Envision to Profit from Power Of Mobile Social Media
Friday, 8 February 2013
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Smartphone Offers Magical Location Based Function
Imagine this situation – Your customer is
on their lunch break wandering around town looking for a slice of pizza. When
they happened to pass by a few blocks from your pizza shop, a coupon automatically shoots to
their smartphone. It offers a lunch deal for today only and if they click on
it, it gives them a map whihc guide them from wherever they are to your shop.
It sounds like a science fiction film, but
it’s real. Businesses can now do this through the magic of mobile. It’s called ‘locationbased marketing.’
We Know Where You Are
The Global Positioning System (GPS) was
developed for military operations. It actually shoots a signal to outer space
that bounces off satellites and triangulates to tell exactly where someone is.
Now we can use this state-of-the-art science fiction technology to offer a slice
of pizza at just the right time. Pretty cool, right?
Location based services use GPS, which is astandard feature of smartphones. They connect your customer to your service (or
another service) based on where you physically are.
Location Based Apps
The best way to reach your customers
through their mobiles is to create apps. An app is an interactive software
program that helps them, entertains them, or somehow makes life easier for
them. Companies make apps for branding. If you get an awesome app that you use
every day and it’s got that company’s logo in it, this builds serious brand
awareness. Let’s look at a few ways apps can be used.
Mobile Coupons
You can create a mobile coupon and
configure it so that it’s sent when they’re in the vicinity. You do this by
designating a certain zone. When they enter the zone, the system automatically
sends the message. Interestingly, this original zone system was used to keep
track of prisoners and employees. Companies created a zone and when an employee
wandered out of it, they knew they were up to something.
Maps and Directions
Most people use their smartphones’ GPScapabilities to find places. With the click of a button, they can get maps and
directions telling them exactly where to go. You can create a mobile app that
helps them find the places they’re looking for by integrating with sites like
Google Maps and Yelp. For example, when they’re looking for a gas station, they
click one button and access your app, which shows them all the gas stations in
the area as well as prices per gallon.
This doesn’t get you business directly,
unless of course you’re a gas station. But it’s something that helps them out.
That’s the idea behind apps – they’re programs that make life easier. Whenever
they use your app, they see your brand name.
GPS Enhanced Shopping
Another app idea is to help them shop. Lots
of people these days use their smartphones when they’re shopping offline. While
looking at products in stores, they’ll check online to get a price comparison
or more product details. You can create an app that helps them do that. It
could be a search function that looks for prices or reviews online.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There
are many things you can do and you’re only limited by your imagination.
Location based services offer a whole new way to market to customers directly.
The QR CODES Story Picture
QR Codes – What They Are and What They Do
for You
You've undoubtedly seen a QR code before.
These are square black-and-white pixelated codes that are appearing all over
the place. They're not just weird, futuristic decorations. The QR code is the
modern-day bar code. Instead of using a scanner, you scan it with your
smartphone.
QR codes are smarter than bar codes. They
can hold much more information. They're designed to redirect your smartphone's
browser to a selected URL. When you see a QR code, you whip out your phone,
scan it, and you're instantly redirected to the website, coupon, video or other
service.
If you use a smartphone, you can probably
understand why this is so cool. Typing a URL into a smartphone's browser isn't
exactly the most fun experience in the world. With QR codes, you don't have to
mess with any typing at all. Just scan and you're there. QR stands for 'quick
response,' and that couldn't be a better description of how they work.
For marketers, QR codes are even cooler.
For one thing, you can put them absolutely anywhere. They're black and white,
and you can print them as stickers. Lots of companies use QR codes to take
mobile users to their websites, but that's far from all you can do with them.
You can create a QR code that, when scanned by a phone, it instantly signs the user
up to your email list; making it just a little bit easier to sign up.
QR codes can be used as part of a promotion
with social media. When they scan it, they instantly 'like' or share with their
friends. You can combine this with a coupon where after liking your business,
they get a nice discount for your products or services.
Your QR code could lead to an instant
download. For example, you've got a flyer advertising a free report you've
written for your customers. All they have to do is scan the code and they
instantly get the report.
Information On Demand
The wonderful thing about the Internet is
that you have access to all of the world's information at your fingertips. This
is even cooler with smartphones, since they're pocket-sized. You can whip them
out anywhere and find out about a product you're thinking of buying, a bottle
of wine you're drinking, or a service you're thinking of trying.
More than ever, people are researching on
their smartphones as they shop offline. They're looking for prices, reviews,
and product information. You can put QR codes on your store's products that
lead them to the information they're looking for. This information pushes
fence-sitters off and turns them into buyers.
You can use QR codes to deliver thereal-time information they're looking for. Some weather agencies and mass
transit companies have taken advantage of this, embedding their codes with a
link to updated info about what's going on now.
If you're not already sold on QR codes, one
more thing to entice you is the fact that they're free and easy to generate.
There are websites where you supply the URL to embed and it does it for you.
You get an image file that you can copy and paste, or print. You can create as
many as you want without spending a dime.
Mobile Website allow Your Customers to Make Realtime Decision
The short answer: Yes.
A recent survey by Web.com says 84% of small
businesses that go mobile see an increase in profits. That's a pretty high
percentage and you can imagine that 84% of those small businesses aren't
marketing geniuses. They just realized that their customers were on their
mobiles 24/7 and they needed to be there too.
All of the marketing experts online are
predicting that mobile will be even more important to businesses in the future.
Global financial services firm Morgan Stanly released a report a few years ago
saying that mobile web surfing would surpass desktop usage by 2015. The report
showed that mobile use was growing exponentially.
People are increasingly looking for offline
businesses on their mobile devices, and this means it's time to get on the
ball. Just going mobile can increase your profits, but if you really want a
mobile site that rocks, there are a few things to consider.
Design and Navigation
You know how important navigation is for a
PC website. Well, for a mobile site, it's even more important. Mobile websites
have high bounce rates. To keep them on the site, the design has to be simple
and stripped down. All of your site's pages should be just one or two clicks
from the front page. Images should be small and minimal, and there should be
plenty of empty space. Don't use Flash or anything else that loads slowly.
When designing your site, think about how
they're going to be using it. Remember that they won't have a keyboard.
Entering text on a mobile is a frustrating experience. Most mobile devices use
a touch screen, so consider thumb swishing when you plan your layout. Put your
buttons in places where they're easy to tap.
People use their mobiles to find local
businesses and to compare prices. While you're shopping in a retail store, you
can use your smartphone to compare prices and learn more about the physical
products you're thinking of buying.
Mobile users spend LOTS of time on social
media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Studies have shown that the time spent
socializing on mobiles is steadily increasing and social media sites are
capitalizing on this by creating more mobile-friendly features. Find out what
your customers are doing on their mobiles and you'll know exactly how to market
to them.
So, does a mobile site get you more
profits? The answer is yes, and it's going to mean even more profits in the
coming years. Sales of mobile devices are only increasing, so if you haven't already
gone mobile, now's the time to do it.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Effective SMS Marketing Can Grow Your Business
Society, on the whole, has become more
connected than ever. In fact, sources like Mashable.com are reporting that by
2013, more people will be using mobile devices to browse the Internet than
computers. And why not? Free Wi-Fi is easy to come by these days. Chains like
Starbucks and McDonalds, even your local dentist likely offers Wi-Fi now!
With the availability of instant
connectivity, people are spending more time away from home. What that also
means is that we, as consumers, have become more accustomed to the idea of
“instant gratification.” Are you, as a business owner, leaving money for your
competitors by not capitalizing on mobile trends?
When potential customers are on the go,
they are looking for easy to access information. They don’t want to go through
the trouble of having to resize your site and scroll endlessly to find the
information they are looking for. Mobile search-ability is big business,
especially when potential customers are trying to find information in a hurry.
Don’t forget the commerce side of having a
mobile website. Having a fully functional, mobile optimized website can turn
potential patrons into actual customers. Through location based software, your
business can offer time sensitive coupons to people that are searching nearby.
You can even take your business a step further with SMS marketing.
Consumers love to pay less for what they
were already going to buy anyway. What better way to give them what they want
than with coupons? By having customers opt in to your SMS messages in exchange
for a discount or coupon, you gain twofold. First, by giving them exactly what
they want, and secondly by building brand loyalty.
With coupon and discount codes coming
directly to their mobile device, it is easy for them to frequent your business.
Remember, mobile use is growing exponentially over desktop computer usage, and
people are more likely to open and read text messages these days than email.
Why Not Make It Fun?
Have you thought about QR codes? With so
many smartphones on the market, give your customers another way to stay
connected.
QR codes can be scanned by any smartphone
camera to reveal anything you can think up. Send people to a website, or an
audio file, or a cool video that they can share. With QR codes, you can do all
sorts of things to keep your customers engaged.
Mobile apps are perfect for sharing instant
information with your customers. With interactive features like push
notifications, you can turn your mobile app into a coupon machine! Link your
mobile app with your social media accounts, and you’re giving your company a
way to directly interact with the folks who buy from you. People love to do
business with PEOPLE they know and trust. Digital interaction should not be
underutilized when your business is trying to stay connected to its customers.
Google + Local
Speaking of trust, have you claimed your
Google+ Local Mobile Listing yet? With the power of Google’s algorithms,
optimizing your mobile listing allows your customers to connect not only to
you, but also to each other. Here they can write reviews and share your
business with their friends.
Claiming your listing also allows you the
chance to respond to any bad experiences people may have had in the past, and
show potential customers that you are willing to do what it takes to insure
your customers have a favorable view.
Mobile is only going to continue to grow.
While this trend is still on the rise, now is the time to make sure your
business isn’t being left behind.
Mobile Apps and Social Media – A Perfect Match
The Web is getting increasingly social.
Experts even predict that someday you may search for all of your information
through social media sites instead of search engines. People love Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, Groupon, YouTube… the list goes on. These are some of the
most visited sites on the Internet.
Studies show that people on mobiles are
especially prone to socializing. They spend way more time on social media sites
than PC surfers do. Mobile apps and social media are a perfect match. If your business
can take advantage of this pairing, you can really increase your bottom line.
Mobile users love social media because of
the speed. Everything is happening in real-time. You carry your phone with you everywhere.
You might be on the go or hanging around with time to kill, and what better
time to check out your friends' news feeds? If you think about it, it makes
sense. People aren't as likely to be planted in front of a desktop doing that.
We socialize more on mobiles because our
friends are there when we need them most. For example, you're going to check
out a new restaurant for lunch, but you want to see what your friends have to
say about it first. Mobile connects you quickly.
Social media works together with mobiles
through apps. These are software programs designed just for mobile devices.
They connect you directly to social media sites so that you can engage with
them anywhere.
Apps that let word of mouth travel are
extremely popular. Foursquare is an example of one of these. It's an app that
lets users leave and read reviews and “check-in” to places. You can leave an
instant review of a place you just visited and share with friends.
Apps can also help people find local
businesses using maps as well as reviews left by friends. When you're looking for
a place to eat, you can read your friends' reviews before you get there.
Geo-local services use your phone's built-in GPS to show you reviews of places
in the area.
Photo sharing apps are also big. Instagram
is currently the fastest growing social media app in the mobile world. The
number of users grew about five-fold in the first six months of 2012. It lets
you take pictures, edit and share instantly.
Businesses can benefit by creating their
own apps that allow users to communicate better through social media. These
could be photo sharing apps, location-based services, review apps, or anything
else your customers would enjoy using.
You can also create your own social
network. Facebook is for everyone, but you can create a networking app that's
just for your customers. Focus on a particular industry, interest, hobby,
location, or anything else that connects people. Think of a way your customers
would like to communicate with each other.
Social media and mobile are both more than
just trends. While social media sites come and go, the phenomenon of
socializing online is never going to go away. Mobile use only keeps increasing.
If your business can harness the power of this perfect match, you can do great
things for your customers and that'll translate to profits for you
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