Google and Apple continue to eat up more of the smartphone market, while RIM and Microsoft continue to lose ground.

According to new data from comScore, 82.2 million people in the U.S. owned a smartphone as of July 2011, a full 10% increase from April 2011. Google is the market leader with 41.8% market share (up from 36.4% in April), while Apple is number 2 with 27% market share (up from 26%).

The news isn’t as bright for RIM, Microsoft or Nokia though. RIM’s BlackBerry was the big loser, as its piece of the smartphone market dropped from 25.7% to 21.7% in just three months. Microsoft also experienced a drop from 6.7% to 5.7%. Nokia’s Symbian OS, which is on its way to retirement, dropped from 2.3% to 1.9%.

comScore also reports that 234 million Americans 13 and older use some type of mobile device, whether it’s a smartphone or not. Among the entire smartphone market, Samsung is the leader with a 25.5% share of U.S. mobile subscribers. LG and Motorola are next with 20.9% and 14.1% respectively. Apple is forth with 9.5% of the total market, an increase of 1.2% since April. RIM rounds out the top five at 7.6%.

Among these 234 million mobile Americans, more of them are using their phones for a variety of tasks. A full 70% of U.S. mobile subscribers are texting, up 1.2% from April. About 40% use their phones for web browsing (up 2%) and 40.6% have used a downloaded app (up 2.8%). Social networking (30.1%), playing mobile games (27.8%) and listening to music (20.3%) are all up as well.

It’s tough to predict what will happen to the mobile market in the next few years. One report asserts that Windows Phone will overtake iOS by 2015, though we highly doubt that possibility, even with Nokia switching to WP7. For now though, Apple and Google are in a comfortable position, and it doesn’t look like there are any challengers ready to knock them off their perches.

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Hamilton Chan, www.mashable.com

Hamilton Chan is CEO and founder of Paperlinks. With the free Paperlinks iPhone app, featured previously by Apple as the #1 New & Noteworthy app, consumers can scan and view QR code content with a native app experience. Paperlinks also provides a powerful platform for generating QR codes, hosting content and tracking their performance.

If you raise the subject of QR codes among tech early adopters, you are likely to elicit a passionate response. Some people think QR codes, those scanable black and white squares on everything from billboards to product packaging, are on an unstoppable growth trajectory, while skeptics are quick to dismiss them as a fad.

This reaction is common whenever new technology formats or standards are being decided upon. Pundits want to exhibit their knack for predicting the future and stakeholders (of which I am undeniably one) want to make sure their format wins out. The general public, meanwhile, tends to lay in wait for a particular format to show dominance.

QR codes, in particular, make great fodder for debate because the codes are inherently big and ugly. So far, they have not experienced the same popularity in North America as they have enjoyed abroad, in part because many consumers are still getting used to seeing these codes and figuring out what to do with them.

In my opinion, there is little question that these real-world hyperlinks are increasingly going to be part of our reality and everyday life. Although QR codes won’t be the only technological option for hyperlinking in the real world, I believe they’ll soon be recognized as one of the best-suited options to connect items in the physical world to the Internet.

Why Real World Hyperlinking Is on the Rise

If there is one thing that can be counted on in our technological future, it’s that information will continue to become more widespread, available and relevant. The Internet will expand from a network of computers to a network of everything, with interactivity pre-programmed into nearly every object we use.

There’s no doubt that QR code traction in the U.S. is on the rise. Evidence has been shown in a number of recent market reports, including a study by Mobio Technologies Inc., which reported a 9,840% increase in QR code use for the second quarter of 2011 (compared to the same time last year).

Even a recent annual report from Gartner, a market research firm, puts QR codes on the “slope of enlightenment” when it comes to mainstream adoption of the technology. Further adding to the evidence, comScore reported that in June of this year, more than 14 million Americans scanned a QR code, representing more than 6% of the U.S. mobile population.

It may take some time before we switch to scanning objects for information, but this direct relationship between an object’s online persona and the consumer will ultimately make life easier. Run out of razor blades for your shaver? Scan a real world hyperlink on your can of shaving cream and order more blades.

What Skeptics are Saying

Despite the mounting evidence that QR codes are here to stay, many skeptics still believe this technology is no more than a shiny new marketing tool with no future. These are the three arguments I’ve seen repeatedly:

• QR Codes are just a transient technology: It’s true that there are many alternatives to QR codes and, as our world increasingly becomes interconnected, there will be a variety of technology options for businesses to choose from. This assumes that one technology will take over the market. It’s more likely that a suite of options will be available to businesses and marketers seeking to leverage the mobile web. Different applications will demand different technologies, and no single hyperlinking technology will be suitable for every marketing application. The main advantages of the QR code are cost, simplicity and ease of implementation. QR codes provide no incremental cost to an agency already printing or selling ads. QR codes, however, deliver greater engagement, quantifiability and potential mobile commerce opportunities. Alternate technology options (such as Near Field Communication chips) are still a ways off from being as widespread and accessible as QR codes.
• More work with little to no payback: Yes, in order to read a QR code, consumers first need to be able to identify what a QR code is and how it works. They then need to download a QR reader app, if they do not already have one, in order to read the code. Once the code is scanned, however, the potential payback for consumers is vast and limited only by one’s imagination. Whether it’s access to exclusive content, deals, promotions or discounts, companies have a number of options to reward their consumers for scanning.
• It doesn’t solve consumer problems: There are two types of technological innovations: Those that solve consumer pain points in an existing market and those that provide an entirely new approach toward everyday life. QR codes are a new approach that ultimately simplifies the way mobile users can get information. While it’s just as simple to look up information on the mobile web, savvy businesses are realizing that one of the main benefits of a QR code campaign is to provide their mobile customers with instantaneous access to something that is unique and can’t be accessed in another way.

Conclusion

Whether you are a fan or critic of QR codes, one thing is certain: Real world hyperlinks are here to stay. QR codes are just one of the many linking possibilities, but they are popping up everywhere – across all verticals and businesses of all sizes. The popularity of QR codes will continue to gain momentum. Moving forward, the catalyst for their success will ultimately lie in the creative ways they are implemented.

Marketers have the ability to reach their mobile customer base in a way that wasn’t possible before. They need to reward consumers for helping blaze this new trail. The results will be captivating.

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

What makes a successful mobile marketing strategy?

by www.thedrum.co.uk

Is developing a mobile marketing strategy worth the time, effort and investment for companies? Does mobile live up to the hype? How much impact can a killer app make?

The Drum caught up with leading agencies in the world of app development and mobile strategy, posing a series of questions to discover just what it is that’s got people talking, and why developing such a strategy might not be just prudent – but actually essential for the future of your brand.

Today we’re asking:
What would be your top tips for a successful mobile strategy?

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

By Karlin Lillington, www.irishtimes.com

Ireland is 10th biggest user of the electronic communication code scanned by mobiles

BIG IN Japan. Not so big elsewhere.

For several years, that has been the general take on QR (quick response) codes – high-density, two dimensional barcodes that can be quickly scanned with a mobile phone.

Extensively used in Japan since 1994, where they are ubiquitous on ads and business cards, the codes are little monotone images made up of an abstract collage of squares and oblongs, though there are other variations – several vendors offer a multiple colour format, for example.

QR codes most often appear in advertisements, and usually link directly to a webpage with more information on a product, service or event.

Market trends worldwide are shifting rapidly. In an international survey of QR code use, Ireland scanned its way into 10th place internationally in January, according to ScanLife, a QR code company that analyses scan use and traffic for its own codes and those from other companies.

QR code traffic has jumped by in excess of 800 per cent this year over last. The US is now the largest user of QR codes, with more than 14 million people scanning away in June alone, according to the most recent ScanLife report.

Over 6 per cent of smartphone users are scanning the codes, found everywhere from products to supermarket displays to magazines to ads on public transport. Some 12 per cent of users even scan them off television, where they appear in ads and on shopping channels.

As usage has accelerated, countries such as China and South Korea have fallen off ScanLife’s top-10 user list while Europe and North and South American nations move upward, helped by booming sales of smartphones.

In other words, QR codes aren’t just about Asia anymore, even if it is not clear whether ScanLife’s data reflects the full QR usage picture in Asia.

And even though there are still plenty of sceptic – a recent Twitter discussion in Ireland indicated not everyone thinks such trends will continue beyond a curiosity-based dalliance – nonetheless analyst Gartner sees the codes on a rising international growth curve. “We are seeing them being used with significant success across most geographies at present,” says David Kenny, country manager of Gartner Ireland. This fits with ScanLife’s evidence – scans from over 125 countries come into its measurement system every day.

Internationally, a major take-up barrier has been that users have to chase down scanning applications themselves and download them to their phones, whereas such software is standard in Asian mobiles. However, dozens are available for free online and from app stores. Many companies online, including Google, let anyone create a QR code linking to any URL for free.

According to Gartner’s 2011 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report, “the use of QR codes is poised to take off in North America once the tipping point – a sufficient number of enabled mobile phones balanced by marketing campaigns employing QR codes – is reached”.

Gartner says the codes are on the “Slope of Enlightenment” phase of its Hype Cycle evaluation tool, where an increasing range of organisations are starting to use the technology. Gartner sees QR codes as “early mainstream” with somewhere between 5-20 per cent adoption, and ranks it as having “high benefit” for organisations.

Part of the attraction is their versatility. They can offer further product details, link to a coupon, a music download, a game or a competition, or provide contact information. They can bring someone directly to a video, a Twitter or Facebook page, download a business card or even auto-dial a contact number.

In Ireland, the codes are becoming more commonplace in advertisements. They are popping up in newspapers and magazines, on print ad inserts, on billboards, on posters in bus shelters and Dart stations, and on television and webpages.

For example, over recent months, estate agents have started to use them in newspaper listings; readers scan a property’s QR code to be taken directly to further information online.

Bus shelter ads for Linkin Park’s latest album used the codes to bring users to an iTunes download page.

Betfair used the codes for a print and online job recruitment campaign. On Dart trains, commuters could scan a code to see a Lucozade promotion for a Katie Taylor boxing match.

Many of these implementations were designed by Dublin digital advertising agency Digital Reach, which has also placed QR codes in campaigns for the Audi A7, Sony Ericsson’s Experia smartphone, and the VW Passat.

“We put a QR code on the car itself, so that if staff were too busy, you could scan the car and get more information or schedule a test drive,” says Digital Reach commercial director Kevin Foley of the Passat campaign.

They are “doing loads” of the codes for advertisements at the moment, he says.

Foley says they use ScanLife’s codes, after meeting the company founders in Barcelona over two years ago and feeling they had an idea that would work – not just the codes, but accompanying analytics that could provide agencies and clients with a better understanding of how a campaign is working.

“We knew would take off. We knew it would be slow, but they would get there,” he says. For clients, “it’s an add-on to your print campaign. Ultimately, it makes print more accountable,” he says.

He thinks QR codes now have momentum in Ireland and “are about 50 per cent there at the moment”.

Will they get there in the end, and become the mainstream force Gartner predicts?

“It really comes down to penetration and understanding from the consumer side. And that’s all beginning to change.”

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by www.smallbiztrends.com

Small business marketing used to mean direct mailings, flyers, and postcards listing the latest deals, promotions and specials. As a kid, I would earn a nickel for every envelope I stuffed for my father’s insurance business and a few extra dollars if I sorted them by ZIP code before I gave them to him. I have a feeling today’s kids aren’t earning their extra change that way.

Because the Internet has changed all that. Today marketing your small business means doing things to help you gain visibility on the Web. It’s about reaching real-life customers through online portals and giving them a reason to come visit you in store. Below are 9 ways small business owners can market their businesses online. Ideally, you’re already doing a combination of these.

1. Search Engine Optimization

I was recently asked to share what I thought was the biggest mistake small business owners make with their websites. My answer was that they ignore search engine optimization. Whether you’re opening a restaurant, a hardware store or a consulting company, you need to invest in SEO. That means making sure your site is set up to be spiderable, that you’re going after the proper keywords, that you’re localizing your content, that you’re creating unique titles and meta descriptions and that you’re following SEO best practices. The importance of SEO to the success and visibility of your we site really cannot be overstated. It’s through proper SEO that customers are going to be able to find out about you. If they don’t know you exist, they can’t do business with you.

2. Social Media

Just because the focus is more on conversations and group chatting doesn’t mean that social media isn’t another important marketing channel for your business. Each time you send out a tweet, add a status update or post something on your company’s LinkedIn profile, you are marketing your business. You’re showing customers a new side of you, sharing the company viewpoint or giving them new insight into who you are. Over time, creating this relationship and constant visibility helps to brand your company in the eyes of your audience. You can also use social media to strengthen the marketing you’re doing offline.

3.  Local Listings

Claim your local listings. Claim your listing on Google Places, Bing, Merchant Circle, Yellow Pages, Yelp, FourSquare and on all third-party sites. It may seem like monotonous work, but it’s also very important work. Creating a variety of complete, accurate listings is your key to search visibility. Google, especially, is looking to make sure that the Joe’s Pizza Truck listed on Google Places at 123 Main Street is the same Joe’s Pizza Truck listed on Yelp at the same address. If you don’t know where you’re listed, where you’re not, or what your information says, use GetListed to find out.

4. Blogging

Blogging could really be listed up there with social media, but it’s so important I thought I’d break it out into its own category. As a small business owner, there are few better marketing vehicles at your disposal than creating a company blog. Blogging allows you to establish your authority in the market, gives customers a look behind the logo, and sets you up to create valuable content on a regular basis. The search engines love blogs for their fresh content, while customers love them to help connect with your brand.

5. Invest in Reviews

No, when I say “invest” I don’t mean that you should go out and buy reviews. But do work reviews into your business and sales process. Encourage people to support your business by leaving comments and testimonials on Google Pages, Yelp and whatever other review sites have influence in your niche. By encouraging this habit from your customers, you’re also helping to market your business at the same time.

6. Flickr

This past spring www.smallbiztrends.com covered four ways to market your small business with Flickr. Have you started? What, exactly, are you waiting for?

7. YouTube

The same way that users can tap into the power of Flickr, they can also tap into YouTube. By creating video content related to your business – whether it’s how-to videos, product videos or just a behind the scenes view of your business – you not only give yourself another way to market and connect with consumers, but you also boost your SEO power. The search engines love video. They love it so much that video is now appearing on the first page of many search engine results. By optimizing your title, description and tags, and building an engaged set of views, you can dramatically increase the number of people being exposed to your brand.

8. Email Newsletters

Email newsletters give marketers the opportunity to hit consumers where they’re most receptive – their inbox. Whether it’s to keep customers up-to-date on upcoming promotions, share informative articles or just share a bit of news, email newsletters are another powerful marketing tool for those that follow best practices.

9. Online Events

I love online events! I love them because they give business owners a way to connect with their fans and customers without ever having to leave the comfort of their own chairs. Getting involved in online contests, Twitter parties and other online events is a fun (and free) way to boost your brand’s marketing appeal.

Above are just a few ways for small business owners to market their businesses online. What have I missed?

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Todd Wasserman, www.mashable.com

In further evidence that Wired‘s proclamation last year that “The Web is Dead” may be on the mark, a Nielsen study shows that mobile apps trump the mobile web — at least when it comes to the amount of time spent using them.

The study, from Nielsen Smartphone Analytics, found that the average Android user spends 56 minutes per day using his or her device to surf the web and use apps. But the latter takes up two-thirds of that time.

The report also found that most people are only using a handful of apps on a regular basis. The top 10 apps account for 43% of all the time Android users spend on mobile apps. The top 50 apps account for 61% of all time spent. There are a total of about 250,000 Android apps in the market at this time.

Nielsen’s data was based on a panel of 5,000 U.S. users in June. The researcher tracks their usage via software on the devices. Nielsen has a separate panel of iOS users, but hasn’t released any data from that group yet.

Wired based its pronouncement on the observation that consumers were starting to spend more time using apps and predicted that the “center of gravity for interactive media” was moving toward a non-HTML environment. Since then, researcher Flurry found that users spent more time each day — 81 minutes compared to 74 minutes — using mobile apps than surfing the web.

If you’d like to know more about apps for your business, don’t hesitate to talk to our team; it’ll put you one step ahead of the competition.

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Lauren Rosenthal, www.benvsweb.com

Developing and selling apps for the iPhone is a hot way to make money right now for the technically inclined. You hear that developers? Start developing! The money is out there. The popularity of the iPhone is seemingly ever-increasing, with its users ready to spend hard earned cash on apps that run the gamut of fun and useful. However, due to the amount of apps already saturating the market, you better make sure your app is a good one – and plan out your app marketing strategy before you even start developing.

Internet app marketing is a good place to start. But don’t forget to research the best app marketingstrategies (and don’t write off the fact that paying a professional do the marketing for you can leave you free to work on development). Read up on search engine optimization, and then engineer your app’s website to get as high up in the search rankings as possible (again, a professional can do this all for you).

DON’T IGNORE MOBILE SEARCHES: YOU ARE MAKING AN APP FOR A CELL PHONE, AFTER ALL! HAVING A GOOD PLAN FOR MOBILE APP MARKETING WITH A MOBILE FRIENDLY WEBSITE WILL HELP YOUR APP CELL STRAIGHT FROM A SEARCH TO A CUSTOMER’S IPHONE.

And don’t ignore content in your quest to have a high search ranking. Make the two concepts work together: good content with good keywords. Let your (mobile friendly!) website explain why the app is so useful and convince the potential customers that they need your app. If you don’t have time to write content and create a website, think about hiring a professional do it for you.

WE COULD BE THE RIGHT APP MARKETING TEAM FOR YOU, CLICK HERE TO GET DETAILS!

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Lauren Rosenthal, www.benvsweb.com

It’s hard to believe, but developing your app for the ipad may be the easiest part of process. Getting people to actually choose your app (thus making you some money) is pretty difficult in today’s app saturated market. Enlisting a professional ipad app marketing consultant will increase your app sales and make you an instant pro, with little or no work on your part – aside from choosing the right marketer.

Just getting the app into the app store isn’t enough – you need to know how to market the app. When demand for your app wanes, it can lose ability to make you any profit, so learning how to market it in various ways can help you in the long run. Look for app marketing strategies online, or at an affordable cost. Any money or time you put in to honing your marketing skills will be well worth it.

CONSIDER WORKING WITH A PROFESSIONAL MARKETING CONSULTANT ON YOUR APP MARKETING.

An experienced marketer will be able to choose the right strategy for you, and help you capitalize off initial interest in your app. An app marketing professional will be able to show you all your options, and help you pick the one that is correct for your business.

GO AHEAD AND ASK US IF WE COULD BE THE RIGHT APP MARKETING TEAM FOR YOU, CLICK HERE!

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Lauren Rosenthal, www.benvsweb.com

When you’re starting off in the app business, the real key to success is marketing – think like a customer and you are going to make money! Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask what you would like in an app that you were about to purchase – change your thinking from “how do I sell this app” to “why would I make this app purchase.” It’s a huge step in the right direction.

Once you begin thinking like a customer, you’ll be able to identify how your app meets their needs. This is the best way to create an app that will sell: make sure it does something that you’d pay for!

Connecting with your customers can’t get any easier in this age of social media. You can go ahead and ask potential user what they’d like to see in an app. Engage them through facebook and twitter! Don’t be afraid to actually start a conversation about what makes an app something worth buying. Send emails, create surveys, ask questions in posts – what do you need? How can apps help make your life easier – all this will make your app more useful and in the end more successful.

If you need help with any of this app to customer communication, don’t hesitate to ask. Our app marketing team has a track record of success.

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn

by Tom Wentworth, www.mashable.com

As the web evolved over the years, companies pursued a basic mobile strategy that could be summed up as follows: Cram all the content you can onto a website, and then adapt it for mobile use by lopping off a few pieces. Trimming down content to fit on a smaller screen may have made the presentation more “mobile friendly,” but it didn’t really focus on what mobile users wanted, and how to truly engage them.

The game has changed. These days, companies need to move from being “mobile friendly” to thinking “mobile first.” According to Gartner, by 2013, more people will access websites through mobile phones than through desktop computers. Mobile devices are more than just another customer channel; they represent the most significant evolution in user interactions since the mouse.

Readjust Your Perspective

Start by understanding your users and design an experience with their priorities in mind.

Unlike desktop and laptop users, who multitask between work, play and casual research, mobile users are focused. Smartphone users are transaction-oriented. Then account for the newest users in the mobile camp — those equipped with tablets. They’re focused on a broader experience.

Smartphone users don’t want to be overloaded by content. Usually they have an objective, and will move on quickly after it’s completed. If they pull up a restaurant site, for instance, chances are they want to make a reservation, find the contact information or take a quick look at the menu.

Tablets are leisure surfing devices people use while lounging at home. Users are often more open to immersive experiences, so to present a tablet user with an interface designed for a smartphone is to miss an opportunity for engagement. For example, when a tablet user checks out a restaurant site, he is open to a wider experience. He may want to watch a video of a chef whipping up a sizzling dish. He may wish to view nutritional information. Optimize his experience with video, colors and more features to satisfy his palate.

Think Mobile First

• For smartphones: Stay away from extensive use of Flash, fixed-element layouts and complex navigation paths. Flash-driven sites may look terrific on a traditional browser, but on mobile devices, that fantastic-looking site will display an error message. When it comes to slow page loads or complex navigation, according to Aberdeen, a one-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversion.
• For tablets: Take the “less is more” approach. Tablet websites should be simple, clean, touch-friendly, easily navigable and objective.
• Prioritize: Too many sites resemble an episode of Hoarders, where the organization crams unrelated promos, links, images and videos. These extra features tend to answer the needs of internal stakeholders, but don’t benefit the website user.
• Focus on the user: Don’t try to be all things to all people. It’s more important to measure functionality than pageviews.
• Evolve: Transition from a point-click mentality to a touch-and-swipe practice. Mobile devices present new, simpler ways to interact with content, so take full advantage.

Companies need to be targeted in their consumer engagement by presenting the information their users need in a convenient and digestible manner. Think mobile first, because that is where the critical mass dwells.

Need help with your mobile design or marketing? Contact BenVsWeb for help!

Print

Digg

StumbleUpon

del.icio.us

Facebook

Yahoo! Buzz

Twitter

Google Bookmarks

LinkedIn