December 2, 2019
Hands up, who’s got their Christmas decorations up? No? Too soon? Here at Fanatic HQ we’ve been getting in the festive mood and listening to Mariah Carey since mid-November!
Say hello to our new friend…
We’ve also been working on some exciting projects, stand out Black Friday campaigns and joining the global conversation about all things digital – let’s have a look at what we’ve been up to in the studio this month…
New work this month
This month we are seeing work going live for Feedstock, a new website for Royal Armories Leeds Events, and the launch of two films and an animation we have made for Compass Group. As usual, we’ve been designing a variety of heavyweight printed documents for various financial clients, but we are also beginning new projects this month for Baxter Storey’s venues Winchester Cathedral and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and we’ve added more European clients with further work in Belgium and another new client in Ireland, which we’ll be able to share with you soon!
Ellie, from our Dev Team has been working closely with Feedstock to refresh their website with some updated designs.
Providing AI-driven sales enablement and actionable insights, FeedStock is a limitless, progressive technology designed to improve their client’s competitive edge and they needed a ‘progressive’ website to compliment and clearly communicate their proposition.
We focused on the homepage and product pages, keeping the key features from the original website we made a few tweaks and some new flexible rows to enhance the content. We’ve introduced a bold pink and blue colour scheme to help differentiate their two main products, but utilised curves and gradients throughout the site to keep it consistent and bring it all together. This is only the first stage of Feedstock’s website updates.. even more exciting stuff is to come!
Interested in finding out more? Check out their new website here.
Our SEO expert James has been working on creating an application which utilises REST API technology to provide insights into the technical framework of a website.
To make site owners lives easier, we’re utilising various node libraries to automate site-wide analysis. Some of the analysis includes checking for changes across the site and displaying that data in an easy to use dashboard that can provide live insights to all stakeholders and shareholders across a business.
In addition to providing general overview data, our tool outputs more actionable technical data in downloadable formats in order to fix on-page issues, 404 errors, image size and dimension errors, mobile-friendly testing (without search console authentication), spell-checking and in-depth content analysis. Interested in finding out more? Why not contact James our SEO Expert.
The world of digital is constantly changing and it’s becoming more and more important to keep up to date with digital trends and developments.
This month our Digital Marketing team was inspired by Global Marketing Day. This was a free online 48-hour conference that was streamed around the world. There was an impressive array of speakers from some very influential brands such as Microsoft, Unicef, Google, the BBC, Vodafone, and Uber. The topics ranged from Social Media and Brand Voice to deep Data Diving and Metric analysis.
We’ve picked out some of our favourites…
‘Content for People and for Google’ by Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications for SEM Rush.
This talk looked at featured snippets and what Google looks for on-page when creating these. A very in-depth talk, with plenty of data and case studies, it highlighted the importance of structuring data in different ways for different search intents and types (such as voice).
Daniel Morehead, Head of SEO for the BBC, spoke about ‘Identifying Search Intent for Varied Audiences’.
This was the second time Joe and James from our digital team had watched him speak, after meeting him at the Bristol SEO meetup. This talk discussed how the BBC structure their website, with content and user flow being influenced by their SERP profile and queries from Google Search Console.
Want to know what will be shaping the world of digital in 2020? Keep an eye on our blog where we share all the latest digital news and developments.
Last month we briefly introduced you to Teri our new PPC expert. We wanted to tell you a little more about the latest addition to our team so asked Teri a few probing questions…
How have you found life at Fanatic so far?
It’s amazing to work with such a close-knit team of professionals. I’m constantly learning new skills and enhancing my own knowledge of the digital marketing industry. Not to mention the Pac-Man machine in the office 😀
What were you doing before Fanatic and what made you get into digital marketing?
I’ve always been interested in social media, but I was originally working at another digital marketing agency and this is where my passion for paid search comes from.
What made you choose Fanatic?
There are many elements that made this the right role for me; the team members are literally geniuses, the studio is a warm and welcoming environment, there’s a high caliber of support and other members of the team are always happy to help or teach you new skills. The list could go on but mostly, it was the welcoming, family vibe that left me wanting to be a part of it.
What have you enjoyed most so far?
Being taught new skills and new parts of the digital marketing industry. Everyone has been so proactive and willing to help me develop my skills and I feel like I have come a long way in one short month! I have loved listening to the office stand-ups every Thursday to get a feel for what the rest of the team have been working on.
What are you looking forward to learning more about?
I’ve been dipping my toes into the world of content with some of the team and I am excited to develop in this field. I truly feel like there is an endless amount that I can learn from Fanatic with no limit on how high I can push my skills, and that is what makes coming to work exciting!
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
I’m a CSIA qualified level 2 Ski Instructor. When I was 18 I did a season in Canada and got my qualifications at the beautiful Lake Louise. ⛷️
It’s December! It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
In keeping with the Christmasy vibe and getting us well and truly in the mood for the approaching Fanatic Christmas shindig, the team have been out and about visiting the Bristol Christmas Market. The market is home to over 50 unique stalls, as well as entertainment from the likes of Santa and reindeer. Drinking mulled wine underneath glittering Christmas trees adorned with an array of delightful decorations, and spectacular lights – we’ve been enjoying live music in the Jäger Barn Bar and also trying our hand at a spot of curling.
Lover of all things Christmas, Joe our Digital Lead will be flying to Edinburgh this week to go one step further and check out what Scotland’s capital has to offer. The city not only has a market jam-packed with festive treats but boasts the illumination of the Royal Mile with 60,000 lights stretching from City Chambers to the Tron Kirk. All the Christmas fans in the office are very jealous.
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