Effective Ways Of Mobile Marketing For Startups

http://inc42.com/

Mobiles have stormed the market big time. It is growing at a neck breaking speed. Most of the people are glued on to mobiles these days, it is not an option anymore, it has become a necessity. Those who are not optimizing their websites for mobile will be left far behind in this race.

Grab the key to success, go Mobile.

Having understood that Mobile is the future in Digital Marketing. Let’s take a look at smart and effective ways to target Mobiles.

Build an appropriate presence  – various options are:

1. Have a Website which is mobile responsive/adaptive.
2. Go in for a mobile website.
3. Have an app, which would mean that the website doesn’t need a browser to open. While building app, take a call on whether to go in for hybrid kind of a system or a native app. Native is more expensive but at the same time a seamless experience. From all practicalities, hybrid is more workable. So, choose your option.

Invest in a good Analytics platform- see what is happening on the website, understand people’s behavior. Depending on the type of presence, have analytics. While analyzing, closely look at the following:

1. If you have an app, see who all are uninstalling, understand reasons for doing this to fine tune the app.
2. If an app or mobile web is there, test it on varied mobile devices for parameters like screen size, OS, browser, networks.
3. Check the behavior of people in terms of dropouts/exits/bounces.

Make it faster to access – people are impatient, give them a good experience. Keep loading time benchmark of less than 2 seconds. Don’t make your website too heavy, give weightage to quality and not to quantity of data.

SEO for Mobile – Get organic traffic for your mobile. There are few unique things while doing SEO for mobiles.

ASO (App Store Optimization) – When loading your apps on app store, give the apps header, descriptions, a few screenshots, and a category intelligently. Think about what will people search for, look at search history, and use more of those words. While selecting the category, look at highly searched but less competitive categories.

Integration with Social – tap different platforms (Facebook, Google, Twitter etc.) with which you would like to integrate. Let your app / website be discovered. Make sure that the feeds on your app can be shared with various platforms.

Referral – lots of businesses run different schemes, so get references, go viral.

Use google ads platform to the hilt – Pick & choose from different hosts of ad formats and extensions which google offers like:

1. Mobile text ads
2. Mobile image ads
3. Call only ads
4. Call Extensions
5. App Promotion ads
6. Video ads (YouTube)

Use Facebook promotion – More than 50% of users access face book from Mobiles. There are 9 different campaign types ranging from giving visibility to your website, to driving traffic to facilitating conversions etc. The ads do very well on mobile as they occupy the majority of the space, they can’t’ be missed. On all these platforms, ad sizes are compatible with the screen sizes. Targeting is also quite varied, explore them.

Run ads on Twitter – Twitter ads have arrived in India. Create and run ads on twitter, which are of multiple types with unique targeting options. Cost is on higher side but results can be outstanding.

Try mobile specific ad & affiliate networks – One of the multiple options is InMobi.

Learn from companies & adopt – Go through the case studies, be flexible in your approach. People use multiple screens, look at the pairing options. Twitter also has the ability to pair your ads while a certain program is on.

Do it now, Leverage the mobile market, get your mobile marketing strategy in place and experience the sheer delight of moving towards your business goals.

Google launches app install features to DoubleClick to counteract Facebook’s rising mobile challenge

thedrum.com

Google has unveiled a host of new features that will let users download both Android and iOS apps directly from both its search function, as well as other web properties, in a move that can be read as a rear-guard action against Facebook’s growing strength in the mobile space.   

In a blog post published 2 February Google unveiled new tools to enable app install campaigns that will more easily allow app owners, both small-scale app developers as well as large brands, to boost downloads of their mobile properties – an increasingly crucial part of brands' marketing mix.

The new features, available via the DoubleClick Marketing Solutions suite, let app developers promote their wares across its assorted web properties, via DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) using search, display, and video ad formats.

Advertisers can also use DBM’s new features to create a custom list of apps that their ads will appear in, the apps that will drive the best performance, as well as ‘blacklist’ ones where they’d rather not have their brand appear.

In addition, it also allows advertisers to target users using mobile device IDs, as well as identify "lookalike audiences", or “affinity segments”, as Google terms them. 

The newly unveiled features can also allow brands and developers to automatically track downloads, from both the Google Play Store as well as Apple’s App Store via integration with third-party app tracking platforms.  

In a blog post, Steve Chang, a product manager at Google’s DoubleClick unit, wrote: “Having your branded app on your customers’ phones means you can be front-and-center [sic] on the screen that people check over 150 times a day, leading to increased brand awareness and mindshare.”

He went on to say: “Running app install campaigns can help drive more customers to your branded apps, paving the way for a deeper connection between your customers and your brand.”

Google’s parent company Alphabet yesterday reported revenues of $21.33bn for the last three months of 2015 based on the back of a strong mobile performance, and overtaking Apple as the most valuable company in the world in the process.

However, it is simultaneously facing a strong challenge from Facebook and its DoubleClick-rival Atlas when it comes to mobile ad budgets. A week prior to 

Facebook reported an equally impressive performance for the same quarter (in terms of revenue gains) based on the back of its strong mobile performance, with revenue generated by ads on mobile devices accounting for 80 per cent of its total $5.8bn for the period.

Although Facebook is increasingly introducing video ads (which are deemed more akin to brand advertising campaigns), market sources accredit the bulk of Facebook’s mobile ad revenues to app install ads.

Google, which has historically seen the emergence of mobile web usage have a negative effect on its average cost-per-click, is also in the process of shoring its mobile positioning. According to reports it will integrate the ranking of webpages developed under its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) scheme from later this month.

The AMP scheme was read by many as an initiative by Google to help stem the tide towards audiences consuming content on their mobile devices via apps – a consumer trend that is read by many that could threaten its dominance of the digital advertising market. 

The ultimate mobile opportunity: The consumer in-app mindset

imediaconnection.com

As more global consumers adopt and integrate mobile apps into their daily lives, marketers are wise to understand how they orient and interact in this environment. "In-app" is the most powerful mobile marketing environment we have. This highly receptive state offers unique ways for brands to effectively and directly engage consumers. There are two avenues for the marketer: advertising to the receptive in-app consumer while they are engaged in that environment and/or developing a branded app to build loyalty.

Winning with in-app advertising

If we think about the consumer's state of mind when in-app, it's easy to imagine how well executed advertising can succeed there. All consumers "in" an app have essentially "opted in" to the environment. As a result, consumers are attuned to messaging and are receptive to it. Well-targeted, rich, useful, in-app advertising resonates in this environment because a connection can happen at the right time, appropriate place, and in a personalized way, handing control to the consumers themselves. Imaginative uses by a QSR brand of things like the smart phone's accelerometer, allowing a consumer to mix and select various menu items by shaking their device, is one strong example we've seen in the market.

Location-based advertising has been another trigger for the growth of in-app advertising. U.S.-based location-targeted mobile ad revenues are expected to grow from $4.3 billion in 2014 to $18.2 billion in 2019, according to research from BIA Kelsey. Location-enabled programmatic mobile inventory has doubled in the last year. Today, more than 60 percent of all mobile ad requests include location data of some kind.

As the available data and technology improves, more mobile ad marketers are using it to drive greater campaign relevance. Advertisers and ad networks now have the ability to collect and process volumes of consumer data to create more targeted and timely mobile marketing. The better the data, the more precise the targeting can be. When coupled with definitive place, or POI data, accurate location data allows marketers to develop powerful consumer audiences based on their prior mobile activity, behavioral frequency, and device information.

Data input needs to be verified for accuracy or the data led marketing will be wasted on the wrong people. The upfront vetting you do with your data solutions, providers, and partners on the methodology is essential. The most accurate form of location data is real-time, latitude and longitude coordinates pulled directly from a mobile device's global positioning system (GPS). Leveraging precise location data, marketers can reach consumers within steps of a retailer, driving foot traffic from potential shoppers, or capture consumers' intent on visiting competing retailers nearby. That's where you want to be.

The branded app as marketing

According to a recent study from Forrester Research, consumers spend more than 85 percent of their time on smartphones using native apps. In fact, consumers don't even consider many of these apps "native." They consider them "functional" -- tools to effectively interact with brands they depend on. However, the challenge is to keep the users engaged with these apps on an ongoing basis. It turns out "native" app users aren't using the vast majority of the apps they have downloaded onto their phone. In fact, according to a recent Forrester study, 84 percent of their time is spent using just five apps. This dovetails with another recent study from Nielsen spotlighting that there is a ceiling for the number of apps that consumers will consistently use.

So, what can you do to ensure that you're one of the lucky few, favorite branded apps that consumers deploy on a regular, if not daily, basis, able to take advantage of these consumers ravenous for information about, or utility delivered from, your brand? Establish immediate value and functionality to the end user.

Most of the apps that people use frequently are ones that deliver a specific function in an instant. So, how can your brand's app do that? How will it make their lives instantly easier, becoming indispensable in the process?

The best in-app interfaces or executions are incredibly focused, taking advantage of the consumer state of being "all in" when they are there. A strong app is mobile-first with a streamlined design that provides a logical, easy flow and navigation. Essentially, it will deliver a laser-like focus on a primary task and eliminate bells and whistles that may distract. A lot of businesses make the mistake of pretending that their mobile website launchers are apps, but they're not. Native apps offer marketers an environment that can be used to create distinctive, specific experiences for customers.

The app consumer is ready, willing and open to marketing. That's a unique combination. But, for it to work, brands must respect and cater to this special permission. Whether you're delivering the messaging and proposed engagement via ad placements inside the app or using the app itself as a marketing vehicle, everything you do must engage, service and delight -- not annoy or burden -- the audience. The elusive permission slip has been granted. Now it's the brand's responsibility to deliver a continuous, memorable journey.

Resurgence of SMS marketing

Kalin Kassabov is cofounder/CEO of ProTexting

luxurydaily.com

By Kalin Kassabov

For almost as long as mobile phones and text messaging have been around, people have been predicting the death of SMS marketing. There are, in fact, reasons to suppose that the future of SMS is more secure than many other types of marketing. This is due to several key factors, including the incredible explosion of smart phone use and the speed, convenience and high engagement level of text messaging compared to other forms of communication.

Utility of SMS is appreciated once more
As smartphones became connected to email and social media sites, some marketers thought that SMS would soon become obsolete. Many marketers began to focus their efforts on reaching their mobile customers via Facebook, Twitter and email. There are, however, built-in limitations and not so obvious flaws with these platforms.

Facebook and Twitter posts can easily become lost in users’ feeds. The average open rate for emails is usually between 20 percent and 25 percent. By contrast, 98 percent of text messages are read within minutes of receipt. SMS is simply the most reliable way to engage with audiences. People are far more responsive to text messages than to any other type of platform.

What our team has started to notice is the undeniable resurgence of SMS marketing. While there are undeniable benefits to social media marketing, businesses are starting to realize that simply accumulating likes and followers is no guarantee of success. These metrics can easily be manipulated. For example, Facebook and YouTube likes, Twitter followers and retweets can all be purchased. Even authentic engagement on social media is often fleeting, with people liking a page and then forgetting about it.

SMS, on the other hand, provides businesses with a more reliable way to engage with customers who have opted-in to receiving messages. Text messages are direct and do not get lost on users’ social media feeds or overflowing inboxes. Once more, businesses are turning to SMS for direct engagement and interactive campaigns supporting other marketing initiatives.

New and interactive SMS
Both large and small businesses are starting to discover the many ways that SMS marketing can be leveraged. These are just some of the ways that the unparalleled interactivity of SMS is being used by many companies today in conjunction to larger marketing campaigns:

• Supporting email and social media campaigns: While it is easy to see the advantages of SMS over other types of marketing, even greater benefits can be enjoyed by combining different types of marketing. SMS can be used to support social media and email campaigns.

• Contests and sweepstakes: People love to win prizes and SMS provides the easiest way to enter contests. The simplest way for people to enter a contest or sweepstakes is by entering a short code keyword.

• Smart drip campaigns: These are comparable to email autoresponder series, giving marketers the ability to send out a series of timed text messages. Customers can sign up for these campaigns by texting a keyword to the merchant.

• App promotions and downloads: A company that wants customers to download their app can send out a link to a mobile landing page via text. Because of the high engagement of SMS, this is often the most efficient way to promote an app.

• Live events: SMS marketing can be incorporated into live events using interactive displays on a Jumbotron or other screen. Audience members can participate in live chats, polling and other actions that encourage engagement.

Why SMS is poised for growth
The number of mobile phone users has been increasing exponentially over the last few years.

There are currently an estimated 4 billion mobile phones in the world, which covers the majority of the world’s population. More than three-fourths of these phones are SMS-enabled.

Even people who do not yet own smartphones can send and receive texts on their phones. This makes SMS the most straightforward and ubiquitous form of communication that is now possible. Even more importantly, commerce conducted via smartphone is also quickly growing.

SMS IS A type of marketing that can be employed by both local and Web-based businesses. SMS provides the most efficient way for people to access coupons, enter contests, respond to polls and otherwise engage with stores and other businesses.

Far from being on the verge of extinction, the age of SMS is just getting started.

6 Gaming Trends to Watch for in 2016

huffingtonpost.com

Fallout Shelter generated $5.1 million for Bethesda in its first two weeks. Activision Blizzard bought King Digital for $5.9 billion and mobile games developer China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group merged with Pegasus Investment Holdings in a deal valued at about $690 million.

Micro-transactions in mobile gaming generate billions of dollars a year. There's no sign this trend is slowing down any time soon. According to Statista, "in-app purchase revenues will reach $28.9 billion by 2017."

Here's a look at 6 gaming trends that will influence the continued growth of this multi-billion dollar industry.

#1. Virtual reality will marry mobile gaming.

In 2016, mobile gaming and virtual reality will emerge as the most sensible pairing for developers. While the media is giving all its attention to Oculus Rift, the true unsung heroes of VR will be Google Cardboard and GearVR, which will transform the simplest mobile devices into exceptional VR experiences. MindMaze will introduce disruptive technology with their release of the first hands-free virtual reality game that gamers can control with their thoughts.

#2. Better graphics will attract gamers' attention.

Just like graphics in console and PC battles, the use of GPU-accelerated computing will result in even higher quality game graphics that grab the attention of everyday gamers.

#3. Additional game features will improve social engagement.

We saw in 2015 that a highly effective manner for improving monetization was through multiplayer gaming design. Gaming trends for 2016 will continue to leverage gamers' competitive and social nature by adding more features that improve the social component of gaming. Features like in-game chat and Player vs Player (PvP) will become more common as the required tools become more accessible.

#4. Google Play sales in China will generate significant revenue.

In 2015, the mobile market experienced over $5 billion in growth, with $2 billion alone coming out of China. Analysts predict this trend will continue, with even more revenue generated from sales in China. This trend is attributed to sales from Google Play, blocked in China since 2010, but returning to China in 2016.

#5. PC game sales will exceed console game sales.

A June 2015 article in CNET says "PC gaming is poised to earn more in sales by the end of 2016 than its console counterpart, a trend many years in the making." Jon Peddie Research forecasts that PC gaming hardware sales will continue growing well into 2018. This data encourages serious gamers to check out Tech Daring's list of 10 best gaming keyboards.

#6. Pre-order will serve as a new form of game app marketing.

With the expense of installs continuing to rise, the mobile app industry continues to search for ways to offset the costs. Developers search for the best resources for pre and post launch, utilizing various organic and paid marketing channels. Last year, Google and Apple rolled out the ability to pre-register for upcoming games. Users tap the "pre-register" button and receive a notification when the app is ready for download. These notifications serve as push-advertisements, reminding users to download a new game once it's released.

Drowning in a $77-Billion Sea: Why Your Mobile App Needs a Demo Explainer Video

marketingprofs.com

By 2017, over 268 billion app downloads will generate $77 billion worth of revenue, according to Entrepreneur.

Those numbers are huge, and neither of them is terribly surprising.

Moreover, though $77 billion worth of revenue can sound like a blessing, it's actually much more of a curse.

After all, the app marketplace is crowded. And even the best app can get lost in the sea. Simply creating an app—even an amazing app—and introducing it via Google Play, Apple, or Amazon is not going to make you a success. In fact, a mere 0.01% of all mobile apps will be financially successful. And the reason 99.99% of apps don't succeed, TheNextWeb explains, doesn't come down to their functionality or usefulness; it's "because because they fail to get in front of their audience." In other words, the basic problem is marketing.

So, how do you get noticed in the sea of apps?

One of the most effective, data-driven solutions is investing in a demo explainer video.

Why? Videos are popular, have higher engagement rates than text, and are one of the most shared content types on social media. They're also persuasive.

For instance, Wyzowl—after surveying 251 companies in the marketing, advertising, and telecommunication industries for its 2015 State of Video Marketing report—discovered that 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that video gave people a greater understanding of its company's product or service. A mere 5% disagreed.

Even more impressive, 73% of respondents said they'd gone on to buy from a company other than their own after watching one of that company's videos.

To help your app combat obscurity and bring your app to life, I've put together three reasons why your mobile app needs a demo video.

1. Showcasing

People like being shown exactly what they're getting. And a video (unlike text) can supply just that. That is even more important when presenting something new and technical.

Thankfully, that means mobile app demo videos don't need to be complex cinematic undertakings.

A screen-recorded explainer video—composed either mostly or solely of your app in action—can sound pretty basic. But don't let its simplicity overshadow its UX showcasing power.

Hours

Jeremy Olson, a co-creator of Hours, a time-tracking app that topped Angry Birds for downloads, attributed his app's success in large part to its demo video, especially during the launch phase: "Journalists love videos. It gives them a way to see if they are interested in the app before actually using it."

Hours' demo video places the app's easy functionality and visual beauty right in the viewer's hands by its demonstration of real-life use. It's also a quick video, so before you get bored with time tracking in general, you're asking yourself how Hours might assist your daily routine.

2. Connecting

App descriptions are notorious for being boring, bland, dry, and emotionless.

In fact, MarketingProfs recently called attention to this deficit in Are You Losing Sales Because of Boring Copy? A Widely Applicable Example of Apps:

"Your app description in the store has to tell the user not only what the app does but also how it'll change their life—by answering the questions they're asking themselves when they shop.

"And that's where most app descriptions fail.

"No matter how life-changing your app is for your customers, if the app description doesn't sell the concept to them, there's no way they'll buy."

Investing your app description with "life-changing" copy can be powerful.

But what do you do if copy alone isn't driving conversions—especially given the limited amount of space and headline restrictions provided in app stores?

The truth is videos hit us in the feelers. They stick to our emotions and therefore our thoughts.

However, don't think that connecting with your audience at an emotional level means your mobile app video has to be epic or even long.

Cumulative research by Wistia shows that, when in regards to videos, less is definitely more.

 

The fact that shorter is better is great news for mobile app videos, especially preview videos. The key to connecting is to:

• Go after the single most pressing problem your app solves, or 
• Go after your target market's most dominant emotion

Runtastic

Runtastic is one of the most popular and most well-reviewed (in its Pro version) fitness apps online. And yet, its preview video (as required by app store regulations) is short, succinct, and free of fluff. Instead, the explainer video aims at addressing the most pressing problem newbies to the fitness world face: accountability. By highlighting the tracking and integrated social features, the app's preview video majors on the emotions that drive motivation.

Sky Guide

In contrast to Runtastic's problem-solution formula, Sky Guide's stargazing app video wordlessly directs its focus on a primary human emotion: awe. In just 30 seconds, the video walks through both the app's functionality as well as creates a genuinely emotional experience tied directly to its target market.

3. Answering

The sooner you can answer your audience's questions and objections, the better. And by "better," I mean more persuasive and more profitable.

That's why the last—and perhaps most powerful reason—to invest in a mobile demo video is that videos can be used to answer your audience before they even ask questions.

This reason rings true (once again) if your app's purpose is technical or innovative.

Salesforce recently highlighted the power of video throughout a sales funnel. What's more, it called special attention to FAQ videos usefulness at the end, or (in Saleforce's words) "to seal the deal." As the article points out:

"A well-positioned and thorough series of how-to and/or instructional video can provide your leads with the information they need, so they don't have to contact sales for a demo.

"As mentioned, 70% of the purchasing decision is made before your lead even communicates with sales and, for this reason, bottom of funnel content can also engage leads in the earlier stages."

Your website probably already has an FAQ section, which if drawing from only the most frequently asked FAQs, is an incredibly ripe source to generate content for your mobile explainer video.

Here are two fantastic examples of demo videos answering common questions.

WhizXpress

WhizXpress is an international calls app, which immediately raises a host of questions. Do the people I'm calling need the app, too? Is an Internet connection required? Can I place and receive calls? Does it facilitate video and conferencing?

In under a minute and half, WhizXpress answers each in turn while clearly addressing both personal and professional use.

Birdhouse

Birdhouse is Twitter augmentation app that allows you to "capture your ideas, save them for later, [and] publish when ready." The app explainer video, which is an Internet classic featuring "this bearded guy," walks viewers through the functionality of the app itself with a mix of screen recording intermixed with live video. Best of all it introduces and takes full advantage a character known as the "FAQ Jerk."

The stark contrast between $77 billion worth of revenue and the fact that 99.99% of apps don't succeed are hard realities of the app world. And there are no silver bullets.

But the power of videos to showcase your UX, connect with your audience, and answer their questions means that your mobile app needs a demo explainer video.