TikTok: Disrupting The Social Media World

There is no doubt that TikTok is probably the hottest social networking app at the moment. Out of the 2020 ashes, a new form of social media opened the way for internet culture, education, and activism.

TikTok is a video-based social media app of unusual integrity and growing cultural impact, which demonstrates a rare potential for meaningful social change by transforming social media space. The app has been downloaded more than 1 billion times worldwide, stood on top of the "most downloaded iOS app" list for five consecutive quarters, and became a window into modern youth culture. It has proved to be more than a fad or a fluke, and its continuing success shows a few fascinating things about how social media is evolving: meme-driven, highly customised and personalised algorithms, and free from real-life connections.

Editorial, marketing, Social MediaWilliam NivenFebruary 2, 2021social media

Introducing APEX Car Competitions

We’re super excited to showcase one of our latest projects for Apex Car Competitions. Based in the UK, Apex Car Competitions specialise in sourcing rare and sort after vehicles that they make available to the masses via their online raffle system.

Apex approached UNBXD to assist them in developing their brand identity, e-commerce online store, and strategic digital marketing post-launch. Their core goal was to both showcase their range of vehicles in the best light possible, as well as offer their customers a robust and secure place to purchase tickets to their competitions.

“I created a combination mark for this concept, as the brand name itself ’Apex Car’ is memorable when combined with strong typography, this creates strong brand recognition. The inspiration behind the striped markings was taken from “apex” track marks, adding this to the typography gave the logo a more sporty and extreme appearance. The strong contrast between Red, Black and White allows the branding and the identity to become easily recognisable as a car brand.” - Lisa Drake, Graphic Designer.

Web Design, Social Media, BrandingWilliam NivenNovember 26, 2020E-Commerce, WordPress, Branding, Social Media marketing, MarketingComment

Is Social Commerce the next big shift in Marketing?

The third quarter is usually retailers’ golden-hour; record profits, footfall and e-commerce sales have become the expected norm. 2020 marks a historic change.

Whilst we don’t want to start this off negatively, certain realities are hitting the commerce world. Footfall is down, spending is down year over year, and with so many people already out of work with a second wave coming, it doesn’t look like this Christmas is going to be anything like normal.

Editorial, Marketing, Opinion, Social MediaWilliam NivenOctober 16, 2020marketing, Digital Marketing

Success Stories: 2 Years Developing Oaktree's Social Marketing!

When Oaktree joined us they had a small social presence that was used as a customer service tool. Today, Oaktree has bloomed into a resource hub, social community, and an e-commerce powerhouse.

We took their Instagram from 200 people in March 2019 to over 5500 people organically. We have over 80,000 unique visitors to Pinterest a month, and even doubled their Facebook following in that time to over 6200 people. Over the past 18 months we ran successful marketing campaigns to promote their high-end garden furniture like Kettler, or incredible grills like Napoleon & Weber. Along with community campaigns such as ‘Design your dream Garden’ to promote products, services, and invite gardeners to visit Oaktree in-store to pick up new plants for their garden.

We’ve also written comprehensive blogs and social posts offering the Community free tips and tricks that they wouldn’t get anywhere else. This included growing guides, seasonal veg rotation, composting, garden furniture maintenance, BBQ recipes, and more!

Social Media, MarketingWilliam NivenSeptember 22, 2020Social Media marketing, Marketing, case study, Case Study

Candy Company generates over £30,000 in sales in only 6 weeks!

Candy delivered straight to your door? What could be better!

Last month Dorset based confectionary company Candy Street asked UNBXD to create a digital marketing campaign to show off their incredible candy boxes, chocolate boxes, and mystery boxes.

Case Study, Marketing, Success Stories, Social Media, ShopifyWilliam NivenJuly 27, 2020marketing, Case StudyComment

VUSSI Eyewear: Building a Brand during Lockdown

VUSSI Eyewear is an online women’s fashion glasses and sunglasses brand. Based on the South Coast of the UK, their brand ethos is to provide the people of the world with fashionable, yet affordable protective eyewear.

UNBXD were initially appointed by VUSSI to assit them with a full identity design pack and product design. Following this, our team were signed on to Design and Develop a scalable whilst robust E-Commerce Website, capable of complex inventory keeping and multiple payment options and methods. It’s also complete with a custom built live chat and chatbot ensuring that VUSSI can offer the best customer service to their customers with automated incentives based on viewing/buying behaviour.

Is Facebook Shops the Future of E-Commerce?

If you are running an e-commerce business already, it’s likely you are very familiar with how important Facebook is when it comes to reaching new customers. Facebook’s potential role in your business just got a whole lot bigger.

Facebook shops is different from its current services, such as Catalogue manager, Facebook Store & Facebook Marketplace. It continues its ever-growing expansion into the world of sales. If you have used Facebook Marketplace before you will be somewhat familiar with what Facebook is trying to achieve here. Marketplace was created as a destination for peer-to-peer sales, Facebook Shops will allow you to sell your products directly to customers without ever having to leave Facebook.

Mental Health Tips for Social Media Managers

May is mental health awareness month, and right now I think we are all feeling the pressure.

For people like us, who work on social media all day, it can become mentally exhausting. It can sometimes feel daunting to use social platforms outside of work to stay up to date with digital trends, catch up with friends and have ‘fun’ online - the thing social media was supposed to be for. With the amount of information, news and Covid-19 related updates populating our feeds, it’s now more important than ever to find the time to turn off, spend time away from social media and find other things you enjoy.

Editorial, Marketing, Social MediaWilliam NivenMay 28, 2020Social media platform

Pay-Per-Click vs Social Media Advertising

It has been one of the most discussed topics within the digital marketing arena in recent years; the question of which one is more effective – PPC or Social Media Marketing?

With social media advertising beginning to change the way we do social media marketing, it is a good idea to understand the difference between Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and social media advertising. PPC refers to paid advertising from “click ads” online. What this means is, you the business will pay for any click you get. In comparison social media ads like on Facebook, have you pay for ad space; any impressions or clicks you get do not change how much you spend on the ad.

In this article, we’re going to examine how the two ad platforms work so that you can consider where using one, or both, will be part of your wider digital marketing strategy.

Creating and Marketing a Personal Brand for Brodie Music

George Hewitt is a Singer/Songwriter specialising in Jazz & Funk based in the UK. We were approached to help form the identity which he now performs under - ‘Brodie’ - as well as promote his new music online via a new website and strategic digital marketing.

We chose a decorative type-based logo taking inspiration from 60-70s Jazz and Funk era in order to give a sense for his genre of music and where the inspiration for his music is rooted. The colour scheme we chose is also associated with this ear, using muted pastel pallets in a range of colours which can be used in various combinations.

For the website, we designed and developed a single-page showcase site which could house both his music links via Apple Music and Spotify as well as upcoming events and gigs. We also created a central social media feed consolidating the platforms he is featured on - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube.

Alongside this we have created custom profiles for the targeted demographics and designed ad campaigns for the listeners who would enjoy his music based on age/gender/location/interests and subsequently drive traffic to his website, increasing brand awareness and pushing the newly formed ‘Brodie’ brand.

“I’ve been working with Will, Marc and the rest of the team at UNBXD to create a whole new brand for my music. They have been incredibly helpful, personable and full of great ideas to help me and my online presence. I look forward to our work together in the future and I would recommend them to any type of business!”
George Hewitt, AKA ‘Brodie’

See website here: brodiemusic.co

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Social Media & the Mental Health Epidemic

2019 has been a divisive year for social media platforms. People are waking up to not only the good, but the bad aspects of spending too much time browsing Social networks and how it makes them feel.

In my role as a Digital Marketeer I advise clients on a daily basis on how to communicate impact-fully with their audiences. This ensures that I consider not only the effectiveness of the campaigns, but also the impact the messages we put out have on their clients, staff, customers and audiences.

Opinion, Social MediaWilliam NivenDecember 4, 2019Opinion, Social Advertising, Mental Health, MarketingComment

What is User-Generated Content and How to Maximise it for your Brand

From posts on Instagram to customer reviews on Facebook, happy customers are your best advocates and can actually produce the content you need to increase your website traffic, boost your sales and increase repeat customers. But are you taking advantage of it?

Check out our latest blog post to discover how user-generated content will entice your customers to choose you over your competitors.

Facebook's newest Facelift: how it impacts your business plus 5 top tips on how to stay ahead of the game

Facebook’s most recent update is to make it more personal. The future of Facebook is private - said Mark Zuckerberg, CEO– as he presented the newest set of updates at F8, this year’s annual Facebook conference. And just like with any change, you are likely to be asking “how will it affect my business?”

Let us run you through the changes and our top tips on how to stay ahead.

marketing, Social Media, InsightsHelen KhanMay 7, 2019Facebook, Social Media marketing, Business, Business account, Marketing, DigitalComment

How to Maximise your Social Media Marketing ROI in 2019

We all talk about ‘Return On Investment’ (ROI), a phrase that is commonly used in business meetings across industries, but - in common with many other marketing buzzwords - do brands really understand ROI and how it is measured, especially within the Digital Marketing Sector? Find more by checking out our 5 Top Tips on ‘How to Maximise your Social Media ROI in 2019’.

Social Media, marketing, InsightsHelen KhanApril 18, 2019Social Media Marketing, Digital, ROI, BusinessComment

How to Market your Brand in China

China is becoming a global giant, producing over 20% of the global GDP. Rising from extreme poverty to a “driver of global change” and an “indispensable global player”, China reportedly produces two billionaires a week in the retail, technology and property development sectors. With a population of 1.3 billion, it has formed as a highly-desirable market and customer base for foreign brands.

Tech, Insights, Marketing, Social MediaWilliam NivenApril 12, 2019Marketing, International Marketing, China, WeChat, Social Media Marketing, Online, DigitalComment

Instagram launches new 'Checkout' feature

It seems that every day social media is changing to integrate itself more into our daily lives and today is no different.

This week, Instagram began a small test with 20 brands in the United States to overhaul the way business sell to consumers. ‘Checkout with Instagram’ integrates a businesses store into the Instagram app so consumers can add products to their basket and pay without having to leave Instagram. Some of the brands participating in this test include Adidas, Warby Parker & teen favourite Kylie Cosmetics.

marketing, Social Media, Tech, InsightsWilliam NivenMarch 21, 2019Instagram, E-Commerce, Social Media, Social Media marketingComment

5 Ways to Improve Facebook Ad Conversion Rates in 2019

Looking to crush your Facebook Ads in 2019?

With over 1.59 billion monthly active users and in-depth targeting features, in addition to Google, Facebook is one of the best platforms to find qualified leads.

However – as with any kind of marketing campaign – how well your Facebook ads perform is dependent on whether or not you have a winning strategy. Without the right strategy, your advertising budget could be going down the drain.

That’s why we’ve put together our guide to the top 5 Ways to improv e facebook ad conversion rates this year!

The Complete Guide to Chatbots

We realise the idea of chatbots might seem a little intimidating. After all, while some robots warm our hearts others-well, they kind of freak us out. But the truth is, robots aren’t here to take over the world (at least not yet), they’re here to make life easier.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to leverage chatbots for the incredible tool that they are: Taking on the burden of time-consuming tasks, and allowing you to better serve your customers in the ways that matter most.

Client Win: Oaktree Garden Centre & Nursery appoints UNBXD

We’re excited to announce one of our latest client signings, Oaktree Garden Centre & Nursery! They’re one of the largest independent garden centre’s in the UK, with over a million plants in stock at any one time.

Stretching for over 26 acres, and offering everything from delicate fuchsias to mature fig trees, Oaktree carries an impressive range. The vast majority of the stock is grown on site from seedlings - including trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and natural hedging. Japanese Acers and maples are also a particular speciality of theirs.

UNBXD Opens New Studio in Dorset

Working in the Creative Sector, we rely heavily on our environment and the people around us for inspiration. When it came to the layout of our studio we wanted to avoid an enclosed space and to reflect our team's personality and style. It was important that our workspace was a combination of what each individual wanted. This resulted in an open plan design with the creative studio at one end and the photography studio at the other, where each of the team can communicate with each other in a relaxed space which is an adaptable for our team as well as welcoming clients.

Branding, Film, Graphic Design, marketing, Photography, Social Media, UNBXD, Web DesignWilliam NivenOctober 15, 2018design, Film, photography, Studio, unbxd, Web Design, Web DevelopmentComment

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