Marketing to Women: Mobile Advertising Yet?

Smartphones now comprise 57% of the mobile market in the United States.  By next year, there will be more mobile devices than there are people in the world and more mobile phones than desktop PCs.

With all that mobile action, why then is mobile advertising not growing as fast as smartphone adoption?  According to IAB, some 53% of agencies say they don’t have experience in mobile advertising.  And 70% say they would purchase more if clients understood it better.  Translation:  Agencies and clients need to go to school on mobile.

The Google Factor

So here’s a tip for all the late adopters:  Mobile ads work!  Or at least that’s what Google says.  Mobile ads appear to be the most effective paid method of driving page likes, and Google reports that smartphone users are unusually responsive to advertising. Forty-two percent of users click on mobile ads they like, found the Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users survey. Of those, 49 percent go on to make a purchase, while 35 percent visit the advertiser’s site, and 27 percent call the business in question.  A lot of that clicking is on local sites;  95% of people look for local info on their smartphone.

All that smartphone usage leads to smartphone shopping. While strolling the aisles, 49% of us compare prices, 44 percent read reviews of stuff while we shop, and 34 percent are using their phones to check the store’s inventory.

Gender differences in shopping:  In a new study by Millennial Media and comScore, findings show men are more likely to use phones to check product availability, compare prices, find deals or make online purchases. Women are more likely than men to use phones in stores to text or call friends about products, send pictures of products, or research product features.

Mobile-Optimized Sites and Apps Necessary

Those that will win in mobile will have sites that are responsive and won’t have roadblocks like Flash.  I was working with a client recently, and I tried to view her website on my iPad.  Because her site was built in Flash, it was not at all accessible on any Apple devices.

Right now, people spend more time on apps than mobile websites.  Tablets seem to be the online shopping tool of choice.  Important features include side-by-side product comparison, 360-degree zoom, customer ratings, and an easy checkout process are most important to shoppers.

So let’s go mobile!

Marketing to Women: Slideshare as Advertising on LinkedIn

For marketers trying to reach business audiences, this new LinkedIn ad feature is something to sing about.  For advertising folks, it might be a nightmare, depending on how creative the slideshow is.   Imagine this – you can include your slide presentation in an ad.  It’s turning the humble Powerpoint into a new form of interactive advertising.

Here’s how it works.

On your LinkedIn page, you have a sidebar area where text ads are included.  Now, you will see the Slideshare box in that sidebar. (See red outlined area.)  It’s a Slideshare presentation sized down for the ad dimensions.  You will be able to click on it and see the presentation without leaving LinkedIn.  You will only be served an ad if you are the target audience.

The concept was initially tested with GE and Constant Contact with success.  The ads are called SlideShare Content Ads.  They will appear as a “sponsored presentation,” and users can click through it within the advertisement or they can expand it into a full-page view. It’s also a way to acquire leads through links and information capture.

For us advertising geeks, here’s the scoop from Adweek:  “The ads are being priced on a cost-per-thousand-impressions basis and can be targeted to LinkedIn users’ profile information, such as company name or size, seniority and job function, said a LinkedIn spokesperson. In terms of reporting metrics, “LinkedIn provides an aggregate of non-personally identifiable profile and demographic data of members who see a campaign. This includes things like the job function, industry and seniority of those that view and click.  Also included is content viewing metrics like number of views, average time on presentations, and average time spent per slide,” the spokesperson said.”

Sample Ad

Showcase your Presentations on LinkedIn with SlideShare Content Ads from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

Why Slideshare?

These LinkedIn folks are pretty smart.  They purchased Slideshare last year and we are now seeing the fruits of their labor.  They recently launched their Influencer prominent blogger program.  And now there is chatter about the purchase of my favorite news reader Pulse.  Imagine what they can do with that platform.  LinkedIn is definitely building a unique business content platform.

Guerrilla Marketing Strategies in a World of Marketing Automation and Software Bots

You know that guy– the guy who recently bought a beach front house and now goes on vacations to Corsica and Maldives? Yeah, that guy.

That guy and the millions of others of those guys who did that all have one big thing in common. They were not middle or late adopters of change. They were able to forecast, anticipate, and take advantage of change. During all that randomness and chaos around any disruptive change, it’s actually possible to take a quantum leap in your business positioning. We all know that. But oddly, its those few million guys with a Yacht in places like San Diego Harbor who don’t resist change.

You may not think you do. But I remember not too long ago when just about everybody said, “Well, that’s the end of personal safety. Crime is going to skyrocket because of these darn automated teller machines.”

“I would never put money in an ATM! How do I know that they’re not going to say they didn’t get my deposit in the morning?!”

Yep, if you look back to when you were still in school, people actually said those things.

What about, “I’d never buy a compact disk. It doesn’t have that authentic pop, fiz, and scratching sound.”

Then there’s, “Why would anyone buy an iPhone? A phone is for p-h-o-n-e-c-a-l-l-s. Apps? I got plenty on my Pentium 3 workstation!”

Or how about, “Email? Why would I possibly want to give everyone in the world access to my personal communications? All they have to do is guess my password!”

This one is my favorite, “That’s the dumbest idea in the world! None of your personality comes through in a typewriter written letter!”

Yep, people actually said these things.

Ironically, the people who said these things and resist change now fall into two categories today. First, the people who never see any quantum leaps in their business growth; Second, the people who do. The second group want everyone to think that the new disruptive technology won’t go anywhere until they’re fully positioned in it.

Right now, the biggest change happening in media is marketing automation.

If you tell anyone you’re using automation software to do your social media marketing, their immediate reaction is going to be disgust and objections of disauthenticity. But these people fall into two categories, the people who won’t see any business advantage as the new world of automated marketing sweeps through media and the ones who want you to think it won’t until it’s too late for you.

Major Fortune 500 companies use companies like Marketo and Hubspot. You may have even heard of these companies. Many have. Few realize they make software that automates marketing.

I changed banks when BofA first used an voice automated operator. The technology sucked. I was sure BofA would go bankrupt but instead, every bank started using IVR technology. Now, it’s faster than a human operator.

You’re busy enough just trying to give your customers and clients exceptional value. Use deeply experienced and persuasive marketing consultants like Jamie Dunham|Brand Wise to craft your marketing message. Use marketing automation to reach an unfair (to your competition) number of potential customers. Let me borrow your new yacht from time to time.

by Robert Wan, Business Consultant, iPhone App Programmer, and Forbes Contributor. Follow him @journik

Marketing to Women: Get Ready! New Face for Facebook!

When Facebook announced its new design for the Facebook newsfeed, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was their goal to to give everyone in the world “the best personalized newspaper.” Who is everyone?  The 67% of online adults that use Facebook —  71% of women and  62% of men.  Read on to see what it means for consumers and marketers.

What does this mean for consumers?

Larger Images.  Well, it means there are larger images in your feed.  According to Facebook, photos make up 50% of all news feed stories.  So the new news feed takes up more of your Facebook page.  They call it putting a spotlight on what friends are sharing.  The shared articles also feature larger images and more information like longer snippets. Check-ins are also more visual with large map images, as is content from third-party sites like Pinterest.

Multiple Feeds.  Content specific feeds will allow you to sort between a range of different categories: Close friends, all friends, music, photos, games and people and brands you “follow” (as opposed to friend). And you can still see the chronological news feed.

Continuity in Look across All Devices.  Instead of a different interface on all media, Facebook has figured out how to incorporate the same look across smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Okay, how do I get it? Well, there’s a site for that and it’s pretty simple.  But don’t hold your breath, it’s a rolling conversion so you may have to wait awhile.  First, go to facebook.com/about/newsfeed.  Second, click the big green “Join Waiting List” button at the top of the page. Done!

What do marketers need to know?  

Good news here:  Ad Are Much Bigger!  Even the sidebar ads look bigger.  The larger canvas is good news for creative – but will it by annoying to users?  It will need to be engaging.

New Opportunities for advertising.  Promoted Posts, Sponsored Stories, and Page promotion ads can be visually engrossing - to flow with the rest of the news feed.

Filters for content are a question mark.  Facebook says there’s been consumer demand for filtered content like photos and music.  But will users use the filters.

If the filtered feeds are used, it could make for a splintered, hard to reach audience.  If people use the feeds, it will fragment the audience.  And, if they only use their friends feed, advertising will be lost to them.

Filtered feed might become sponsorship opportunities.  No real news here but if the music feeds and other entertainment feeds take off, sponsorships might follow.

Marketing to Women: 8 Reasons In Defense of Twitter

The Wall Street Journal published a survey in January revealing that just 3% of small business owners polled believed that Twitter had the most potential to help their companies.  However, 60% of those small business owners believed that social media was important to their companies.  I believe most businesses do not understand the way to use Twitter.  Most think only about sales leads, rather than thinking of the other important purposes of Twitter.

What social media did small businesses prefer?  LinkedIn was preferred by 41% of the respondents, 16% picked YouTube and 14% chose Facebook.  About 14% of the business owners surveyed said they use Twitter. That figure matches with research released last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which found that about 15% of all online adults are Twitter users.

In Defense of Twitter, I think that many businesses do not understand the strengths of Twitter and how to use it.  So here are some of the strengths of Twitter —

1.  Research.  Because of the amazing topics covered on Twitter, you can use it for research, listening to customers and competition, and discovering new topics of interest.  The multitude of interests covered can help you stay informed on a wide breadth of topics.  You are exposed to an amazing array of thought, wisdom and insight.  One company learned a new use for their product just by listening to their Twitter users.  Twitter is often a quick way to get a response to a question, find out about referrals or get comments on new ideas.

2.  Customer Service.  Twitter is a wonderful customer service tool.  Everyone from airlines to local restaurants sue Twitter to connect with customers to offer information, assistance, updates or apologies for poor service.

3.  Real Time News.  This is where the real breaking news is – across all topics – across the planet.  Citizen journalists across the world come to Twitter with news bulletins for almost any topic.  Even Twitter users in countries that are war torn or in rebellion have used the media to get their message out.

4.  Syndication of Your Content.  Your content is news on Twitter.  Twitter is an effective tool to share blog posts, pictures, videos and others relevant content.  Some groups hold Tweeting Parties, giving a way for groups to interact.

5.  Grow Your Circle of Influence.  As you find people who are of interest to your business, you can follow up to 2,000 Twitterers without any limits.  This service allows you to interact with potential customers, current customers and peer groups.  It’s a great way to meet people that complement your services and to learn from others.  Twitter is very democratic.  You can converse with business contacts online that you might not ever be able to meet otherwise.

6.  Search Engine Optimization.  Activity on Twitter will boost your search engine visibility.

7.  Strut Your Social Savvy.  Depending on what business you are in, it might be embarassing if you do not participate in Twitter.  I always advise clients to check out the social activity of potential marketing partners to see if they practice what they preach.  It’s amazing how many don’t.

8.  Public Relations Opportunities.  Since journalists troll Twitter, it is a great place to be seen and potentially picked up and to add to your authority.

Marketing to Women: Are We Addicted to the Internet?

Do you get that panicky feeling if you forget your phone?  Do you suffer from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)?  Well, you are not alone.

More than half  (55%) of respondents to a Siteopia study of internet usage feel they are addicted to the internet, while almost 62% of us admit we “need’ the internet to function in everyday life.   

One in ten of those participating said they can’t go longer than ten minutes during the day without catching up on social media or email.

The Siteopia study of 2,000 internet users reported that, on average,  most respondents only go a maximum of 90 minutes during the day without checking Facebook, Twitter or email.

Many of us are using mobile as the device of choice for checking in and updating our status - 10% of people now access the internet primarily on their mobile, with 5% accessing primarily via tablet.  75% have already been online before 9am every day, with almost one in five checking their e-mail or catching up on social media during their commute to work.

A whopping 62% now do all their banking online.   A third do all of their clothes shopping online, with free returns and delivery becoming an ever more common feature.

How Many Devices Do You Use?

I am on my laptop as I write now, but earlier today I used my iPad and iPhone to check in.  Seems I am fairly normal - the average internet user can now get online via three different devices.  But some 10% of us have as many as five devices, illuminating the growth of smart devices like televisions and gaming consoles.

Usage by Gender

Surprisingly, even though women spend more time with online shopping and social media, it’s men who spend more than 19 hours a week online – more than 42 solid days each year, and over a third longer than women, who only spend 14 hours per week surfing the web.  Men spend more time on news, Twitter, gaming and Not Safe for Work sites.

Marketing to Women: Helping Women Make Their Own Health a Priority

Guest Post by Scott Zimmerman

High-Tech Healthcare Engagement: Helping Women Make Their Own Health a Priority

Conventional wisdom tells us that women take care of everyone else before taking care of themselves, and research, including our own, supports this. You do it all—own businesses while having kids, running marathons, making family decisions, and earning degrees. And because you’re busy taking care of everyone else, you tend put your own health last.

In a study conducted on behalf of the American Academy of Family Physicians, 90 percent of adult women in the United States are responsible for making healthcare decisions for themselves and their family members. This includes spouses, children, and other relatives, such as parents and grandparents. Unfortunately, while you make care and treatment decisions, most of you aren’t following doctor’s orders. In fact, 81 percent of the women we surveyed in our TeleVox Healthy World study, “A Fragile Nation in Poor Health,” admitted they do not follow treatment plans as exactly prescribed by doctors.

Luckily, we live in a technological age that enables patients to communicate with doctors and nurses more frequently and with greater ease. Through mobile apps, text messaging, email, and voicemail, patients now have the opportunity to stay connected with their doctors outside of the exam room, making location and lack of time both issues of the past. Today’s digital media is advancing wellness efforts and strengthening patient engagement—all while saving time and money.

Our studies showed that women requested the highest amount of between-visit care—and when you consider that they are the primary caregivers in most homes—this makes complete sense. So it follows that, as the decision makers when it comes to healthcare, you need adequate knowledge and tools to help you achieve success in that role. One of our TeleVox Healthy World studies, “Technology Beyond the Exam Room: How Digital Media is Helping Doctors Deliver the Highest Level of Care,” revealed that 84 percent of women said receiving digital communication updates from their healthcare professional, such as text messages, emails or voicemails, are as helpful, if not more helpful, than in-person conversations.

We found that when women integrate doctor-patient communication into their daily lives, they look for physicians who are attentive, receptive and accessible. You want to know that your doctor is listening. Some women reported wanting doctors to take a few more minutes to just ask them about their day—How’s the family? How’s the job? What’s new? Personalized engagement efforts go a long way. “Technology Beyond the Exam Room: How Digital Media is Helping Doctors Deliver the Highest Level of Care,” found that 55 percent of women want the communication they receive from healthcare professionals to be relevant to them as an individual, with 51 percent reporting that communication received from healthcare professionals should be personalized with information that is tailored to their specific needs. Thirty-four percent of women would like all communication from their doctor to be personalized with their name, and 11 percent said that they would ignore or refuse digital healthcare communication if it is not personalized. Another 23 percent expect the communication they receive outside of the exam room to help them become or remain healthy individuals.

It’s these small, but meaningful touches doctors can do to help you make your own well-being a priority. Whether it’s through emails that provide health and fitness tips, text messages that remind you to take medication, or voicemails reminding you to schedule a yearly exam, you want doctors who genuinely care about keeping you healthy. Doctors need to remind you that it’s okay to prioritize your own healthcare.

____

Scott Zimmerman is a regularly-published thought leader on engaging patients via ongoing communication between office visits. He is the President of TeleVox Software, Inc, a high-tech Engagement Communications company that provides automated voice, email, SMS and web solutions that activate positive patient behaviors by applying technology to deliver a human touch. Scott spearheads TeleVox’s Healthy World initiative, a program that leverages ethnographic research to uncover, understand and interpret both patient and provider points of view with the end goal of creating a healthy world–one person at a time. 

Marketing to Women: 2013 is Year of Content

Move over advertising!  Content is a brand’s best friend in 2013. That’s really hard for a reformed advertising exec to say.  But the writing is on the wall.  Or on the digital horizon.  In our New Year’s 2013 Psychic Predictions and Prognostications, most of the predictions had to do with content:  brand as publisher, curation for brand authority, quality content to improve SEO, inbound marketing, importance of “content strategist”, and the growth of visual content.

The truth is that great content has always been a wildfire for brands.  This video from Content Marketing World makes the point.

Gilad de Vries, in a Forbes guest post, wrote a intriguing argument on the lack of emotional resonance of digital ads versus the storytelling ability of content marketing.  He called digital ads “incredibly weak branding vehicles” that “never truly create the kind of emotion experience that gets consumers excited about your brand”.   Of course, the advertising side of me wants to offer an argument that digital ads are not really a stand-alone medium.  They operate much like a directional outdoor board, pointing the way to your website.  But there is truth in his statement.  His argument continues that the only true branding mechanism online is content marketing.  That’s where we certainly agree – content marketing does allow brands to tell their story – and to include the consumer in the circle of brand love and shared experience.  It’s not just one tool – like Facebook or a blog – it’s the integrated and consistent storytelling that fulfills a brand.  Its shared interest with your consumers.

I love his definition of content marketing:

Content marketing is a strategy with two obvious pillars: content and marketing. ‘Content’ means the creation of original content or the curation of content for the benefit of your audience. ‘Marketing’ means getting people to discover and engage with your content.

And here is where is gets sticky.  The content has to be of such quality that your prospective consumer will seek you out.  They will discover you – and in the discovery – it becomes their own.  Content marketing is reaching a common ground with your customers without selling to them.  And it’s about true relevance.  It has to be important to your followers.

 

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2013 Marketing to Women: Psychic Predictions and Prognostications!

I don’t have a crystal ball for 2013.  I don’t know if Facebook will continue to grow – or if retail stores will start to shrink because of online shopping. I subscribe to the John Naisbitt philosophy that “the most reliable way to anticipate the future is to understand the present.”

But in the spirit of the season, I thought it would be fun to gather some of the best predictions in one place for your reading pleasure.  Tell me if you think they are psychic, premature or PR poop!

Inside Facebook 2013 Social Media Predictions for Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and more. Some good input here.   Facebook users will continue to be disenchanted as Facebook tries to ad advertising value.  Google+ will become more business and local friendly.  Pinterest and other visual media will continue to grow with visual content.  Pinterest launched business pages and will soon open to third party developers.  Peer reviews will continue to be integrated into brand operations.

Forbes 2013 Marketing Predictions:  Content Marketing and Social Business  Great thoughts about the growing importance of content marketing.  We have to give customers valuable content that they want.  I am a big believer in the concept of brands as publishers.  The idea that a constant flow of curated information gives brand authority.

Hubspot 8 Insightful Marketing Predictions for 2014 and Beyond.  Hubspot correctly points out the overlap in search, social and content as SEO influencers.  It’s more than keywords.  It’s about high quality content.  And for those who think email is dead, think again.  In 2013, it will be more personalized and targeted.  Marketers will need to segment their lists and personalize content.  Marketing will be seen as more of a revenue generator.  In 2013, CMOs and senior executives will allocate more resources to creating a strong inbound engine — generating interest, traffic, leads, and conversions — to support the demand generation engine. And here’s a big one – marketing “campaigns” will decline as more marketers take advantage of the power of real-time communications to grow business. In 2013, buyers instantly engage with brands on their websites, talk back via social media like Twitter and Facebook, and follow breaking news in the markets they are interested.

Content Marketing Institute Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2013.  ”My prediction is that the “Content Strategist” role will become an important part of the marketing department in more than just a handful of brands. Michael Brenner,  Senior Director, Integrated Marketing and Content Strategy, SAP.  Yes, it’s about content.  And content includes more visuals – videos, pictures, creative graphics.  And as much as I like infographics, they may have reached their peak.  As Pinterist, Instagram, Slideshare and YouTube continue to grow, we have to think about visual content.
And as mobile usage soars, we need to understand how to maximize content for each type of screen.  Responsive design is really important for web sites.

Search Engine Journal B2B Marketing Predictions of 2013.  Inbound marketing becomes more important.  It’s less about push and more about providing information that your prospective customers seek out.  It’s about responsive design of websites – and shut my mouth, maybe a return to targeted direct mail to stand out from the online clutter.

Media Post 2013 Predictions from Online Ad, Marketing Experts.  The term is “opt-in push” here, allowing consumers to feel more comfortable allowing brands to recognize location, intent and preferences through devices.  Six experts weigh in here on the death of static web pages, campaign integration, integration of search with display advertising, Google dominance in search and the continuing complexities of SEO, and the death of the term “social media campaign.”

PSFK 2013 Predictions.  This is a great compilation by PSFK of thought leaders on a variety of subjects.  One of my favorites is George Parker – The Continuing Bastardization of the English Language.  He tell us that Shakespeare created 1700 words which included advertising!  And puke.  But today we use words in advertising like “artisanal pizza”; get a grip copywriters!  Shantell Martin thinks there will be more personalization with hand-drawn images.  Tom Evans of Saatchi LA thinks brands will become more focused on creating campaigns that engage the consumer based on their interests and passions—as opposed to which social network they prefer.  Yeah!

Forbes Google News Crumbles and More 2013 Media Predictions.  Ashley Harrison says 2013 will be the year that mobile consumption finally raises the bar on both advertising and publishing in the digital age.  It’s a year of change.  Mobile devices will become the #1 way to read news.  I received my final print Newsweek in the mail, and I was a little relieved that they had faced up to the change.   I made a cake from Gourmet Live, the replacement for the venerable Gourmet magazine, that re-invented itself last year.  The gap between consumer time spent and spending on mobile (10% and 1% respectively) creates a truly significant opportunity for advertisers and platforms alike. As digital publications and super blogs get smarter and begin to tap into online and mobile advertising, it will become a major revenue stream for the top players worldwide. In the past year alone, newspapers have lost $13 in print revenue for every dollar earned in digital revenue

Marketing to Women: Facebook Targets TV Dollars with Video Ads

It’s all about Facebook, isn’t it?  First it was Instagram/Facebook obtaining our photos surreptitiously, then it was $1 messaging and now it’s video ads on our Facebook news feed.

While we are all stuffing ourselves with sugar plums and Christmas pre- and post-sales, Facebook is planning to launch new video-ads sometime in the first half of 2013.  Ad Age reports by April, Facebook will offer advertisers targeted video ads to large numbers of Facebook users in their news feeds on both the desktop version of Facebook as well as on Facebook apps on mobile phones and tablets.   Oh, and you will see them, because the ads will automatically play.  And there is a lot of emphasis on the mobile capability for tablets and smartphones.

I am conflicted about all this Facebook news – as a marketer, I can see interesting and impactful users of this new ad feature.  But on the other hand, I am wondering if Facebook will lose its soul and lots of followers by commercializing each and every part of the social network.  Will users start migrating to other networks that offer less advertising intrusion?

As a marketer, we are always looking for ways to repurpose messaging and Facebook video might provide a strategic medium for some advertisers. Facebook’s ability to target gives it an edge over other forms of broadcast.

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