Big things have been happening here at GLO HQ this year! From a brand new website launch to a full rebrand and beyond, there’s been an unarguable buzz in the air. What better time could there have been to sponsor the UK’s biggest digital marketing event?
Supporting The UK’s Biggest Digital Marketing Conference
Throwing it back to the months before the big day itself, the GLO team were over the moon to receive official confirmation of our sponsorship back in February. Here’s what our founder, John, had to say when the news first broke:
“I’m extremely proud and emotional to announce that GLO is sponsoring brightonSEO this year! We’ve even thrown in 2,500 GLO-branded sunglasses (GLOies) to be given out in the event goodie bags! It’s been an amazing journey for our agency, and to sponsor such a prestigious event just under four years since we started, is a truly humbling and exciting experience. I’ve always looked up to the BrightonSEO sponsors, and to be part of that group is a great honour for my team and me. I’m proud of the growth and hard work we’ve achieved, and I’m thankful to our incredible team who made this possible.’
We are thrilled to participate in this remarkable event and cannot wait to see where the future takes us.”
A Place In the Digital Spotlight
We’re endlessly proud to have travelled to the shores of Brighton not just as attendees, but active contributors to an event that shapes the course of the marketing landscape. To be right at the heart (and in the goodie bags) of brightonSEO’s world-renowned melting pot of creative ideas, networking, and knowledge sharing was a hugely inspiring experience.
The conference provided us with an exceptional platform to showcase our commitment to top-quality, data driven digital marketing, all whilst learning from and connecting with like minded, passionate search professionals – from industry newcomers to global giants. Both our hard-working apprentices and experienced team members left The Brighton Centre with countless pages of notes and LinkedIn inboxes full of new connections – whilst the event’s 5000+ attendees left with a cool new pair of GLOies. What’s not to love?
Catch Up On The Conference
Want to see the experience through our eyes? Whether you were unable to attend or simply want to relive the magic, why not check out our Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, and TikTok posts, or read through our full brightonSEO 2023 recap for a rundown on the very best talks we attended?
It’s no secret that business owners and marketers alike are constantly searching for new ways to compete in today’s business landscape, whether investing in web design or experimenting with new social media strategies. With so many options out there, it might surprise you that all the most successful campaigns have one thing in common: behavioural science.
Fresh off their journey to Lead Generation World, and inspired by an insightful talk by Nancy Harhut, co-founder and CCO of HBT Marketing, our digital marketing experts are set to unpack the critical role behavioural science plays in marketing. Throughout this blog, they’ll offer insightful takeaways and actionable tips to boost engagement and response rates. Let’s get started!
What Is Behavioural Science?
Behavioural science sounds complicated, but is really quite easy to apply. In simple terms, it’s an examination of human behaviour that provides insights into how audiences think and act. The information it provides can be used to understand and predict consumer behaviour, informing strategies for engagement, sales, and more.
How Does Behavioural Science Apply To Marketing?
Well, marketers use their understanding of human behaviour, specifically consumer behaviour and thought processes, to inform their campaign decisions. By developing a keen understanding of consumers’ cognition when moving through the buying funnel, marketers can create, adapt, and plan their content in line with their likely thoughts and actions. The end result? Resonation with and direct response to consumer demands and desires.
So how can you ensure your campaigns strike the right chord with your target market? Our digital marketing experts discuss the industry’s top behavioural models, theories, and more.
Choice
What Is Choice?
Choice is one of the leading factors in human decision-making. Behavioural science tells us that the presentation of excess choices to a consumer is known to have a significant impact on how they make their decisions. Factors including the number, organisation, and quality of choices, can either guide or overwhelm customers, standing between a sale and no deciding choice being made at all.
Using Choice In Marketing
To address this problem, our experts recommend enabling customers to filter their choices to fit their specific needs, for example, using tick-box options featured on e-commerce sites, or limiting their choices to reduce fatigue, for example, offering a limited number of CTAs in your marketing messages.
Why Is Choice Important In Marketing?
In presenting customers with limited options, or allowing them to filter options to their requirements, you prevent them from becoming overwhelmed by choice, making it easier for them to decide and take action.
Anchoring
What Is Anchoring?
Anchoring is an innate cognitive bias which concludes that when presented with two pieces of information, individuals rely heavily on the first given when making decisions.
Using Anchoring In Marketing
Anchoring can be used as a powerful tool in digital marketing to influence consumer perception, and as a result, their decision. For example, by presenting the consumer with a service or product set at £350 first, then following with a discounted version of the same service or product (say, for loyalty club customers only) at £250, marketers can create the appearance of affordability. This is because £250 seems more affordable in comparison to the anchor, even though it might still be expensive in absolute terms.
Why Is Anchoring Important In Marketing?
By mentioning a higher price first, marketers establish a reference point, or ‘anchor’. Subsequent options then appear more affordable in comparison, increasing both their attractiveness to consumers and the likelihood of purchase.
The Authority Principle
What Is The Authority Principle?
The authority principle relates to how individuals are more likely to trust a service or product recommended or endorsed by experts and authorities.
Using The Authority Principle In Marketing.
Incorporating the authority principle into your marketing strategy via quoting and recommendation can help build the credibility of your service significantly. Alongside expert endorsement, social feed content can be a valued source of promotion – building credibility in the eyes of consumers, and persuading them to convert.
Why Is The Authority Principle Important In Marketing?
Endorsements from experts or influencers leverage the parasocial relationship that consumers often form with them. This can drive the perception of your product or service as trustworthy and credible
Loss Aversion
What Is Loss Aversion?
Loss aversion is a psychological principle based upon the belief that individuals tend to perceive loss as a more severe consequence when compared with acquiring gains.
Using Loss Aversion In Marketing
Loss aversion in your marketing tactics can take the form of:
Offering discounts – e.g. “Save X% off your first purchase”
Free trials – e.g. “Start your free 3-month trial before you buy”
Scarcity – e.g. “Hurry, only 3 left in stock”
Referral Links – e.g. “Share this with your friends and get X% off your next order”’
Framing – e.g. “Don’t lose £200 every year on heating, by investing in loft installation!” rather than “Save £200 a year on heating by investing in loft installation!”
Why Is Loss Aversion Important In Marketing?
By implementing these tactics into your marketing messages, you highlight a potential loss your customer might experience, and, as a result, frame your product or service as highly desirable.
The Endowment Effect
What Is The Endowment Effect?
The endowment effect is an emotional bias in which individuals assign an owned object with greater value compared with objects they don’t own, therefore overestimating the object’s market value. The two identifiable causes for the endowment effect are ownership and loss aversion. When we attribute significant value, whether sentimental or financial, to an owned object, we do so because the possibility of losing it is of greater consequence than the prospect of what we can gain.
Using The Endowment Effect In Marketing
Implementing the following tactics to leverage the endowment effect in your marketing strategy can both enhance the sense of ownership your customers have over your service or products and help build an attachment between your customers and your business.
Visualisation
Enabling your customers to visualise themselves wearing or using your products or service can increase their feeling of endowment and prompt purchase behaviour. This can be as simple as allowing your customers to minimise, maximise, and zoom in and out on photos of your product, or use their camera to project your product into their home, therefore, getting a better understanding of your product and how it would fit in their lifestyle.
Personalisation
Personalising the customer journey can increase the sense of ownership exercised over what your business has to offer. For example, localising websites to the consumer’s language and currency, including personalised welcome messages, and curating web pages based upon previous purchases to inform consumer preferences, are all techniques designed to personalise consumer experience and give a sense of ownership.
Haptic Imagery
Offering your customers the opportunity to experience your service or product through free trials or a return policy can help them visualise it as their own, with no strings attached.
By providing a tactile experience where customers can physically interact with your product or service, you can enhance their sense of ownership, at which point the prospect of losing it becomes of great consequence. This prompts them to purchase to continue their perceived ownership and solidify their relationship for good.
Follow-Ups
The endowment effect journey culminates in the conversion, where it can be utilised to prevent abandoned carts and bouncing.
By implementing a direct address when encouraging checkout follow-ups like “you forgot this!”, “this would look great on you!” or “this could be yours!”, not only are you encouraging customers to give your product a try, but in using a direct address, you’re building an association between the customer and the prospect of ownership. As a result, you emphasise a potential loss for your customer and reframe your product or service as a solution.
Social Proof
What Is Social Proof?
Ever heard of the saying “People are sheep”? This theory is emulated in the marketing industry through social proofing or “herding.”
Social proofing describes an individual’s desire to mimic their peer’s behaviour and use others as a reference point to influence their decisions. It stems from societal pressure on the individual to conform and fit in with the majority by copying what others are doing, buying, and liking. We’re more likely to follow the herd rather than strike out on our own.
Using Social Proof In Marketing
So how can marketers tap into the individual’s desire for conformity? The easiest way to make your service or product popular is to make it appear popular to consumers.
Strength In Numbers
Have you ever gone to buy something online and noticed a pop-up of “x others bought this in the last hour”? This is a popular tactic used to showcase to potential customers how many others have decided to buy this particular item. Using sales figures to display the popularity of a product or service not only simplifies the decision-making process for consumers but utilises the individual’s FOMO (fear of missing out).
Quality Not Quantity
Quality reviews can have the same, if not more, impact on influencing consumer decisions than quantifiable data. Online reviews and ratings tell potential customers the how, when, why, and what of past customer decisions. As individuals, we’re hesitant to be the first to try something. In sharing our thoughts and opinions on services or products, reviews provide a safety net for new customers to put their trust in your business. Sharing customer reviews gives social proof that your service or product is trustworthy, as proven by loyal customer testimonials.
Who Bought This Item Also Bought
On many e-commerce websites, potential customers are met with messages like “Customers who bought this item also bought…”. This use of social proof links to the mentality that individuals tend to “follow the herd”. By recommending services or products that similar people have bought, you reassure customers that they’re making the right decision. Recommendations advance customers through the buying funnel by encouraging them to increase their basket spend and take a step closer to joining the ‘herd’.
The Next Step
Understanding behavioural science in marketing is vital to any successful campaign. By using it wisely, whether employing social proof to build trust or encouraging ownership with the endowment effect, you can strike the right chord with your customers. Now we’ve given you all the information you need! It’s your turn to use behavioural science to take your marketing strategies to the next level.
Still unsure of where to start? Why not check out our services? Our digital marketing experts have used their behavioural science know-how to boost conversions and attract audiences for hundreds of clients across the UK, and would be happy to help you too.
Start making informed marketing decisions by claiming your FREE monthly website analytics reports, worth over £100 a month! If that wasn’t enough, we’re also offering a free pair of sunglasses to the first 100 people who sign up! Very good. Very nice.
What’s Included?
Analyse and track up to 10 target keywords
Google Analytics reporting with goal tracking
Google Search Console (SEO) reporting
SEO website audit and health check
Benefits of Analytics
Track and optimise marketing campaigns
Improve your website’s conversion rate
Find and target the right audience
Make informed marketing decisions
Claim Your Free Analytics
Please fill get in touch to claim your FREE website analytics & keyword research reports and we’ll send you a pair of GLO sunglasses on the house.
The team at Generate Leads Online are proud to be rounding out a highly successful year of innovation, growth, and recognition with their most meaningful award win yet; the Suffolk Business Awards’ Start-Up Business of the Year prize.
2021 has unarguably been GLO’s biggest year yet. From the very first to the very last minutes of these twelve challenging months, our team has worked hard to create groundbreaking data-driven campaigns, and to develop our talented team of SEO specialists, graphic designers, copywriters, social media experts, and digital marketing executives – all whilst delivering an even higher level of outstanding results to our growing group of clients.
We’re proud of ourselves, our work, and of each and every piece of recognition we’ve received this year – which is why we want to tell you about our latest win.
Multi-Award Winning Digital Marketing Agency
‘The Suffolk Business Awards bring the county’s business community together to celebrate each other’s achievements and highlight the leaders in each industry. We are proud that these awards bring Suffolk’s diverse and vibrant business community together in order to celebrate companies who are truly outstanding in their sector and honour the achievements and contributions being made to the local economy.’
This year’s Suffolk Business Awards attracted countless entries from Suffolk’s leading start-up businesses across all sectors – ultimately boiling down to a worthy shortlist of four finalists in our category: AccuGrit, Resitute, Vantage Building Control, and GLO.
After an extensive application process, an in-depth interview, and a wonderful evening of celebrations at Kesgrave Hall, GLO was named winner of the organisation’s Start-Up Business of the Year award, sponsored by Beckett Investment Management Group. We couldn’t be more pleased to have been recognised by such an influential and experienced judging panel – and are proud to have taken part in an event highlighting Suffolk’s thriving business community.
‘Over the Moon’
Following the long-awaited awards ceremony, the GLO team are ‘over the moon’ with our latest win. In a winner’s interview, John stated:
“It’s a dream come true to have been crowned the best start-up in Suffolk and I couldn’t be prouder of the GLO team. As Generate Leads Online evolves, we will keep developing local talent, delivering fantastic results for our clients and striving to be a top name in the digital marketing industry.”
Adding to comments previously made by John, our Digital Director Tony spoke to the EADT on the night of the event, declaring:
“It’s an incredible honour to be named Start-Up Business of the Year. It’s a real testament to the special talent we have here at Generate Leads Online. We will continue to help our customers to grow and in turn, that will help us achieve our goals. This is just the beginning of our journey.”
It’s safe to say that this new trophy has brought an overwhelming sense and accomplishment to our office – reflecting the team’s hard work, dedication, and passion for what we do, alongside a hint at what we can achieve going forward.
So, as we often say, ‘roll on the future’! We’re delighted with our many successes this year and can’t wait to continue delivering the innovative, data-driven digital experiences we’ve become known for in 2022.
‘A Standout Application’
Post-ceremony, judges hailed the details discussed in GLO’s written application and interview as contributing to an ‘outstanding entry’ – noting in particular, GLO’s defiant and flexible approach to recruitment amongst continued Covid-19 restrictions, symbiotic use of Kickstart and degree apprenticeship schemes for the means of both business growth and the boosting the prospects of local digital talent, and finally, the way in which founder, John Parnell, ‘used his extensive experience in the sector to disrupt the marketplace of SEO web design’ – delivering a level of transparency unlike any other.
‘GLO is a model for any entrepreneur – demonstrating that success is dependent on doing everything possible to build a team that can use their skills to grow the organisation.’
So, why not take a look at the best bits of the application that started it all?
Digital Disruptors
Disruption was a key aspect of this year’s Suffolk Business Awards, with all ‘Start-Up Business of the Year’ applicants required to demonstrate their most innovative, unconventional, and successful approaches, products, services, and models.
Here at GLO, we believe strongly in the power of market disruption. Having initially set out to help local SMEs propel their businesses to evolve their online presence with smart, modern, data-driven, digital marketing strategies, three years later, we consider ourselves to have been highly successful in developing doing so – implementing innovative, optimised services producing exceptional results at an accessible price point.
We’ve been particularly successful in delivering a disruptive service in the form of our SEO Web Design service; a holistic combination of SEO, web design, copywriting, and CRO that works to deliver visually attractive, functional websites designed with incremental change in mind, and optimised from the ground up. John explains the need for this new service below:
‘GLO’s SEO Web design service was developed in response to an influx of new SEO clients whose existing, under-optimised sites were a key aspect of their disappointing online performance – particularly where online sales became a primary outlet for many businesses as a result of continuing UK-wide lockdowns. After hearing their stories of countless page additions and endless SEO tune-ups, the GLO team set out to develop a comprehensive solution unlike any other – creating a fully comprehensive fusion service combining web design and SEO upfront. This service delivers a uniquely holistic approach to web design and optimisation, creating websites built for SEO from the ground up – balancing proper site structure with strong content, design, and other elements to deliver results with a solid grounding in data, stunning visuals, and outstanding functionality that rank in SERPs from the very beginning.’
Websites created under our SEO Web Design service aren’t just our clients’ digital business cards. Instead, they become an automated in-house sales team – using smart CRO and solid data to consistently generate qualified leads. This automated, streamlined approach to winning new business has certainly been disruptive to our local market and has helped our customers prosper, even during the pandemic.
Looking to the future, our next step towards disruptive innovation is set to be in response to what we’ve observed amongst many new businesses formed during the pandemic. These clients express a need for incoming sales leads but aren’t in the position to take the risks and bear the costs of building their own website. GLO is looking to develop a service that will address this issue directly. Stay tuned for updates!
Committed to Our Community
GLO are strongly committed to supporting the brilliant community in which we operate – whether developing talent or using our skills for good. Throughout our application, we discussed the following highlights of our involvement in and commitment to our Suffolk and Essex communities, and the people within them:
Firstly, we’re proud to provide many local graduates and high-school leavers with invaluable experience and support through the creation of numerous employment opportunities via kickstart and digital apprenticeship schemes. GLO takes great pride in nurturing Suffolk and Essex’s best and brightest digital talent – using a strong focus on continuous development, to support, encourage and finance employees’ upskilling via various online courses, qualifications and certificates, helping them improve their current skills and/or explore and develop complementary skills within digital marketing.
GLO also possesses a strong affinity with Ipswich Rugby Club – whom we’ve sponsored since our establishment in 2019. Despite the club having to shut down for many months during the pandemic, we worked to ensure our financial commitment, whilst offering our skillset to assist with further fundraising throughout lockdown. In our three-year start-up period, GLO has developed two websites for Ipswich Rugby Club, and helped to run multiple marketing campaigns for the club’s fundraising campaign – ultimately raising thousands towards their £150,000 goal.
Dedicated to Our Clients
Of course, our business couldn’t have won this award without the support of our clients. As part of our application, we outlined our commitment to ensuring their success.
Here at GLO, we’re fully committed to delivering the best possible ROI to our clients, and work to achieve this using solid data and smart alterations – not guessing games. After launching a heavily optimised campaign based on extensive keyword research, our team doesn’t simply move on. Instead, GLO works reactively to ensure each aspect of our services is working optimally. To accommodate this reliance upon data and dedication to our customers, we’ve developed a comprehensive tracking and reporting system, designed to monitor both the historical and present results of each of our campaigns in an understandable, actionable manner.
The bespoke, fully interactive reports generated by this system are sent to clients at a frequency of their choosing – giving them full transparency and peace of mind with regard to every aspect of their services’ performance and ROI. We’re devoted to the continuous observation, analysis and optimisation of our client’s marketing campaigns – working to offer businesses a steady stream of quality sales leads set to propel their growth.
Work With Us
Looking to work with an award-winning digital marketing agency for your next campaign, website, or project? You’ve come to the right place. Here at Generate Leads Online, we take pride in helping propel businesses’ online presence to the next level and beyond – delivering bespoke, data-driven digital marketing strategies built to perform.
Let’s make something great together. Get in touch with us today through our contact form, or give us a call to start your digital marketing journey.
2021 is coming to a close and it has been another year of change. Google (as always) updated many algorithms. Twitter started Fleets and killed it again. LinkedIn started stories and killed it again. Third-party cookies being blocked by Chrome has been delayed until 2023. And who can forget Facebook’s announcement of the Metaverse and name change to Meta?
With the digital landscape constantly changing and so quickly, you would be a fool to make any 2022 digital marketing trends predictions, wouldn’t you? Well… We are going to do it anyway, as we want to help you stay ahead of the curve.
SEO Trends 2022
Core Web Vitals
Google’s user experience update around Core Web Vitals started to roll out in June 2021, showing us that Google not only wants to deliver the most relevant result based on the user’s search, but also wants to make sure that websites provide a great user experience. There will be updates to this algorithm and Google will develop new ways to measure user experience.
High Quality Content
A key part of user experience will be the quality of content that the audience can consume, site-wide. Increasingly, we are seeing pages in Google Search Console that are discoverable but not indexed. This means making every page (including campaign landing pages) valuable.
GLO’s 2022 SEO Tip
If you want to win at SEO in 2022, make sure every page on your website gives a great user experience and provides genuine value to the people visiting those pages.
Rich Media Trends 2022
Google Lens
Websites that have unique images will be rewarded in search results. Google Lens is tech that Google has on all of its Pixel phones and is connected to image search, discover, and shopping results. More and more, we are seeing images pulled into the main search results, not just the images or shopping results. Google understands what users want when they search and can offer richer content as a result.
Google Ads Image Extensions
Likewise, Google Ads is encouraging image extensions to help text ads look more appealing, pointing to the importance of images in 2022.
Metaverse
Similarly, Facebook’s announcement of the Metaverse (which will be highly reliant on rich media), means that now is the time to make sure you are also producing regular video content for your business.
Youtube
Make sure that you are using unique images and video on your website, that you have a YouTube channel, and that content is tagged correctly to help the search engine understand what the content is about.
Email Marketing
Email marketing has had its ups and downs over the years. At first, response rates were high, but over time this declined as the medium was abused and our inboxes became saturated with messages trying to sell us products and services.
End of Third Party Cookies
With the end of third party cookies (in 2023), and search engines and social media platforms constantly changing their algorithms, one of the few constants you can control in your marketing armoury is your first-party data (email addresses, telephone number etc).
Audience Segmentation
There will be more companies turning to email marketing in 2022, so you need to make sure that your content stands out and is better than your competitors. One way to do this is to understand your audience and segment it. Deliver personalised content about what is important to them; make sure your emails bring your audience value and are not just constant sales messages.
Google Shopping
Free Listings
When Google Shopping started back in 2002, it was free; it was a way to get more products on Google and take market share back from Amazon. As it became more popular, it then turned into a pay per click only option. In 2020, Google decided to change this back to free (for some placements) in the UK.
Surfaces Across Google
With Surfaces across Google, it’s possible for Shopping results to appear in search, Shopping, Maps, Images, and Lens. We have already mentioned the importance of images and Google Lens in 2022, so if you sell products online, make sure you set up your Google Merchant Centre now.
Social Media
TikTok
Before the 2020 lockdown, most people hadn’t even heard of TikTok, but the perfect storm of isolation and fun, low-quality, vertically-shot video to popular music caused it to become one of the most downloaded apps of all time.
Now, we all know what TikTok is and despite Facebook/Instagram’s attempts to take audience share back with the release of Reels, it continues to be one of the biggest and fastest-growing social platforms, with 1 billion monthly active users – that’s why this platform has made it onto our 2022 digital marketing trends list!
We remember having conversations with businesses about Facebook and being told, I don’t need to be on Facebook, we are having the same conversations about TikTok today…
It’s a place to grow an audience and share your brand, values and business journey. You don’t need to be funny, able to dance, or to know about popular music – it’s a place to be real and raw.
GLO’s Social Media Tip for 2022
In 2022, more businesses will be adding TikTok to their social media marketing. We advise you to get there before it’s too noisy. And remember, if you are advertising on the platform, make TikToks, NOT ads.
Are you already applying all of these 2022 digital marketing trends to your digital marketing strategy? Schedule a free digital marketing consultation to get free advice about how you can make the most out of your digital marketing budget for 2022.
At GLO – Generate Leads Online, we love the excitement of new beginnings. That’s why we’re elated to be a part of the inaugural launch of Top Design Firms!
From the B2B experts behind Clutch, Top Design Firms is a new research resource in the B2B space that will play an important role in the further development of the industry. Top Design Firms compiles and organizes companies offering marketing, design, and development services. They aim to help companies find the right web design, SEO, Google Ads, social media marketing and marketing agencies for their projects.
That said, we’re proud that Top Design Firms’ 2021 research named us a Top SEO Agency in the UK! We’re thrilled to be named one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Suffolk and the UK and are grateful to Top Design Firms for highlighting our team’s consistent SEO success on their platform.
Top Design Firms carefully evaluates companies using various factors, such as market presence, previous customers, and verified client feedback. Our stellar showing on Clutch is one of the many reasons we ended up ranking so highly in their list. We currently have 13 reviews and an average rating of 4.9-stars on their platform – but the feedback doesn’t end there. We also boast a solid 5-star rating and 47 reviews and counting on Google!
What Do Our SEO Clients Say?
My experience with GLO has been positive. Their team is very responsive. If I need to speak to them, they’re very quick. – Director, Grant Cullen Coaching
GLO’s SEO services got me up to number two on Google in my local area for organic search results. I’m definitely happy. They did a good job finding the right keywords for my niche and getting me up to the top of Google within a really short period of time. – Director, Nourished Content Marketing
Our website looks great. For the design, we discussed different layouts and I’m very happy with the final result. It works well. – CEO, RPM Fuels & Tanks
It’s an honour to receive such significant recognition from a recognised B2B platform such as Top Design Firms, and are over the moon to add another national award to our portfolio of accolades and work.
Want to Start Generating Leads Online With the Best SEO Agency in Suffolk?
GLO is the best SEO agency for those looking to propel their business’ online presence to the next level. We’ll help improve every aspect of your online presence by creating a bespoke, data-driven digital marketing strategy, built to meet each of your business’ individual requirements. From SEO to web design, our digital marketing services are designed to produce results beyond your most ambitious expectations. Get in touch with us today through our contact form, or give us a call to start your digital marketing journey.
In September 2020, we took on our first apprentice through the digital marketing degree apprenticeship programme. Since then, knowledge has been rich, work has been high-class, and goals have been smashed. GLO’s degree apprentices have really made this their own!
Beth Craig, Level 6 Digital Marketer Degree Apprenticeship BSc (Hons), says, “I truly feel that this is the best way to pick up even more complex skills and knowledge, especially in an actively evolving digital environment.”
The digital marketing degree apprenticeship programme is proven to be both beneficial for our staff, as well as, our business. Let’s find out why.
Meet GLO’S Talented Degree Apprentices
Callum Marshall – Level 6 Digital Marketer Degree Apprenticeship BSC (HONS), Anglia Ruskin University
Callum has been part of the GLO team since November 2020 and started his degree apprenticeship in January this year. With day-to-day duties revolving around SEO and PPC ad campaigns, some days he may be auditing and improving on-page/off-page SEO for our clients’ websites; and on others, he may be setting up, managing and improving PPC campaigns on Google Ads. Alongside these, Callum also contributes to the keyword research for new websites and assists the content team with their keyword research. As well as, delivering expertly timed one-liners where necessary.
“Digital marketing is such a dynamic, changeable field with a broad scope of disciplines under the umbrella; you can’t be complacent at any stage. If you want to engage your brain while helping businesses succeed, this is the field for you!”
How Have You Used Your Course for Work?
“There’s been a lot of excellent ways that my course has been immediately beneficial to my role. We have learned about different management styles and leadership techniques, which has been brilliant for enhancing effective interaction within our team and has also given an academic basis for why some of the things are done the way they are at GLO. It’s kind of like the theory behind the scenes of behind the scenes!
There’s also been a lot of emphasis at uni on the fundamentals of marketing, digital marketing and organisational structure. This has been invaluable in forming both context and a ‘bigger picture’ of the whole marketing field, and again, understanding on a fundamental level the why of things, not just the how.
Finally, as a result of doing a degree in digital marketing alongside my role, I’ve benefited from ‘sneak-peaks’ of digital marketing tools and techniques, which has made both, learning how to, and implementing new techniques or aspects of my role significantly easier, because I have learned some of the academic theory beforehand.
It’s brilliant to see immediate results from an academic qualification in your day-to-day role. Sometimes, learning about academic practises and theories in an institution like a school, college or university can seem almost irrelevant (how many times have we all asked ourselves “when am I going to need to know that?”), but that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case with the digital marketing degree apprenticeship!”
How Has Work Helped Your Course?
“Just as I have been able to benefit from the digital marketing degree in my day-to-day role, by studying in parallel to being an SEO consultant, the reverse is also true. There are many ways that my work has assisted with learning from Anglia Ruskin University.
Every day at GLO sees me working within the fields of SEO, PPC advertising and writing content. By learning about these in a professional context, and getting to practise them every day, it provides me with excellent foreknowledge about topics within these fields when they come up in university tutorials and assignments. This is beneficial because it means that at least the basis is already there when it comes to learning, which means I can assimilate the knowledge further in class.
In addition to this, an ability to multitask, prioritise and manage my workload is vital as an SEO consultant. This naturally lends itself really well to completing a part-time, distance-learning degree alongside my full-time role, and all the joys and tasks of life that happen in between!
Furthermore, with my experience in working as part of a digital marketing agency increasing every day, it means that when I learn new techniques or information on my course, I can immediately relate it to a real-world context. Personally, I feel that this helps me assimilate information faster, retain academic information for longer, and plan for future scenarios where I might use this information.
Finally, like all of my contemporaries on the digital marketing degree apprenticeship with Anglia Ruskin University, working alongside study has made for the raising of interesting talking points and perspectives on topics that come up in workshops and tutorials. You can get validation for what it is you do, see how other people in other organisations do things and make a note of the stuff you like for future reference. It’s been great to meet many like-minded people, and equally great to hear what they have to say.”
Beth Craig – Level 6 Digital Marketer Degree Apprenticeship BSC (Hons), Anglia Ruskin University
Beth joined the GLO team as a degree apprentice in September 2020. Since she started, Beth’s specialist role has been SEO copywriting. Whilst actively building her education on all areas of digital marketing on quieter days, most of Beth’s time is spent preparing long-form content for our clients; researching, writing up websites from scratch, putting together articles, or in meetings.
“The role gives me the perfect opportunity to combine my passion for completing work within a real environment, applying theory, and producing positive, tangible results.” At the end of the last semester, Beth was nominated to complete an extracurricular IDM certificate in digital marketing; and she smashed it!
How Have You Used Your Course for Work?
“Callum has summed this up excellently! It’s early days for both of us, but to give a bit of context, our last few modules have consisted of topics relating to work-based learning (which were particularly helpful when entering the role), organisational management, the fundamentals of marketing, and, most recently, campaign planning. Each of these topics has given me further insight with regard to both my role and the organisation as a whole. There’s been a significant opportunity within our assignments to analyse GLO itself, alongside our own performance as individuals. This has really assisted in my ability to set and achieve realistic targets across all aspects of work and personal development and has opened doors for discussion with our managing director John as to how we can best operate.In more recent modules, we’ve begun to get into marketing itself a little more, and I’ve immensely enjoyed being able to attach solid theory to my work. Being able to compare and contrast what I’ve learned as part of modules, and in my outside reading, to real-world applications and results has given me a significant confidence boost with regard to decision making.
In addition, many of our lecturers have taken the time to discuss the differences between the digital marketing theory taught, and traditional marketing; and, along the same lines, have encouraged us to investigate integrated marketing campaigns. This, combined with the niche strategies explored in our online workshops, has given me a broader field of view and thought as to the techniques used within, and applications for our existing services.
Being able to apply rather large concepts, and otherwise solely theoretical coursework, to a real working environment, in which my choices have a significant impact, has been the key to consolidating my learning.”
How Has Work Helped Your Course?
“I feel that taking on such a large and independent role at GLO has given me a significant head-start on my work at university; particularly with a number of modules in later years set to focus on my specialisms. I’ve approached many lectures, discussions, and assignments with an existing familiarity with topics. This has given me confidence in completing both graded and ungraded work, alongside time to complete further independent reading on theory not necessarily covered in, but highly relevant to the degree, and greatly building upon my knowledge.
In addition, GLO’s commitment to supporting degree apprentices further learning has been really extraordinary. Using their ‘treasure chest’ scheme, they have funded or helped me complete over seven external certified courses in digital marketing and related specialisms in the last year alone. The knowledge gained as a result of these courses has been highly beneficial in both my everyday work and the completion of large scale projects, alongside my coursework.
GLO’s highly productive and professional environment provides me with an excellent space in which to apply and consolidate my knowledge, and I accredit many of my academic achievements to the amount of responsibility and associated practice I’ve been given within my role.”
Why Did GLO Decide to Offer Digital Marketing Apprenticeships?
Finding staff with the right set of skills, and a willingness to continue learning in order to keep up with the evolution of the industry is difficult.
New technologies and ideas are entering the digital marketing industry practically every day and many students completing a purely study-based bachelor’s degree may find that by the end of it, what they learnt is no longer as applicable as it was at the start of their course; or that it’s difficult for them to connect the theories with real-life examples. Equally, those that have practical experience in the field may lack the theoretical knowledge to understand the bigger picture.
The strong academic training that the apprentices receive in their respective higher education institutions can be applied all throughout their degree in the work that they do here at GLO. This helps them to assimilate their knowledge and gives them a chance to engage in experiential learning.
We believe that offering opportunities for aspiring digital marketers to enter this exciting, yet competitive industry is a way for the company to contribute to the future prosperity of the young generation and economy at large. That is why we are now recruiting to fill another digital marketing degree apprenticeship position.
How Does the Apprenticeship Programme Work?
The Apprenticeship Programmes, which is the scheme all of GLO’s degree apprentices have gone through, are funded from the contributions made by the government and us, the employer. They offer people of any age the opportunity to learn and train for a specific job by combining work and study. At the end of it, they will have completed a top-level course and receive recognised qualifications, some equivalent to bachelor and masters degrees! Being able to gain practical experience, while at the same time earning money is the most optimal setup for those looking to start a new career, or shift to another industry.
The programme requires apprentices to study for at least 20% of their working hours, meaning the majority of their time is spent applying what they learn to real-life situations. In this way, whether the apprentice chooses to stay with the employer they were with for the duration of the apprenticeship or not, they are prepared for the current job market where more and more employers favour hands-on experience.
There are hundreds of apprenticeships available to choose from, covering multiple disciplines and offering different levels of qualifications. It can take between one and 6 years to complete an apprenticeship depending on which one you choose, what level it is and your previous experience. Currently, our two degree apprentices are both on the same program, but there is a programme to suit everyone’s needs!
GLO’s degree apprentices benefit from blended learning, which is being delivered online by highly experienced tutors, many of whom worked in the marketing industry itself prior to moving into academia. This is advantageous to the apprentices as they’re learning from those who are able to bring in theoretical knowledge and frameworks, as well as real-life examples.
The Future of the Apprenticeship Programmes
When the coronavirus pandemic hit the UK in March 2020 those who were at the time ready to enter employment found themselves in a difficult position. The job market suddenly shrunk, and the government was faced with the issue of managing an imbalance in the supply and demand of people looking for work and jobs available to them. Hundreds of graduates and school leavers were raring to begin paid work but there were not enough jobs to accommodate them all.
The turbulence that the pandemic brought made the apprenticeship programme particularly vulnerable. A survey carried out back in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, revealed that out of the firms who were running an apprenticeship programme at the time, on average, only 40% of those programmes were able to carry on as normal, with the rest facing learning disruptions. This raised fears that after the crisis, there would be fewer apprenticeships on offer and fewer businesses willing to provide them.
To simultaneously support businesses in the creation of new workplaces, and job seekers in successfully securing a paid position, as part of its March 2021 budget, the government announced that it is upping the support by injecting a further £126 million to enable 40,000 traineeships and doubling the employer incentives. This comes after £1.6 billion stimuli dedicated to boosting work search, skills and apprenticeships, which was revealed back in July 2020.
With this additional government funding, the future of Apprenticeship Programmes feels a lot more secure and enables more individuals to train in the field they’d like to work in. It equally incentivizes more businesses to employ eager apprentices who bring a fresh outlook and new ideas. We believe that GLO’s degree apprentices are a true testament to the effectiveness of this scheme!
How to Apply for GLO’s Apprenticeship Programmes?
We advertise our apprenticeship positions on Indeed and LinkedIn. The application process varies depending on the level and type of apprenticeship programme it is. Our 4-year Digital Marketing Degree apprenticeships required candidates to record verbal answers prior to having an interview. Other courses required applicants to only submit a CV and a cover letter in order to potentially be shortlisted for an interview. Depending on the role, in the past, we have also given shortlisted applicants a test project to complete before a specified deadline.
The application process is always clearly laid out in the job advertisement and will be reiterated to you in any further communication.
Some of the things we’d like the future GLO’s degree apprentices to demonstrate include:
Willingness to learn continuously
Ability to work autonomously and in collaboration with other team members
Confidence to ask questions and ask for help when needed
Determination to put your 100% in and produce work of the highest standard possible
Eagerness to contribute and take ownership of your tasks
For more information about the different Apprenticeship Programmes available, visit the Further Education and Skills page on the government website. And if you believe your future is in digital marketing, learn about the current digital marketing apprenticeships on the GLO website.
We’ve been so impressed with the value GLO’s degree apprentices have brought to the company, and would highly recommend business owners to consider employing young talent through this initiative. Not only to add a valuable asset to their team but also to enable those individuals to launch their career with the best of both worlds; practical and academic training.
Scouting out the best digital marketing agency can help your business keep up with the demands of the ever-evolving online environment. Developing and maintaining an effective digital marketing strategy has never been more important to the growth of businesses across nearly every sector. Offering a powerful, highly adaptable tool for promotion, brand-building, and valuable communication, digital marketing and its associated techniques can provide organisations of any scope and scale with the online presence needed to take their success to the next level.
With this being said – finding a performance-driven digital marketing agency with the necessary skill and knowledge to create genuinely effective strategies can be difficult. That’s where accreditation and awards come into play – working to highlight the achievements and quality of top-performing agencies and freelancers across the globe.
The GLO team are hugely proud of our agency’s award-winning status, having been previously awarded for the quality of our B2Bmarketing work in 2020. Now, in 2021, we’re ecstatic to announce that for the second year in a row, we’ve been named as one of Clutch’s top UK digital marketing agencies.
What Is Clutch?
Clutch is the leading global ratings and reviews platform for digital marketing companies, SEO agencies, and a number of online service providers. Offering clients a unique level of insight into performance and satisfaction levels, Clutch’s innovative system brings high-performing agencies into the spotlight. Our Clutch profile’s five-star rating across the board speaks for itself – but our status as one of their top agencies truly establishes GLO as being among the best of the best.
It’s an honour to receive national recognition from such a widely recognised institution on a continued basis – from our first year of operations, until now. Why not take a look at the work that helped earn us this award? Take a look at our portfolio section.
Want to Work With Our Award-Winning Team?
GLO is the perfect agency for those looking to propel their business’ online presence to the next level. We’ll help improve every aspect of your online presence by creating a bespoke, data-driven digital marketing strategy, built to meet each of your business’ individual requirements. From SEO to web design, our digital marketing services are designed to produce results beyond your most ambitious expectations. Get in touch with us today through our contact form, or give us a call to start your digital marketing journey.
With the digital age growing more and more every year, it’s important to choose the digital marketing agency right for the job. GLO – Generate Leads Online specialises in providing ROI-focused campaigns to small to medium-sized enterprises and clients all around the world, with offices in Suffolk and London. We are very proud to be ranked highly in the UK as a top digital marketing company and are eager to push this forward into the coming years!
“I am thrilled to have been chosen as one of the Top B2B Companies in the UK and Western Europe. It’s been an amazing first year of business and being recognized by Clutch in multiple categories is so meaningful to my business.” “We feel lucky to have worked with so many great people and organisations that have helped our company earn a position as one of the best digital marketing agencies in the UK.” – John Parnell, Managing Director of GLO – Generate Leads Online
Clutch Top Digital Marketing Agency
Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews firm which evaluates agencies and consultants to create an expansive digital resource. Their online resources include thousands of company profiles, each featuring reviews from past clients about their experience partnering with the company. Take a look at some of the great things people have to say about our company.
Clutch’s affiliate site, The Manifest, also highlights leading agencies as part of its blog-style site. The Manifest also provides its users with industry-specific news and how-to guides.
GLO’s Clutch Reviews
“The GLO team was responsive, creative and positive with ideas they generated to solve the issues…” – Sue Anderton, Executive Director at The MAZE Group CiC
“…I take comfort in knowing that he’s always looking to be on top of new trends…” – Martin Bright, Director at Fees Free Mortgages
