Mobile Marketing - The Inside Scoop

Today’s BlogTalkRadio broadcast on “Mobile Marketing” consisted of an expert panel of nationally renowned mobile marketing industry insiders, including: Kim Graham Lee, CEO of Vontoo; Matt Silk, Sr. VP of Waterfall Mobile; Kim Dushinski, President/Founder of Mobile Marketing Profits and author of ‘The Mobile Marketing Handbook’; and Michael Becker, Co-founder and VP of Mobile Strategies at iLoop Mobile and co-author of ‘Mobile Internet for Dummies’ and ‘Web Marketing All-in-One for Dummies’.

Our panel provided a wealth of information on the different types of mobile marketing options, best practices, choosing vendors, industry trends, mobile strategies that perform the best, and examples of clients that have utilized mobile marketing effectively. The consistent theme throughout the broadcast - “just get started, stick your toe in and try it out to figure what works best for your firm”.

Hear the completed broadcast at http://blogtalkradio.com/strategicgrowthconcepts.

The New Basics of Marketing

What you need to know about: websites, email, mobile phones, social networks, viral video, and blogging.

By: Leigh Buchanan, Max Chafkin, and Ryan McCarthy

Inc. Online, February 2008

The world of marketing is radically different than it was only a few short years ago. From viral video to text-message campaigns and avatar sales reps, marketing tools that only recently seemed rare and futuristic are quickly becoming commonplace.

They're the New Basics.

Mainstream marketing was invented by big companies to convey simple messages to the masses. New marketing, in contrast, is about complexity and individuality. There are, for example, 100 million blogs worldwide. No matter how small the market for your products or services, one of those blogs probably serves it.

But though today's marketers have more choices in terms of the tools they use to reach customers, their jobs aren't getting any easier. With an explosion of new offerings, it's hard to know when and how best to spend your marketing dollars. In compiling this report, Inc. looked for developments that are new and creative but also effective and affordable--and, of course, well suited to nimble, entrepreneurial companies. Use them creatively, and you just might transform your business.

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Mobile Marketers Target Receptive Hispanic Audience

In keeping with our recent review of mobile advertising, and our goal to keep you apprised of marketing information that will provide value to your business, we thought that a recent article from Advertising Age Magazine would have particular value to those of you who are marketing to consumers rather than businesses. In this article we are advised that Hispanics are the country's largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority, and as a result, major brands such as "Continental Airlines, General Mills, Sears, Kmart and Tag Heuer will be working in the first quarter to launch Latino-centric mobile campaigns".

Making the case to utilize mobile advertising to reach this hot demographic is research that suggests "U.S. Hispanics are more engaged with their mobile phones than Americans overall. Some 71% of Hispanics consume content on their cellphones, compared with the market average of 48%, according to ComScore M:Metrics. Why? Many don't have subscriptions to internet or landline service, so wireless phones are their sole communications tool. Additionally, the median age among Hispanics is 27.6, compared with 36.6 in the population as a whole, so that may also help explain their propensity toward mobile".

Read the article at the following link to help you determine if mobile advertising can help your company grow by reaching this hot demographic target group. http://www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com/marketing/Marketing-Information-Resources_I12.html

Learn to Use Mobile Advertising for Your Business

Given the high level of interest in, and reader commentary on, this week's earlier posting about Kroger's new mobile coupons, I thought I would continue our exploration of this exciting new media opportunity. Based on my review of the many comments made in the LinkedIN groups where I posted a reference to the Kroger article, as well as the many direct messages I received, it appears to me that there is a strong level of interest in mobile messaging – as well as a distinct lack of information, and a hunger for learning everything possible. Therefore, I did a bit of searching to locate materials that can provide some basic information and resources.

Attached to this posting you will find a link to a white paper written by IDC Information and Data entitled, "Common Short Codes: The Time Is Now for Mobile Marketing and Outreach". This document provides a good overview of mobile advertising opportunities, explains the technology, and gives excellent examples of how the technology is being utilized effectively. http://www.usshortcodes.com/docs/Mobilize_with_CSCs.pdf

The second link you will find in today's posting is to the Common Short Code Administration which has engaged a firm called Neustar to operate the Common Short Code Registry on behalf of the CTIA – The Wireless Association®. Follow this link and you can learn all the steps needed to register a Common Short Code (CSC) for your firm's use, as well as gaining a broad range of information on the technology and the industry. http://www.usshortcodes.com/.

Take the time to explore mobile advertising; along with all things web-based, mobile advertising is another great technology to give small businesses the same advantages as larger firms. It's a way to level the playing field to provide small businesses access to customers and opportunities they would not have been able to access just a few short years ago. Make sure you learn how to use this technology to YOUR firm's best advantage!

If you like this article and this topic and would like me to continue to provide additional information and resources about it, make sure to let me know by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me a message via my LinkedIN profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/lindadaichendt.

Kroger Offers Mobile Coupons Nationally

As someone who has worked within the mobile industry, I have been fascinated to watch the continuing evolution of wireless technology applications. I have long felt that the wireless equipment manufacturers and retailers have not been doing a very good job of educating consumers about the applications available, how to utilize the applications, and how the applications can benefit them. I'm a strong believer that in the not very distant future our cell phones will be as useful to us as our laptop computers in that they will have all sorts of software on them that we use as part of our everyday lives. Today, this is simply not the case; while consumers are purchasing increasingly high-function cellphone devices, most have no idea how to use that functionality.

However, at long last a major national grocery retailer is making available a mobile coupon program and since everyone needs groceries, I believe if enough people find out about the program it can go a long way toward increasing the awareness of consumers on this convenient, useful application for their cellphones. In the following link you can read about Kroger's new mobile coupon program. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/2417.html

Once I read the article, I decided to try it out to see how well it worked and I have to say, I was quite impressed! It took about a minute and a half to register for the program, about 30 seconds to download the software into my phone, another 10 seconds to register my Kroger card into the program, and VOILA! I began receiving coupons that were valid in my zip code! I then scrolled thru the offers, selected those I wanted and opted to save them. Once saved, they were automatically loaded onto my Kroger card and I saw photos of the product selected on my phone. Now when I go to the grocery store this weekend and purchase those products, the discount coupons will automatically register from my Kroger card as I am checking out! In this economy where every penny counts, what could be easier?

As you read this article, do yourself a favor and start thinking of ways that your company might be able to start utilizing mobile technology to your advantage – and your customers!