivals in the very first eChannel Retail Benchmark

Pure play retailers Amazon and ASOS have topped the very first eChannel Retail Benchmark from eDigitalResearch after offering customers a clear and consistent experience across all of their online and mobile customer touchpoints. By Derek Eccleston.

Brand Anarchy: The reality of contemporary public relations

Brands have lost complete control of their reputation according to a new book. A full cultural shift is in order for organisations to thrive and make the most of the new media landscape, according to the authors. New Media Knowledge spoke to them. By Chris Lee.

Measurement and outsourcing still an issue for social media marketers: Report

The latest Social Media Examiner report indicates that social media measurement is still a key concern for marketers. Video and Google+ are also key focuses for marketers. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for March 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Wildfire data shows sizable engagement boost for early brand adopters of Facebook Timeline

Biggest gains seen for brands with fewer than one million fans; “pinned” content such as photos and videos also shown to increase engagement dramatically. By Rachel Phythian.

15 Ways Mobile Will Change Our Lives

In this special report, JWT explores the emerging trends and insights coming out of the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. By Gemma Pollard.

Key tips on the new Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages have a new layout. In this article, Facebook Press Office gives a few tips and tricks to brands and businesses in order to make the best from the switch.

How can publishers effectively monetise mobile content?

As the adoption of smartphones and tablets continues unabated, the question remains as to how publishers can effectively monetise the content they are creating for mobile consumption. New Media Knowledge caught up with experts Mojiva to learn how. By Chris Lee.

Why aren’t more brands using mobile advertising?

As a mobile advertising pundit who lives and breathes the mobile advertising world including its demographics and growth stats, I remain confounded that more brands have not yet jumped fully into this unique opportunity to reach audiences. By Dale Carr.

Pure play retailers outperform multichannel rivals in the very first eChannel Retail Benchmark

Pure play retailers Amazon and ASOS have topped the very first eChannel Retail Benchmark from eDigitalResearch after offering customers a clear and consistent experience across all of their online and mobile customer touchpoints. By Derek Eccleston.

We speak to the creators behind FC Barcelona’s new Facebook app

With more than 28 million fans on Facebook, FC Barcelona is one of the most-followed sports teams online. To help build deeper engagement with its fan base, the club has launched a new app. New Media Knowledge spoke to the company who built it. By Chris Lee.

‘British Museum’ tops ‘Tate Modern’ and ‘Buckingham Palace’ when it comes to going out

Greenlight's report, ‘Entertainment Retail – Issue 8’ profiles online search behaviour in the entertainment retail sector, covering Gaming Consoles & Games, Going Out, Movies and Music. It also reveals the most visible brands, retailers and review sites in each sub-sector and assesses those that interacted well on social media networks. By Krishna Rao.

European mobile users will benefit from radical shake-up of roaming market, but operators will suffer

In this article, Informa analyst Paul Lambert discusses the EU decision to re-shape European roaming market.

Grocery retailers have impact on traditional loans providers in online search

Research from digital marketing agency Greenlight, reveals that the majority of UK online consumer searches for retail banking-related products in January pertained to loans, with grocery retailers taking two of the top three spots in terms of visibility for loan-related products. By Krishna Rao.

User engagement driven by unique device features

A new report from Juniper Research finds that growing user satisfaction with mobile TV on tablets will push average monthly viewing times to 186 minutes per month in 2014. By Charlotte Miller.

Web 2.0 data driven insights: putting together usability and data analytics

As technology improves, the amount of data that can be derived from user activity in digital is increasing exponentially. The question is, how much insight can be gained when the data flow is so immense? You can be drowning in data but if it’s not the right data, you learn nothing useful. Insight into user experience is business critical, as the quality of customer experience can be the key differentiator between a visitor doing business with you, or a competitor. By Fiona Smith.

AR apps are like QR Codes: confusing! Even tech-savvy Millennials are baffle

Augmented reality (AR) has become the futuristic media of the moment, but many consumers, including young, tech-savvy Millennials, are having a hard time figuring it out. In fact, only 11% of high schoolers and collegians have ever used an AR app, according to Ypulse the leading authority on youth. By Melanie Shreffler.

Associating keywords to desired actions is key to leverage the buying cycle

Hydra White Paper considers the various stages and channels in the buying cycle, extending and enhancing keyword and phrase sets and then subsequently mapping them to desired outcomes and results. By Becky Hayward.

Just what is the value of a Facebook ‘Like’?

Brands on Facebook crave ‘likes’ – fans that like their page and cede permission to receive that brand’s messaging on their Facebook wall, plus the chance to interact with other members of that community. But what is the true value of a ‘like’ when brands can buy them through advertising? New Media Knowledge sought expert advice. By Chris Lee.

Websites need traditional media to succeed, says Deloitte

Despite a raft of opinion to contrary, websites still need traditional media to succeed, according to a new study from consultants at Deloitte. New Media Knowledge took a look at the numbers and asked why. By Chris Lee.

Facebook “New” Brand Pages: How to Cope with the Change

In this article, Victoria Ransom discusses the new Facebook “Timeline’ Pages for brands, outlining the big changes and benefits of the new format, which is mandatory for all brand pages by the 30th March.

Consumers are demanding customer service on social media

Businesses without a customer service social media strategy put reputation and customer loyalty at risk. By Joe Doyle.

Why smartphones need smart marketing

Consumer survey highlights the challenges operators face promoting new services and technologies. By Martin Scott.

Safeguarding your online reputation

The carefully crafted image that famous brands spend years developing is painstakingly maintained through a combination of PR, marketing and sleek advertising. But such are the vagaries of public opinion, it can all be undone in the time it takes to publish a tweet. By Orlaith Finnegan.

Audience Buying 101

In a John Hughes movie, audience buying would be that mysterious new kid who transfers into the local school and has everyone talking. Some think he’s going to save the football team. Others say he’s done time as a seasoned prankster verging on hardened criminal. But pretty much everyone has an opinion – even if they’re hazy on the total picture. By Eugene Becker & Caspar Schlickum.

Futubra-beta hits the web

Russian-language multimedia microblogging platform Futubra saw the official public launch of its beta version on the web in January. Futubra takes microblogging a step further than text only services with advanced photo and video multimedia functionality, giving users a broader range of content sharing options and mobility. By Alexey Terekhov.

Security still barrier to adoption for mobile payments, survey finds

A general lack of understanding coupled with security fears are holding back the widespread adoption of mobile payments, according to a recent study. New Media Knowledge looked at the data. By Chris Lee.

Social media drives growth in UK ‘media stacking’ habit

Brits are becoming adept multi-taskers when it comes to the art of consuming media, according to a new study. New Media Knowledge read the study to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Searching with intelligence

Developments in semantic search allow people to find what they want online quickly and easily with potentially huge implications for ecommerce, says FACT-Finder’s Carsten Kraus.

Bringing customers back – using technology and smart marketing

How many of your customers come back and buy again? It is much more cost effective to get a current customer to spend a little more or come back for a repeat purchase than it is to find a new client. In this article read about how a combination of technology and smart marketing can build customer loyalty and repeat visits. By Antonia Chitty.

mHealth Users of Remote Health Monitoring to Reach 3 million by 2016: Smartphones Play Leading Role

A burgeoning market for healthcare peripherals and increasing smartphone processing power will result in the number of patients monitored by mobile networks to rise to 3 million by 2016, finds Juniper Research’s latest report on the mHealth sector. By Anthony Cox.

Operators need clear strategy to combat free web-based apps such as WhatsApp

IP-based messaging services emerge as serious threat to operator voice and text revenues. By Pamela Clark-Dickson and Dario Talmesio.

Future Mobile Awards for M-Commerce Winners

Five companies at the forefront of new developments in Mobile Commerce have been given Juniper Research Future Mobile Awards for Mobile Commerce: Gemalto, iMovo, Fiserv, Nokia and Sybase. By David Snow.

Report shows 91% of worldwide IT and business professionals use their iPad for work communication

Global research IDG Connect highlights regional variations in widespread iPad business use. By Kathryn Cave.

Professional hacker three-top-tips to make your network hack proof

Months have passed from the last major story relating to Anonymous and LulzSec. It seems they are back with “robin hood” tendencies, leading a “Christmas-inspired assault” and would “use the credit data to take a million dollars and give the money away as Christmas donations” to charities. The latest target was Strategic Forecasting Inc which is an intelligence think tank with around 70 staff based in Austin, Texas, USA with clients from Apple, Police departments to the US military. By Graeme Batsman.

Growing up fast in a Virtual WWWorld

In the latest stage of our Lifestage Research, Vox Pops International filmed and spoke to 20 tweens aged between 9 and 12, in Manchester, Birmingham, Guildford, Epsom and Southampton to understand their views and attitudes regarding an extensive range of topics from favourite brands, apps and TV programmes to personal expenditure. By Charlotte De Maria.

Content marketing via mobile: Interview with mBlox

The mobile phone market is matured to the point where new marketing approaches are required to capitalise on fast-growing and evolving audiences. New Media Knowledge caught up with one company at the forefront of this evolution to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Customised apps are key to gaining value from tablets in the enterprise

Today’s tablets should not be considered as laptop replacements for the majority of information workers. While useful where data presentation and “consumption” is concerned, a tablet’s form factor and touchscreen make using everyday productivity applications such as spreadsheets and word processors difficult. However, using line-of-business tablet applications specifically designed for particular roles within an organisation can provide real value. By Richard Absalom.

Facebook pages and the importance of being personal

Brands who want success with social media marketing need to put the emphasis on “social”, according to a new report. New Media Knowledge caught up with the author. By Chris Lee.

New films encourage young people to work in visual effects

Two short films to help address the skills shortage in the UK’s booming visual effects (VFX) industry by inspiring young people to pursue a VFX career were launched today (Tuesday, 6 March). By Nick Sheridan.

Ultrabook growth more than triple that of tablets over next five years

A new report from analyst firm Juniper Research forecasts that shipments of Ultrabooks will grow at three times the rate of tablets over the next five years. However, tablets volume will remain higher, with 253 million shipped in 2016, compared with 178 million Ultrabooks. By Daniel Ashdown.

Baidu vs Google: Is the battle already lost for Google?

Baidu has overtaken Google as the leader in the search engine market in China, following the example of Sina Weibo, China’s top micro blogging site. While the two internet giants are fighting head-to-head for control of China’s vast search market, Digimind has created an infographic which shows that Baidu has already succeeded in establishing a dominant foothold. By Orlaith Finnegan.

Mobile will improve online conversion rates

Despite the rapid growth in popularity of mobile internet use – most smartphone users access websites and 33% make purchases on it (according to EPiServer*) - over two-thirds of companies (70%) have not yet optimised their websites for mobile. And more than 8 in 10 (84%) are not designing marketing emails for mobile. By Mark Patron.

Connected and communicative: The student generation

As part of their ongoing Internal Research, Vox Pops International has re-investigated the student lifestyle by interviewing 60 university students over the course of three days during October 2011. 44 students were interviewed outside Kingston University and 16 students outside Nottingham Trent University. By Charlotte De Maria.

Customer Relationship Management is getting ‘social’

Oliver Trabert, CTO of Europe’s leading Enterprise Feedback Management company, QuestBack discusses how organisations can create real business value from social media initiatives and achieve a better understanding of its customers.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for February 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Mobile Banking Service Adoption to Reach over Half a Billion Users by 2013

Despite the challenging economic climate and threat of further global recession, a new report from Juniper Research finds that mobile banking users worldwide will reach 530 million by 2013, up from just over 300 million in 2011. By Sonia Lalli.

Consumers in emerging markets more inclined to use social media for customer service than those in developed markets

Contact centres need to address customers’ changing channel preferences and improve first contact resolution on the web, in both emerging and developed countries, according to Ovum. By Aphrodite Brinsmead.

Twitter sells access to archived tweets: An opportunity for marketers?

Twitter has made archived tweets available to companies to buy. Could this provide marketers with a valuable opportunity to access potential customer information? New Media Knowledge spoke to digital marketing agency Fortune Cookie about the implications of the move. By Chris Lee.

Search Engine Strategies London underlines importance of social search

The annual Search Engine Strategies (SES) London conference ran from 20-24 February 2012 and brought the UK’s growing search industry together to assess the key challenges in search marketing. So, just what did attendees learn? One overarching theme was that social search is set to dominate. By Chris Lee.

To tweet or not to tweet? That is the question

It was recently announced that David Cameron has joined LinkedIn, adding fuel to the argument that a full social media profile extends beyond Facebook and Twitter. But is LinkedIn purely a resource for business networking and job opportunities, or like its younger social media compatriots, is there a scope for brands to reach and engage prospective customers with well-targeted marketing offers? By Sam Cece.

Emailvision global survey shows that 85% of online marketers believe they can do more with customer data

Email marketing’s importance grows, but more than 85% of survey responders admit they can get more value from their customer data. By Nathalie Chaboche.

Time to bring insight communications into the Digital 21st Century

Vox Pops International recently conducted a survey with 100 major companies to find out how they share insight and how they engage with their ‘audience’, be it internal departments or external partners. The research consisted of a quantitative survey which was followed up with qualitative interviews. By Charlotte De Maria.

97% of people have shopped online - 30% using a smartphone

But only 1% of consumers have bought something via social media. By Rachel Phythian.

Conversation agents: UK businesses underestimate influence of ‘chatter’ on social media

While many UK companies have established a social media presence, almost half fail to recognise the importance of customer comments, according to a new survey. New Media Knowledge went in search of answers. By Chris Lee.

Brands, get ‘pinned’ for profit with Pinterest

Brands take note. Pinterest is showing all the right signs of becoming a mainstream player on the Social Media front. By Krishna Rao.

Shift in smartphone market with lower-end devices to dominate by 2016

The smartphone market will see a huge shift over the next five years, moving from predominantly premium devices aimed at advanced users towards cheaper, mass-market devices. According to the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media, 81% of all smartphones shipped in 2011 were sold at a wholesale price above US$300; however, this proportion is expected to decline to below 50% in 2016. By Malik Saadi.

Social & casual gameplay to drive sales

A new report from Juniper Research finds that a growing user acceptance of in-game purchases and a sharp rise in smartphone adoption will push sales of in-game items from $2.1 billion in 2011 to $4.8 billion in 2016. By Charlotte Miller.

Just what is “social search” and how can marketers embrace it?

Social search – the personalisation of data presented to users in search results influenced by their social networking contacts’ activity – is becoming increasingly important. So how can marketers embrace this latest evolution in search? New Media Knowledge quizzed some of the top brains in search marketin for the answer. By Chris Lee.

Ovum estimates that operators lost $13.9bn in 2011 due to social messaging

New estimates from Ovum indicate that consumers’ increasing use of IP-based social messaging* services on their smartphones cost telecom operators $8.7bn in lost SMS revenues in 2010, and $13.9bn in 2011. By Neha Dharia.

Amazon dominates search and social in consumer electronics retail

More than 1.5 million searches were made for consumer electronics online in November and in terms of visibility, Amazon dominated in both search and social media according to the latest research, ‘Brown Goods – Issue 10’, by leading independent specialist search and social media marketing agency, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

M-commerce transactions to generate service revenues of US$37 billion in 2016

Service revenues or fees from m-commerce transactions are expected to reach US$37 billion by 2016, according to the latest research published by Informa Telecoms & Media. By Shailendra Pandey.

Geosocial Networking and Smartphone adoption to drive market

A new report from Juniper Research finds that the continuing increase in smartphone adoption and the rise of geosocial networking will push the numbers of mobile social media users from 650 million this year to 1.3 billion by 2016; more than the total number of social media users on all platforms today. By Charlotte Miller.

Social Media – Some tips for B2B marketers

By now, most businesses recognize the benefits and impact that marketing on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can deliver to consumer marketers. They’re not the only ones. By Jay Hallberg.

Social media and internal comms: How O2 uses Yammer

Social media is not just for external communication. Organisations of all sizes are finding social media vastly improves internal communications, too. One such company is network operator O2, which uses a tool called Yammer to communicate internally. New Media Knowledge wanted to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Mobile broadband will act as a strategic disruptor in 2012

Emerging market operators will continue to experience strong connections growth in 2012. Mobile broadband will be the main driver of this growth, but it will also act as a strategic disruptor, finds Ovum. By Angel Dobardziev.

Go holistic, not ballistic: Interview with RadiumOne

The ‘Open Web’ has really shaken up the traditional advertising model. New Media Knowledge spoke to ad network experts RadiumOne to learn how advertisers need to adapt their strategies to maximise returns. By Chris Lee.

Analysis: Google’s new privacy policy

For Greenlight, the new policy is likely the most transparent from a search engine optimisation perspective. By Krishna Rao.

The UK high street fails to push Smart TVs to consumers

Retailers fail both manufacturers and consumers alike as Smart TVs remain a low priority. By Andrew Ladbrook.

Juniper Research has with paper on eBook market

eBook Sales to Smartphones, Tablets & eReaders to Reach $9.7bn by 2016, as Tablet Apps Fuel Usage. By Windsor Holden.

Online video advertising: Can we make the complicated, simple?

The European online video advertising market saw a growth of 100% in the first half of 2011 (Source: Internet Advertising Bureau bi-annual report produced in conjunction with PwC and WARC). But what are the reasons for this success and can it continue? By Brian Fitzpatrick.

Confusing about AR Apps make them the New QR Code

Last holiday season, QR codes, those pixilated packets of information, were everywhere. This season, they’re being out-shined by augmented reality (AR). AR is finally going mainstream, but is it really ready for the public? And are we ready for it? By Melanie Shreffler.

ASOS overtakes Topshop to top the Twitter league table

Pure-play retailer ASOS has come out top in the social media league tables for 2011 after adding more followers to their Twitter and Facebook account than any other fashion brand in the latest Social Media Benchmark from eDigitalResearch. By Derek Eccleston.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for January 2012

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Creating word-of-mouth solutions to enable market penetration in the saturated mobile apps market

With more than a million apps on the market and 60,000 being added each month, the ability for developers to bring their apps to market is becoming increasingly complex, competitive and costly. Ironically the word-of-mouth solution beloved of old school marketers is likely to provide a new viral-age solution. By Assaf Kolirin.

Understand more about Pinterest

Are you looking for somewhere new to interact with customers and people who might buy from your business? Pinterest is a great new social website which will appeal if you like visual images, style and fashion. By Antonia Chitty.

Just what is Pinterest and is it worth the hype?

The invitation-only visual social sharing network Pinterest has seen impressive growth as it celebrates its second birthday in March 2012. But just what is Pinterest and why is it so popular? New Media Knowledge tapped into its contacts book to find out. By Chris Lee.

Tablet market to generate over US$120 billion in retail revenue by 2016

Operators’ share will be limited to 30%. Telecom operators lose out in lucrative tablet market to independent retailers. By Julio Puschel.

Skillset to help 500 small creative businesses take on first apprentice through cash incentive

Business Secretary Vince Cable announced last week that Skillset will direct incentive payments of up to £1,500 to 500 small firms taking on their first apprentice. By Nick Sheridan.

Social Media Week 2012 kicks off as research points to digital “addiction”

It’s “Social Media Week”, so no better time to get the industry in perspective. In the week when a report suggested social media is more difficult to resist than alcohol or cigarettes, New Media Knowledge asked around for insights. By Chris Lee.

Four times more consumers consider mobile payments safer than credit cards

A Javelin Strategy & Research consumer survey, commissioned by PaymentOne, finds consumers would spend more online if offered an easier and more secure way to pay, revealing more than $100 billion in annual lost revenue for online merchants who don’t offer payment alternatives. By Brad Singer.

New Eye on Earth global mapping and information service now live

A new global web service allowing users to create maps and visualise data on environmental issues is now live. The new Eye on Earth global public information service brings together vast amounts of data about the environment in a powerful, visual format. By Iben Stanhardt and Arthur Girling.

Consumers want better experiences, deeper engagement, and more value from brands through social media

CMO Council study reveals opportunities abound for companies to create business advantage and maximize advocacy by better engaging customers with social media. By Crystal Berry.

Cancer Research UK turns to the cloud to raise funds

Cloud computing has landed in the “third sector” - charities. New Media Knowledge took a close look at how Cancer Research UK is using “software as a service” to raise both awareness and funds, plus spread its message further via social media. By Chris Lee.

Apple ousts LG as third largest mobile phone vendor by volume following 4Q11 results

Comment from Malik Saadi, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media on mobile phone vendors' 4Q11 results.

Channel 4 Education launches SuperMes

Channel 4 Education has just launched SuperMes, an online drama played out by virtual actors – a tale of four extraordinary folks and their triumphs and tragedies, as they learn how to be stronger and more resilient people. SuperMes has been created by content design company Somethin’ Else in collaboration with US-based games publisher Electronic Arts and uses The Sims™ 3as its platform – a virtual studio and soundstage. By Victoria Hartley.

Uncovering the true value of mobile apps to business

“There’s an app for that” was once a key selling point of Apple’s iPhone range and had organisations scrambling to create them. But studies show that consumers limit their usage to a few core applications and many never get opened. So, what’s the true value of developing mobile apps? New Media Knowledge quizzed one expert for the lowdown. By Chris Lee.

Email marketing and social media are top areas of investment in 2012

92% of business plan to increase or maintain marketing budgets in 2012; Data integration cited as top email marketing challenge. By Kara Trivunovic.

International remittances sent via mobile handsets to reach $55 billion in 2016 as service use rises

A new report from Juniper Research has found that nearly $55 billion in international remittances will be enabled via mobile devices in 2016, up from less than $12 billion this year. By Windsor Holden.

How apps are changing the way people make business and marketing decisions

Just as apps for smartphones and tablet PCs ARE revolutionising the way we live our lives - communicating, shopping, travelling and more - they have also changed approaches to business and marketing. MicroStrategy explains how bespoke apps based on a company’s own data can provide unparalleled insight and allow executives to make informed decisions in real-time. By Paul Devlin.

The DIY University or Business School: how to build your own agile learning experience with social media

The hardest things we learn — how to speak and many other life skills — we learn mainly through self-directed improvisation. That method didn’t scale to meet the needs of industrial society, but as those needs change and the sophistication of online resources and tools make self-organised learning scalable, the time is right for agile, improvised learning methods to reassert themselves, argues David Jennings.

DWPub releases new ‘Social media in the public sector’ whitepaper

Media communication company DWPub has released a new whitepaper to help public sector organisations learn how best to use social media. By John Shewell.

Using digital marketing to target local audiences

Targeting local audiences is a key aim for many businesses, but they can be difficult to reach. This article explores five digital tools and services that can help companies cut through the noise and get their messages across to local customers. By Chris Bunyan.

5 secrets of building a great business website

In this article, Abby Hardoon discusses the insights into the most important factors in building a website that attracts and retains online visitors.

Pressure on marketers intensifies in 2012: Interview with Adobe Systems

With more than half of companies predicted to cut their marketing spend in 2012, marketers are under more scrutiny than ever to deliver solid returns on investment. New Media Knowledge talked exclusively to Adobe Systems UK about social marketing and measurement in 2012. By Chris Lee.

Nokia Lumia fails to halt smartphone sales slump

Nokia’s set of recent results for 4Q11 show some of its worst results ever for a final quarter. By David McQueen.

Creative Industries Council endorses Skillset Skills Group's plans to boost skills and talent

Skillset has been charged by the Creative Industries Council and UK Government to implement a series of skills and talent-focused initiatives that will help the sector remain a driver of growth for the UK economy. By Nick Sheridan.

Women are best at being social on social media

Results of extensive study reveals gender divide in use of social media- and how celebrities exploit social media to connect with their fans. By Fatihah Iman.

2011: The Year of App Monetization

The year started out with predictions for the “Year of the App” but 2011 was really all about Freemium as free apps dominated the app marketplaces and mobile advertising began to mature beyond static banners. By Dale Carr.

How will Facebook Timeline impact brands?

Facebook rolled out its “Timeline” feature last year for individual users to chronicle their lives in a boldly laid-out format. With the Timeline format potentially set to roll out for brand pages too, how will this impact businesses? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Looking ahead: Search marketing in 2012

Search marketing is firmly on the table on the corporate agenda. In 2012 research predicts increased spend, but what will does 2012 have in store for the search marketing industry? New Media Knowledge delved into its contacts book to ask around. By Chris Lee.

Actinic Q4 2011 survey shows marginable uplift in sales for UK SME online retailers

The sixth quarterly UK online sales survey conducted by ecommerce specialist Actinic shows a slight increase in online retail sales for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to Q4 2010. By Jane Lee.

Is 2012 the Year of Social Business? – Possibly!

There have been numerous reports predicting 2012 will be the year of social business, and the increasing popularity of ‘digital transformation’ services touted by management consulting firms would appear to support this theory. However harmon.ie Vice President David Lavenda expects companies will struggle to “revolutionize” the way they do business.

Increasing conversion through data quality and usability

Statistics published by McKinsey point to a worrying disconnect in the ecommerce sector with $43bn being spent on bringing traffic to websites and just $250m being spent on conversion optimisation. By Jonathan Ross.

Google tipped to overtake Yahoo to become king of display advertising in 2012

Leading specialist search and social marketing agency, Greenlight, expects search giant Google to overtake Yahoo and become king of display advertising by the end of the year. By Krishna Rao.

Managing social media for news sites: part three – how to create an engaging online community

News sites are becoming increasingly social, but creating a vibrant online community is much more than simply opening up an article to reader comments. News sites have to start planning for the community before developing it. Community managers must be used to help grow and nurture the sites readership from information consumers to fully-fledged community contributors. This isn’t an instant process, and requires careful consideration. By Tamara Littleton.

Android is to gain market share in the next 12 months

Android will replace iOS as the most important platform to developers, says Ovum. By Adam Leach.

Brazilian and Chinese Internet markets: where should you be investing?

Brazil and China represent the economic power hubs of their respective regions, and despite different languages, cultures, political and economic systems, there are many similarities when it comes to their Internet markets. Companies considering investing in these two BRIC economies should know that profitable opportunities are plentiful, even though many large Internet firms have already established themselves and now hold important market share. A direct comparison based on strategic Internet figures should assist with the investment analysis and decisions. By Edvaldo Acir and Marc Violo.

What consumers really want from social media and where brands go wrong

The gap between what consumers really want from brands on social networks and what brands think that consumers want has been exposed by a new survey. New Media Knowledge dipped into its contacts to get some answers. By Chris Lee.

Keeping the family together through New Media

Study reveals how new media plays vital role for migrant families. By Fatihah Iman.

New Product: Actinic Online enables SMEs to create mobile-optimised ecommerce sites

The new product offer web retailers an easy way of joining the fastest growing sales channel. By Simon Armstrong.

UK Publishing Survey: only 20% use email automation and Social Media integration is low

New PPA & Adestra survey finds major opportunities through email marketing technology. By Henry Hyder-Smith.

Survey unveils disturbing lack of user security in mobile devices

With mobile users becoming ever more comfortable with using their phones to make purchases, the flip side is an increased security threat to personal data. New Media Knowledge caught up with one firm which has found some serious shortcomings when it comes to personal mobile protection. By Chris Lee.

Connecting the data dots on Facebook and beyond

Social media and Facebook in particular, hold a wealth of branding insights that refresh and multiply on a daily basis and, if tapped into correctly, have the ability to strengthen and inform a marketing or advertising strategy beyond measure. By Dave Williams.

“Big Data” is a misnomer. Unhinged Data is more accurate

While most organisations are aware of, if not fully adopting the term “Big Data” – it’s actually a misnomer. It indicates big data is about size, and that’s not a full representation of the issue. Endeca’s Jess Iandiorio tells us more.

Tech companies not social enough, study finds

While companies may increasingly be looking to use Twitter and Facebook as part of their marketing mix, too many are failing to use them correctly and missing opportunities to be truly engaging. These are the findings of the latest PR survey into the subject, so New Media Knowledge looked at the stats. By Chris Lee.

Informa Analyst Viewpoint: Kinect-like controllers come to Smart TVs

Andrew Ladbrook comments the new methods for user interaction with TV.

Social Search’ is finally here!

Google’s integration of Google+ into its search results is a major change, one brands and businesses must not ignore. And with Facebook having the potential to immediately capture a quarter of the search market globally were it to launch its own search engine, this move by Google has not come a minute too soon. By Andreas Pouros.

The evolution of TV viewing

In this article, Dean Donaldson discusses the changing consumer behaviour and the impact on media.

Online video advertising – predictions for 2012

Research by Adap.tv, the company that connects video advertising buyers and publishers directly on one platform, provides useful insight into the online video advertising sector in 2012. By Brian Fitzpatrick.

Combing the commons: how to learn just about anything for free

Massive usage of free learning resources points to new forms of learning. David Jennings argues that, while these are emerging in contexts where traditional educational offerings are out of reach, they may disrupt institution-centred approaches as the scope to organise your own learning programmes increases.

Tablet use doubles over Christmas period

Tablet use over Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 2011 doubled compared with 2010, as 8% of consumers now use these devices as their main means of getting online, according to the annual Christmas activity survey from eDigitalResearch and IMRG. By Derek Eccleston.

RichRelevance unveils more than a dozen online best practices for CPG marketers

New whitepaper determines how advertisers can best position themselves to “own” the moment that really matters – whether the purchase occurs in the store or online. By Jake Bailey.

Marks and Spencer expands e-commerce practice with impressive results

High street retailer Marks and Spencer is investing £150 million in updating its e-commerce platform, including a focus on affiliate and other online marketing. New Media Knowledge took a closer look at its new strategy. By Chris Lee.

Brazil: a digital giant awakens

The year 2011 ends with Brazil surpassing the U.K. to become the world’s 6th largest economy. The Brazilian Internet market is now 74 million strong according to Ibope/Nielsen Research Center, and as a result Brazil is attracting investments from major global firms. Recent arrivals such as Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon are fighting for market share against companies that entered the Brazilian market a few years ago: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. And all compete with home-grown market pioneers UOL, Globo.com, IG, and Terra Networks. By Andre Bodowski and Edvaldo Acir.

Christmas 2011 - The Kindle Christmas

1.3 million e-readers estimated to have been received at Christmas in Great Britain. 92% of e-readers bought were Kindles. By Marek Vaygelt.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for December 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Social search gathers momentum: Daily Mail and Guardian lead the way

Leading search engines are beginning to factor the popularity of stories on social networks as a factor when judging the quality of web pages, and Daily Mail and Guardian are currently the most visible UK news sites, according to new research. New Media Knowledge took a look at the statistics and the implications for search marketers. By Chris Lee.

The Tweatcher: Guidelines for a Web 2.0 Educator

Web 2.0 (1) is a troublesome concept for many. A best it distracts and at worse it corrupts. The perception that this is latest upgrade to the Information Overload is put up as a barrier to adoption. There is undoubtedly pollution of the information supply as well as attempts to steal out attention as described by Jacob Nielsen (2). By Duncan Stonebridge.

Free IT Security Tips

IT security should happen in many different levels, to be effective. In this article, Graeme Batsman, from Data Defender Ltd, explains the most relevant aspects to protect IT infrastructures from risks.

Data protection and IT security: Are your employees the weak link?

We’ve all heard the maxim: “Security is only as strong as its weakest link”. Companies can surround themselves with the latest high-tech security, – eight-foot fences, biometrics, firewalls, antivirus scanners, encryption – but it only takes one un-educated employee to throw all of that out of the window. By Graeme Batsman.

New free tool of the Adwords trade

The launch of the new Adwords Previewer tool makes life easier for Google Adwords advertisers. By Paul Booth.

Senior execs increasingly head up social but research neglected, survey finds

One in three firms has placed a senior executive in charge of social media, according to a recent study. Yet the findings suggest that very few organisations are exploiting social media’s potential for customer research and product development. New Media Knowledge looked at the figures. By Chris Lee.

Mobile coupons to become increasingly relevant

Mobile coupon redemption values to exceed $43bn by 2016, driven by better targeting and mobile Apps. By David Snow .

Retailers top the latest App customer satisfaction study

Online retail giant Amazon has topped the latest App Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch with an App that matches its online offering. By Derek Eccleston.

A closer look at Facebook’s new music sharing with Noise Inc.

Facebook’s new music tie-in with online repository Spotify aimed to help introduce users to new artists and talent. Initial research would indicate little positive impact on ‘likes’ for top artists, what’s the true potential of the Spotify partnership in Facebook? New Media Knowledge spoke to one leading consultant to find out. By Chris Lee.

New mobile game makes it easy to share pictures of peace

UN Foundation’s Interactive Photo-Jumble Game provides a fun way to support the United Nations and learn how you can make a difference. By Karin Lornsen.

Rules of engagement

What does it mean to truly engage with your audience? More than an automatic process, it’s a two-way relationship that requires time as well as financial and emotional investment. Richard Kunzmann helps navigate the pitfalls and explains the rules of engagement.

How digital marketers can leverage the buying cycle and achieve greater results

White Paper discusses the various stages and channels utilised by the customer in the buying cycle and how businesses can garner this opportunity by optimising each stage and channel. By Krishna Rao.

Women face glass ceiling in radio industry: Skillset report

Women in the UK radio industry are significantly under-represented at senior levels, according to a new report produced by Skillset for Sound Women, a new organisation dedicated to highlighting the issues faced by women in the radio industry. By Nick Sheridan.

Revenues with social virtual goods are expected to growth

Social virtual goods revenues generated via mobile devices to reach $3bn in 2011 rising to $4.6bn in 2016. Social gaming and smartphone adoption to drive market. By Jess Hanslip.

Why authors don’t need traditional publishers anymore

The publishing scene has changed beyond all recognition in the last ten years. At the beginning of the century, online book retailing represented only 5% of total book sales. Now that figure is closer to 30%. By Laura Sandford.

1 in 4 consumers have accessed the internet from their smartphones whilst out shopping

24% of consumers have used their smartphone to access websites whilst out shopping, according to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG, as retailers begin to offer free wifi to in-store customers. By Derek Eccleston.

Social Media in 2012: The industry predicts

How will social media evolve in 2012? New Media Knowledge delved into its contact books to quiz three leading lights of the UK’s digital industry for their predictions. By Chris Lee.

Managing social media for news sites: part two - moderating user generated content

News sites have started to see the value in encouraging readers to submit their opinions and content on the issues and stories that they report on. However, the comments that are posted reflect not just on the reader who posts them, but on the newspaper that publishes them. The news site has a duty to its readers and the brand to ensure all user generated content is fully moderated. By Tamara Littleton.

Online video advertising in 2012: Interview with Tremor Video

Online video has gathered pace year on year and 2012 will be no exception, according to one of Europe’s leading video advertising specialists. New Media Knowledge caught up with Tremor Video to hear what 2012 has in store for online video. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for November 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Top tips to eliminate document chaos

Did you know that people waste an average 30 minutes a day searching for documents, primarily in their email inbox (that’s 16 days a year, according to recent industry research!)? When you replicate that across your organisation, you quickly realize this annoyance has significant impact on overall productivity. Obviously, we can all make better use of our time. David Lavenda of harmon.ie examines best practices for using Microsoft SharePoint to eliminate document chaos and reclaim those lost hours.

fCommerce grows 8.8% in just four months

12% of social media users have been encouraged to make a purchase from a Facebook store after seeing something on the site, according to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG. By Derek Eccleston.

Engagement: Social Media’s Next Evolution

Wildfire launches new way to measure brand engagement on Facebook. By Alain Chuard.

harmon.ie says Atos’ plan to remove email from the workplace could be disastrous to business

Commenting on reports that technology giant Atos is to phase out internal email as a means of communication, social email provider harmon.ie says Atos’ plan is bucking the industry trend – a classic case of ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater,’ as the old adage goes. By David Lavenda.

Internet advertisers ignoring non-English Web users, survey says

New data suggests that non-English speaking Internet users deserve more attention from brands. With the vast majority of global Internet users not native English speakers, is it time brands changed tactics? New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

Christmas eCommerce sales is flat in the UK

Eurozone experiences 15 per cent growth. USA sees 22 percent growth. By Charlotte Hanson.

The Joy of ‘Dex: Interview with Morphsuits

Recent costume phenomenon Morphsuits have gained a loyal and growing fan base. New Media Knowledge caught up with one of the co-founders to learn more about how the company has used solely social media to generate awareness and growth. By Chris Lee.

Location, location, location

Putting small businesses on the map with location based services. By Justin Bowser.

PC and laptop-related searches prove most popular

When it comes to consumer online searches for cameras, camcorders, DVD players and recorders, entertainment products, PCs, laptops and TVs, which of these products will prove most popular, search-wise, in the run up to Christmas? What of online retailers – which sites will be most visible to these searches? By Krishna Rao.

Tackling SEO: Interview with BigMouthMedia

Search is a complicated field of marketing at the best of times, but more changes from Google have given search agencies further challenges to grapple with. To learn more, New Media Knowledge sat down with Andrew Girdwood of BigMouthMedia, one of the UK’s leading search bloggers. By Chris Lee.

Ho, Ho, No! Why iPads and iPhones are not kids’ toys

Cell phones and iPads rank as the most-wanted gifts of the season among youngsters, with 65% placing these devices at the top of their wish lists, according to SodaHead.com, a discussion community with more than 10 million visitors a month. However, parents would do well to ponder experts’ warnings before buying one, advises Environmental Health Trust (EHT) and Healthy Child Healthy World, non-profit research and educational groups. By Janet Vasquez.

Smartphone apps to dominate mobile VoIP by 2016

Social media and high-profile alliances expected to herald new role for voice services, finds new Juniper Research Report. By Jess Hanslip.

Menswear still to make its mark online

The UK market for online fashion is expected to be worth £4.8bn by the end of 2011, according to market analyst Mintel. However, going by the latest independent analysis of online fashion-related search data, undertaken by leading specialist search and social marketing agency Greenlight, menswear has quite some ground to make up. By Krishna Rao.

Consumers fear phone hackers will crack mobile wallets

Intersperience research reveals mobile payment security concerns: phone hacking fears prevalent among consumers; 44% worry about lack of security software on mobiles; only 17% of consumers want to use mobiles as wallets in future. By Michael Andrews.

Tackling SEO: Interview with BigMouthMedia

Search is a complicated field of marketing at the best of times, but more changes from Google have given search agencies further challenges to grapple with. To learn more, New Media Knowledge sat down with Andrew Girdwood of BigMouthMedia, one of the UK’s leading search bloggers. By Chris Lee.

Why the way we learn has to keep getting more agile

Budgetary pressure can mean that learning gets more centralised and standardised. But in an era where there are near-free resources and tools in the commons of the Net, there’s no reason why learning cannot become quicker and easier to organise, more powerful — and cheaper. By David Jennings.

Facebook rings the changes. What now for marketers?

A news ticker, smart lists, timelines, updates news feeds and a subscribe button - just some of the changes Facebook announced at its F8 conference recently. But what do these changes mean for marketers? New Media Knowledge asked around for answers. By Chris Lee.

Darwin’s theory and technology advancement

Many enterprise technologies claim to be revolutionary. But is that really the best way to institute organisational change? By David Lavenda.

Business leaders say the Cloud will assist economic recovery with an explosion of entrepreneurship

Cloud-computing is an innovation destined to foster wealth and enterprise on an epic scale in Britain – a “gateway to explode entrepreneurship”. By Elizabeth Bell.

88% of marketers still to develop connected TV strategy

This is the situation despite global sales reaching 123million by 2014. By Chris Gorell Barnes.

Amazon tops the latest App Benchmark with an App that matches their online offering

Retailer Amazon has topped the latest App Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch, achieving a top score of 90% with an App that matches the brand’s established online usability. By Derek Eccleston.

eNewspaper sales to mobile devices to hit $1.1 bn by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research has found that annual revenues derived from eNewspapers delivered to portable devices will exceed $1.1 billion by 2016 with publishers increasingly delivering via subscription-based applications to counteract falling print sales. By Jess Hanslip.

How to use social customer relationship management for sales

Brands need to more effectively link customer relationship management over social media with sales, according to sales specialist, Artesian. New Media Knowledge caught up with the company’s CEO to learn more. By Chris Lee.

British Internet engineering talent is emerging from the back room

There’s an Industrial Revolution taking place in Britain, centred on a “BritCom” boom that is evident in a discreet splurge of profitable UK internet businesses, according to one of the players in the industry, Anthony Rushton, co-founder of the British-based company, Telemetry. By Kitty Martin.

Guardian Awards for Digital Innovation seek creative use of technology

The 2012 Megas are open for entries, celebrating creative achievements and inspiring entrepreneurial spirit within the field of technology. By Louise Davies.

Bring on the Media Trends 2012

Emerging trends in entertainment are gathering momentum and promise to alter the media landscare in the coming year, including: IWWIWWIWI, Attention Division Disorder, Personal Marathoning, Me in Extremis, and Hello Darkness. By Robin Hafritz.

Brands struggle to retain fans on Facebook

Two in every five Facebook fans ‘unlike’ a brand page, according to new survey. How can brands best retain fans’ interest? New Media Knowledge asked around.

Search for loans up 6% at expense of mortgages

UK online searches for loans saw a 6 per cent rise on January levels totalling 966,202 in July, according to the latest independent research from leading specialist search and social marketing agency, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Why the iCloud isn’t the answer for business

Dominic Jones, managing director of IT support provider Barton Technology, believes the iCloud is another brilliant idea from Apple. However, it isn’t a real cloud computing, storage or backup solution for business. In this exclusive piece for New Media Knowledge, he explains why.

New research: Mobile payments for physical goods to exceed $170bn globally by 2015

A new report by Juniper Research forecasts that the gross merchandise transaction value of mobile payments for physical goods will exceed $170 billion worldwide by 2015. This is nearly treble the $60 billion forecast for 2011. By Jess Hanslip.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for October 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Insurance: Brand recognition more important than costs on price comparison websites

Research released today by digital marketing agency, Gravytrain, reveals that consumers using price comparison websites are more likely to buy from insurance brands that they recognise and trust, rather than from those simply offering the lowest quote. By Kevin Taylor.

Marketers warned not to overlook mobile ads this Christmas

With 15 per cent of shoppers expected to buy Christmas presents via smart phones this year, marketers should be exploiting mobile platforms to increase sales, according to one industry expert. New Media Knowledge crunched the data with Adfonic. By Chris Lee.

Managing social media for news sites: part one - the importance of contributor guidelines

The increased use of social media for news gathering and distribution has brought news back into the social sphere, but this engagement between journalist and reader must be properly managed. By Tamara Littleton.

Christmas shopping made social: Interview with My List is Here

With many turning their minds to Christmas shopping, New Media Knowledge spoke to the founder of a new website which sets out to eliminate those unwanted presents. By Chris Lee.

Taking ‘No Email Day’ Off the Calendar

11th November 2011 has been marked as ‘No Email Day’. Sam Cece of StrongMail wants the day to be a one-off. He explains why....

Can BlackBerry recover after October’s outage?

Mid-October saw widespread service faults for smart phone maker BlackBerry, with many users unable to access email and Internet. With its email pushing system a key selling point in a competitive market, what will the fallout be for BlackBerry? New Media Knowledge investigated. By Chris Lee.

Four ways to avoid Social Media facepalms

In this Social Media gold rush the only people really making money are those selling pickaxes. By Parry Malm.

Are businesses ready for the ‘net native’ generation?

Siemens Enterprise Communications report finds today’s tech-savvy teens have high expectations for future working environments. By Adrian Brookes.

UK mobile retail sites improve on speed, but continue to struggle with availability throughout September

Keynote Systems, a global specialist in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, is tracking the mobile site performance of 24 of the top retailers across eight countries. By Robert Castley.

Tiny screen, huge results

Mobile advertising is still a brave new world, but the initial research suggests that it’s packing a punch. Research from MediaMind indicates that advertising on mobile devices is outperforming desktop broswer banners. Ariel Geifman.

New StrongMail report finds email marketing relevancy and timing are essential to success in crowded daily deal industry

Special report provides detailed analysis of current email marketing programmes from Groupon, LivingSocial, HauteLook, zulily and other leading daily deal sites. By Kara Trivunovic.

Bloggers complain of PR interference: Survey finds

A fifth of bloggers say that public relations (PR) professionals have at some point put them under pressure to write favourably about their client, according to a new survey. But there were some signs that PR professionals are learning how to better relate to bloggers. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

Top 10 reasons to reach for the cloud

Small businesses are continually being urged to join the cloud computing revolution. Proponents claim it is a no-brainer, especially in times of austerity and belt-tightening. But why should small to medium-sized businesses switch from housing an office-based server set-up and associated hardware to the seamless world of the cloud? What are the real benefits? By Ian Beckwith.

Latest Nielsen Internet stats point to growing mobile influence

Social networks now occupy a quarter of people’s time spent online, with mobile driving the way. These are the findings of Internet watcher Nielsen’s latest quarter findings. New Media Knowledge looked at what these stats mean for marketers. By Chris Lee.

Informa analyst viewpoint on Netflix’s plans to expand into the UK market

Comment from Nick Thomas, Principal Analyst for TV & Digital Media at Informa Telecoms & Media on Netflix’s plans to expand into the UK market.

Fast Train is back, but this time for the Radio sector

The BBC Academy confirmed on 24th October that Radio Fast Train will take place on February 7th 2012. Hosted by the BBC Academy in partnership with Skillset, it will be produced in association with The Radio Academy, Radio Independents Group, RadioCentre, and Community Media Association. By Nick Sheridan.

Why IT support companies give themselves a bad name

For most, the IT world is a confusing place, filled with acronyms and lingo. Because of this, many SME owners and managers find themselves unsure of what kind of IT support company to choose and usually follow the advice of a sales representative. Unfortunately this advice may well be focused on up-selling and enhancing the rep’s commission, rather than meeting the customer’s needs. Here, Dominic Jones, owner and managing director of Barton Technology, explains how business owners and managers can navigate the maze and calls for a universal set of standards that IT consultants should be required to comply with.

Satisfaction with online conversion drops to all-time low

New RedEye and Econsultancy report finds just 25% of marketers are satisfied with online conversion, with satisfaction dropping by 5% in one year. By Jim Buchanan.

Creating value through customer intelligence

The internet and social media have ushered in an era of consumer empowerment. As sensitivity to marketing noise increases, a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer acceptable. By Tim Watson and Nick Dennis.

One third of young adults to shop via their mobile phone this Christmas

A new survey carried out among 1,300 consumers reveals that 32% of 18 to 34 year olds plan to use their mobile device to purchase gifts in the run up to the festive season. The result is a strong indication that an increasing number of young shoppers are using their mobile device to make purchases. By Lucinda Southern.

Is there life below the fold?

In 1994 at the dawn of the Internet, the term “below the fold” was coined to refer to anything below the initial line of the user’s sight. They would have to scroll “below the fold” to see it. But is as relevant as many think in 2011? Have browsing habits evolved? New Media Knowledge took a look at a report into the subject. By Chris Lee.

How product data feeds bridge the online channel marketing gaps for e-commerce merchants

Merchants face an increasingly complex digital market as e-commerce evolves and the number of consumer touch-points continues to climb. Lee Brignell-Cash, Managing Director at FusePump, examines the challenges merchants face in promoting their products online and how data feeds can help them exploit a diverse array of applications.

Rent little-used items and make some money for your student budget

With many constraints on the finances of students, it is always good to make some extra cash where you can. RentMyItems.com is there to help as an online marketplace where students can lend their little-used items to other students and members in their local community. By Paul Savident.

Mobilising search marketing: Interview with Blowfish Digital

With smartphones rising in precedence throughout the UK, marketers are scrambling to factor mobile into their business strategies. But how should they approach mobile search? New Media Knowledge sought answers. By Chris Lee.

Social media and search – how do they influence each other?

One of the most debated questions in digital marketing is the connection between social media and search. How much does social media activity (such as Facebook Likes) affect Google rankings? Searchmetrics has carried out some fresh research and analysis that sheds light on this complex relationship. By Marcus Tober.

mCommerce customer satisfaction on the rise as retailers implement learning’s from the online industry

Customer satisfaction for mCommerce sites has started to climb once again, as retailers implement learning’s from the eRetail industry. By Derek Eccleston.

FACT-Finder comments on SaaS

Research conducted by the Aberdeen Group found that 56% of best-in-class retailers are using customer search analytics to re-adjust search results automatically, and that a further 44% of those retailers are adjusting search results manually based on analytics reporting. By Mathias Duda.

harmon.ie says employers need to tap the power of Web 2.0 for better business efficiency

Commenting on the just-released Work-Life-Web report from Clearswift, social email provider harmon.ie says that findings regarding ‘social media growing pains’ are exactly in line with its own research into the profound impacts that social media has on our business and leisure lives. By David Lavenda.

IT support firm predicts 2012’s SME security threats

Knowing the top ten security threats for 2012 will help inform business and IT managers and owners. By Dominic Jones.

Retail websites continue to reach new levels of customer satisfaction

eRetail websites are continuing to reach high levels of customer satisfaction and outperform the rest of the online industry, according to the latest eRetail Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch. By Derek Eccleston.

User Experience - building the brand

One of the big challenges to the widespread uptake of better user experience is ensuring that it is built in from the start. On one level the need should be obvious – ease of use directly impacts how many customers browse and purchase from a website or through an app. By Arthur Moan.

Truly extend of “Social Spam” unveiled

Most social media users will have come across friend requests from fake accounts, but are you aware of the full extent of “social web spam”? New Media Knowledge took a look at a new report which highlights the incredible potency of social web spam. By Chris Lee.

Digital marketing specialists must move beyond an isolated approach

White Paper calls time on isolated working practices among digital marketing channel specialists. By Krishna Rao.

The flip side of Google+ plug-ins: Interview with Tagman

When Google’s latest effort to break into the highly competitive social networking market, Google+, launched this summer, it was heralded as a serious rival to Facebook and Twitter. But New Media Knowledge caught up with one firm which believe that that Google+’s plug-ins could actually lose firms traffic. By Chris Lee.

AFP journalists’ guide to using social networks

The Arab Spring, the DSK affair, the London riots, the socialist primaries – these and other major news stories have demonstrated the extent to which monitoring social networks has become an integral part of journalists’ work, including news agency reports providing breading news. By Maud Forlini.

Cloud Study that Points to Major Need for Transformation in IT Procurement

The cloud is creating a greater sense of capability and collaboration and compelling financial benefits which can, if not checked, drive contractual and operational ambiguity, according to a research co-sponsored by DMH Stallard. The research illustrates how diverse and fragmented it often is for both end users and the IT channel to contract cloud services. By Frank Jennings.

Tablet users more likely to shop online than smartphone owners

Tablet owners are more engaged with retail brands, making more purchases and website visits compared with smartphone users, according to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG. By Derek Eccleston.

UK SME online retailers experience slowdown in sales

However, Actinic research reports ecommerce still better than High Street retail. By Jane Lee.

Mobile data explosion pitfalls for emerging markets operators

Mobile operators in emerging markets face revenue losses and poor service quality if they do not plan adequately for the explosion in data traffic on the horizon, warns Ovum. By Shiv Putcha.

IT support companies should ignore the cloud at their peril

Cloud computing is all the rage. In fact, it feels like there is no escape. The cloud is everywhere. But one thing is becoming clear ‒ cloud computing is much more than a trendy buzzword: it is here to stay. And IT support firms had better smarten up… By Ian Beckwith.

Touchscreen-only smartphone shipments to surpass 700 Million in 2016

Smartphones with this type of interface will comprise 72% of total shipments, compared to just over half in 2010, says Juniper Research. By John Levett.

Measuring the cost of the social media: “Social media calculator” launched

A lot has been made of the cost of social media usage to business. Time spent by staff on Facebook for non-work related activity equals lost productivity and reduced profitability, according to some commentators. A new “social media calculator” has been developed to help firms understand their potential exposure to loss from staff social media usage. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for September 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

The psychology of being social: Five online “personalities” unveiled

Social media has enabled people to open up to new audiences like never before, often to people they have never even met. Workplace psychologists have unveiled the findings of a study into online personality traits. New Media Knowledge took a look at the research. By Chris Lee.

Nine Best Practices of Social Media Marketing

What was once considered a trend has developed into something far too potent to be ignored; social media has fundamentally altered the way in which we communicate as marketers. However, social media marketing can just as easily crumble resulting in confusion, turning customers off and plenty of negative publicity on your hands. So with that in mind, below are nine of the best practices in social media marketing that help companies and customers alike. By Kristin Hersant.

20% fall in UK online retail order values in July/August 2011

Summer of discontent: Data from Computop shows 20% contraction in month-on-month online retail order values according to leading Payment Services Provider. By Ralf Gladis.

6 Strategies for coping when your work can always find you

As the very communication tools designed to make us more productive are threatening to take over our lives, finding the balance between work and personal time has become a challenge. Here are six strategies to help you regain control. By David Lavenda.

The cost of downtime

With worldwide e-commerce on the rise year after year, experiencing website downtime can be an expensive problem for business. But what are the real costs and is there anything that can be done to avoid it? By Abby Hardoon.

Mobile video calling users to exceed 130 million by 2016

The new Juniper Research report finds that this number represents a penetration of less than 1 in 10 smartphone users at the end of the forecast period. By John Levett.

Fixed-line yesterday, VoIP today, mobile VoIP tomorrow?

As smartphone users grow at an exponential rate, it’s inevitable that more and more will prefer mobile VoIP as their platform of choice to connect the many ways we communicate. By Tanveer Sharif.

Harnessing the power of online video advertising without breaking the bank

While it may still be in its infancy, online video advertising is one of the fastest growing areas of digital marketing spend - nearly doubling during 2010 according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). Given the power that video has to engage audiences and show off a brand to best effect, this growth can only continue. But is it possible to benefit from online video without having a massive ad budget? By Chris Bunyan.

Social Media in Action: Rentokil

Pest control company Rentokil is demonstrating how services companies can target audiences using social media. New Media Knowledge caught up with Rentokil to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Android to dominate NFC handset shipments from 2012 onwards

Android to account for largest number of NFC handset shipments from 2012 onwards. 630 million NFC handsets to drive transactions worth US$71 billion by 2015. By Denise Duffy.

Top tips on making your CRM strategy more social

These days savvy brands don’t just use social media to create a buzz – they are using it to generate actual sales. For the boldest (or at least richer) brands amongst us, that may mean building a full on social commerce strategy. But monetising social media activity doesn’t have to mean building a sales platform within a social network. By closely aligning your social media and CRM strategies, you can boost the performance of your social activity and start to generate ROI directly from it. By Claire Weeks.

What’s the opportunity for brands on Google+?

Google’s latest entry into social media, Google+, is fast gaining momentum and members. New Media Knowledge caught up with one of the UK’s leading digital marketing brains to discover what opportunities lie in Google+ for brands and where further improvements could be made. By Chris Lee.

10 Steps to a better holiday sales season

With only 80 days left until Christmas, the time to build a better online marketing strategy is now. Emailvision’s Beth Curtis-Clarke takes you through the best steps to achieve just that.

iPhone: It’s what’s inside that counts...isn’t it?

There were high expectations for the launch of the latest iPhone, with the new look iPhone 5 being the nomenclature of choice. However, there was a little disappointment in the air as, in actuality, Apple revealed a warmed up version of last year’s iPhone following 15 months without any hardware upgrade. By David McQueen.

Mobile technology is making devices more useful for business

In this article, Dominic Jones, managing director of Barton Technology, advices on how to use the iPhone, iPad and other tablets and mobiles to deliver value to SMEs.

Skillset’s Foundation Degree Internships give students balance between university and work experience

Skillset has designed four ground breaking new qualifications that will give students first-hand experience of working in an exciting media role while earning a degree. By Nick Sheridan.

Mobile security software revenues to increase six fold to $3.7bn by 2016, driven by the business demand

The market for security software to protect mobile devices including tablets, smartphones and feature phones will reach almost $3.7 billion by 2016 according to a new report by Juniper Research. By that date enterprise and business sales will account for almost 69% of the market. By John Levett.

Feature phone apps market to almost double to $1 billion

The mobile apps market for feature phones will almost double by 2016, hitting revenues of $1 billion, after being spurred on by the success of apps in the smartphone sector, according to Ovum. By Nick Dillon.

Social media can be the UK's dynamo of national and community activism

The rapidly expanding social media news landscape offers great opportunities for people who are trying to make a difference according to social entrepreneur. By Neil Champken.

Digital distractions to blame for disrespect amongst colleagues

Abundance of tools, software and gadgets, supposed to make employees productive, is leading to poor etiquette. By Regine Hartmann.

Witnessing the value of online video marketing: Interview with Meridian Leisure Park

The value of using video for online marketing is increasingly recognised by businesses of all sizes. New Media Knowledge caught up with one Midlands leisure park which has seen significant benefits. By Chris Lee.

Keyword research crucial to success of digital campaigns

Lack of resources hampers digital marketers from undertaking rigorous keyword research. By Krishna Rao.

PRs ignore bloggers as part of their outreach, survey suggests

While bloggers continue to grow in number and authority, the PR industry apparently continues to overlook bloggers as part of their client publicity outreach, a new study suggests. With almost half of PR professionals “rarely” or “never” engaging with bloggers, New Media Knowledge pondered bloggers’ true influence. By Chris Lee.

Online romance scams hit hundreds of thousands of victims

New study reveals scale and prevalence of new form of fraud. By Ather Mirza.

Amazon adds Fire to stoke tablet market

In this article, David McQueen, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, comments on the new Amazon tablet.

Regulator takes lead on app threat

PhonepayPlus, the UK regulator of premium rate telephone services (PRS), today issued a consultation to the telecoms and digital industries in order to tackle hidden threats to consumers from apps on smartphones. By Shirley Dent.

Gains for mobile shopping as 1 in 3 consumers plan to spend more on their smartphones this Christmas

35% of UK consumers will do more shopping on their smartphones this Christmas according to eDigitalResearch and IMRG, as the popularity of shopping and browsing on mobile devices continues to increase. By Derek Eccleston.

Mobile network operators face seven fold increase in data delivery costs, Juniper Research warns

Analyst house calls for wider use of offload, optimisation technologies to reduce operating costs. By John Levett.

Ebay and Daily Mail top UK search rankings

Online auction site Ebay appears highest in the extremely competitive shopping search market, according to a report out in August, while the Daily Mail rules the roost in news. New Media Knowledge did a little shopping around of its own for answers. By Chris Lee.

Twitter, universal rights and unleashing the power through public APIs

Twitter has partnered with Telefonica to enable people in the UK to text photos by MMS to Twitter, using BlueVia's API to make it happen. This post is about Jose Valles’s personal experiences, first hand, on how the deal with Twitter come about, what do open APIs mean for social media and developers and most importantly, for telcos.

The future’s bright, the future’s mobile...so why not now?

It’s clear that mobile phones, specifically smartphones such as the iPhone, are one of the most cutting edge marketing platforms available to brands. What are the implications of this reality? By Barney Larkin.

Journalists increasingly rely on social media but fear impact on quality, study finds

Almost all journalists in Europe’s major economies now use social media to research stories but are concerned about its impact on quality, according to a study out in July. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

UK SME online retailers experience slowdown in sales

However, ecommerce still better than High Street retail, concludes Actinic research. By Nick Kington.

Why SaaS (Software as a Service) is a burgeoning trend for online retailers

In this article, Mathias Duda, head of UK Operations at FACT-Finder, discusses the issue of SaaS and how this trend is growing amongst retailers.

5 tips to boost your online business income

It is relatively easy to start a website, but can seem much harder to attract visitors and make sales. By Antonia Chitty.

Microsoft’s Bing is gaining ground on Google in five key ways

While Google still leads the search engine market, Microsoft's Bing is trying a number of strategies to challenge it. Here are five important ways in which Bing might just be starting to get the edge on Google. By Horst Joepen.

ASOS attracts more new social media users than any other retailer in the last three months

Pure play retailer ASOS has attracted over double the amount of new followers in the last three months across Twitter and Facebook than any other retailer according to the latest Social Media Benchmark results. By Derek Eccleston.

QR codes: What’s the business case?

As businesses aim to further sync their online marketing activities with mobile devices, so companies have increasingly turned to ‘Quick Response’ (QR) codes. What are they, how do they work and how are they being put to good effect? New Media Knowledge asked around to find out. By Chris Lee.

Smart Metering will account for over 40% of installed M2M devices

M2M (Machine-to-Machine) roll outs supported by smart metering as market reaches over 400m connected devices by 2016. By John Levett.

Just Landlords website reaps benefits of SEO campaign

When website Just Landlords wanted to increase its online visibility it turned to online marketing specialists Gravytrain. After 18 months, traffic has increased twenty-fold, so New Media Knowledge caught up with Gravytrain to see how it was achieved. By Chris Lee.

Top 10 holiday-related search terms revealed

Specialist search and social marketing agency, Greenlight, analysed over 3,000 keywords used by UK consumers between May and June when they looked for holidays online and identified the ten most popular terms used to source them. By Krishna Rao.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for August 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

More than half UK pensioners now on Facebook

37.4 million UK adults use Facebook regularly, 15.5 million on Twitter. More men prefer Linkedin and YouTube than women. LinkedIn bucks age trends with 20s/30s biggest users. Northern Ireland lags behind as South East leads in social media usage. By Jon Priestley.

TV vs. Smartphone: Mobile provides strong competition for TV

madvertise, one of Europe’s leading mobile advertising marketplaces, has released recently research demonstrating that mobile usage is now in direct competition with television viewing. By Christian Henschel.

Creating a mobile app strategy

It's now widely recognised that mobile apps offer a vast and growing opportunity within a variety of business contexts. As a great way to deliver information to your audience, they offer excellent value as a marketing or customer service medium or as an internal tool for HR and logistics, as a few of many examples. By Tod Pedler.

Gamification: Shiny object or effective business strategy?

Online gaming is big business, with Internet users spending three billion hours a week playing online games. But how can brands best ‘gamify’ their sites to engage with new audiences? New Media Knowledge played to field to find out. By Chris Lee.

First British small business raises equity finance through crowdfunding website

Award-winning bodycare business Bubble & Balm hits funding target of £75,000 on Crowdcube. By Luke Lang.

Research highlights consumers’ “dependence” on smartphones

As mobile phones become more intelligent and feature-rich, a new survey has unveiled which features and apps smartphone users are most likely to use. New Media Knowledge took a look at the figures and how this is impacting consumer behaviour. By Chris Lee.

The key to unlocking successful results with lifecycle marketing

Increased conversations, efficiencies as well as customer insight are just a few examples of what can be accomplished through lifecycle email communications. However, the key to success lies with how you get there compared to the speed in which you do so. In order to generate results, there are some key objectives to carry out to steer yourself in the right direction. By Kara Trivunovic.

Smartphone shipments to reach one billion annually by 2016, growing by more than 230%

Economy Smartphones, with a retail price of $150 or lower, will account for nearly one-third of shipments in five years. By John Levett.

UK’s first Twitter crowdsourced charity recipe book goes on sale

The UK’s first charity recipe book made up entirely of 140-character recipes crowdsourced through Twitter is now on sale to the public. By Louise Woodward.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for July 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Monetising Facebook: Interview with MicroStrategy

As organisations increasingly look to dominant social network Facebook to promote their business, New Media Knowledge caught up with one firm whose software aims to help companies monetise their Facebook presence. By Chris Lee.

Facebook white paper - Top ten retailers ignoring their customers

Conversocial’s first white paper sheds light on the state of social customer service in the retail industry. The report uncovers the obstacles to effective customer care in Facebook and reveals who is successful, and who is ignoring their customers. By Anna Drennan.

Informa analyst comments Facebook Messenger

Facebook has taken the wraps off Facebook Messenger, a separate mobile messaging application which has been developed by the same team that developed the Beluga group messaging application (Facebook acquired Beluga in March 2011). Pamela Clark-Dickson analyses the new application.

Social Media and Social Disorder: When do they overlap?

The recent unprecedented UK riots caused politicians, police and some members of the public alike to blame social media for the rapid spread of looting and public disorder. With two youths sentenced to four years in prison for setting up a Facebook page allegedly inciting a riot that never happened, is it time to get social media’s link to the rioting in perspective? By Chris Lee.

Digital First enables bargain hunters to share their discoveries

Since July, bargain hunters in Edinburgh have a new way of sharing their thrifty finds, following the launch of Shelter Scotland’s location-based social networking site on Foursquare – a first for a UK charity. By Sabina Kadic-Mackenzie.

55% of digital marketers don’t know which words gain optimum returns campaign-wise

A survey conducted by Hydra shows the benefits to sharing keywords and phrases across digital channels. By Krishna Rao.

10 steps for successful blogging

Lots of business owners know they should be blogging, but haven’t worked out how to make blogging a great way to bring in new customers and clients. If this sounds like you, follow this simple guide from Antonia Chitty and Erica Douglas of www.aceinspire.com.

The social media blind spot: Why are marketers shying away?

One in five marketers fails to integrate social media into their current marketing programmes, according to a new study. So what is holding back marketers’ wider adoption of social media? New Media Knowledge went in search of answers. By Chris Lee.

1.5 million UK jobs in e-commerce by 2015

An estimated 1.5 million UK staff will work within the e-commerce industry within the next four years according to new research from IMRG and eDigitalResearch. Increase in employment opportunities welcome news for under pressure UK job market. By Chris Russell.

Cookie Monsters: Websites failing new European privacy directive

New European laws regarding cookies came into effect in May, yet many sites are still failing to adhere to them, according to one industry expert. New Media Knowledge caught up with Web analytics specialist John Harrison to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Despite industry hype, enterprises resist IPv6 push, report finds

Most enterprises are continuing to resist pressure from the internet and telecoms industry to migrate their web operations to IPv6 by ignoring their efforts to push to the new standard, according to Ovum. By Mike Sapien.

Cookie Monsters: Websites failing new European privacy directive

New European laws regarding cookies came into effect in May, yet many sites are still failing to adhere to them, according to one industry expert. New Media Knowledge caught up with Web analytics specialist John Harrison to learn more. By Chris Lee.

Mobile cloud Enterprise revenues to reach $39 bn by 2016

A new report from Juniper Research has found that annual revenues derived from mobile cloud based enterprise services are expected to reach $39 billion by 2016 as mobile network operators increasingly offer corporate clients an array of unified communications suites. By John Levett.

Blogging for business: Best practice

For organisations of all sizes, the lack of a company blog is now considered a conspicuous absence. With great potential benefits for search marketing and demonstrating thought leadership, New Media Knowledge wanted to know what makes the perfect corporate blog. By Chris Lee.

Everything you need to know about reverse engineering Google algorithms

If you understand how search engines work you KNOW that there is nothing to know about how to reverse engineer a search engine’s algorithms. It is impossible to do and a total waste of time and money. More importantly, wasting time on such fruitless tasks keeps you from doing the things that WILL make you competitive on the web. By Amy Munice.

Birmingham Skillset Media Academy launches new Foundation Degree Internship in Radio Production

Skillset and the Birmingham Skillset Media Academy have developed an exciting new pathway into the radio industry for school leavers. By Nick Sheridan.

Consumer online search for holidays more than double with the term ‘cheap holidays’ dominating

Consumers in the UK looked to book their holidays well in advance of summer, according to the latest quarterly research by independent search and social marketing firm, Greenlight. Its latest quarterly report, ‘Holidays February 2011’ reveals 3.1 million holiday-related searches were conducted on Google in February compared to 1.2 million in the previous quarter. By Krishna Rao.

Skillset and The Radio Academy launch innovative website to help young people find their Route into Radio

Skillset and The Radio Academy are extremely proud to unveil Route into Radio, a new website to help young people find out more about careers in radio through a range of video case studies of people currently working in the industry. By Nick Sheridan.

Report reveals that telecoms and pay TV operators need ‘bigger’ bundles to win over customers

Services like Spotify and YouView key in operators’ bid to retain customers. By Rob Gallagher.

Can business-to-business communications work on Facebook?

With a user base approaching 670 million, Facebook has been successfully exploited by some organisations looking to target consumers. But is Facebook any use as a platform for businesses wanting to attract other business customers? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Searching for answers: SEO within public relations

Public relations agencies are adapting to an era of Internet-dominated marketing, and that includes being able to make their clients more visible to search engines. To get insights into how PR could benefit from search engine optimisation (SEO) know-how, New Media Knowledge took in a little training. By Chris Lee.

Holiday camps offer best online customer experience

Holiday camps and self-catering websites have topped the latest eTravelBenchmark study with a good performance across the online customer journey, providing potential holiday makers with an overall online package which can be tailored to their needs, desired destination and budget. By Derek Eccelston.

How to get your board to approve your cloud plans

It seems that board-level executives are not as keen as their IT professionals on the adoption of Cloud computing according to no less than three new reports. The reports from heavyweights Dell, IBM and Symantec report varying levels of fear, uncertainty and doubt about Cloud adoption. This is a little surprising given the importance CEOs and boards always purport to give to efficiency and cost reductions – two of the undoubted benefits of cloud computing. By Constantine Galonis.

The right time for right-time email marketing

Marketers need to rethink their email strategies in order to remain relevant. 'Right-time' communications, which respond to online behaviour, says StrongMail’s Sam Cece, could be the answer.

Mobile instant messaging use to triple in five years exceeding 1.3 billion users by 2016

A new report published by Juniper Research forecasts that the number of mobile IM (Instant Messaging) users will exceed 1.3 billion by 2016. This tripling of users from last year will be driven by the arrival of new services, such as Apple’s iMessage, and continued growth of existing services, such as AOL’s AIM, Blackberry Messenger, Microsoft’s Windows Live, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger. By John Levett.

Ovum reveals connected home services with best potential for broadband providers

Broadband service providers keen to grow their business by offering additional connected home services should target the home security and monitoring, smart energy control and media sharing markets, according to new Ovum research. By Michael Philpott.

Consumers increasingly influenced by social networking sites

15% have been influenced to make a purchase on social media sites. 48% of smartphone owners have used them to browse and research products before a purchase. 50% of UK consumers are now browsing and shopping with international retailers. By Derek Eccleston.

How to personalise online marketing strategies

Personalisation is absolutely core to success in the era of the Social Web. With this in mind, New Media Knowledge spoke to digital agency Rufus Leonard for tips on how to personalise online engagement. By Chris Lee.

UK mobile retail sites quick to load but unreliable, says Keynote Systems

Keynote Systems is tracking the mobile site performance of 23 of the top retailers across seven countries. Results for June show that while mobile retail sites in the UK are quick to access compared to international counterparts, the UK sites struggled with availability, with low average success rates. By Robert Castley.

Measuring online influence: interview with Onalytica

How to measure online influence is causing something of a debate in the marketing industry. New Media Knowledge caught up with one expert to learn how organisations can better understand online influence. By Chris Lee.

Can you trust the cloud?

Cloud outsourcing is revolutionising procurement of IT. Instead of buying and running infrastructure onsite or installing software, businesses can buy what they need, when they need it from the cloud. It's a compelling case that can bring significant efficiency and cost savings to an organisation. However, with recent high profile cases of data-leaking and service outages, there are serious pitfalls to be considered. By Frank Jennings.

Powering online product marketing throughout the affiliate channel

Affiliate marketing is seeing increasing levels of competition, investment and technology evolution. As the channel grows and diversifies, merchants and affiliates marketing products online are seeking the most efficient ways to drive traffic, conversion rates and profitability. By Lee Brignell-Cash.

SaxoBank the most followed financial trading brand in social media

London Stock Exchange most visible site in natural search, City Index most visible advertiser in paid search. By Krishna Rao.

Optimising email marketing for mobile platforms

According to recent research by New Media Trend Watch, more than 31 percent of the United Kingdom’s adult population now owns a smart phone—nearly double the ownership level of a year ago. This ongoing growth in the ownership and use of smart phone devices has transformed how brands communicate with consumers, redefining the entire marketing landscape. By Richard Evans.

Informa analyst comments on the EC's latest roaming proposals

The proposals announced a few days ago by the European Commission (EC) will effectively end the European Union mobile roaming market as it stands today. By Paul Lambert.

Online video: The new battleground for online marketers

Video is the darling of online marketers right now as video content becomes ever easier to consume and almost expected by Internet users as part of a website experience. New Media Knowledge spoke to one online video journalist to gauge how businesses can best capitalise on video marketing. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites in June 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Top 10 iPhone apps a student must have

Being a student in the 21st century definitely has it perks and one the main perks is definitely technology. Students have computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones that they can use to their advantage and help them improve their studies and boost productivity. By Lior Levin.

Optimising your social media campaign through e-communities

This article looks at how the development of online communities (e-communities) can encourage meaningful two-way interface with the target audience and harness the full potential of social media (SM). By Chris Sullivan.

What the experts make of Google’s latest attempt to crack social networking

Google recently launched Plus (+), its latest foray into social networking. But will it rival the likes of Facebook or Twitter to become a serious player in social media? New Media Knowledge asked the experts. By Chris Lee.

Online charity scheme ‘Give Change Make Change’ roll out Magento Module

Give Change Make Change, the new scheme for giving while shopping, created by British Red Cross, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, WWF and Cancer Research UK, has teamed up with leading open source ecommerce platform Magento to create a new module, which it hopes will encourage more etailers to sign up to the scheme. By Liz Holley.

Satisfaction with online retail sites hits all time high

Online consumer satisfaction with retail sites has reached an all time high in the latest eRetail Benchmark study, with pure-play retailer Javari achieving the top score. By Derek Eccleston.

Tablet apps: Shiny object syndrome or genuine business opportunity?

With global tablet computer sales tipped to reach 285 million by 2015, what is the opportunity for companies developing applications? Are they chasing a niche or is it sound business practice? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

The changing face of PR

With the explosion of interest in social media and the role it plays in PR, many companies are left confused. Allie Andrews from PRPR discusses this and examines the new breed of digital PR agency and why they are not for everyone.

What businesses fear from social media: Interview with DLA Piper

Social media presents businesses with a massive opportunity but many still fear the potential threats to their brand. New Media Knowledge spoke to a legal expert to learn whether those fears were grounded. By Chris Lee.

Security threats to mobile devices increase but only 4% of smartphones and tablets protected with security software

Analyst house identifies $3.6 billion opportunity for mobile security software providers by 2016. By John Levett.

Ovum survey reveals UK consumer fears over use of location-based technology

More than half of UK consumers say they are not comfortable with businesses using location-based technology to pinpoint their whereabouts, even if it would improve their customer service, research from Ovum has revealed. By Ian Jacobs.

Mobile network operator revenues to exceed $1 trillion by 2016, but rising costs threaten profitability

A new report from Juniper Research has found that while global operator-billed revenues will exceed $1 trillion annually by 2016, mobile network operators (MNOs) face the prospect of a “nightmare” scenario under which operator costs will exceed revenues within four years unless remedial action is taken. By John Levett.

Skillset’s VFX handbook provides VFX talent with roadmap to future success

Skillset has set a new benchmark for visual effects (VFX) education in the UK with the launch of an industry-authored guide, The Core Skills of VFX. By Nick Sheridan.

Creating sticky websites: Exclusive interview with Ceros

Quality engaging content is crucial to the success of any company’s online marketing strategy. But even quality content’s impact is limited if the website is not engineered to make purchasing decisions simple for visitors thereafter. New Media Knowledge spoke to one expert to learn how to create engaging corporate websites in the age of the Social Web. By Chris Lee.

Loan-related terms dominate consumer online search for personal finance products

Five of the ten most queried search terms used by UK consumers to find personal finance products online in January, were loan-related. This is according to the latest quarterly research, ‘Retail Banking- January 2011’, by independent search marketing specialist and technology firm Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

‘Win a blog for a year’ competition launched at Marketing Week Live

A new competition has been launched at Marketing Week Live which will give brands the chance to have their blog written for them for a year. By Emily Hill.

Email, social marketing and the art of storytelling

Email, Social Marketing and the Art of Storytelling is an insightful guide for organisations making the shift from yesterday’s approach to branding—a story the firm tells—to what branding is today: an interactive co-creation with the user community. In my book, I share his insight and real life examples of companies leveraging the power of email, social marketing and the art of storytelling. By John Sadowsky.

Inside the world of the mummy blogger

In the aftermath of one of the biggest gathering of blogging mothers, New Media Knowledge takes a look at the phenomenon of the so-called “mummy bloggers”. By Chris Lee.

How Arts can Revolutionise Business

Today’s businesses are challenged to create intangible value and engage people. The Arts offer a new territory for business in shaping emotional-based experiences for products and organisations. The new book ‘The Value of Arts for Business’ by Cambridge University Press, presents groundbreaking perspectives and approaches to integrate the Arts in organizational life. By Giovanni Schiuma.

Why mobile operators still don’t understand customer experience

UK mobile operators are failing to connect with their customers by delivering impersonal and irrelevant communications. By Richard Burdge.

Research confirms mobile continues to play increasingly important role in multichannel mix

New research from eDigitalResearch and Portaltech shows that almost half of Smartphone users (48.2%) have now shopped online and on their mobile, increasing by a dramatic 13% in just nine months. By Chris Russell.

Website personalisation – why it pays off

In an age where instant gratification is king and website personalisation is a ‘must have’ for any relevant, strategically aligned website, a tailored, bespoke experience is critical - taking the digital sector by storm and forcing organisations to ensure their web presence isn’t left behind. By Katya Linossi.

Global Lead Generation Challenge: What Localized Search Algorithms Mean to Your Global Business

Let’s play the game—“Look at How Localized Search is Changing the Global Landscape!”. It’s really an easy game to learn and here is one way to play it… By Amy Munice.

Exploring the “Service of Now”: How the travel industry should react to social media

With two thirds of the Great British public now researching holidays online before making decisions on where to go and where to stay, competition among the tourism and hospitality industry has never been fiercer. New Media Knowledge spoke to one academic who believes that real-time analysis is critical for tourism bodies to compete in the era of the Social Web. By Chris Lee.

Social Media Day: A social media health check

With 30 June deemed “Social Media Day”, New Media Knowledge took a look at the health of leading social networks Facebook and Twitter to gauge if recent rumours of impending demise hold water. By Chris Lee.

First Worldwide Time Critical Social Mobilization experiment / competition

A first ever worldwide Time Critical Social Mobilization Experiment, which will unfold in the form of a worldwide competition, will debut on 2 July, 2011, according to two academics, at MIT Sloan School of Management and Cambridge Judge Business School, who created the event. By Patricia Favreau.

The alternatives to cloud computing: Why you should consider all available options before making the move

In the fourth and final article in a series focusing on cloud computing, Dominic Jones, managing director of IT support firm Barton Technology, discusses the alternatives SMEs have to conventional cloud technology.

Three quarters of journalists rate social media as important tool – new research and whitepaper

More than three quarters of journalists rate social media as an important professional tool, while almost 90% are using social media more than they were a year ago, according to new research from Daryl Willcox Publishing. By Daryl Willcox.

Ovum finds investment in 3D content production technology is low priority for broadcasters

Broadcasters rate production of 3D content and channels as their lowest technology investment priority, and the lack of programming for consumers who have bought a 3D TV is set to continue, according to Ovum. By Tim Renowden.

A social network with a social conscience: Interview with Good Connection

Social media has great potential to connect people for good causes. In this exclusive interview, New Media Knowledge speaks to the founder of Good Connection, a social network aimed at generating money for charity. By Chris Lee.

Dutch startup ‘twoppy’ launches free mobile apps

A world premiere from the Netherlands: twoppy releases a free platform where an event organiser can create a smartphone event app – let's say a digital event guide on your mobile phone – and provide it to visitors. Organisers of an event can add their event information to twoppy, after which attendees can interactively access via their mobile phone for free. By Jasper van Blerk.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for May 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Can business-to-business communications work on Facebook?

With a user base approaching 670 million, Facebook has been successfully exploited by some organisations looking to target consumers. But is Facebook any use as a platform for businesses wanting to attract other business customers? New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee asked around.

Is Site Ranking Real or Relevant?

When SEO consultants start talking about site ranking they are actually waving a big red flag that their SEO knowledgebase is out-of-date. Site ranking is more of a red herring than an indicator of what really  matters—traffic, leads and conversions. By Amy Munice.

Legal and Financial Issues for 21st Century Media Businesses

Free Workshop on 20th June 2pm - 6pm @ Ravensbourne, London.

Hey you, get off of my cloud! Time to think the security in cloud computing

In the third article in a series looking at cloud computing Dominic Jones, managing director of IT support firm Barton Technology, addresses the security risks and software limitations cloud computing brings with it.

Wireless networks face increasing stress

Future of Wireless International Conference puts spotlight on growing demand for mobile broadband. By Allie Andrews.

Tracking online video simplified with new partnership platform

As video becomes central to many organisations’ online marketing plans, so it has become vitally important for marketers to measure and monitor the impact of their video content. New Media Knowledge took a look at a new development in online video monitoring. By Chris Lee.

Why a blog is brilliant for business

Do you run a business with an online presence? Are you blogging regularly? Read on to find out from Antonia Chitty why you should be blogging and how to turn your blog into a source of sales.

Online video auditor offers re-assurance for advertisers

Online ad-spend, particularly in the video advertising sector, would increase at a far greater rate than it is currently if large advertisers were not still afraid of trying the water, according to Anthony Rushton, co-founder of Telemetry. He believes that traditional ad-serving and tracking techniques are “virtually redundant”.

Geosocial networking: Mainstream or niche?

Geosocial networks are growing in number, users and functionality. But are businesses taking full advantage of the technology and what are the prospects of geosocial networks “going mainstream” any time soon? New Media Knowledge asked around. By Chris Lee.

Breaking down barriers to digital participation

A range of digital participation schemes encourage people who are older, disabled or low paid to use the internet, yet 9 million people remain offline. Now a new social marketing approach has been developed to tackle this problem and it’s already had significant results. By Jude Palmer.

VOF World: Mobilising young leaders globally through social media

Over 50 young leaders from all over the world are leading an international media project to mobilise young leaders to generate ideas and solutions for a better world through social media. By Catherine Peter and Brett Lashley.

Stuck inside a cloud: The financial and system requirements of cloud computing

In the second article in a series looking at cloud computing, Dominic Jones, managing director of IT support firm Barton Technology, addresses the issues that might dissuade a small business or SME from adopting the technology.

Collaboration and social tools drain business productivity

Survey finds digital interruptions breeds a rude workforce and loss in productivity. By Regine Hartmann.

Quora: The next Twitter or niche Q&A site?

The website du jour at the moment is very much social question and answer site Quora. New Media Knowledge trawled its contacts book to see what the UK’s top social media experts thought of it. By Chris Lee.

New report reveals shifting trends in global Internet traffic

Internet traffic will grow seven-fold between 2010 and 2015. In 2015, video will account for over 50% of all Internet traffic. Asia, not North America, will be the dominant region with a 42% share by 2015. By Giles Cottle.

Consumers are expecting more from mobile sites as they embrace the mobile revolution

Overall consumer satisfaction with mobile sites is beginning to fall since the first m-Commerce benchmark study 8 months ago as consumer demands and expectations continue to drive the expansion and development of mobile retail sites. By Derek Eccleston.

Is PR spin damaging the Facebook experience?

Have public relations professionals hijacked Facebook at the expense of the end user experience? A recent blog post generated some debate in UK online PR circles, prompting New Media Knowledge to ask around. By Chris Lee.

Online searches for Car and Travel insurance combined soar 86% on previous quarter

2.3 million searches were conducted online for insurance-related products in January this year - an 18% increase on the previous quarter, according to the latest quarterly research by leading search marketing specialist and technology firm, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Marketing your mobile channel using the power of advocacy

The market is ready to consume via mobile. Many retailers are scrambling to harness the power of this channel, but how should they best market their new capabilities? By Eric Abensur.

Informa Viewpoint on Ofcom’s research on mobile broadband

Ofcom’s latest round of research into mobile broadband performance is a welcome new benchmark for consumers to evaluate their service providers. But it’s likely the biggest impact of Ofcom’s research will be to kick start a multi-million pound war of words between the UK’s fiercely-competitive mobile operators. By Thomas Wehmeier.

Cloud computing can greatly benefit start up and small businesses

Cloud computing is the IT buzzword of the day and in some quarters it has been presented as a panacea of all ills. However, it has also been subjected to harsh criticism at the centre of a heated debate about its drawbacks. With so many voices arguing for and against it, small business and SME owners seem to be struggling to make sense of all the noise. Should they abandon their servers and relocate to this revolutionary system or should they keep things in-house? Here, in the first in a series of four articles discussing cloud computing Dominic Jones, managing director of IT support firm Barton Technology, explains how the technology can deliver big benefits for small companies.

Digital natives wanted – but what about the digitally overlooked?

Earlier this year Capgemini Consulting announced that it was looking to recruit 1,000 consultants to support its focus on the growing digitisation of business. I have to say, I was surprised it took Capgemini so long to realise the business opportunity for them with digital consulting and it shines a light on what we have all been talking about, the digital skills gap that many organisations are now facing. By Bob Barker.

Relief ahead for mobile data networks as 63% of traffic to move onto fixed networks via WiFi and Femtocells by 2015

New research has found that the majority of traffic (63%) generated by Smartphones, Tablets and Feature Phones will transfer onto the fixed network via Wi-Fi and Femtocells by 2015, says Juniper Research. This means that the annual mobile data traffic offloaded from operators’ networks via WiFi and Femtocells is forecast to reach nearly 9000 petabytes (PB) by 2015, which equates to a voluminous 11 billion movie downloads. By John Levett.

Social media monitoring tools: Which ones do the experts prefer?

With social media monitoring high on the agenda of marketing professionals, a new study has shed some light on the levels of satisfaction and usage of social media monitoring tools. New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee crunched the numbers.

Car Rental – Search volumes for domestic and worldwide destinations down on previous quarter

UK consumers made 773,000 car hire-related searches using Google in January, according to the latest research from leading independent search marketing specialist and technology firm Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Sony reaps rewards from pan-European reviews translations

With a growing number of consumers reviewing products online, multilingual translations have traditionally been a hurdle to truly consistent Europe-wide reviews. This is no longer a problem thanks to a new reviews translation tool. New Media Knowledge took a closer look. By Chris Lee.

How to boost your brand experience online

As consumers become more used to shopping online, they are becoming more demanding of the websites they shop at. By Albert Pusch.

Apple’s iPad boosts our work, rest and play, says the latest data from Seven’s ‘Generation i’ survey

The iPad is increasing business productivity and changing the way we do business on the move. By Shareena Ali.

Are rewards the new currency of social media?

New social media site and applications are adding game elements to add appeal, foster competition, and reward participation. But do they create compelling experiences, and is there more for social media to learn from games? By Martin Gittins.

Social media goes mainstream: New report highlights growth in social media marketing

According to a new report, 90 per cent of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business, with 77 per cent planning to increase their use of video marketing. As social media goes mainstream New Media Knowledge took a look at the stats and the questions marketers are asking about social media marketing. By Chris Lee.

Corporate and mobile websites still falling short of consumer expectations

56 percent of survey participants don't feel website content is tailored to their personal needs. By Glenn Conradt.

For sophisticated email marketers, data security should be as relevant as relevance

Ryan Deutsch, VP Strategic Services at StrongMail, explains why it is imperative that email marketers make sure that building trust between the brand and subscriber is a focus when it comes to email marketing campaigns.

Improving services with online communications: Interview with Policy Review TV

The Internet has enabled organisations and public sector bodies to improve communications through the use of social media and video. One service which is being used to help organisations convey their policy messages and co-ordinate online events is Policy Review TV. New Media Knowledge caught up with Policy Review TV to learn more. By Chris Lee.

How brands can successfully manage and moderate online customer reviews

Online customer reviews are increasingly being read by consumers as part of their pre-purchase research. While it is natural for brands to be nervous about publishing reviews on their site, when managed well and moderated successfully, publishing customer feedback can be a rewarding experience for consumer and brand, says Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration.

Customer experience on UK banking sites lags behind global counterparts, reveals Keynote Systems

Research assesses behaviour, attitude and experiences of consumers – results show that online customer experience is a key driver for online conversion and improved brand perceptions. By Malcolm Otter.

Application generated mobile texts to exceed $70 billion revenues by 2016, overtaking person-to-person messaging

Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS to become increasingly important for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) as revenues from one-to-one communications peak, says Juniper Research. By John Levett.

Half of Smartphone owners now shop online via a mobile device

50% of Smartphone owners have now completed some sort of purchase on their mobile, increasing by 20% over just nine short months, with 11% of Smartphone shoppers now using the device to make a purchase on a weekly basis. By Chris Russell.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for April 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

500 million people worldwide to use their mobiles as metro and bus tickets by 2015

Half a billion people worldwide will use their mobile devices as travel tickets on metros, subways and buses by 2015, according to new forecasts from Juniper Research. By John Levett.

New study underlines Web’s influence on consumer behaviour

Consumers are increasingly likely to check the Web for better deals and recommendations, according to a new report. New Media Knowledge took a look at the numbers. By Chris Lee.

4G set to deliver capacity gains of more than 200% over 3G

New Ofcom research reveals that the next generation of mobile technology will deliver more than 200% of the capacity of existing 3G technologies, using the same amount of spectrum – the airwaves that carry information between customers’ mobile handsets and the internet. By Graham Louth.

4G set to deliver capacity gains of more than 200% over 3G

New Ofcom research reveals that the next generation of mobile technology will deliver more than 200% of the capacity of existing 3G technologies, using the same amount of spectrum – the airwaves that carry information between customers’ mobile handsets and the internet. By Graham Louth.

Skillset and The Foundry equip the ‘Next-Gen’ of VFX talent with tools of the trade

Skillset is launching a series of major initiatives and awards designed to improve the quality of talent entering the visual effects (VFX) industries from UK universities. These come in the wake of the Livingstone-Hope “Next-Gen” review and will transform the landscape of VFX teaching in the UK. By Nick Sheridan.

Marketers told to embrace online video marketing at Internet World

Video will make the Internet what it always meant to be, according to one of the presenters at Internet World in London. New Media Knowledge was there to find out more. By Chris Lee.

The true cost of Unified Communications – Tales of the Unexpected

Unified Communications will make it easier to reach our work colleagues no matter where they are and on what device they have decided to communicate. However, the sheer number of devices and the way our standard systems are organised, may make the transition to Unified Communications a painful and costly one if some simple lessons are not learned. By Ben Mendoza.

Adapt or die, content providers warned

Consumer power, social media and monetisation challenges mean that newspapers and other content providers must evolve rapidly or risk going out of business, according to a new report. So what changes should content providers look at to survive and prosper? New Media Knowledge took a look at the report. By Chris Lee.

Make Your Blog “User Friendly”

In this article, Jeff Gross discusses the importance of a user friendly and neatly designed, categorized and organized blog.

Delivering customer service through event-driven email marketing

Following retail guru and ‘Secret Shopper’ Mary Portas taking UK businesses to task over their poor treatment of consumers, we are advising digital marketers on how they can introduce a ‘traditional’ element of customer service to their email campaigns. By Rogier van der Veen.

Citizen journalism: Opportunity or threat to traditional media?

Another day, another news story breaks on microblogging network Twitter. As Twitter continues to cement its role as a core go-to tool for established media journalists, is ‘citizen journalism’ an opportunity or a threat to traditional media outlets? By Chris Lee.

Study finds retailers increase following and revenue after introduction of Fcommerce

Retailers continue to attract tens of thousands of new followers every month across social media sites as the popularity of Twitter and Facebook continues to grow with the introduction of Fcommerce. By Derek Eccelston.

1 in 5 smartphones will have NFC by 2014, spurred by recent breakthroughs

New market forecasts from Juniper Research show rapid adoption of NFC services over the next 3 years, with at least 1 in 5 smartphones worldwide having NFC contactless functionality. By John Levett.

When redundancy looms, then opportunity knocks… online

Chris Barling of Actinic gives advice to those thinking of starting an ecommerce business with their redundancy payment and highlights the basic steps for success.

Advice for film students

Jon Danzig discusses in this article some tips about making films. A film student interviewed the author for a media course project, and these were his replies to the questions.

eBay pips Apple in social media engagement: The top 50 brands in social media revealed

The major players in technology have ranked highest in the first 50 Top Brands in Social Media league table, and in the number one spot is eBay. The online auction and shopping website beat Apple (2nd), Google (3rd), Blackberry (4th) and Amazon (5th) for the pole position. By David Eldridge.

Measure for Measure: Getting to grips with social media measurement

Businesses which have created social media programmes are faced with the challenge of how to monitor their activities and then measure the effectiveness of them. To learn how companies can best measure and evaluate their social media programmes New Media Knowledge tapped into its contact book. By Chris Lee.

Travel websites are increasingly moving into their customers’ social spaces

The latest eTravel Benchmark results show that many more travel websites are encouraging customers to engage with them via social media and developing apps for use on the move giving customers a much more constant level of exposure to the brand allowing for deeper engagement. By Derek Eccleston.

BullGuard issues security advice to consumers following Sony data breach

Following the recent security breach of Sony’s PlayStation Network and yesterday’s revelation that the details of Sony Online Entertainment users have also been targeted by hackers, online security specialist, BullGuard, provides advice to subscribers on how to limit the damage and protect themselves from identity theft. By Claus Villumsen.

Mobile entertainment market to grow by 15% in 2011

A new report from Juniper Research has found that revenues from mobile entertainment content and services are expected to increase by more than 15% this year from $33.2 billion to nearly $38.4 billion. The continuous growth in mobile entertainment markets comes despite the backdrop of an uncertain economic climate, demonstrating both the relative robustness of the mobile content industry as a whole, and the opportunities in comparatively untapped segments such as mobile gambling. By John Levett.

Social media and internal communications in practice

The Human Resources department is critical to the success of any organisation. It is also a department that can be aided greatly – and negatively impacted – by social media. New Media Knowledge went in search of best practice. By Chris Lee.

Mobile Devices to Generate Data Traffic Equivalent to 18 billion Movie Downloads by 2015

According to new figures from Juniper Research, the amount of mobile data traffic generated by Smartphones, Featurephones and Tablets will exceed 14,000 Petabytes by 2015, equivalent to 18 billion movie downloads or 3 trillion music tracks. Pressure on Mobile networks however will begin to ease as 63% of traffic, nearly 9,000 Petabytes, moves across to Wi-Fi and Femtocell networks. By John Levett.

News Apps come out on top in groundbreaking App usability study

News and Media Apps have topped the first ever App benchmark study from eDigitalResearch, assessing the usability and customer journey across almost 50 of the most popular mobile Apps across a variety of categories. By Derek Eccelston.

New and engaging content – the key to your Search Engine success

It is a logical deduction that interesting, up-to-date content can add strength to your company’s website. But the big question is just how important is this in raising your search engine rankings? By Matthew Oxley.

Using Slideshare for business: Interview with 1,000 Heads

Presentation website Slideshare could be an important asset for companies looking to demonstrate their expertise and services online as part of a content marketing strategy. But how can organisations ensure they derive best possible value from the site? New Media Knowledge went in search of answers. By Chris Lee.

PR is spreading its wings within the marketing mix

Not that long ago, in a gentler age you might say, when people didn’t spend half their lives online, everybody in marketing knew where they stood. These things have changed. By Alastair Turner.

Redefining mobile strategy – how to engage customers in a fragmented mobile landscape

In today’s chaotic mobile market, businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to effectively connect with consumers through mobile strategies. David Schreffler explores how marketers can maximise the potential of their mobile strategy by creating a mobile offering across several devices, operating systems, and platforms in order to lucratively connect with consumers.

Collaboration nation: Exclusive interview with Mvine

Businesses across the globe are using online collaborative tools to connect their staff and partners. Social media can also help with internal communications. New Media Knowledge caught up with social business software and services company Mvine to learn how collaboration can help businesses operate more effectively. By Chris Lee.

Too many firms still not hitting the mark with their email marketing, research shows

Survey from database marketing firm GI Insight reveals 53% of consumers say almost all direct email they get is irrelevant. By Andy Wood.

FunAdvice makes a steady climb towards popularity

Let’s go back in time a few years to March of 2003, when two friends got together and decided to start a new kind of discussion site. With five simple categories, FunAdvice was mainly produced as a means for people to give and receive advice on personal relationships. By Colleen Ludgate.

Wait till the midnight hour

Paul Childs, Chief Marketing Officer at Adfonic shows that brands are missing a trick by ignoring an evening peak in smartphone traffic.

Invasion of the celebrity tweeters

Owen Garrett, e-retail specialist at Zeus Technology outlines why celebrity use of twitter has been a game-changer for site performance.

Getting the Message: Is Facebook Messages a communications game-changer?

In late 2010 social network Facebook unveiled its new Facebook Messages product, aimed at creating “seamless” communications for its 600 million-strong global user base. New Media Knowledge spoke to one Facebook expert to gauge his views on Messages and also his advice for firms looking to market over Facebook. By Chris Lee.

Mobile music subscribers to reach 178 million by 2015 as emerging markets embrace music on the move

A new report published today by Juniper Research forecasts that the number of mobile users who pay a monthly subscription for access to music catalogues, either via download or streaming, will reach 178 million by 2015, more than triple the number of users doing so in 2010. By John Levett.

Home Service companies need to be more responsive to online customers

41% of all email enquires went unanswered in the latest eHomeServices benchmark report from eDigitalResearch, despite companies increasingly expecting customers to independently self serve using online account tools. By Derek Eccleston.

Get your ticket to Fast Train - the biggest free training event for TV freelancers in the UK

Sponsored by Skillset and hosted by the BBC Academy at White City on Wednesday 18 May, Fast Train will offer up to 500 TV freelancers the unique chance to sample a wide range of training from the industry’s leading providers. By Nick Sheridan.

BullGuard calls for increased awareness of the dangers of spam emails following Epsilon attack

A recent attack on marketing email provider Epsilon has resulted in millions of users’ contact information being stolen, which has led security expert BullGuard to call for increased awareness of the dangers of unsolicited email and phishing attacks. By Philip Dall.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for March 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Google’s Panda Update and 2011 Budget Offer New Opportunities for Online SMEs

Jack Adams discusses in this article the new opportunities Google’s Panda brings to SMEs, especially in a moment that the government is willing to support small businesses.

TV Gets Social: How Broadcasters are Building Loyal Fanbases Online

Conversocial’s Joshua March looks at the rise of ‘social viewing’ and its importance for broadcasters, analysing what UK TV shows are performing best in social media using the results from Conversocial’s IPM graphs for both fan size and engagement levels.

Social research platform launched to help Facebook marketers

With Facebook cited by most marketing managers as their preferred social media channel, a new “social research platform” has been launched to help marketers identify and engage with audiences on Facebook. New Media Knowledge spoke to its creators to learn more. By Chris Lee.

ADTECH introduces ADTECH Lite for free

Launch of ADTECH Lite extends ADTECH’s Premium Ad Management Technology to small and mid-sized publishers for the first time for free. By Nikki Alvey.

Travel websites are increasingly moving into their customers’ social spaces

The latest eTravel Benchmark results show that many more travel websites are encouraging customers to engage with them via social media and developing apps for use on the move giving customers a much more constant level of exposure to the brand allowing for deeper engagement. By Derek Eccleston.

SEO industry told to “grow up” at major huddle

The regular Brighton SEO meet-up drew hundreds of search and digital marketing specialists this month. New Media Knowledge went along to witness the SEO industry debate its own future. By Chris Lee.

Cloud Computing: Business Benefits and Legal Hurdles

During the recession, many companies not surprisingly put their technology expenditure on hold. Now that the private sector is emerging from the recession, businesses are evaluating how best to invest in ICT, except now they have greater choice. Whereas the traditional model would be to incur large capital expenditure upfront on hardware and software and to depreciate it over a three year period, there is a new kid in town. In this article, Frank Jennings discusses some advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing.

Boost your business with best practice blogging

Blogging is one of the best online marketing tools around - so it’s amazing how many companies still don’t do it. According to Emily Hill, MD of content agency Write My Site, a few blogging tips and tricks can help to transform your blog’s popularity and effectiveness.

Trends in hotel booking-engine design

A new study by the Università della Svizzera italiana takes a closer look at the booking-engine trends of the main hotel chains. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of features, functionalities and contents of 162 hotel chain booking-engines worldwide. By Lorenzo Cantoni, Vittoria Passini and Marco Faré.

Measurement’s what we need

In the past couple of weeks we have seen metrics in new technologies making the headlines. In this article, Pete Davis discusses the case of iPad2.

Seven’s ‘Generation i’ Survey reveals an up-to-date picture of the UK's iPad audience

The iPad is rapidly changing the way people engage with content. Over half (51%) of iPad owners who had read magazines both in print and in interactive format on the iPad preferred the experience on Apple's multimedia device. That’s good news for brands looking to extend the reach of existing print titles and for publishers looking to break out of print. By Shareena Ali.

Lack of focus impacting businesses’ use of social networks

Marketers are perplexed as to the value and purpose of social media marketing, and are confused as to who should be responsible for it within the organisation, according to a survey out last winter. New Media Knowledge went in search of answers. By Chris Lee.

Google’s +1 – Success hinges on paradigm shift as far as social interactions are concerned

Google needs a major partnership (something akin to Bing's with Facebook and the inclusion of Facebook likes in the search engine results pages), or a major acquisition, to make social proof work in its search results. By Krishna Rao.

A channel for the channel: Twitter as a business-to-business tool

Twitter’s role as a real time communications channel between consumers and brands has long been appreciated, but what about between businesses? New Media Knowledge got talking to one man who believes Twitter is under-utilised in the business-to-business arena. By Chris Lee.

More than half of broadcasters to increase technology spend in 2011

More than half of broadcasters plan to invest more in technology in 2011 thanks to strengthening advertising spend and renewed confidence in the outlook for the sector, according to an Ovum survey. By Adrian Drury.

Mobiles to Become Tickets as 1 in 8 Mobile Users Expected to Use Mobile Ticketing by 2015

Mobile bar coded boarding passes and cinemas to lead the way, says New Juniper Report. By John Levett.

Nokia launches international short film competition for aspiring directors

Nokia Shorts 2011 offers prize of 10,000 USD and a screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. By Kamran Haider.

Destination Marketing: How to make a destination attractive

Which arguments make a destination attractive for tourists? Is there correspondences between what tourists expect from a destination, and how the Destination Management Organizations (DMO) promotes it? By Lorenzo Cantoni, Sara Fedele and Silvia De Ascaniis.

Rules of Engagement: Brian Solis warns “engage or die”

One of social media’s leading thinkers was in London this month to talk to the UK’s leading social media practitioners. NMK’s Chris Lee went along to learn more from Brian Solis.

Mobile Augmented Reality to Generate 1.4 billion Downloads by 2015

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the increasing focus on incorporating augmented reality (AR) elements within mobile applications will lead to nearly 1.4 billion annual downloads of such apps worldwide by 2015, up from just over 11 million last year. By John Levett.

Social media challenges to business underlined at Dell conference

Some big brands got together at this month’s Dell B2B huddle to discuss the challenges facing them as organisations currently implementing social media campaigns. New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee was there to pose the questions.

Selling Successfully Online: over 300 top tips for running an ecommerce website

In his new book, Chris Barling has collected over 300 top tips from 15 years of working in ecommerce and advising other small businesses. The 144 pages provide a guide to making money as an e-retailer, with objective and practical advice for those thinking about starting up, as well as merchants already selling online.

Financial Trading – Consumer search for stock trading platforms most popular

446,000 searches were made online by UK consumers looking for trading-related platforms and services in October 2010. This is according to latest quarterly independent research from leading search marketing and technology firm, Greenlight. However, the majority of the most visible trading platforms relied on online advertising – paying for online visibility. Just two managed to secure prominence in the natural search* sphere which was dominated by informational sites. By Krishna Rao.

Enterprises not taking threat of cyber espionage seriously

Enterprises are not taking the threat of cyber espionage seriously enough, and many have not taken adequate steps to prevent an attack, according to Ovum. By Graham Titterington.

Groundbreaking open source project wins top MediaGuardian Innovation Awards

The judging panel described the Apache Hadoop project as the Swiss army knife of the 21st Century, and having the potential to completely change the face of media innovations across the globe. Overall, the project was seen as a greater catalyst for innovation than WikiLeaks, the iPad and a host of other suggested nominees. By Hayley Dunlop.

Is “follow” the new economic model poised to take on “search”?

Twitter provides a function called “follow” – you can follow who you like, and you get updates/ insight/ information/ attention from them. However, can you turn “follow” into value and is following your social filter based on those you trust? By Tony Fish.

Social media in Europe: The rules of engagement

With three quarters of businesses spending more resources on social media than they did last year, what’s the Europe-wide picture on adoption rates and what are the common “rules of engagement”? New Media Knowledge caught up with one expert who should be able to help. By Chris Lee.

84% of marketers don’t see Social Media as a source for new email subscribers

Adestra and Econsultancy Email Marketing Census 2011 shows what has changed in email marketing over last 5 years. Basic practices are being overlooked which severely affect response rates. Social Media is viewed as a separate channel to email, with poor measurement. Disconnected systems is a bigger barrier to email integration. By Henry Hyder-Smith.

Getting social with the customer: What is “Social CRM”?

The role the customer plays in corporations is changing fast and their influence is growing like never before. The subject of customer relationship management over social media was discussed at length at the Technology for Marketing and Advertising expo recently. New Media Knowledge went along to learn more. By Chris Lee.

The Social Side of Football

Social media platforms, now have hundreds of millions of subscribers, and are no longer the exclusive plaything for teenagers, students and techie hipsters. Most have applications useful for any number of businesses, including football clubs. By Ciaran Duffy.

Mobile Entertainment Service Revenues to Reach $54 billion by 2015

A new report from Juniper Research has valued the Mobile Entertainment market at $33bn for last year, rising to $54bn in 2015 – driven by the continuing escalation in smartphone adoption and the attendant increase in downloads of consumer-oriented applications. By John Levett.

Digital music industry to hit revenues of $20bn by 2015

Subscription services key industry driver with revenues growing at a CAGR of more than 60% from 2011-15. Individual download growth slows to just 3% in the US in 2010. Industry needs to cut down the amount of free music available. By Mark Little.

Mo-cial Marketing - Ten Things You Need to Know

To help retailers seize the opportunity afforded by mo-cial marketing (mobile and social marketing), we have come up with the top tips that we believe need to be worked through to position your brand effectively for the new generation of customers. By Steve Jarrett.

How can I segment my email audience to reach my best customers?

In the email space, being relevant is the holy grail of any marketing effort. But with customers engaging with your brand in a variety of ways, how can you segment your customer database to accommodate these diverse behaviours? Furthermore, how can you dig into your database to uncover your ‘best customers’? By Kara Trivunovic.

Localise it: The rise and rise of local video advertising

Video advertising is going local, according to a new geo-targeted online video advertising company. New Media Knowledge caught up with Localstars to learn more about the increasing localisation of video advertising. By Chris Lee.

88% of marketers don’t know how much budget they lose through non-delivery of email

Adestra and Econsultancy Email Marketing Census 2011 shows what’s changed in email marketing over last 5 years. Basic practices are being overlooked which severely affect response rates, and deliverability remains a problem – and causes confusion. By Steve Denner.

Behavioural advertising set for EU cookie shake-up

New European laws could change the way behavioural targeted marketing is enabled online with consent required from surfers for their data to be gathered. New Media Knowledge took a look at how the cookie could crumble. By Chris Lee.

Warner Bros and Facebook video deal is going to impact the market

Brace yourself for Facebook video, says Eden Zoller, Ovum principal analyst.

eCommerce sites urged to clean up content before Google’s ‘Panda’ goes global

Hot at its heels of an algorithm update to combat duplicate content last month, Google has followed up with “Panda”, another algorithm change that hits purveyors of “low quality content.” Generally perceived to be designed to tackle content farms, it destroys the rankings of sites which many Google users are sick and tired of seeing in the search engine results pages. By Krishna Rao.

Launch of iPad2

In this note, Adam Leach, Ovum principal analyst, comments that Apple had the advantage of first mover, but competitors are reacting quickly.

Accountancy sector failing to capitalise on LinkedIn

Recent research indicates that many accounting firms are not using business social network LinkedIn to its full potential. New Media Knowledge spoke to the brains behind the research to learn what accountants could be doing with LinkedIn to better service clients, win new business and recruit quality staff. By Chris Lee.

New Social Rules for Living in a Digital Age

If we sit back and reflect on current digital services, such as social media, we could conclude they are a game. For instance, if Twitter is about getting the best quip of the day or providing some useful info, Linkedin is about proving "my network is bigger than yours", and Facebook is about sharing that "I have a more interesting life than you". Then there must be some new rules for these new games, but what are they? Tony Fish discusses these topics in this article.

Creating a Network of Digital Coaches

In this article, Penny Power talks about the dangers of the online world, as people try to find a way without any guidance or understanding of the ethics and best practice. She discusses why now is more important than ever to teach others to use social media and to lead the way into a network of Ecademy Digital Coaches.

Mobile Music Revenues to reach $5.5 billion by 2015, but growth threatened by online piracy

A new report published by Juniper Research forecasts that music consumed on mobile handsets will generate $5.5 billion annually in 2015, a rise of $3.1 billion from 2010. By John Levett.

How to use content marketing: Interview with Lee Odden

The quantity, quality and shareability of your organisation’s content is crucial to your search engine rankings, according to one of the Internet marketing’s leading thinkers, Lee Odden. New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee caught up with Odden at the recent Search Engine Strategies London expo.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for February 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Search Alliance no threat to Google, just more of the same

Greenlight is more pessimistic than optimistic about any significant shift in search engine user behavior. By Krishna Rao.

Social media marketing: Exclusive interview with LivingSocial

Social media marketing continues to grow in relevance to business. New Media Knowledge interviewed one firm which claimed its social media marketing platform could deliver thousands of new paying customers to businesses across the UK. By Chris Lee.

Integration of promoted Tweets in Google real-time results – The sense of acquisition

Google’s integration of promoted tweets into the real-time search section of its live results, which it rolled out in late November, coincided with revelations it allegedly made two unsuccessful attempts to buy the social communication site. Paul Byrne, from Greenlight, believes that view that an alignment between Twitter and Google makes sense.

Mobile operators need right strategy to cope with smartphone strain

Research just published claims to show that users of Google Android smartphones - including handsets from HTC and Samsung - are threatening to clog up the cellular phone networks. By Dan Joe Barry.

Mobile Augmented Reality Attracts Leading Brands

A new report from Juniper Research has found that an increasing number of leading brands, retailers and mobile vendors are investing in mobile augmented reality (AR) applications and services, with global revenues expected to approach $1.5 billion by 2015. By John Levett.

Going Global: How to handle an international Web presence

In the global economy organisations have to cater for significant variants in culture and language when marketing in multiple geographies. New Media Knowledge went in search of some best practice advice. By Chris Lee.

Evolution of Search and its Engines – Winners, Losers, Adaptors

In its latest incarnation of the History of SEO, Greenlight charts the facts and stats celebrating 16 years in the evolution of search. By Krishna Rao.

Mobile operators should fear the threat from Facebook

Facebook is shaping up to be a strong competitor to mobile operators that are in danger of underestimating the threat it poses, according to Ovum. By Eden Zoller.

Mobile World Congress 2011: A review

Last week saw the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where the great and the good of the mobile phone industry got together to show off their latest developments. New Media Knowledge quizzed a few of the estimated 50,000 attendees for their thoughts. By Chris Lee.

Endeca Survey Reveals Key Trends in B2C and B2B eCommerce

User-Centric, Multichannel Commerce Cited as Biggest Drivers for eBusiness Success in 2011. By Tom Woods.

Home insurance to see a surge in online searches

The number of searches made online by UK consumers for home insurance-related products is expected to rise in the early part of 2011, according to the latest independent research by leading independent search marketing and technology firm, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

Social Meets Email: How Marketers Can Optimise the Opportunity

Five years ago, ‘the social network’ didn’t mean much to anybody, least of all business professionals. Today, its common practice even in Los Angeles where it’s become a major Hollywood film. By Kara Trivunovic.

10 reasons to be cheerful about mobile advertising in 2011

Adfonic believes that 2011 will be a step change for mobile advertising, driven by the growth in smartphones and tablets along with exciting new mobile marketing opportunities for brands and agencies. In this article, Paul Childs, Chief Operations Officer at Adfonic, gives his Top 10 predictions for the New Year.

Diamonds are out, iPads are in

UK prefers the latest innovative gadgets over jewelry for Valentine’s Day. By Bob Barker. Meadmore.

Social CRM: Exclusive interview with Dell

Computer manufacturer Dell is widely recognised as one of the earliest to use social media as part of its customer relationship management (CRM) strategy. New Media Knowledge spoke exclusively to the company to find out how to run a successful social media engagement programme and why it matters. By Chris Lee.

Performance of social networking sites – Index from Keynote Systems for January 2011

Keynote Systems, the expert in Internet and mobile cloud monitoring, monitors the top 10 UK social networking sites on a monthly basis and analyses how these sites perform compared to their competitors. By Robert Castley.

Annual adspend on mobile channels to reach $11 Billion by 2015 as brands embrace in-app advertising

Juniper Research has signalled an unprecedented interest in the mobile advertising space by key brands and agencies. This follows the dramatic increase in mobile application usage in key markets and the growing penetration of smartphones with location aware and augmented reality (AR) capabilities. By John Levett.

Mobilised sales force: How to optimise your site for m-commerce

After seeing visitors to its site from mobile devices increase nine-fold in the last year, thegiftexperience.co.uk has launched a mobile-ready website. As shoppers increasingly make payments via mobile phones, New Media Knowledge caught up with The Gift Experience to learn how digital marketers should be getting their sites ready for m-commerce. By Chris Lee.

Online usability with travel sites is rising despite continued poor customer service

The latest eTravel Benchmark results show that online satisfaction with travel websites is steadily beginning to improve. However, despite a strong performance online, overall results are still suffering with poor customer service and after sales care. By Lloyd Viney.

The changing interface of TV: Interview with uWand

As television continues to evolve, so existing user interfaces become more and more incompatible, according to one developer. New Media Knowledge caught up with uWand to learn more about way we will be changing channels – and so much more - in the near future. By Chris Lee.

New generation of TV services begin to close gap on cable

Cable will retain dominance in the global multi-channel TV market over the next five years but the threat from the new generation of digital and internet protocol (IP) services will take its toll, predicts Ovum. By Jonathan Doran.

Survey Reveals Seven In Ten Marketers Have Little Understanding of Social Media Conversations Surrounding Their Brand

Alterian’s 8thannual marketer survey indicates that although digital marketing expenditures are anticipated to increase in 2011, consumer engagement levels and analytical competency are still limited across channels. By Bob Barker.

Marks and Spencer top mCommerce league as customer satisfaction with their mobile site increases

Multichannel retailer Marks and Spencer has topped the overall league table in the second ever mCommerce benchmark study, providing consumers with a functional yet stylish mobile site to compliment their online offering. By Lisa Bonczyk.

1.4 billion people to access both fixed and mobile broadband by 2015

By 2015, 1.4 billion people globally will access both fixed-line and mobile broadband as usage grows rapidly and services converge, according to Ovum. By Michael Philpot, Charlie Davies and Steven Hartley.

Top 5 Tips for Becoming An Exceptional Author in 2011

Thought leadership strategist Mindy Gibbins-Klein lets you in on some of the top tips for success and why now is the perfect time to be getting the word out to others by building your brand and raise your credibility by writing a book.

Across the social channel: A look at social media in France

While we have focussed on social media in the English-speaking economies of the UK and US, we decided to take a look into the social media scene across the Channel in France. New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee went in search of an entente cordiale.

R.I.P trend predictions: 2011 is the year of insight

Alterian research highlights nearly 300,000 online mentions for 2011 trends in just four months. By Bob Barker.

Loans and Mortgage related products top consumer online searches

61% of the 2 million UK consumer searches conducted online for retail banking-related services in October 2010 were for loans and mortgages, according to the latest quarterly research from Greenlight, a leading search marketing specialist and technology firm. This comes against the backdrop of the recent reports indicating an expected rise in interest rates as early as spring according to some economists. By Krishna Rao.

Proving the value of search strategies: The Cy4or case study

With budgets allocated to search marketing continuing to increase, search marketing firms likewise feel the pressure to produce results for their clients. New Media Knowledge caught up with one search firm with some good news to share. By Chris Lee.

Retailers more than double their following on social media sites

The popularity and uptake of retail brands on social networking sites shows no signs of slowing down with the majority retailers more than doubling their following on various social media platforms over the past six months. By Lisa Bonczyk.

Tablets lead rise of ‘lite’ OS devices to 150 million global shipments

Global shipments of portable internet devices based on ‘lite’ operating systems (OSs), which include tablet computers such as the iPad, will hit 150 million per year in 2015 according to Ovum. By Tony Cripps.

Making Your Customers Feel Like Royalty

Bruce Townsend of Actinic shares three ways to help you provide genuinely excellent service to your customers.

StrongMail Marketing Trends Survey Reveals Positive Economic Outlook for 2011

Email marketing and social media are top areas of investment; lack of resources/staff cited as top email marketing challenge. By Ryan Deutsch.

PR agencies urged to monitor social media more effectively

The public relations industry is evolving fast. With so much potential for a PR disaster to spread virally around the globe in minutes it has never been more important for PR professionals to monitor social media channels. Yet a new survey suggests this isn’t happening. New Media Knowledge went to find out why and what PR consultants should be doing to monitor social media. By Chris Lee.

Social channels: opportunities and threats for media industry

Publishers, studios and broadcasters need to seize the opportunities presented by the growth of social media and video on mobile devices in 2011, according to Ovum. However they should also be aware of the long-term threat these channels pose to their share of audience and advertising budget, finds the independent technology analyst. By Adrian Drury.

Skillset Apprenticeship opens up new pathways into Creative Media Industries in the south west

Skillset is pioneering a new pathway into the highly competitive Creative Media Industries with the introduction of the Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media in the south west of England. By Nick Sheridan.

Sophistication is key to email marketing success, expert advises

Email marketing is still a popular form of digital marketing, despite the prominence of social media. New Media Knowledge caught up with one online marketing expert to get some pointers on email marketing best practice. By Chris Lee.

Ringback Tone Advertising to Hit $780 million annually by 2015 as Consumers Chase Free Airtime

But Juniper Research warns of the danger of intrusive advertising. By John Levett.

Growing Online Sales the Modern Way

Chris Barling of Actinic provides some suggestions on how to improve online sales using methods other than the obvious SEO, PPC and affiliate marketing tools.

As more and more news outlets start to charge for media and online content, should increased fees mean an increased investment in site and app performance?

The Telegraph Media Group is the latest national publication to be rumoured to charge for online content and, with ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The Independent’ launching paid-for apps, Keynote Systems argues that paid-for content should mean greater investment and focus on digital offerings. By Robert Castley.

Car Hire in Spanish locations topped UK pre-Christmas searches

Worldwide destinations accounted for 56% of over 763,000 car hire-related searches conducted on Google by UK consumers in October 2010, according to the latest quarterly research by leading independent search marketing specialist and technology firm, Greenlight. By Krishna Rao.

'One strike and you're out': a guide to CRM-focused email marketing

As terms such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and business intelligence creep into marketing language, it is important to clarify the benefits these disciplines offer to digital marketers. By Rogier van der Veen.

Social media “sobriety test” aims to prevent regretful posts

To help prevent intoxicated social media users from posting comments and updates that they may later regret, an Internet security software company has developed a “sobriety test”. New Media Knowledge’s Chris Lee caught up with the firm behind it.

Securing Early Stage Finance in the UK

Many entrepreneurs seek early stage funding to help start a business in the UK. However the search for funding can often be a time consuming and frustrating one, and the odds of gaining finance are slim at best. By Alan Gleeson.

Content marketing budgets set to increase in 2011 but “competency gap” exists

Content is crucial to successful search engine optimisation (SEO) and customer engagement programmes. Yet according to a recent report a “content competency gap” currently exists in online marketing, although budgets are set to increase. New Media Knowledge took a closer look at the figures. By Chris Lee.

Avoid the social media spam rush through personalised communications

The sudden and unexpected drop in email spam has prompted widespread speculation that the problem will soon spread into social media channels. By Ryan Deutsch.

Skillset supports Workshop for women returning to work in TV being delivered by ITF

Skillset is supporting the Indie Training Fund to deliver, Reviewing Your Options, a free one-day motivational workshop for women seeking to resume their TV careers after a maternity break or for other reasons on Tuesday, 1st March. By Nick Sheridan.

Darren Fell explains how Crunch has become a successful business model in 18 months

Crunch Accounting, who opened their doors just 18 months ago, has begun to turn a profit after signing up its 800th customer towards the end of 2010. By combining a flat-rate model with a software-based approach to reduce costs, Crunch has now expanded to a staff of 32 and has moved into a new office as the company expands even further. By Darren Fell.

Foresight: Online video in 2011

With more than 24 hours-worth of video content being uploaded to YouTube every minute, online video looks set to be a major part of consumer entertainment, viral marketing and advertising going forward. New Media Knowledge tapped up a few video industry experts to gauge where online video is going in 2011. By Chris Lee.

Getting all creative over PPC

How creativity and ATO (Ad Text Optimization) are set to take paid search to the next level. By Paul Booth.

Foresight: Search marketing in 2011

SEO has become an increasingly important element in organisations’ overall marketing strategies; with rises in SEO marketing spend reflecting its importance to marketers. 2010 saw many new developments in search marketing, especially from Google, so what does 2011 hold when marketing on the world’s most popular search engine? New Media Knowledge went in search of answers. By Chris Lee.

Greenlight reveals its top 10 predictions for natural and paid search in 2011

With Google’s Instant Preview here to stay, leading search marketing specialist and technology firm Greenlight, has 2011 pegged as “web design year”. By Krishna Rao.

Actinic survey of ecommerce sales shows SME sector remains strong in Q4

Christmas sales increase orders by 13% over Q3 2010. By Nick Kington.

Skillset supports BAME Media Professionals’ Career Progression Workshop

The Indie Training Fund will deliver a free one-day motivational workshop for TV professionals from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds on how to take the next step in their career on Saturday, 15 February. By Nick Sheridan.

Internet use and online shopping on the up over Christmas

A dramatic 86% of UK consumers logged onto the Internet over Christmas day and Boxing day this year, an increase of over 10% when compared with figures from 2009. By Chris Russell.

Foresight: The changing face of social media in 2011

As social media continues to develop, what will 2011 bring? New Media Knowledge quizzed a leading social media thinker to gauge his views on the changing face of social media in 2011. By Chris Lee.

Public relations went social in 2010, but what does 2011 promise?

The public relations (PR) industry is fast adapting to the new reality of the diversified media arena presented by the social Web. Yet some are evolving with the changing media landscape better than others, so New Media Knowledge tapped up its address book to find what social media developments will mean for PRs in 2011. By Chris Lee.

Time to talk to that big competitor in your crosshairs!

It is time British entrepreneurs have a serious rethink regarding the traditional entrepreneurial model, particularly in the IT /Internet industry. The model that I have seen repeated numerous times goes something like this: an entrepreneur decides to develop a new online service or application taking advantage of ‘cloud computing’, the low barriers to entry for Internet plays or the growth in Smart phones, etc. By Alan Gleeson.

Skillset launches three new sets of National Occupational Standards for the film industry

Skillset has developed three new suites of National Occupational Standards (NOS) in response to demand from the UK film industry. By Nick Sheridan.

Why email marketers need to embrace social media: the channels should integrate not compete

As commentators analyse the significance of Facebook’s ‘social inbox’ following its launch in mid-November, we are reminding digital marketers that email marketing and social media both have a place in the marketing mix. By Rogier van der Veen.

AdSpend on Mobile Games to Reach Nearly $900 million Globally by 2015 says Juniper Research

Tenfold increase over the next five years driven by the launch of advertising platforms on key app stores. By John Levett.

Film trainees can earn while they learn through new Skillset Trainee Placement Scheme

Skillset is giving 60 trainee-level film crew a unique opportunity to gain experience on major UK film productions through the new Film Craft and Technical Trainee Placement Scheme. The deadline is 31st January. By Gregory David.

What's not to Like?

The idea that Facebook is significantly more effective than other social networks as a platform for sharing content, as proposed by the content distribution company GoViral, is an interesting revelation for ecommerce. By Martin Hill.

Online ad industry set for more upheaval in 2011, experts warn

With the advertising industry undergoing a rapid period of change coupled with record investment, New Media Knowledge caught up with a number of digital marketers to get their predictions for 2011. By Chris Lee.

Grand designs: Creating websites that work

While firms are investing big in search marketing strategies to get their sites found by potential customers, New Media Knowledge spoke to one company about how critical design and content is to creating conversions once search marketing has brought in the traffic. By Chris Lee.

Adfonic points to peak traffic on Boxing Day and ‘Mobile Sunday’

Real-time clicks measured over the Christmas period by Adfonic across its global mobile advertising marketplace show that mobile is driving a shift in the way that consumers browse for gifts and hunt for sale bargains. By Beth Smith.

‘ideas lab’ highlights vast consumer research potential of social networks

Direct Line’s pioneering ‘ideas lab’ consumer insights programme represents a genuine breakthrough in the way research is conducted on social networks. The first initiative saw 200+ Facebook users collaborate to design an iPhone motor insurance app. The quality and depth of insight and high engagement levels proved revelatory. By Tom Wood.

Eight trends that are changing the ecommerce landscape

Ecommerce is exploding. Already worth an estimated €48 billion in the UK alone, it is predicted to at least double in the next 10 years. At the same time technology development in the sector is moving at a frightening pace, and here are eight trends we believe will change the landscape over the next 12-18 months. By Fadi Shuman.

Getting Twitter in perspective

The microblogging site Twitter is rarely out of the news, but the jury’s still out on its value as a barometer of real life. New Media Knowledge spoke with a couple of communicators who ran an online debate on the subject. By Chris Lee.

Mobile Retailing and What It Means To Us

Mobile retailing allows companies to expand their market base without the need for investing heavily on overhead costs. This allows them to offer more goods and services without passing this to their cost of production. Mobile retailing translates to more competitive pricing allowing customers to enjoy better products without paying for these premium services. By Jason Acidre.

Channel 4 to take on Apprentices through Skillset’s Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media

Channel 4 is offering a new pathway into the highly competitive television industry with the introduction of the Advanced Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media. By Nick Sheridan.

Social networks key driver for online retailers, research says

Social networks accounted for more than one in every ten visits to the Internet during September 2010. Social networks were also found to increase the traffic sent to online retailers by 13 per cent since last year. With social media rapidly becoming a key channel for retailers, New Media Knowledge took a look at what retailers should be doing to engage with audiences. By Chris Lee.

Convergence Conversation – The Transmogrification of Advertising

There is a simplistic view of what is happening in the world of advertising – and it goes thus: burn up your Television centric media plan and switch all those gazillions to online ads. Better still throw it at Facebook, Google and VOD. Apparently, this will magically solve your problems and oh, also give you get you to the Shangri-la of measurability in your media spend. By Ved Sen.

Symbian’s reduced role will help Nokia to focus

The Symbian Foundation’s announced not-for-profit status and Symbian OS’s re-absorption into Nokia marks an end to the circuitous journey that the smartphone software platform has taken since its inception from pioneer and market maker to near anonymity. By Tony Cripps.

The trouble with Twitter: How can the microblogging network make money?

Microblogging sensation Twitter now has 145 million users globally with more than 300,000 apps available to play with. The challenge for Twitter is how to monetise its product. New Media Knowledge spoke to a search marketing expert to learn what impact its monetising strategy might have. By Chris Lee.

The need for transparency

Paul Childs, chief marketing officer at Adfonic, looks at the need for greater transparency in the mobile advertising industry and examines why the picture is still not clear.

Mobile Games Revenues to Surpass $11 billion Globally by 2015 as In-Game Purchases Overtake those of Pay-per-Download, says Juniper Research

App stores drive changes in monetisation, but discoverability still remains an issue on some platforms. By John Levett.

Introducing Google Nexus S with Gingerbread

With over 200,000 Android handset activations a day, the launch of a new Google-branded handset is really little more than a sideshow compared with the broader impact Google is having on the mobile market. By Tony Cripps.

Star Struq: Interview with a young Internet entrepreneur

Graduate unemployment may high but some young guns are doing it for themselves. New Media Knowledge caught up with Sam Barnett, founder of online targeting firm Struq. By Chris Lee.

Small and micro companies invited to apply for funding for feasibility studies in digital services

The Technology Strategy Board intends to stimulate innovation by small and micro companies in digital services through an investment of up to £2 million in feasibility studies. The Board has also published an update to its Digital strategy. By Nick Sheppard.

Cross-border trading is biggest barrier to European e-commerce growth

A pan-European report has been released highlighting some of the key issues and trends in online shopping across the region. By Mathias Duda.

BBC Academy teams with and Bournemouth Skillset Media Academy to create Masters Programme in Production Management

The BBC Academy, in partnership with the Bournemouth Skillset Media Academy has launched the 2011 Masters Programme in Production Management - the only Masters Programme of its kind within the UK - and is now seeking applicants from across the industry. By Nick Sheridan.

Don’t focus on the count – consider, maximise and target your audience properly

The media world is changing rapidly and advertisers are on tenterhooks. Reduced budgets and an increased focus on getting more value out of ad campaigns means the pressure is on to get results. It is very tempting (and easy) to use click through rates as a measure of success, but do bear in mind what they really stand for - a simple measurement of response which only gives part of the picture. By Ken Parnham.

Brave New World of Location-Based, App-Driven And Immersive Marketing Marketing

“Social gaming is the next MTV” according to Yuza Mobile CEO, Richard Skaife, who keynoted MusicTank's recent forward-looking panel – Brave New World… that considered location-based gaming, augmented reality (AR) and app development vehicles for the music industry. By Jonathan Robinson.

Smartphones & Low Cost Data Drive Traffic to Mobile Adult Paysites

According to Juniper Research, subscribers forecast to reach 35 million by 2015. US activity soars but European on-portal adult sales slide. By John Levett.

Increased trust in ecommerce and Big Freeze leads to bumper online Christmas spend

Brits continue to flock online to shop at Christmas time, according to a wide range of surveys hitting the news recently. New Media Knowledge crunched the numbers. By Chris Lee.

Five Social Media Gaffes to Avoid in Marketing

Chris Barling of Actinic picks out five things that a business should NOT do when using social media for marketing. By Chris Barling.

Social networks key driver for online retailers, research says

Social networks accounted for more than one in every ten visits to the Internet during September 2010. Social networks were also found to increase the traffic sent to online retailers by 13 per cent since last year. With social media rapidly becoming a key channel for retailers, New Media Knowledge took a look at what retailers should be doing to engage with audiences. By Chris Lee.

The Internet will have a profound impact on society and business in future

The impact of the Internet on society and business is ‘only just beginning’ according to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs at the tenth Silicon Valley comes to Oxford event at Saïd Business School. By Fiona Reid.

Transmedia with Company P

On 10th - 11th February 2011, at Ravensbourne, the Company P will take us through 2 days of the history of transmedia, case studies and focus on the challenges that faze any production that steps out of the television screen and lets the audience into the drama. Looking at shows, games, social media, alternate realities and extended 360* universe you will gain skills in managing interdisciplinary projects and learn how to write for an active audience. This event is free to industry professionals. By Carrie Wootten.

Online marketing – you’re only as good as your data