TABLETS AND APP MARKETING

APP MARKETING AND THE TABLET: AN EVOLVING STORY

by Lauren Rosenthal, www.benvsweb.com

Technology has made great strides within just the last decade. While we were once tethered to our homes during our communication, now we can be just about anywhere and still work, update our friends, buy things and just talk to anyone, anywhere. Similarly, computers that once took up whole basements now come in tablet form: Apple’s iPad (the obvious leader), Motorola’s Xoom, and HP’s TouchPad are just three of the tablets on the market.

Here are just a few of the tablet computers on the market

 

WITH THE POPULARITY OF TABLET COMPUTERS GROWING, TABLET APPS ARE ALSO GAINING RECOGNITION. BUT WITHOUT THE RIGHT APP MARKETING CONSULTANT, YOU COULD BE LEFT OUT OF THE GROWING TREND. HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR APP NOTICED!

TABLET APP MARKETING TIPS

*Make sure your app can run on multiple platforms: even though iPad is the leader right now, people are still using a good number of other tablets. Your app should be able to cater to multiple types of users. By only running on one type of tablet, you are alienating whole groups of potential customers and hurting your sales in the long run. App marketing consultants will be the first to tell you this.

*Use the tablet features to make your app an experience – but don’t forget your brand and your customers. Tablets can do some pretty amazing things: with a little touch screen and zoom action, you can display products like never before (or play games on a whole new level!). But don’t forget that anything you develop still needs to touch users in a way that agrees with your brand and sells product, as advised by your app marketing consultant.

TABLET APP MARKETING CONSULTANTS

The proper app marketing consultant can get your app seen through various methods. Getting customers to notice your is not always easy, that’s why it is so important to work with a consultant that knows the business and how to get an app noticed. As an app marketing consultant, EasyApps can guarantee you will be happy (see our guarantee here) as we update your app continuously, promote it through blogs and social networks, and develop a marketing strategy for you. Contact us! Let us be your app marketing consultant, whether you have a tablet or smartphone app.

CHECK OUT THIS INVOLVER INFOGRAPHIC, CHRONICLING SOME OF THE FACTS ABOUT THE POTENTIALLY VAST REACH OF ONLINE MARKETING.

 

you can find out more about involver at blog.involver.com

 

MAKE SURE YOU’RE USING YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS, THE ONLINE MARKETING POTENTIAL IS HUGE!

 

by Lauren Rosenthal, www.benvsweb.com

Let’s face it: people are addicted to the web. This is great for marketers and businesses, using the internet to sling their products as if print ads, cold calls, and tv commercials didn’t even exist anymore. But with technology changes comes changes in the way we do business.

In the last decade, we’ve seen cell phone use go from something for the elite to a pan-democratic must have.  And within the last few years, we’ve seen mobile internet steadily rise. This “new” form of the internet is changing up the marketing scene once again, as now we have users who always have their phone unlike regular internet users who are only reachable when they sign online.

Mobile internet will alert you when you have a new email, or facebook notification, and users often just hang out on the web while going about their daily routine (yes, even while driving or working). This makes for a great way to get eyes on your business – ads on the mobile web.

A study by Insight Express shows a huge benefit that the mobile web has over regular internet use – overall intent to purchase is higher in every category (entertainment, retail, technology, etc) when using the mobile web!

this chart shows the impact that mobile web has, compared to regular online advertising

Now that you know about the mobile web’s advantage, it’s time to act. Talk to us and see how.

by Josh Catone, www.mashable.com

Any press may be good press, but good press is even better. Yet, how do you stand out among your competitors and catch the attention of journalists? The traditional route is to pitch your story directly to reporters and hope it’s compelling enough that they’ll bite, or to offer your expertise around breaking news topics with your fingers crossed that the reporter is even working on a story about whatever that might be. Another option, however, is to respond to requests on sites that connect reporters with sources.

The most well-known of those is probably Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Started by Peter Shankman in 2008, it now connects over 100,000 sources with nearly 30,000 journalists (and brings in more than a million dollars per year in revenue). There are others, too — Media Kitty (which is older than HARO), FlackList, ProfNet (perhaps the oldest of the bunch), NewsBasis and Reporter Connection, are among the most active. These communities have grown so popular, that it’s now difficult for sources to stand out on these platforms, as well.

We spoke with Heather Kirk, the founder of Media Kitty, and Jennifer Nichols, CEO of FlackList, to get some tips on how sources can improve their chances of being noticed when responding to queries from journalists.

1. Be Fast

Speed matters when it comes to catching the eye of a busy journalist for two reasons. First, he is probably operating on deadline, so getting connected to a solid source quickly is important. Second, there are a huge number of other qualified sources trying to catch his eye at the same time. The last time I used one of these sites to find interviewees for a story, I received more than 100 email responses in the first six hours. That’s a lot to sort through, and the further out from my query, the more likely it was that I had already found the sources I needed to complete my piece.

“Respond as soon as you see the query and well before the deadline,” advises Nichols. “Once a reporter has what he/she needs, he doesn’t usually continue sifting through query responses.”

Being quick is also the number one piece of advice from HARO founder, Peter Shankman.

2. Be On Target

 

 

One thing all journalists universally hate is having their time wasted. Make sure when responding to a query on any of the aforementioned sites that your pitch is on target. Journalists are looking for sources that match their needs, not people who maybe, sort of, might have some expertise in a kind of, semi-related area.

“Don’t respond to a query unless what you are offering is truly a fit,” says Nichols, who advises that responses be kept to the point and devoid of fluff, but still full of relevant information. “The trick here is to still keep it short while including the pertinent info.”

Kirk also advises keeping the clutter out of your pitch and finding a unique — but still germane — angle to set yourself apart. “Relevant, researched and realistic replies score best. Attaching their hook to your material is key — colorful examples, links to fitting images, engaging background briefs and on-target experts with clout, character and ready accessibility all help set you apart,” she says.

3. Be Honest

“Don’t bait and switch,” says Nichols. “If you offer an executive for an interview, make sure you can deliver. Reporters don’t have the time or patience for your CEO to somehow now be on a plane to Rome and have only an assistant VP able to chat.”

Coming off as dishonest is the best way to sour what could have been a long-term relationship with a reporter. If a journalist doesn’t think he can trust you, there’s very little incentive to ever quote you (or your client) as an expert in the future.

“Many sources see every journalist lead as an opportunity to finagle their way into publicity, jazz up their client reports or nurture new contacts. Leads can offer all of these, but only if you tackle replies with transparency and sincerity,” notes Kirk.

4. Be Personal

 

 

Remember that when using these types of source-matching sites, yours is likely one of hundreds of responses that the reporter has received. Sometimes a personal touch goes a long way toward making you stand out from the crowd.

“A well-written, personalized and targeted response where there is a clear fit will get you noticed,” says Kirk.

Similarly, Nichols advises Googling journalists before pitching them to familiarize yourself with what they write. “Check out the style of their stories and how they typically present info and mimic that in your pitch,” she says.

5. Be Precise

Make sure your responses are accessible. No reporter has time to sift through a wordy or poorly composed pitch to try to find that nugget of expertise or the unique perspective that you might be able to offer. Craft a response that is straightforward and to the point and you’ll increase your chances of being tapped as a source.

“Make your reply easy to scan with bullet points and rich context. Rather than bulk up an email with attachments that call for an extra step to open and review, links are handier. Keep your response lean yet workable, colorful yet specific. Look for niche services that tailor to specific beats to up your odds even more,” says Kirk.

What other tips do you have for being a good source? Let us know in the comments.

by Colleen Taylor, www.gigaom.cm

The tech industry’s movers and shakers have been saying for months now that the HTML5 is very important. New data released Friday indicates that HTML5 is not just going to be big, it’s going to be huge — and it’s coming fast.

More than 2.1 billion mobile devices will have HTML5 browsers by 2016, up from just 109 million in 2010, according to a new report by ABI Research. Much of this growth will be thanks to Apple’s massive support for the HTML5 platform, according to the study. And Apple is also likely to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the technology’s wide scale adoption. Because Apple has so much control over its software and devices, it will be most poised to take full advantage of HTML features as they emerge in the coming years.

As is often the case in business, where there’s a winner, there’s usually a loser. HTML5 could largely replace Abobe’s proprietary Flash technology. And HTML5′s swift ascent could render Flash irrelevant in short order. “I think the disappearance of Flash is closer than people think,” ABI senior analyst Mark Beccue said in a press release accompanying the data.

HTML5′s projected growth is all the more impressive considering that the actual standard is not officially expected to be completed until 2020, according to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards body. But that won’t stop companies and independent engineers from developing and deploying HTML5 features, ABI said.

Indeed, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor has said his company is putting a “huge amount of our investment” in HTML5, and Google recently debuted its first homepage doodle composed entirely with the HTML5 mark-up language. It may seem like buzz about HTML5 is everywhere already, but if the latest research is correct, we’re only at the beginning.

by Colleen Taylor, www.gigaom.com

If you want to reach the Millennial generation — loosely defined as people born between 1980 and 2000 — it probably won’t come as a surprise that you should use the Internet: some 93 percent of Millennials spend regular and extended periods of time online, according to recent research from Pew. And since Millennials also have the highest labor-force participation by age bracket in the US, it’s a lucrative segment of the population for brands to target.

According to new research from MTV, however, companies run the risk of alienating the very audience they mean to attract if they go about social media marketing in the wrong way. “Extraordinarily nuanced codes and informal rules of behavior are emerging in social media,” MTV’s Nick Shore wrote in a report about his study’s findings published in AdAgethis week.

Here are a few takeaways from the research for brands looking to reach Millennials on the web:

• Be quotable: Teens and young adults are hyper-aware of every thing they say online. Often, they’re much more comfortable conveying their feelings by quoting or linking to someone else — as shown by the abundance of song lyrics and quotes on any given teenager’s Facebook wall. “What we observed many of the millennials doing… was being controversial by proxy,” MTV reported. In fact, fully 54 percent of the survey respondents said they posted video clips or articles they agreed with in lieu of posting their own opinion as a status update. If a brand can make somewhat racy yet quotable content, Millennials may do their viral marketing for them.
• Ask and answer: Millennials don’t like to wait — and they can’t stand to be ignored. More than 60 percent of MTV’s survey respondents said they demand immediate feedback for text messages, and 70 percent for IM and Facebook chat. That may be because 58 percent of them said they get a boost in confidence when they get feedback online. If brands want to really engage with Millennials, their communications can’t just be a one-way street. Responding to Tweets and Facebook wall postings could go a long way toward winning over today’s young consumers.
• Reinvent — again and again: Young people are constantly tweaking their online personas. Ninety percent of survey respondents told MTV that it is important how others view them on Facebook, and a third said they “always” modify their photos before posting online. “They constantly and fluidly shift between chosen identities in order to present their ‘best selves and lives’,” MTV said. So while an older generation may have wanted their brands to project an air of consistency, Millennials crave just the opposite. MTV pointed to Google as a key example of a brand successfully co-opting this, with its daily changes to its homepage logo.

If you have any other ideas for connecting with Millennials, please chime in using the comments.

Google+ reached 10m users in 16 days. Want to know how long it took Facebook and Twitter?

by Paul Sawers, www.thenextweb.com

Google+ took a mere 16 days to hit 10 million users. By comparison, both Twitter and Facebook took over 2 years to hit that milestone, requiring 780 days and 852 days respectively.

Leon Håland has kindly put together this graph, which which helps put Google+’s hockey-stick growth into perspective, compared to its social networking counterparts:

Whilst there’s little doubt that Google+’s growth is impressive, it’s probably also worth noting that it did have a considerable head-start on both Twitter and Facebook, which were both starting from scratch – as a social network, as a brand…as everything.

Google, on the other hand, has thirteen years’ growth behind it and is one of the most recognizable digital brands in the world. It already had a mammoth user-base across its plethora of products, so it’s perhaps not all that surprising that it could notch up 10m users in around a fortnight.

Google+ is thought to have reached the 10 million users mark around the 13th of July, and it had doubled-up again by about a week later. That’s 20 million users in three weeks.

Google’s latest attempt at creating a social network seems to be paying off, and it has so far received pretty favorable reviews. The Next Web carried out a quick survey of our readers in early July, and we found that two-thirds of users preferred Google+ to Facebook, with less than half saying they preferred it to Twitter. The latter was perhaps an unfair comparison, given that Twitter is a different social beast to Google+.

But what about LinkedIn? We wrote earlier this month that Google+ may actually be a bigger threat to LinkedIn than it is to Facebook or Twitter. For the record, LinkedIn was launched in May 2003, and it didn’t hit the 10m members mark until April 2007. It now has over 100m members.

Interesting statistics. It’s still early doors for Google+ – will it continue on its upwards trajectory, or will it begin to plateau once the hype subsides? Only time will tell.

Small Business Podcasting: 7 Tips to Grow Your Listener Base

by Mignon Fogarty, www.mashable.com

Sure, Adam Carolla can start a podcast and break the world record for podcast downloads by its second year. But you, sir, are no Adam Carolla. Celebrities aren’t clamoring to visit your garage for an interview, and you didn’t have your own radio show for 10 years. Should you even bother podcasting?

Yes, you should — because it’s an easy, inexpensive way to reach your customers and build a platform, and you can do it. You just have to do it differently from the Adam Carollas, ESPNs and NPRs of the world. Here are seven tips from my own podcast experience:

1. Evergreen Content

The secret sauce for independent podcasters is evergreen content. Like a pine tree, an evergreen piece means the post will still be relevant (or “green”) two years from now. This type of content can include tips, resources, how tos, tricks of the trade and even personal stories. As one of my marketing colleagues said, “That educational stuff is like crack for podcast listeners.”

A few months ago, I personally did an analysis of the top 200 podcasts on iTunes and found that more than 65% of the shows were produced by people or companies with megawatt name recognition. Of the shows that weren’t as preordained for success, more than 80% delivered some kind of evergreen content: language lessons, sex tips, non-time sensitive stories, etc. Evergreen content is the most effective means of gaining traffic for independent podcasts.

2. Plant a Tree, Not Pansies

At the independent podcast network I founded, older shows comprise more than 70% of our new downloads. With evergreen content, you’re planting a tree that will produce fruit every year.

3. Water Regularly

Don’t bother starting a podcast if you can’t commit to a regular production schedule. But again, you are not Adam Carolla — weekly content is good enough, although couple of our shows get away with a bimonthly schedule. Listeners just need to know when to expect new material.

4. Grow Your Platform

Adam Carolla used his existing radio audience to launch a podcast. You, on the other hand, will use your podcast to build a platform. Your platform participants are interested in your work, whether it’s books, speaking gigs, webinars or plush toys. At my site, which is backed by Macmillan publishers, podcasters who gain traction are more likely to get book deals.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Prune, Repot or Trash Your Podcast

A podcast takes time to grow, and it should be part of a bigger marketing strategy that includes blogging, tweeting, social media pages and perhaps video. But if your podcast isn’t generating traffic, comments, emails or sales, don’t be afraid to trash it and plant something new. I produced a science podcast before developing Grammar Girl, and Cali Lewis of Geek Beat hosted a religion podcast before finding her tech groove.

6. Follow the Light

In terms of distribution, you’re probably more like Adam Carolla than you think. You should distribute your podcast via your website (the number of people who listen directly from websites is growing, according toEdison Research). Furthermore, invest a smidgen of effort by directing listeners to iTunes; the Zune Marketplace; the BlackBerry and Nokia podcast portals; set-top boxes like Roku and Boxee; your own iPhone, iPad, and Android apps; and other smartphone podcast distributors.

7. The Fruit

Some businesses may consider podcasts a justifiable marketing expense, but don’t forget that podcasts can also generate revenue.

You probably won’t be able to employ salespeople like the big guys, but you can work with the major podcasting ad brokers (RawVoice, Podtrac and Wizzard) to find advertisers, sell premium content and develop smartphone apps.

If you’re avoiding brokered ads, don’t yet have your own product to sell, or just want more options, you can also consider affiliate advertising. It’s tough, but if you can find the perfect product — one for which you can give an honest, personal recommendation – an affiliate program can be a great option.

The recession hasn’t bypassed podcasting, but I’ve noticed a promising new trend. While we used to be dependent on a couple of large advertisers, today, more and more small companies are providing advertising services. It can be challenging to manage multiple advertisers, but your business may be healthier in the long run.

Good businesses don’t need to break world records to consider their podcasting efforts a success. If your business goal is to connect with your customer base while generating some extra revenue, you should consider podcasting.