Category Archives: Mobile Marketing Tips

How to Type 50 words per minute on your Smartphone

Posted on May 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you are fine using the standard touchpad interface on your Smartpone and have no desire to text rapidly, then you don’t need Swype. However, if you are like the rest of us who need a bit of help when it comes to texting on the smooth screens, then you should download the Swype application. This app allows you to enter a word by sliding your finger from letter to letter lifting only between words.

Swype was initially developed to help people with disabilities. It is not only available on Smartphones, but also on tablets and e-book readers. This is the one app that is not available on the iPhone. Regardless, Swype will be licensing its technology to major handsets in Asia, Europe, South and North America.

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Eric Melchor, Founder – FoneGigs – The FIRST job board dedicated to Mobile Marketing and Mobile Application Developer Jobs.

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“Geo-fence Marketing” – Advertising that Works

Posted on May 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

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Advertisers can now target consumers based on where they are located and where they are heading across any internet connected device – web, email, mobile and Wi-Fi. Move over newspaper ads, tv commercials, and paid search. Location-based technology is a marketing tactic that is meant to drive traffic into your stores. When someone gets near your shop, people will be alerted (those who opt-in) about any sales or specials that your are offering. Customize your alerts to fit your marketing strategy.

See 5 other mobile technologies that are making shopping easier here

These ‘shop alerts’ use “geo-fences”, which are virtual boundaries. These shop alerts can work both on smartphones and non-smartphones. So far the results of the pilot program that ran across several major retailers in 2009 are promising. 79% of respondents said it increased the likelihood to visit a store and 65% made a purchase as a result of a ShopAlert message. See more results at Techcrunch.

Who is behind geo-fence marketing?

Placecast built ShopAlerts on a proprietary location-based platform and has become a leader in location-based mobile marketing.

Recruit the best Mobile Advertising Professionals at FoneGigs.com

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PR Strategies and tips when using Mobile Communications

Posted on May 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Its direct, immediate and actionable, so what are some tips on how PR professionals can make mobile communications to be more effective?

  • As more reporters rely upon mobile email, PR professionals should change the way they write press releases. They should be shorter, with bullet points rather than long descriptions since reporters are reading your materials on a three-inch screen.
  • If there are any pictures in your press release, store them on the web.

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  • Purchase a .mobi domain name and create a mobile website so you can send your audience to a mobile site that is mobile-user friendly.
  • Also communicate through text messaging via mobile communications. You can send text messages from Internet email like Yahoo. Text messages can be forwarded just like Tweets that are re-tweeted.

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4 things Not To Do when Launching a Mobile Marketing Campaign

Posted on April 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you want to design mobile banners and launch a mobile advertising campaign that will generate the most attention, avoid doing the following:

  • Just concentrating on showcasing the product offered or the promotion. Studies have shown that consumers are very emotional and the colors and patter of mobile ad banners are more appealing than anything else.
  • Using a bunch of animation or irrelevant images. It should be just a few words that sparks the interest or imagination of the viewers, and entices them to click on the banner. Simplicity and clarity matter most.

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  • Keeping a mobile video ad longer than 5 seconds. While users who are surfing the web on their laptops are willing to watch a video ad for 15 seconds, that does not hold true for mobile.
  • Not frequency capping mobile full-page takeovers. The first time a full-page mobile ad is shown can be interesting. The 2nd time can be real annoying. Remember to frequency cap mobile ads to 1 per 48 hours.

Share your Experience and Help Others!

Feel free to post a comment. If you’re just looking to meet others in the same industry, share photos or talk about cool applications that make your life easier, then connect with us on Facebook. If you’d like to just learn about new mobile app developer jobs or mobile marketing opportunities, then follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or subscribe to our job feed.

You can also download free mobile directories (Mobile Ad Networks, Mobile Analytics Companies, Mobile Search Engines, In-Game Ad Networks) here.

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Eric Melchor, Founder – FoneGigs – The FIRST job board dedicated to Mobile Marketing and Mobile Application Developer Jobs.

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How to Implement a QR / 2D Barcode Campaign in 5 Steps

Posted on April 20, 2010 | 1 Comment

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Great! You and your client or agency decided that it was time to use QR bar codes in your media campaign. And why not? Here are the main benefits of using QR / 2D codes:

  • QR codes revitalize Print and Outdoor Media – meaning, they instantly transform traditional advertising into a multi-media experience. People can interact with your brand through the use of mobile technology as opposed to only seeing advertisments
  • Cost Efficient – This is a very innovative and entertaining way to increase brand favorability and can be executed at a low budget

So now that we know the main benefits of implementing 2D barcodes into your media campaign, here are the five steps you must take to get started.

Step 1. Determine what products, services or promotions QR codes will be used for. Once you know this, we can move to the next step.

Step 2. Decide how you are going to use the QR codes. Will you use QR codes to offer a discount? Provide product information? Or host a contest?

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Step 3. Choose a QR Code Management Platform. A 2D bar code management platform is necessary for:

  • Provide users with a QR code reader they can download
  • Help keep track of QR codes you create
  • Capture statistics like number of total scans, number of unique scans, etc.
  • Receive technical support
  • Ability to create an unlimited (or specified) number of QR codes

Here is a little information about 3 QR bar code management systems I have personally been in contact with:

Scanlife – based in NY, but with offices all over the globe – has partnership agreements with major carriers like Verizon, Spring, Vodafone and Orange. Their application can be used on millions of mobile phones on every operating system and is being pre-loaded on several new phones. You can also find their application on via the App Store, Android Market, and Blackberry App World. Their customer service is excellent. Tarrah Little, Marketing and Sales Manager, was very helpful in answering all my questions and providing me with necessary material that I requested. She even explained to me what white label download meant.

Another 2D bar code management system is Insqribe. Insqribe is based in Australia and Nick Gonios, Commercial Director, was very helpful in answering my questions. They worked with Pizza Hut in developing one of the coolest iPhone applications I have ever read about that combines augmented reality and GPS, read about here.

Beetagg is another QR Code management platform. Beetagg is located in Switzerland. Beetagg CEO Robin Maass was kind enough to grant me permission try out their Manager Pro management system and create various reports.

So now that you have selected a QR Code Service Provider, we can go to the next step of creating a QR / 2D Code Campaign.

Step 4. Develop a landing page or mobile website that the QR Code will link to or just decide where you want visitors to go to after they scan the 2D code.

Step 5. Decide where you want to place the QR barcodes. Will they be placed on posters, billboards, magazines, newspapers?

So there are the 5 steps on how to implement a QR Code campaign. How long should it take to execute? Well that depends on how fast your team can make decisions and the complexity of the campaign. On average I’d say around 8 weeks if everyone is on board and knows what action to take.

If you’d like to share your experience creating QR / 2D barcode campaigns, feel free to write a comment or share your experience on our LinkedIn group. If you’d like to make new friends who are also in the industry, join FoneGigs on Facebook. Download free mobile directories of Mobile Ad Networks, Mobile Analytics Companies, and Mobile Search Engines here.

Thanks!

Eric Melchor, Founder – FoneGigs – The FIRST job board dedicated to Mobile Marketing and Mobile Application Developer Jobs.

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How not to use Mobile Marketing Coupons

Posted on December 20, 2009 | Leave a comment

via: Mobile Marketing Watch

7-Eleven Gets Hit With Ethics Questions Over Mobile Coupons

In its mobile coupon tests in San Diego, quickie-market 7-Eleven is getting into ethical — lukewarm bubble-bath water — over its accidental underage audience.

While mobile promotion seekers have to opt-in to the mobile ads, in collecting phone numbers and e-mail addresses some say that companies need to be careful not to target children when the messages are more appropriate for adults.

Mobile Marketing: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology

StorefrontBacktalk’s Evan Schuman’s write-up on the 7-Eleven trial has brought the issue to light, saying that since the trial doesn’t ask for ages, it would be best to “treat all of participants with… kid gloves,” continuing, “that approach certainly seems safer than assuming they are all adults and risking parental wrath for marketing to a 14 year-old.”

read full article here.

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Top 5 things to do when doing SMS Marketing

Posted on December 12, 2009 | 1 Comment

via: Mobile Marketer

Chief marketing officers familiar with text messaging as a real-time alternative to talking to someone on a mobile phone may not fully grasp the power of these interactions as part of their broader charter.

At first glance, text messaging – or, technically, Short Message Service (SMS) – is a gimmick used by television talent shows to collect votes or a registration tactic advertised on store signs or billboards. At best, it is like email, another avenue to broadcast messages and calls to action, except worse because you are limited to sending and receiving only 160 characters.

In practice, SMS can power highly effective customer relationship and development strategies. The key is working with firms which have developed technology around SMS that masks the complexity of initiating mobile interactions or dialogues.

Firms that address this properly will walk you through the following nine steps.

1. They will advise you that mobile marketing best practices, as prescribed by the Mobile Marketing Association, that dictate your initial foray into mobile requires creation of a new class of customers – your mobile subscribers.

It is not sufficient to possess or buy customer or prospect mobile phone numbers without also having their expressed consent to communicate with them via text messaging.
Marketers are free to do so but at their own peril, as mobile device users have come to expect this opt-in step and are likely to punish those who do not.

2. What this means is that you must create a mobile marketing strategy in line with your overall customer retention and acquisition plans.

Engagement with the mobile audience requires thoughtful, relevant and ongoing communications so that your business, product or brand remains top of mind. Without such a programmatic approach, you risk wasting the effort.

Thoughtful providers may prescribe a trial to determine what works or does not, but as part of a longer-term plan for leveraging mobile strategically.

read full article here.

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The difference between Mobile Marketing and Mobile Advertising

Posted on December 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

via: Mobile Marketing Watch

What’s the difference between mobile marketing and mobile advertising?

This does not have to be a long post, I just wanted to set the record straight once and for all. There is a difference between “Mobile Marketing” and “Mobile Advertising”. A lot of times you will read an article about a successful mobile marketing campaign and it has to do with mobile advertising, I suggest you try and set the author straight. Its important we are all talking the same language. Both play an important role in the mobile eco system.

If you spend money on mobile advertising you would be buying a banner on a mobile site/iphone app, or an ad on an SMS message. You would probably use a company like Admob for display or 4info for SMS. With mobile advertising you are trying to reach an audience that are most likely not yet customers or leads. Mobile marketing however is more about building a database of customer or potential customers and then marketing to them. The key difference is that one of them is database marketing and the other is advertising.

There are many different providers in the U.S. for mobile marketing and advertising. Almost all major brands right now have  a strategy to not only advertise themselves on the billions of impressions mobile is capturing but also to build a database of people they can engage and market to.

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How to make sure your mobile site is indexed

Posted on November 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

via: Mobile Marketing Watch

SEO For Mobile Sites, Making Sure You’re Indexed

In today’s mobile world, making sure people can find your mobile content is as important as ever.  Like with traditional search, making sure your mobile sites are indexed properly and ranked for your target keywords is the foundation for success.

There’s a misconception regarding what it takes to get your mobile sites indexed in mobile search engines.  Most people think just because their sites are indexed and ranked in Google’s traditional search engine, that their mobile sites will be equally indexed and ranked via Google’s mobile search as well- when in reality the two search engines differ slightly.  If your mobile site shows up in traditional searches, don’t always assume  your mobile site shows up in mobile search as well.

Google recently published a few tips aimed at mobile Website owners to help make sure their sites are properly included in Google mobile search;

  1. Create a mobile sitemap and submit it to Google so Google knows it exists. This can be done using Google Webmaster Tools, just like with a regular sitemap.
  2. To make sure Googlebot-Mobile can access your site, allow any User-agent to access it.  ”You should also be aware that Google may change its User-agent information at any time without notice, so it is not recommended that you check if the User-agent exactly matches ‘Googlebot-Mobile’ (which is the string used at present),” says Jun Mukai, a software engineer on Google’s mobile search team. “Instead, check whether the User-agent header contains the string ‘Googlebot-Mobile’. You can also use DNS Lookups to verify Googlebot.”
  3. Check that your mobile-friendly URLs’ DTD (Doc Type Definition) declaration is in an appropriate mobile format such as XHTML Mobile or Compact HTML.  If you run both a regular site and a mobile version of it, there is a possibility that the wrong version will show up in the wrong search results.

Another problem you might run into is the fact that if you run both a regular site and a mobile version of it, there’s a possibility that the wrong version will show up in the wrong search results.  Luckily, there’s ways to prevent this.  ”When a mobile user or crawler (like Googlebot-Mobile) accesses the desktop version of a URL, you can redirect them to the corresponding mobile version of the same page,” explains Mukai. “Google notices the relationship between the two versions of the URL and displays the standard version for searches from desktops and the mobile version for mobile searches.”

In the end, it takes a few simple steps to ensure your mobile site is available to the masses.  Mobile search engines, and especially Google’s mobile search, is a primary means for consumers to find and access mobile content.  User’s want your mobile content, just make sure it’s easy for them to find.

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