By Paul H. Schoemaker / Inc.com In the beginning, there was just you and your partners. You did every job. You coded, you met with investors, you emptied the trash and phoned in the midnight pizza. Now you have others more…
Credit: Mashable The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2018, more than 1.2 million new science, technology, engineering and math-related jobs will open up. This will have far reaching effects on the digital media industry. Professionals must keep more…
Do you realize that most of your tweets may not reach all of your followers? Whenever you put “@name” in the beginning of your message you’re only sending a message to that person and a few select followers. The only more…
78% of Internet users conduct product research online. Your website stands a good chance of being a prospect’s “first impression.” That also means your new business card isn’t a business card—it’s Google. In the past year, Web-based email usage dropped more…
I’m always impressed with Eric Qualman‘s videos. This one doesn’t disappoint, two things jump out at me: 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations & only 14% trust advertisements “We don’t have a choice of whether we DO social media, the more…
There seems to be a heated struggle between mobile phone manufacturers and mobile carriers. In a recent article by Mobile Commerce Daily, both sides are furiously trying to position themselves as the primary model in which consumers utilize Near Field Communication (NFC).
NFC is the future of the mobile industry. With such a high penetration rate, you’d be hard pressed to find a person in this country without a cell phone. When NFC is released in the US en masse (Apple is rumored to incorporate it into their new iPhone) it will revolutionize how the public will use their phones. People will eventually be able to make quick purchases (gas, movie tickets, fast food, etc.) with the wave of their mobile device.
The US mobile carriers announced ISIS, which is their bid to create a standard for enabling payment at retailers’ point of sale. Several handset manufacturers are exploring alternatives to this model. Both sides want control over the transactions and all the data that comes with it.
Ultimately it’s not up to either to decide which is best. The consumers will dictate what model will succeed (think VHS vs. beta; Blu-ray vs. HD DVD). The consumer has to feel comfortable about the security of these transactions and the set up has to be very easy. If I have an NFC enabled phone I want the freedom to make sure anytime I purchase something it is taken from my bank or credit card. I don’t want an extra bill to have to deal with. I also want to know that when I make these purchases, my accounts are not going to get hacked.
NFC is just the next step in transforming our mobile phones into the most important device we own. Think about it, we can already control our electronic home devices from our mobile phones, we can start our cars with our phones, we pay bills with our phones, just imagine using your phone to buy that double scooped ice cream cone at the fairground by waving it next to a mobile reader.
Would love to hear your thoughts on NFC and it’s future.
This chart will help you understand which social media site will best suit the needs for you and your company. You can learn which ones help increase your SEO, site traffic, and customer engagement (click image to enlarge):
I’m a big fan of infographics. You can usually learn a lot from them and help decide what’s best for you and your business. Hear’s one to start the new year, I found some interesting notes from this recent US study:
Facebook has over 500 million users while Twitter has over 100 million (both are growing significantly and have recently surpassed these numbers)
Only 25% of Twitter users follow a brand vs. 40% of Facebook users BUT;
Twitter users are more likely than Facebook users to purchase from the brands they follow
76% of Twitter users are college educated vs. 40% of Facebook users
Do you utilize either or both of these platforms to market your business? If so, which gives you better results based on your efforts?
Ever wonder how to improve your SEO on the video content you produce? Below is a quick video introduction from Google to help you develop your video sitemap and improve your rankings in search results.
E-marketer just published a report showing that approximately 34% of US corporations are now blogging. This is a significant jump from 16% just three years ago. Although there are a number of advantages to blogging, below is a list of key benefits:
Communication
Blogging gives the brand an ability to disseminate information to the public. It can serve as a reference point when the public wants to investigate more about the brand and it’s product. Key executives can inform the public of the company’s future plans and recent developments. Like Twitter and Facebook, the comment section of the blog allows the public to voice their complaints or approval of the company and its product(s). The comments section allows the company to respond in this somewhat controlled environment.
SEO Friendly
Writing a blog helps the company build content. This content helps increase the organic indexing of the throughout the numerous search engines. Including pictures and videos can assist with optimizing blog as well. An optimized blog will help bring in more traffic as it climbs the organic search ranking.
Increase Site Traffic
If posts are consistent, relevant, and informative, people will continue to come back for more. You can encourage people to subscribe to your RSS feed or sign up to your e-mail newsletters. Bottom line blogging will increase site traffic.
There are many more benefits of blogging such as lead generation, customer service, and brand marketing. Every day more and more companies are realizing the value of blogs and are increasing their use.
Are you blogging? If so, please post your blog (company or personal) in the comments section below.
A recent study by eMarketer reports that US mobile phone penetration will reach 80% by 2011. That means over 246 million people will have mobile phones throughout the country. Nielsen predicts that smartphones (iPhone, Droid, EVO, etc) will be in the hands of half of US mobile users by the end of Q3 2011.
If you’re not already incorporating mobile marketing into your plans here are a few reasons why you should:
Mobile Couponing
Studies show that one of the main reasons people follow brands is to hear about bargains. Companies like Starbucks are experimenting with aggressive tactics. Through their Starbucks Card Mobile application, customers can pay for coffee in the shop with their phone. The initial tests saw a 60% redemption rate.
More Advanced Location Based Deals
Location based networks are increasing exponentially every day. Since the launch of Facebook Places, current market leaders Foursquare, Gowalla, and Booya have all recorded significant user growth. Brands like MTV are realizing how to use these networks to their advantage like this year’s VMA contest.
Higher Consumer Engagement
Consumers give you permission to communicate to them on a personal level. You can run a SMS campaign and gather additional information including their mobile number and email address. This allows you to continue your conversation with the consumer through two methods communication thus increasing your chances of engagement.
Increasing Demand For Mobile Content
Increased ownership of smart devices (including iPad and other tablet devices) is driving mobile internet growth. Users’ mobile activities consume a lot of data rich content such as accessing social networks, mobile games, listening to music, and streaming video.
If your consumers are moving more towards digital why aren’t you joining them?
I’m sure you guessed by now this is the about the Old Spice campaign that was launched in January. Even though you’re probably tired of it, the results and this case study are very impressive.
Feel free to send me any other case studies you think are impressive.
Peter Shankman made a very short video to help you guard your privacy within the new “Facebook Places”. I’m a fan of location-based services, I actually use quite a few but there’s one feature in Facebook’s Places that puts me on edge. I don’t want to others to have the ability to check me into a venue without my option to approve or reject. This post shows you how to adjust your settings so others won’t be able to “check in” for you.
Whenever I discuss digital marketing with potential clients I always ask the question, “What sort of offline marketing are you doing?” I ask this because it gives me a gauge of what direction the conversation will take. A lot of people assume that if you just do digital marketing you’ll see significant changes and you can scrap offline marketing all together. This only happens as an exception, not the norm.
There’s no doubt about it, we live in a digital world. Game consoles are wireless, mobile phones are becoming mini computers, laptops are becoming smaller & lighter (hello iPad), and EVERYBODY is on some sort of email list. Having said that, we need to understand that we still watch TV, we still read books & magazines. We still drive or ride in cars, listen to the radio, look at outdoor advertising, and actually walk into buildings. The ratio of online/offline interaction may vary but we co-exist in both worlds.
Digital marketing at this point is the hot topic button of business meetings. Everybody wants to be on You Tube, Twitter, and Facebook. It’s great that people want to finally incorporate these digital tools into the marketing plan but they have to understand that radio, TV, and print still have a role in how successful their efforts will be.
One of my projects, The Mixtape Comedy Show (Full disclosure: I’m a partner), recently saw the success of how a strategic online and offline marketing plan can impact a brand. Ever since we created the Facebook page, we’ve increased fans at the rate of 15% per month. We only marketed ourselves online through Twitter, You Tube, and email marketing. In March of 2010, we incorporated two syndicated radio interviews into our mix and saw our fan page grow by 46%! That’s three times the rate of previous growth. All we did was have Anthony, one of our co-hosts, mention the show and the Facebook page several times during the interviews. The dramatic increase was a direct correlation to these two radio interviews.
To really be successful utilizing digital tools you have to make sure the offline efforts coincide with what you’re doing online. What good does creating a Facebook page, that offers discounts or information, do for the brand when people don’t even know you have a page? Sure you can advertise online and suggest the page to friends but think about how much more these tactics would help if you actually promoted the page within your store? Took out a print, radio, or TV ad? The ad should always mention the page, its address and why people should visit your page. You will see significant results immediately.
If you’re a brand, you spend a lot of time talking to potential fans/clients. You can mention your website or fan page in any conversation when discussing your business. You have a captive audience whether they are reading an article, listening to an interview, or watching a performance. They are listening to what you have to say. Online you can still reach that audience but odds are they have other banners, emails, IMs, & other push notifications to distract them. Your competition for their attention becomes that much greater.
Give your audience a reason to visit you online. Give them a sense of purpose, even if it’s as small as clicking the “like” button. Once they come to your website or page it’s up to you on how you want to continue captivating them.
