I don’t want to alarm you too much but this time next year you could be seeing this when you login to your Google Analytics account.

It’s true to say we’re approaching a potentially vital turning point in the reporting of your website and you might not even know it. In this article we discuss the upcoming arrival of the much-discussed GA4 reporting iteration of Google Analytics and what it could mean for your data.

Google Analytics is the reporting behemoth that changed the game. Owners of sites of all sizes and sectors can today accurately judge the performance of their online presence with this free bit of software. Its popularity reflects its value, with over 60% of all the top 100,000 sites with the highest traffic volume on the web utilising it.

However, note the graph below and its drop off in recent years.

While there are other reasons this dip may have occurred (namely the cookie quandary as regards EU law discussed later in this article), we do also wonder whether another bit of news has caused some to question their reporting choices.

GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, launched in October 2020 and is now the default version when setting up a website with GA reporting. Since launch, however, you have still been able to both continue to utilise Universal Analytics*, the previous iteration, and set up new accounts with UA if you desired. 

That has now changed. In March, Google announced that from July 2023 it would stop processing hits for Universal Analytics properties and GA4 will become the only option in Google Analytics tracking.

But that’s no big deal right? It's the same company providing the service, it’s just a new iteration of reporting tool surely? The change from GA2 (Classic) to GA3 (Universal Analytics) in 2012 wasn’t a huge change at all, I’ll just swap out the code and job done.

We have to emphasise GA4 is a fundamentally different entity to Universal Analytics. It reflects Google’s move to an events-based system of measurement as opposed to Universal Analytics’ recording of page hits, event hits, ecommerce hits & social interaction hits which we have been used to for a long time.

Put simply this means there are a number of metrics which we know are currently key reporting points for many of our clients which will no longer be available in GA4. This includes (but is not limited to):

We’d be surprised if in your current reporting set up you don’t use any of the above metrics!

If that’s caused a bead of sweat to form on your brow then let’s get started on what should be done to tackle this. There are two options we would consider:

This move is happening, so we really want to gain as much time as possible in acclimatising your reporting requirements within this new system. This will allow for as seamless a transition as possible in July of next year, while we can also compare data between Universal Analytics and GA4 accounts in the meantime to get a sense of perspective between the two data sets.

Additionally we’re not really sure how Google is going to be dealing with historical Universal Analytics data once the switchover occurs (although they have said they will allow us to view historical UA data for six months after July 1st), so as much historical data as possible in GA4 is going to give us more data period in which to work with in the future.

Option 2 - Move to a different reporting solution

As referenced earlier on in this article, Google has come under a fair bit of heat in recent years as regards to how it complies with EU privacy law & GDPR, with Austria at the beginning of 2022 ruling that the use of Google Analytics itself was illegal! 

So perhaps with Google now no longer able to show you the data you are used to and with its very presence deemed illegal to some, now is the time to consider alternatives?

There are plenty of reporting platforms out there which can provide similar data points to what you might require. However, to clarify these will be paid solutions which might be difficult to stomach after so many years of previously free reporting.  

No matter which option you might be leaning towards we’d be happy to provide our own opinion on what might be right for you and your business.

The important takeaway from this article is that you need to be proactive. Data provides the backbone on both how your site (and by extension a proportion of your business) is performing and how you can improve it. Don’t be left behind on the big switchover July 1st and be prepared!

*Just a note if you’re wondering whether you use Universal Analytics currently (you’re very likely to be doing so!) if you quickly hop on a Google Tag Assistant extension for your website and you note a Google Analytics tag which has a code starting with ‘UA’ (e.g. UA-12345678-9) then you are indeed a UA user.

**Although many of these are replaced by similar metrics in GA4, e.g. ‘engagement rate’ replacing ‘bounce rate’, these are different metrics so will require new benchmarking in order to analyse properly.

It’s true to say we’re approaching a potentially vital turning point in the reporting of your website and you might not even know it.

What does the move to GA4 actually look like and what should you do to safeguard your ability to accurately monitor website performance moving forwards?

Cyber Essentials Plus is the highest level of certification awarded by the Cyber Essentials scheme. It shows that we’ve passed an information security and cyber threat audit conducted on our processes and systems by external cyber security experts. 

While we’re delighted to have achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification, it’s only one part of making sure that our systems and professional practice are as watertight as possible against today’s ever-increasing risks of doing business online. We’ve also secured accreditation from FSQS and we’re currently working towards ISO 27001 accreditation (scheduled for assessment in Autumn 2022).

The Financial Services Qualification System provides a cohesive and collaborative platform for managing supplier compliance assurance information. It provides finance companies with a fast and efficient system for assessing suppliers, therefore cutting out a lot of red tape.

We’ve gained this key accreditation through our ongoing commitment to excellent security and compliance, and the process has also enhanced the professional development of our team. We completed a rigorous audit process, meeting standards across several areas.

The bottom line is that financial institutions know they can trust us as a provider. Having achieved the FSQS benchmark for potential partners we can approach them knowing that we can deliver the extra assurance they need and make it easier for good, safe business to happen. 

We’re extremely proud to have reached these milestones with FSQS and Cyber Essentials Plus. Our dedication to ongoing professional development, both as individuals and as an agency, is vital in providing our clients with an exemplary service that operates at the cutting edge—digital evolves and so must we.

We're pleased to announce that our team has achieved Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification for a third year running. 

Strengthening security for ourselves and our clients

Let’s say you’ve built a website (hooray!). It looks great, is developed using the very latest thinking in web technology and you’ve chucked loads of money at a massive social media campaign to promote it. Can’t fail right? Wrong, I’m afraid. The truth is if you haven’t done your research on your users, there’s no way you can build your site with the proper care and attention your specific user base requires. The answer to this is a crucial stage at the very start of the website development process; persona development.

A persona is a representation of a particular audience type which may be interested in your site. It can be as brief as a short list of their key details (e.g. age, gender, job title) or more complex with the inclusion of insights such as buying behaviours and related interests.

It would be quite rare for a site to simply have one type of user visiting the site. If you believe that may be you, have a think to see if that one user you are thinking about could actually be two types of people (they might be different job roles, different ages or different nationalities). Conversely it’s wise not to create too many persona types as this may result in you getting muddled and losing sight of your key users. We would advise ultimately around 3-5 are fully fleshed out as actionable personas.

Due to the wide ranging nature of personas, you can really grab your data from anywhere you have knowledge of your customers. If that’s a little too vague then a good starter for ten would be your Google Analytics account (and if you don’t have a Google Analytics account, you really should have a Google Analytics account!). The Demographics section is a minefield of data which can give you insights on age, gender, interests, browser preference and device type.

Another tip is to ask your sales team or whoever deals with your customers on a regular basis. They will be able to tell you more about the human side of your customers, dealing with them on an emotional level and therefore adding a further dimension to your personas.

In any way that is easily consumable for the reader. Ideally it would be visual in nature and succinct in its wording as what we’re really looking for is a vast range of people to be able to dip in and out of these personas. This means we want to stay clear of jargon as much as possible and waffly descriptors.

Now that you have created physical representations of your target audiences you can really try and put yourselves in their position. What do they want from your site? How may they find your site? Is the site easily navigable considering the level of digital experience of your audience? (e.g. different considerations for those in their 20s/30s to those in their 60s/70s)

If these questions are asked from a pre-build stage, the answers can help inform site structure and even future marketing, preventing you from playing catch up while on the back foot post-launch.

No! The shelf life of your personas last long after your site is launched. They should help you in every iteration you want to make to the site. Whether that is a new feature or a piece of content, having your site personas to hand will give the update in question a focus and remind you of overall site goals.

That is not to say that they should be left untouched. Of course, your user base may change or evolve, so it’s always a good idea to revisit your personas from time to time. Even if no changes occur it will help to reinforce your user to you, enabling you to make smarter decisions based on the user’s preferences and not yours.

If you are interested in finding out more about persona development, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help get digital working for you.

In developing a great website, your users have to be the primary focus. Here we discuss how personas can help you gain a stronger understanding of your audience.

It’s a question surprisingly left unconsidered by a large proportion of brands and can lead to a great deal of wasted time and resources.

Apps are useful for a host of reasons but they’re also non-essential in many cases. Pouring effort and money into something you might not really need and something that perhaps won’t even be published - it does happen - is something you want to avoid. 

This isn’t to say we’re proposing the idea that mobile-friendly web presences aren’t of the utmost importance. Making sure your brand and your business is mobile-friendly is crucial. According to Tech Jury, 50.48% of internet usage is carried out on mobile phones. With this in mind, it would be a mistake to discount any options regarding these devices and potential for growth. However, making sure your brand is mobile-friendly doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with apps. 

As long as you have a ‘mobile-friendly’ website that reflects the effort put into your desktop-view website, there’s no need to worry. Some brands and companies are less invested in making sure their mobile-view is as well-rounded and accessible as their desktop site. If your site isn’t optimised for mobile users then you’re going to lose out on a lot and so are your users. Additionally, if you put as much effort as possible into your mobile-view site then this, in most cases, will eliminate the need for an app altogether. 

As mentioned earlier, there is also the chance that your app might not get past the development stage. All too many apps have been finished and developers have found that their hard work, time and money had gone to waste because the app wasn’t published. Apple has a policy that an app needs to offer something different, something that a website doesn’t or can’t offer. This means that your app would need to offer something totally new, you can’t just have it for the sake of it. 

Something you have to ask is: “What could my business/brand get out of an app and what could our users get out of an app?” If the answer to that question is that there’s nothing an app could provide that a website couldn’t, then that should tell you something.

If you have any questions about whether an app is right for you then you can always contact us, we’d be happy to talk it over with you. 

Whether you’re planning your site, or it’s already up and running, it may have crossed your mind that you might need a mobile app. But would it actually benefit your business?

If you’ve created a website then you’ve probably wondered if you need to make an app too. Let’s walk through it.  

Here we’ll give you some tips on how to build up an audience and connect with your followers. Although much of this relates to Twitter, a lot of this information and advice can still be applied to other social platforms. 

Before getting into the technical stuff like algorithms and strategy, we should mention the more creative side of user engagement first. Ask yourself: “Does my brand have a voice and is it consistent?” If your answer is ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ then carry on. 

If not, then it would be useful to decide how you want your brand to come across. What’s the message you want to send? Are you professional above all else? Are you relatable and amiable? Are you more jovial and flexible in your approach? Cracking jokes and using what’s new and relevant to market your brand? 

The good news is that you can be anything you want. It’s exciting when you think about it. 

Getting back to consistency however, this voice needs to come across each and every time someone on your team posts or responds or creates just about anything to put out to the public. No matter who has logged into your Twitter profile today, they need to come across in the exact same way you or anyone else might. 

If that’s all a given then let’s carry on to the more technical stuff!

So, Twitter’s algorithm has a few conditions for you to follow in order for you to increase your reach.

If a tweet is doing well in your network then you are sure to end up seeing it and that’s why you want to create content that people are more likely to engage with. Not only that, if people engage quite quickly after it's posted then it will be visible for a longer time (depending on the level of engagement it could last for days). 

The more people you talk to, the more reach you have. Though, you don’t always have to talk to people for engagement to take effect, just having people read your posts counts too.

Remember, if there are people in your network that you have engaged with before then they will appear at the top of your feed. 

Also, don’t forget, analytics are your friend. Utilising them properly, you’re able to see all the information you’ll need to inform when to post and who your posts appeal to. This information can be invaluable when it comes to making plans for posting in the future and scheduling them accordingly. 

It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on who is responding to you. If someone replies to you, engage with them and reply back. If you can reply promptly, even better still. Being proactive is important. 

If you would like to explore how personalised reports can assist in the effective handling of your branding and engagement on social media, you can always get in touch with us. 

Becoming and remaining engaged with your audience is a tricky endeavour, but it’s one of the most important things to be aware of when it comes to your social media activity. 

If you’re unsure how you can connect and engage with your audience then we’d like to share a little of what we know with you. 

They can be useful in progressing and creating a community of people who will engage with your tweets. While it’s exceptionally important to get your point across and to direct the right people to your site and your content it’s also important to treat these people with courtesy. 

We’ve become so accustomed to hashtags that, sometimes, we don’t even notice they’re there. 

That is, unless, they’re completely bombarding you. 

Hashtags are essential in building a following of the right people who are interested in what you and your business have to say. They can be useful in progressing and creating a community of people who will engage with your tweets. While it’s exceptionally important to get your point across and to direct the right people to your site and your content it’s also important to treat these people with courtesy. 

This article is a quick guide to utilising hashtags while maintaining hashtag etiquette. 

Your use of hashtags depends heavily on which social media platform you’re using. There are some stark differences between various platforms. 

Something that Instagram generously includes in its posting options is the ability to hide your hashtags.

If you’d like to hide the hashtags, all you need to do is the following:

“It’s an Instagram post! Look at that photo. That’s a good photo. I should have studied photography!” 

You can then comment beneath the image using as many hashtags as you think are required. Use the following structure to obscure your hashtags and make sure they’re not bothering anyone:

#photo #photography #photographer #lookatmylovelyphoto #etc”

Adding ellipses will ensure that Instagram will make the comment collapse and ensure the hashtags are not visible to users while the main thrust of your message remains front and centre. 

Be careful not to go too over the top with your hashtags though because any more than 30 hashtags will wipe your caption. Despite your followers not being able to see them, Instagram sees everything. 

You can also follow any hashtags you might be interested in. You’ll never miss out on any photos of #catsinboxes again.

That also means you can follow your own hashtag and see who mentions you in a post. Fantastic!

This is where we have to rein ourselves in. Instagram is a haven of hidden hashtags compared to Twitter and Facebook. On these social media platforms we must wear our hashtags on our sleeves. 

That’s why, when using them, it’s best to stick with one or two hashtags. That’s it. If you use more than that user engagement will actually drop. 

This is because an overload of hashtags just looks like spam to a casual observer. If you add a link into the mix then you’ve got what, to social media conditioned minds, looks like an invitation to hand over all your information. It’s not a good look. 

When incorporating your hashtags, try to make them fit naturally into the post. For example:

“Check out our latest #blog post on improving your social media engagement.”

Hashtags are extremely useful when it comes to getting your content noticed on LinkedIn, but be aware that they can’t be deleted or changed once they have been posted. When it comes to posting articles on LinkedIn you can add hashtags at the bottom of the article before it's published. Make sure you add them diligently though because once they’re added to your article you cannot edit or remove them after the article is posted. 

It’s also a good idea to have hashtags worked into your profile on LinkedIn so that you can easily be found. When mentioning your skills or your company’s skills, why not hashtag it for findability? 

There’s a right and wrong way to do this, however. For example...

“We are Core. Connecting #creativity, #strategy and #technology. We work across all areas of #digital: #websitedesign, mobile and app development, #searchengineoptimisation, #socialmedia, and #digitalmarketing, to name a few. Our reach extends across the UK and internationally, in partnership with communications agencies and a wide range of industry clients.” 

Something more like this would work though: 

“We are Core. Connecting creativity, strategy and technology. We work across all areas of digital: website design, mobile and app development, search engine optimisation, social media, and digital marketing, to name a few. Our reach extends across the UK and internationally, in partnership with communications agencies and a wide range of industry clients. What We’re Good At: #digitalmarketing, #socialmedia, #seo, #usinghashtags”

As a general rule, between 4 and 5 hashtags on LinkedIn is optimal. 

Here’s hoping that this guide to hashtagging was helpful to you. However, if you need more help understanding the nuances of social media then we at Core would be more than happy to assist. Get in touch with us here. 

Hashtags are essential in building a following of the right people who are interested in what you and your business have to say.

Not sure how to use your hashtags? Well, we’re here to help. Here’s a quick guide to utilising hashtags. 

There are many benefits to social media monitoring and if optimised correctly it can provide businesses with valuable information to make strategic business decisions.

The main benefits of social media listening are:

Through the implementation of social media monitoring, it is possible to track the levels of engagement that your social posts have gained. This includes the amount of likes, shares, comments, clicks etc on your content. This data is extremely valuable as it allows you to monitor the performance levels of the various posts.

As a business, you can take the data that social media listening tools generate and create future social media posts that you know are likely to capture the attention of your audience. If a certain type of content is not working on social media and isn't performing as well as other posts, thanks to social media listening tools you can identify this and strategically work to increase the engagement on these posts.

Listen for brand mentions, keywords and hashtags

Depending on the social media tool that you use and the complexity of the software, you will be able to set up queries to search for certain mentions, keywords or hashtags that are occurring in online conversations. You might want to track certain keywords of a particular product to see where it appears in the conversations or to track where a specific hashtag is being used. The possibilities with social listening are endless!

One of the most important factors of social media listening is keeping track of any negative or brand damaging comments. Social media platforms move very fast and without using a listening tool you may miss a negative comment being made. It is crucial to catch any damaging comments early before the conversation spirals out of control. Using a listening tool, it is possible to categorize mentions as positive, neutral or negative and track the sentiment of your content.

Through various social media listening tools that are out there in the market, you can compare the performance of your company against its competitors. This allows you to keep on top of your industry, monitor your share of voice amongst your competitors, and compare how your brand is performing in comparison to the other key players in your market.

You may be unsure what tools are out there and which one is the best to use to meet the needs of your business? Or you may have certain social media KPIs that you have to meet and want to use social listening to track these but dont have the time or resource. If you are unsure where to start with social listening, please get in touch and talk with us today.

Social media listening should be an essential part of any organisation’s digital marketing strategy.

In May 2018, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming into force, meaning that there are a lot of new compliances around consent and personal data that companies will need to consider. Under the new GDPR compliance, each person has to give their explicit instruction of whether they give consent for their personal data to be used. As the internet has grown, there is now more data than we know what to do with, therefore new data protection regulations are needed to control this data.

YES! GDPR applies to anyone who deals with EU personal data. It isn't just the large companies that will be affected by GDPR, SMEs are also impacted and there are multiple things you can start doing now.

A good starting point is the process of Data Mapping. You can start by outlining what data you have, why you have it, where it is stored and who has access to it? Also, you need to distinguish if you have explicit consent to be storing this data? It may seem like a big task but the sooner you start the easier this will seem, you still have eight months to go but it’s important to get started now!

Accountability and transparency are the two most important things to consider when thinking about GDPR and personal data. As an SME you are accountable for the data that you store, and must be transparent about what data you have, and why and how you have it. Something that SMEs should consider is Cloud Vendors. If you store your data in the cloud, you will want to draw up a data processing agreement and a security policy to ensure that the data remains secure.

Employee data should already be treated in a sensitive and secure manner, but this data is also included under GDPR. Employee data comes in many forms and can be stored in multiple ways, such as electronic data, printed contracts, background checks, health insurance policies, bank details, paper documents etc.

It is important to have a data retention policy in place to detail how and where personal data is being stored. As the amount and type of data that you store changes, it is crucial to assess this policy each year and make the necessary amendments. Don't forget, accountability and transparency is key!

What about the data you have already gathered?

If you went to an event three years ago and gathered some data but don’t have evidence of explicit consent given, you will have to regain explicit consent if you want to store and use this data under the new GDPR ruling. There are a couple of ways you can reconnect with these people and gain their consent for the data to be used, examples include;

Reach out with a newsletter containing company updates.

Offer something to the people you are trying to reconnect with, a discount on a product/service.

At the end of the communication you can include a tick box for the individual to choose to give their explicit consent for the data to be gathered. You can be creative when reconnecting and gaining consent for old data gathered, plus it’s a great way to know that your business is marketing to the correct people. Your KPI’s will be more accurate and you will know that the people receiving your communications want to know about your company and will appreciate your transparency.

What you can do between now and the end of the year

Before 2017 draws to a close and you enter 2018 with the roll out of GDPR fast approaching, there are a number of things you can do to set yourself in a good place to enter the new year:

Do your data mapping! Know where your data is stored and what your plan is going forward. This will allow you to clearly see what steps you need to take next.

Know whose data you have, and distinguish how much of that data has explicit consent supplied for it and what doesn't.

Draw up a data retention policy for your internal employee data.

Set out a training plan for people within your business who will be handling personal data, ensure that they know about the requirements of GDPR.

Everyone is in this together! Speak to other people in your industry and discuss how they are preparing for GDPR, you may be able to learn from each other. Everyone who deals with EU personal data is facing the same issue, just on different scales. Some big businesses are yet to start preparing, so relax, know the processes you need to take and let’s get started.

Still a little unclear as to how GDPR could affect your business? Get in touch and we'd be happy to provide more specific insights.

It is not only large, global businesses that will be affected by GDPR, SMEs need to prepare too!

There is only eight months to go! In case you are only now hearing about GDPR (and you’ve somehow missed our amazing two blog posts already), here is a quick breakdown of what it's all about...

How GDPR will affect you as a SME business

We, as a full service digital agency with a variety of clients, know that different clients like to have different levels of control around the social media content that appears on their channels - which we totally understand!

In a busy business environment, it can be very easy to feel as though there are not enough hours in the day. Social media marketing can be extremely effective for businesses and through scheduling tools that are available, it can be completed in a very time effective way. When scheduling your content in advance, you are able to have a full overview of your day/week/month ahead and easily view the variety of messages that you have scheduled to go live. It may take a block of a couple of hours (depending on how many messages you want to be sent), but then you can relax knowing your content will be automatically sent whilst you carry on with your day to day tasks. It’s especially useful for posting content that is typically outside of your business hours, such as evenings and weekends.

To accommodate the needs of our various clients, we have been trialing and testing different social media scheduling tools to see what works best for us (and for them). There are multiple tools on offer, but we were looking for one that would allow us to publish across multiple platforms for multiple clients and have a customisable approval process. The tool that we found to be the most effective and that allows us the most flexibility with the range of clients we work with, is Gain.

Gain works as a social media traffic manager, notifying the designated users of drafted content, gathers feedback from clients and moves the social posting process along until everything is approved and everyone involved is happy with the social media post.

Using the Gain app, we as an agency can liaise with our clients and customise the approval workflow to suit their individual needs. For example, we can create the social content, the client can approve it and be the ones to press the button for the post to be scheduled, or they can add a comment to the post and send it back to us to modify.

Another feature of the Gain app that we love is the calendar format which allows you to see all of the upcoming social content that is scheduled in a monthly format. This overview is great for seeing what days have what messages planned and the labels feature within the calendar allows you to add colour coded notes (we ♥ this) to each desired day. The visual effect of the calendar is great in allowing you to see at a quick glance at what is drafted, approved and what posts are live.

Whichever of the many social media scheduling tools you choose to use, having a platform that allows you to plan, approve and schedule social media content in advance is extremely useful and effective. Having one platform that can facilitate the needs of multiple clients and having all of the information stored in one place is great for everyone involved in social media marketing.

If you are looking to outsource your social media activity and want to talk more about working in partnership with a digital agency to get the most out of your social media channels, reach out to us today.

How we work in partnership with our clients to schedule their social media content.

Handing over the keys to your social media accounts to an external agency can be a scary thought, which is where social media scheduling platforms come in.

How we work in partnership with our clients to schedule their social media content. 

When GDPR automatically comes into force in May 2018, there are a lot of new compliances that companies will need to consider. One of the major factors of GDPR is how consent is given by a customer for a company to process and use that personal data.

Personal data is anything that can be traced back and attached to a single person. These things include;

A lot of current marketing databases are made up of data that is attached to implied consent. Under the new GDPR act, each person has to have give explicit instruction of whether they give their consent for their personal data to be used.

Customers now must have the option to tick a box if they wish to give their consent, forcing them to take a step back and really think and be sure if they want their data to be used in the future. Every person will therefore have the ability to know what they gave consent to, along with how and when they allowed it. This means the elimination of pre-ticked boxes!

When companies are creating the content for the consent tick boxes, the wording must be written in a clear format which clearly indicates the purpose that the data is being gathered for, allowing the individual to fully understand what they are giving their explicit consent for.

You may be wondering if this is safe to do anymore when GDPR is rolled out? If you are a company that purchases large amounts of data for marketing purposes, it may be very difficult to trace if, how, and when consent was given by each individual. We would recommend not using bought data for marketing activities under the GDPR ruling, and to use organic data where you can be sure that explicit consent has been given.

Using personal data without given consent to do so will result in breaching GDPR, and could result in companies being fined, ranging up to 20 million euros or 4% of global turnover, whichever is the greater. No-one wants to be on the receiving end of that, so you need to be careful what data you use and be mindful of where it has come from.

How do I go about gaining consent over the phone?

Gaining consent for the use of personal data via a phone call will also require some process changes. Telephone operators will need to create scripted content to ensure they obtained the explicit consent of the customer over the phone, as there will be no physical tickbox to click!

The content of the scripted phone call may change from “your call may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes”, to “please note that this phone call will be recorded for our records”, ensuring that the organisation has proof that verbal consent such as, “yes, I give my consent for my data to be used” is given.

The most important thing to remember is that all consent must be auditable!

It is reported that 70% of marketers are worried about the changes that GDPR is bringing. Marketing activities such as email marketing campaigns, direct mail and social media marketing will fundamentally change as a result of GDPR.

Although the rollout of GDPR is still 8 months away, there are a number of things that marketers can start doing now;

From now on, only obtain data where you have explicit consent from the individual. Start as you mean to go on!

Begin to cleanse your current data. It may seem like a big job but once you start it the process will appear easier.

Be more creative with the messages you are putting out to the world, make it so your customers want to engage with you.

Use GDPR as an opportunity to build upon the trust between customers and your brand. Through being transparent in your marketing messages, people are more likely to want to hear more from your company and give their explicit consent in the future.

All of the current data protection regulations were written before the postmodern marketing theme of social media was established. The individual social platform will embed their own ways of adopting the new GDPR process into their channel to avoid breaching any part of the regulation.

On LinkedIn for example, direct messaging one of your connections would not breach the GDPR clauses, as long as you don't do anything further with that information. Each third party platform will be responsible and have their own processes in place to protect themselves from any penalties. It is each person's own responsibility as to who they allow to connect with on social networks such as Linkedin, which is why the use of direct messaging on that platform is allowed. However, if a company was to take the personal data such as the email address, or phone number of that person and add it to their marketing database without receiving explicit consent to do so, then they are failing to comply with the rules of GDPR.

How social media will fully be affected is still yet to be confirmed and we suspect that the ICO will later release more information about how GDPR and social media will coincide.

There are many things that you can start doing now in preparation of the automatic rollout of GDPR:

Speak to every department in your business.

Start thinking about getting a process in place.

Consider recruiting a data protection officer.

Follow us on social media and keep a close eye on our blog for the next installment in our series of articles on GDPR and how it might affect your business and its data gathering.

If you would like more specific advice around how GDPR will affect your unique business, please get in touch.

How this affects you and the way you gather your data.

It’s a concept that needs to be recognised by businesses operating online and is the focus of the second of our posts taking a closer look at GDPR.

The nature of consent is changing with GDPR and we are here to guide you through what this could mean for your business.

Are you aware of GDPR? And if you are, do you know how a breach could end up costing your business its financial security? According to a recent study, around 73% of their respondents, although aware of GDPR, were unclear as to potential fines with around a quarter claiming a fine wouldn’t bother them.

In the blog post we’ll look to set out the facts of GDPR and more specifically how it could affect you as a business.

What is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

In May 2018, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force, meaning that there are a lot of new compliances that companies will need to consider. GDPR is looking to replace the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive, which will reinforce for individuals in Europe the rights they have over their data, ultimately aiming to standardise the data protection law across Europe.

Even though GDPR is an EU directive, it has been confirmed by the government that the new law will be implemented regardless of the way the UK withdraws from Europe.

GDPR, the new EU regulation, will form how organisations will need to handle and protect personal data and report on any data breaches within 72 hours to its regulator and the customers involved.

From May 2018, GDPR means that consumers have to give their consent for companies to use their data. They will also have the ability to withdraw that consent should they wish, or ask to see what data that companies are holding on them within one month of requesting so.

If companies do not comply with with the EU’s GDPR, it could leave them facing huge fines. Companies will be fined either 4% of global turnover, or 20 million euros, whichever is the greater, if they breach the regulation.

These fines could be catastrophic to an organisation, therefore it is vital that the whole scope of GDPR is understood and procedures are put in place prior to the regulation launching to ensure that all data is protected and valid.

Things that we and our clients need to consider

Processing data correctly for email marketing campaigns

The way that customer data is harvested via websites

Ensuring the collection of data is relevant for the reason of use

Consent of data, organisations will have to follow to a clear set of rules, detailed here form the GDPR:

"Consent' of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her" (the General Data Protection Regulation).

All marketing databases will have to be cleansed, reviewed and monitored to be certain that each company has the ability to prove that consent was lawfully and fairly given for the use of the personal data.

When do you need to start thinking about it?

Although the regulation will not be operating until early 2018, it is important for all organisations affected to start familiarizing themselves with GDPR and understanding the procedures involved.

With the hefty fines attached to the GDPR ruling, companies must have accurate systems and setups in place to avoid, what could potentially be business-ending, financial penalties.

If you are concerned as to how this will affect you, you can contact us today. You can also keep up to date with all of our posts by following our social channels.

Look out for our second blog post in this series as we take a closer look at how GDPR can be applied to more specific data gathering.

What is GDPR and what do you need to know?

As a busy digital marketing agency, we are often focused on delivering the very best we can for our clients, but it is also important that we give ourselves a spot of TLC.

As our content team grows, we now have even more resource to drive our own digital marketing strategy and broaden our social media presence. We decided to look at the pros and cons for creating an Instagram account and evaluate its effectiveness as a marketing tool. Through our research, we discovered that indeed there are many positive elements to having a business account on this fun and visual platform, and thought we’d share these insights with you!

Enjoy our 7 reasons to answer your question, ‘Why Instagram?’.....

Instagram allows you to talk about everything that your brand offers through the use of imagery. Having a creative Instagram profile will give your business that competitive edge and showcase your creative talents. After all, they do say a picture speaks a thousand words!

2. Take a peek ‘behind the scenes’ of your business

Instagram is a great platform to show off the more informal side of your business. Whether that be staff social events, sporting activities or even scenic pictures from your office window, Instagram is the platform to upload these creative shots to allow users (or clients) to get to know you a bit better. People do business with people, so showing a more human side is always a plus.

3. Use hashtags to further your social reach

By adding hashtags to the caption of your Instagram post you allow the social reach to be extended. Users of Instagram can search to bring up all posts that contain certain hashtags. Using relevant hashtags can be extremely effective for getting your posts noticed.

4. Use the platform to tease what products/news you have coming

Our digital experts share some top tips, learnings and experiences

GA4: revolution not evolution

Strengthening security for ourselves and our clients

Personas - keeping your users in mind

Should I develop an app?

Congratulations on your engagement!

Hashtag Etiquette

Social media listening

How GDPR will affect you as a SME business

Social media scheduling

GDPR is changing the concept of consent

GDPR is coming

Why Instagram?