It’s digital round-up time again and this week we’re covering everything from statistics to snooping, Twitter to Flash (with a guest appearance from Cupid, of course!)  If you love staying up-to-date with all the latest developments, here’s our Valentine’s Day gift to you. It doesn’t come wrapped in a bow with champagne and chocolates, but we’re sure you’ll love our latest digital round-up regardless!

Attention small businesses: This one’s for you!

Here in the UK, over 99% of all businesses can be classed as SME’s (businesses with fewer than 250 employees.) The challenges faced by small businesses are many and this recent article from MarketingProfs  has highlighted the top marketing challenges and priorities for small businesses in 2016. If you’re one of the 99% of UK SME’s (and we’re guessing you are), take a few minutes to read this.  If you want to find out how to be one of the 1% who get email marketing right, download our Email Maturity Benchmarking Report here.

Mobile Marketing: Is it worth the investment?
Email marketing is becoming increasingly mobile and yet senior marketers remain sceptical about the overall performance and benefits of mobile marketing, with 8 in 10 reporting difficult in tracking mobile ROI. If you’re considering going mobile in 2016, these 45 email and mobile statistics should be of interest to you. For example, did you know half of all clicks on mobile ads are accidental? If you’re aware of the problems surrounding mobile marketing, you’ll be better able to put steps in place to ensure you can make the most of it without encountering these issues.

#RIPTwitter

There seems to be a bit of a statistics theme with this week’s roundup, doesn’t there? Well here’s some more for you! In the wake of the #RIPTwitter hashtag that began trending after CEO Jack Dorsey announced plans for a new algorithmic timeline, here are 7 statistics that no Twitter user can fail to ignore. Is this the end for the much-loved social media network or do you think it can make a comeback? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so join the conversation and tweet us @Pure360.

New surveillance bill causes concerns

The government’s new plans for monitoring the public’s internet use has raised some concerns, and MP’s examining the new law are calling for significant amendments and 86 recommendations for change. In an age of increased technological advances and accompanying fears for cyber security, plans that could weaken data encryption and damage security systems could spell disaster for companies throughout the UK and beyond.

A farewell to Flash

No, not Flash Gordon – it’s Adobe Flash that’s being given the boot, as Google announces plans to cease displaying Flash ads on websites in order to encourage advertisers to use HTML5. As Flash websites do not display correctly on many smartphones and tablets, using an HTML5 open-source coding language will enable advertisers to reach the widest possible audience across all devices. This seems a sensible move for now, but may have implications for those who still utilise Flash with Google AdWords and DoubleClick.

And lastly, just because it’s Valentine’s Day…

The Telegraph have tried-and-tested the best digital dating apps available, so if you’re looking for love this February 14th, this one’s for you!

That’s it from us for this week, we’ll see you next time for another digital round-up!

Komal

Komal Helyer
Head of Marketing

Stay in the digital loop: Follow Komal on Twitter

p.s. – If you haven’t already, download our joint report with TFM, The Future of Marketing Technology 2016, to discover what really matters, the technology, or how you use it.