'Net Features : marketing, mobile

Digby Does Location-Based Mobile Marketing

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:50:00 GMT

Multi-channel mobile engagement and commerce solution Digby announced the launch of its LocalPoint platform at the National Retail Federation show this week.

The platform enables brands to create “geo-fences” around their brick-and-mortar stores and other points of interest and embed that data into their applications. This enables Digby, and in turn the brand, to measure app engagement and events such as geo-fence entries and exits, store visits, UPC/QR code scans and other shopping oriented events including store visits. In the end, this enables brands to deliver better (read more targeted) messaging through the branded app.

“Multichannel retailers in particular should recognize that they need a twofold objective with their smartphone presences: enabling sales, but also serving store shoppers,”¹ stated report author Sucharita Mulpuru, VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, Inc. “Because the primary use cases of mobile devices are to support multi-channel experiences (e.g., finding more product information in stores, identifying store locations), it is imperative to include multichannel sales influence in any mobile ROI estimates.”

Mobile Search Insights - 49% Make Mobile Purchases

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Performance marketing agency Performics last week released results from its 2011 Mobile Search Insights study.

The study revealed that of people using the mobile Web at least weekly, more than half (57 percent) use the mobile Web more than once/day, with more than three quarters (77 percent) using mobile search more than five times in the last month.

It's not just the frequency that is important however, but also the satisfaction and adoption of mobile search. 75 percent of respondents saud that mobile search makes their lievs easier and 53 percent said access tomobile search has changed the way they gather information.

“Mobile paid search has surged as a percentage of overall paid search spending for our clients, particularly over the last 15 months,” said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. “We expect March to be the double digit tipping point, when mobile paid search will represent at least ten percent of paid search impressions for all Performics clients.”

All that usage and value of course leads to one important thing - sales. 49 percent of respondents made a mobile purchase in the last six months. That's almost enough to make you rethink your mobile strategy entirely, right?

Easy Mobile Marketing for Every Business

Mike Phillips — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:45:00 GMT

According to new data from comScore, people accessing email via mobile devices increased an impressive 36 percent, from November 2009 to November 2010. More than 70 million people accessed email on their mobile devices in the month.

In this age where “mobile” is so often equated with apps – and their astronomical development costs – this study is excellent news and a steadfast reminder that every business can be “mobile” without breaking the bank. All you need is an email list – which you should already have and, if not, get on it – and a few tips on optimizing messages for the best possible mobile user experience. That’s where we come in.

Let’s take a look at some mobile email, using an iPhone as an example. Devices vary somewhat, but this gives a good picture of the mobile email experience on a standard smartphone.

In all cases, rigorously test mobile email messages across several devices before executing a campaign.

Before Opening the Message

Who is the sender? The sender display name is limited to 16 characters. Good usage of the sender field are company names, individual names,

The subject line. The viewable subject line is somewhere around 35 characters, including spaces. Keep in mind that a Forward (Fw:) and a Reply (Re:) will take up five characters each. It is vital to make the subject line compelling enough for the user to open the email and not delete it with one swipe of a finger.

Content at a glance. The first few lines of content make up about 75 characters, including spaces. Again, be careful of a Forward, as the entire first line could be taken up. Often, I receive emails that begin with “Message not displaying correctly?” or “This is a post-only message. Please do not respond” and so on. That’s wasted space and a very good reason for your message to be ignored.

The first 10 or so words of your message’s content need to give the recipient an explicit reason to click the message to read more – be it an offer, discount, request for a reply or whatever motivates your users.

Optimizing Mobile Email Content

Continue the action. Once a user has clicked on the message, the call-to-action must be immediately clear and reinforce the first few lines the user has already seen. Tell the reader exactly what to do next – click a link or forward the message to a friend, for example. Remember, these are users largely on-the-go, so be succinct and actionable.

Users can be sent just about anywhere from a mobile email, but good options are mobile-optimized pages of your website and social destinations, where the user can spread your message. Recipients can be directed to Facebook Places, Foursquare or even Google Maps. Coupons are a good idea, along with the store’s location, conveniently linked to an interactive map.

Using images. Debate swirls around using images in mobile email. Some devices will have trouble displaying the image but today’s smartphones are well fairly well adapted. If your audience is tech-savvy, you might have more flexibility. However, images should be well-planned.

For example, text on an image can be difficult to read, particularly on a small screen. Oftentimes, I receive virtual flyers in an email. The images dominate and the text is tiny. I am forced to zoom in to see the message, and that is not ideal. If you plan to use images, do so responsibly and make sure the success of the email does not rely solely on the image. An image can make a nice addition to making mobile email more interesting but it should be used to support the message.

Selling product. Mobile commerce is still relatively new but that does not make it impossible. There are mobile payment solutions, including PayPal, and the mobile space is ripe for impulse buys. It is unlikely that people will buy major products through their phones but ringtones, music, e-books, etc.? That’s doable.

Video email. As email becomes increasingly mobile (and smartphones and tablets flood the market), it’s important to remember some different ways mobile email is used. For example, in an airport, at a café, on the couch, in the park… that means users have a potential need for entertainment. Therefore, don’t be afraid to include video. The best course of action is to use a YouTube link, as those videos do not require Flash and are viewable across devices.

Mobile Marketing Formula

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:00:00 GMT

A 2010 study by comScore suggests that almost 46 million mobile phone users have smartphones — almost 20 percent of the market share of total mobile users.

Those numbers are enough for advertisers to start taking the mobile market very seriously. But what is the best way for advertisers and marketers to gain traction in this growing industry?

Read "Mobile Marketing: Location, Location, Location" by Jamie Fortunaso now.

This article appears in the November 2010 edition of Website Magazine.

Cloud-Based Mobile Marketing/Advertising

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Mobile marketing and advertising company HipCricket unveiled the latest version of its cloud-based platform today (HIP 6.0) and it may just renew your interest in mobile.

New features include a tighter integration with CRM (customer relationship management) and MRM (marketing resource management) systems, hyper-local targeting capabilities and enhanced analytics.

From the release: HIP 6.0 provides brands and agencies with powerful capabilities to create national and local mobile campaigns through SMS (including mobile coupons), Mobile Web, applications and Interactive Voice Response (IVR). HIP 6.0 also provides access to the Hipcricket Mobile Marketing and Advertising Network through display advertising and to customers who have opted in to receive relevant marketing and advertising offers via SMS. The Hipcricket network gives brands and agencies access to more than 50 million unique users across Hipcricket’s national footprint representing over 250 million impressions per month.

Never heard of Hipcricket? Neither of I, but they claim to have conducted more than 65,000 mobile marketing campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands - including Macy’s, Nestle, KFC, HBO and Clear Channel—as well as "hundreds" of radio and television stations nationwide.

“The HIP 6.0 platform represents an important release for Hipcricket; one that mirrors our customers’ desire to integrate mobile into their overall marketing mix, rather than have it operate as a silo,” said Eric Harber, president and COO at Hipcricket. “We listened to our customers, and built an easy-to-use mobile marketing and advertising platform that tightly integrates with their existing marketing to deliver results quickly, while empowering them to reach new mobile subscribers and to better engage with their current ones.”

Easy SMS Campaigns with Tatango

Mike Phillips — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:20:00 GMT

There's no denying that text messaging has become a mainstream form of communication in the United States. A recent DMA report shows that out of 800 U.S. mobile phone users surveyed, 70 percent responded to a marketing text message, while just 41 percent responded to a survey and 30 percent to email offers. Whether because of the novelty factor or the proximity of mobile devices to users, businesses have a big opportunity to market to a highly captive, opt-in audience by using SMS.

Tatango provides a capable and cost-effective way to reach out to the texting generation. With Tatango, you set up an account and a group - this is the title of the text message your contacts will see - start inviting members to your group, and start collecting phone numbers. An unlimited amount of text messages can be sent with both the free and pro versions, but the free version does contain limited advertising. With the pro version (starting at $4.95 per month) you can eliminate the advertising and Tatango branding and offer a couple of interesting ways to get users to sign up.

Keywords - offer users the option to text a keyword to your account and they will be automatically enrolled in your group.
Widgets - create a widget and customize it to match the look of your site. You can then embed that widget in your website, blog or any number of social networks. See the example below, from a celebrity gossip blog.

Using keywords, adding additional groups and ad-free messaging are upgrades to the pro version and range in cost from $15 to $29.95 per month. Once your account is set up, you're ready to start marketing via SMS. Log in to your account, write your message and select individuals from your group to text. Click a button and almost instantly, your subscribers

The possibilities are wide open. Send alerts to a new blog post, coupon codes for a new product, acknowledge information requests or orders, provide a cilckable phone number and send links to your website. If it can be done with about 100 characters, you can text it.

It's important to keep in mind that the mobile device is a very personal item. Therefore, it's a good idea to include an opt-out in your messages. Tell your subscribers to send a return text of "stop" and Tatango will automatically remove them from your list. Even if your subscribers send a text in plain language such as "stop texting me," Tatango will find that message and remove them from your list.

Currently, Tatango is in private beta. But as an exclusive to Website Magazine readers, if you email beta@tatango.com with "Website Magazine" in the subject, you can get one of 50 available invites and start exploring the opportunities.

Thinking of Mobile Marketing? Hold the Phone

Mike Phillips — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:18:00 GMT

Research firm Gartner released some numbers yesterday abou the mobile market, and it's not so good. Citing a weakening global economy, Gartner expects mobile phone sales to slow to 11 percent this year globally (down from 16 percent last year) and down to 9 percent in the US (from 11 percent last year).

"We are starting to see impact of the economy," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi, adding increased competition and the weaker economy would also hurt average selling prices.

Slower handset sales coupled with a weakened economy could mean fewer mobile Web optimized phones, less expendible income for data packages and certainly fewer sales over a wireless connection.

AdMob Mobile Expansion Signals Industry Growth

Mike Phillips — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:46:00 GMT

AdMob may be a relatively new kid on the block, founded in January 2006, but they are already making a big splash in the mobile marketplace and their expansion signals a big shift in marketers' focus on the mobile ad market.

AdMob sells and serves mobile ads for more than 3,000 publishers, including big clients Accuweather, ESPN and CBS, as well as smaller, niche publishers in the mobile space. They have now announced the opening of a new East Coast headquarters in New York City.

"Marketers are increasingly extending their campaigns to mobile and we want to be available to guide them through best practices," said Tony Nethercutt, AdMob Vice President of Sales. "We are deepening our presence in New York to better support agencies and brands as they ramp their mobile marketing efforts."

Clearly mobile is on the minds of marketers and all indications are that it's just getting started. Especially this statistic: Since their founding, AdMob has served over 15 billion ads - more than 2 billion, or roughly 13%, in December 2007 alone.