Mobile Marketing -101

What is one of the first things most people do when they wake up? check the newspaper? drink coffee? fullfil natures call? Well yes, but if you guessed check your cell phone, then you're right. Now a days, 74% of Canadians and over 103% of Americans use cell phones. Everything from texting and calling to on-line shopping and paying bills, can be done from your own personal portable computer. With this ever increasing trend of cell phone users and applications, its a surprise that every company hasn't started to mainstream marketing via mobile devices.  With over 89% of the North American population using cell phones, it would only seem like a no brainer. But which methods should these companies employ?

     Many companies have used the tried and true method of SMS marketing. Basically what this is, is a company will send out a mass text message to all the recipients in its catalogue and send information about:

• Social media mobile advertising
• Mobile display ads
• Mobile landing pages with promotions
• Coupons
• Sweepstakes
• Location-targeted advertising (See image above)

     With location based advertising, a local restaurant, where you filled out a short survey after a meal and relinquished your cell phone number, can now send you text messages about new deals and coupons that would entice you to go back there to eat. 

     This is not only limited to restaurants, but almost any company offering products and services for consumer use. Anything from department stores "buy on get one free" sales, to lawyers fighting your speeding tickets, in the forms of text messages or mobile ads, can be accessed from cell phones.  Two of the most popular forms of mobile marketing are:

SMS marketing

     Beginning in Europe and Asia in the early years of the millennium, this form of mobile advertising became extremely popular very fast. With most people, being glued to their mobile devices, companies can ensure their messages are read fast, meaning a high conversion rate.  Unlike other means of advertising, text messaging is relatively cheap, when compared to mainstream advertising tactics, such as billboards, fliers,  emails, etc. Several billion texts are sent out all over the globe every month as more and more people have access to cell phones.

Multimedia messages

     Instead of just sending you plain text message, or a link, some companies opt to send pictures, short videos or audio files.  Companies are able to send rich content straight to your cell phone. Seeing a picture of a fresh baked donut is much more impressive than reading it and trying to picture it ourselves. With humans being very visual, this is a great treat for the senses.

     Other areas of mention, are ads within applications. Have you ever noticed when using almost any application now a days, there are little ads everywhere? Whether you're checking the weather, playing Angry Birds or using Facebook, there are ads everywhere. Some become annoying and irritate consumers, as they impede your access of the application.  But with careful ad placement and usage, advertising can greatly help any company and is a sure fire way to get your name out there! 

Links used. 

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_mobile_phones_in_use

The Future of Mobile Marketing

Watch this and think about it ……..

 Exactly ……

Every minute of every day, more and more companies are beginning to realize that even through banners on the side of the highway, or an advertisement on TV in the middle of a family’s dinner are effective but the population of people that are constantly on the move and have a mobile device or smart phone attached as a second leg is rapidly growing. It is becoming more common to send out mass text messages informing people of new deals at a consumers favourite retail stores or sending out mass coupons for more consumers to want to buy from ones store.

As teens become more glued to social media sites and posting information about themselves and their hobbies, single parents on all of the hundreds of dating websites and family connecting through Facebook, all personal information is lingering out there for stores, and advertising agencies and data companies to pick through and find the best deal that will relate to a certain consumer. From there they send out a text, a tweet, or a post on Facebook, for consumers to get this information through their smartphones and off they go to a retailer to take advantage and purchase. With mobile marketing being the most cost effective to use and the most flexible, it is becoming the most dependable when getting a brand name to be recognized by consumers.

The future can only see benefits, technology is growing and as stated in the video it can only get more personal for the consumer, to a point where making a grocery list isn't needed because you’ll have your phone already doing it for you. With mobile apps having adds already placed in them, simply with one touch of a finger and you are at a retailer’s main website making a purchase with a credit card of some sort. The present has consumers paying for movie passes, scanning bar codes which gather store information and connecting with businesses on a personal basis as consumers. If right now they have all this, you can only imagine what the future holds for the world. Mobile marketing is growing and for companies to take advantage can really have a positive effect on profits and future stability.

The future of mobile marketing …… it’s already here.

Kellen Cummings

Links

http://smartphonewebcreator.com/mobile-marketing-is-the-future-of-business-advertising/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhM9jR-P47E

Mobile Marketing - Who is Doing it Well?

Mobile Marketing - Who is Doing it Well?

When it comes to our everyday lives, there is no denying that we are connected to our mobile devices from the minute we wake up until the minute we set them aside to charge and settle into bed. The mobile future is definitely here and it is looking very much like it is at the center of how people do things and will continue to do things in the future. 

Mobile technology today enables new ways of expressing our existing brand ideas and as well enables marketers to explore new approaches. Marketers must make content exciting for users to actively engage in the content and more importantly, to encourage them to want to interact with the brand on more than one occasion. By satisfying and engaging with customers, company brands have more opportunity than ever before to generate lasting and meaningful relationships.

The video posted below demonstrates multiple prime examples of popular and also effective ways of mobile advertising.

Many brands today aim to demonstrate and launch their mobile ad campaign in hopes of targeting their consumer market in a relate-able way. For example, the 'Estee Lauder' make-up company (shown in the video above) is advertising a new product that wipes away noticeable face wrinkles. They came up with a great idea for their mobile advertisement campaign by including a basic interactive game in their ad which requires the targeted consumer to physically wipe away wrinkles on their mobile touch screen. By doing so, they hope the consumer will then gain the feeling of as though this new wrinkle cover up product will work as easily in real life as it did on their phone. 

There are many different types of mobile marketing ad campaigns but the most common type is the generic ad banners. Below is a basic example of an ad banner that most of us see on a daily basis while browsing our free mobile apps. 

I have highlighted the McDonalds banner ad in the image above as this is a great example of your basic, yet effective, mobile ad banner. McDonalds has chosen to run an ad banner involving their breakfast menu which is a great marketing idea as most people check their weather apps at the beginning (breakfast hours) of each day. 

Many big name companies are aiming to stay up to date and fresh with their mobile ad campaigns. Listed below are a couple of short short video examples of successful company attempts at mobile advertising. 

Starbucks

This video shows the Starbucks Cup Magic app that allows a consumer to send and receive virtual Valentine messages. By scanning one of their limited edition Valentine's Day themed cups, you can then watch your cup 'come to life'. You can also use it to send a Starbucks Card eGift as well. According to Starbucks, there have been over 42 million mobile transactions to date.

McDonalds

McDonald successfully came up with a way to grab the attention of Swedan people with Pick ‘N Play. This game application became a true example of interactive marketing by combining billboard advertisement with mobile marketing. This was a very successful attempt at creating a new and interesting way to attract customers to their restaurants.


After researching mobile marketing, the message is clear. Mobile is here to stay. It has become a norm of society and is leading us to creating a whole world of possibilities, many of which are still unknown and untapped. But with that being said, brands must tread carefully to not bombard their target markets with ads as the very last thing they want is to have their ads viewed as your generic online spam.

Bibliography 

http://www.sonitek.ca/blog/top-mobile-marketing-campaigns-big-brand-mobile-website-apps-campaign-case-study/

www.youtube.com

www.google.ca / google images

http://m.mobilemarketingmagazine.com/mobilemarketing/i/article/think-mobile



Andrew Cicuttini

Landing Page Open Topic for Oct 31st

Oct 31, 2012

What is a Landing Page

During my research, I discovered that a landing page is the most important

Component of an online marketing campaign strategy. The Landing page is the first page you land on (where the title landing page comes from) and are also the pages that all of your online advertisements direct your websites visitors to.

The main goal of any landing page is to have visitors register any form of information with your site. The information will be used to track and record data about your prospects.

Google’s web definition of a landing page is as follows.

Web definitions

“In online marketing a landing page, sometimes known as a lead capture page, is the page that appears when a potential customer clicks on an advertisement. The page will usually display sales copy that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link.”

Insert Video Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_EFa0bO4U

A good example of a landing page that I happened upon is Netflix’s landing page. Netflix’s business model is heavily reliant on converting visitors into paying subscribers. They are trying to achieve a signup rate that will have customers pay them a monthly fee, and the landing page that they use is equipped for optimal viewer retention.

To be able to tell how successful your landing page is you need to know the “3 Key Metrics.” These three key metrics are used to measure your conversion success rate.

The first is your “Conversion Rate” your conversion rate is best described as the number of visitors to your site that turn into a sale or another desired outcome.

The second metric is your “homepage abandonment rate”, which is best described as the number of visitors to your site that end up closing the page before making a purchase. Numbers for this will often be high as most visitors will often just like to look around or accidently end up on your site. The third metric that you need to know about to have a successful landing page is your “cost per sale.” It is important to understand how much it costs to make a sale, because it is important to get the advertisement that fits in your budget and prospected outcome.

Information obtained from

http://www.copyblogger.com/landing-pages/

Mobile Marketing Channels

Mobile is now bigger than ever, everyone has a cell phone which is why more and more marketers are bringing marketing to mobile. Some major channels that are used in the mobile marketing process are:

• Organic Searches

Organic Searches are what comes up on google which are completely natural and not paid for the advertisement. The adds highlighted at the top are paid for. It is the marketers goal to get their ad to the top of the organic searches but very often companies will pay to get in the Mobile PPC.

• Mobile App Store

A recent survey conducted stated that more people use apps than the web. The reason for this is because they are easier to use. This is very important to know as a marketer because apps can be a huge marketplace. By creating your own app you can gain a ton of user traffic and promote your product. Ex. Starbucks has their app that lets the user buy their coffee right of their phone and when they get to Starbucks they just flash their barcode and get their drink. This app allows the user to gain rewards such as free drinks the more drinks they purchase.

• Text Message Marketing 

Some companies will use text messaging in order to text certain deals to their customers. This is not typically used because many customers will start to get annoyed by receiving messages on their personal phone. This can also be used for contests where the user will send a message in order to enter a contest. 

Here is an interesting website I found dealing with text message marketing: TXT impact

• QR Codes

QR codes is very quickly emerging as a massive mobile marketing channel. QR codes let the user scan the code on an advertisement and instantly gain content from that ad. 

Ex. A magazine will have a QR code on the back allowing the viewer to scan the code in order to sign up for a subscription. 

Here is a video summarizing how mobile marketing works: 

Privacy on the Web...or lack there of.

Every second 8 new users go online, in North America alone there are close to 1.7 Billion users online. People on the internet don't just surf pictures and research, a computer is not just a work or homework tool anymore. People go on the internet today for millions of reasons, some good..some bad

                              
In 2011 every 1 in 13 people in the world belonged to the popular Social Media platform Facebook. Facebook as you know allows users to have the ultimate internet experience, staying connected to friends, updating each other on current events, posting pictures and videos about whats going on in daily life. We put everything on Facebook, even our birthdays, where we live, phone numbers and places of work. Some people even update their status about where they are right now.Unfortunately Facebook didn't come with a manual on how to protect yourself and your information online, actually 15% of Americans have never checked their social networking privacy and security account settings. (National Cyber Security Alliane (NCSA)-MacAfee Online Safety Study, 2011).

So how private is the web anyways, you can make your pictures private, hide your name and your personal information. But do you ever wonder how those ads on the side of your web pages seem to know exactly how old your are? Its because big sites like Facebook and Google, compile your information into a database which help them narrow down their ads, to specifically target you and others like you. Some large sites will even bid off these lists to other online advertisers. 

In reality most people feel decently private with their stuff all over the internet, the mentality is "everyone else has their stuff up, why not mine" and also we don't believe that Google or Facebook are going to splash gossip or pictures around, the worst they usually do is try to scam us into clicking on their ads. Unfortunately there are sites that are the complete opposite. In 2007 a site named TheDirty.com was created  as basically a platform for juciy gossip. People go to dirty.com to personally bash another person, the site holds pictures of those people and personal information, whatever the poster wants to say about the other person, stays on the site. In recent these could be things like an address, names of freinds and family and even nude photos!

For example, because of the lack of privacy settings available on the web, and places like this site, this young women named Liz was posted up on the dirty and has suffered greatly in regards to jobs and friends, take a look.

 

So there you have it "there is no such thing as privacy". Nik Richie and his site are still up and continue to allow "haters" post pictures and information on this site.

Fortunately there are some superhero web nerds out there that have posted a few things you can do in order to try and protect your online content. here's the link

consumerreports.com- Privacy on Facebook


And also here's a video about Privacy fix a program that searches out your privacy holes and fixes them for you. 

 The moral of the story, watch what you put online, you may be the next Dirty.com celebrity!