Mobile

I would like to throw a little mobile marketing into the social media mix this month. After all, simple Darwinism applied to business thinking has proven how important it is to strive to keep ahead of the curve.

We should not ignore the impact that smartphones and social media are having on our lives. I for one probably use my smartphone more for web browsing, social networking, blogging and email beyond the workplace than I use my laptop.

Yes, this could well be early-adopter territory I’m speaking about but realistically I’m just one of 650 million people globally – according to eMarketer in March 2010 – who are now using their smartphones more and more for tasks such as email and social networking. This number is set to rocket due to the penetration of affordable smartphones within the market. Research from Comscore in December 2009 supports this theory – it found that 70 per cent of smartphone users have accessed email and 43 per cent have accessed social networks via their devices.

What is interesting is that email usage is up due to the social network usage on these devices. Research from ExactTarget has also discovered that social media and social networking have helped increase the use of email. The reason for this increase is that users of smartphones still want to keep in touch with their social network when ‘untethered’ and social networking sites use email and messaging as a way to encourage users to return.

Why convergence is key
It is not only important that we understand how new technologies affect our customers. At the same time we need to understand how they can be used to open up communication channels with them. This helps us to build stronger relationships, to attract new customers and to retain exisiting ones too.

Furthermore these technologies can complement one another, as the value of social media, mobile and indeed email combined can amount to a more successful campaign than when they are all executed individually, in silos. Here are a few key steps to take in order to optimise the success of integrated digital campaigns which include both mobile and social elements:

1. Make content mobile-accessible
First of all we should ensure that any digital content produced is accessible by all mainstream mobile devices. Many business decisions are made away from the office and as a result business persons use smartphone devices such as BlackBerrys, iPhones and Android phones to access information.

2. Optimise your e-newsletters
It is also advisable to add in the functionality to share content through LinkedIn groups, Twitter and your community sites, wherever possible. If customers receive emails via smartphone devices they can immediately carry out an action to share your content with their own social network, thereby helping to increase word-of-mouth marketing. They can also be taken directly to your forum or group where they can comment instantly on a particular topic or seek peer reviews and support.

3. Encourage interactivity at events
At events, look to offer SMS short codes inviting prospects to text for more information on a product or service, or even quick response (QR) codes. An example would be to offer a prospect the option to text to receive the latest video of a product demonstration. When the prospect texts it then automatically prompts them to enter an email address to receive digital content, thus building data within your CRM. This digital content again should be optimised to be shared immediately amongst social networks.

4. Consider an app
Banks now offer smartphone applications to manage business account information. Why not look into developing a mobile application for your customers so that they can manage their own accounts and orders? Furthermore you can look to run offers, promotional or discount codes for products and services through this application to your loyal customers.

Staying up-to-date
Beyond the above-outlined campaign activities I have stumbled across a tool called Gist: (www.gist.com). This is an application which helps manage your inbox and social network accounts to give you the latest information about business contacts and their social interactions. This is available as a mobile application, so it is useful from a B2B sales perspective as before a meeting you can be instantly alerted to a prospect’s lifestream, which can help you to stay up-to-date, keep your interactions relevant, and build deeper relationships.

In the various ways outlined above, marketers can develop their knowledge of the use of smartphones, social networks and emails. By combining this with a greater understanding of how we can apply these tools and technologies to our businesses, hopefully we can all aim to develop more successful, integrated and profitable business processes and digital campaigns.

Tagged as: emarketer, gist, mobile marketing, smart phones, Social Media

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Over the past week I have been exposed to countless top 10 lists for social media such as 2009 predictions, best apps, communities, twitter tools etc… so I decided that “if I can not beat them, I’d join them.”

My very own list however is a Top 6 list of UK bloggers I’ll be following with an attentive eye in 2009.  The criteria for my Top 6 list is based upon the following methodology:

1. UK bloggers only.  Sorry to disappoint all the US bloggers but there is so much exposure on US bloggers that I wanted to champion bloggers from my own back yard.  Those bloggers whom I’d probably have more chance of bumping into at events, conferences and maybe even having a beer with during the course of 2009.

2. Blog focus must be marketing, online pr and social media as this is my main interest and forms the basis of my career, passion and blog. 

3. Taking the blog focus further, the blog posts themselves must also be thought leading, thought provoking and insightful - something to get the old grey matter going.

So, without further ado, I’m delighted to share with you the…

Top 6 UK bloggers I’ll be following in 2009

Simon Collister - Simon’s blog is largely influenced by UK politics due to his research background in political communications.  With the attention on the economy and a possible UK election in early 2009, Simon’s interpretation of social media and online pr used by government parties will be interesting to follow.

David Cushman - In my opinion David is a true evangelist of social media.  His passion for cultural change and the 8th mass media (us) resonates in every post, whilst at the same time giving confidence to people like myself practising social media.  David will support my thinking throughout 2009.

Alan Moore & Tomi Ahonen - Communities Dominate Brands is the brain tap of engagement marketing expert Alan Moore and mobile marketing expert Tomi Ahonen.  The reason for following this blog is two fold. 1. Their posts are intellectual, covering social anthropology, philosophy and history. 2. I personally believe that mobile marketing will see an increase in 2009, so Alan and Tomi will give some good strategic insight.

Neville Hobson - Quite simply Neville presents, produces and promotes some of the best podcast interviews with leading pr, marketing and social media practitioners from around the globe.  Neville is certain to come up with many gems throughout 2009 taking my blog experience from visual to audio, giving the eyes a rest and the ears a social media massage.

John Dodds - I have only recently been following John Dodds, but all posts read so far have been insightful and intelligently written with a pure marketing focus.  Make Marketing History is refreshing reading amongst a heavy social media blog list.  John’s thinking and blog style I liken to Godin’s; very precise and “hey I think like that too”. 

Mark Earls - Mark’s blog ‘Herd’ looks at human behaviour and challenges our assumptions.  He is also not afraid to put his point of view across in his posts which I value.  Mark, back in the autumn of 2008 read my report on social network marketing too.  Herd the book (written by Mark) is on my must read list as I’ve done Tribes so may start using the word Herd as the standard for 2009.

Right that’s it, over to you…

I’d love to hear your top 6 UK bloggers or the one’s you’ll be watching via the old trusty RSS reader in 2009.

Tagged as: alanmoore, Blogs, davidcushman, johndodds, markearls, marketing, nevillehobson, onlinepr, socialmedia, tomchapman, tomiahonen

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For 60 hours on the 26-29 November, India experienced their deadliest terror attacks since 1993 which took the lives of 195 people.

The scale and unpredictability of the attacks which took place at different locations throughout Mumbai meant that professional journalists and traditional media were unable to document the terror at the exact time and location when it was happening.

Although the mainstream media did follow the attacks, the horrifying events were highlighted most through citizen journalists - ordinary members of the public on the ground witnessing the attacks unfold, who updated the global media leveraging social media tools such as blogs, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia.

This recent example of citizen journalism mirrors the 2005 London bombings coverage by ordinary civilians on the ground that is one of the most referenced case studies of citizen journalism.

Below is a list of social media used by citizen journalists to document the Mumbai attacks, if you know of any more please comment on this post with your updates:

• Twitter - users @puneet, @whizzkidd and @krazyfrog tagged their updates ‘mumbai’, ‘bombay’ and ‘#mumbai’.
• Flickr - photo page by Vinukumar Ranganathan. Ranganathan also used Twitter micro-blogging updates to inform friends what was happening.
• YouTube - videos footage of the attack uploaded from camera phones.
• Google Map – custom map shows all of the attack sites.
• Bloggers - posted first hand accounts of the attacks Sonia Faleiro, Arun Shanbhag, Mumbai Heros.
• Wiki’s - Wikipedia and Mahalo, as well as the citizen media aggregators NowPublic and GroundReport.

A further list at journalism.co.uk also documents social media used to report on the attack.

Tagged as: Citizen Journalism, citizen journalists, citizen media, Flickr, groundreport, journalism.co.uk, mumbai attack, nowpublic, Online PR, Social Media, Tom Chapman, Twitter, wikipedia, YouTube

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Mobile social networking is increasing in popularity.  This is due not only to the introduction of smart phones such as the iPhone, Nokia N96 and Google Android, but also because mobile broadband is now a popular bolt-on for mobile contracts.  Mobile broadband providers such as Vodafone for example offer free access to the Facebook mobile operators platform.

On-deck social networks
In the UK, mainstream social networks such as Facebook available on-deck are most popular due to the critical mass of their online platforms that have migrated to mobile.  I know from first hand experience how popular Facebook mobile is, from the amount of use by staff and friends and when logged into my Facebook account I can see the large number of profile updates made via phone.

Off-deck social networks
Other ‘off-deck’ social networks are available as a software download to phone that allow users to set up group networks once installed.  One popular example is German based mobile social network platform Aka-Aki.
Aka-Aki is a location based social network and was founded by the students at the University of Arts Berlin in 2006 and has since achieved great success in terms of member numbers throughout its backyard of Berlin city.

Location-based social networking offered by Aka-Aki allows its community members to share their location using bluetooth. Members can add comments about a restaurant, inform friends that they’re going to a gig in town or just find out if anyone they know using the network happens to be nearby so weak-tie relationships form.
Aka-Aki is looking to introduce its location based mobile social network to the UK in 2009 and in my opinion it will easily achieve brand recognition through their cool ‘elk‘ icon, but the network faces tough competition from already established social network platforms available on-deck.

Chinwag MoSo Rising event 
Two weeks ago I attended the Chinwag event MoSo Rising in London to get the skinny on mobile social networks going forward into 2009.

MoSo Rising’s focus was predominantly a technology and software based discussion – I personally wanted to learn how brands can successfully use mobile social networks to engage with consumers as opposed to the technology behind the user experience. 
My key takeout from the event is that the mobile itself should not be seen as the ‘web in your pocket’ but as an extension to online activities and to assist in continuing the engagement with consumers around mobile activities and communities.  This is an obvious point and one that is important because the behaviour of mobile and web use is totally different.  MoSo content should be adapted and targeted to mobile use and applications.  For example developers and content providers should be looking to target those consumers that cannot access the web from their workplace but who want to engage and stay connected with their group networks.  So we’re looking at taxi drivers, nurses, building contractors, basically anyone away from a fixed line connection that have a phone they can use to network with.  
There is a great deal of potential for MoSo as pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, although not everyone has a smart phone and mobile handsets in the UK have reached saturation point.  Still it will be interesting to see if 2009 will finally be the year for mobile marketing, social media and social networks in particular.

Tagged as: Aka-Aki, Chinwag, facebook, marketing blog, mobile social networking, mobile social networks, MoSo, Tom Chapman

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