A survey has found that 84% of marketers are positive about GDPR

The introduction of GDPR in May 2018 was naturally a cause for concern among marketers, and indeed any company handling customer data. In broad terms, the introduction of GDPR means that marketers now have to ask for more explicit consent and be clearer about how people's email addresses and other personal information are used. As a result, some marketers were concerned that fewer site visitors would give their consent to be marketed to and that this would make email marketing less effective. The reality is, a year on, that GDPR hasn’t been the catastrophe some marketers feared. Instead, opinion on GDPR is now broadly positive.

Why marketers are optimistic after GDPR

SaleCycle surveyed marketers about the measures they’ve taken since the introduction of GDPR to ensure that they comply with the new rules and how this has impacted their email…

Three lessons we can learn from TV advertising in the UK

One of the many advantages we have as marketers is the access to so much diverse, interesting insight. At Smart Insights, we regularly blog about the latest trends in email, display, search and social, all of which give us the opportunity to improve our knowledge and understanding of the marketing landscape. The latest research from Thinkbox, the marketing body for the main UK commercial TV broadcasters (Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, and Turner Media Innovations), provides some interesting data points on how media is being consumed in the UK. Although many of us may never use television advertising as part of our media mix, the research provides some useful insight into how people are consuming media in the UK and how this impacts other forms of marketing. [si_guide_block id="81859" title="Download our Free Resource –…

Survey shows 72% of LGBTQ+ community believe their representation is tokenistic, Facebook announces new cryptocurrency, Instagram looks to other companies to collectively tackle cyber-bullying, Global Alliance for Responsible Media, Voice Coalition announced

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the week's biggest news stories in what has been another busy week in the world of digital. First up, we’ll be looking at research carried out last month that has shed new light on the way LGBTQ+ advertising is perceived, principally among members of the community themselves. Facebook has also announced plans to develop its own cryptocurrency in what could cause some serious tremors throughout the global banking system. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, has also declared that bullying is not an issue that the Facebook-owned platform will be able to tackle alone. If you’ve been keeping up with all of the events at Cannes Lions this week, you'll know that some of the world’s biggest brands…

In-app messaging lets you communicate with your users and keep them engaged, so they don’t uninstall your app shortly after downloading

If you want to build user retention, there’s more need now for user engagement than ever before. Users are spending more time on their smart devices, downloading apps they feel are of value and that will make their lives easier. There’s also no shortage of apps available, which means yours needs to stand out from the rest. This is where in-app messaging comes in. It lets you communicate with your users and keep them engaged, so they don’t uninstall your app shortly after downloading. But what exactly is in-app messaging and how can you make the most of this marketing strategy? In-app messages are exactly that – messages that are displayed within the app and triggered according to user interaction. First-time users will have a different message and experience than those users who…

Apps offer effective solutions for communicating with users and keeping them with the brand

Every job requires a tool, and brand marketing is no exception. The era of mobile devices also asks for something new, different from old but gold TV, radio ads, and street banners. Mobile branding apps are the exact tools that today's brands require. In this article, we're discovering the business goals branded app development solves, types of apps you can design, and points to be taken into account.

Business goals of branded apps – what to consider?

Today, companies often turn to branded apps to increase conversion and ensure a great user experience. These applications offer effective solutions for communicating with users and keeping them with the brand. In general terms, mobile app branding means how users will see the app while interacting with it. It stands for visual image, communication, and reputation. [si_guide_block id="79375" title="Download our Business Resource – Marketing…

When you use technology in your procurement process, it saves you a lot of time, which could improve e-commerce stores' performance

The procurement process is not simple and straightforward. It’s complicated. The manual procurement process is very labour-intensive, time-consuming, and involves a lot of paperwork. On the other hand, when you use technology in your procurement process, it saves you a lot of time. It makes the whole process much simpler and hassle-free. These are just a few of many advantages of leveraging technology in the procurement process Before talking about the key advantages of using technology in your procurement process, let’s quickly look at the most common issues in the procurement process.

Major issues with a procurement process

Companies face problems in their procurement processes because of an ineffective process. It also leads to the occurrence of human errors in the process. The following are some of the most significant procurement issues that can affect…

Setting up and running a profitable e-commerce store takes much more than determination and goodwill, as 8 out of 10 e-commerce stores fail

With the advent of drop shipping, every wantrepreneur out there set out to create their own e-commerce store and become a millionaire overnight. In reality, setting up and running a profitable e-commerce store takes much more than determination and goodwill. According to research, eight out of ten e-commerce stores fail. There are plenty of reasons for this, and today, we’ve compiled some of the most common of them. Here’s why your e-commerce store is falling behind and what you can do to fix the issue.

You don’t have a niche

Who is your main target audience? If your answer is “everyone”, it may be a reason why your revenue is nothing to brag about. Unless you run Amazon, everyone is definitely not your target…

A year after GDPR’s introduction, 42% of US news sites flatly block connections from Europe, limiting the potential reach of marketers’ stories.

It’s been one year since GDPR was introduced, which should be more than enough time to adapt to the changes. However, some sectors still haven’t adjusted to accommodate the new rules. One key area for marketers is the United States’ news landscape. When GDPR was first introduced, many newspapers in the United States opted to simply block all connections from the EU while a new solution to handling customer data could be developed. However, a year later, this is quickly becoming the permanent state of affairs. We tested a group of over 500 US news sites and found that 42% of these sites still simply block any attempt at connection from Europe, while a further 9% offer users an inferior experience with limited content. …

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that allows publicly distributed ledgers that hold immutable data in a secure and encrypted manner to make sure transactions can never be altered

Since Bitcoin put cryptocurrency on the map with its shocking price explosion back in 2014, people looking to make revenue-generating investments started paying more attention to digital assets. But as much as you may want to jump into this potentially money-making trade, it’s always prudent to understand how it works. For the uninitiated, cryptocurrency is a digital asset that’s pretty much intangible. It is run by blockchain technology to make sure all records of trading are kept despite the cryptocurrency not having a physical form. This is where it gets tricky since not many understand how this works.

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that allows publicly distributed ledgers that hold immutable data in a secure and encrypted manner to make sure…

Marketing departments are spending more online than all other channels combined to drive qualified traffic to their websites

There’s a chasm between UK retailers’ use of AI for marketing and the adoption of AI by UK retailers to optimize merchandising opportunities on their websites. Marketing departments are spending more online than all other channels combined to drive qualified traffic to their websites. In the process, they are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of machine learning and predictive analytics, to automatically sniff out and signpost the most likely converting customers. [si_guide_block id="137727" title="Making the case for AI in online merchandising" description="Read our full report, written with Apptus, about how AI can supercharge your online merchandising and transform your internal team."] I find it baffling that once those marketers have taken the horses to water, their merchandising colleagues are limiting the amount of water they are allowed to drink. Many merchandisers are just too…