Mobile enables unique customer insights for location and time-specific targeting. Explore @ ibm.co/Xx0trH #ibmmobile
JiWire Mobile Audience Insights Report Q42011
Very Active - mobile shopping behavior perhaps?
‘Mobile retailing’ is changing shopping
.. diffusion of mobile retailing is moving rapidly beyond the early adopter phase. A recent study conducted by the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activities (2012) on the mobile shopping behavior of 18 to 25 year old university students found that 91 percent of respondents owned a smartphone. One-in-three said they had downloaded a shopping-specific app, and the majority of respondents said they actively searched new apps weekly
Via Elizabeth Evans, Ryerson University on Building a Smarter Planet
Change on direct marketing specialist needs
“We had people who were direct mail specialists but now are specialists in how best to use Twitter. It’s the evolution of marketing.”—
- Ed Abrams, VP marketing for midmarket, IBM
Big Data, Big Impact: New Possibilities for International Development. Global Pulse is a UN initiative aimed at bringing together expertise from the public, private, development, and academic sectors to develop approaches for harnessing data for policy and action. Data collected through mobile device usage can spur effective action by reducing the time lag between the start of a trend and when governments and other authorities are able to respond to them.
CanvasPop Now Lets You Turn Small Facebook Pics Into Big Wall Art
Via: posted by Joann Pan 3/13/12 at marshable.com
Digital printing company CanvasPop is at it again. The web-based print shop has been printing Instagramsnapshots for mobile photographers since November. Now, Facebook photos can be printed on canvas.
Since inception, the company has wanted to dive head-first into the world’s largest archive of pictures on Earth. Perfecting the process to turn typically low-resolution Facebook pictures into smooth large-format prints took more than two years, co-founder of CanvasPop Adrian Salamunovic told Mashable.
“We want to tap into that market,” he said. “This is where people keep images that are more important to them personally.”
When the company started printing digital pictures, customers would come in with low-resolution Facebook pictures they wanted to print after being turned away from other companies. CanvasPop welcomed them with open arms. The company claims to be the first to print enlarged Facebook photos of any size on canvas.
The Inbound Marketing Process - Infographic
The Inbound Marketing Process Infographic
Inbound marketing is no cakewalk. Marketers who are embracing inbound have a variety of different channels and tactics to master, including content creation, SEO, social media, lead generation, lead management, and analytics. It’s no wonder that marketers new to inbound end up feeling overwhelmed and wondering what to tackle first.
Luckily, our friends over at inbound marketing agency IMPACT Branding & Design recently pulled together an infographic that helps inbound marketers understand the entire inbound process from start to finish — from getting found online, to converting visitors into leads and customers, and then measuring the entire funnel. Well done, IMPACT, you captured the inbound process beautifully!
From: IMPACT Branding & Design
Three Lessons for Social TV
Via: posted by Amy Jo Martin, Tuesday February 7, 2012, at blogs.hbr.org
You may have noticed something was missing throughout the nation’s most social sporting event of the year. The Super Bowl in-game broadcast had zero social media TV integration.
With more than a billion people on Facebook and Twitter alone, many of them watching the game, this was a missed opportunity. Why did NBC and the NFL miss the boat? Likely, the common internal social media struggles got in the way. Incorporating social media into the epic annual broadcast would have created adversity internally. It’s not the way they’ve always done it and, therefore, it’s uncomfortable.
But while the network and league lost an opportunity to innovate the viewing experience, many advertisers took advantage of integrating social media within their pricey ads. By doing this, the advertisers garnered more reach and engagement.
Slapping Twitter handles and Facebook URLs on the TV screen, however, is no longer enough for socially-savvy television. Social media users can now dictate the outcome of live TV shows, create its content, and most notably, impact ratings. Throughout the succinct two-year history of social television, successes and failures have taught practitioners three valuable lessons:
1. Keep it organic. The golden rule of social media is to deliver value when, where, and how your audience wants to receive it. With Social TV, the audience is providing value right back. Naturally, viewers are talking about their favorite (or least favorite) TV shows and sporting events. So, let them talk back when, where, and how they want to. It not only provides a temperature on opinions and sentiment, but also extends content into a perpetual conversation with social media keeping the buzz alive even after the show is over.
For example, The X Factor realized that their highly enthusiastic following on Twitter had strong opinions about the show’s contestants. Viewers didn’t necessarily care if the TV show itself was listening to their opinion; they were naturally sharing their thoughts, feelings, likes, and dislikes in the interest of a social viewing experience with their peers. After monitoring this behavior and listening to viewers, The X Factor became the first show ever to harness that conversation’s inherent power and let viewers vote via Twitter direct message. This provided a convenient and direct means for loyal viewers and tweeters to voice their opinions in a meaningful yet official way.
2. Offer low-barrier engagement. It’s not a new concept for television shows to host contests highlighting viewer submissions. However, with the evolution of Social TV, the entry process is now far more accessible.
Jimmy Fallon is one of the pioneers of this concept. In the prehistoric age of social TV, Fallon trail-blazed by providing Twitter hashtag prompts to viewers and airing the most creative and hilarious responses on-air. Why was this so innovative? It kept the viewers in their own space. Fallon’s call-to-action required little effort; a simple, witty one-liner in a tweet could be your chance at late-night stardom.
What was the benefit for the TV show? Viewers were now entertained at an incremental level. They were participating with the show — and invested in the next evening’s show — to see if their tweet was highlighted within the broadcast. Simply said, they were elevated one notch up on the loyalty ladder. Many of the hashtags even became trending topics, which garnered accelerated awareness for the innovative hashtag game and even more paramount, the show itself.
3. Measure and share real-time results with viewers. TV networks and shows can put their finger on the pulse of viewer engagement before, during, and after a show airs. It’s traditionally believed that word of mouth is the most influential form of marketing. Consensus matters because it saves time and provides clarity. In the same way we look for book or music recommendations from friends, we turn to social media to hear about the next big thing. Traditional media outlets are becoming valuable editors of the social media space, using their expertise to tell their viewers what they should be consuming according to general consensus. This strategy also proves valuable to advertisers who can make more informed decisions about when, where, and how they want to advertise on TV.
As the 2012 presidential election approaches, voters will be keeping their eyes on their own network’s opinions more than political pundits or government officials. Said pundits and officials should, therefore, provide a new form of value by packaging and delivering these organic results to their audience.
It’s important to note that experimenting leads to best practices. The entertainment offering is only limited by the imagination of the producers.
Be Better at Twitter: The Definitive, Data-Driven Guide
Via: Megan Garber, JAN 31 2012, at theatlantic.com
A study based on 43,000 responses to Tweets found precisely what people like — and loathe — about microblog posts.
If you could construct, algorithmically, the Most Annoying Tweet Imaginable, it might look something like this:
BREAKING: Last week I had a #sandwich that was SO HORRIBLE, it made me want to #scream. Seriously, why can’t they make better #sandwiches?
The Most Annoying Tweet Imaginable, in other words, would be overly long. It would contain stale information. It would #totally #overuse #hashtags. It would be excessively personal. It would be aggressively mundane. It would be whiny.
All this, at least, according to a new study, released today, that explores what we like in our tweets — and what we find really, really off-putting. “Who Gives a Tweet: Evaluating Microblog Content Value” is the culmination of a year’s worth of analysis conducted by the researchers Paul André of Carnegie Mellon, Michael Bernstein of MIT, and Kurt Luther of Georgia Tech as they set to find out what separates value from vagary in a Twitter post. Last year, the team created a site, Who Gives a Tweet — essentially, a Hot or Not for microcontent — that asked users to designate a selection of tweets according to the emotional responses they provoked (“positive,” “neutral,” “negative”). And then, intriguingly, to explain those responses in their own words. The team, with the help ofMechanical Turk, then analyzed the 43,000 crowdsourced responses they’d collected from the site, looking for patterns and takeaways that might help the rest of us to become better, more crowd-pleasing members of the Twittersphere.
One piece of advice: Nix the “sandwich tweets.” People do not care what you are eating for lunch. (Specifically: “Sorry, but I don’t care what people are eating,” “too much personal info,” “He moans about this ALL THE TIME. Seriously.”) Twitter, as a communications platform, has evolved beyond nascent Twttr’s charmingly mundane updates (“cleaning my apartment”; “hungry”) and into something more crowd-conscious and curatorial. Though Twitter won’t necessarily replace traditional news, it increasingly functions as a real-time newswire, disseminating and amplifying information gathered from the world and the web. At the same time, though, being social, it functions as a source of entertainment. Which means that we have increasingly high — and increasingly normalized — expectations for Twitter as both a place and a platform. We want it to enlighten us, but we also want it to amuse us.
In that context, tweets that are informative or funny — or, ideally, informative and funny — evoke the best responses. And tweets that contain old information, repeat conventional wisdom, offer uselessly de-contextual news, or extoll the virtues of the awesome salad I had for lunch today don’t, ultimately, do much to justify themselves.
So: Do be useful. Do be novel. Do be compelling. Do not, under any circumstances, be boring.
And: Don’t be afraid to be self-promotional. Surprisingly and intriguingly, the research respondents had pretty much the same reaction to tweets that contained plain old information and tweets that contained information that was created by the tweet-sender. “The Twitter ecosystem values learning about new content,” the study notes — so new info, it seems, is new info, regardless of who provides it. And sharing your own work conveys excitement about that work — which means that self-promotion, rather than being a Twitter turn-off, can actually be an added value.
This may seem like overthinking it; spontaneity, after all, is a big part of Twitter’s charm. Still, it’s also worth noting that, in the study’s sample, respondents considered only 36 percent of the tweets on display worth reading — and another 39 percent barely worth the effort. “These results,” the authors note, “highlight the need for better awareness and presentation of valued content.”
With that in mind, here’s their advice for creating that content. Feel free to retweet it.
What’s Next for Digital Coupons?
Via: Posted by Jeff Hudson, 1/20/12 at mashable.com
Jeff Hudson is co-founder of Grocery Coupon Network, one of the leading coupon communities on the web. By aggregating the best digital grocery coupons and special offers from local and national brands, the company provides a reliable source for those looking to save money and time.
Couponing had seen unprecedented growth in the past decade due to a combination of factors — one of which was the economic recession in the U.S., combined with an increased consumer interest in mobile technology and devices.
Because of this, marketers began to heavily fund digital platforms. The coupon industry, specifically, saw record growth within the digital realm, and by 2010, SavingStar estimated that “49 million people used printable or digital coupons.”
SEE ALSO: HOW TO: Create and Distribute Effective Online Coupons
The benefits digital interactions offer coupon companies are vast. For starters, online couponing allows for great promotion and wider distribution for brands. It also provides companies with better reach and the ability to track consumer preferences and patterns. Data from Leo J. Shapiro and Associates determined that the digital coupon consumer base was primarily comprised of young married couples with disposable income. Grouponhas targeted this demographic, lending digital couponing a social reputation.
Daily deal couponing continues to be a popular tool among consumers and marketers, and many major companies have implemented their own version of the trend.
What Business Owners Need to Know About Daily Deal Couponing
Although intriguing for consumers, daily deal platforms like Groupon have not always been beneficial for business owners, who often see a spike in business but little customer retention.
Some Key Social Media Trends to Look For in 2012
Via: posted by Joseph Puopolo, 1/16/2012 at techcrunch.com
Editor’s note: Guest contributor Joseph Puopolo is an entrepreneur and start-up enthusiast, who blogs on a variety of topics including green initiatives, technology and marketing.
In 2011, social media had its share of growing pains. Large brands and corporations took to social media in force to try to find footing in this expanding medium. Some brands found success, while others found peril and new PR nightmares. One person who has helped brands navigate the proverbial social media minefield is Amy Jo Martin. She is the founder of Digital Royalty, a social media firm that has set itself apart by helping A-listers find their social media voice.
Amy works with people like Dana White of the UFC, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson of acting/WWE fame and brands like Nike and Fox Sports (and now Joel Stein). Her specialty is working with organizations or individuals and making them look good online. Since the online world is in perpetual flux, I wanted to get Amy’s take on the social media landscape for 2012.
Here were a few key trends Amy said we should look out for in 2012:
1. Social TV Integration
Many shows have already begun to integrate social TV, either through polling or integrating social elements within the show. See my example of how both the UFC and WWE are integrating social media into their programming. Social media played a pivotal role in the last presidential election, and it will likely be more integrated into political broadcasts.
As each news channel fights hard to keep their viewers engaged, networks like CNN and Fox have made significant strides to engage their audience, although some would argue that this social media integration has come at the expense of hard-hitting journalism and analysis.
2. TV Is Going Online in a Big Way
2012 will be the first time that the Super Bowl will be streamed live to the world. Since the Super Bowl is generally viewed as the mother of all advertising spectacles, it will add a new dynamic into the digital component to advertising and social media integration.
3. Facebook Credits Take Center stage
Facebook in 2012 has the potential to project its power and truly take Facebook credits into a viable currency. Amy puts it quite well when she says “they’re building an online destination we’ll never need to leave, and my guess is they’re only about 8% of the way through their product roadmap.”
4. Big Business Has Woken Up
The way corporate entities approach social media is shifting. Many companies realize that setting up Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts is not going to cut it as their social media strategy. Brands will need to seriously shift their perspective by treating social channels more like communication channels and less like an advertising channels in order to make a difference. From my perspective this transition has already occurred, judging by the extent to which brands’ Twitter accounts are now used as channels for CRM and customer support, managing pissed off or happy customers in near realtime.
5. ROI Is Still Huge
ROI will remain a key metric to any social media strategy. The concept of engagement is now becoming more and more an excepted metric. CEO adoption of social media is improving, and more CEOs are recognizing the benefits of humanizing their brand by taking to Twitter.
Customer service, research and image branding could all be considered social media intangibles, yet all three are obviously important in business. Social channels impact every single aspect of business from human relations to finance, sales, operations and legal. It’s important for everyone to understand how social media affects their role and responsibilities. Opposite of television, social media is a dialogue vs. a monologue and if a brand is able to collect opinions real-time in high volume via social channels like Facebook polls, they can save a great deal of money on formal research studies.
There have been a lot of discussions about social media fatigue and whether brands refuse to play for that reason. With over a billion people on social media it’s irresponsible for any brand not to have some sort of presence. 2012 will be the year for brands to go beyond cookie cutter campaigns and really determine how it not only adds value to their company, but how it adds value for their customers. 2012 will be crucial for companies and social media. For those who don’t see a direct correlation between social media and sales consider:
“Social media is an ideal tool for moving people up the fan ladder, from being a casual fan of a brand to a loyalist, because the communication channels allow people to build stronger emotional connections with brands.”
So in 2012, the question is, how will your brand use effective strategy to move people up the fan ladder from interested to foaming at the mouth brand zealots?
