 WebProWorld Marketing Forum |
Customized Postage Stamps mean Offline Marketing
This past week, Zazzle.com, with their print-on-demand services of custom t-shirts, posters, cards, and whathaveya's, has informed account holders of their new service of custom stamps, authorized by the US Postal Service.
Assessment of progress
After 4 months, we have about 3300 backlinks and a PR that ranges between 3 and 5. Where should a new site expect to be? How long does it take to get to where a site is successful?
PPC Management Software
Who has experience with PPC management software? I'm trying to find the best, most cost effective, and ideally online based program to help me manage multiple clients who have huge inventories of products.
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| Recent Articles |
Email Marketing - The Not-So-Free Offers in Your Inbox
All the fake "free" email offers slipping through my junkmail filter are starting to test my patience. Not because they slip through, but because the emails themselves just beg not to be taken seriously.
Google Snatching Real Estate Business From Newspapers
Two new real estate reports were released Wednesday by Classified Intelligence and Borrell Associates. Word is that Google is trying to lure real estate ad money to Adwords, and away from classifieds.
The Press Release Meme
The "press release is dead" meme just won't go away. Every time you turn around, somebody is proclaiming that blogs will replace press releases.
DreamWorks, McDonald’s, Promoting Shrek 3
The animation studio will participate in a two-year marketing campaign with the globally-known Big Mac maker.
Create Your Own Online Marketing “TV” Station
It will happen! TV and the Internet will eventually merge into one giant multi-media "melting pot" that includes everything from live footage and old reruns to garage videos posted by your next door neighbor's kid.
Email Marketing - A Call to Action is a Call
Successful email marketing campaigns are a result of calls to action that get results. What results are expected from an email marketing campaign? Usually they are either a click to a web site or a phone call to a 1-800 or 800 number.
Have You Got Too Many Web Sites?
Too many websites are nearly always a bad idea. Getting your customer to remember one web address is more than enough of a challenge.
Guerrilla Marketing in Action
Guerrilla Marketing is using time, energy and imagination to market a product, business or person without spending massive amounts of hard earned profit dollars. It also has been defined as non- traditional marketing, something unusual, unexpected and designed to be noticed.
The 7-Step RSS Marketing Plan
If you're wondering how to get started with RSS marketing, here's a basic 7-step plan that should provide some needed guidance.
New Buzz Planned For Buzz Report
Umbria Communications will update its Buzz Report product next week with additional features.
Youth Get Keys To Driving Mobile Market
A research firm waves the "skew younger" flag for marketers everywhere; what might follow "Blair Witch" and "Cry Wolf."
Call For PR Email Blacklist Should Be A Wake-Up Call
On his blog, Yahoo's Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo asks for an email blacklist of tech-oriented PR agencies.
David Weinberger: Public Relations Is Transforming Into Public Relationships
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SEO Sales and Services - Consulting Cuts Complexity
Over the past two years, both the business and practice of search engine marketing have become much more complex. The same is true of the websites search engine marketers work with.
Un-Sexy Marketing
Look at some of your favorite marketing sites... those you've bookmarked because the writer of the ad promised to teach you how to become successful.
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| 08.01.05
What Is Mobile Marketing?
 By Vijay Shukla
Mobile Marketing is the use of the mobile medium as a communications and entertainment channel between a brand and an end-user.
Mobile marketing is a new addition to the media mix, with great opportunities for direct interaction with customers and cost-effective data collection. Mobile marketing is the only personal channel enabling spontaneous, direct, interactive and/or targeted communications, any time, any place.
Mobile Marketing Applications
Mobile Marketing can be used in number of ways. Some examples are listed below:
• Product launch
• Sales promotion
• Thematic Ad based promotions
• Brand awareness
• Event promotion
• Interactive TV
• Location based services
• Mobile coupons
• Market research
• Feedback
• Contests
• Branded advergaming
• Loyalty programme
Mobile Marketing Benefits
Mobile Marketing on its own or as a part of a media mix has several unique benefits as follows:
• Immediacy - SMS is delivered in seconds
• Cost - Significantly cheaper than other media
• Interactivity - Possible to engage the consumer in a dialogue
• Proximity - Mobile is always in the pocket
• Digital - A medium allowing for deep campaign analysis
• High reach - Over one billion mobile subscribers globally
• Personal - Communication to an individual
• Viral - Fun factor allows for epidemic phenomenon
Mobile Marketing - how does it work?
There are several options to communicate and engage with the consumer. See below:
Push to the consumer
The simplest model is to get a list of numbers (preferably profiled) and send a message to them. Simple. Get a target list, create the message you want to communicate and deliver the message as an SMS. You push your message to the target audience. Costs involved are the costs of the lists (you may have your own lists) plus the costs for sending the message.
Pull from the consumer
It is possible to invite the target audience to communicate to you - you advertise a long code or short code (explained later in the document) - basically a number where people text you - ideal if you want consumers to register their interest - whatever you receive from people - is available to use for analysis and/or for further targeting.
Push-Pull combination
Cool stuff - you know who to go after - communicate with them through text messaging - excite them enough to respond to you - the responses which come - you can act upon as per the demands of the campaign. A good way to communicate your ideas to a predefined audience - the really interested one - seek you.
Pull-Push combination
Interesting - you don't know whom to target or your needs are too generic - just advertise a long code or a short code on other media like print, TV etc. - when people show interest, you respond to them in a predefined and automated way. A good way for you to give additional information to people who are interested.
Mobile Marketing jargon made simple
Short Code - It is typically a 4 digit number which is accessible by subscribers of any mobile operator. Used where the recall value is important. Used for encouraging pull from the consumers. Is expensive than the long code.
Long code - A usual mobile number (maybe real or virtual) - works across all operators but cheaper than the Short Code. Has lower recall but potential for high usage in a closed user environment e.g. to interact with members of a loyalty card scheme.
Some examples of campaigns run by service providers such as ValueFirst Messaging Private Limited (http://www.vfirst.com) are:
Text Voting
Voting is an exciting way to engage your audience and let them have their say. Newspapers, magazine and television are prime examples.
Instant Win
Through print/radio, you can invite consumers to interact with you where they are offered an opportunity of an instant win.
Timed Vouchers
You can send reward vouchers as text messages to consumers to increase the footfall.
Feedback collection
Using our technology, you can invite consumers to provide feedback/opinion through a text message.
Fun/Interactivity
You can do an on-pack promotion which displays a number where the consumer can send text messages to play games/win rewards.
Conclusion
Mobile marketing is a new addition to the media mix, with great opportunities for direct interaction with customers and cost-effective data collection. Leading brands have adopted this medium and the number of companies actively using mobile marketing in their marketing strategies is growing rapidly.
Selecting a mobile marketing service provider that understands the medium as well your requirements is the key to success. Ideally, service provider should provide software applications and access to its infrastructure with detailed MIS for post-campaign analysis.
About the Author:
This article has been contributed by (Mr.) Vijay Shukla, Country Head, ValueFirst Messaging India (http://www.vfirst.com). Vijay has over 8 years of industry experience management consulting and mobile data services. He can be contacted at vijayshukla@yahoo.com |
