Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

With thanks to: Mobyaffiliates

Via: http://www.mobyaffiliates.com/blog/mobile-advertising-networks-market-map/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mobile-advertising-networks-market-map

 

As the global economy struggles to correct itself, and social-media marketing becomes a strategic imperative, small businesses will have exciting opportunities to expand in new directions this year.

The need for trust, value and brand transparency, among other trends from last year, are just as important today. But the current shift to geotargeting, mobile marketing and online reputation management require that small businesses modify their plans to surpass competitors.

Here are 10 marketing trends that small businesses should incorporate now to be positioned for success from the start.

  1. Building reliable brand advocates. The idea that you need tens of thousands of Twitter followers, blog subscribers, LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to build your business via social media is dead. Quality connections with those who are loyal to the business and the brand are far more helpful to spread your message than large groups of connections who disappear after the first interaction.
  2. Excelling in one area rather than being all things to all people. This will be a year for small businesses to focus on their unique niches and position themselves as the definitive source for information, products and services related to the specific places in the markets where they operate.
  3. Creating quality content as a viable marketing tool. Social media marketing and content marketing go hand-in-hand, and this is the year businesses will create useful content that adds value to the online conversation and to people’s lives. The Web is a cluttered place. Amazing content is essential to break through the noise.
  4. Moving more marketing dollars to social media. Statistics show that large and small companies are shifting budget dollars to social media and other digital marketing initiatives and away from print and radio advertising. Consumers spend more time online than ever and to reach them and stay competitive, small businesses need to have a presence on the social Web.
  5. Tracking brand reputations on the social Web in greater detail.Social media has given consumers a large platform to voice their opinions, and small-business owners are realizing the importance of actively monitoring their reputation on the Web. With dashboards and social media aggregators like Hootsuite and Spredfast, it’s easier than ever for small businesses to develop, nurture and track their stature online .
  6. Increase in branded online experiences to meet diverse consumer needs. Simply having a Twitter account or Facebook page isn’t enough this year. Small businesses must surround consumers with branded online destinations such as a blog, LinkedIn profileYouTube channel, Flickrprofile and so on. Consumers can then pick and choose how they want to interact with your brand. Of course, quality trumps quantity, so extending a brand across the social Web must be done strategically to maximize opportunities without compromising content and communications.
  7. Pursuing mobile marketing. There is absolutely no doubt this is the year of mobile marketing. While still in its infancy, it is the marketing imperative of the future. With mobile advertising, branded mobile apps and mobile marketing apps like Foursquare, consumers will expect businesses to have a mobile presence in 2011.
  8. Geotargeting and localized marketing will become a top priority.Local discount websites like Groupon and local review sites like Yelp make it easy for consumers to find deals and reviews about businesses in their neighborhoods and beyond. Creating targeted, local marketing campaigns using these popular tools will become the norm this year.
  9. Accepting that silo marketing is ineffective. Offline, online and mobile marketing initiatives create an opportunity to lead consumers from one message to another by integrating those strategies. You can drive a significantly higher return on investment by cross-promoting branded online destinations, discounts, contests and events.
  10. Co-marketing to boost returns and lower marketing costs. The economy is still struggling, which means small businesses can benefit from economies of scale by partnering with complementary businesses todevelop co-marketing programs in 2011. Promotional partnerships not only lead to reduced costs but also can lead to increased exposure to new audiences.

This year, all businesses will be experimenting with a variety of online, localized and mobile marketing initiatives. Remember, even if you’re not leveraging marketing trends and opportunities, your competitors are.

Via: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217849

Posted by Tricia Duryee Principal Correspondent from Moconews (http://twitter.com/triciad)

A week after Google (NSDQ: GOOG) bought AdMob for an astonishing $750 million in stock, Millennial Media reported that it has raised nearly $16 million in growth capital.

The two back-to-back events in the mobile advertising space is not a coincidence, said Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media’s President and CEO. “There’s two things that happened in the last week, and that’s a big indicator that something is about to pop here…You don’t put together a funding in a week. We had high interest in the company, and we had a competitive process…The way I look at it is that they are two very independent, but significant things that happened in the span of a week.”

The third round was led by a new investor, NEA, and the company’s existing investors, Columbia Capital, Charles River Ventures, and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated. In all, the Baltimore-based company has raised $37.3 million.

Since being founded in 2006, Millennial has grown its reach to 51.7 million unique mobile users, according to the company’s October report being released today. As part of the report, Millennial claims it reached nearly 80 percent of the mobile web—based on the 64.8 million overall users estimated by Nielsen. Of course, that does not mean that other ad networks didn’t reach those users too. In fact, in a Nielsen report issued for the month earlier, Millennial had the largest audience, trumping Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), which had 37.5 million unique visitors; Google, which had 35.4 million; Microsoft’s MSN, which had 34.6 million; and AdMob had 34.2 million. (These industry numbers are compiled by Nielsen, but can not be considered completely accurate because the numbers are self-reported. Nielsen does not distribute the numbers because of the accuracy concerns, but the results are regularly leaked to reporters.)

Asked whether Millennial was considering a sale, rather than raising funding, Palmieri said no. “Great companies are bought and not sold. Based on the valuation that AdMob received, it was bought. I’m focused on my company growing and being the market leader and being as successful as we can be. Whatever happens from there happens.” Millennial will use the capital to expand globally, including in Europe, and hiring engineers and more sales staff. Palmieri said the company was at the point where it was going to turn a profit, but instead decided to delay it for awhile so they can grow faster. They have plans to hire 15 engineers immediately and a handful of people in London, where they already have two employees. Over the next year, they’ll probably double their size of their sales force, although will adjust it based on performance. In general, he said there needs to be more sales people across the entire industry because publishers and advertisers need to be educated about the space. “That number has to quadruple in the next year as an industry, as we educate the number of brands out there.”

Link URL to Moconews:

http://moconews.net/article/419-millennial-medias-ceo-says-mobile-ad-market-is-about-to-pop/

Make sure you see the section on Mobile Monentum, by Camille Alarcon.  I was interviewed alongside Chris Bourke, Managing Director of Mobex, part of Havas Media.

Here is the foreword by Ruth Mortimer, Associate editor (features), Marketing Week:

There hasn’t been much good news for marketers in 2009. But when it comes to interactive marketing, there are a whole host of exciting initiatives taking place that promise great return on investment (ROI) for brands.  As the number of online channels increases, more consumers than ever before are logging on to their desktop and mobile devices to meet their diverse shopping, entertainment and information desires. Broadband penetration in the UK has now reached 60% and mobile phone penetration in Europe has already exceeded 100%.  With so many potential customers out there, businesses need to use as many techniques as possible to build up interest and generate spend on their own brands.  It isn’t just a case of being able to reach people, however. It’s also vital to find the right ways to reach consumers, in the right places, with targeted messages that appeal to them. The extra challenge in the current climate is to do this as cheaply as possible.  Marketers need to remember to be creative too. The web is often praised for its tools that allow marketers to measure the ROI of any promotional spend. But we should not neglect the innovation that online marketing can bring to a brand. While analytics and statistics are vital for ensuring that campaigns can be effectively analysed, it is now more important than ever that companies bring flair and originality to their work.

This comprehensive look at all elements of marketing in the online and mobile areas. From the measurable disciplines of search and affiliate programmes to the creativity of social media, it all adds up to a very exciting range of tools, ideas and strategies for marketers.

Please find the full pdf supplement here:

Interactive7_2009

I have been working in mobile for over six years and it is thought by some (which they are entitled to) that web-desktop browsing shrunk down to fit the mobile phone browser is a good experience. I believe they do not understand the basic principles of the medium.

Having a good browser on your phone is great, as the iphone has so greatly shown which we are grateful for as it has helped move the industry on and has acted as a catalyst to other handset manufacturers. However, and a big however, users of the mobile internet want relevant and concise information whilst on the go. Trawling through the web designed for big screens on your mobile phone does not work and never will, even with a great browser. This is an age old attitude of just dumping an old format on to a new format. Mobile is far more creative than that. I have experience in building mobile sites for Automotive, Financial, News Publishers, General Publishing, FMCG, Travel, Technology, Social Media sectors and never would I recommend just dumping their website on to the mobile. Beside the design element previously mentioned, fixed line websites are really heavy and when connecting over GPRS, Edge, 2G,2.5G or even 3G this slows down loads times dramatically. Again, this presents a problem as when users access information whilst on the go, they are time restricted. Therefore, a mobile site delivering the exact content they require, that is rendered for an optimal experience on their chosen handset is the best way to deliver a good user experience. In a way and within the time they expect. Here is one example, I currently work for YOC Group an organization that has built mobile sites for some world leading banks. Within a matter of a few clicks from a site launcher on the top layer of your menu system you are on the site in a completely secure environment, you can access your online statement and make transactions within a perfectly optimized user interface. No need for typing in the URL or finding the bookmark within the menu system; vertical or horizontal scrolling, signing in and slow loading pages. With accessing this service whilst on the go it gives you exactly what you need, check balance, make a transaction, request a call from customer service or click to call customer service and even direct you step by step to the nearest ATM or branch. Why would you want or need to go to the website whilst on the go? It would be a slow experience, there would be rendering problems for multiple reasons, such as flash, weight of the site, device type, screen size and resolution. You would need to find the content you are looking for, find the login and type in your details and by this point you would have given up because your bus just arrived, or your friend turned up, or you just went through a tunnel on the train or you lost 3G connection and have been bumped down to GPRS and your patience and time has run out!

So in summary, my experience tells me that mobile optimized sites that are rendered for the handset of choice is absolutely crucial in fulfilling expectations delivering a unique and enjoyable user experience. Never ever let anyone tell you that the web works on mobile, it doesn’t.

I’ve written several comment pieces for Mobile Marketer, Mad.co.uk and Netimperative looking at the mobile marketing industry and advising brands how best to adopt mobile as part of their overall marketing strategy. See below for a few links.

This article looks at the growth of mobile as a marketing channel and the key trends to expect during 2009.

Where next for Mobile Marketers

Netimperative

http://netimperative.com/news/2009/march/guest-comment-where-next-for-mobilemarketing/view    

 

An article I drafted for Mobile Marketer looking at the growth of the mobile marketing channel and what this means for brands.

Are brands starting to see the value in mobile marketing

Mobile Marketer

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/opinion/columns/3013.html

 

In this article, I advise marketers about why they should adopt mobile as part of their marketing strategy.

Adding mobile to the marketing mix

Mad.co.uk

http://technologyweekly.mad.co.uk/articles/article.aspx?uiArticleID=0cced847-b97b-4dac-a397-e220bf592a25

YOC has made quite a few exciting deals over the last few months. Amongst others, we have partnered with Haymarket Consumer Media and IDG. Below are a few links to news articles covering both of the announcements:

Mobile Entertainment

17th March 2009

Haymarket takes brands to mobile

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/32883/Haymarket-takes-brands-to-mobile

 

Mobile Marketing Magazine

8th January 2009

IDG goes mobile with YOC

http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2009/01/idg-goes-mobile-with-yoc.html

Moco News

19th March 2009

Haymarket creates mobile sites

http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-mobile-content-bits-sony-ericsson-player-x-video-pact

It’s been another busy week for YOC. We’ve just announced that our UK media network has reached 170 million monthly page impressions in less than 10 months and that mobile social network peperonity has joined the network. Here are a couple of links to news pieces:

PC Advisor

3rd June 2009

PC Advisor Mobile UK media network hits 170m pages

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=116827

Mobile Marketing Magazine

2nd June 2009

YOC Clocks Up 170m a Month

http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2009/06/yoc-clocks-up-170m-a-month.html

Check out the links below to some coverage of YOC’s acquisition of Bluestar:

GoMo News

26th May 2009

Germany’s YOC buys England’s Bluestar

http://www.gomonews.com/mobile-advertising-consolidation-germans-yoc-buys-englands-bluestar/

Reuters

27th May 2009

Mobile Agency Bluestar sells to Germany’s YOC

http://uk.reuters.com/article/paiddealsAtoms/idUK141871263820090527