Author: BWild

Wearable technology store launched by Amazon UK

| July 14, 2014

This type of product now has its own category, helping to confirm that it’s more than a passing fad.

Wearable technology just received another shot in the arm as it has now received its own store at Amazon.co.uk, which suggests that it is much more than just a short term fad, and is being considered to be a solid tech trend that will be around for a while.

The new category at the giant online marketplace includes everything from smartwatches to fitness trackers.

The wearable technology store is now open and features over one hundred different types of device. They include many different subcategories of wearables, such as health and fitness trackers, smart glasses, smartwatches, wearable cameras, and others. The very nature of this type of mobile device often causes them to fit into more than one of the various categories. There are a broad range of different brands being offered in the store, ranging from more mainstream electronics giants – such as Samsung and Sony – as well as brands specific to wearables, in addition to startups in that category, such as Garmin, Jawbone, GoPro, Withings, and Misfit.

Amazon UK has been watching the sale of wearable technology explode over the last year.

Wearable Technology - amazonThe director of consumer electronics at Amazon.co.uk, Andrew Milliken, explained that “With designs continually becoming simpler, smaller, and more stylish, devices have become increasingly useful and fit seamlessly into everyday life. As well as offering the biggest selection, the focus is also on providing customers with all the information they need to understand these new devices and make the best possible choice.”

The website is also offering a Learning Center for the store that will provide consumers with more product details and images, as well as detailed buying guides, reviews, and information regarding compatibility. This is an important addition to Amazon, considering that not every smartwatch or fitness band is compatible with every smartphone, laptop, or tablet. It is a good idea for customers to drop by that area of the site before actually making a purchase.

Many of the wearable technology devices sold over Amazon UK are compatible only with specific products by the same manufacturer or brand, so the additional resources will likely be quite handy for many shoppers.

Social media marketing prefers Facebook 54 percent of the time

| July 10, 2014

A Social Media Examiner report has revealed a strong preference for this specific network in advertising.

Nearly every social network – including the current reigning king, Facebook, as well as Twitter and LinkedIn – have entered into a massive advertising war around the world, as each one attempts to become the leader in social media marketing.

This highly lucrative advertising channel has turned into a fierce battleground for brands of all size.

Marketers have been considerably increasing their social media marketing activities over the various different networking websites in order to be able to acquire new customers and maintain relationships with existing ones. Now, Social Media Examiner has published a document authored by Michael A. Steltzner entitled “2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report”, which involved an analysis of a massive global study.

This social media marketing study involved the participation of 2,800 marketers around the globe.

social media preferenceAmong them, 92 percent felt that the use of social media for advertising purpose was considered to be critical for their businesses. This is a meaningful increase over the 2013 figure, which was 86 percent. Of the respondents, 89 percent felt that it was important for them to learn various different types of tactics that would allow them to use these channels for better results from their various ad campaigns.

Facebook was by far the “most important marketing platform”, as 54 percent of the survey respondents labeled it as such. In a very second place was LinkedIn, which was deemed most important by 17 percent of the respondents. Another 12 percent felt that Twitter was the most important. Not only is this good news for Facebook, on its own, but it also represents meaningful growth over last year’s figures, at which time only 40 percent felt that this social network was the most important for marketing.

In fourth place in terms of overall social media marketing was blogging, which was the top vote of only 8 percent of the participants in the survey. While some analysts have been predicting an impending death of Facebook, it appears as though the network is continuing to hold its own for the moment.