If you’re like a lot of people, you might be asking, “What is mobile marketing?” It sounds like a basic question, but in doing some keyword research for the 60 Second Marketer, I found that “What is mobile marketing?” is the third most common mobile search phrase after “mobile marketing” and “mobile media.”

So, given that, I thought I’d shed some light on what mobile marketing is and how it’s used.

The definition of mobile marketing is pretty straightforward — it’s the set of techniques and practices that enable organizations to connect and engage with their audience in an interactive manner through any mobile device.

The tools and techniques that are used in mobile marketing included the following:

• Mobile websites
• Mobile apps
• Mobile paid search
• Mobile display (banner) ads
• Location-based advertising
• Location-based services (e.g., Foursquare, SCVNGR, WHERE, etc.)
• Near Field Communication and BlueTooth (i.e., wireless communication between two devices)
• SMS and MMS (i.e., text messaging)
• 2D codes (i.e., QR codes, EZ codes, Microsoft TAG, etc.)
• Mobile email

In Go Mobile (affiliate link), the book I’ve written with Jeanne Hopkins from HubSpot, we provide a roadmap on how to set-up, launch and manage a mobile marketing campaign.

What follows is an excerpt from the introduction in the book. It’s currently the #1 mobile marketing book in America, so if you like what you see, feel free to take a closer look by clicking here.

Here’s the excerpt:

“Are you curious about how to use mobile marketing to grow your business? Would you like to know how to use QR codes, mobile apps, location-based marketing and other mobile tools to increase your sales and revenue? And are you wondering how companies like Coca-Cola, Delta and Starbucks use mobile marketing to connect with their customers?

If so, we have some good news. That’s exactly what we’ve set out to do in Go Mobile. We’ve demystified mobile marketing and re-packaged it as a simple, easy-to-understand tool that you can use to grow your sales and revenue. The questions you have about how to set-up, launch and run a mobile marketing campaign have been answered in this book.

There are four primary mobile operating systems in the U.S. Percentages indicate total U.S. market share.

It’s worth noting that mobile marketing isn’t just an evolutionary new technology, it’s a revolutionary new technology. In fact, it’s a once in a generation shift in the way consumers connect with brands. And it’s going to have more impact than radio, TV and the personal computer – combined.

How can we say that? How can something as small as a smartphone be as powerful as radio, TV and the personal computer combined?

The reason is because mobile provides all three of those things (and more) in a small device that can be put in your pocket. There’s no need to be tied down by a big box that needs to be plugged in all the time. Instead, you (and your customer) can access it whenever they want and wherever they are.

In fact, research by Morgan Stanley indicated that 91% of all mobile phone users have their phones within arm’s reach 24/7. Additional research by Nielsen shows that the growth of the iPhone was 10 times faster than the growth of America Online.

It gets even more incredible. According to the 60 Second Marketer, there are 6.8 billion people on the planet, 4.0 billion of whom own a mobile phone. Do you know how many own a toothbrush? 3.5 billion. That’s right, more people own a mobile phone than own a toothbrush.

What’s more, Gartner predicts that by 2013 the primary way people will access the internet is via their mobile browsers. In other words, more than half the time someone accesses the internet, they’ll be doing it from a mobile phone. That has huge implications for how your business needs to connect with prospects and customers.

Given all that, it’s not surprising that you’re curious about mobile marketing and that you’re reading this book. After all, people like you have realized that mobile is going to be huge. No, wait. Strike that. Mobile is huge. And it’s going to get even huger. (Is huger a word? Why, yes. Just Google it from your mobile device if you don’t believe us.)

Is Mobile Marketing Right for You?

The starting point for anyone interested in diving into mobile marketing isn’t to run out and develop an app or set up a mobile website. Instead, the starting point is to begin by asking yourself, “is mobile marketing right for my business?”   

With that in mind, we’ve come up with a handy little checklist designed to help you figure out if mobile is right for you.

Mobile marketing is right for your business if…

• You need new customers
• You want existing customers come back more frequently
• You want to improve your profit margins
• You need to appeal to a broader audience
• You want to differentiate your brand
• You’d like to improve your marketing ROI
• You want customers to spend more money each time they buy from you
• You’re looking for new distribution channels
• You want to grow your market share
• You want to be in front of your customers 24/7

See where we’re going with this? The odds are pretty good that one or more of the items listed above is important to you. Who doesn’t want more customers? Who doesn’t want to improve their marketing ROI? And who doesn’t want to differentiate their brand?

5 More Reasons Mobile Marketing Might be Right for Your Business

If the list of reasons above wasn’t enough to get you started in mobile marketing, here are five more that will almost certainly help you along your way.

1. It’s easier than you think. Setting-up, launching and running a mobile marketing campaign is easier than you may think. If you’re interested in getting a helping hand, reach out to an SMS service provider, your digital advertising agency or a mobile ad network like AdMob, iAd or Millenial Media. A quick phone call to any one of those entities will help you understand just how easy it is to get started in mobile marketing. (Of course, reading this book will help, too.)
2. There’s a huge untapped mobile audience. The mobile audience is huge, which leaves a large gap between the amount of marketers targeting mobile users, and the actual amount of people using mobile devices, like smartphones. This means that now is the ideal time to test out a mobile marketing campaign for your business to see how effectively it can build your brand and sell your products.
3. Mobile converts prospects to customers. The conversion rate for many mobile marketing campaigns is dramatically higher than the conversion rate for traditional campaigns. eMarketer reports that 1 in 10 people currently redeem mobile coupons, which is 10 times higher than the redemption rate of some traditional coupons channels.¹
4. It costs less than traditional methods. The cost of running a mobile marketing campaign is currently less than the cost of running many traditional marketing campaigns. Because of that, the ROI of most mobile campaigns is higher than other marketing channels. What’s wrong with a healthy ROI? Nothing.
5. People respond to mobile. Just like it’s easy to start a campaign on your end, it’s also easy for customers to opt-in or respond to an ad through a click of a button on their smartphone. Easy sells; and more people are willing to reply to a text message or a mobile banner ad than are willing to clip a coupon out of a newspaper.

The bottom line is that there are amazing opportunities for any business interested in taking a dive into mobile marketing. Better still, mobile marketing is not that hard. If you have a basic understanding of marketing, it’ll be a piece of cake. And even if you don’t have a basic understanding of marketing, it’s incredibly easy to learn.”

If you’d like some quick tips on how to get started in mobile marketing, check out the video below from the 60 Second Marketer YouTube Channel. It includes some additional tips on how to get started in mobile marketing quickly and easily.

Posted by Jamie Turner, Founder of the 60 Second Marketer and co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile.” He is also a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

In Go Mobile (affiliate link), the book I’ve written with Jeanne Hopkins, V.P. of Marketing at HubSpot, we discuss a number of ways to use mobile marketing to grow your sales and revenues. The list below is specifically designed to help bloggers use mobile marketing to drive traffic to their websites but can be used by just about any company interested in mobile marketing.

With that in mind, here are 19 things bloggers can do with mobile marketing to get more traffic:

1. Add a QR Code Generator to Your Site: The second most popular post on the 60 Second Marketer blog last year was “How to Generate a QR Code.” The post highlighted the fact that we’ve got a QR Code Generator on the bottom right hand side of our blog. The darn thing attracts visitors like you wouldn’t believe.
2. Make Your Blog Mobile Friendly. If you’re using the HubSpot platform for your website, it’s very simple to create a mobile version of your blog. HubSpot has documentation outlining the process on their site. If you’re using the WordPress platform, I’d recommend going with WPTouch or WPTouchPro. That’s what I use for the 60 Second Marketer blog and they’ve been flawless.
3. Create an SMS Promotion. Organizations like the American Red Cross and Subway use SMS to connect with customers. Why shouldn’t you? I’ve worked with Tim Miller at SumoText and he’s a stand-up guy who knows everything there is to know about SMS promotions.
4. Drop a QR Code into Your Next PowerPoint Presentation. When I conduct mobile marketing webinars on behalf of some of the world’s best-known companies, I drop a QR Code into the presentation. The first person to scan the code and use it to text me a message gets an autographed copy of Go Mobile. It’s a great way to engage an audience via mobile marketing.
   

   You can use location-based advertising techniques to deliver mobile banner ads to people in a tightly-defined geographic area. That's just one of the many ways you can use mobile to attract new visitors.

5. Create a Mobile Display (Banner) Ad Campaign that Targets People in Your Community. Did you know that you can run a mobile display campaign that targets only people within a certain geographic area? By using location-based advertising services (readily available at any of the big mobile ad networks), you can target people in a very small geographic area. That’s perfect for interior designers, real estate agents or any other small business that has a small footprint for customers.
6. Add a QR Code to Your Business Card. You can create QR codes that provide your contact information to the people who scan them. That’s a great way to connect with people and provide them a link to your blog. The best QR Code generator that easily includes contact fields is on the SPARQ Code website. Check it out!
7. Create an App for Your Blog. In the past, creating an app was for larger corporations with bigger budgets. Today, there are plenty of tools you can use to create good apps for your business. The best ones we came across when we wrote Go Mobile were RunRev, ShoutEm, AppMakr, GENWI, MobBase, MyAppBuilder, Mippin,Swebapps and MobiCart.
8. Run a Mobile Paid Search Campaign. Mobile paid search is so inexpensive right now that smart bloggers are using it to drive visitors to their sites. Since everybody hasn’t jumped on the mobile paid search bandwagon yet, there are still plenty of inexpensive keywords you could use to grow your traffic.
9. Create a foursquare Campaign. Yup, it’s true — foursquare isn’t just for restaurants and bars. You can use it for your blog, too. I’ve claimed the 60 Second Marketer on foursquare and am going to give away copies of Go Mobile to the 60 Second Marketer Mayor every month for the next several months. (For information on claiming your business on foursquare, click here.)
10. Record a YouTube Greeting and Link it to a QR Code. Want to provide visitors to your blog some extra love and attention? Then create a YouTube video, cut-and-paste the link into a QR Code generator (like the one on our blog) and generate a QR Code. Just add the QR Code to a page on your blog and every time someone scans the code, they’ll see a video greeting from you on their mobile device via YouTube. How cool is that?
11. Build Your Mobile Website. It’s one thing to mobilize your blog, but you should also mobilize the rest of your website, too. I wrote a blog post on this a while back called “How to Set Up a Mobile Website in Four Easy Steps.” It provides a quick overview of how to create a mobile website. Another option is to visit BlueTrain Mobile, who is one of our sponsors. They have an easy-to-use platform that makes building a mobile website easy and pain-free.
12. Optimize Your Mobile Website with Mobile-Specific Keywords. Don’t forget to add mobile-specific keywords to your mobile website or your mobile blog. For example, if you own an Italian restaurant and have a blog, then you’ll want to add keywords that people will be searching for in your content. In other words, don’t just use “Italian Restaurant,” also use “Italian Restaurant Locations,” “Italian Restaurants on Peachtree Street,” and “Italian Restaurants in 30342 Zip Code.” By adding location-based keywords, you’re targeting the mobile visitor which ultimately drives customers to your door.
13. Optimize Your E-Newsletter for the Mobile Reader. Most email service providers have set their platforms up so that they’re mobile optimized. So, if you’re using one of the big boys, the odds are your emails are already mobile-friendly. That said, it never hurts to check, so send yourself a sample of one of your mobile emails and see how it renders on your smart phone. If it doesn’t render properly, work with your email service provider or your designer until you’ve fixed the problem.
14. Use a Mobile Website Grader to Find Out How Your Mobile Site Stacks Up. Marketing Grader is HubSpot’s fabulous upgrade to their Website Grader tool. Included in the new tool is a mobile grader that can give you insights to how well your mobile website is performing. Another useful tool is MobileGrader from our friends at BlueTrain Mobile. Both tools are worth checking out. (Disclosure: HubSpot and BlueTrain Mobile are sponsors of the 60 Second Marketer.)
15. Check How Your Site Renders on Different Devices. My friend Cindy Krum, who has also written an excellent book on mobile marketing called, inventively, Mobile Marketing, has a mobile website emulator on her website. The emulator is a good, solid way to see how your site looks on different devices.
16. Add a QR Code to Your Collateral. Does your business have printed collateral? If so, then why not add a QR Code to the back of your brochure? It can drive people through to additional information about your company or your blog.
17. Link Mobile Display Ads to Viral Email Campaigns. Did you know that you can run a mobile display ad campaign that, when clicked, creates an email that can forward to friends? So, for example, a person sees a mobile display ad for your company on their smart phone and they click the ad. Instead of it driving through to a web page, an email pops up on their screen that they can forward to friends. The email might say, “Meet me at Bob’s Italian Restaurant and we’ll all get 10% off our bar tab.” For more information on this technique, check out the MobClix website.
18. Run a Sweepstakes or Contest that can Only be Completed on a Mobile Device. In a few weeks, Jeanne Hopkins (my co-author) and I are going to run a scavenger hunt for four iPads hidden (along with our new book) throughout the country. How will people participate? Via their mobile devices, of course!
19. Run a Mobile Banner Ad that Adds an Event to the Visitor’s Calendar. This is another fun trick that the folks at MobClix came up with and it works like this — someone visiting a mobile website sees a mobile banner ad on their smart phone. The banner ad is for your company and it says, “Mark Your Calendar for Our Grand Opening Event!” When the user clicks on your banner ad, the event is automatically added to their calendar. Pretty cool, eh?

Those are the top 19 ways you can use mobile marketing to drive more traffic to your blog. Can you think of any others? If so, let us know in the comments section below.

Posted by Jamie Turner, Founder of the 60 Second Marketer and co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile.” He is also a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

Are you interested in learning more about mobile marketing? Would you like to understand how to use mobile marketing to drive new customers to your doorstep? If so, then you’ll want to watch the video below which provides 5 steps on how to get started in mobile.

Included in the video are tips on how to become a mobile marketing Power User — that is, someone who uses mobile well enough to understand the differences between an app, a mobile website and a location-based advertising campaign.

Many of these tips are covered in-depth in the new book I’ve written with Jeanne Hopkins, V.P. of Marketing at HubSpot. The book is called Go Mobile (affiliate link) and we spent hundreds of hours researching and analyzing all the tools in this fascinating new marketing channel. We’ve distilled our findings down to 256 pages of essential information outlined in the book.

Go Mobile is available at Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble and other fine bookstores, so be sure to order your copy today.

In the meantime, check out the video below. It’s packed with great tips to help you get started in mobile marketing right away.

Can’t see the video? Click here to watch it on the 60 Second Marketer YouTube channel.

Posted by Jamie Turner, Founder of the 60 Second Marketer and co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile.” He is also a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

Last week, I conducted a mobile marketing webinar with Jeanne Hopkins, the Director of Marketing at HubSpot. We covered a lot of topics including SMS, MMS, mobile websites, QR codes, mobile apps, paid search, display ads and location-based marketing.

We’ll be covering all that and more in our upcoming Go Mobile Conference in Atlanta on October 6th.

For those of you who want to catch the webinar, we’ve included it below. Alternatively, you can see it on the 60 Second Marketer YouTube Channel.

Enjoy!

How are people using smartphones? That’s a question Google asked in their ThinkInsights study. Here are some of the answers.

By some estimates, there are more than 400,000 iPhone apps and more than 300,000 Android apps on the market today. That makes it very difficult for the average businessperson to weed out the bad apps and focus on the good ones.

Well, I have some good news.

I’m currently writing a book called Go Mobile with Jeanne Hopkins, who is the Director of Marketing at HubSpot.

In the process of doing research for the book, we’ve narrowed down what we think are some of the best apps to improve productivity, provide news and information and help you connect with customers and prospects.

Here’s our list of the 45 best apps for businesspeople. It’s not a complete list, so if we missed any of your favorites, let us know in the comment section below.

News and Information Applications

ABC News Mobile:  This application is for all those who love to be in the know.  You can receive text alerts about breaking news, watch video, listen to podcasts or read articles all on your mobile phone.

CNN Mobile: Interested in staying up-to-date on the latest news from around the globe? CNN Mobile gives you the ability to read the latest stories and watch CNN live on your smartphone.

Google Books: Interested in re-reading the Declaration of Independence or Dante’s Inferno?  Download Google Books to your smartphone and you’re ready to roll.  I’m reading Ben Franklin’s Autobiography on Google Books right now and it’s fascinating.

Google Maps: What would men do without Google Maps?  They’d have to ask for directions, which, of course, will never happen.  Fortunately, Google invented their Map app for guys (like myself) who are too stubborn to stop and ask directions.

There are hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps. Which ones are best for business? Here's our list.

The Huffington Post:  The mobile version of this popular news and opinion online newspaper features breaking news, blogs and original content.

Kindle: You can use your smartphone to preview books that you might like to buy later.  Clean and customizable, the app permits you to preview the first chapter, as well as to add bookmarks, notes, and highlights.

MobiTV:  Missing your favorite TV shows is no longer an issue.  With MobiTV you can watch shows whenever and wherever on your mobile phone.

NPR News: Even if you can’t catch all of the news from NPR at home or in the car, you can still start your day with NPR News for your smartphone.  You can listen to national news stories on demand, or allow the app to use your smartphone’s GPS to pinpoint local content.

Stitcher: This mobile application lets you get your news on the go by streaming up-to-date audio content about business, sports, politics and entertainment.

The Weather Channel:  The Weather Channel’s app and the mobile version of weather.com provide up to date weather information, text alerts, animated maps and more.

Windows Live Messenger:  You can chat with your friends on Windows Live Messenger on the go with their mobile application.

Productivity

CamCard: Let’s you scan business cards and automatically add that information to your phone’s contact list and/or your Outlook or Gmail account.

Evernote:  After you create a text note, photo or audio note, you can synch them to your pc or to the web.

Instapaper: Through Instapaper you can save Web articles you browsed on your iPhone for later reading, using a browser bookmarklet.  The Instapaper Website reformats your saved articles (sans Flash ads and clutter) for quick reading on the desktop.

Yammer: Yammer brings together all of a company’s employees inside a private, secure enterprise social network.  This enterprise platform lets businesses set up a Twitter-like service allowing for the open exchange of ideas, links, and documents within enterprise communities.

Financial Tools

Bloomberg Mobile: Use this app when you’re on the go to access financial news, stock quotes, company descriptions, market leaders and laggers, price charts, market-trends analysis, customized lists of stocks, and more.

CNNMoney: With breaking business stories and complete in-depth market coverage in a customizable format, CNNMoney provides real-time reporting of financial news and analysis, as well as data and charts.

Expensify: Takes some of the hassle out of creating expense reports by allowing you to report expenses as they happen while you’re on the move.

iStockManager: For continuous access to – and control over – your TD Ameritrade account, use iStockManager. You can get equity and option trading, streaming data, real-time balances and positions, news, and more on your mobile device.

XE Currency: Convert the currencies of more than 180 countries at up-to-the-minute rates. The app saves the last conversion just in case you may need to repeat it offline, too.

Organizers/Time Savers

1Password: To maintain your usernames and passwords on your iPhone in one place, try 1Password.  The mobile app syncs with the desktop version, as well.  If you wish, you can use it to store other personal information, too, such as your Social Security number and credit card numbers.

Barcode Scanner: Barcode Scanner handles bar codes – including 2D QR codes – and lets you look up the associated product or URL for instant price checks and comparison shopping.

Craigsphone: Search and browse Craigslist posts near your current GPS location, and bookmark relevant listings, with Craigsphone.  The app also has tools for posting your own listings with photos and maps.

PageOnce: Use PageOnce to track credit card transactions, check your bank account status, monitor frequent-flyer miles and itineraries, and get alerts when bills are due and itineraries change.

Utilities

Analytics App: Full mobile service for your Google Analytics data.  You can check everything from reports to specific data, and the tidy interface makes it even easier to navigate than the web-based service.

AntiDroidTheft: If you lose your phone, AntiDroidTheft turns on remote GPS tracking so that you can determine its location.  You can also trigger the phone’s camera to shoot an image that might help you locate the handset.

AndroZip: The powerful AndroZip File Manager works with archives, including 7ZIPhone, BZIP2, GZIPhone, RAR, TAR, and ZIPhone files.  You can use it to create GZIP, TAR, or ZIPhone archives, too.  Free.

Fring: Really cool mobile app that lets you place free calls or chat with anyone from your Skype, ICQ, Google Talk, MSN, Twitter, or SIP contacts.

SmrtGuard: Can remotely track – and lock – your smartphone if it goes missing.  The Pro version lets you perform automatic wireless backup and restore.

Soonr: Need to access your PC directly from the handset?  Enter Soonr, a free mobile client that brings remote PC access to your phone:  search files, view documents, check emails, run programs and more.

Talk to Me: Originally, Talk To Me translated only English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, with its speech-to-speech functionality.  Now it has many other languages from which to choose.

Vlingo: Replaces every instance where you have to type on your smartphone with voice commands.  It covers your phone’s basic messaging functions, voice calls, Facebook updates, and personal notes.  On Android and BlackBerry, the app will even read your incoming messages to you.

Social and Location-Based Applications

Bump:  This is a terrific application that allows you to exchange contact information, photos, social networking information and calendar events just by “bumping” your phone with another Bump user.

Facebook: You can update your Facebook page on the fly with their mobile version.  You can even update your Facebook Places profile, which lets people know where you’re eating, drinking, relaxing or just hanging out.

Foursquare: Ready to “check-in” to your favorite restaurant, bar, mall or retail store?  If you do it enough, you’ll become Mayor or be eligible for discount coupons.

Google+: This is much like Facebook, only better. (Seriously.) If the cluttered atmosphere of Facebook drives you a little batty, click this link and accept our invitation to join Google+.

Gowalla:  Much like Foursquare, Gowalla allows you to share your location with friends, all the while accumulating digital souvenirs that may be redeemable for real life rewards.

Hootsuite: Using HootSuite, you can manage your Facebook and Twitter accounts within an elegant, clean user interface.  HootSuite stands out from other social network managers for its extra features:  You can schedule updates, set columns to monitor keywords and hash tags, and translate updates in other languages                  .

LinkedIn: Ready to exchange LinkedIn contacts just by bumping your phone?  Or perhaps you want read someone’s profile while you’re waiting for them at a restaurant.  If that sounds enticing, then this application is for you.

Loopt: Allows you to connect with your friends by sharing your location and status with friends.  With Loopt, you can find your friends on a map and view their photo and status updates in real-time.

Mass Text Message:  Text up to ten friends with just one click by downloading the Mass Text Message app and creating custom groups of contacts.

Qik:  A new, faster way to share videos with all of your friends, Qik allows you to record and instantly upload videos to the internet or stream live video straight from your phone.  You can also 2-way video chat or send  video mail.

Skype:  Verizon Wireless users can now use Skype through their phones with free Skype-to-Skype calling and IM without using their mobile minutes.  Users with other carriers can get a Skype To Go number that they can reach from any mobile phone.

Twitter: You don’t have to be sitting behind a desk to update your Twitter status.  The mobile version lets you stay connected wherever you are.

Yelp:  This application can give you restaurant reviews on the fly.  Better still, their augmented reality mobile application lets you look through your mobile screen and places tags with reviews over the restaurants on that street.

YouTube:  You can now check out the latest YouTube craze straight from your mobile phone.  You can search for and watch videos or record and upload your own videos.

Did we miss anything on our list? If so, just provide the name, description and URL of your favorite mobile phone apps in the comment section below.

Jamie Turner is the co-author of How to Make Money with Social Media. He is the Founder of the 60 Second Marketer and is also a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe. His next book, Go Mobile, will be published by John Wiley & Sons in 2012.

A few months ago, a member of the 60 Second Marketer community started a discussion on our LinkedIn group that asked, “I am curious about everyone’s thoughts on Microsoft Tags vs. QR Codes.”

You can join that discussion by clicking the link above. In the meantime, you might also enjoy our analysis of the comments and information we received about the Microsoft Tag vs. QR Code debate. (Some very level-headed information was kindly provided by Nick Martin, the Online Community Manager at Microsoft Tag.)

Here’s our report, written by Nicole Hall at Mobilize Worldwide.

While these two codes both fall into the category of a 2D code, many people have differing opinions on which will win out to become the most widely accepted technology. So what is the fuss really all about?

We took a look at the 5 factors most commonly discussed in the debate to help you decide which code is best for your business.

Open vs. Closed Source: One of the biggest differences between the codes is whether they are open or closed sources.  QR codes are open source, meaning they can be created by many companies, and each company’s code reader should be able to read every other company’s QR codes. Meanwhile, Microsoft Tag’s technology is closed, meaning you can only create and scan Microsoft Tags using Microsoft’s platform. While some believe the open nature of QR codes will help them gain traction and become more widespread in the market place, others argue that by controlling the entire scanning process, Microsoft will be better able to assure quality, and thus rise to the top.

Adoption Rates: Though QR code companies and Microsoft are both extremely tight lipped about their numbers except to say that they are experiencing extreme growth, many 3^rd parties have speculated about each code’s share of the market. According to Nellymoser, who is a partner of Microsoft Tag, Tag has an overwhelming presence in the print publications industry, with campaigns in publications such as Allure, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.

However, in most other areas QR codes seem to be dominating the space. In fact, Burson Marsteller recently reported that 22% of the Fortune 50 companies are using QR to promote their business. Companies using QR codes include retailers such as Walmart, manufacturers like Ford Motors and entertainment companies such as HBO, to name a few.  Additionally, ScanLife QR code readers are preloaded on to many Android devices, increasing the adoption rate amongst these owners. Microsoft Tags are not preloaded on any devices, despite the fact that Windows Phones are also a Microsoft product.

Scanability: Scanability is one of the hottest topics in the debate over codes, but unfortunately there is no definitive evidence one way or the other.  While Microsoft has put out research indicating their codes are successfully read up to twice as often as QR codes, 3^rd party research is not available to back up these claims. Anecdotal evidence however, indicates that the codes tend to be fairly evenly matched, but that QR codes scanability can be hampered depending on what codes and code readers are being used.

Customizability:  One of Microsoft’s initial selling points was that, unlike QR codes, they could incorporate colors and custom logos into their tags. But now QR codes are catching up on this front. The codes can operate successfully with a 30% margin of error, meaning designers have been able to get creative with graphics and logos. Microsoft Tags can also include your logo, but typically work by layering a field of dots over a picture, as opposed to actually incorporating it into the design. This makes it easy to create a custom code without a graphic designer, but many argue it does not look as sleek. Check out some examples below and decide for yourself. And, for more cool QR codes, check out Mashable’s article.

Custom Microsoft Tag for Iams

Custom Microsoft Tag for Jay Baer book, Now

Custom QR Code for Corkbin

Custom QR Code for Magic Hat

Cost: It is completely free to create Microsoft Tags and to download their reader. Additionally, their metrics, which include the frequency, time frame, and geography of all scans, come free of charge. Microsoft has guaranteed that all of their services will remain free until at least 2015, and they will give 2 years notice before charging for any service, so a price hike is not a concern for their users. This cost structure differs slightly from most QR code companies which do not charge to create or scan codes, but often do charge a “premium” rate to achieve similar metrics.

While there are some definite differences between the two codes, much of their popularity will come down to individual preference. Regardless of which code wins out, the continuing adoption of one or both of these codes is a definite win for mobile marketers.

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.

It seems as though every new marketing article or blog post these days is focusing on social media or mobile media. But email marketing is still one of the most efficient ways to connect with customers and prospects.

So, how do you get consumers to actually open your email and read the valuable contents inside? Mashable and AdAge broke down a list of smart and effective email marketing tactics. Here’s a baker’s dozen you should consider implementing into your campaign.

1. Combine with social platforms: Brands are seeing success when using Twitter and Facebook to gain email subscribers. Send your followers tweets with a shortened URL that allows them to easily click and opt-in to your email mailing list. By creating easy email subscription sign-ups on your Facebook page you have the opportunity to attract more subscribers.

2. Know who you’re talking to: Companies often make the mistake of sending universal email blasts to their entire mailing listing with zero regard to who they’re actually talking to.  Segment your database and design personalized emails that the specific viewer will actually want to read. One way is to screen your subscribers when they first sign up. Ask them what they want to get out of these emails and find out who they are as a consumer. This way, you’re sending them content they actually want to and will read.

3. Let them know who’s talking to them: According to AdAge, 70% of consumers say the “from” line drives their decision to either open or ignore the email and 30% say it’s the subject line. These two touch points give you an opportunity to brand your email and let consumers know who’s talking to them.

4. Give them an incentive: Everyone loves getting a little something special in the mail. Send your subscribers a free gift on their birthday or a 20% off coupon for Father’s Day. Give them a reason to open up the email and they’ll be wanting to come back for more.

5. Extend the offer across social platforms: Extend this incentive across social media platforms by giving viewers the ability to share their news on Facebook and Twitter. By making consumers an advocate for your brand, their friends and followers will be interested in signing up, too. 

6. Create mobile-friendly emails: According to ComScore mobile email usage increased 36% in 2010.  By creating mobile-friendly emails, your on-the-go viewers have the opportunity to read and click-through while on the train or waiting at the doctor’s office.

7. Where to put your most important message: When designing mobile-friendly emails, the key is to make sure the first line in the email is your most important message. Why? The first line is what shows up as the preview on smartphones. It’s about putting your best foot forward.

8. Expand your email list with SMS text: Give consumers an easy way to opt-in to your email database with a simple text. You can do so by letting consumers know all they have to do is text their email address to you SMS short code to subscribe.

9. Make announcements: Consumers are more likely to open up an email with announcement of news. Letting them know a sale ends soon, a new product alert or limited time offers gets them to open up the email and act fast.

10. Frequency and Relevance: AdAge reports that these are the two key elements to keep in mind when using email as a marketing tactic. Don’t bombard your subscribers with a flood of emails, but don’t neglect them either. Provide them with relevant content. If they just bought a product at your store, send them a survey to learn about their experience.

11. Current event tie-ins: Mashable states that viewers respond well to emails related to current events and pop culture. Find creative and fun ways to tie in what’s going on in the area with your brand.

12. Test your tactics: Test subject lines, offers and messages to see what works and what tanks. By testing your tactics you have the ability to know what grabs readers attention and gets them to interact with your email.

13. Listen to feedback: Make it easy for your consumers to leave comments and give feedback so you can give them more of what they want. Email is and always should be a form of two-way communication, so give them the opportunity to respond.

Posted by Rebecca Wilson, Marketing Analyst for the 60 Second Marketer.

What’s on the mind of all marketers today? Mobile.

Because of that, King Fish Media, Maxmiser, HubSpot and Junta42 conducted research to understand the plans, trends and measure-ability of mobile marketing. The online study collected responses from 560 participants including both corporate management and marketing/sales management professionals.

So, what did they find? Lots. Let’s break it down.

Given the low (but growing) penetration of Smartphones, it’s no surprise that King Fish Media found that mobile marketing is actually in its early stages. Only 33% of the companies that responded currently have a mobile strategy in place. For larger companies (those with 100 + employees) that number rises to 45%.

Where does mobile fit into the budget? Only 12% of brands’ marketing budget is spent on mobile, however 82% plan to increase their spending over the next year. According to their research, 30% of the increased funds will be taken from traditional marketing and advertising.

So what are marketers aiming to do with the their mobile marketing initiatives? Build relationships. This seems to be the core focus, which explains why social media, branded, email capabilities, geo-location/maps and general reference are the top content types right now.

What about mobile applications? There are hundreds, I know. So, are companies really involved in creating them? Well, 28% of companies are using native apps and their development is predicted to increase to 43% by next year.

The iPhone seems to be the most popular platform for application development with 75% of all companies planning apps on this platform. We’re also seeing a significant rise in apps using the iPad platform, 41% to a 76% increase by next year.

What are the take-aways from all this? There are several.

1. Track your followers. Nearly 60% of companies are tracking visitors to their website from mobile devices. Google Analytics is a great tool to help you track visitors and see where they’re coming from.
2. Realize the benefits. Mobile marketing can help improve customer retention and help establish closer relationships with customers. Want to gain new customers and strengthen your relationship with current consumers? I’m assuming the answer is an unfiltered, YES.  These are cited as two of the many relationship benefits for mobile marketing.
3. Develop different mobile strategies to build relationships. Original branded content, ads, expert content and videos are popular types of content used by consumers. Find a way to tap into what their using to establish and build relationships with your consumers.

Mobile may still be in its infancy, but consumers are using it more and more frequently. If you’d like to differentiate your brand, then mobile marketing may be just what you’re looking for.

If you’d like to read the full report, click King Fish Media, HubSpot, Maxmiser and Junta42.

If you like what you read today, you can have these blog posts delivered to your in box each morning by clicking here. Or, you can sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter by clicking here.

Posted by Rebecca Wilson, Marketing Analyst for the 60 Second Marketer.

When I first grabbed The Third Screen (Amazon affiliate link) by my friend Chuck Martin, I thought, “Okay, I’ll take a quick spin through this over the weekend and write a review of it on Monday.” Now, 14 days later, I’ve gone through the entire book and dog-eared so many pages of good, useful information that it’s hard to know where to begin my review.

Chuck’s premise, embraced by most marketers these days, is that mobile media is the third big revolution involving a screen. The first two — TV and the PC — changed our lives dramatically. The third screen — mobile — is going to be just as important as the first two.

The Third Screen by Chuck Martin is filled with in-depth information about mobile media and mobile marketing.

The book is written to appeal to people who are taking a deep dive into mobile media. While there are plenty of tips and techniques to digest here, there’s also a lot of in-depth research and information about how people interact and use their mobile devices.

Case in point — about halfway through the book, Chuck talks about in motion research. “With in motion research,” he says, “you can look at your customers’ patterns of movement, including where they go and what they’re likely to do; that information helps you determine how to best serve them.”

Hmmmm. Interesting. Tell me more.

“Research using location and movement of mobile devices can provide marketers with additional insights and context about their customers’ behaviors. Following are some of the findings of the Mobext study (which tracked consumers using their mobile devices):

• Those who preferred Dunkin’ Donuts were 33% more likely to dine out than those who preferred Starbucks.
• Those who shopped at Walmart were 60% more likely to dine out compared with Target customers.
• Of Target customers who dined out, about 25% went to a restaurant before going to Target, while 25% went to a restaurant afterward.
• The average frequency of fitness activities for those who went to quick-service coffee or doughnut locations was 50% higher than those who did not visit those types of locations.”

The information above is just one example of the fascinating ways marketers are using the third screen to improve their understanding of consumers and their behavior patterns.

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get a superficial understanding of mobile media, this book probably isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for an in-depth book that’s packed with new and relevant information, you’ll want to take a deep dive into Chuck Martin’s The Third Screen.

If you like what you read today, you can have these blog posts delivered to your in box each morning by clicking marketing blog. Or, you can sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter by clicking marketing newsletter.

Posted by Jamie Turner, Chief Content Officer of the 60 Second Marketer, the online magazine of BKV Digital and Direct Response. Jamie is also the co-author of How to Make Money with Social Media.