Changes to Facebook Fan Pages Breathes New Life Into Email & SMS Marketing

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

If you are the CEO or owner of a business, or are in charge of your company’s marketing efforts, you are probably already aware of Facebook’s recent algorithm changes and how they are dramatically affecting the reach of your Facebook page. It used to be that you could market your products or service on Facebook virtually for FREE and reach a HUGE audience without paying anything. You simply needed to post content that people would react to and engage with. However, Facebook has throttled down reach SO much that it has become almost impossible to reach the same numbers of people with your Facebook page, especially if you are refusing to pay Facebook for sponsored posts and advertising. It does not matter if you are still creating original and engaging content; yes, it does help a little and you will notice your reach go up a little bit, but there is no way you are going to reach the same numbers of people you did before Facebook’s algorithm change on April 14th. So how do you combat this dramatic change in your company’s brand exposure? You would be surprised where we found our answer.

lp_meme

Facebook Fan Page Reach Drops to below 3% on Average

First, let’s take a look at the numbers. Due to Facebook’s recent changes to reach, you now reach about 1-3% of your total audience with any given post. That means that if you have a page of 200 thousand Likes, you are reaching a little over a thousand of those people with any given post. That is PUTRID compared to what you used to be able to reach.

In fact, we actually did a data analysis regarding this using our sister companies’ Facebook pages which have a cumulative total of 1.4 MILLION fans. Historically we used to be able to post something on any one of those sites and we would reach a vast majority of our fans, or even more through sharing! However more recently, after finding out the total number of people we reached per post, we then divided that number by the total number of people who saw ANY post we posted during that particular time period. The resulting number is the AVERAGE PERCENTAGE of the people who saw the post who also LIKED the page. We ran this test in the month following Facebook’s change on April 14th and the results have been staggering. Of the five pages we ran this study on, NOT ONE post on any page even hit 3% of our audience! To be specific, the average percentage of the people who LIKED our pages who actually SAW our posts on each page read like this: 2.9%, 1.3%, 1.3%, 2.3%, and 0.069% respectively!!! That is an average reach per post of 1.574%.  No, we are NOT kidding. Also, keep in mind that we changed NOTHING as far as what we posted, when we posted, and how we posted.

Along with this startling information, any post you put on Facebook will die within 2-3 days, or even sooner! So not only are your Facebook posts reaching far fewer people, but they are also being erased from the socialsphere much quicker than ever before. So how do you reach these people when you don’t have the gigantic Facebook megaphone you used to have?

So where do you turn? Many marketing directors and agencies have begun to fall back to Email and SMS Marketing.

Email Marketing Advantages over Facebook

Email marketing has a relatively strong reach, or open rate in email speak, when relating it back to the reach you are currently getting on Facebook. Email open rates are generally 15% of your database, which means that about 15% of the emails that you send to your email database will actually be opened by the receiver. Knowing that you are barely reaching even 2% of your audience on Facebook, email marketing has experienced a rebirth due to its reliability and efficiency relative to the results you will get on Facebook.

It is also important to note that email open rates also experience a diminishing return. This means that with each email blast you send out to your entire database, your open rates will gradually diminish. This is due to people either unsubscribing from your database, trashing your email, or your emails are being sent to people’s spam folders. So you will either have to switch methods again to make up for this loss, or find a way to consistently grow your email database while you are employing email marketing as the driving force behind your marketing campaign. Regardless of how you look at it, it would be extremely difficult for any marketing campaign to survive on Facebook and email alone, so where do you turn next?

SMS Marketing Advantages over Facebook

SMS absolutely CRUSHES Facebook when it comes to effectiveness and efficiency. Think about it; SMS has a 99% open rate and a 97% open rate within 3 minutes! This means that almost literally EVERY message you send yo your SMS database WILL be seen by your subscribers. They HAVE to! Have you ever been able to delete a text message without looking at it? Exactly, you can’t. Additionally, SMS messages NEVER die until they are deleted by the receiver. That means that ANY message you send to your subscribers WILL be read. They HAVE to be read to even be deleted!

AMInfograph2

So STOP banging your head against the brick wall Facebook has built when it comes to exposure. You WILL NOT get the same reach you did before, Facebook has made it a point to make that absolutely impossible to attain. Switch your marketing efforts to SMS and send messages that you KNOW people will see! To put it simply; SMS will ALWAYS reach 99% of your audience, NO MATTER WHAT! Can you possibly think of a better medium to market to your audience through?

We couldn’t either.

Integrating Mobile Marketing into Your Social Media Strategy

/0 Comments/in , /by

If you stop for a moment and take a look at the world around you, you’ll notice that the technological landscape and how people interact with it is a bit different than it was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. Everywhere you go people are playing with their phones, fiddling around with their tablets, or catching up on the latest news and gossip through various social media platforms. We have now entered an age of marketing where people have become so numb to traditional outbound advertising that companies and businesses now have to adapt and cater to their customers through these new technologies in order to survive. One of the best ways to do this is by integrating your mobile marketing strategy with your social media strategy.

social-media-and-internet-stats-infographic

Keep in mind that integrating a mobile marketing strategy with a social media strategy requires you to have campaigns for both already in place. You can learn more about mobile marketing and SMS marketing in our text messaging blog or you can learn more about launching a social media strategy by reading our blog on how to integrate social media into your overall marketing strategy. The key thing to remember when integrating your mobile marketing with your social media is how closely they are related. In reality, mobile is very social. A majority of your customers socialize with each other through their mobile devices, whether it be a phone or a tablet. So if you already have a mobile marketing campaign and you know that 98% of people answer their texts within 3 minutes of them being delivered, then why not promote your company’s social media pages through your mobile marketing program?!

The simplicity of integrating mobile and social is what makes it so great. If you want people to opt-in to your mobile marketing campaign, simply post a message on all your social media sites asking people to opt-in to your mobile campaign to receive discounts, deals, or special offers. Be sure to mention the benefits to the customer! Don’t just simply ask them to opt-in, tell them what they will be getting in return for their subscription to your campaign. The same goes for social media. If you are trying to get more people to like or follow you on social media, mention your social media sites through your mobile marketing platform. Again, make sure to mention the benefits of liking or following your company on social media! This can also be done through simple means such as flyers and signs hanging on the walls of your place of business. If you do this well enough and give your customers incentive to opt-in to your mobile campaign and like or follow you on social media, before you know it your overall following will exponentially increase and you will have customers walking through your doors from a number of different sources. Think about it, if you have a sizable following on both mobile AND social media, and your are rewarding your customers for their loyalty to your brand, word is going to get out. Not just on the street, but through social media and mobile as well. So you will ultimately have customers flooding through your doors not just because of your mobile and social media integration, but because you integrated them so well that they started influencing people OUTSIDE of your so called database of customers.

fighting-social-media-fire

If you already have a mobile marketing or social media marketing strategy in place, you are probably already experiencing the benefits that one campaign has to offer. Now imagine combining that with another campaign that is just as effective, if not MORE effective. Combining social media with mobile is a lot like throwing gasoline on a fire. Gasoline and fire are very useful by themselves, but when they are combined the results can be explosive!

 

3 Reasons Businesses and Consumers LOVE Mobile Marketing

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

Lets start off by clarifying exactly what mobile marketing entails. Mobile marketing is a way businesses can directly communicate with consumers via handheld devices. These devices, usually smartphones and tablets, can provide information to customers by promoting goods, services, and ideas. There are several different approaches to mobile marketing. Today, we’re going to show you 3 ways mobile marketing is LOVED by businesses and consumers alike!

144406

Convenience

When it comes to reaching customers quickly, efficiently, and in a way that is convenient for them, there is no method that compares to mobile marketing. Consumers today have higher expectations for their devices and expect to find the information they need on their mobile devices instantly, without hassle. Consumers shopping for products and services often want to access the information in a mobile-friendly format while on the go. For example, an in-store shopper spots the latest laptop and is very interested. So the shopper pulls up the company’s website on a smartphone to get more details on the device. To help capture the sale, the retailer’s site should be optimized for mobile browsing, otherwise the sale could be lost. Businesses that are not accessible on mobile phones are losing to their competitors who DO have a strong mobile presence. Along with this, many companies are also using mobile apps to boost brand awareness. Mobile apps can be downloaded right to the home screen of mobile devices. People tend to download apps for things they do regularly or for things that tie into their lifestyle. For example, many smartphone users download the Facebook app instead of using the mobile version of the website because the experience is better. Convenience matters! Retailers who have an app available for their customers make it much easier to search for products and their customers appreciate them for this. Mobile apps and mobile website are both equally important because, based on reports, consumers are split on what they prefer with 58% preferring mobile optimized sites to mobile apps. Consumers have indicated that downloading and regularly upgrading applications is not convenient. However, mobile apps are still a great way to engage customers and create a loyal following. If you lack either a mobile app or a mobile optimized website, you are essentially cutting your audience in half.

article-2232462-16031d01000005dc-349_634x371

Location, Location, Location

Location-Based Services (LBS) are informational services that utilize the geographical position of a consumer’s mobile device. Rarely will a consumer have their phone not within arms reach, so LBS applications can reach virtually anybody, at any time, regardless of where they are located. In mobile marketing, LBS applications are used as an advertising or marketing service that uses specific location information of customers to deliver the right message to the right person at the right place AND the right time. Consumers are happy to receive mobile marketing messages if they are relevant, personalized, and offer some kind of benefit or reward. SMS marketing is great way for businesses to make consumers feel special. Especially when they think they’re part of an exclusive group of people who receive deals and discounts via text message.

visa-enters-the-location-based-mobile-marketing-space-with-new-iphone-app

Social Media

Some of us can’t go a single day let alone a few hours without using our smartphones or tablets. Now if that isn’t enough, social media has also established a grip on our daily lives. Social media has played a huge role in how people interact with each other in today’s day in age and has actually revolutionized the entire social landscape. From a business perspective, social media, paired with a mobile marketing campaign, creates multiple new channels for your business to bring in new leads and customers. Social media is an important marketing strategy for businesses that provides a way for consumers to connect with businesses and brands via mobile. Companies can create social media fan pages that consumers can access and engage with to get information about upcoming events and specials. Businesses can also use this opportunity to convey the company’s voice and become a trusted source of information for consumers. Once you’ve established a trust with your consumers, you start creating relationships that can last a lifetime.

Social media on Smartphone

Mobile marketing can work so well for so many different businesses on so many different levels. On top of this, mobile marketing is much cheaper than any other form of marketing and has been proven to be equally, or even more effective than outbound marketing methods. Several companies have already seen the benefits of mobile marketing for themselves and have already implemented extremely successful mobile marketing campaigns. Don’t be one of the companies who fall by the wayside simply because you were too stubborn to adapt to modern marketing methods. Adapt and survive! Adapt and THRIVE!

Social Media and Mobile Marketing for Moms

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Recently, overwhelming evidence has been uncovered regarding mothers’ and their use of mobile devices and social media. More specifically speaking, they are 20% more likely to use social media than the general population, and a whopping 91% admit to using social media on a regular basis. That is a 20% increase from 2 years ago in 2010. This, however, is just scraping the surface of what appears to be a much larger demographic than previously thought by mobile and social media marketers.

Mother with baby.

The study, which was conducted by BabyCenter and comScore, focused on measuring mothers’ social media patterns and habits. The findings displayed a landscape where mothers are not only becoming extremely social themselves, but they also expect their friends, family members, and colleagues to be social as well. Statistically speaking, 22% of mothers claim that if their family or friends aren’t engaging in social media, then those family and friends are not as big a part of their lives as the ones who ARE active in social media. This might sound a little harsh up front, but as a marketer, you should be looking at these numbers with eyes wide as saucers.

Let’s take a look a a visual representation of how mother’s are overtaking the social media landscape.

moms-social-usage-babycenter-2013

You’ll notice that not only are moms 14% more likely to be on Facebook than the general population, but they are also 260 times more likely to be engaging with Facebook via a mobile device. Need a little more? They are also more likely to online shop and more likely to own a smartphone than people in the general population.

Their reach doesn’t just centralize on Facebook, however. They also have a strong reach across YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and even Google+. Most notably, 61% of all mothers have used Pinterest within the last 6 months, which is almost double the 30% usage rate of the general population.

In the infographic below, you’ll notice that mothers are literally using social media more than any other demographic. In fact, it’s not even close.

moms-social-platforms-babycenter-2013

Oh, and by the way, mother’s are also starting to dominate the mobile landscape as well. They are 49% more likely than the general population to own smartphones, 45% claim they are emailing less due to increased communication on social media, smartphone ownership is up 25% among moms while tablet ownership is up 79%, and an astounding 89% of moms with smartphones access Facebook via those smartphones.

moms-early-adopters-babycenter-2013

As you can see, mothers have obviously gone social and mobile. So naturally, this affects their shopping habits. Now moms are starting to take to the internet for their shopping wants and needs as opposed to walking into brick and mortar stores. Despite only making up 18% of internet users, mothers still accounted for 32% of online spending in the last business quarter, 78% follow brands for discounts and coupons (compared to 55% of the general population), and 73% depend on online social media recommendations concerning parenting. They also admitted that posts from friends of theirs are 16% more likely to influence them than a post from a brand, and posts from other mothers are 55% more influential than any brands’ post.

moms-social-spending-babycenter-2013

The numbers are there. Mothers have become the quintessential demographic for mobile, social, and online marketers. If you are an online marketer, and you are not marketing with mothers in mind, then you are fighting a losing battle. With a majority of social, mobile, and online engagement coming from mothers, it should be obvious to marketers where their spending should be allocated. Don’t delay! Use this information to your benefit and watch the mothers of America grow your bottom line!

(Infographics pulled from marketingprofs.com)

Mobile Marketing and Social Media in the Restroom | Where CAN’T You Market?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

If you are new to the mobile marketing industry, then you probably have no idea that there is virtually no place that you cannot market to. Actually, we might be able to use the word “literally” instead of “virtually” now because of newly discovered information regarding mobile marketing, social media, and where they are commonly used. We already know that 91% of all adults have or own a smartphone, but where are they using them?

android-phone-in-bathroom

For starters, we know they are using them on the streets, in stores, at restaurants, at the mall, at work, at home, before bed, in bed, in the morning when they wake up, and basically everywhere in between. And when we say everywhere, we mean EVERYWHERE. A recent study conducted by CreditDonkey has found that a whopping 52% of American social media users admit to using Facebook while in the restroom. Of that 52%, 54% were men and 40.4% were women. Along with these restroom numbers, it was also found that 51.4% of men admitted to using social media while drunk, while 41.4% of women admit to using social media while drunk. Of course, women are probably thinking right now, “Well obviously the men’s numbers are higher, men are pigs.” Which may be the case, but the numbers are still prevalent for both sexes and should be seen as huge windows of opportunity for marketers.

Speaking of the battle of the sexes, women actually have a higher propensity to use social media while watching television, with 83.3% hopping on social media while their TVs are on in the background. Only 79.8% of men do this. 72.5% of women and 69.5% of men visit sites while traveling, and both sexes are guilty of getting on their phones while at work with 62.4% of men and 58% of women messing around on the clock. Who do you think used their phones more while shopping? Men right? While the women are shopping? Nope. 44.1% of women used social media while shopping relative to 36% of men.

texting1

Probably the biggest and most frightening of these statistics is the fact that 14.8% of men and 11.8% of women admit to hopping on social media while driving. To be more specific, 19% of social media users have accessed Facebook while driving and 15.1% have used Twitter. Of course, this is nothing we endorse in any way shape or form, but it does illustrate how people are using their smartphones literally EVERYWHERE. You can now add the restroom, while watching TV, while drunk, and while driving to our initial list at the top of this article. We are still trying to find places where people AREN’T using their smartphones, but those places are becoming few and far in between. It will eventually get to the point where we may never find a place where no one uses their smartphones again.

So what does this tell us? The fact that everyone is using their smartphones EVERYWHERE?! Well, you might want to start by implementing a mobile marketing strategy into your overall marketing strategy. The best part about mobile marketing and marketing on social media is that it is CHEAP compared to any form of outbound marketing (television, radio, billboards, print media, etc.) This should not be a hard decision! Integrate mobile marketing into your marketing strategy today and take advantage of all these users who are on their phones all the time!

Blending Mobile Marketing With Social Media

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Apple iPhone with Social Media Apps

Before you and your business can fully take advantage of mobile marketing and all of its benefits, you first need to optimize your marketing endeavors to reach customers who are on the move. When you integrate your mobile marketing strategy, you should be able to easily flow between social media and your SMS campaign. In fact, using both of them to your advantage will only multiply your success. If you know how to properly do this, your customers should be able to easily share and interact with your brand experience, therefore spreading the word about your brand. Remember, mobile marketing is the best way to keep your relationships with your customers alive well after their real-world interactions with your company. Not only will your customers appreciate you more, it will also naturally boost sales.

Starting out, you want to learn how to effectively integrate your mobile campaign into your marketing strategy. This means learning how to blend mobile and social media. Here are a few quick tips to help you get started.

Simplicity Is Golden

Social content and web content are NOT the same. This also goes for mobile content. For example, don’t just link your QR code to your Facebook fan page or your company’s home website. Even if you already optimized those pages for mobile, your content probably isn’t. Any mobile content you create needs to be easily accessible and easily shareable. If your content is not simple enough for the user, or good enough, you will not create the reaction you want from the customer. Remember, any mobile content needs to be SIMPLE, or else it will not work.

Remember That Your Customers Are MOBILE

If you forget this, you will LOSE the mobile marketing game. This is the single most important thing to remember when putting together a mobile marketing campaign. For this reason, mobile marketing experts are big on QR codes because of their quickness and efficiency. It’s a simple fact that taking a picture of something, or scanning something, is much quicker than looking up a Twitter handle, searching for a webpage, or finding a venue to check into on a location-based social network. Technology in the future will no doubt provide users with even faster ways to make their mobile devices interact with their surroundings, but for now at least, QR codes are the fastest and easiest way for on-the-go users to connect with you and your company.

bigstock_social_media_on_smartphone_21485075

Your Context MUST Determine Your Content

You want to ensure that your mobile content is useful to customers where they are. For example, you don’t want to offer a video in a location where customers can’t open and view it right away. However, you can modify your content to make it more applicable to your customers. An example would be offering location-specific coupons to customers to go with their purchases at the grocery store. So your coupons would be based on the region’s tastes and ingredients.

This Is Just The Beginning

You aren’t going to capture a customer simply because they bought something from you or they filled out one of your forms. Now you must interactwith the customer. Your mobile site is just one touch point in what should be a long line of interactions with the customer. Great mobile sites give users an enticing piece of content, then creates an opportunity for them to connect with the brand in a much more significant way through a different channel at another time. In Tim Hayden’s words, Chief Marketing Officer and founder of 44Doors, “Wow the hell out of them, then get them to take action.”

***

Blending your mobile marketing campaign with social media can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to keep it simple, follow these simple steps, and you should be fine. A lot of the failures in mobile marketing do NOT happen because of the method. The method has worked for THOUSANDS of companies in EVERY industry you can think of. Failures happen because people try to do too much, not realizing that the best thing you can do is keep it simple and straightforward so your customers can easily understand you, as well as easily interact with you.