Thursday, June 27, 2013

Mobile Marketing Messages That Keep Your Customers Engaged


What aspects of mobile marketing are you familiar with? Have you made a marketing plan? If so, are looking to make it better? Is your current plan making your business more money? Is your plan adapted to your audience? If you cannot answer these questions confidently, look at the tips below.

You can begin by constructing a proper database. Do not just add random cell phone numbers when you are constructing a mobile marketing database. You really need to get their permission before starting. Get their permission by emailing the permission form, or having a page on your website where the user can opt-in.

The key to mobile marketing is to keep your message short and to the point. Make sure your message is concise and understandable.

Money investment should be considered necessary if you want to have a decent website that works on mobile devices. Building an effective mobile website is a specialized task, considerably different from normal web design. It is advisable to use developers who are very familiar with the necessary coding and programming for your site's successful mobile transition.

Remember that the audience you are targeting are people and they are busy, just like you. Do what you need to accordingly.

Offering free apps is a great way to market; however, you might not realize that creating applications can be easy. When your business offers a specialized app, your mobile marketing efforts will really take off. There are a lot of services that assist in designing apps, and a lot of features these apps could offer to your customers.

Although lots of people use their phones for Internet text, not all know the different kinds of abbreviations used online. If someone cannot understand your advertisement, they will not look at it and you will lose a potential customer.

If you have any social websites that promote your business, make sure you include a corresponding link on your business homepage. This will make it easier for your customers to find you. They are unlikely to search for your social presence, but if you include a link, they can easily find the page.

Your recipient will, probably, send out the mobile marketing ad if it is easy for them to do so. To spread the word, offer an incentive to those customers who pass along your mobile marketing promotion.

If you decide that a mobile app is right for your company, make sure it is easy to use and relevant to your business. If your app is something dumb or just duplicate information that could be found on your website, it's just going to languish on the app store, unloved.

Location is everything in mobile marketing. Unlike other marketing methods, mobile marketing lets customers know right where you are. This ability opens up a world of possibilities that are exclusive to this particular type of media. Brainstorm how you can take advantage of location-based marketing techniques to boost your sales.

Are you more informed when it comes to mobile marketing? Do you have a new plan or a better plan now? Can you now use things that work with your business? Do you know how to properly apply your plan? With any luck, the tips above should have created better answers.


About Guest Author :  A lof of companies and business owner are curious about qr code marketing. It is actually easy to setup if you know how to start. You need to find a good company specializing in QR Codes. The good companies will have advance strategy such as text advertising. If you have any question, just let me know I am an expert. Check out this website .

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Karma Wants To Make Peer-to-Peer Wi-Fi a Thing


There'll be a day, if one recent Wi-Fi startup has its way, when you switch on your tablet or laptop and the wireless Internet access you need is just there. Automatically, everywhere, every time.
You won't think about it. You won't search for elusive hotspots. You'll just get to browsing, and the days when passwords or daily- or monthly-pass payments stood in the way of productivity are no more — they'll vanish, much like the brick-and-mortar video store.
That's the vision of Karma. A 10-person team, the startup is pouring some $1.2 million of investor funding into building not just an infrastructure that makes Wi-Fi ubiquitous at a low, pay-as-you-go cost, but — this is the key point — sharable.
Here's how it works.

The Business of Sharing Signal

Live since June, 2013, Karma works like this: Users buy a compact $79 hotspot device (the first units shipped last January) and they create an account. Switch on the hotspot and you get 1 GB of bandwidth to get you started. After that, it's $14 per GB — no subscriptions, pay-as-you-want-it. And the access is mobile. Walk down the street with your Karma hotspot and your access goes with you. (The device links to the Sprint Clearwire network.)

What's more, your Karma Wi-Fi signal is available to other people within range who are seeking a Wi-Fi connection. All they have to do is log on via your hotspot and sign up with the company. They would get a free 100 MB, and for more, they can pay as they go. But here's the thing: you would get 100 MB free as well.
That's an underlying idea worth noting. The more you share, the more free bandwidth you accumulate. The college study session, the corporate lunch — these just turned into what might be 500 – 1,000 MB roundups for the Karma owner in the room.

So, that's the way Karma works on the user end — but how successful has the company been since launch in December 2012? And where is it going?
We spoke with Steven van Wel, one of Karma's co-founders, about the present and future of inexpensive, plentiful — and above all, social —  Wi-Fi.

Q&A With Steven van Wel, Co-Founder of Karma

When we talk about social bandwidth and about pay-as-you-go, Karma is suggesting that something about other kinds of Internet-provider models is "broken" or unrealized. What is Karma trying to do that is different about Wi-Fi service?

We like to think about it as this crazy idea: Your data is yours and you can do with it anything you please. You buy data, you consume it whenever you need it, wherever you need it, and that's the basic premise of Karma. We get you a line, we allow you to pay for your data consumption and that's it. We never penalize you according to how you use your data. If you have [some of your data allowance] left at the end of the month, you're free to use it next month. You're free to use it in two years. It's your data, you paid for it ... and the next step for us is to build this social-bandwidth platform, allowing anyone to connect to a Karma Wi-Fi and get a line. You don't pay for their data, you just help them to get a line.
How many users has Karma brought on since launch, and what kind of bandwidth are they working with on average?

Since our launch last December we've added tens of thousands of customers to our current network. And, combined, all these users have earned about 3,000 GB of free data. If you break that down to the active user, on average every Karma hotspot owner earns just over 500 MB of free data every month, simply by turning on their Wi-Fi hotspot. We've brought our social bandwidth idea to 80 different cities [in the United States].

Where is the "front" for Karma, right now? What's the main effort underway in 2013?
We are spending a lot of time and resources on building our team ... we are making use of our initial funding that can help us build a team — one that can help us build the huge network that we want our users to use. There is revenue, people are buying data ... but our main focus is building the product, the Karma Wi-Fi.

Ten years from now, 2023: what is your vision for the way we acquire Wi-Fi connectivity? And how does Karma play into that picture?

Ten years from now the whole idea of connecting to Wi-Fi will become a frictionless and painless experience. You should open your laptop, you should turn on your tablet, you should be able to find a line wherever you are.

What's coming in the next couple of months, when it comes to Karma?
In the next few weeks, our mobile app. Our app will allow you to find Karma-enabled hotspots nearby, and it will send you a push notification whenever a Karma Wi-Fi becomes available. With a click or a swipe, it will automatically connect you ... this will be a huge step forward for us.


By James O'Brien


Article From : mashable.com/2013/06/23/karma-wifi-sharing/


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Tips And Tricks To Mobile Marketing Design

Mobile marketing is one of the newest types of marketing, yet it actually incorporates elements of some of the oldest and well proven methods. Many of the same rules that apply to other kinds of marketing will apply to mobile marketing too. However, there are some noteworthy differences. This article presents some solid advice on getting the best from this brilliant advertising medium.

Start by building a proper database. Use ethical techniques when adding numbers to your database. Make sure you get your customers' permission before you add anything. Ask your existing online customers to join your mobile database, and give them a coupon for referring friends.

Mobile marketing requires much more compact usage of space, so you will need to plan your content to be more concise. It's important not to have rambling pages that have a lot of fluff. With mobile marketing, you need to be short, sweet, and to the point.

Create a mission statement in tune to your purpose on how you can stay on track when doing social mobile marketing. You will be less likely to stray into unproductive strategies if you give yourself a clear reminder of your principles.

It is important to be aware of the marketing strategies utilized by your competitors. This will allow you to stay one step ahead. Ideally, you should find positive ways that you can stand out from the competition.

Make sure you know when people are getting your text messages. They shouldn't be sent when they're sleeping or having dinner with their families. Customers will be unlikely to buy your product, even if they like it, if you have bothered them at odd hours of the day.

Make sure you know how mobiles operate, and plan your sites and messages accordingly. Conduct extensive research on the most popular mobile devices; this allows you to see things from your target market's point of view.

There are many free apps you can give away to customers, but it's also not that difficult to create your own apps. By creating its own unique, relevant app, a company can double or triple the success of its mobile marketing strategy. You are merely limited by imagination, as there are a lot of items you can include in your app.

A successful mobile marketer does not stand still. They are continually looking for new ways to get their message out there. To be successful, you should follow their lead. If you started off by texting, move to videos and then to interactive games. Always take advantage of the technology you can use, and if it is beyond your expertise, hire someone who does understand how each type of technology works. Use all that you have.

Mobile marketing can be extremely effective, but if it is used improperly it will simply irritate people. Take a measured approach following some of the tips presented here. Learn all you can, especially if you are a novice. With the right approach, you will very likely obtain new customers and bring in more business.


About Guest Author :  A lof of companies and business owner are curious about qr code marketing. It is actually easy to setup if you know how to start. You need to find a good company specializing in QR Codes. The good companies will have advance strategy such as text advertising. If you have any question, just let me know I am an expert. Check out this website .

Friday, June 14, 2013

Apple Pulls Plug on Prostitution Results for Chinese Siri Users


Siri can help you find just about anything… and we mean anything.
As a result, Apple found itself in a bit of a predicament recently. Based on user feedback and complains from inside of mobile’s most populous community, prostitution services are getting past Siri’s results filter when users seek information on where to find a prostitute or escort service in the region.
But Apple has finally addressed the problem it seems.

“Responding to reports from our users, we have blocked information related with ‘escorts,’” a member of Apple customer service staff reportedly told the Times of India.

News of this most embarrassing Siri-related situation comes just one day after Chinese authorities provided regulatory approval for Apple to introduce the iPhone 5 in China this December.



Article From : mobilemarketingwatch.com/apple-pulls-plug-on-prostitution-results-for-chinese-siri-users-26583/
  

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Benefits Of Social Media Marketing


Social media provides a way for businesses to increase their "word of mouth" advertising. Word of mouth has always been a powerful method of promoting products and services. Think about it - when you need a new mechanic for your car, do you trust the advertisements in the newspaper or your friend who tells you how great their mechanic is?
Social networking makes it possible to establish relationships and build trust online, which allows businesses to indirectly market their products and services to people who are more receptive to the marketing messages you are sending out. Generally, people are more trusting of social media sites than they are of more traditional websites selling products or services directly, because the users of social media websites feel that there are fewer people who would have something to gain by reviewing and recommending another's product or service.
Social media marketing offers a number of benefits you would be hard pressed to find in other forms of marketing, including:
  • Ability to create brand awareness. As more people see your business name and the link to your site, your logo, and other details found in social media profiles, you establish more brand awareness among your potential client base.
  • Trust is established through natural connections and relationships that develop in online communities.
  • Your main website will gain traffic from niche conversations had through social networking websites, discussions, groups, and through blog comments.
  • Search engine optimization is increased through the increasing number of high quality links to your site and/or blog as other community members link to you and as you link to yourself from various social media sites.
  • Increased visibility in search engines will boost the number of visitors who find your website when searching keywords related to your industry.
  • Having a following on various social sites will decrease your dependence on search engines in general, since you'll have a number of other websites helping to drive traffic to your site or blog.
  • Your participation in social media discussions and groups helps you see what is going on within your niche and find out what people want to see in the products and services you offer simply by listening to what people say to one another.
  • When you are actively involved in social media, you have the opportunity to manage your reputation. You can respond to complaints in a timely manner, encourage people to talk about their good experiences with your company, and keep an eye on what is being said about you in general by your client base.
  • You can discover more about the needs, desires and trends that encourage your market niche to spend money, and use that information to fuel your marketing efforts.
Advantages of Social Media Linking
It's possible to obtain links to your website from a few different sources online - including companies who sell links to your site. One of the primary advantages of using social media marketing is that you obtain numerous links to your website and blog from multiple sources. When you publish a new blog post or an article on your website, you can automatically update each of your social media profiles across multiple websites to reflect the new post - and include a link back to your site. If your followers, fans, or connections appreciate the information in your blog posts or article, you'll see them announcing these to their followers, fans or connections, quickly growing the number of incoming links through social media. You end up with links to your site strategically placed everywhere your potential client base is already visiting online, which means the people who are clicking those links are already your targeted prospects, and have already established somewhat of a relationship with you through their connection on these social media sites.


By Jim Smith
Article From : focustsi.com/resources/article.aspx?id=benefits-of-social-media-marketing&category=social-media