Emma Crowe from Social Plus speaks about driving leads through digital marketing.
Bridging the digital divide in the North-East
Throughout June we’ve been focusing on the North East’s digital capabilities as part of our Great Reasons campaign. Here, our Partner members Pulsant explain how the traditional North-South technology divide is beginning to close as businesses in the North start to move more rapidly than those in the South.
A common perception is that the North-South divide creates challenges for businesses in the North East of England. This is particularly the case with digital transformation, with businesses closer to technology hubs in the South often at an advantage. However, with strong signs of regional resurgence and the emergence of UK-wide edge networks, businesses are poised to break down barriers of location and accelerate their growth plans.
A growing economic opportunity
Much has been reported on the worsening North-South divide in England, driven by an array of social, cultural and economic differences. While many perceptions persist of the South benefitting from location, the North East is bucking the trend, achieving a sharp increase in private sector activity during May. The NatWest North East Business Activity Index, which measures the output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors, rose from 55.2 in April to 63.6 in May. The data also shows that new business grew for the third month in a row and private sector firms’ optimism about the year ahead rose to its highest level since March 2016. Increasingly, innovation is also making its home in the North East, with 13 of the Northern Tech Top 100 businesses now situated in the area.
The acceleration of digital transformation
Digital transformation is crucial to that growth but all too often businesses in the North of England have lost out on a competitive advantage to those in the South, due to their closer proximity to highly connected technology hubs such as London. According to new research from Pulsant, 61% of organisations in the South East and London say their location is advantageous to their digital transformation ambitions compared to just 41% in the rest of England.
However, the North is now moving ahead quicker than the rest of England, with 82% of businesses in the region saying the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation compared to 71% in the South. Pulsant’s research also found that when it comes to accelerating transformation, businesses in the North are deploying new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications (67%), migrating traditional workloads and data into the cloud (65%), and creating their own cloud-native applications (65%) faster than any other region, including the South.
The emerging edge opportunity
What’s clear is that the North East holds huge potential for growth and this is reflected in the region’s growing appetite for digital transformation. A crucial driver of that continued growth will be the emergence of UK-wide edge networks that bring connections closer to those regional businesses and end users.
Delivering services to end users relies on performing analysis on data as close as possible to the location where it is generated. The challenge with traditional data centre deployments in hubs such as London is that, for businesses in the North East, they are too far away from these sources.
In response to this challenge, Pulsant has made a significant investment in a new national network enabling edge computing. Our partnership with Zayo will see our 10 data centres across the UK, including Newcastle East and Newcastle Central, connected via Zayo’s high-performance fibre network to build a unique digital ecosystem. As a result, businesses in the North East can remove any pre-existing hurdles around location and benefit from high-capacity, low latency and agile connections to the edge.
A foundation for future growth
Advancing innovation and digital transformation has been at the forefront of our plans for many years – with our opening of the technology centre of excellence in the North East in 2019 one example of our work in regions. We’ve supporting 1000 clients in the North East region and as a partner member of the North East England Chamber of Commerce we’ve been a vocal advocate for digital transformation growth in the area.
While the North-South divide might continue to present challenges, there are clear and positive signs that businesses in the North East are bridging the digital divide to capitalise on the region’s economic opportunities. Continued innovations, particularly around the availability of edge networks, will be crucial in truly levelling the playing field, enabling every business to become a digital business and reach their true potential – regardless of where they are based.
Simon Michie, Chief Technology Officer at Pulsant
Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash
Using the PESO (paid, earned, shared, owned) model to maximise your digital strategy
Traditional PR and marketing tactics have entered into a seismic shift over the past ten years thanks to the evolving digital landscape that has consumed life as we know it.
Those within the marketing and communications industry are no longer relying on just the traditional methods such as print journalism or broadcast appearances to convey a brand’s story or message. However, in today’s hyperconnected world, a digital marketing strategy isn’t just about Facebook ads and Instagram posts, (they will only get you so far) it’s about harnessing the power of the PESO model.
The PESO model is a digital marketing and communications framework covering paid, earned, shared and owned media. Before the early 2000s media channels used to be thought of in siloed ways, paid media’s primary focus was advertising and earned media was the primary focus of PR.
So why is the PESO model so useful when it comes to segmenting your marketing strategy and maximising your brand power?
In a nutshell, you have your original content which is owned by you or your company and you will then use social platforms to share and distribute the content. Once you have completed these two steps you may want to use paid media to amplify your message and then earned media to reinforce the story.
Let’s look at the four areas in more detail and the simple steps that you can take to start adding value to your content.
Paid media
Paid media requires the brand or business to pay for the opportunity to advertise their product or service on a variety of different platforms. The channels can be via social media, TV, radio or via print and online methods. More specifically, paid media will almost always involve the exchanging of money and a third party. Paying for your media rights means that you are purchasing a ‘space’ to reach a specific audience that has grown and developed as the result of someone else on a platform that’s not yours, e.g. ITV Tyne Tees.
Tips for paid media:
- Identify your target audience and be specific. Just because a national newspaper is offering you a good deal on advertising space does not mean that this is a good deal for you and your business
- Set pricing does not occur in this industry, work with your contact and negotiate pricing and cost
- Nail down your messaging. Don’t waste the opportunity as when paid media works well, it can help to solidify your reputation and convert to sales
Earned media
Earned media is the bread and butter of traditional PR. This is the conventional method that requires you to cultivate relationships with journalists who write about your subject area.
However, more recently this has evolved into establishing relationships with influencers, bloggers and thought leaders who may write about or in partnership with your business or brand, creating original content.
Tips for earned media:
- Research bloggers and key thought leaders that are talking about the subjects you want to be writing about
- Identify your early adopters and influencers that create a demand for your customers’ buying decisions. Social media, print and digital platforms to carry out this research are all good places to start
- Publish content that displays your business or brands worthiness – good customer reviews and case studies will always help to establish trust
Shared media
Shared media guidelines and best practices are constantly evolving as social media algorithms adapt and become more sophisticated over time. Shared media has two key parts to it. Firstly, it’s about creating content and getting it out there, but secondly, it’s also about the exchange and interaction that you, as a business, have with your audience.
Tips for shared media:
- Stay current. Use hashtags that are trending or relate to a national day or recent news event
- Publish accurate and relatable content for your audience that will encourage them to interact and keep the conversation going
- Make your content humanistic. People buy from people, not straight-talking corporate messaging
- Understand you’re constantly working with an algorithm – on average a post on a business Facebook page will reach less than 5% of your audience (using paid here helps distribute key messaging and campaigns) so budget accordingly.
Owned media
Owned media covers everything that your business or brand has complete control over. This covers a wide range of assets such as your website, blog, videos, infographics, original content and research papers. Most importantly, it is these assets that help fuel the other three parts of the PESO model and they’re all equally as important in building a successful marketing strategy. Owned media is the marketing strategy cornerstone of any business and it is the most direct way that potential customers come in contact with your brand.
Tips for owned media:
- Ensure that you are repurposing your owned media in more than one way to maximise reach. The right press release can be repurposed into a blog, which can be repurposed into an infographic, a webinar topic and a social media post
- Authenticity – be authentic with your owned media. Creating and maximising on your brand personality will help to create genuine engagement with your customers
- Involve your audience. Ask them questions and their opinions on new products, or areas of interest. This will help to keep content ideas flowing for you as a business and also create a genuine and open conversation around your brand and business.
- 1st party data (your email lists, user and sales records etc) are by far the most important things as we enter a world where third party cookies are limited and tracking is being removed from apps and websites – make sure you do everything you can to increase the amount of first party data you collect for future use in campaigns – make it easy for people to sign up to a mailing list for example.
For businesses and brands that are trying to maximise their brand communications and marketing strategy, using the PESO model as a framework will help to transform businesses reputations with forward-thinking, integrated marketing plans.
The modern evolution of media technology has allowed companies to connect with their audiences in many different ways, providing opportunities to communicate messages robustly and correctly.
Mapping the various channels mentioned above in the PESO model against your business activities over a timeline, including ‘always on’ and campaign activations will ensure your team knows how everything connects. This will ultimately help you be able to measure success and allocate budget accordingly more easily.
Steve Cole, Founder and MD of Colehouse
Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash
How to build an online presence effectively in 2021
Many businesses changed how they worked in 2020, with some dealing with customers online for the first time. But once you’ve taken those first steps, what comes next? In this blog Brogan Huntington of Marketing Adventures explains how to build your online presence.
Many businesses around the world have undoubtedly become stronger during 2020 and they have most certainly entered into 2021 wiser and more robust than ever before. We have seen huge pivots and extraordinary results from so many businesses, big and small.
Many of these businesses started this year with little or no digital presence, no will to attain or grow a digital presence, and nor did they believe that it would work for their business. How wrong they were!
It has been repeated over the last year how important having a digital presence is to a business however, nobody explains why and how to have an effective one that works for you and your clients.
So here it is… three key factors to building an online presence in 2021 that works for your company, your clients and your prospects.
Number 1 – Know Your Audience:
This is a topic that is often spoken about but never explained, understanding your audience is vital for any business growth. However, it is especially important when it comes to digital marketing for multiple reasons.
- If you know who your audience is, you can understand their behaviours, demographics, and interests. It provides you with the information required to make remarkable marketing decisions.
- You can then start to understand what social media they use and what they are interested in.
- Once you know your audience, you can then tailor all your content to them and display it on a platform they are more likely to use at a time they will be on it so you can ensure that your business gets both seen and heard by the right people at the correct time.
When you understand your audience, your results will be impeccable, it becomes a win-win for both you and your clients. You go from guessing to making informed valuable decisions.
Number 2 – Optimisation:
This is a process that should be repeated frequently to ensure that the content available to your clients is relevant and fresh. When we talk about optimising your digital platforms, we are talking about everything, the look, feel, and message of your all-round online presence.
You may have heard people refer to this as SEO when it comes to websites and depending on your preferred social platform, some individuals will talk about cover images, headings, and fields on various social platforms, however, it is critical to know that in 2021 all of these are just as important.
Here are a few points on how to optimise your online presence:
- Make sure that your message is clearer and talking to your audience.
- Think of all your platforms like a mini-website, including Google My Business, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Ensure it is easy for your clients to get the information they are looking for, including your contact details, opening hours, and what problems you are solving for them.
- Use images & videos that demonstrate what you have to offer.
- Everything should be aesthetically pleasing, ensuring you are incorporating your brand colours and the designs are pleasant to look at they must flow. Think of everything like your digital shop window!
When thinking about your online presence, try and imagine every place your clients may find information about you and your company go there and ensure that all information represents you and your business in the best light possible, be sure that it is delivering a clear and consistent message about your personal and professional brand.
Number 3 – Images & Videos:
Both quality images and video are the future of marketing, with social media being a huge driver for this, we all now know the power of clever images and engaging videos. We all want to receive information as easily and as quickly as possible.
If you choose wisely, when it comes to an image it will have the power to tell your client what you do and how they should feel when they come into contact with your product or service in seconds.
Videos are arguably even more powerful for this; you can build relationships, present products, and show your brand personality in a split second to prospects that you have yet to meet.
In 2021, the use of professional images and videos has never been more important, if you are struggling with this concept, just ask yourself where would we be without YouTube and Zoom?
Marketing Adventures continue to run courses on these topics and we continue to be overwhelmed with our client’s results every time. Please go ahead and use the tips provided above and start reaping the results you know you and your business deserves.
Brogan Huntington
Marketing Adventures
[email protected]
Website
LinkedIn
Facebook
Photo by Xavi Cabrera on Unsplash
Thinking differently
COVID-19 has forced businesses to think differently. Whether that’s about what they do, how they do it, or whether they should be doing something new, decisions are having to be made more quickly and with agility not seen before. People’s goodwill, and business needs, have generated the conditions for creative approaches and a delivery focus that have provided real results.
As the situation evolves, maintaining the use of creative problem solving, and avoiding a return to ‘how things used to be’ will help businesses focus on continuing to deliver value.
In this webinar we will discuss how to channel good outcomes and approaches to set you on the path to future success; and we’ll look at the steps you can take to make sure you can rapidly innovate and harness a digital mindset to keep your business relevant in changing times.
PR & Media Skills
Recorded on the 12th June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a number of challenges many organisations have not prepared for, or only discussed in theory. This applies more then ever to PR and messaging. We can help you create your engagement plans for the current situation. What will communication look like in our new way of working? How can you best get your message across in a changing world? We can help you create your engagement plans for the current situation and moving forward.
This webinar was organised with Digital Allies and Reach PLC, in conjunction with the North East Chamber of Commerce.
Get your code on
In this blog post, Amber Burney looks at ways you can improve your digital skills at home to benefit both yourself and your business.
There’s always been someone there in the office who’s a little more tech savvy than everyone else, who everyone likes to use as their on-hand IT technician. Maybe you *could* learn to do that thing they keep doing for you, but you’ve got so much more work to do it doesn’t feel like much of a priority. I guess it can wait. I’m bound to pick it up eventually. I’ll just get this project finished before requesting that training.
Queue COVID-19.
Not only are you now trying to work during a stressful, world-altering event, but you’re doing it at home, with your pets, your children, your partners, the ever-looming fridge door which you’ve opened for no reason at all for the 17th time by 10am…
And you’re on your own in the world of utilising your technology.
So, what can you do to improve your digital skills? From understanding the innerworkings of your software to excelling at use of social media platforms, here are some ways you can level-up your digital abilities to help both you and your business.
Social Media and Digital Marketing
Gone are the days when social media was keeping up with friends and family, now it’s used in applying for jobs, entire marketing strategies are based around it and it’s the perfect way to keep in touch with your audience and provide amazing customer service.
Whether you want to sharpen your social media skills for personal or business use, there’s a huge benefit. It’s a highly sought-after skill for employers, like all digital skills, and with so many platforms available it’s easy to engage with all of your audiences or find the right one for you.
There’s a plethora of information online for learning more about each of the platforms and further information on digital marketing, with some good starting points below.
- BT Digital Skills for Tomorrow courses on Promoting your Business
- Mediaworks digital marketing webinars and online content
- Digital Drive Durham webinars (Linkedin, Twitter, Hootsuite, WordPress, Facebook)
Coding and Cyber Security
Even if you aren’t planning on coding the next Microsoft Word or hit phone app, coding is a perfect way to understand digital processes from the ground up and will help you with all of your other digital skills.
The same goes for cyber security – you may not be an IT professional but cyber crime can affect anyone and everyone, and we can all do our bit to protect ourselves and our businesses. Unfortunately, due to the current crisis, we’re seeing a higher number of cyber attacks on businesses and individuals, including email scams to unsuspecting and worried users.
- Sunderland University and the Institute of Coding have a series of courses aimed at beginners around coding, data analytics and cyber security.
- North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit are giving free online vulnerability assessments to find your digital security weaknesses.
- Get Safe Online has all of the information you could want around protecting yourself online and recognising scams.
Microsoft and Adobe software skills
The Microsoft Office package is so well used across the world that it might not even have crossed your mind when you think about improving your digital skills, but Microsoft are constantly updating their software and adding new packages, all which work together seamlessly. Understanding the basics of all of the software (Word, Excel, Outlook etc) and how they can all work together can see your work efficiency skyrocket, tasks more easily organised and communications not getting lost or missed.
Microsoft excel may feel like something you can use without issue, but how much of what it can do are you actually using? Do you know your own limitations of the software you probably use almost every day?
The same goes for Adobe creative packages; mastering the art of Photoshop or Illustrator to create your own online graphics for your business, Dreamweaver to throw some ideas together for designing your own website… the creative possibilities are endless with Adobe.
- Adobe has a load of support available on their website on how to use the functions of all of their software, for example Photoshop here.
- Microsoft have a digital literacy course available on their website, giving good overviews of all of their software programs.
In the age of the internet, we’re spoiled for choice with tutorials, webinars, ebooks and a million other ways of learning new skills. With some of these starting points you might find your online jam and take something further, or at the very least learn how to easily use all of the technology available to you for work. The digital future talked about is here, and these skills are for today.
Increased Cyber Security Risk and Guidance
Updated advice from the North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit on an increase in cyber crime related to Coronavirus.
It has been identified by multiple sources that cyber criminals have started to exploit the Coronavirus epidemic. There has been an increase in coronavirus linked phishing emails, websites that download malicious software and with a growing number of people working from home and self-isolating this could make users and networks more susceptible to attacks.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has mitigating advice and guidance for malware and ransomware; home working and phishing attacks:
It is important the users and businesses are vigilant against cyber attacks, more now than ever; below is a list of recently released guidance which can help:
Mitigating malware and ransomware attacks:
How to defend organisations against malware or ransomware attacks
Home working: preparing your organisation and staff
Cyber experts step in as criminals seek to exploit Coronavirus fears
Experts at the NCSC have revealed phishing attacks exploiting worries over COVID-19
Fake Online Coronavirus Map Delivers Well-known Malware
A malicious website pretending to be the live map for Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins University is circulating on the internet waiting for unwitting internet users to visit the website. Visiting the website infects the user with the AZORult trojan, an information stealing program which can exfiltrate a variety of sensitive data. It is likely being spread via infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, and social engineering. Furthermore, anyone searching the internet for a Coronavirus map could unwittingly navigate to this malicious website.
Coronavirus Related Scams
Since February 2020, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has identified 21 reports of fraud where Coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totalling over £800k. Ten of these reports were made by victims that attempted to purchase protective face masks from fraudulent sellers. Reporting numbers are expected to rise as the virus continues to spread across the world.
Fraudsters are also sending out coronavirus-themed phishing emails in an attempt to trick people into opening malicious attachments or revealing sensitive personal and financial details.
Some of the other tactics we’ve identified from victim reports:
- Fraudsters purporting to be from research organisation’s affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) contact potential victims over email. They claim to be able to provide the recipient with a list of coronavirus infected people in their area. In order to access this information, the victim needs to click on a link, which leads to a malicious website, or is asked to make a payment in Bitcoin.
Watch out for scam messages:
Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for your personal or financial details.
Shopping online:
If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first, and ask a friend or family member for advice before completing the purchase. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, as most major credit card providers insure online purchases.
For more information on how to shop online safely, please visit: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/shoponlinesafely
Protect your devices from the latest threats:
Always install the latest software and app updates to protect your devices from the latest threats. For information on how to update your devices, please visit: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/securing-your-devices
https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/Take Five to Stop Fraud
Take Five is a national campaign offering straight-forward, impartial advice that helps prevent email, phone-based and online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.
If you have been a victim of cyber crime, please report this to Action Fraud. The information you provide may help protect others from becoming a victim of cyber crime, if people do not tell us what is happening, then we do not know the true extent of the problem. You can report to action fraud via:
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber attack (in progress), please call 0300 123 2040 immediately.
The price of not going digital
Why is it important to digitise and harness data? Chamber Assistant Director of Policy Rachel Anderson gives her thoughts as part of a project with Square One Law.
Anyone who is over 40 or who has a 9-year-old will know that there are certain aspects of the technology revolution which have passed them by. Once you displayed a natural killer instinct for playing Jet Set Willy on a Commodore 64 whilst your bemused parents looked on. But now, it is a challenge to keep up with the latest graphics requirements and social media platforms where you too can watch bemused as your 9-year-old watches videos of other people playing computer games.It’s the inexorable march of technology, it is, honest.
If technology in the home can leave us bemused and feeling a bit out of the loop then the same applies to the roll out of new technology infrastructure, if we fail to understand it, we leave ourselves open to falling behind. Most people see superfast broadband as a necessity these days and will generally demand it of builders constructing new housing but what about the next generation of technology? As we move towards more flexible and homeworking, how will houses be valued which don’t have the latest connection technology? Will mortgage lenders or insurers view houses without connectivity in the same way they view those without mains gas or water connections? What about places with transport connections that don’t offer wifi, will people want to travel there? When the region is in competition with the world for the best and brightest, stuff like this matters.
And what about all that data? When your fridge tells you helpfully that your Gorgonzola is a day past its use by date and tries to order three kilos, that data has to go somewhere. As the moment it is held in either London or Norway. In truth, the contents of your smart fridge aren’t going to be that interesting to international espionage but why should someone in a datacentre in Norway get to know you like kimchee on your cornflakes? The North East is not that resilient in terms of data storage and we don’t have a datacentre located here. There have been enquiries, but they take a huge amount of land, a LOT of power and employ about 3 people. However, whilst datacentres in themselves aren’t big job creators they do tend to cluster other tech businesses around them who are data and speed hungry who do employ a lot of people.Inward investors will look for data resilience as a requirement even more when looking for new locations and if the North East hasn’t kept up it will be watching bemused as other areas steal its clothes.
This isn’t just a problem for those in the tech industry, everyone has a part to play from Elected Mayors and Local Authorities to planning teams, builders and transport providers. All of them know technology is important but like many parents, haven’t yet grasped just how important it is.
Rachel Anderson
Assistant Director – Policy