This blog should be especially useful for PGT, PGR and early career researchers looking for jobs, fellowships or scholarships. I also cover some relevant placement opportunities below for UG. The second half of the blog covers jobs in sectors I know well, environmental, digital marketing, placements and the West Midlands public sector.
In the UK all public sector jobs (with very few exceptions) have to be publicly advertised. All British Universities will have a jobs/vacancies page and most will allow you to set alerts for when jobs are being released.
Two forces over the next 12-18 months are likely to create hundreds of new research and academic jobs. Firstly, hundreds of posts including PhDs, post doc fellowship positions, etc. will be funded in UK universities through the EU Horizon programme. Your starting point for these is this site https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs which covers research jobs all over Europe
Brussels is a major centre for research think tanks, charities, regional agencies as well as being home to several Universities – https://www.eurobrussels.com/ is an excellent starting point for research and research related jobs in Brussels.
If you want a job in a Business School anywhere in the world try https://akadeus.com/
Perret Laver are recruitment specialists for senior academic and management positions used by many universities and other organisations, you can register with them as well as browsing their vacancies
Please note this is my final blog for a while, after 30+ years service at Staffordshire University I have been given the honorary position of Emeritus Professor from April. My email will remain the same but I won’t be checking the account so often. If you haven’t done it yet then connect with me on Linkedin I regularly post jobs and news there.
Careers, jobs, research, environment, digital marketing
One of the great opportunities Staffordshire University offers is an encouragement to develop practical skills. I, a postgraduate student of the MSc Digital Marketing Management, had the opportunity to test my skills at a workplace during my 4 month work placement module. With the help of our course lecturers, I had the chance to complete my work placement at Middleport Pottery, an industrial heritage site and one of the hidden gems in Stoke-on-Trent.
Main entrance to the site
Stoke-on-Trent is known to be an industrial area focusing on Pottery. Middleport Pottery, a Grade II* listed heritage site, stands out from any other visitor site as it is the UK’s last working Victorian pot bank, which is still operating in the original building of 130 years. Middleport Pottery is managed by Re-Form Heritage, an independent charity that specializes in the restoration and rejuvenation of heritage buildings at risk.
Working at Middleport Pottery has given me a chance to challenge various skill sets, such as beginner’s web development, data analysis, basic photography, and social media skills etc. In the first few weeks of starting my placement, I researched what our competitors are working on and how we can match up their levels of digital exposure. The Middleport Pottery website hasn’t been updated after the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore I have added new information, along with improving the SEO of each page and restructuring the layout of the website to be more user-friendly. Also, I have created and updated the former interactive map, which lacked information on the newly added part of the heritage tour, the Regeneration of Harper Street.
Several creative businesses are on the site
Middleport Pottery is not only a visitor attraction but also offers many services like venue hire, different activities and events happening every other weekend. It has allowed me to try different methods of promoting Middleport Pottery on social media. You can keep up with our events here or sign up to our newsletter here
Tselmeg is far right with the other volunteers and workers
Middleport Pottery has been and is a welcoming environment full of great colleagues, volunteers, and visitors. My work placement has been a great experience – working on new challenges every week with Middleport Pottery has allowed me to put into practice what I have learnt on the course. The warm welcome from the team has been a good motivation to achieve more during my placement.
It is my pleasure to give a big shout-out to Middleport Pottery, full of a unique experience for anyone to visit, enjoy the history and culture of Stoke-on-Trent, and enjoy a famous oatcake by the canal side.
We are now offering again the opportunity for a student placement to assist you with your digital marketing needs. This placement is credited as part of their course MSc in Digital Marketing Management
To get our Masters students ready for the industry we have two modules:
‘The Management of a Digital Marketing Project’ – this module will prepare a tri-partite agreement between the student, the academic staff and the organisation as to the focus of the project, existing benchmark measures, what is to be achieved and how to make the project sustainable (so that it can continue after the student leaves). This is carried out between January to March/April
The Work Based Digital Marketing Project – a credit work experience (450 hours) to deliver the project with the organisation concerned. (April to August)
The project can be in any type of organisation e.g. private sector, public sector, charity or a university. It is not essential for the work project activity to take place at the premises – many of the projects have been remotely delivered due to COVID.Here’s a blog with examples of previous projects our students have completed.
We have built in flexibility to the work-placement so it could be that you would like a portfolio of tasks to be completed rather than just one main project. Examples could be – creation of a digital marketing strategy, SEO audit, PPC campaign and re-launch of social media, budget and investment plan for marketing, devising and implementing a training plan for existing staff.
Below are some of the current students – either reach out to them directly or contact me jon.fairburn@staffs.ac.uk
Felix O’Gorman
After studying a BA(Hons) in Sound Design in London, which I received a 2:1 in. Before that I obtained all Distinctions in Digital Media at College. I am now working towards achieving a MSc in Digital Marketing Management. I have a range of experience creating various forms of digital content whether that has paid or volunteer. With this, I have been able to sharpen my skills in Adobe, Microsoft Office and other industry standard software, such as Pro Tools. I’ve always had a keen interest in technology, as well as social media which has given me excellent computer skills.
Felix O’Gorman
While I am currently working in C.E.X, I have also worked in
a variety of small businesses which have given me multiple transferable skills
such as time management, ecommerce, efficiently managing duties, dealing with
customers, suppliers and administration.
I am looking for a placement that will challenge me, help me continue to sharpen my skills in digital marketing as well as keep me on my toes! Feel free to send me an email: felixog97@outlook.com or send me a message on my LinkedIn!
Sophie Allen
Sophie Allen – her first degree was in Sports Journalism
I am currently studying Digital Marketing Management at masters level after completing my degree in sports journalism. I have extensive knowledge on different Adobe softwares- including Indesign and Photoshop. As well as these softwares, I am fully capable of doing video and sound editing- just a couple of skills that were put to the test at the local football club Kidsgrove Athletic whilst completing my work experience for my degree.
As I aspire to pursue a career in the marketing industry, I am looking for experience to add to my existing knowledge to ensure I am the ideal candidate once my masters course is completed. Email Allen.sophielaura@gmail.com .My linkedin profile is here
Mikey-Lee Armitage
In 2018, I graduated from
Staffordshire University with a 1st Class (Hons) in Events
Management. I’m currently studying a MSc
in Digital Marketing Management.
I have previously managed my
own business, social media; I Built my own website and became a member of a
networking group. I made many amazing
connections whilst networking. A
previous student and I represented Staffordshire University in the tourism
awards at both Drayton Manor (2016) and the Alton Towers Resort (2017).
I have also got over ten years’ experience in the hospitality industry, 2-3 years’ experience working within the University Hospital (Newcastle). I have also worked within the care industry, warehouse industry and pride myself in working with local businesses to contribute towards the economy.
Has experience of running his own events company
I have also started to build my own Gift Shop and event accessories business; where I will be linking the business to work and raise more awareness within the mental health sector. My business will start by creating magical Christmas Eve boxes for families, attend wedding and event fayres and much more. I am very passionate about mental health and a placement in that industry would be especially welcome. Please email to a028703f@student.staffs.ac.uk
RedhwanAhmed
In
2019 I graduated with an MSc in International Business Management at
Staffordshire University and I am now studying an MSc in Digital Marketing
Management.
I have gained over five years of experience working with various fast food takeaway shops in the UK. During this time, I have learned to develop ways to improve my soft skills such as Emotional Intelligence, having cultural awareness and the ability to communicate within part of a team and showed good problem solving skills that is important in business. Although my experience is mostly in customer facing roles, more recently, I have put myself forward to help a small but dedicated digital marketing team for Mitchell Arts Centre (MAC) as part of voluntary work.
Redhwan Ahmed
I
have a passion for Digital Marketing and my interest in the sector is within
SEO, website management, email marketing and gaining hands on experience with
PPC and other digital marketing tools.
Overall I have good computer skills that include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and have good understanding in using social media. I am looking for a placement which can enable me to enhance my experience in digital marketing and develop my skills and pursue a career in the future within the industry. If you would like to discuss how we can benefit each other please email me mr.ahmed@live.co.uk
Elizabeth Bromley
I would love to work in
marketing consultancy however, I am very open to all different kinds of
opportunities
I completed my Marketing
Management bachelor’s degree with a First-Class honours and have continued my
studies with Staffordshire university in MSc Digital Marketing.
I am passionate about marketing and would be open to challenge myself in any area of marketing. After completing my marketing degree, I took a part time marketing job where I create content and manage the social media and website for a local business. The business is primarily in the hair and beauty sector but have very recently opened up a restaurant/bar, this meant me adapting my existing marketing techniques with the business to target a different demographic. Alongside this job and my degree, I have been working at Tesco. I have very good time management skills and know how to prioritise certain tasks.
Elizabeth Bromley – would love to work in a marketing consultancy
Throughout my degree I gained
skills and experience in using different software’s including: Canva, Microsoft
Word, Excel, PowerPoint. I also obtained Microsoft office specialist
certificates and Google Digital Garage certificates in 2019.
I also acquired a level 4 CIM
qualification and gained experience working alongside different businesses including
Plush hair lounge for my final year project. During my final year I achieved
extremely high grades including 90% in a Corporate Brand and Reputation
assignment.
Overall, I am hard working, have a keen eye for detail, I’m a fast worker and thrive under pressure. I work well individually and, in a team, and I can be relied upon to meet deadlines. I would love to work in marketing consultancy however, I am very open to all different kinds of opportunities. Email b015354i@student.staffs.ac.uk
Humad Majid
Interests in helping charities maximise donations and
minimise costs.I’d like to think of myself as an entrepreneur. Someone who
seeks out new opportunities, managing high risk strategies in order to achieve
life changing results.
Humad Majid – wants to work with charities
I have now set my site on launching an online Marketplace
website that will donate all profits to charitable causes worldwide. www.areeni.com will allow retailers and
private sellers to list their items for sale. A monthly subscription will be charged
as well as a varying commission fee. With each item sold, both buyer and seller
will be directly contributing to charitable causes. What’s more is that users
will be able to see just how much their spending has raised for charity as well
as where the money is being spent.
I am now open to new opportunities to help and support any charities looking to improve their marketing performance. For enquiries please contact me via email: humadmajid@outlook.com. Alternatively you can connect with me on LinkedIn.
Rebekka Boulton
I recently completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Events
Management, in which I achieved a First-Class Honours. I am now studying a Master’s
Degree in Digital Marketing Management.
Key areas I studied during my Events Management degree
include Event Planning, Contemporary Issues Affecting Events, Accounting,
Customer Service and Digital Marketing.
Rebekkah Boulton
During the summer I volunteered at a Cancer Research UK charity shop. Where I gained experience of working in a fast-paced environment, meeting customers, building rapport, as well as using the till and working with money.
I am a hardworking, determined, and organised individual
with a keen interest in travel and tourism, events, and hospitality. I believe
that Digital Marketing is the way forward in the fast pace of the 21st
Century, and especially as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, and face an
uncertain future where climate change needs to be at the forefront of all of
our thinking.
Graduated with a 2:1 in BA (Hons) International Business Management and currently undergoing a Postgraduate degree (MSc) in Digital Marketing Management, to broaden my knowledge with globally recognize digital tools in the Digital Marketing industry. I’ve two years of experience working in the Tourism Industry with a Tour Operating Agent in Italy. My experience provided me with a broad understanding of diversified cultures and ethnicities.
has experience of working in the tourism industry
I am skilled with providing good customer care, team working, a practical approach to problem-solving, good interpersonal skills and confident use in social media and Microsoft Office. I work energetically with an exceptional work ethic to deliver the best interest to my employer.
Overall, I am looking for a work placement that helps me further broaden my knowledge in digital marketing with any industry as I’m adaptable and open to working in any new environment, with a willingness to learn and develop my skillset in pursuing a career within the industry. Email r011628k@student.staffs.ac.uk
Amy Smith
I am a recent graduate from Staffordshire University, where I studied Games Studies. In my final year I was looking at more community-based modules as well as my final year dissertation project observing Consumer Awareness of Accessibility in Games which had an underlining of observing how games are marketed.
Has studied Games Studies as an undergraduate
During my final year I
was also an academic note taker for a student who was studying the MSc Digital
Marketing Management course, I realised through this I had alot of transferable
skills, coming from a design and tech orientated background with an interest in
User Experience and Accessibility, that I could utilise for marketing purposes.
I graduated with a second class upper (2:1) degree in Computer Science and I am now pursuing a MSc in Digital Marketing Management. Prior to that, I started a small-scale business in the early stage of my entrepreneurship career. I needed to find out more about digital marketing, how promotion could put my business at the top and everything that would positively impact my business in general.
Since I was mostly interested in how the search engine could rank a website above their competitors and get customers to the door, I decided to go for a paid course in SEO where I gained a technical knowledge of the digital marketing industry.
Winniefred Solomon
I
have acquainted myself with knowledge on search engine optimisation, content
marketing, web development and e-commerce marketing.
Over
the years, I have worked as an SEO specialist for organizations globally and
this has helped me gain insights on the importance of data applications to
businesses. During this time, I have applied extensive knowledge on keyword research,
link building and content writing in building client satisfaction.
At the moment, I am looking for a placement that would enable me hone my skills and gain more expertise in digital marketing. Email me at winniefred1934@gmail.com
Folagbade Ajileye
I have a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science, while undertaking my degree, I worked for an IT firm as a Network Administrator and Engineer. After my graduation, I worked for a tertiary institution in Nigeria as a Network Administrator.
I have always had a passion for business and eCommerce. So, in 2019 I left my role at the tertiary institution to venture into the eCommerce world. Venturing into e-commerce gave birth to my passion for digital marketing. I learned and developed in Paid advertising using Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instagram, etc.., which also led me to float a digital marketing agency “Fola Ajileye Digitals”.
Fola already has expereince in many areas of digital marketing
I have done paid digital marketing promotions for a lot of companies and individuals.
My background in Computer Science has afforded me a lot of experience and edge in building websites, advertising, and catching up with digital trends.
Owning my own business has given me the opportunity to work with various clients across many industries. I have made it my duty to identify the most efficient ways to grow a business or brand.
I am a creative, motivated
and aspirational individual, a natural with technology, quick-to-learn new
software and I instinctively study trend analysis. Over the course of the
last 4 years I have obtained additional qualifications to further my
knowledge within marketing and business operations. I graduated with
First-Class honours in 2021 after
completing my bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management. After this, I have
continued with my studies at Staffordshire University, currently studying MSc
Digital Marketing Management.
For my Work Placement module I would like to work within a marketing consultancy agency to enhance both my skills and development within a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. However, I am available for various types of prospects in a wide range of industries. In addition to this, I would like to assist a company with the skills that are already developed through my previous experience.
Liam Paterson already working in the digital marketing industry
Currently, I work at DePe Gear Company as the Digital Marketing and Communications Officer. I am responsible for content creation, the management of both social media platforms and website (through WordPress and a social media management tool), email marketing campaigns, Google Adwords analysis, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Industry reports and analytics and leasing with external marketing agencies. DePe Gear is a company within the manufacturing/engineering industry which is an industry, that until recently, I was unfamiliar with. Entering this new industry has allowed me to expand my own marketing knowledge to effectively generate both engagement and leads.
My
degree allowed me to gain skills and knowledge in a variety of different platforms
and softwares to assist within a marketing role. These include: Canva, Hootsuite,
MailChimp, Google Analytics, Social Media Analytics, and more. In addition to
these skills, over my life at University I have also obtained a level 4
certificate in Professional Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing
(CIM), an accredited certificate in the fundamentals of Digital Marketing and
additional completed courses from LinkedIn Learning. Furthermore, I gained more
practical industry knowledge through my Work Placement module at level 6 For
Raven Black House in Leek. Within my level 6 placement, I assisted Raven Black
House with the production of an omni-channel social media marketing strategy.
The MSc in Digital Marketing Management was developed to deliver the technical, strategic and organisation skills for this industry. As such the course includes a substantial project with an external client and this work is credited as part of the award. Carrying out a project at the height of the pandemic was even more challenging than usual with everything needing to be done remotely and ongoing changes to adapt to the new situation – so Congratulations to the students below for these excellent projects.
Eerik Beeton carried out a project for The Waterfront Gallery, in Milford Haven, West Wales. This has involved developing the ecommerce offer on the website, creating social media channels Facebook, Instagram and helping to recruit volunteers for the gallery.
Eerik Beeton who carried out a project at the Waterfront Gallery in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire
Charlotte has a new marketing job with the Aston Care group in Stone
Craig Holdcroft carried out a project for the Donna Louise Trust developing the website and social media. He has also started his own marketing business, Holdcroft Digital Marketing while at Staffordshire University, completing projects for a number of Micro and SME’s.
Craig Holdcroft is running his own agency and part-time lecturing for business and marketing.
Grace Thomson started a student peer blog for the Staffordshire University Careers Studio and this has now been incorporated into the main careers website for the University. The project included providing guidance and training for students across the different faculties in blog writing and social media. The blog has already achieved 23,000 reads in the short time it has been up.
Chatbots are the cost-effective way for a business to stay engaged with their customer 24/7, this blog will discuss why businesses should be including them in their next marketing implementation.
On a very simple level, a bot is just a bit of software that can carry out pre-determined actions on its own without being actively controlled. This is discussed in further detail by Neil Patel who describes it as a “wind up toy”, you build it to carry out what you want it to, you wind it up, and then you let it perform the action it was designed for.
The Customer comes first
The first advantage that a business will notice when introducing chatbots to their marketing is the speed in which the bots reply to customer support messages. This is extremely important as its very common for customers to get very frustrated when made to wait for a human over the phone on through a chat. There is no way to accommodate enough human customer support workers for every customer with a query which results in long wait times. TheModernFirm did a study on customers who have had to call in order to reach customer support, these numbers were found:
“67%
of customers hang up out of frustration when they can’t reach a real person.
75%
of customers think that it takes too long to reach a human being.
72%
of callers who reach an automated/recorded phone line will hang up.”
These problems
will result in lower customer loyalty and eventually a loss of profits.
Implementation of a chatbot would eradicate these problems, A chatbots response is immediate and a customer can have their query solved in a matter of seconds. Customers are also more likely to reach out for support if they see a ‘Live Chat’ button.
More information
Businesses today put a lot of emphasis on knowing everything about their customer, this is normally done through primary research. Information such as what a customer is buying is available as a company can just look at sales statistics, however, products that a customer is choosing not to buy is harder to work out as there are far more variables involved. The best way to gain this information is straight from the customers their selves, this is made possible by the mighty chatbot. Email doesn’t result in as accurate information due to the back and forth nature, a live chat allows the customer to reply naturally which leads to more accurate information.
Modern Evolution
LearningHub stats show that Chatbots will power 85% of customer service by 2020 and by 2022, chatbots will help businesses save over $8 billion per annum. If these stats stay true, which information is leaning towards, companies who HAVEN’T introduced chatbots into their marketing strategy will be left behind. Customers will simply stop doing business with company’s that require extra steps to get what they want. Together with the cost efficiency of the chatbot, It makes less and less sense to continue to pay a human to do an AI’s job. Speaking of humans, its very common for somebody working customer support to make a ‘human’ error, this could be something as simple as interpreting the meaning of a question slightly wrong which can lead to frustration or a loss of sales from the customer.
They’re taking our jobs!
While the AI in a chatbot can usually accommodate for most requests from a customer, it’s very easy for a chatbot to get stuck if a customer’s query is slightly different to its base algorithms that its been taught. Also, as a chatbot learns from the responses it receives from a customer, it can sometimes make the wrong decision internally due not being able to actually choose which decision it wants to make, it is just following the code. An example of this is a Microsoft chatbot used on Twitter being taught racist and misogynistic responses by customers in less than 24 hours, to avoid this, the chatbot must be optimised properly.
Conclusion
There is an endless supply of advantages when it comes to assessing chatbots, they can save your company money and time, improve your customer relations and customer loyalty and ultimately create a better brand image. Although, an influx of AI and bots makes the whole customer service process very impersonal and cold as suggested by Neil Patel. Neil also suggests that chatbots should most definitely be used in their marketing strategies but the businesses should also be careful as to not “water down” their marketing.
Paul Dobson, Senior Lecturer at Staffordshire Business School
According to a number of reports Google has implemented a substantial search engine algorithm update in January, plus a number of smaller ones in February 2020 … But what does this mean for businesses?
The Google search engine uses a combination of algorithms
and numerous ranking signals to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its
search engine results pages (SERPs) and we’ve seen these changes have a direct
impact on the Google Analytics results and effectiveness of the customer
journey to gain sales for businesses. An example of this, is the page ranking has changed to
be more themed based. However, there are
ways for businesses to enable their website to be high up in the SERP. These
include :-
1. Snippets
Dominate More Search Clicks
Google has changed over recent years with the aim to deliver better search results for the reader, examples include providing the answers through featured Snippets which appear above the organic results. For example, I’ve search “how to walk in snow”
For your website to take advantage of this, you need to provide clear answers to commonly asked questions in your website area of interest. These featured Snippets are evaluated and boosted to the top depending on their quality, with the results that 54.68% of clicks from Google come from featured Snippets. There are various ways to create featured snippet at the top of the page but the key ways include :-
Create something better than the current Answer
Card / Provide updated information, and Google will prioritise this ‘Freshness’
Take the most frequent People Also Asked questions,
listed in the Google search, and create content to match*
Focus on the most frequently asked types of
questions: “How”, “Is” and “Why”
2. Keywords no longer work
Trying to pack key words into landing pages is no longer effective. Google is using more natural language and wants to independently rank websites and use them as quality data sources. Your website needs to be written as a natural language rather than trying to pack key words at the top, and consider the long key words that readers may use to find your website. In addition, you need to consider your website as an overall themed area rather than a mixture of items or topics, for example if you’re selling car parts do not include information blogs on other areas such as toys, or if you do include other areas setup robot.txt and sitemap.xml so that Google does not to index them and get confused.
3. Mobile User Experience (UX) affects your ranking and Sales.
On some of the websites that we use for student demonstrations of Customer Experience, (CX) User Experience (UX) and Google Analytics (for example https://aubergedechabanettes.com/ ) we can see up to 80% of the hits to the websites are from smart-mobiles in some weeks. A website that is not mobile compatible will lose customers especially as mobile access is a growing trend. How people find information using their mobile devices is also getting more advanced, so your website must be easy to read, grab people’s attention and then can answer their questions or keep them entertained. If you own a business based at a property such as a Hotel, Restaurant, Bar and Beauty Salon, local SEO is vitally important. Studies show that 4 in 5 consumers conduct local searches on search engines using their mobile devices. Google now allows customers, at a click of a button, to navigate to you, call you or even book directly.
4. Websites Optimize for Voice Search such and Alexa and
OK Google
With the growing use of mobile devices and home devices, voice searches are becoming an increasing trend. These searches are not only done on phones, but they can also be performed on home voice assistants such as the Amazon Echo, Samsung Smart TV, Voice Pod, etc.
Questions asked via voice instead of entering search queries
are going to make short choppy keywords less relevant and therefore search
terms have become more conversational and targeted. This increasing use of
voice searches has already had an impact of Google’s algorithms and Artificial
Intelligence systems since the search engine needs to do more work to get the
relevant information that the user is looking for.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the way forward.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important technology
behind Google to deliver better search results to its users to create
personalized experiences for consumers.
The AI has been learning the characteristics of what makes websites of
high quality or not, then classifies these web pages and determines their
rankings. Therefore, high-quality
content is essential for effective SEO strategies. Users want content that is
relevant, helpful, and timely, so Google tends to place websites with
consistently themed high-quality content with higher search engine rankings.
If you’d like to know more about becoming an expert in using data driven strategies to lead businesses to success including how to use data to analyse, design and test elaborate customer experience systems in the customer journey to optimise growth, plus learning to work in development environments for Fitbit, Alexa and Google home and mobile devices/smartwatches/ smart home devices as well developing using cloud computing, have a look at our MSc in Customer and Data Analytics.
Author :-
Paul Dobson is a Senior Lecturer at Staffordshire Business School in Digital and Strategic Marketing. He is actively involved in supporting local and EU charities and businesses especially hospitality businesses such as hotels and restaurants. Further details can be seen at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmddobson/
Eerik Beeton, MSc Digital Marketing Management student
Increase return on Ads spend with these 3 steps!
There are a few reasons why your Google Ads might not work as well for your business as it seems to work for your competitors. Make sure you follow these three steps and you’re guaranteed to be more productive with your Google Ads.
Many businesses have struggled to make most out of their digital marketing efforts and have employed strategies where they use an external marketing agency to handle paid digital marketing. I’m here to suggest that outsourcing Pay Per Click and Cost Per Mille (PPC/CPM) is not sensible anymore in the 2020’s. Why would you pay someone else to do what you can do yourself?
To prove this to you, the next three steps in this blog will bring to your attention some issues around outsourcing your Google Ads and how to do it yourself to both save money and increase the effectiveness of your paid ads!
1. Exploit automation, lose that agency and save up to half of the cost
Historically, making your ads has been time-consuming and has required a lot of technical input from marketers to stay in top of the game. Year 2019 was the year of automation, this also changed how PPC works. Now your PPC can be automated with budget diversification and smart audience targeting, making the use of an agency inferior. I’m listing more handy tools throughout this blog so keep reading!
If you buy click-based advertising services (Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), a service provider will usually charge a 10-20% of the ad spend and a minimum monthly fee for their work. If your competitor advertises their services in-house for £300 per month and you outsource this service, then your advertising spend on Google AdWords is £150-200. This gives your competitor 30-50% higher advertising budget and an advantage.
As the average return on advertising pounds spend on google is 1 pound spent, 2 earned, you’re most likely giving your profits away using a marketing agency.
2. Optimise and save up to 69% on your Ads
Understanding you Ad quality score can help you to create better campaigns and improve your digital marketing as a whole.
Poorly optimised Google Ads are a costly mistake, not only are they more expensive but they won’t get your business the leads they are after. Once you get your Ads optimised, your Ad spend can be decreased by 69%.
Maybe the most important part of your Google Ads optimisation is that they need to be eligible for Google auctions. This means that your ads need to focus on a few strange terms like Quality Score, Maximum Bid and Ad rank. Ad rank is influenced by the maximum cost-per-click (CPC) you choose for your ad and your ad’s Quality Score. In the following, I will explain how you can create the best quality score for your ads.
To improve the quality score of your ads, focus on the following 4 strategies
Use keyword planning to increase relevance of your adds by making ad groups based on keywords
Improve the quality of your landing page. This can be achieved by (re)targeting your ad and landing pages using long-tailed keywords or by using Dynamic advertising.
Be patient! Google’s algorithms will take more than a few days to improve the quality score of your Ads and being patient is the key to measure the improvements.
If reading pages of descriptions is not for you, I’ve also included a 4-minute video clip on the strategies for your convenience.
3. Set tracking and retarget customers to get 3x more leads
Often, micro-conversions, such as referral browsing, shopping cart additions,, are ignored in tracking. However, they are essential metrics that tell about the quality of traffic and enable accurate re-marketing to visitors who completed a specific activity. This can also be used to track the performance of your paid advertising and to make changes accordingly. See the short video below on how to set you tracking!
The importance of setting conversion actions to help your customer tracking is essential; if you’re not sure how to do this here’s a link to a Google Ads article that explains it step by step.
Lastly, understanding the whole customer journey and to assess all the steps is important. By setting tracking and using retargeting can feed into 3 times more leads for your campaigns.
Future-proof your Google Ads revenue
Google has focused heavily on machine learning and keeps finessing the technology in order to deliver helpful and frictionless customer experience. There have been some setbacks in the technology and most of the features are not fully functioning for the SME’s, but this said: – The year 2020 will be the year to look out for improvements in:
Next big things in the early 2020’s
Google has focused heavily on machine learning and keeps finessing the technology in order to deliver helpful and frictionless customer experience. There has been some setbacks in the technology and most of the features are not fully functioning for the SME’s but this said: – The year 2020 will be the year to look out for improvements in:
Responsive search adds: Just give Google 5 headlines and 4 description lines, and they will do the rest.
Google Bumper Ads: use machine learning to create you 6-second ads for your YouTube ads
Maximize lift: is a smart bidding strategy that uses machine learning to determine which users are most likely to be interested in your promotions and drives down your costs of advertising.
The MSc in Digital Marketing Management is one of our awards to meet the changing demands of industry. Marketing is going through a fundamental change with ever more marketing carried out online – a major consequence of this is the incredibly detailed data that is generated which leads to data driven policy.
The marketing industry is booming, examples from our partners include, Synectics Solutions in Newcastle under Lyme, Don’t Panic who organise many digital award nights and conferences or alumni who have set up businesses such as Jill Quick, or Louise Holland
To get our Masters students ready for the industry we have two modules:
‘The Management of a Digital Marketing Project’ – this module will prepare a tri-partite agreement between the student, the academic staff and the organisation as to the focus of the project, existing benchmark measures, what is to be achieved and how to make the project sustainable (so that it can continue after the student leaves). This is carried out between January to March/April
The Work Based Digital Marketing Project – a credit work experience (450 hours) to deliver the project with the organisation concerned. (April to August)
The project can be in any type of organisation e.g. private sector, public sector, charity or a university. It is desirable but not essential for the work project activity to take place at the premises, or it could be a mix with some days in the company and some work off site.
We have built in flexibility to the work-placement so it could be that you would like a portfolio of tasks to be completed rather than just one main project. Examples could be – creation of a digital marketing strategy, audit and re-launch of social media, budget and investment plan for marketing, devising and implementing a training plan for existing staff.
As the module is part of the course then paid remuneration is not required. However, we would expect travel expenses and any other identified costs of the project to be paid – these can be discussed and agreed before the placement starts.
Below are profiles of some of the students on the course so reach out direct to them if you are interested or if you want to discuss it with a staff memebr contact Jon Fairburn 01782 294094 jon.fairburn@staffs.ac.uk
Alex Bedford
Alex Bedford
I have
a lot of experience developing and leading teams to achieve results. This is
proven through a history of achievement working with Active Lives Education, Cheshire
Football Association, Birmingham County Football Association, Walsall Local
Authority, Sported UK, Sports Across Staffordshire, and The Football
Association.
I have a keen interest in Digital Marketing. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in Digital Marketing Management. I have experience in creating and managing marketing and communication strategies and also have experience in website management, email and text marketing, social media management, content curation, and online paid advertising.
I currently run a business called Active Lives Education however am looking for a project that helps me gain further experience in digital marketing, to develop my skills and develop a career or business in this field.
I hold a foundation degree of science in Film and Television Production and have recently graduated from my BA degree in Events Management (2 year fast track) which I gained a 2:1 in. I have a large work experience portfolio from volunteering to paid work. For 4 years I was a manager of a Children’s play centre then moving onto the cash manager of B&M. I now work as an Events Assistant at Moddershall Oaks. For my volunteer work I have experience of working for the likes of Channel 4, Woman of the Year and Stone Food and Drink Festival. I have also worked several corporate events such as the Hotel Marketing Conference and Land Rover.
I have skills within Web design, as well as using all social media
platforms for brand building. I also have quite a good understanding with
photoshop and other computer software that may be needed, I am a quick learner
and can pick up things fairly quickly.
Ideally, I would like a placement within a sector that holds
Events, but I would be open to offers.
Or if you’d like to have a look at some of my volunteer work you can find this on Instagram: @amottevents
Lewis Copeland
Lewis Copeland
I have recently graduated from my BA Events Management (2 Year Accelerated) in which I achieved a first-class honours. I have previous work experience as a bar supervisor for three years as well as voluntary work experience with Channel 4, The Stone Food and Drink Festival as well as being a student representative for my course.
I currently work for The Student Hub at Staffordshire University as a Digital Marketing Ambassador. In this role I manage multiple platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) as well as improving the overall engagement and reach of the platforms.
I am able to use social media
platforms to build and uphold brand image. I have experience in using analytics
to improve the reach of posts as well as identifying demographics which not be
being reached and making steps to target them.
Ideally I would like a placement
in tourism, events or hospitality but I am open to offers.
I have recently graduated with a First-Class BA (Hons) Degree in Events Management and have now started studying MSc Digital Marketing Management. I have a large work experience portfolio from both paid and volunteer work. I have been a chef for the past three years at The Orange Tree Bar and Grill, I also hold a range of customer service skills which I have been able to develop by working at a bar and on a hotel reception. To broaden by experience in events management I have volunteered at numerous events such as Woman of the Year 2018, Stone Food and Drink Festival and The Royal Oak Gin festival.
I have skills in web design, brand building and analytics, I
can also use all forms of social media and some computer software which may be
required. I am a reliable team player who learns quickly, I enjoy expressing my
creativity when carrying out jobs and ensuring all tasks are completed to the
best of my ability.
If possible, I would like to find a placement within the
events, tourism or hospitality sector although I am open to other
opportunities.
I
have recently graduated with a 2:1 in BA (Hons) Events Management and am now
currently studying MSc Digital Marketing Management. I have a wide work
experience portfolio varying from paid work to voluntary. Over the last three
years I have been a bar staff member for Stonegate pubs working for Walkabout
until it closed down in April this year and now Yates Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Within my role at Yates I tend to work on the bar and occasionally the kitchen,
but recently I have taken on the role to be more involved in the social media
for the business. To help to widen my knowledge of events and volunteers I
volunteered for the Stone Food and Drink Festival in 2017/18.
My
main stills revolve around social media and helping to design promotional
material. I am a reliable person with work ethic and put all my effort into
anything that I do.
My
ideal placement if possible would be within the events, tourism or hospitality
industry. However, I am willing to try anything new that may broaden my
knowledge and skills
I recently
graduated from Staffordshire University with a 2:1 BA (Hons) degree in Business
management and I’m now studying an MSc in Digital Marketing Management. I am a
team leader at the Staffordshire
University Students’ Union. This role requires excellent communication
skills, the ability to delegate tasks to the team I am managing and making sure
the venue (LRV and Verve) is running as smoothly as possible. This has taught
me a multitude of transferable skills within customer service as I have
developed my interpersonal and leadership skills. This is reflected within my
dedication to the Staffordshire
Stallions American Football as a team player and a defensive captain.
I’m currently
looking for a digital marketing placement for my work based digital marketing
project. This will give me a chance to utilise the skills and knowledge that I
have learnt within my masters and apply it to a professional environment. Any
opportunity to be able to get this experience would enable me to further my
employability.
My degree has
given me an insight into a variety of different aspects within Business
Management. This has given me fundamental knowledge on topics that also relate
to the MSc in Digital Marketing Management. I have extended my academic skills
and abilities by studying into a specialised area of Business. An MSc has enabled me to have a greater
understanding of analytics, search engine optimisation and the ability to
design a global digital marketing strategy.
I have graduated with a BA (Hons) Journalism and I am now studying my MSc in Digital Marketing Management. Throughout university, I worked as a venue member for Staffordshire University’s Student’s Union in front and back of house customer service roles and as a Student Ambassador. These roles have instilled me with strong interpersonal skills and self-organisation through working in these multifaceted positions.
I have experience working as a Trainee Journalist at The Sentinel newspaper and Staffs Live, where I was responsible for researching and writing feature and news content for print and online publication. I utilised my qualifications in Reporting and Shorthand at 100WPM from the National Council of Training for Journalists, ensuring accuracy and time management.
I am an experienced CRM Marketing Assistant, where I was responsible for curating content for email marketing campaigns and market research. Studying Digital Marketing has developed my knowledge within integral marketing theories, brand development and content curation/SEO. I am now implementing this in the creation of my own lifestyle blog, The Wordsmith.
I
am interested in opportunities in the content marketing sector, and I am open
to writing diverse content in an array of industries.
If
you are a business owner and you are looking for a driven, creative and
hardworking individual that has a keen interest in digital marketing, SEO and
business development…then look no further!
I
am currently looking for a placement within an organisation that will help me
gain further knowledge and experience in the digital marketing field.
I
have recently graduated from Staffordshire University with a 2:1 in Tourism
Management. My main interests lie in SEO, content curation, analytics and brand
building through social media.
I
have consolidated experience working in fast-paced environments, working in a
team, customer engagement and I have the desire to learn and help businesses
grow!
So,
what are you waiting for? Get in touch via LinkedIn or email!
As technology evolves, the digital marketing bar is being raised higher for more transcendent usability and intuitive user interaction. For such, accuracy, speed and ease are the punch that will keep your clients loyal for the long haul. According to Gartner, consumer experience is the practice of designing for and reacting to their interactions to meet and exceed their expectations in order to increase consumer satisfaction, advocacy, and loyalty.
Highlighted below are some of the digital marketing tools that will give you competitive advantage.
Website Analytics tools
User-centered design is the first checkpoint you put your customers through. According to Brilliance, 75% of stores losses sales due to cart abandonment. So, how do you avoid cart abandonment? By having an intuitive navigation. Website navigation is like a table of content. The navigation should be organized, easy and grouped. Having complex and lengthy navigation creates confusion with your end users. For instance,
Imagine being at a new airport with 3 terminals and 6 floors and several concourses, you need to reach terminal 4A in under 10 minutes. How will you reach the gate without proper sign boards? A website without proper navigation is like an airport without proper signs. Your users will get frustrated and take off, hence leading to high bounce rate. How can you solve this issue? Create a website with a uniform design style, color scheme, and typography. Besides, include navigation tools within your website.
UX design involves creating something that users love, while analytics help designers/businesses understand what the elusive thing is. Analytics provides businesses with a measurable benchmark. There are four types of analytics.
Predictive analytics: Used to test scenarios and make suggestions.
Prescriptive analytics: Check on new trends and determine the optimal patterns.
Diagnostic analytics: Tracks and reveal trends over time.
Descriptive analytics: Indicates how many and how often.
Today, web analytics tools can perform all the above. If combined with research, measurement, and analysis, then business can create and maintain businesses that meet clients’ needs. You can achieve this using the following tools.
Kissmetrics
Kissmetrics offers analytics that helps businesses increase their conversion rates and track visitors. Besides, it helps to identifying barriers to conversions. Thanks to the use of Engage feature. Engage uses behavior based data to display notifications to site visitors. Using Kissmetrics, marketers can specifically set the following behavior based actions: Lightbox, dynamic content modal, announcements, bumpers, and notifications. Marketers can design triggers that prompt these actions for instances, when a customer is idle for a certain period on the website, he/she is prompted to take some action like signup for newsletter or display related products that they may be interested in. This helps reduce bounce rate, and thus leading to high ranking. The tool is pricy and not affordable to SMEs, besides being a good tool.
Currently, twitter has 326 million users. Do you want to get more out of Twitter and aren’t sure where to start? Creating an engaging and impactful strategy can make the difference. Firstly, you need to find your own voice. As a business, establish a well-defined brand strategy by creating fresh and original content that reflect your core business values. Besides, try and resonate with your audience in a positive way.
Planning and organization are key to great marketing. One of the best ways to get much out of Twitter is to join chats. There are chats for almost every topic. The key success to twitter chats is to be an active participant by following people, replying to their messages and keeping the relationship going even after the chat has ended. If there is no chat that relates to your brand, consider starting your own.
Although planning ahead is always great, the best tweets are created on the go. Ensure you capitalize on the trending topic and world events. However, as a caution, never use a tragedy as a branding opportunity. As a rule of thumb, don’t use one-sided marketing. Your Twitter marketing strategy should be a mix of organic tweets @replies, and Twitter Ads. Nonetheless, maintaining a Twitter account requires certain level of commitment and training. Besides, you must be weary of parody accounts, which can negatively affect your business. In 2019, businesses should watch the status updates to encourage conversation between its users.
Facebook Power Editor
Specifically designed to run hyper-specific advertising campaigns. The tool often issues new targeting and budget-friendly features for all users. In order to get more out of Facebook Power Editor, you must understand Ad basics. Use of catchy headlines, engaging images and strong Call to Action dictates how well your ad will perform.
Image Source: Neil Patel
The catchy headline, and strong call to action makes the above ad more appealing to the target audience. Currently, Facebook Power Editor is only available on Google Chrome, thus, users of other browsers are not privy to using this powerful tool. Currently, Facebook is testing CTAs to be used on stories create on pages. This something to watch in 2019.
Conclusion
Customer experience requires a health check. One of the ingredients to this challenging task is knowing the ins and outs of your customers’ behaviour. In digital marketing, communicating with your consumers and anticipating their needs and problems even before they arise is what you need. Getting the right tool to address customer experience is what will give you a competitive advantage since the war will not be won on product features or price page.
Leah Mahon, MSc Digital Marketing Management student
Influencer Marketing (IM) is the latest marketing trend to take the digital plethora by storm – one like and re-post at a time. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, IM combines the use of old and new marketing strategies, and turning it into modernised content fuelled marketing campaigns through collaborations between brands and “influencers” who set up their own social media pages and create their followings.
For businesses – big and small – it is worth getting to the know the person behind the filter before letting them influence which directions your business goes down. Here are a few things to keep in mind…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines came into full force after numerous followers of popular YouTube and Instagram accounts were collaborating with brands and not making aware that they were receiving a profit in return from their content. To ensure transparency among the audience you’re trying to reach through your Influencer, clarifying that a simple #ad or #sponsorship can save them and your business some major thumbs down.
The Influencer has to believe in the brand and the product or service it is promoting. Microsoft collaborated with world-wide influencer, Oprah Winfrey to endorse their new Microsoft Surface tablet. Social Media Today describes how Oprah sought out Twitter to promote the new technology – only to do so via her iPad, one of the product’s direct competitors. Despite her global influence, not even she could increase sales if her influence doesn’t even believe in the product itself. It’s important for businesses not to collaborate just for the number of likes and followers, but what the Influencer believes in too. Right down to what tech they like to send their Tweets and DMs off.
