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Supporting over 1000 children of Gloucestershire this Christmas.

The Lead 365 team have partnered with ‘Gloucestershire Bundles’, a local charity providing emergency packs of toiletries, clothing and equipment for families with children up to the age of 16, who find themselves in crisis situations.

In addition to its continued support of Lillybrook and Maggies charity; Lead 365 have committed to working with Gloucestershire Bundles to provide over 1000 children in Gloucestershire with Christmas presents in 2022.

“The Lead 365 team understands how hard this Christmas is going to be for some families. We feel compelled to make a difference. If we can do so by providing selection boxes, pyjamas and blankets to those in need then we’ll do so gladly. We’re delighted that we will be relieving certain worries and pressures some families may have this year. Helping others is, has, and always be a huge part of our company culture. We look forward to continuing to support such a fabulous local charity.”

Andy Haycock – Lead 365 CEO

The charity are always looking for volunteers and donations.

More information can be found at https://www.gloucestershirebundles.org.

How do we ensure our staff maintain a healthy work-life balance?

Let’s keep it simple, if employees enjoy coming into work, they will then work harder, make fewer mistakes and are more likely to become advocates for your brand. 

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘healthy work/life balance’, and we understand that its not only a practice which is important for health and relationships, but it can also widely improve productivity and performance.


Studies have shown that 70% of women and 65% of men see work-life balance as a higher priority and more important than both their pay and employee benefits combined!

Here’s some ways we implement a healthy work/life balance for our Lead 365 team.

How do we ensure our staff maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Flexible working hours We want our staff to work when they want to work! Whether they choose to start their day at 7am or 12pm, the choice is theirs!
Unlimited Paid Holiday Yup, you heard that right, unlimited! Time off is important, and we understand that. We don't believe you should have to plan your entire year around the twenty-something days traditionally offered elsewhere.
Fantastic Workplace culture. We're a pretty great bunch, even if we do say so ourselves! And we want our staff to enjoy coming into work. So we've decked out our office with lounge areas, gaming stations, ping pong table. Plus daily breakfast club & unlimited snacks and drinks!!
Encouraging down-time. Sitting at a desk all day can be pretty boring. So we encourage getting up and moving. Whether that means taking 5 for a game of ping pong, a trip to the gym or just taking a moment for yourself on the sofa.


#worklifebalance #agencylife #staffwellbeing

Have a look at all of our blog posts here.

How AI is changing affiliate marketing

As AI evolves, it is helping to provide businesses and their affiliates with more and more valuable insights on what types of content customers want to see, utilising data to better determine and predict consumer behaviour. Customers are expecting a much more personalised approach to the ads and content they engage with now, so more affiliates are turning to AI to tailor the material they deliver to users to ensure that they are consistently providing the content that a customer actually wants to see. This can help target and scale up marketing efforts far more effectively than sheer manpower alone will allow.

With huge amounts of data to wade through, AI solutions can help identify patterns across large amounts of user data much more quickly than a human (or multiple humans) can, enabling businesses to quickly and effectively leverage these insights and see real conversions. What are the ways in which AI algorithms are currently influencing the world of affiliate marketing and the strategies businesses use to generate leads that convert? Keep reading for more detail….

Why User Intent is Key

Measuring intent is becoming more and more significant for marketing strategies. This is where AI comes in; with AI and machine learning implemented into your marketing practices, it’s much easier to define the user sentiment, attitudes, intent etc that are behind the queries, searches and behaviours of your target audience. Using AI to analyse the data can help generate much more detailed and personalised targeting. AI can help define which channels and content users want to engage with and can actively analyse customer behaviour and respond to their intent accordingly.

Google’s AI-based Algorithms

Google’s AI algorithms help with ranking and understanding queries. AI systems are increasingly looking at the language and intent behind a query in order to provide the most relevant results. Google processes trillions of searches every year, so its algorithm is constantly learning more about the intent behind each query. Its frequent updates are implemented in response to this, and as a result, search engine results pages are consistently improving when it comes to accommodating searcher intent. With Google’s increasing emphasis on user intent, it’s never been a better time to focus on utilising AI which will help better define and curate content that is relevant to potential customers.

Another Google AI algorithm worth noting is Google’s ‘Topics API’, aimed at improving user privacy and reducing tracking through the use of third-party cookies. The Topics API analyses browser history to define a topic that matches a user’s interests over a week. It does this without providing private information to external servers. Rather, the API shares three of the user’s topics with ad companies so that they can personalise their marketing messages and digital advertising when the user comes into contact with a Topics affiliated site. That user data is deleted after three weeks, helping to maintain relevant user information, without storing it for long periods and putting data at risk.

Why you Should be Using AI Solutions for Your Business

AI solutions help when it comes to testing ad platforms, optimising processes and targeting the right audience. When it comes to paid or native advertising, for example, machine-learning algorithms can help you optimise your campaigns, enhance user experience and use intelligent personalisation in order to create campaigns and content that resonates with potential customers. AI can analyse huge amounts of data on a single user such as demographics, location, device etc and provide the best content to fit their needs. With AI’s emphasis on behavioural personalisation, marketing messages can be relevant to each user.

AI can also show you when data flow stops or when unexpected traffic visits your site. Humans alone are not able to check analytics and understand what’s happening at every moment, but AI makes this possible. The internet is so saturated with information it’s not feasible for a human to sort through the huge amounts of user data in order to optimise their ad campaigns. However, AI can quickly and efficiently sort through this information and instantaneously provide information and insights on the direction to take marketing strategy in. What’s more, unlike other tools, the more you use AI, the better it gets, meaning the more data you feed it, the more effective it is. This allows you to run quality targeted campaigns, consistently improving performance across a wide range of publications.

AI algorithms are getting better at influencing the type of content that consumers see and respond to. We now have the tools and solutions to help to monitor huge amounts of data and activity across different channels in a way that was simply not possible before, helping you adapt your marketing efforts to suit the needs of potential customers, providing them with a tailored user experience. AI is constantly evolving to provide businesses with the tools to properly harness the data at their disposal and help them engage with the right audience, deliver a better experience for consumers and increase conversions.

Are you looking to increase quality leads with a cross-platform multi-layered marketing solution?

Get in touch today!

GDPR tips for your marketing strategy

Ever since coming into effect in May 2018, GDPR has been evolving.

GDPR is not a new revelation, it is standard for everyone and has become a key area of business. If you’re marketing to businesses or consumers, and at any point you’re processing personal data, GDPR is going to factor in, so check out the following tips to make sure your marketing strategy is always compliant and secure.

Whilst the rules surrounding GDPR are more prevalent and crucial to your business than ever before, the guidance on compliance is also clear and concise; it can be found here. At the core of a GDPR compliant marketing strategy is an emphasis that users must actively opt in to having their data processed. This means that factoring consent into marketing activities is crucial.

There are a standard set of rules when capturing consent:

  • Consent information must be easily accessible. Users should be able to easily find a section that is asking for consent to process their personal data.
  • Consent capture should be intelligible and easily accessible. Users should be able to understand and easily locate the information regarding how their data will be used. They shouldn’t have to search through links or large volumes of information in order to find the information that will help them decide whether they want to give consent.
  • Language used should be clear and not complex or difficult to understand.  
  • Users should be informed that they can remove their consent at any point. Any processing carried out until that point won’t be considered unlawful, as long as it was done in a GDPR compliant way.

To have a watertight GDPR compliant marketing strategy, it’s important that everyone on the marketing team (and generally throughout your business) really understands the rules around GDPR. There must be a lawful basis for processing the information during marketing practices and making sure your team understands the different bases can really inform your strategy.

For example, there will be certain times during your marketing activities when it may be impractical to obtain consent from a user before collecting their personal data for marketing purposes. In that case, it’s important to understand alternative bases for processing, such as ‘legitimate interests’ for example. Legitimate interests allow a company to process data if there is a legitimate reason for doing so and doing so is not outweighed by the rights of your users.

This strategy is slightly more risky as it puts the pressure on you to prioritise the user’s best interests in developing certain elements of your marketing strategy. Having a solid understanding of the lawful bases and how your data processing fits into that will help inform your marketing activities and ensure your strategy is compliant and secure.

Here are a few of the processes you can put in place to ensure data compliance in your marketing strategy:

  • Use privacy notices to let users know who is collecting their information as well as why and what it will be used for. Also let them know in your privacy notices whether the data will be shared with other organisations and why.
  • Let users know in your first communications with them that they can object to data processing at any point from the outset. 
  • Make sure you’re getting clear opt-ins and consent from individuals for your marketing activities. Opt in should be explicit.
  • Ensure that you have the proper processes in place in the case that a user chooses to opt out of marketing messages etc. so that they won’t be contacted in the future.
  • Is your data being stored securely? Look into making your IT systems as secure as possible. Have systems in place for authorising those to have access to data and to ensure that data is transferred securely.
  • Don’t keep data longer than you need it. Make sure to review it regularly and erase where necessary.
  • Make sure you’re using data from a trusted supplier. With data that has been bought, be sure to verify how the data was collected and permissions were acquired.

Lead generation is all about maximising performance and minimising risk, and at Lead 365 that is our primary focus. Ultimately maximising performance comes down to the right combination and utilisation of tools such as quality technology, management, analytics and optimisation. Having secure and transparent GDPR practices that will ensure a compliant marketing strategy is a key part of lead generation and is where businesses have power to mitigate the risk.

Do you need help cultivating your marketing strategy and lead generation?

Get in touch today for more information!

A guide to GDPR compliant leadgen in 2022

Whether you’re marketing to hot or cold leads, you will inevitably be impacted by GDPR. GDPR is now a basic requirement which needs to be actively factored into your lead generation strategies. With companies like Amazon and WhatsApp being fined hundreds of millions in 2021 due to GDPR noncompliance, it’s clear that the same rules apply to any business, large or small; GDPR significantly impacts industries across the globe, no matter their size, region, or industry.  


Therefore, the following questions are more pertinent than ever before: Is your data secure? Are privacy disclaimers up to date? Have you recently audited your systems for collecting, storing and utilising data? Is your website’s privacy policy GDPR compliant?

When it comes to GDPR, it’s not just about checking a box, but creating secure systems that engender a sense of transparency and trust for the user. Keep reading for tips to make sure the data you’re collecting in 2022 is GDPR compliant.


Are you obtaining consent properly in 2022?


Possibly the most significant (and overlooked) element of GDPR compliance is obtaining consent. Currently, you need to gain consent from users before collecting their information. This will particularly affect marketing to cold leads, because even if you have their email address, you won’t be able to send them promotions, newsletters, outreach etc. Lead generation has become more complex with the addition of GDPR compliance, as this affects how businesses use cold outreach to collect user information – it can no longer be achieved by simply obtaining an email address.


But even a hot lead in your pipeline can opt out at any time according to proper GDPR practice. If at any point a user requests their information to be removed, they have the ‘right to be forgotten’, and this should happen immediately.


Luckily, gaining consent from users simply requires asking them to opt in to having their data collected and stored. The same applies to cookies, as cookies collect user data, so it’s important to request consent for this too. Again, this is a simple process, which can be achieved by adding a cookie bar pop-up asking users to opt in. The pop up should also direct visitors to a page where they can learn more about your policies, to show them what the cookies are tracking and how their data will be used. If you’re using lead generation forms, you can add a field telling the user that they are opting in, with a box for them to check saying that they give their consent.


Your Privacy Policy


Your privacy policies must be explicit and show users how they can revoke consent. It should also tell people why you are collecting their data, that you are collecting it for lead generation and how this information is being obtained. You should also state that their information will be protected against misuse i.e. the unlawful selling of consumer info to third party companies.


To cover yourself, your privacy policy should highlight clearly:

·  How user information is collected

·  Why their information is being collected

·  How their information will be used

·  The legal justification for collecting their information

·  Whether the information will be sold and who it will be sold to

·  How the user can opt out

Make sure your Privacy Policy is visible and easy to find. This tells users what they are actually consenting to when consenting to let you use their data.

Having the right systems in place

Making sure your lead generation is GDPR compliant is often a case of auditing the systems you are using. This involves examining:

·  The transferring of consumer info between servers and browsers

·  The encryption of user data

·  The storing of user data

·  Where data will be stored

·  How long the data will be stored for

·  Who can access data and how they will access it

·  How users access their own data

Why the channel you deploy matters

The channel you use for your lead generation will also impact the way in which you ensure GDPR compliance and vice versa. Whether you are using paid media, social, email, native, etc., you need to make sure any and all channels you are using to obtain leads and user information are GDPR compliant.

This might also impact the strategies you use to advertise. For example, marketers will have less data to draw on in order to fully target ads when using native ads. Whilst you can utilise the data from certain platforms to target those who have consented to give their data to platforms such as Facebook, this becomes more complicated when trying to target those who haven’t already consented.

This might require designing a range of both personalised and broader ads to access a larger audience. It’s important to familiarise yourself with how the different social media platforms comply with GDPR and what impact that will have on the data they harness to deliver your ads.

However, social media native can be useful because platforms such as Twitter and Facebook already provide their users with detailed customisation of the data held on them (for those who have consented) which is helpful when it comes to GDPR compliance. Also, Google puts a greater emphasis on users’ keywords to target ads over relying on personal data, which means whilst consent is still required, search ads are less impacted by GDPR.

Ultimately, taking some time to focus on the channel you’re deploying and running an audit on it will help you to make sure you’re GDPR compliant and utilising the best strategy for your business. Customers realise that their data is valuable, and they appreciate clarity from businesses when it comes to collecting, storing or using it. Whilst this can feel like a lot of work, there are huge benefits to ensuring compliance, not only for the security of your business, data, and lead generation efforts, but ultimately consumers will appreciate seeing these systems have been put in place, and it can help to generate a stronger sense of trust from your customers.

At Lead 365, we provide marketing solutions that work across platforms, generating data that will help you gain valuable insights and acquire new customers with full transparency and compliance. Looking for a fully compliant solution to boost performance and generate quality leads? 


Get in touch today.

The Rise of Technology in Affiliate Marketing

As affiliate marketing develops, so does the technology it relies on, and we’re seeing constant improvements to the software and tools that help to automate and improve processes, offering greater reach, more targeted ads and more refined analytics.

How is technology changing affiliate marketing, and why is it so important to successful lead generation? Ultimately, when handling data, the more human touches, the greater room for error. Technology helps to vastly reduce time spent on manual efforts and the potential for human error, whilst increasing security and helping optimise marketing and sales activities. Read on for examples of how technology is currently enhancing affiliate marketing.

Lead management platforms

Lead management platforms provide data analysis and integration capabilities that can help improve the customer journey. They reduce the need for handling, identifying and qualifying data and help provide analytics gained from user engagement, tracking website and email engagement in order to develop new prospects. These platforms can help to more precisely target customers with your services, as they can more accurately focus on their specific needs and help identify which parts of your business visitors are directly engaging with.

Using these analytics can help to tailor marketing efforts and strategies to better help your customers. These platforms provide impactful information and data insights in real-time, strengthening the lead generation process and allowing you to focus on generating sales rather than losing time spent on research.

Affiliate tracking software

Affiliate marketing platforms should give you the tools you need to launch, promote and manage affiliate programmes. Affiliates can use this software to track the performance of affiliate sales, leads, impressions and clicks recorded. Tracking affiliate activity accurately can really help finetune and boost marketing performance and help you to scale your affiliate campaigns. Marketing software platforms offer tracking and real time reporting capabilities, so that you can access affiliate sales and data in real-time and measure the ROI of your affiliate campaigns. Most affiliate marketing software provides features including affiliate onboarding, tracking and reporting, collaboration with partners, third-party SaaS integrations and quality fraud detection and security features.

APIs

APIs have become a crucial tool for affiliate marketing; they allow data transfer between two applications, enabling them to talk to each other. This can help you to send data from an in-house software programme to the cloud and take the information from the cloud into an in-house system. Every industry has its own unique technical requirements, but APIs can adapt to each system and deliver the data in a way that any interface can utilise. As affiliate marketing has evolved, using APIs has helped to automate many processes in order to deliver accurate data in real time, ensuring a greater level of compliance, as well as greater metrics on performance.

Using APIs both allows direct work with advertisers and reduces the amount of manual work required. Affiliates also get quick access to analytics, and the APIs provide transparency and security between networks, affiliates and advertisers regarding their data. APIs provide accurate data flows that can help identify the buying interests of website visitors, in order to display specified ads to the targeted audience. What’s more, data only needs to be updated manually once to be updated automatically across the whole ad network.