The M&S tablecloth has been folded and neatly tucked away in the loft for almost a whole week now. The recycling van has taken away the mountain of empties that was beginning to obstruct the front door. The morning alarm feels like an alien drill blasting off at precisely the middle of the night.
We’ve seen this all before. It can only mean one thing: we’re back to work.
To make this old familiar transitional period a little easier, it’s imperative we all pull together. For our bit, we’ve compiled a list of the top news stories this week to ensure you start the year on the right side of the loop.
For more detailed versions of the articles below, and for any other news you may have missed, check out our news section.
1. Twitter to extend 140-character limit to 10,000
Twitter certainly caused quite the stir this week, as rumours abounded that it would be increasing its 140-character limit to 10,000.
The speculation began on a Re/code article, and was re-enforced by a Tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who discussed the merits of longer tweets.
The possible change has sparked a generally negative response, with users arguing Twitter’s USP is its brevity.
A recent B2B Marketing poll, ironically conducted on Twitter, reflected the general consensus, with 79 per cent of respondents deeming the change a bad idea.
2. Creating relevant content most challenging lead nurturing obstacle
Creating relevant content is the biggest challenge when it comes to lead nurturing success, according to research from Ascend2.
Fifty-nine per cent of respondents confessed that creating compelling content was their main pain point in regards to lead nurturing success.
Targeting by decision stage (49 per cent), targeting by prospect persona (39 per cent) and nurturing campaign workflows (33 per cent) were the next most cited stumbling blocks.
Further down the snagging list were personalising campaigns (32 per cent), multichannel integration (31 per cent) and segmenting lead data (29 per cent).
3. Reed.co.uk rolls out annual ‘Love Mondays’ campaign
Recruitment agency reed.co.uk has launched its annual ‘Love Mondays’ advertising campaign.
The ad videos feature the character James Reed, dressed as an heroic knight, coming to the rescue of disillusioned employees.
The campaign will run until Easter and represents a 30 per cent rise in ad spend year-on-year.
This year it features six TV adverts, two YouTube adverts and a takeover of London Underground Wifi.
It is the company’s biggest investment in social advertising to date, with actor Rufus Jones portraying reed.co.uk’s flagship character James Reed across the campaign’s advertising videos.
4. Marketers lead the way for work-based New Year’s resolutions
There’s no denying that many marketers are workaholics. And the latest research from Workfront certainly supports this theory.
According to their research, marketing professionals are among those most likely to set work-based New Year’s resolutions.
Over half (58 per cent) of marketing respondents admit they have set goals for 2016 based around work, far above the average 35 per cent of general office workers.
Setting work-based resolutions is one thing. Let’s hope marketers can stick to them in the coming months.
5. Marketers crave more money over perks
Unsurprisingly, marketers would take a better salary over work-related perks, according to CV-Library.
Despite almost half (47 per cent) of marketers regularly benefiting from work-related perks, 93 per cent would prefer to receive more money.
Naturally, 88 per cent of respondents admitted they would feel happier if they were offered more perks at work.
The most popular perks were free food (29 per cent), more holiday, travel tickets and money savers (all 18 per cent).
