Instagram & Facebook – Why?


A few hours ago I read that Facebook had acquired Instagram for $1bn… aptly enough, this news came to me via my Facebook feed. There’s also an official release here from Mark Zuckerberg My first thought once I checked the legitimacy Read more

Return On Influence: The New ROI


There is not a single activity in business which is exempted from a query regarding return on investment.  Focused strategic planning and expenditure to optimise your e-commerce mix is known to be an investment worth making for product and Read more

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Web News

Generate UK Receives Prestigious Awards

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Mike in Digital Marketing, Social Media, Web Design, Web News | Leave a comment

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Generate UK recently won not one but two awards for website development projects. We’re obviously very proud to be recognised in this way and delighted to be working with such great customers, such as The Poppy Factory and Universal Networks. The full press release announcing our wins is below. ## Digital marketing company receives best in class and outstanding achievement awards from Interactive Media Council. Newbury, Berkshire, UK (PRWEB) May 4, 2012 – While buzz surrounds concepts like email marketing and social media solutions, one company is not only well ahead of the pack, but has the awards and accolades to prove it. Generate UK, a digital marketing agency, was recently honoured with two coveted awards from the Interactive Media Awards, one for Best in Class in the Data Network category and one for outstanding achievement. “We are extremely proud to be recognised for these awards, especially with such high scores and in such competitive categories,” said Mike Robinson, director of Generate UK. “It is a testament to the quality and professionalism of our team.” The Best in Class award is the highest given by the IMA. It represents the best in planning, execution and overall professionalism. To be awarded, a site had to successfully pass through a comprehensive judging process and achieve very high marks in each of the judging criteria; this is an achievement that only a fraction of sites in the IMA competition earn each year. The award for Outstanding Achievement is the second highest bestowed by the IMA and is challenging to win. The…


The Top Five Content Aggregates

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Mike in Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web 2.0/3.0, Web News | Leave a comment

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Excerpt: In a previous post “Curating Content for Niche Authority” we discussed the benefits of using software to collect and distribute relevant content to your website and social networks. The predominant benefit to creating a newsletter type feed by sharing syndicated content is to provide interesting news items and articles for discussion within your niche to demonstrate knowledge and authority. In other words, choosing to curate content within your industry clearly demonstrates to your customer that are you are “in the know” when it comes to your specific product or service sector and thought leadership. As media print publications such as newspapers and magazines continue to wane while the amount of content (and access to content) increases exponentially, news aggregates and article sharing is poised to dominate as an optimal alternative. I asked our team at Generate UK to share their favourite content aggregate sites and to share their insight into what makes that specific software popular with our clients. What follows are the top five aggregates according to Generate UK team members. HubPages A convenient and fast way to publish content without having to edit or manipulate page   layout or complicated settings. The popular platform gives you feedback on the success or popularity of your content by awarding Milestones and a score is assigned to provide a metrical ranking of the publisher. An effective and easy to use software package but advanced users may be disappointed at the lack of brand theme or customisation available for the individual HubPage. Joe’s Top Tip: Adding keywords…


Social Media. The Facts!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Kim in Blogging, Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web News | 2 Comments

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Excerpt: Social Media is still very much the buzz word of the moment but actually understanding what Social Media Marketing really is and how your business can embrace Social Media, should be at the top of your agenda.  Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. are great tools for communicating and pushing out content. I recently found a great video and found out some amazing facts about just some of the main social networking platforms that are out there. I couldn’t possibly keep them all to myself. Facebook now gets more visits than Google with 11% of the world’s population signed up to the the site.  There are even more Facebook users than there are motor vehicles and in 2011 Ferarri sold 5329 cars. However, they managed to get 5.267.365 fans on thier Facebook page. 50% of these active users log on to Facebook in any given day, and spend an average of 55 minutes using its services. Twitter has become one of the most popular social networking services and has created many business opportunities. Although you can only use 140 characters in a Tweet (which often doesn’t feel like enough) the average Tweet only contains 40 and the average user has 115 followers. Lady Gaga is the most followed person on Twitter with 15.864.378 followers. The average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube. 88.3 billion clips were viewed in October 2011, which accounts for two in every five videos viewed online and LinkedIn gets two new people signing up to it every second. Oh…and one last…


Why you should be using Pinterest

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Mike in Ecommerce, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web 2.0/3.0, Web News | 4 Comments

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: One of the most fascinating things about social media micro-sites and gamification modules is their widespread adoption if the concept is novel and innovative.  There is no shortage of social networking sites to explore and it seems like a new one comes out every month.  Is there a promotional benefit to being on social sites?  Yes.  Do you need to be on all of them?  Probably not.  However, if the micro-site has the potential to successfully build community and interactions around your products or services, it may be worth the effort. And if you think you have seen it all when it comes to social networking sites we encourage you to explore Pintrest, an exciting new platform developed by Cold Crew Labs in Palo Alto, California.  Pintrest was launched in March 2010 and by December 2011 the site had achieved more than 11 million visits per week according to metrics at HitWise.   In 2011 the start-up also raised $27 million dollars of venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz. From the start the innovative social bookmarking and sharing program generated huge laurels and interest and was covered by Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Mashable.  The social site in its beta version received a 4.5 star iTune App rating and a Twitter following of 396,728 (Although they could follow a few back!) users by February 2012.  The network remains a closed application available by qualified invite only for the time being. How It Works Visit the Pintrest site and download the toolbar shortcut for…


2012 is looking great following a strategic acquisition.

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Kim in Blogging, Business Development, Customers, Digital Marketing, Events, Featured, Online Reputation, Other stuff, Social Media, Web Design, Web News | 1 Comment

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Excerpt: In December 2011, Generate UK were delighted to complete on the acquisition of Web on High, an 11 year old digital marketing agency based in Newbury, Berkshire. Following this announcement, Generate UK will be moving to new premises at New Greenham Park. Following the acquisition; Generate UK now have over 20 digital specialists ranging from creative designers, an award winning development team, experienced SEO Experts and a wonderful team of Account Managers. When you make a big move like this, it’s hard not to look back and appreciate how far you’ve come. In 2008 the economy was at the start of the recession and whilst this scenario was a concern, the Generate UK Directors, Mike Robinson and Joe Baily stuck to their vision and took a giant leap of faith. They understood that despite the uncertainties, there would be a need for an agency who would help companies bridge the gap through expert knowledge and resource, offering measurable returns through emerging technologies. Our history and our ever growing client basis proves they were both right. It’s hard to believe that Generate UK began as a 2 man team, we’re now over 20 strong! Having a larger team is already proving successful with more ideas and expertise which can be passed on to our clients allowing us to be even more proactive then before. What about the new office? It’s brilliant! We have a nice big open plan office, flatscreen TV’s, a lovely big meeting room and the Director’s are keen to continually invest as they…


Fabulous Flowers Goes Live

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Kim in Blogging, Customers, Digital Marketing, Events, Other stuff, Web Design, Web News | Leave a comment

Earlier this year, Generate UK was contacted by a company based in Abingdon and Oxford, Specialising in Flower Displays and Floral Art called Fabulous Flowers. This was a project that instantly caught our eye, as we spotted a great opportunity to let our creativity run wild, creating a great looking website for an amazing up and coming company. Thanks to a great idea by the owners of Fabulous Flowers, Gary Cooper and Matthew Taylor, we split the website into 2 halves, 1 dedicated to the sale of Gary and Matthew’s handmade collections and bouquets, the other dedicated to the promotion of the events they have provided for and their best works. This demonstrated Fabulous Flowers passion to be set apart from the rest of the market, demonstrating their attention to detail and individuality. By using eye catching colours and large, vibrant graphics, Gary, Matthew and everybody at Generate UK agreed that the site could not have looked better. Why not check out the site for yourselves at: www.fabulousflowers.biz


Google+ Partners with Involver for Intuitive Social Marketing

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Mike in Digital Marketing, Social Media, Web News | 1 Comment

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Excerpt: “Nothing is more exciting than developing systems that retrieve, process and manage millions of pieces of content from across the web. It’s even better when you’re working with the largest brands in the world.” — Noah Horton, CTO and Co-Founder of Involver© From San Francisco California the brand marketer,  social network application and interface developer Involver announced it would be the launch partner for Google+ Pages.  Involver represents over 400,000 brands and advertising agencies including notables such as Nike, Cisco, Warner Brothers and American Apparel. The innovative organization is a Preferred Developer of Facebook and a member of its internal marketing team.  It now brings its powerful Social Markup Language (SML™) to maximize the potential of Google+ by creating dynamic brand pages. Involver will be launching a beta with twenty recognized brands to demonstrate the community management capabilities as well as the marketing potential of the new social network.  Google+ is the first social networking platform to enable organization of participants and viewers into unique groups for target marketing. Benefits •    User friendly social media dashboard (AMP) Audience Management Platform •    Simplified method of creating and deleting Google+ circles that are assigned to Pages •    Ability to transfer or delete members of circles easily •    Provides qualitative analytics and app management •    Access to free applications (and professional plug-ins) to enhance user experience and reporting on your Google+ Pages •    Paid applications add effective call to action (CTA) elements to your Google+ Page There are a number of free applications that anyone can access through the Involver dashboard which include photo…


The Poppy Factory Website Goes Live

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Kim in Blogging, Business Development, Customers, Web Design, Web News | Leave a comment

Earlier in the year Generate UK were delighted to be selected to design and build a brand new website for www.poppyfactory.org. For nearly 90 years, The Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey, has been making poppies, crosses and wreaths for the Royal Family and the Royal British Legion’s annual Remembrance Day appeal. Since 2007, The Poppy Factory has also been placing wounded, injured or sick veterans of all ages into jobs. Focusing on boosting employment prospects, The Poppy Factory has found and matched employers with clients, and in many cases, part-funded their clients’ first year’s salary, to allow for training into their new role. In June 2011, The Poppy Factory announced its plans to help 500 wounded, injured or sick ex-Service men and women into mainstream employment over the next 5 years. “A great year and all thanks to you…I feel stronger, fitter and more confident than ever expected entirely due to your kindness and help. I couldn’t have made it without you. The Cotswold Canal Project is just one of the jobs that has given me a new lease of life.” Paul , ex-Light Infantry To find out more about the fantastic service they provide visit thier new website at www.poppyfactory.org.    


Instant Flood Sandbags : The latest technology

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Kim in Blogging, Ecommerce, Featured, Internet Marketing, Local Search, Other stuff, Web Design, Web News | Leave a comment

Generate UK recently purchased the rights to Instantsandbags and in doing so designed and developed a new website called Instantfloodsandbags. The product itself was not only innovative and new to the market but it’s ingenious space saving design and it’s real ability to keep the water out was exciting to us. The passion and drive behind the project from day one has been fantastic; symbolising the belief and high potential in the product. From the initial thought process Generate UK utilised the internal skill set to create a brand new site which really markets Instantfloodsandbags. In the last 2 weeks the product is being marketed through it’s dedicated Facebook and Twitter page which you can follow or like. The website is now reaching  out to local counties surrounding Berkshire, Somerset and even Ireland. The sandbags are made of a jute material together with a thin layer of cotton and they contain a water absorbing gel. You are also able to securely purchase the sandbags via Paypal on the website. Flood alerts may not give you sufficient warning, but an instant flood sandbag can be stored easily to defend your home or business! Please feel free to visit the website for more details Instantfloodsandbags


Klout Deals An Ouch

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Mike in Internet Marketing, Social Media, Web News | Leave a comment

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: On October 26, 2011 Klout announced that it was making an adjustment to its algorithm which measures the popularity, influence and interactivity of an individual’s social media scope.  Many users logged in on that day to find their Klout score had been lowered anywhere from 1-20 points which was particularly upsetting to social media types who had been using the measurement to partially justify their efficacy at using social media tools to potential clients.  A drop in an individuals Klout score was not just personally disappointing (negating effort and promotion of Klout as a reliable means of measurement) but could also be misconstrued by third parties as “questionable expertise” which is what had most users incensed. Social media measurement tools are frequently evaluated for their real world merit.  Some platforms such as Vitrue or Peer Index  take more of a quantitative view and award more standing for larger networks.  For instance if you have achieved over 1000 followers on Twitter who are regularly engaged you will receive higher standing than an individual with less than 500 followers.   Part of the calculation from Klout was attributed to quantitative measures or “reach” which acknowledged the size of the social network for the individual.  But where Klout wished to differentiate itself was to focus more on the quality of those connections and the users influence on members of their network.  This measurement was intended to award users that provided engaging content that would be forwarded on by their followers through the network.  That impact…


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