Posts Tagged ‘text marketing’
Are More Advertisers Shifting To Social And Mobile Investment?
July 8, 2011
In today’s world technology is taking a leading role in the forefront of society. From our day-to-day lives through to marketing and advertising, the constant advancements in technology are perpetuating a shift in thinking and investments. One of the shifts making itself more than known in the marketing world is the shift taking place from investing in traditional media to social and mobile media.
The internet of course has been one, if not the most revolutionising of technologies in the last few decades, and even though it’s been around for quite some time, it continues to not only assert a certain level of investment dominance over traditional media forms, but it seems it may be increasing its dominance. Statistics show that the combined daily circulation of the Wall Street Journal, USAToday, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, and the New York Post equates to only 36% of the average daily unique visitors (19 million) of Facebook. It is social media sites such as Facebook that have revolutionised the internet and its global usage.
Jon Peddie states in his online article The Social Web and Its Implications that, “The Social Web is not just a fad; it is a fundamental shift in how humans communicate, interact, collaborate, create, inform themselves, prioritize, organize, buy, sell, and play. It is your customers, your friends, your family, your employees, your constituents, your shareholders, and, like it or not, you.” These points reflect a strong recognition of a shift in customer use of Social and Mobile media formats to buy, sell and inform themselves of upcoming products and services and as such it is appropriate that marketers and advertising campaigns find themselves shifting their investments towards these newer and more innovative media avenues.
Other companies such as Verve Wireless are shifting Millions of dollars from traditional marketing to social and mobile marketing. What is important to recognise here, is that Mobile and Social media have been experiencing marketing dollars invested in them for a while. However, what we are beginning to see now, are all the makings of a fully-fledged advertising revolution. Not only are marketers investing more in social and mobile media, but they are doing so at the expense of traditional marketing mediums. This in all actuality should come as no surprise to most of us. Considering the percentage of the world’s population that own mobiles, considering how often we carry our mobiles with us as well as their access to social media content, it was only a matter of time until marketers began to look into shifting the focus of their advertising campaigns from traditional media to social and mobile media.
Media itself is changing. It develops in direct relation to technology and the possibilities technology allows in engaging and interacting with customers. As such, marketing is shifting its sights onto new media formats such as mobile and social media at the expense of traditional media. The dawn of a new marketing era is well upon us.
Learn more about Mobile Marketing. Stop by www.txt2get.com where you can find out all about mobile and social media marketing and what it can do for you.
How To Avoid Mobile Marketing Opt-Outs Part 2
April 14, 2011
When developing a mobile marketing system for your business, your most valuable asset is without doubt the database of mobile subscribers you’ve earned. Our first part of this article series looked at how getting the basics and being upfront from the get go was an integral part to maintaining a successful mobile database. In this part, we’ll look at the actual content of messages and the role they play in minimizing opt-outs.
Relevance is one of the most important parts of maintaining a successful SMS database. Content needs to be short, simple and to the point. Try to remain formal whilst interacting with your customers on a personal level. The language used is of principle importance too – avoid text speak unless it is absolutely required by text size limits or is relevant to the demographic being targeted.
A big problem with too many marketers is that the time period allowed on their offers is too short – be it due to poor planning or technical issues with your chosen marketing company. Research the business who will win your mobile marketing business to ensure that they have a high level of technical competence and reliability. Also, plan the length of your offers accordingly. Too short and customers won’t have the chance to use it, whilst too long and customers are likely to forget about the offer.
Tip number 3 is to consider rewarding users in your database. It will encourage longevity of opt-in within your mobile marketing database. Try using high value coupons or exclusive offers which will serve to not only build positive relationships with your existing customers, but will often generate new subscribers as your existing customers will recommend you. Simple but highly effective strategies to reduce and avoid mobile marketing opt-outs but sometime overlooked by many marketers.
It is easy to maintain a consistent and valuable database of customers, simply by following basic principles, guidelines and best practice dictated both by common sense, ethics, as well as by law.If you enjoyed this article, make sure to look out for other articles in the series.
Want to find out more about mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com on how to choose the best solution for your needs.
Does The General Public Trust Mobile Banking?
April 10, 2011
Mobiles, it can easily be said, are now a part of our everyday lives. There are a recorded 5.3 billion mobile users worldwide, 91% of which are within 3 metres of their mobile device at all times. Mobile is used for a vast array of services nowadays and prospective leaders in the mobile industry are now looking at consumer behaviour to pinpoint mobiles most frequently used services and the futures front-runners in an attempt to solidify their hold on the competition.
Mobile banking offers a once unimaginable level of convenience for our day-to-day banking needs. No need to locate your nearest branch, hope for the branch to be open once work has finished, and of course, the branches often being closed on weekends exactly when you need them. Mobile banking offers around the clock access to accounts and stock information, and in a society that appears to never slow down, one would expect mobile banking to already be soaring.
According to data released by comScore, 13.2 million people accessed their bank accounts from their phones during the month of April 2010 alone. This figure shows a 70% increase from 2009. Similarly, the number of people using mobile banking applications more than doubled, to approximately 5 million in the year from 2009-2010.
A study conducted by Garnter looked at the top 10 ways mobile will be used in 2012 and based their estimates on impact on consumers and industry players, considering revenue, loyalty, business model, consumer value and estimated market penetration) and coming in at number one in their predictions was mobile banking.
Although it would seem a relatively low percentage of mobile users are openly engaging in mobile banking, several trends and predictions estimate a huge rise for mobile banking and even suggest it could feature as the most frequently used mobile service in only a few years. Ease of access on the go in a non-stop world is a huge advantage for business people and the rest of the mobile world alike. For this reason mobile banking is taking the fast road to becoming a huge success.
Want to find out more about Mobile Marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com on how to choose the best solution for your needs.
What Does Google’s Purchase Of AdMob Mean For Mobile Marketing?
April 6, 2011
At the end of 2009, Google Inc. signed up to acquire AdMob – a mobile ad network – in a move that truly validated mobile advertising as the effective marketing medium that it is today. In a deal worth a reported $750 million, this deal was set to be a real game-changer in the industry. So what does Google’s purchase of AdMob mean for mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing has enjoyed a meteoric rise in growth over the past few years. As Mike Wehrs says, when referring to the AdMob acquisition, “We’ve been talking about the awesome opportunity that mobile marketing brings to the world…some people understand that, and this deal shows that the largest and best-known advertising company-Google-understands the awesomeness of the opportunity, and they understand where this is going”.
AdMob is one of the leading and largest mobile ad networks for brands such as Ford, Coca-Cola, Land Rover, MTV, Toshiba , to name but a few, which run on publisher sites such as CBS. These ads run on iPhone sites and apps as well as those based upon Google’s own Android platform. AdMob describes itself as “the primary monetization and acquisition partner for thousands of companies”. Google had a vision when it took AdMob under its umbrella and that was to enhance its own expertise and technology within the world of mobile advertising which in turn would give advertisers and publishers more options and that is exactly what it is achieving to date.
Noah Elkin, senior analyst at eMarketer, New York said that “Google’s acquisition of AdMob obviously gives a lot of legitimacy to mobile marketing in general and mobile display advertising specifically.” What he also said was that by financing this, Google would effectively speed things up in the mobile marketing industry. As we see in 2011, it has been a very successful acquisition to date and the future of mobile marketing is looking very bright.
No matter what size your business, mobile marketing can work for you and if you haven’t yet taken a look at the future of marketing through mobile, take a closer look at txt2get.com today. It really is super-exciting and remember that Google doesn’t get involved in anything it doesn’t think will work, so that should silence any doubters! Google understands its value and so should you.
Want to find out more about mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com on how to choose the best solution for your needs.
Can Windows Phone 7 Fight Iphone Or Android?
April 5, 2011
The battle of the smartphones is alive and well and Android has officially overtaken Blackberry at the top of the tree. Apple, of course, has its die-hard brigade of fans and is always near the top with each and every new version it releases. Windows and Palm lagging behind in the ‘top five’ of the smartphone league. Smartphones are big business and Microsoft was in a relatively weak state in the early part of 2010. Then just 4 months ago, it set out its stall to add stronger competition to the market with the introduction of its new smartphone offering, the Microsoft WP7. So does Windows Phone 7 make Microsoft a legitimate competitor to Apple and Google in the mobile world?
Launched just a few months ago, the WP7, developed by the Microsoft company, is now in partnership with Nokia and this partnership has been hailed by many as one that will help Microsoft re-draw the battle lines in the Smartphone wars. As we all know, Apple has been doing huge things with its latest version of iPhone and since Google Android entered the market, it too has been a heavy contender for the top spot in the fight for the ultimate smartphone crown.
The Microsoft Corporation is now in partnership with Nokia for production of its WP7 and this partnership has been hailed by many as the reason Microsoft will soon be able to re-draw the battle lines in the Smartphone wars. Relinquishing its own homegrown platforms Symbian and MeeGo, Nokia is now embracing Windows Phone 7, but shipments are not expected until 2012.
This alliance of these two genius companies is set to narrow the widening gap between Microsoft and Apple/Google Inc. and at last could make Microsoft the legitimate competitor and the proverbial “third horse” in the race but they still need to make the collaboration work and work successfully. The integration between the two will be interesting to watch as it develops and it needs to be done at speed if it is to compete. Some reviewers remain skeptical.
Again, as each of these giant corporations compete, the big winner will almost certainly be the consumer with yet more choice, better and more competitive pricing. Those in the mobile marketing industry will also win out too as more and more opportunites present themselves for smarter marketing to smartphone users. There is so much untapped potential available to marketers to reach this whole new generation of consumers and if you haven’t yet explored what mobile marketing can do for your business or service, visit us now.
Looking to find the best deal on mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com to find the best advice for you.
Are Mobile Marketers Happy With The Introduction Of HTML5?
March 17, 2011
HTML5- dubbed the language of the Web – is the latest version of HTML and is said to be the future of mobile applications. HTML5 is a computer language – an umbrella term – a “general-purpose visual identity for a broad set of open web technologies, including : HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and others” . But what does HTML5 mean for mobile marketing?
HTML5 is enabling rich-media standards, which in turn makes it easier for advertisers to engage with consumers. It’s as simple as that but with potentially amazing results. Some say that HTML5 will do for mobile what Flash did for online and thus will help advertisers and brands achieve much more innovative, creative and compelling advertising displays to mobile devices. With such a large number of consumers now using smartphones, companies need to adapt their advertising for them and HTML5 will help them to do just that enabling “immersive advertising experiences”.
Mobile rich-media advertising is encouraging major players into mobile advertising- players such as Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures who used it as part of their multi-channel campaign when promoting the movie Shrek Forever After. Their fun, creative and compelling interactive ad campaign particularly targeted iPhone on the Yahoo mobile homepage and was said to have boosted ticket sales for their opening weekend. This is definitely a step beyond static banner ads which is the norm on mobiles.
The potential of HTML5 is very big indeed and heavily in its favor is that it works across multiple devices so there is no need to develop specific platforms for it and that has to be a huge bonus. This language of the web promises a whole new world of what is possible in mobile advertising and that is very exciting indeed. Accordingly, advertisers are now regularly demanding HTML5-based-rich-media ad units and it is having a significant effect on mobile advertising as a whole.
In mobile marketing, as advertising becomes yet more creative and more engaging to users, so its success increases. In addition to its effects upon mobile advertising, HTML5 is having a positive impact on mobile commerce as well. Mobile really is the place to do your marketing and advertising now and if you haven’t yet considered mobile marketing to achieve the results you seek, now is the time to take a closer look.
Want to find out more about mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com on how to choose the best solution for your needs.
Is IPhone Taking Over Blackberry Market Hold?
March 9, 2011
The smartphone has become as synonymous with the notion of what makes a business man as the briefcase once was. It is the must-have status symbol in whatever make or model, whether it is Android, Windows, iPhone, Palm or the ever-popular Blackberry. It is how today’s modern professional stays up to date and stays in touch wherever he is in the world. The smartphone’s ability to allow instant access to email, text, the Web amongst other things has been heralded as one of the ultimate tools to keep communication flowing; it is efficient and allows for better overall productivity.
Until recent years, RIM’s Blackberry was the smartphone with the stronghold on the enterprise market but now there are other companies vying to challenge Blackberry for a bigger share of the business market, not least of all, Apple. With its trendy iPhone 4 currently flooding the market and iPhone 5 heralded as the next big thing for Apple and rumored to be due for release in June, could the iPhone really challenge and capture the business market.
Blackberry has been the king of business devices for such a long time now but with Apple’s fifth generation iPhone announced recently, its dominance could be under threat. Take a well-known bank in the UK which in 2010 announced that it was migrating its workforce from Blackberry to iPhone. That company has 75,000 employees and this type of shift can also be seen by some companies in the US. It would seem that iPhone became much more palatable to businesses when it added a number of critical security features. Blackberry has always prided itself and built a reputation for being secure, which is what businesses need and demand.
How does Apple itself market towards the business world? It describes as “…the most powerful, flexible, and intuitive phone ever. With new features like multitasking, FaceTime video calling, improved mail, and enhanced security, iPhone makes even more sense for your business.” Some critics say that Apple does not provide the powerful enterprise tools needed by the larger corporates. No doubt Apple would disagree.
Apple definitely seems to be making a concerted effort to capture at least some element of the business market but whether it can truly challenge Blackberry remains to be seen. It does seem to be extending its reach however and it is one to watch. If you have a business and have not yet taken a close look at what mobile marketing can do for you, seize the day!
Learn more about mobile marketing. Stop by www.txt2get.com where you can find out all about TXT2GET and what it can do for you.
How Much More Can You Add On To A Smartphone?
March 8, 2011
The smartphone was certainly on many people’s Christmas wish list in 2010 with Nielsen reporting that one-third of mobile owners in the US had a smartphone by the end of December last year. Smartphones were definitely rocking and according to Gartner’s statistics of the staggering 1.6 billion mobile phones sold globally that year, 297 million were smartphones! That’s 72% more smartphone sales than in 2009. So given this huge upward trend and the phenomenal popularity of smartphones for both business and personal use, is smartphone adoption expected to stagnate any time soon?
For lovers of statistics, even they may be surprised to know that over 1.6 billion mobile phones sold globally just in 2010 alone and of those almost 300 million were smartphones. Pretty phenomenal statistics; one could wonder, therefore, if having sold so many last year, whether the numbers will plateau or fall. Looking at just the US market, it would seem not. According to Nielsen, their forecast is that 1 in every 2 mobile phone owners will have a smartphone by 2011 and that would mean that smartphones would overtake feature phone sales for the first time.
The future development of smartphones looks very bright indeed with dual-core processors, 3D display capability, front-facing cameras, improved video capabilities, smarter phone chips allowing for use of multiple SIM cards – all these concepts either just introduced, about to be introduced or something for the near future. With so much going on and with every new smartphone being announced, it can be hard for many of us to keep up.
Looking ahead to what reviewers say US consumers are likely to purchase in 2011, Smartphones even outrank laptops and desktop computers. This, they say, is partly due to continued low retail pricing of handsets and overall lower-cost monthly data plans. Demand is strong and expected to increase over the coming year. So smartphone adoption is not expected to stagnate anytime soon either in the US or worldwide.
Whether it is iPhone, Android, Blackberry or the like, how smartphone sales are trending now and in the future, is very important for mobile marketers so they can identify their target audience. Like smartphone sales, Mobile marketing is also trending upwards and if you haven’t yet considered it to enhance your business, today is definitely the day to take a closer look.
Learn more about mobile marketing. Stop by www.txt2get.com where you can find out all about TXT2GET and what it can do for you.
Do You Know What Mobile Fragmentation Is?
March 6, 2011
Mobile has undoubtedly taken advertising, shopping, gaming and general day to day life into a whole new age. It offers convenience, immediacy and a whole range of services and features all available from almost anywhere at any time. However, whilst many of us only see the positives and conveniences mobile has to offer, there is a persistent challenge facing mobile developers that is becoming an ever increasing issue for the evolution of mobile, “Mobile Fragmentation.”
Mobile fragmentation refers specifically to platform and device fragmentation and as Damith C. Rajapakse, lecturer at National University of Singapore School of Computing says, “to develop an application against a reference-operating context (OC) and achieve the intended behaviour in all OC’s suitable for the application.” For instance, this means that for any start-up mobile entrepreneur and already established mobile player alike, designing and developing a single application for all major platforms and devices is simply impossible.
The fragmentation occurs specifically in diversities in the varying mobile platforms and devices that include; hardware diversity; differences in screen parameters (size, colour depth, orientation, and aspect ratio), memory size, processing power etc. Software diversity; Platform diversity, such as differences in platform/Operating Systems. Implementation diversity, resulting from implementation bugs/quirks, which is considered one of the most tiresome type of fragmentations. User-preference diversity, including language, style, etc. and, Environmental diversity; such as diversity in the deployment infrastructure (e.g., branding by carrier, gateway characteristics etc.)
With these diversities just being the general groups, and not even the more intricate obstacles in development, we begin to see a more vivid illustration of just how big an issue mobile fragmentation can be. Some developers believe however that there is in fact a “magic bullet” in the form of potential unifying technology that will make the whole process of development significantly simpler and easier. On the other hand, however, many leading figures in the world of mobile argue that not only is the “magic bullet” a myth but that, mobile fragmentation is not even a true problem and it instead promotes healthy competition and diversity in the mobile world that mobile users actively desire.
Mobile Fragmentation is without a doubt a strong challenge for mobile developers and designers. However, is the solution to try to negate diversity altogether? Is there in fact a “magic bullet” that can unify technology and bring mobile into a new era? Or, is the mobile age defined by its diversity and its ability to cater to the preferences and styles of its vast consumer base? Only time will tell.
Looking to find the best deal on mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com to find the best advice for you.
What Is Mobile Fragmentation?
March 5, 2011
Mobile fragmentation is fast becoming an issue for strong debate in the mobile world. The inability to create a single application that can operate across all devices has given rise to the search for de-fragmentation. But is there any need? Many argue that mobile fragmentation is a natural part of a diverse and widespread global market, so is mobile fragmentation hurting or helping the growth of mobile?
As discussed in a previous article, we have seen how mobile fragmentation has been labelled as the major issue facing the growth and future success of mobile. The huge spectrum of diversities in mobile platforms and devices makes creating a single application for all mobile impossible. Some have begun a search for a potential unifying technology, dubbed the “magic bullet” by its sceptics. It is many of these sceptics who also stand by the idea that mobile fragmentation is a natural part of healthy competition and that it is part of mobiles growth and success.
The argument is not entirely one sided however. There are strong supporters of the idea that mobile fragmentation is a natural product of a globally diverse market. Richard Wong for instance points out in an article that Nokia dominates India, one of the world’s fastest growing mobile markets, at some 70%. Whilst Nokia is also a dominant manufacturer in the U.K and much of Europe, in the U.S. and Japan, two significant markets, Nokia does not even feature in the top three manufacturers. What this demonstrates is that with mobile being a global market, there are going to be inherent and unavoidable diversities in what devices consumers wish to use. This can boil down to things like, primary use, income, age and so on.
In many ways mobile is already an indescribable success and Richard Wong suggests that rather than try and “solve” the fragmentation “problem,” instead companies are better off spending their time and money at the strategy drawing board. He states that rather than search for unifying technology, companies can consider whether they need a wide spreading market approach, or can they be efficient and successful by targeting a few thousand “profitable users.” Co-Founder of Symbian, Juha Christensen also supports mobile fragmentation and suggests that in the same way mobile is producing applications for all sorts of consumer needs, it is only a matter of time before mobile produces mobile devices for specific consumer types and demographics.
Mobile fragmentation then definitely appears to be a natural part of mobiles global market. In aiming to cater to the wide range of consumer preferences, mobile will always face diversities, and the range of platforms and devices in circulation reflects both the desire by consumers for this, and distributors’ acknowledgement of this. In which case, mobile fragmentation would not appear to be helping, nor hurting mobile but an inherent part of a globally diverse market.
Looking to find the best deal on mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com to find the best advice for you.