Let’s be honest, as awesome as we’ve been told it can be, mobile marketing can be extremely frustrating. We hear all the time about awesome technologies and cool mobile campaigns going on in other countries like Japan, but have yet to really see widespread use of mobile in the States. So what’s the deal?
With so many different phones, carriers, and operating systems, trying to reach all of your customers can be a nightmare.
As anyone who has tried to launch a mobile campaign can tell you, one of the biggest problems with mobile in the US is the segmentation of mobile devices and carriers.
The huge variation in the capabilities of phones and operating systems makes optimizing your mobile campaigns for a large number of people both expensive and time consuming. So that leaves those of us with lower marketing budgets with the difficult question of which mobile devices and operating systems we should optimize for.
The first thing to take into consideration when deciding how to optimize your campaign is the breakdown of feature phones to smartphones. Currently, Nielsen estimates that by the end of 2011, more than 50% of the market will be smartphone users. Meaning, that even though smartphones appear to be everywhere, 50% of the market will still not be able to access your content if you go with mobile tactics like QR codes, mobile apps, or sites. To access these people, you will need to stick with SMS campaigns, or new JagTag campaigns, which function essentially like SMS campaigns but allow for multimedia messages instead of just texts.
However, if you do decide to reach only the smartphone market, you will still encounter the issue of what operating systems and phones you should optimize for. Sites and mobile apps need to be optimized for specific screen sizes and operating systems, and each optimization takes additional time (and money) in development and testing. So if you have to prioritize, where do you start?
The simple answer is to start with the big four operating systems: Android, iOS, RIM and Windows7. But even within these categories, there are large breakdowns in share and OS versions.
Though the stats are changing every day, the current breakdown between BlackBerry, Android and iPhone users is a pretty tight race. However, as new Android phones keep rolling out, they are grabbing a 50% share of all new smartphone purchases, making it an undeniable force in the mobile space, and necessary to optimize for. The good news here is that all versions of the Android OS are highly capable and have enough market share to warrant optimization and testing.
The next most popular OS is iPhone’s iOS, with 25% of new smartphone purchases. The iOS is also fairly flexible and holds enough share to warrant testing and optimization, though versions earlier than 2.0 are no longer very visible in the market.
So the real issue comes in with the remaining big hitters in the smartphone space: BlackBerry and Windows Phone. BlackBerry has been on the market for years, and as such has a lot of different versions and phones that are available to be optimized for. However, they are only currently grabbing 15% of new smartphone sales, so optimizing for versions 6 and 7 of the operating system, should be satisfactory.
Finally, the Windows Phone, with 7% share of new phones has stumbled in the past and only recently re-entered the scene. As such, their most recent OS, version 7, is really the only heavy hitter in the game and the only one that needs to be considered if you’re working on a budget.
The potential of mobile is undeniable, but brings with it many unique challenges that haven’t been faced by marketers in the past. For big brands, it may be possible to address all levels of phones, operating systems and versions, but many of us need to make sacrifices during our first entrance into the mobile market. As such, these simple guidelines may help you navigate the tricky world of reach versus budget.
Posted by Nicole Hall, Account Manager with Mobilize Worldwide. Mobilize Worldwide develops mobile apps, mobile ad campaigns, mobile websites and just about anything else related to mobile marketing for brands interested in growing their sales and revenue using this new and emerging medium.
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How to Increase Engagement on Facebook
“It’s a two way dialogue”.
We’ve all heard that phrase a million times when talking about Facebook. And it’s true, ideally your company’s Facebook page is a give and take relationship with your users. But what do you do when your two-way dialogue is a little one-sided?
eMarketer did a study of 200 companies on Facebook and found several factors that led to increased engagement as measured by comments and likes. Follow these simple tips and you’ll be able to get more people in on the conversation as well.
With these simple tips, you can get more likes on Facebook.
First, keep your posts short. While on Facebook, people tend to scan for relevant information (read: juicy gossip) and will gloss over long paragraphs in favor of short, to-the-point posts. Posts that were 80 characters or less received 27% more likes and comments than posts that exceeded that length. That may not seem like a lot of room to write, but if you stick to only one thought per post and avoid being overly explanatory, you can get your point across and engage users.
Another way to get people talking is to ask questions or include specific calls to action such as “Like This,” “Leave a Comment” or “Post Your Response.” Expressly asking for feedback in your posts encourages users to interact with your brand and reinforces the idea that the company Facebook page is indeed a place for conversation.
In addition to the content, the timing of your posts can also increase the amount of engagement. Try posting outside of normal business hours. While you can undoubtedly catch quite a few coworkers hurriedly closing out of Facebook pages throughout the workday, engagement actually rises 20% after work hours. If you post during these times, it increases the likelihood that your posts will appear in your fans’ newsfeeds, garnering you more eyeballs and fostering more conversation.
The day of the week also matters in the timing of your posts. However, somewhat surprisingly, Saturday posts do not garner as much attention as workday posts. On the contrary, Thursday and Friday are the best days for engagement, with an 18% lift in comments and likes on these days. However, this does not mean you should ONLY post on those days or at those times. Developing a steady cadence of posts encourages users to return to your page to see updates even when they don’t pop up in their newsfeed.
Getting your users to interact with your brand on Facebook can definitely be a challenge, but as a marketer, the awkward task of striking up the conversation lies with you. Consciously craft your messages to foster engagement and post them at times that they will get the furthest reach, and you’ll break the ice in no time.
Posted by Nicole Hall, Account Manager with Mobilize Worldwide. Mobilize Worldwide develops mobile apps, mobile ad campaigns, mobile websites and just about anything else related to mobile marketing for brands interested in growing their sales and revenue using this new and emerging medium.