Having a mobile website presence is fast becoming a priority for any business interested in expanding their digital footprint. Consider the following statistics to validate this growing phenomenon:

·         There are currently 297 million mobile subscribers.

·         2.5 billion text messages are sent each day.

·         By 2013, more people will access the internet from their mobile device than from their PC’s – CTIA.

·         More than 70 million PC tablets (like the iPad) will be sold in 2011. – “iPad’s Buzz Saw Success cuts into PC sales”

·         58% of smartphone owners had … Continue Reading

Facebook is almost ready to tackle what pretty much everyone else has already done – advertise on mobile devices.

From Fat Booth and Auto-Tune to Peep and Pandora – every dumb app that’s on my phone forces advertising down my throat. Whether I’m tweeting or playing a word, I skip through a handful of meaningless, irrelevant ads about creating an online zoo or what’s on Lifetime tonight, etc. Do I care? No. But that’s the price I pay for…well…not paying for any of the apps on my phone.

Facebook mobile, on the other hand, has been a breath of fresh, ad free … Continue Reading

I believe some of my blogs have become a mix of confessionals and interesting advertising tidbits. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to confess again. And with this one, I’m more abashed to admit.

Here it is…I take part in geosocial networking!

Alright, it’s not all that horrible. But as someone who firmly opposed all of that trendy geosocial mumbo-jumbo, it saddens me to own up to it because, gosh darn it, I was proudly geo anti-social!

You see, once upon a time, I did not own what I call a “fancy phone” or … Continue Reading

Any good account manager understands that you need to be on the same page as your client. If you’re going in one direction and your client has something completely different in mind, well, in the words of Michelle Tanner, “You’re in big trouble, mister!”

To make sure you and your client see eye to eye, the solution is fairly simple: use checklists. However, the maintenance of those checklists is the real kicker.

Since things are ever-changing, establish your client’s goals and expectations on a monthly basis. When you … Continue Reading

Can YouTube clips and mobile websites replace test drives and in-person experiences?

Increasingly car shoppers are using online resources to find their ideal vehicle.  In a recent interview, Kimberly Stonehouse, automotive industry development manager at Google, shared her perspective on some of the factors currently influencing auto shoppers’ behavior.

The internet is an essential source of information for car shoppers. While test driving vehicles remains an important part of the process, a car dealer’s website is ever more crucial in the buying process.  Web searches also … Continue Reading

Good old banner ads are not going away.  The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports that spending on such ads has increased significantly.

Display ads (banner ads, rich media, video and sponsorships) increased their share of US online advertising spending in 2010 to 38% from 35.2% in 2009.  The largest share of online spending remains search marketing, which accounted for 46% internet spending. 

While 2010 saw an explosion in video ad spending, (+39.6% in 2010) and is anticipated to increase by a similar amount this year, it accounted for only 5.5% of … Continue Reading

Facebook Storefronts now have the same sales conversion rates as e-commerce websites.

Webtrends latest white paper, conducted with Adgregate Markets (a company who makes Facebook storefronts) revealed data on Facebook e-commerce pages and brand commerce websites.

The key findings were as follows…

• Facebook commerce conversion rates ranging from 2% to 4% are on par with Commerce websites.
• Websites that do not engage in e-commerce are losing traffic to their Facebook pages at an alarming rate.
• Facebook stores are very efficient at traffic acquisition ac­quiring visitors at no cost through wall posts and establishing a store monthly user base equal to 1-10% of the retailer’s fan base

Companies are faced … Continue Reading

 A look at how consumer attitudes differ…

Research on tablet advertising has found that users prefer ads that take advantage of features such as video, interactivity, 360-degree views and other eye catching features. Flashy ads may thrive on tablets however it is not necessarily the same story for smartphones.

Smartphones users prefer to keep it simple. A Pontiflex survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that very few smartphone users preferred ads that featured video.

Only 15% of all adults liked these more complex ads … Continue Reading

Google search integrates elements from Twitter, Flickr, and Quora

Back in 2009 Google launched Social Search which utilized an individual’s Google account to integrate search results from friends.

Recent changes have been made to Google’s Social Search to make the social experience more prominent.

The social results will now been seen throughout the page rather than only at the bottom of the search page. Twitter, Flickr, and Quora are now also a large part of the social experience on Google search; … Continue Reading

Social Media Marketers for Inc 500 companies are seeing success—what tools are working best for them?

Social media is widely recognized as a more valuable marketing strategy than it has been in past years.

A recent study from UMASS Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research looked at the usage and success of social tools used by Inc 500 companies in 2009-2010.

71% of respondents used Facebook in 2010—up 10% from the 61% of respondents who used Facebook in 2009.

Social tools including twitter, blogs, message boards, and podcasts also saw increased usage from respondents through 2009-2010…. Continue Reading