Why I love Pocket.

I’ve recently discovered a new app that has made saving webpages of interest 100 times easier to keep tabs on. What app, do I hear you say?

No, it’s not WhatsApp.

It’s a little magic gem called Pocket.

Pocket is a fairly new app that allows you to save an article, or page of interest by the click of one button. Rather than fiddling about with drop down menus, and moving your mouse across the computer screen, only to yet again click another button. Pocket, asks no questions. It just saves.

Integrated with over 300 apps, including Flipboard – One of my favourite ways to sift through a bunch of content. Pocket certainly makes life easier, and simplifies a process that computer makes complicated.

Who has time to wait four seconds before a page can be saved, or cares enough to title every page they want to save and decide where on my overcrowded desktop, it should go.

In some respects this is similar to Evernote, however; I find pocket a tad more user-friendly, with a better finish. With pocket you can also access your bits of information and pages later, from any smart phone or tablet device.

Well, I’ve found a new love. What about you? Have you heard of Pocket before? If not, you can check it out right here. Let me know your thoughts on this newbie.

Three useful apps that every business should have

I’ve recently been spending a lot of time on my iPhone, and today I thought I’d share with you a rundown of my top three useful apps at the moment.

1. Instagram – This is the app that most of us may have heard of, and is also a personal favourite of ours. The photo sharing network allows you to take your favourite snaps, and apply them against a range of digital filters, to give them a different look; and make them look extra pretty. The app, originally released on Apple’s App store, has recently expanded into the Android market, where it hit over a 1 million Android users within 24 hours! The app does more than make your pictures look pretty too. With Instagram you can connect, and share with your friends from Facebook, Twitter, Email and Phone contacts, and basically anyone with an Instagram account. There is room to like, comment on each photo, and share with the rest of your friends on other networks.

2. Evernote – This takes notepad to a whole new level. I find Evernote is great for capturing those random pieces of information. When all I need is to record a phone number, the URL of a website, a photo, or a quote from a very long article; Evernote is a great way to capture, store and organise those random pieces of paper you have dotted around your desk, home, or car. And the best part of all is, you can access them from any smart phone, or computer.

3. Flipboard – Is an aggregation service that serves up current, and relevant information from across several social networking platforms, and websites. This is a sleek, and effective way to view social content from various places, and condense them into one. The magazine format adds to this streamline interface, which allows you to flick through your social content at your own pace. I particularly love the ability it has to re-tweet, respond and share directly to my linked profile. Although the choice of platforms are currently limited, all the main ones are there (including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tumblr, Google reader). It is limited to download on Apple devices only, at the moment, however; I imagine this is something they will be expanding on in the near future.

The great thing about all three apps, is that they can help your business run smoother, and more effective regardless of the industry, or background you find yourself in. They are free, user-friendly, and most of all a great way to stay organised, relevant, and up-to-date with what’s going on in the sphere of social, and beyond.

 

Online spend continues to out grow traditional print advertising

If you weren’t already convinced before, then be convinced now as one of the latest reports released by eMarketer has confirmed a significant growth in online advertising in the US, by as much as 23% up from last year.

The marketing research group forecast online advertising spend this year will bring a noteworthy £25.5 million, in comparison to the traditional print industry, expected to haul in £21.8 million. This shows a remarkable growth in the online spend. The new trend is expected to continue to grow steadily over the next 10 years.

In the UK, spend on the Internet and Search Internet went up by 14.9%, according to reports from IPA Bellwether Report.

In comparison, there was also a measured decline of around 1.2% in marketing budgets spent on traditional media. The drop may seem small, but author of the report commented;

“There are signs that companies have become increasingly reluctant to invest in traditional media campaigns, instead diverting money towards the internet.”

The report, which concluded its survey from 300 UK media and marketing executives suggested after further study, the increase in spend was a move to protect their market share, and nothing to do with consumer confidence.

When the IBA, (Internet Advertising Bureau) highlights that British consumers are spending 25% of their time on social media; it’s hard not to believe that this is real reason media companies are increasing their online advertising spend. We don’t just ‘hang out’ online, we buy online.

Lets not forget the digital driven world we now live in, where almost every face you pass in the street is glued their smart phone. Econsultancy announced in their blog today that mobile accounted for 12% paid search clicks in the UK during the month of December. Spend share of mobile and table devices for that month  rose by 29% claiming a 7.5% share of total search spend.

I don’t believe this is decreasing any time soon, so if you’re in business and you’ve not invested in some kind of online advertising yet. I hope this is convincing enough to encourage you that you must, and soon.

Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

Whether you’re attempting to start a business, or own a multi-million business everyone has experienced moments of fear on some level.

Fear of the unknown, fear of risk, afraid of doing it wrong or failing. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we shouldn’t be scared of failing. We should learn to love it.

Whatever stage your business is at, don’t be scared of social media, or blogging. You need to embrace it because it’s not going away. Take the plunge, and give it ago. You won’t know until you try. Of course these are just the lessons I am learning, and gaining through my own experiences.

The best way to know if something works or not, it’s to try it. Think of it like dipping your toe in the water, before you dive into the pool.

Although I am talking to start-ups, or businesses that have yet to make the switch to Social Media; this post is applicable for everyone, from every background.

Oh, and one last thing. When it comes to blogging for business;

1. Get one – Last year was the year to get one, so get one fast, and start sharing. This year it’s all about context.
2. Be as consistent as you can – Choose a timeframe, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly and stick too it.
3. Be as relevant as you can to your industry. No sales talk. Think about what your consumers would be interested in.
4. Have fun, and be creative. Video is huge, and QR codes are going to be huge. Sorry to all designers out there. They may not be pretty, but they’re already on the increase in the US. If you haven’t already seen them on a billboard or magazine, they look like this:

You can check out YouTube, and WordPress for tutorials on how to do that. (Note to self you must switch domains asap).

If you like this blog. Please don’t forget to leave a comment, or share your thoughts, (even if you don’t like it. I’d love to hear what, and why). You can also subscribe to this blog by entering your email in the top right hand side, (so you wont miss out).

I’ve got some really exciting news about to break blog readers. All will be revealed within the next two weeks!! Look forward to sharing with you soon.

Zizzi Glasgow asks the right question!

Zizzi show they understand the social customer. Great to see the QR code being used here too - a fantastic tool for brands today.