4. Rob Hollander, Creative
Director at Wickedweb,
outlines some of the key issues
facing digital designers over
the next 12 months 2013
figarodigital.co.uk
Design and Build
W
ith a decade in
business under our
belt at Wickedweb, this
seemed the perfect
time to look to the
future, set new
objectives and observe
the latest industry
trends in design and
digital. It’s astonishing, and sometimes
amusing, to look back and reflect on the
ways in which we used to work. A huge
amount has changed, both in terms of
design and development, over the last 10
years; gone are the days of designing to
a mere 760px wide canvas, creating an
elaborate Flash landing page and slicing
it all up into neat little rectangles to
place into our HTML tables.
RESPONSIVEDESIGN
So how is our design future shaping up
in 2013? Firstly, let’s explore responsive
web design. As handheld devices
continue to improve and develop over
the next few years, so too will our
attention to responsive
design.
With mobile usage for web browsing
increasing (Econsultancy reports that 31
per cent of website traffic is from a
mobile device), it has become essential
for web agencies to reconsider the
design approach and kickstart the
design process by exploring mobile
design as a starting point.
This up-to-date approach will
undoubtedly shape the way in which
2013AnExcitingand
ChallengingTimefor
DigitalDesign

5. 1 7
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
Profile
designs are presented. looking at
current responsive websites, we can see
much cleaner, bolder designs with more
white space. Designs tend to be more
simplistic and flat in appearance, with
solid colours, bold typography and large
buttons ensuring ‘tapping’ on a mobile
device is easier.
The typography itself is also
something that will continue to improve
over the next 12 months, as an
increasing number of web fonts become
available. Gone are the days of the
standard typefaces Arial, Verdana and
Georgia. Say hello to futura, Adelle and
Myriad Pro. These new and improved
web-served fonts are the much more
streamlined cousins of the old, clunky,
sifr flash-based web fonts and, what’s
more, they have very little impact on
page load times, giving each site a more
unique, on-brand experience. This
simplistic and minimalistic approach to
design results in websites appearing
fresh and modern; their scalability and
responsiveness transitions down
through the various device sizes,
resulting in more consistent, on-brand
and seamless capabilities.
NewresolutioNs
from a time and budget perspective it
makes complete sense to have a
responsive website and to abandon the
device-specific design and builds. At
Wickedweb, we have a responsive HTMl
grid template system that new websites
are designed and built into. This not only
streamlines our process but ensures all
newly developed websites are built to the
highest, industry-leading standards,
future-proofing our clients and ensuring
sites are 100 per cent adaptable to
devices of any size, be it mobile, iPad,
desktop or even TV (as companies begin
to roll-out internet ready TVs and games
browsers).
With the persistent and inevitable rise
in handheld devices (58 per cent of the
UK population now use a smartphone,
according to econsultancy), we are also
seeing a huge decrease in the use of
flash on websites. As flash technology
is not supported on the majority of
handheld devices, HTMl5 is increasingly
being used to develop rich media content
with video players and online games.
The development of new hand-held
devices has also brought about retina
displays, the latest products from Apple
with higher screen resolutions, at
300dpi.
images created for
standard resolutions do not
hold the same crispness and
quality when viewed on a
retina display. it’s worth
bearing in mind that
beautifully designed sites
may be compromised in
quality when viewed on these
new devices, unless there’s
clear collaboration between
design and development to
introduce scalable vector
graphics (SVGs), which are
capable of scaling up in size
without losing sharpness or
detail.
HittiNgyourtargets
Another exciting progression
is tailored content and
behavioural content
targeting. Various content
management systems, such
as Wickedweb’s partner
Sitecore, include built-in
functions which display
content relevant to individual users. The
system monitors and tracks where the
user clicks in and around the website,
and begins to build a user profile. As a
result, the website can surface content
that is of more interest and relevance to
the user, populating callouts, banners
and text areas with information. The
design approach to projects of this
nature can be slightly different;
designers need to allow for ‘content
blocks’ which are substituted in for the
different user types. However, this need
not directly affect or constrain the design
itself; designers just need to be aware
that content will be interchangeable.
following the emergence of vertical
scrolling sites in 2012, most of which are
very creative and dynamic, with
impressive CSS3 transitions and
beautiful graphics, we’ll see this trend
become even more prominent in 2013,
predominantly as the design goes
hand-in-hand with mobile
devices, due to the usability
and slickness of design.
However, due to the nature of
vertical scrolling sites, where
all content is held on one
page, it becomes challenging
to effectively market the
website through Seo, which
is partially dependant on
multiple pages containing
keyword specific content.
Designers need to balance
creative flair and technology
with Seo content; the
design team needs to
work hand in hand with
the search marketing team.
As design developments
and device progressions take
hold, 2013 is undoubtedly an
exciting time for digital
design. for designers, and
agencies as a whole, the key
to success will lie in the
ability to adapt and embrace
change; to look forward and
tackle challenges that arise.
The speed at which digital design is
changing and developing is
mesmerising; at Wickedweb, we’ll be
leading the way by pushing each design,
whether for mobile, PC, tablet or TV, to
the limits of creativity, usability and
functionality, embracing this year’s
progressive industry trends with
innovative and forward-thinking design
solutions.
wickedweb.co.uk
Rob HollandeR,
CReative diReCtoR
at WiCkedWeb
For
desigNers
aNd
ageNcies
tHekey
tosuccess
willlie
iNtHe
abilityto
adaptaNd
embrace
cHaNge”

6. 3 6
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
figarodigital.co.uk
Top10ThingsToAsk
geolocATionTechnology
providersin2013
Digital Marketing

7. 3 7
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
Profile
Since pioneering
the space in 1999,
we’ve seen a
number of
technology companies enter the market,
claiming to provide some form of iP
geolocation data,” says rob friedman,
executive Vice President at Digital
element. “However, there are vast
differences between providers, both in
the technologies they employ and the
service models they deliver. it’s vital that
marketers know what to look for in an iP
geolocation technology so they can
achieve the results they need.”
Digital element’s own recent customer
results analysis points to key criteria
marketers should use when evaluating
an iP geolocation provider.
1
C o v e r a g e Most vendors claim to
cover the world’s routable iP
address space. However, discount
providers have gaps in coverage of 20 to
30 per cent of the where country-only or
no-response is provided.
2
a C C u r a C y Accuracy varies widely
within the industry, and the more
hyperlocal the data, the wider the
difference becomes. Country-level
accuracy is generally 95 to 99.99 per cent
for most vendors, whereas city-level
accuracy can range from 40-97 per cent,
depending on the provider.
3
g r a n u l a r i t y if highly granular
city or postcode level data is needed,
it is important to understand that
most vendors do not perform well (or at
all) at this level. Most either aggregate
traffic into large metropolitan areas and/
or provide city centre default postcodes
which may be 10 or even 100 miles away
from the actual web visitor’s location.
Vendors
shouldbe
ableto
proVide
proofof
theirdata
accuracy
and
collection
methods”
Rob Friedman, Executive
Vice President at Digital
Element, explains how
geolocation technology
can help drive results
4
C o n s i s t e n C y Getting
geolocation data in-
house is one thing.
Getting it integrated into an
existing application is another.
Many providers aggregate
self-reported data containing
multiple non-standardised
city responses (ie Cologne,
Köln, Colone, Koln) which can
create large implementation
headaches.
5
t e C h n o l o g y if
coverage, accuracy and
granularity are
important, marketers will
want to select a vendor that
integrates multiple
methodologies to cull and
verify data, including network
infrastructure analysis and user-
validated location feedback. Most iP
geolocation vendors simply repackage
publically available (free) Whois
registration data, and some supplement
with user-supplied data.
6
D y n a m i s m Dynamic iP routing
can be an issue even for more
sophisticated vendors, as some
telcos may make more frequent
reallocation of iP assignments to
address load balancing issues on their
networks. Marketers should ensure their
provider has visibility into iSPs’ network
traffic for instant notification of dynamic
iP address reallocation.
7
v e r i f i C a t i o n Vendors should
be able to provide proof of their data
accuracy and collection methods,
audited through a reliable third-party
assessor. importantly, marketers should
be sure that the audit assesses not only
the methods used to collect the data, but
also the data itself.
8
r e p u t a t i o n A
company’s - and its
marketer’s - reputation
is at stake with the launch of
every campaign. Before
applying iP geolocation
technology to online
initiatives, marketers should
look at vendors’ client lists
and ask for tangible customer
results and successes.
9
t e C h n i C a l s u p p o r t
As with any mission-
critical service, support
is crucial to ensure that
implementation goes
smoothly, and concerns,
issues and feedback are
addressed in a timely manner.
if geolocation data is used for
customer-facing applications,
then 24/7 support should be a
must-have.
10
D a t a b r e a D t h outside
iP-to-geography data, other
information such as proxy type,
connection type/speed, home/business
user, domain name, iSP, company name
and more can be impactful data sets for
creating an even more meaningful user
experience. Marketers should
investigate other types of data that can
be offered beyond geography.
digitalelement.com

8. 5 8
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
100% Full Service Agency
4% Analytics
2% Content Management
18% Design and Build
2% Display Advertising
14% E-Commerce
2% Email Marketing
10% Mobile
2% Pay Per Click
8% Social Media
2% SEO
5% Usability
18% Other:Strategy &
Consultancy
13% Other:Global
Implementation,
Rollout and Support
Using its insights into
consumer expectations,
attitudes and motivations,
Amaze delivers marketing
and technology solutions
– from strategy through to
implementation – that
enable organisations to
identify and act upon the
opportunities created by
this changing digital world.
Clients include ASICS, Coats
plc, Coca-Cola, the Co-
operative Group, Dyson,
Lexus, ODEON Cinemas,
Toyota and Unilever.
In 2012, Amaze ranked twelfth in
Marketing Magazine’s Digital Agency
League Table, fourth in the eCommerce
category and fifth in the mobile category.
Amaze came in at number 18 in the NMA
Top 100 Interactive Agencies and third in
the website design and build category. The
consultancy also ranked second
in the 2012 B2B Marketing
Marcomms Agencies League
Table.
Amaze deliver
digitally-led
global business
solutions and integrated
communications propositions
with user experience and
creativity at their core. Our
heritage, skillset and
experience means that we offer
clients the creativity of a
traditional marketing agency
combined with the rigour of traditional
consulting and technology practices.
NATALIE GROSS, CEO
Amaze
Royalty House, 72-74 Dean Street
London W1D 3SG
T 0845 459 6057
W amaze.com
E info@amaze.com
B blog.amaze.com
@amazeplc
linkedin.com/company/amaze
Keycontacts
NATALIE GROSS
CEO
n.gross@amaze.com
WENDY STONEFIELD
Chief Commercial Officer
w.stonefield@amaze.com
HELEN ROBINSON
Marketing Director
h.robinson@amaze.com
Keycompany
operatingindustries
● Business ● Charities ● Clothing
● Cosmetics/Toiletries ● Drink ●
Entertainment/Leisure ● Financial
● Food ● Household Goods ●
Medical ● Pharmaceutical ● Retail
● Sport/Leisure ● Telecomms ●
Travel ● Other:FMGG,Consumer
Electronics
Employees
Creative Staff 26
Management Staff 8
Marketing Staff 4
Planning & Buying Staff 16
Technical Staff 46
Admin & IT 16
Project Management 20
Strategy 20
Client Services 22
Content & Social 15
Amaze
Full Service Agency
Amaze is a leading full service marketing and technology consultancy, boasting
an unrivalled depth of understanding of technology and human behaviour. The
agency’s work is global - spanning 104 countries in 28 languages.
KEY DIGITAL SECTORS
NATALIE GROSS, CEO
figarodigital.co.uk
At a glance

9. 5 9
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
PROFILE
Project Launch: June 2012
Client EASTCOAST.CO.UK
Amaze was appointed by East Coast in 2012
to handle its integrated digital account. This involves
developing and managing East Coast’s website,
improving the navigation and customer experience,
creating its overarching social media strategy and
eCRM programme, as well as handling all the
operator’s SEO activity. Amaze also provide ongoing
support services. Following a series of website
navigation and user experience developments to its
main website, a new mobile site was launched.
During development, live user testing was carried
out to understand what features were most
important, create a seamless user experience and
generate feedback that would influence the final
structure and design. The new mobile site, available
on iPhone, Android and other mobile devices, is
packed with useful features, from ticket purchasing,
journey planning and live train times to station
information and the latest travel news.
● TRAVEL
figarodigital.co.uk/case-study/east-coast.aspx
KEYSECTORS
Client LEXUS EUROPE
In 2011-2012 Lexus initiated three
significant and transformational changes: a bold
new design direction for its cars, a fresh new
brand direction for its business and a completely
new digital presence for its customers and
prospects. As Lexus’ long-term digital partner,
Amaze’s brief was to deliver the digital strategy for
a European website that created clear
differentiation from its competitors and was truly
integrated with the brand’s through-the-line
positioning. Following rigorous and in-depth
consumer research and analysis, Amaze handled
the complete delivery of the site, from strategy,
conception and design right through to content
development, build and roll-out – resulting in a
solution that challenges the traditional in the
automotive sector.
● MOTOR
figarodigital.co.uk/case-study/lexus-creating-amazing.
aspx
Project Launch: June 2012
KEYSECTORS

10. 6 2
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
25% Design and Build
10% Digital Marketing
25% Email Marketing
5% Hosting
5% Pay Per Click
10% Social Media
5% Usability
PancentricDigital
4-8 Emerson Street, Bankside,
London SE1 9DU
W pancentric.com
E office@pancentric.com
@pancentric
youtube.com/pancentric
Keycontacts
SIMON FENN
Director
Simon.Fenn@Pancentric.com
JIMMI PREBBLE
STRATEGY DIRECTOR
Jimmi.Prebble@pancentric.com
HELEN EVANS
MARKETING MANAGER
HELEN.EVANS@PANCENTRIC.COM
Keycompany
operatingindustries
● Business
● Cosmetics/toiletries
● Drink
● Entertainment/leisure
● Food
● Household goods
● Retail
Employees
Creative Staff 7
Management Staff 4
Marketing Staff 15
Planning & Buying Staff 5
Technical Staff 12
Head of Finance 1
Office Manager 1
PancentricDigital
Full Service Agency
Pancentric Digital is an award-winning, integrated digital agency that combines
strategy, creativity and technical innovation under one roof. We place great
emphasis on client collaboration and work with some of the world’s best known
names to deliver exceptional results in brand engagement, acquisition and
retention.
KEY DIGITAL SECTORS
Pancentric Digital
will be celebrating 10 years
in the digital industry this
year and in that time we’ve
worked with a number of
high profile clients such as
L’Oreal, BBC, Burger King,
Zurich, Johnnie Walker,
Clipper Teas, Coach, Million
Pound Drop, The X Factor
and Disney.
We’re ranked as one of
the leading digital agencies
in the UK; a Top 100 Digital
Agency and Top 50 Design
Agency by The Drum and a Top 50 Agency
by Design Week. We also feature in RAR’s
Top 50 London Independent Agencies
report. If you like the sound of how we
work, please get in touch.
Digital success
is about
integration and
this is where we excel as an
agency. Gone are the days of
the siloed management of
online marketing and design
and build. Our team of
strategists, creatives,
marketers and programmers
collaborate under one roof to
deliver joined-up customer
experiences and maximum
return on your digital
investment.
SIMON FENN, DIRECTOR
SIMON FENN,
DIRECTOR
figarodigital.co.uk
At a glance

11. 6 3
a n n u a l s o u r c e g u i d e
Project Launch: May 2012
ProfiLe
Client bbc
The bbc tasked us to tap into olympic fever by
developing an online sports psychology experiment. The test
needed to encourage mass participation and produce
personalised results for each participant. Design, build and
project management were key to the project’s success and
so far there have been over 150,000 participants. The
experiment’s results are set to be published in late 2013.
View the site at: bit.ly/ilzocS.
l Science, PubLiShing/MeDia, gaMing
figarodigital.co.uk/case-study/bbc-olympics.aspx
Project Launch: January 2012
KEYSECtorS
KEYSECtorS
Client facebook.coM/bLuewaTer
bespoke facebook app ‘who will be crowned?’ utilised
bluewater fans’ passion for fashion to grow bluewater’s fan
base by 45 per cent in just eight weeks. images of stylish
shoppers visiting the mall were uploaded on a weekly basis to be
evaluated by a panel of fashion experts. fans then voted for their
favourite look and shared this with friends. an integrated social,
web and email campaign with in-mall support, complemented
the app and ensured the competition’s success.
l reTaiL, cLoThing & enTerTainMenT/LeiSure
figarodigital.co.uk/case-study/bluewater-facebook-app.aspx
Client DirecTLineforbuSineSS.co.uk
Pancentric Digital were appointed by Direct Line for business
to design and build a new site in six weeks. we put together a team
who worked collaboratively in the depths of our basement for the full
six weeks, agile-style. This way, we were able to adapt
and respond to the project’s evolving demands at every
stage. Since going live, click-to-quote conversion has
increased by 11 per cent from 32 per cent to 43 per cent.
l financiaL, buSineSS
figarodigital.co.uk/case-study/direct-line-for-business.aspx
Project Launch: august 2012
KEYSECtorS

12. figarodigital.co.uk
I
t’s been a busy year so
far for marketers
keeping up with
facebook. in January
the social network
announced its first, and long
anticipated, foray into
search. facebook graph
Search, which is still only
available in a limited beta
format, is powered by
users’ ‘likes’, shares and
other activity and
designed to serve users
with the sort of
personalised results
currently provided by
google and Bing. at the
moment users are required
to join a waiting list, but
once the service is rolled
out, it’ll enable us to search
facebook for friends with
specific interests. “graph
Search is not web search,”
Mark Zuckerberg told a
press conference at the time
of launch. “it’s about
newS
facebook
search
arrIvesgraph Search in beta
upfrontsnewS, viewS, StatS, reportS and opinion froM acroSS the digital Marketing SpectruM
graphing our part of the
web.”
initially, the search
function will be limited to
people, places, interests and
photos, but, explains keith
peiris, product Manager at
facebook, as the service
evolves it’ll be able to
answer nuanced queries
such as ‘what movie should i
go and see?’ and ‘what
bands might i like based on
the friends i have?’ users’
privacy choices determine
what’s searchable. “You can
only search for the content
people have shared with
you,” says facebook’s
software developer lars
rasmussen.
from facebook’s
perspective, this is a clear
bid to raise engagement and
create a more compelling
experience for users, which
will doubtlessly be reflected
in how advertising operates
across the site. So what are
the implications for
marketers?
“this will inevitably lead
to monetisable searches
such as, ‘best new movie
releases to watch this
weekend’ and ‘new
restaurants my friends like
in new York’, says damian
routley, ceo of glow. “it’s
then a small step for people
to start generating deeper
search queries that eat into
google’s core business, such
as, ‘what is the best hotel in
paris on a budget?’ and
‘which smart tv should i
buy?’ the principle is that
the most trusted reviews
and recommendations come
from people you know.
that’s the value that
facebook brings to search
and that’s why they’ll be a
serious contender in this
market.
“from a marketing
perspective, i would
recommend that brands
start to optimise their site,
page and app for social -
‘social Seo’ will become key
in preparation for the wider
roll-out and the inevitable
paid search offering that will
follow.
“further to this, those
companies that have a
close integration on the
facebook platform will
overtake those who keep it
at arm’s length. it’s also
likely that facebook will give
a preference to those
companies that have this
integration purely because
the quality of information
feeding the engine is better
– and this means a better
service for the user.”
facebook.com/
about/graphsearch

13. 7
i s s u e 1 7 m a y 2 0 1 3
UPFRONTS
Facebook’s Graph
Search announcement
was followed by two
further developments.
Facebook Home is, as
the name suggests, an
Android homepage
which places the
emphasis firmly on
messaging. Whatever
you may be using your
phone for at any given
moment, Home
enables your Facebook
friends – who here
become ‘Chat heads’
– to message you
instantly.
“To users, the sell
here will be
making it
easier to share
information,
photos and so
on with
friends,” says
Jan Dawson,
Chief Telecoms
Analyst at
Ovum. “But to
Facebook, this
is about
becoming
more deeply
embedded in the
operating system on
mobile devices, and
creating a broader
platform. Since
Facebook doesn’t
make an operating
system for mobile
devices, this is the next
best thing. It will allow
Facebook to track
more of a user’s
behaviour on devices,
and present more
opportunities to serve
up advertising, which
is Facebook’s main
business model. And
that presents the
biggest obstacle to
success for this
experiment:
Facebook’s objectives
and users’ are once
again in conflict. Users
don’t want more
advertising or tracking,
and Facebook wants to
do more of both.”
facebook.com
NEWS
HOMING
INON
ANDROID
Introducing
Chat Heads
SOURCE:WALLBLOG/
WEBSITE-MONITORING.COM
S TAT I S T I C S
In April came the news
that Facebook is trialling a
scheme which charges users
to message other users outside
their own circle. Ten per cent of
Facebook’s UK users have the
option of paying anywhere
between 71p and £10.68 to
contact ‘priority’ users. First
trialled in the US last year, it’s
reported that the move is
designed to prevent spam, but
thoughts in the UK press
immediately turned to who was
worth what - and why.
With pricing based on the
number of followers, location
and other message activity, The
Sun was among those who
reported that a message to
diver Tom Daley would set fans
back nearly £11 but that comic
Miranda Hart was available at
the basic rate of 71p, while
messages to astrologer Russell
Grant and comedian Dara
O’Briain were even cheaper
than non-celeb users, at 67p
and 65p respectively.
facebook.com
NEWS
PRIORITY
USERS
SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS COMPANY SOCIALBAKERS ESTIMATES 16.7M OF JUSTIN BIEBER’S 37M-STRONG TWITTER
FANBASE ARE COMPOSED OF ‘FAKE’ OR EMPTY ACCOUNTS, WITH ANOTHER 2.6M BEING INACTIVE.
SOURCE:EDELMANTRUSTBAROMETER
THEAVERAGESOCIAL
POSTHASAHALF-LIFE
OF18MINUTES.
SOURCE:SILVERPOP/SEOMOZBLOG
EACHMONTHTHERE
ARENOW24BILLION
SEARCHESON
TWITTERCOMPARED
WITH4.1BILLIONON
BINGAND9.4BILLION
ONYAHOO!
CONSUMERTRUST
90%TRUST PEER
RECOMMENDATIONS
14%TRUST AN ADVERT

14. 3 4
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
3 4
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
FIGARODIGITAL.CO.UK
Already available for many users, Facebook’s Graph Search is set to have major
implications for the ways brands and users interact with the social network.
Marc Blinder at Adobe tells us about the opportunities and the risks
REWRITING
FACEBOOK SEARCH

15. 3 5
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
Marc Blinder,
director of Social Media
Strategy eMea at adoBe
essays
T
he last 12 months have seen a
rush of developments in the
ever-busy world of Facebook: the
launch of the Home app for
android, the arrival of the
Customer audiences tool and the
roll-out of Lookalike audiences.
Dominating these changes however, is
Facebook’s new Graph search, the
long-awaited semantic search facility
which enables users to look for things
their friends have engaged or interacted
with, and to see the interests and
inclinations of people outside their own
personal networks.
In beta since January and live from 8
July this year, the business potential of
Graph search, as well as the broader
implications for the ways in which we
engage with the world’s largest online
community, are significant, says Marc
Blinder, Director of social Media
strategy eMea at adobe.
SpreadingTheneT
as Blinder told delegates at the Figaro
Digital social Media seminar earlier this
year, while the old Facebook search
found friends, Graph search takes in
photos, games, places that people have
been to and other content which they’ve
‘Liked’ or recommended.
“For Facebook,” says Blinder, “it’s
about going after the huge amount of
revenue which Google is making all the
time out of search. When Mark
Zuckerberg announced this, he said
Facebook already gets over a billion
searches every day without really trying.
This is their attempt to take an old
search product and create something
new and exciting.” What changes, then,
does Graph search bring to the
Facebook experience and how should
brands adapt? “This is going to be really
big for the entire digital marketing
funnel,” says Blinder, “from awareness
and consideration through to purchase.
you can imagine all the people searching
for pubs or restaurants that their friends
‘Like’ when they’re figuring out where to
go. People can be exposed to a huge
range of new results. From a business
perspective, whether you’re a small
business or a large enterprise with many
different retail locations, you really want
to get your metadata into Facebook’s
system so that you’re showing up on the
results pages.”
That metadata, he explains, can
include check-ins at physical locations,
‘Likes’ and recommendations. But in
order for your brand or
company to appear in Graph
search results, you need a
correctly set up page with a
physical address. “a lot of
companies that aren’t in the
retail or restaurant space,”
says Blinder, “probably don’t
have physical locations on
Facebook, so they need to
think of clever ways to get
themselves found. We also
think this is going to
encourage customers to
connect via mobile. We’re used
to seeing stickers for
Tripadvisor or Foursquare.
Good business practice in
future is definitely going to
involve having stickers like this
for Facebook, encouraging
people to ‘Like’, recommend and
check-in, because that’s what’s going to
drive results.”
ConvergenCeandaTTribuTion
For marketing teams, says Blinder, this
change will require a shift in the way
staff and budgets are orchestrated. “The
search and the social teams can’t be
separate anymore,” he says. “Those
teams and their budgets are going to
converge, which can also mean changes
to the bonus schemes and the KPIs
people are judged on.”
If, for example, you’re a large retailer
operating across different locations and
hoping for a prominent search result, it
may be that Google performs best one
day, Bing the next and that Facebook
wins out the day after that.
“you need the money to be
allocated in such a way that you
don’t have two separate teams
fighting over it,” says Blinder.
“They need to be working
together and using that money
in the most efficient way on a
day-to-day basis. you want the
seO efforts to be taking into
account what’s happening in
the search space as well as in
social and on Facebook. It also
means attribution analysis is
going to be key, going forward.
That means being able to
measure users going through
multiple touch-points before
they convert. They might ‘Like’
your page on Facebook, then
five days later type in a search
on Google and come to your
website. you need to be able to assign
the correct value to all these different
touch-points. We think that for a long
time we’re still going to see a lot of those
last clicks coming from Google. But if
the first clicks are coming from
Facebook – if that’s where the
awareness and consideration are coming
from – then it’s really important that
value is being attributed to that channel
for growing business in the long run.”
unSeaTinggoogle?
Facebook are famously fond of
acknowledging that, in the journey
towards completion, the site is just one
per cent done. In the case of Graph
search, says Blinder, Zuckerberg and
his team are probably only half a per ☞
FaCebook
already
geTSover
abillion
SearCheS
everyday
wiThouT
Trying”
arTICLe jon fortgang

16. 4 6
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
4 6
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
figarodigital.co.uk
With new social platforms and apps popping up daily, if not
hourly, it’s sometimes hard to remember a time when
Myspace (or even friendster) ruled the roost and the thought
of sharing images, thoughts or even videos in real-time,
continuously, seemed like a strange concept. While many of us
have seen countless platforms come and go, certain social
media platforms seem to be here to stay, while some of the
fresher entries into the market are showing more staying
power than others.
James Lowery, Head of SEO at Latitude
Digital Marketing, logs on and guides us through
new opportunities for brands in the ever-shifting
social media landscape
remember
friendster?* me niether
*Pioneering social network launched in 2002.
overtaken by facebook. now rePositioned
as a social gaming site

17. 4 7
i s s u e 1 8 j u l y 2 0 1 3
James Lowery,
Head of seo at Latitude
digitaL marketing
essays
Facebook
What it is you should know by now.
What We say Not exactly new to the
market, but the trusty ‘old’ Facebook
(with the practically ancient lifespan of
nine years) might just be the channel to
invest in this year. While many thought of
it as predominantly a branding tool, new
developments are shifting Facebook to
perform as a hybrid platform for
branding and direct response generation
for marketers.
The custom audiences tool could be
a massive game-changer for marketers
and brands. This is a simple tool which
allows marketers to reach their actual
and prospective customers, rather than
basing their targeting strategies on
rational assumptions about who their
audience may be. For example, if you
have collected email addresses at an
event, you can target these people on
Facebook, encouraging a follow-up
action post-event. Facebook achieves
this by matching email addresses to
Facebook user logins. The email-
matching process is heavily encrypted
and, in testing, up to 90 per cent of
customer emails have been successfully
matched to Facebook logins.
For retailers, using the custom
audiences feature can definitely help
drive extra revenue from customers. one
way to make this possible is to
encourage repeat purchases for
products that have a lifecycle (such as
hair and beauty products). by retargeting
customers when the product is coming
to the end of its cycle, the ad will be
highly relevant to your selected (custom)
audience and thus they are more likely to
purchase the product again. Retailers
can also use custom audience targeting
to cross-sell similar products.
encouraging these repeat purchases will
help maintain customer loyalty, and
drive more revenue for your business in
the long-term.
The travel sector could also adopt
custom audience targeting into their
Facebook strategy by retargeting
holidaymakers at the same time each
year. For example, if a customer made a
booking in april for a summer holiday,
you could target them again the
following april with a message such as
“Looking for a summer holiday again
this year?”
The finance industry could also
leverage custom audiences. keeping
customers loyal in the finance industry,
particularly insurance, can be hard
because it is increasingly common for
customers to shop around on
comparison sites. The custom
audiences tool can help insurers keep
their existing customers loyal by
targeting them 11 to 12
months after they took out
a policy – the time they will
be looking to renew.
custom audience targeting
really is a no-brainer for
marketers aiming to
engage in deeper
relationships with existing
customers. connect with
your customers, reward
their loyalty, keep them
keen and reap the benefits.
INsTagRam
What it is Photo-sharing
application launched in
2010.
What We say While already
popular before being acquired by
Facebook in april 2012, Instagram has
since gained a huge amount of press
attention and new users as a result.
engaging via Instagram is a totally new
way of interacting with an entirely new
audience; an audience that
communicates via tinted or filtered
images with minimal text. according to a
2012 survey by Pew Internet, 12 per cent
of adults say they use Instagram, with
just over one in four users between the
ages of 18 and 29 embracing it, making it
a key tool for brands marketing for the
twenty-somethings in particular.
many brands, especially in the retail
and travel industries, realised the
potential of engaging with their
consumers through Instagram early on,
and have established a strong presence
across the platform. some retailers have
come up with innovative ways of tying
online and offline marketing together
using Instagram. Urban outfitters
encourages its customers to snap ‘selfie’
images while trying on outfits and to
upload them using an assigned hashtag.
Virgin airways has also embraced
Instagram by sharing interesting content
and encouraging customers to
Instagram their journeys to receive
money off from their next flight.
PINTeResT
What it is allows users to
pin photos and images to
boards, which can be
organised by themes or
categories.
What We say according to
Pew Internet, just over one
in 10 adults now use
Pinterest. The retail sector
in particular has taken
Pinterest on with gusto; a
leading fashion retailer
with a target demographic
of females aged between
18 and 25 currently benefits
by sharing their Pinterest
board of male celebrities
on their Facebook channel. one such
upload managed to acquire over 1,700
‘Likes’ in a very short period of time.
as with any activity, it is important to
have a strategy around the types of
images visitors are likely to pin. at
Latitude we completed research into a
number of ecommerce clients and
unsurprisingly stock photos of items do
not gather much interest. you may
achieve a number of pins from potential
customers who wish to purchase said
item, but what you will witness being
pinned frequently are current topics of
interest – the ‘keep calm and carry on’
slogans, humorous e-cards and ☞
Facebook’s
custom
audiences
toolcould
beamassive
game-changer
Forbrands”