Top Marketing Strategies for New Media
Print ads, direct ads, newspapers and possibly even television and radio advertisements are becoming a thing of the past. Technology-savvy customers are looking for intriguing new ways to be introduced to new products and services. As a result the marketing departments of small and large businesses are working overtime to embrace the needs and wants of the customer when it comes to using new media.
First and foremost, get social by using social networking sites. It has been said before and it will be said again and again. Social media is an extremely powerful tool in reaching mass audiences and connecting with individuals in a way that was never possible before. Videos, photos, links and status updates can give customers an inside look at your company. Customers can also obtain information on sales, promotions and give-aways.
Make your website interactive. A vast majority of customers would rather logon to their personal computers or to the mobile web in order to connect with your business. Blogs, pods cast, product information, high-quality photography that allow users to zoom, pan and view ever angle of a product are important in keeping users coming back for more.
Text your customers. Texting is not just an adolescent obsession, it is also a business tool. Use text messages to send customers promotional codes, information on sales, polls and any small bit of information you would like your customers to know. Virtually all cell phone carries offer unlimited texting plans, so there is no concern of your customers being charged for your text message communication.
The key to staying on top of new marketing techniques is to look at what your customers want and the types of technology they are using. Most new media is free to use and easy to understand. You can place yourself in the middle of a marketing phenomena with just a little man power.
Tips and Tricks #010
Include only the necessary content. If a customer has found their way to your mobile website, chances are they already know what you are about and are comfortable with doing business with your company. Therefore avoid giving long-winded descriptions of your company, its team and its history. Provide customers with the essential information they need to make an informed decision regarding purchasing a product of a service from you. When making purchases on the go, product information and pricing is much more important than how your company go its start.
Tips and Tricks #009
With the large number of smartphones that are touch screen — including the iPhone and Android, you need to make graphics and elements on a mobile website that are big enough to be clicked by your finger tips. Users do not have the accuracy that they would normally have if they were using a mouse on their home computer. Users should not need to keep a pencil or pen handy while using their mobile phone in order to click on a graphic.
Tips and Tricks #008
Pay particular attention to color when designing a mobile website. Color essential takes the place of fancy fonts, photographs and graphics that you are used to seeing on a traditional website. Choose colors that are easy to read and that compliment each other well. If you want to use a light colored text, you may want to consider using a darker colored background. If you are leaning towards dark text, opt for a lighter colored background. Colors should be more-the-less used to communicate ideas and distinguish portions of your mobile website. When it comes to the mobile web, you are not using colors for your site to look pretty.
Tips and Tricks #007
Make your mobile website accessible. A mobile website should be designed so that a user can move through the site quickly and with minimal clicks. Lay all of the options of your mobile website out there for people to see. Do not hide your features. The less clicking the better when it comes to navigating the mobile web. While you still want your mobile website to be aesthetically pleasing, be careful. Large graphics and flashy sites can make mobile websites very difficult to load. When using the mobile web, customers are normally in a hurry. Design a layout that will allow your busy customers to log-on, get what they need and get out.
Tips and Tricks #006
Thinking about designing a mobile application? Now may just be the right time to turn your dream into a reality. At the end of 2010, it was estimated that nearly 89 million Americans were on the mobile web. Now is the time to take advantage of this expanding phenomena. Mobile applications allow customers to view your products, services, discount and more all with only a few clicks or swipes of their finger. All the important elements of your traditional website can be turned into a pocket-sized experience that allows customers to shop on the go. Not sure how were to begin? Contact Preface Media. We’ll set you up with your dream mobile application from start to finish. All while keeping you informed throughout the process.
Social Media You Should Be Using
Social media reaches large numbers of individuals with only a few key strokes. You can connect with a wide-range of individuals, differentiate your brand and distribute codes and promotional codes with relative ease at little to no cost. If you are looking to reach a maximum amount of people without exerting all of your time and energy into social media marketing, there are sites you need to be using. By now you have probably got the basic down — Twitter and Facebook. However, there are many other social media outlets out there to help you appeal to the masses.
Trying “bumping” with your customers or clients. Bump is a mobile application that gives users the ability to exchange contact information, pictures, social networking information and calendars. All you need to do is bump another individual using the application on your mobile phone.
Share unique photos with customers using Hipstamatic. This is an application available for iPhone and Android users. You can take pictures using unique lenses, flashes and films. You can then upload your pictures to Facebook or Flickr. You can even enter contests with your picture on the Hipstamatic application.
Manage your Facebook and Twitter accounts with one application known as Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a clean interface that allows you to tweet, like and update your statuses from one convenient location. You can schedule updates, set up columns to monitor tags and translate your tweets and updates into other languages allowing you to reach individuals around the globe.
Send text messages to all your customers at once using Mass Text Message. You can create custom contact groups based on the types of customers you are trying to reach. You can then send out a mass text message with your message, promotion or discount code.
The world of mobile application continues to grow. Many mobile applications are directly linked to social media. Search through the applications on your smartphone, you may be surprised at the applications out there that can help your business.
Super Bowl Social Media……
Football players and coaches are not the only individuals to come out big at the end of a Super Bowl match-up. The Super Bowl XLV winners are the Greenbay Packers and the National Football League. Aside from the obvious revenue from tickets, merchandise sales and advertising, the NFL was able to benefit from the use of social media.
Social media gave those who were not so lucky to have a ticket a peek at what it was like to be inside Cowboy Stadium. Avid Twitter, Facebook and bloggers shared photos and tweets directly from inside the stadium. Taking advantage of applications including Blogger and Flickr, the Super Bowl became a popular event through mobile application use. You could receive real time updates from you friends through the use of your mobile phone applications.
The Super Bowl introduced a new social media site known as Heapr.com. This site combines Google and Twitter searches on to one page, which presents the information you want and need much faster than having to search two different websites.
Some of the most popular searches: Steelers, Packers, National Anthem, Super Bowl, Half Time, Usher, Black Eyed Peas, Win, Game, Halftime Show.
Additionally, real time blogging has become a thing of the past. Journalists have turned to Twitter and updated their followers with 140 character updates of the game. After all, do you really need an entire blog entry to say Touchdown, Packers or Sack, Steelers ? Probably not.
Catering to the Consumer
The trend of mobile applications continues to explode. As new phones arrive and technology continues to develop, mobile application stores for smartphones on all carries, have hundreds of thousands of applications for users to choose from. These applications can do everything from finding you are restaurant to eat at to finding you the best deal on virtually any product you are looking to buy.
Even though the life of mobile applications has been brief so far, designs and trends of mobile applications are ever changing. And with the invention of the iPad and other similar devices these trends will only continue to grow in change for a longtime to come.
Mobile phone applications do much more than just offer directions or find out what time a movie is playing. Perhaps one of the biggest trends is mobile applications is the ability to personalize an application to meet the needs of the consumer.
Are you looking for a hotel? Mobile phone applications now do much more than make your reservation and tell you how to arrive at your destination. You can now take a more personalized approach to finding a hotel that will can truly become your home away from home. You search by the types of food and beverages offered in and around the hotel. In addition, you can even search by room amenities. Are you looking for a specific mattress or pillow type? There is an app for that.
Applications can also help you to figure out what to do once you have arrived at your hotel. Find local attractions, establishments and restaurants based on your personal interests. As if that was not enough, mobile applications can also help provide you with discount codes and promotional pricing at these establishments.
Mobile applications are turning smartphones into a must-have item (who knows, will you even be able to buy a standard mobile phone in the future?). Smartphones do more than just organize your life. They can now organize the unfamiliar and send you on to explore new territories. Forget using your smartphone to plan business meetings, kid’s soccer games and doctor’s appointments, your smartphone can now plan a vacation for you with a few slides of your finger.
