Search. Social. Mobile - How these Work Together to Create an Extraordinary Online Presence
The Internet reinvents itself year after year. But unlike designer fashions that are here today and gone tomorrow, the elements of digital marketing continue to stack up. Businesses need to continuously invest in the latest technologies and methodologies to stay relevant online. In fact, businesses that stand out use all the digital marketing elements to leverage their synergies. We will discuss three of the main elements in digital marketing:
Search. This is still one of the most cost effective means for B2B businesses to create brand awareness and generate sales leads. Studies show that 91% of buyers go to suppliers’ websites before calling.
Social. Powerful social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have created a space for customers to have discussions about products and services. Savvy businesses use these platforms to establish dialogs with their customers and to establish trusting relationships.
Mobile. With the rise and adoption of smart phones and other mobile devices, the power of the Internet has left homes and offices and has followed customers into the world.
This seminar will show you how to unlock the full marketing potential of the Internet by establishing a robust digital marketing plan and identifying the things to consider when using search, social and mobile. Case studies will illustrate the potential for great ROI. Attendees will take home actionable tips aimed at improving their online marketing.
SPEAKER BIO Dana Chen Fischer is the president of NetEdge Marketing and is a certified advanced Internet marketing consultant. In her work as an Internet consultant, Dana’s focus is to help small to midsize companies leverage their websites to generate sales leads and increase revenues.
Dana holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and has worked in the information technology and semiconductor industries for over 13 years. Her knowledge of computers, Internet and Web usability issues, project management, and business planning and marketing has been a valuable asset. She has managed large application development engineering teams and multi-million dollar software projects for a Fortune 100 company in Silicon Valley.
Dana frequently speaks to business conferences, companies and organizations such as Silicon Valley SCORE, San Jose State University, Key Point Credit Union, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and Construction Finance Management Association (CFMA), California Business Broker Association (CABB) on the key benefits of digital marketing.
What's the big deal about mobile marketing? If you've heard conflicting opinions on what it is and what it's good for, that's because many companies are still feeling their ways into this new frontier -- trying to determine whether to use it for push marketing, general branding, lead generation, et cetera. But while many companies hesitate to jump onto the mobile marketing wagon full-time, the simple fact remains that consumption of mobile devices is exploding. It's estimated that one quarter of U.S. consumers will own a tablet by the end of 2012. No matter which marketing purposes it serves best, mobile technology is fast becoming the way we search for products, services and information. And it's just going to get bigger.
Certain marketing channels appear to do especially well in the mobile environment. Email marketing in particular seems to encourage an ever-growing number of opens on mobile devices even as the number PC and webmail opens declined. Mobile phone users are also driving tons of traffic to major social media sites, including more than half of all Twitter usage and a third of all Facebook visits, according to the Mobile Marketing Association. If you want a piece of the social media crowd, mobile marketing is definitely one way to grab it.
As you can see, mobile marketing is still kind of a moving target, but that motion is definitely upward and outward. While the ways you choose to employ it depend on what kind of products or services you sell, the sooner you catch the wave, the bigger a splash your online business can make. We're happy to advise you on what aspects of mobile marketing make the most sense for your company's goal and target audience, so contact Netedge Marketing today and let's talk about it.
Social Media, Local Search & Mobile Search Collide in the So-Lo-Mo Revolution
The convergence of latest internet and wireless technologies has created a powerful new opportunity for mobile marketing – social networking and local search through mobile devices (smart-phones and tablets). These location-based mobile social networking services are revolutionizing mobile marketing by allowing users to:
share real-life experiences via geo-tagged user-generated multimedia content
exchange recommendations about places
identify nearby friends
and set up face to face meetings
Influencing the buyer is no longer enough; now you must influence the buyer’s social network to increase the potential for sales exponentially. People want to tell their friends where they are “hanging out”. They do this with their mobile devices. They use an app to ‘check in’, and it sends a message to their friends. It’s a win-win situation – customersget rewards, discounts and offers, while businesses get more word-of mouth advertising.
Is your business geared to incorporate social local networks into your mobile marketing strategy?
‘Checking in’ with mobile devices
You can use a smart-phone to ‘check in’ wherever you go – whetherit’s at the airport, a holiday shopping trip, parks, bars, museums, libraries or a local restaurant; and share your whereabouts with all your friends. With services from Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook Places, Gowalla, Google Places and others, userscan get special discounts and offers for their willingness to share information about their whereabouts.Mobile apps let them post messages to Facebook and Twitter whenever they visit a place and want to let their friends know about it.
It's a great form of word-of-mouth marketing for local businesses. People have shown they are willing to allow their devices to be tracked in order to take advantage of special offers.
Foursquare has garnered millions of users who want to let people know where they've been, where they're headed and where they are now.
If you’re a business owner, it allows you to reward customers with a coupon or offer when they ‘check-in’ to your business. It provides a measurable way to reward your most loyal customers while attracting new ones.
So is your business optimised for social mobile marketing?
Location-aware mobile technology is transforming social marketing
Knowing a consumer's location, as well as the time they're at a specific location, can be a useful“predictor” of his or her intent to buy. You can use location-based marketing to:
Deliver a coupon, offer or discount to a mobile phone user
Display local ads to a person visiting a website from a specific location
Deliver detailed product information when someone is standing in front of the product
Offer incentives for location-based activities such as visiting a store multiple times
Make it easy to find nearby things such as stores, ATMs or even vending machines
Provide events and social opportunities based on a physical location
Share location-based information with others in a social network
Leverage the next trend in Mobile Marketing
Time and localise your mobile marketing to reach people who are actively sharing their location online. Here are a few tips for getting started:
Specify which geographic areas you cover. If you’re a service business that travels e.g. a plumber, you can specify on Foursquare, Facebook Places, Yelp or Google Places which areas you cover. This is also helpful for pizza/food delivery businesses.
Optimize your website for mobile. An easy-to–navigate mobile friendly site is a necessity, not just an option anymore.
Ensure your own location(s) are “check-in” worthy. Would you check-in to your own location a second time?
Allow customers to opt in. Not everyone is going to want to disclose personal information such as their interests and their location, so give them the option.
Be transparent. Once a customer has opted in, make sure to explain exactly how you plan to use the personal information you collect from them, assuaging any concerns over privacy issues.
Create great deals. Reach out to the deal services such as Group on and Living Social and ask specifically for ways to participate in their instant deals.
Make it easy to opt out. Don't “lock” customers into a program they decide they don't want to be in. Just like any level of customer service, it's all about keeping customers happy, loyal and eager to make purchases.
Smartphone owners want quick access to location-relevant information on-the-go.So-Lo-Mo offers powerful new ways to promote practically any product, service, or venue.Whatever your goal, role, or industry, contact us to help you find new customers, strengthen brand loyalty, and increase profits.
Internet traffic from mobile web browsing is on the rise
As the use of smart-phones and tablets continues to increase in popularity, more people are accessing information online using their handheld devices.Mobile technology is developing a strong presence in people’s lives and transforming the way businesses communicate with their target audience. The concept of “mobile marketing” involves several techniques, such as mobile websites, social location marketing, SMS and MMS marketing, mobile advertising and mobile apps.
In 2012, worldwide mobile phone users will increase to 4.11 billion*; with an ever-rising number of Internet users accessing the web on their mobile phones and tablets. Is your business ready to make the most of this trend? *eMarketer, April 2011
Enhancing Your Presence on a Mobile Website
Websites in their traditional format,when accessed via a mobile phone or a smart phone appear to be all jumbled up or are difficult to navigate. Is your website compatible for mobile devices?
Remember, your mobile website must be:
Easy for your customers to reach you via a mobile phone or tablet
Should not require any inconvenient downloads by your customers
Route mobile users to a dedicated ‘mobile’ version of your website.
Using standard mobile mark-ups (like XHTML Basic and XHTML Mobile Profile) will ensure that a wide array of mobile devices can render your page as you intend it to be seen.
Each mobile browser shows markedly different characteristics. Test your mobile website on a range of browsers and devices.
Keep page sizes small; less than 10KB if possible. Mobile pages typically take longer to load due to slower network speeds, so minimize use of images where possible.
Make sure that all pages are linked to other pages. It's still a little complex to browse with a mobile phone, so don’t make it harder by forcing users to hit the back button to escape dead ends.
Use a single column layout to minimize left/right navigation, which is difficult on a phone.
It is important that users should be able to see maximum page content once the page has loaded, without scrolling.
Don’t cause pop-ups or other windows to appear, and don’t change the current window without informing the user.
With video and audio, beware of Flash and other closed formats that aren’t compatible on some devices.Don’t download video/audio files until requested and NEVER use auto-play.
Leveraging QR Codes to Drive Traffic to your Website
QR (Quick Response) codes are those barcode-like images that can be scanned by smart-phones, whichstore more information as compared to conventional barcodes.They can be linked to URLs directly. For example, if you scan the QR code given below, it’ll take you to google.com.
This bar-coding technology is able to easily incorporate social media capabilities, custom landing pages and store text based information such as mailing addresses.These codes can be easily scanned by almost all iPhones, Androids or other camera enabled smart-phones which integrate barcode scanning applications.This will allow you to entice audiences with dynamic engagement strategies.
How your business can incorporate QR codes to build website traffic
Print medium. QR Codes can be printed in newspapers/magazines, posters, CD labels etc, where the person scanning the code can reach the mobile website of the advertiser.
Websites. These codes can be scanned from the primary website and in turn lead to the mobile website.
Business Cards. Your potential clients and business associates can scan the QR code on your business card and easily add you to their phone contacts.
Product Packaging. Incorporating QR codes on the packaging of your products can help provide vital information such as customer care contact details, user manuals and other vital information.
Direct Marketing and In-Shop Print Advertising. When used in your print advertisements, mass mails or email signatures, QR Codescan help drive traffic and a consequent fan following to your social networking profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Effective Event Management. You can print QR codes on tickets or invites of your event and link them to Google maps, RSVP pages and all other event related material.
Mobile marketing is inexpensive, immediate and personal. It’s a viable new way to create customer loyalty, increase awareness and boost sales.We can assist your business to optimise your marketing strategy leveraging this exciting new trend.
The Internet reinvents itself year after year. But unlike designer fashions that are here today and gone tomorrow, the elements of digital marketing continue to stack up. Businesses need to continuously invest in the latest technologies and methodologies to stay relevant online. In fact, businesses that stand out use all the digital marketing elements to leverage their synergies. We will discuss three of the main elements in digital marketing:
Dana Chen Fischer is the president of NetEdge Marketing and is a certified advanced Internet marketing consultant. In her work as an Internet consultant, Dana’s focus is to help small to midsize companies leverage their websites to generate sales leads and increase revenues.
What's the big deal about 
