Where is your company positioned to take advantage of what you are about to read?  Do you have a Social Media Management person or firm working with you?  Do you have a social media strategy or just a FaceBook and Twitter link on your site?  These are not the same.   When is the last time your website was updated?  How your social media sites?  If someone went to your FaceBook site would they want to follow your posts?  How about Twitter?  Do you have a Blog?  Is it updated?  How often?  Are your up-dated posts worth sharing or are the posts a regurgitation of some random thoughts or someone else’s ideas that are already widely circulated?  Put simply, is your content boring or engaging?  Is it helpful or self-serving?  Is it current?  Is it real engagement intended to captivate a community or is it a thinly disguised advertisement?

According to Kevin Roberts(*), CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi (PBS Interview, “The Persuaders”) brands are no longer in charge.  The consumer is in charge of what they watch or read, when they decide to watch or read it.  “(2003 – Interview)  Power is about to go completely to the consumer.  The Internet’s been the most fantastic thing for consumers, because it has moved power away from manufacturers, away from distributors, away from retailers, into the hands of the consumer.  There is now no place to hide.  The consumer can find everything she wants about you. You’ve got to be true, authentic, open, and you’ve got to connect with her.  Remember, we’re living in the attention economy.  You are bombarded with messages left, right and center. Wherever you go, you’re surrounded by brands and media. You’ve got about three seconds to connect with a consumer emotionally and then to interest her.”

So your brand has essentially 30 seconds or less to captivate them or you can count on a “bounce” away from you web site, mobile site, content and message.  And, while we are at it,  consider your own website conversion rates.  What are your website bounce rates?  What is the average length of time people consume content on your website?  The “…average bounce rate of 80 sites who responded was 40.58%.”  That’s 4 out of 10 on the average leave a typical website … and they leave quickly.  Disturbingly, paid search has higher bounce rate than organic search, unless you have a news/media site.

If they found your site through SEARCH that means 4 out of 10 times SEO is useless … or your content is not engaging.  Either way it’s a failed strategy and it needs to be adjusted.  But how?  How much will it cost?  Will it be effective?

And the “blue elephant in the room” question is:  “… what is the cost to my business of not doing something to correct the problem?”

Social Media is a major influence in purchase decisions of a consumer today.  People share and speak with one another and have strayed away from 30 spot ads which are clearly self serving.  “Young people do not believe television advertisements,” and brands are scrambling to adopt an effective strategy in order to compete in 2011 amid rapidly increasing digital clutter.

According to a recent study by Foresight Research, results from the recent vehicle shoppers’ usage of the internet and social media, “almost 13 percent of all new-vehicle buyers used some form of social networking to share information on their purchase decision. That’s a significant number.  And the number increases to 24% for buyers under 35.  [SOURCE]  Still think a Social Media Management plan is unimportant?

Depending on who you ask your own site converts/influences between 4 to 8%.  Social media “conversations” convert/influence 13%.   As the use of social networking sites continues to grow and develop, eMarketer reports a study by ROI Research that showed how the use of social networking sites affects offline behavior, too.  One question focused on what social network users will be likely to do after following a company or product on Facebook or Twitter: 58% of Twitter users said they would be likely to purchase, and 53% of Facebook users said the same. Further, 59% of Twitter users said they’d be likely to recommend a company or product after following it online, and 53% of Facebook users said the same. Plus, the study found that Twitter and Facebook users following a brand would be likely to talk about the company, link to an ad, or attend a promotional or sponsored event.

Taken together, these reports illustrate the idea that not only are people using social media more and more as a way to connect with friends and family, they are also engaging with businesses and brands online, and ultimately, these interactions influence purchase decisions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW OUR AFFORDABLE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES (MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION)  CAN ASSIST YOUR COMPANY CLICK HERE.

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(*) Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide and the author of Lovemarks, the Future Beyond Brands, claims to have found the formula to turn almost any product into an object of devotion. His big idea is the “lovemark” — a brand for which the consumer has “loyalty beyond reason.”  In this interview, he talks about how the consumer has moved from products to experiences, the power of brands in a market where, thanks to the Internet, the consumer will soon have full control, and he cites the brands that have made an emotional connection to consumers and why this is so important:  ”The goal of any marketing manager should be to create loyalty beyond reason for their product. … You want lifetime customers, and you want them to have a love affair with you so that no matter what Wal-Mart is offering cheaper, they will stay with you and they will pay a premium.”  This interview was conducted on Dec. 15, 2003.

STATS:  Mobile web users will outnumber PC Internet users in two years and the trend is already clear to see.  Almost half of Facebook users are already mobile and those users are twice as active as PC users.  40% of Twitter’s traffic is now mobile; over 10 billion iPhone applications have been downloaded.

When you look at the emerging generations of mobile users the numbers are even more telling. Generation Y is a home grown mobile generation.  According to research from the well-known Nielsen Group, Gen-Y’ers send on average over 3,400 text messages per month and their mobile data consumption has risen 400% in two years.

Do not write off the older generation.  A Pew Internet American Life Study found that the fastest age range for smartphone adoption is occurring among 45- to 65-year olds whose primary adoption driver is usability:  Mature users want to perform tasks faster and make their day-to-day lives easier.

What does this shift to mobile mean for your business?  Clearly it means you must have a compelling mobile strategy, plus the right tools to manage your mobile platform of choice.  That being said, the immediate problem is that mobile is complex and sometimes unnecessarily shrouded behind a “Wizard of Oz” curtain.

We are clearly at a tipping point towards the mobile internet.  It will no doubt impact different vertical markets in different ways, some being impacted by mobile more than others.  All markets however will be disrupted as we move forward with adaptation.  Unquestionably business will be impacted heavily by mobile applications that are easy to use, relationship based, easily personalized and mobile device agnostic.
How does a business keep it simple and at the same time allow their mobile platform to be flexible, dynamic, easy to update yet responsive to daily changes?  Can these parameters be achieved without a feared “forklift update” that may be required when native applications require changes to software or updates to their operating systems?  Is “simple” even possible in 2011?

The answer is “yes”.

The majority of businesses know they must deliver their content and message in the right format, to the right device, with the right sets of information just-in-time to an expressed need from a visitor.  It is important to decide how to deliver this information and how personalized that delivery should be to a visitor requesting it on a mobile platform.

READ REST OF ARTICLE PDF HERE.

Why the Emphasis on Mobile Platforms?

July 18, 2001 UPDATE:  MOBILE COMMERCE DAILY.  “With predictions placing a smartphone in one out of every two American’s hands by the end of 2011, retailers are seeing a dramatic increase in traffic coming to their sites from mobile devices,” he said.

Strategy.  Retailers are realizing the demand for a mobile-optimized version of their Web site.  Nowadays it is a necessity, especially if they do not want to lose consumers to other brands that have a strategic mobile offering.  Brands that have implemented a mobile-optimized site and app are seeing an even further increase in traffic coming to their site from smartphones resulting in increased incremental revenue, sales, brand awareness and customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Mobile Strategies for Direct Sales Campaigns – Getting the SECOND CLICK … (08.2011)

There are over 300 million mobile devices in the United States alone, and the number of businesses providing mobile sites is constantly rising.  Half of the United States will have SmartPhones by the end of 2011 and over 60% of them will be moms.  A fast, engaging mobile site is what is mandated in 2011 to establish a relationship with potential clients.  Mobile sites are not simply a regular website “shrunk down” requiring a magnifying glass to read it.  Seriously?

This is the number 1 mistake companies make when considering mobile platforms.  To save money or technological resources they mistakenly believe all that is required is to take their existing website and “make it mobile.”  Nothing could be further from the truth for several reasons.

When searchers arrive at an online website their search intent is often different than when they search for something on a mobile and SmartPhone device.  Online searches trend more to “grazing” at a moderately slow pace for information, whereas mobile searches are about getting that information “on the fly”, information that is relevant to their search or click intent.  Surprisingly this if often overlooked and bounce rates prove it.

Bounce rates for searches on mobile devices are the result of not giving the viewer engaging content relevant to the reason they came to your mobile site in the first place.  Let’s use an example.  When a potential customer uses their mobile phone and scans a QRCode to visit your site, you must consider this question.  What will be a scanner’s intent when they scan the QRCode on this poster, magazine or newspaper ad, this business card, this billboard, this banner or from this TV ad?  To help answer the question advisers have to ask where will the person be when they see this poster, this magazine or newspaper ad, this business card, this billboard, this banner or this TV ad?  What will be doing when they see it?  Do we want them to take immediate action by doing something (i.e. a SECOND CLICK) on their SmartPhone?  Would it be good if the person did something with a SECOND CLICK and what would that be in order of priority,  FaceBook Like, Tweet this, or share on Google+, StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious, Reddit?

Until recently, online marketers have driven sales growth primarily by building traffic (attracting customers) to websites. With the new disruptive technologies that are available like DirectSalesQRCodes™, mobile platforms, Google+ and GoogleTV on connected TV’s that is no longer the case.

READ REST OF 2011 PDF REPORT HERE.

More importantly our DirectSalesQRCodes(TM) can be used in unique ways which offer interactive value and user metrics to your brand products and services. This interacts with your customers while providing your audience with an engaging “long tail” experience.

Our Subscription Fee includes the design, deployment and maintenance of your mobile integrations so you may remain focused on your core tasks that are critical in a managing your Organization.  For a complete description of what is included in the Subscription Services see OUR SOLUTIONS.

If you are unable to scan this code with your SmartPhone and you are on a computer, please click this link to see the DirectSalesQRCodes(TM) mobile site Demo.

Consider These QRCode Statistics and Their Application to Your QRCoded Products and Services

•   Up to 18% Scan Rate for certain commercial usages

•   4549% Increase in QRCode Scans Between 2010 and 2011 (Mobio Study)

•   Google has declared 2011 the Year of the QRCode SOURCE

•   Predominant Age Demographic of Scanners Across National and Ethnic Lines: 18-44 Year Olds

•   68% Of QRCode Scanners are Women

•   72%of QRCode Scanners are repeat scanners.

•   QRCodes are faster and more effective to use (no typing errors) and less expensive to implement than SMS SOURCE

•   350 Million Connected TVs In 2015.  June 16, 2011 Media Post SOURCE

•   LATINO ETHNIC STUDY:  31%, have smartphones with Internet enabled operating systems, and this percentage is even higher for Latinos. Latino mobile subscribers have a 45% penetration rate for smartphones; these stats are 45% for Asian/Pacific Islanders as well, 33% for African-Americans and 27% of whites.  Source Study from Nielsen

DirectSalesQRCodes(TM) realizes digital mobile strategies and operations are not your core business.  While vital to engaging and attracting new customers, the expertise and commitment necessary to create and manage a mobile and GoogleTV integrated platform with DirectSalesQRCodes(TM) should not take your staff away from your dominant business model.  Our subscription service to outsource this to us is straightforward and reasonably priced.  Please click the Contact Tab above and call us for a free initial consultation today.