The Candidate Live from SAScon Beta

We're live at SAScon Beta 2014 bringing you the latest news, views and discussions from the key panels and presentations.

SAScon Beta, the conference all digital marketers should be at… but if you can't make it or you haven't managed to get the whole day off work you can keep up to date with all the happenings live by following our blog.

We're here all day bringing you the news, views and discussions from people on the ground. 

In the spirt of Christmas & in true comedy store fashion - we're running a special competition for all SAScon Beta delegates. Do your jokes rival the professionals? We want to hear them! Visit our stand and tell us your best Christmas cracker joke for your chance to win @ComedyStoreMCR voucher or wine!

A couple of our competition winners! The winning joke "What is a SEO's favourite part of Xmas dinner? - Keyword Stuffing"

17.30 Now time for Comedy and a well deserved drink! 

17.00 And that all for today folks! Hope you enjoyed following our live blog! 

16.35: First impressions count, be consistent - make sure your pages are set up properly! Have an image, cover photo, company bio, a link back to your company website. 

16.33: Branding - know your audience!

Customers need to be able to find you, recognise you and trust you. 

16.27: Twitter is open - you can see who your competitors are following and who their followers are! 

16.20: Competitor analysis of Facebook fan pages: Look at engagement rates of pages to understand how well they are doing and learn from what is working/not working for them. 

16.14: Social media scheduling - you need to identify when the best times to post your content are. Either test different times throughout the day/week or look at what is working for competitors. 

16.10: People are tired of seeing "Find us on Facebook" 

Marketers need to ask the questions How and Why? Why should they follow you and how do they find you?

Make sure you include the URL to your Facebook page & the Twitter handle you want them to follow! 

16.03: Not every follower is a customer, but every follower is a potential customer. 

16.00: Analyse who is following you on social media - how many of your followers are in your target audience? Are they in the right geographic location and they the appropriate age? 

15.58: Metrics for success  - Facebook Page Likes: Consider growth rate, interaction amongst new and old fans and engagement with content posted on the page. 

15.52: The right content to the right audience at the right time are the key foundations that = social media success. Analytics helps in the planning!

15.49:  Jim Haysom & Jamie Riddell - Utilising social media analytics to drive more targeted marketing.

We're announcing the winners of the Christmas cracker joke competition at 5.15pm in Room 2! Where we will also be revealing our new Digital Destination research! 

15.20: The internet of things is exciting! But a whole segment of people can't access these development! Many people can't access the internet, that means they can't access the best energy and gas price tariffs!

15.12: Technology in development: Proteus - Sensors put inside mediaction, which are activated when they touch the liquid in your stomach.

A second sensor in the form of a patch sticks on the outside of the body. This starts sending data to your mobile phone when the medication has been activated.

Updates can be sent to your phone and even to your doctor, so there is no hiding if you don't taken your medication.  

15.08: Google wants to know what consumers are doing online so that they can improve their targeted advertising. With wearable tech, Google will know what you are doing at all times! What will they do with that data?

15.06: So what is the internet of things? It's smart watches, smart clothes, smart glasses, drones etc.

It's also the data that's captured and processed in real time! And the technology that responds to that. 

15.05: Kristal Ireland - The Internet of Things

14.52: Build a community of partners - if you want to reach out to a lot of people, be creative and think of people you can partner with. From food suppliers to local DJ's, identify influential people who can be a part of your event. It's likely they'll promote the event with their community!

14.48: Modernise Email Marketing

Key things to remember when creating your email marketing strategy

1. Always include a call to action!
2. Segmentation: Create a consumer profile - male/female, where do they live, what do they like?
3. Offer value - there is so much information online now! Do not clog up a potential customers inbox with junk!

14.45: Rakhi Sinha - Eventbrite - 5 Ways to improve event marketing!

14.40: Longer question based quieries are the future!

14.25: The current model of search has to change. Microsoft & Bing are adapting and evolving their search technologies to display exactaly that the consumer wants. 

14.22: The possibilities of search technology have just begun. In the not too distant future, mobile users will be able to ask Cortana a question, take a photo and will be recieve an answer in seconds. E.g. What breed of dog is this? How man calories does this meal have in it?

14.18: To build AI into search we need to create a search engine that can follow a human's thought process, remember previous searches and engage in conversation.  

14.14: Exciting demo from Microsoft of their intellegent personal assistant Cortana! 

14.06: AI is becoming increasingly more human - people don't want to be aware they are searching. They want to feel like they are having human interaction - a conversation. 

13.58: Content is important, but context is king.

Context variables include emotional, environmental, social and external. 

13.45: Search engine results can be manipulated to display content depending on a number of variables from specific colour to only work friendly content.  

Search engines cannot yet understand exactly what we are searching for. Maybe this is because we don't know the name of what we are searching or maybe we don't even know it exists! 

13.40: Currently search is a glorified yellow pages, but it can be so much more..

13.34: With search you can predict the future. By looking at search activity around the European election Microsoft knew that UKIP would do well, they also know the referendum would be a no vote.

13.32: Want to know what people are thinking?  Focus groups are all well and good but to understand what people want, look at what they are searching for online. More than ever people are asking questions online.

One of the UK's top searches… Why does Keith Lemon wear a bandage?

13.30: James Murray - Microsoft

Delicious lunch break & lot's of great entries to the Christmas cracker joke competition! Now onto the next keynote speaker.

12.14: SEO metrics are included on all PR reports. Knowing what works in PR & understanding SEO is vital! 

12.09: Built content assets that orbit your campaign 

12.00: Media Alert vs Press release! Are your clients taking too long to sign off press releases? Call it a Media Alert - they look the same but will get less push back. 

11.58: Break up the launch! Make opportunities to sell your story in as many times as possible! Any updates to the campaign - make it a story!

11.56: Keeping your campaign a secret? Big mistake! Send out teasers, let the press know the context of what you will be selling in to them. 2 - 3 weeks in advance is recommended. It gives everyone a chance to have an exclusive & press are busy! Give them time to schedule your content in.

11.53: Campaigns are sometimes chosen because of the images that accompany them!

11.51: Tips & tricks

Content marketing - what's a good idea?

Don't rush - you need to data, collect images & case studies. Don't wait to be asked for it - have it prepared. It's likely journalists will lose interest if they have to wait. 

11.50: Lexi Mills: Kickstarter, PR and the SEO secrets.

11.00: Very thought provoking session from Barry - the human mind is a fragile and easily influenced thing! Trust your gut instinct but be aware you might have been subconsiously influenced. 

10.55: Current government ideas

Health insurance - have you been responsibke? Companies can track if you have eaten well & exercised regularly. If you haven't you'll be paying a top premium for insurance. 

Linking social benefits to gym memeberships - if you don't attent the gym you wont recieve benefits!

Tax Breaks - Have you quit smoking and stayed stopped? Have you lost weight & kept it off? You could recieve a TAX BREAK as a reward!  

10.50: Some examples of how technology is influencing our decision making process: 

Smart toilets =Public shaming - Toilets know now when you haven't washed your hands after the toilet & will let off an alarm if you try to leave without using the sink.

Smart cars - mandatory speed monitors build in cars = no more speeding!

Smart shopping trolleys - when you put something unhealthy in the trolley there is an unhappy face! A smiley face is displayed on a monitor when healthy food is placed in the trolley.  

10.48: We now live in a time of "The internet of things" - everything is measurable. Sensor are connected to internet - from our phone, on our watches and even in pills that can be swallowed to measure our heart rate, blood pressure & even identify diseases.

10.47: Does free will exist  - we are not in control. Decisions are not logical -they are emotional driven

10.45: Environment affects behaviour! E.g. Voting - where the polling station is located affects how we vote? Show people photos of a library & we'll talk quieter. Smell cleaning products are we'll tidy up after ourselves.

10.44: Words & photos affect behaviour! A recent study revealed that when participants we're shown words associated with elderly people i.e. wrinkles - they walk slower. 

10.43: Exposure affects behaviours, from logo's to personal relationships. The more you see something the more you like it. When using the search engine Google, the logo is present at all times. Even if we don't notice it. We now associate Google with finding things. 

10.42: So what influences us?

10.41: Our subconscious mind is very easily influenced & we make decisions everyday because of subliminal messages. 

10.40: The conscious mind is a very late arrival of our evolution 

10.30: Barry Adams: Silicon Prison

10.11: Gadgets vs gimmicks - interested in new tech but there are lots of ridiculous inventions 

QR code - download to read QR, scan and view (it's too messy) - why not just use a web address?

Augmented reality - Blipper - again with the scanning of things - why not just use a URL?

10.10: Don't just jump on new trends, think first - will it work for you? 

10.00: Here are some of Jeff's key points:

Social Media 

-          Facebook - Don't be ego driven, it doesn't matter how many Likes you have if no one is engaging.

-          Twitter - Who shouldn't have an account? If you're a brand/individual attracting negative attention online it's likely if you delete your account someone will make a parody anyway! MP Ian Duncan Smith's false twitter account was mistaken for a real account mentioned by the official David Cameron twitter handle!! 

9.50: Banner ads have been around since the beginning of time, but can you remember the last time you clicked on one? Did you know you're more likely to survive a plane crash than click on a banner ad?! So why are people still spending money on them…

According to Jeff the "Future of Digital is Physical" & it's time to start thinking outside the box!

9.30: Today kicks off with Matmi founder Jeff Coughlan! With his ethos to make technology fun by creating "Magic across media", we're looking forward to a lively session to start the day.

Quiet before the storm - we're set up and ready to go at SAScon Beta!