Mobile Search is Fueling Small Business

by | Dec 30, 2012 | Advertising, Business Success, Latest

The jury is back and the verdict is in, customers are going mobile. We all kind of intuitively knew that was coming, but the reports are now verifying what we already wondered. If your business is not mobile you are missing a whole lot of customers. What do we mean when we say mobile anyway? By mobile we mean that customers are using mobile devices to track down and find businesses, both local and non local businesses. Let’s look at a scenario; customers will use a phone to perform a search for a local business when they are out and about. They will not bother going home and looking in a phone book or even using a desktop computer to find what they are looking for. They will search with mobile and act fast. Of all the searches done for businesses, 9 out of 10 people reported they reached out and contacted the businesses they found. Thos are great odds for the luck business found. If your business cannot be found on local searches then you will be missing out on a lot of people. Get your business on as many local search results as you can. Every major search engine has a local section. Google Local, Bing Local, etc. There are also rate and review sites to be found on like Yelp, AngiesList, and more. The process is not difficult to do, but it should be done post haste to start capturing the online traffic ever going mobile. This infographic will give you an idea of what can be done in terms of online search.

This guest blog was presented by: www.Vistaprint.com

Go Mobile… or go Home?

by | Dec 6, 2012 | Business Success, Interactive, Social Media

I find these days that smartphones and iPads are attached to our hips.  It’s as if we can’t live with out them… we breathe, we use our mobile devices.

It’s shocking to hear how many big named companies still don’t have a functional mobile site.  Whether you’re in the restaurant business or running a small business, mobile is where it’s at and it’s a great way to push out weekly/monthly notifications to promote specials or the services and products your business offers.

So how can we tap into that?  What are the brand benefits to a mobile device? Before answering the question, take a look at these facts…

  • Nearly 4 billion people have a mobile phone.  Whether it’s a smart phone, flip phone or Blackberry.
  • Within 3 minutes of delivery 90% of text messages are read.
  • 70% of mobile searches lead to action within one hour. It takes one month for the same percentage of desktop users to take action.
  • 79% of smartphone users use their phone to help with shopping, with 74% ultimately making purchases.
  • Mobile ads perform 4 to 5 times better than online ads in key metrics.

So what does this all mean? Well a very important part of any brand or business web initiative is to make sure it’s accessible.  Does your company/brand have a mobile site? If yes, then your business is closer to grabbing consumer’s attention more than most of your competitors.

Let’s be honest. This can be a big win for your business and your brand just by implementing this one initiative. Here are some benefits of mobile website optimization…

  • There are faster downloading speeds like 3G, 4G and now even LTE.
  • You can use push notifications.  These are great for promotions or news updates. In my opinion Michael’s (the craft store) take advantage of this technology extremely well.
  • You can engage with users quicker with mapping functions or click and call.
  • The accessibility. A mobile site can be accessed anywhere and provides a higher level of connectivity with you and your customer.

Having a mobile site is just the beginning… like any marketing initiative you will need to “work it”. You know those funky looking squares with the black zigzag design? They’re called QR codes and they’re a very popular tactic for getting users to go to a specific landing page.  Placing them on pamphlets, business cards, banner ads, in store ads and more will help you garner more reach to your mobile site. Most, if not all QR code scanners are free and very easy to get. The possibilities are endless when it comes to designing, promoting and using a mobile webpage.

You will quickly come to realize that having a mobile website is very beneficial for your brand. It increases the opportunity for SEO, web advertising and provides the added bonus of cross-platform campaigning.

Brand, product or business service…  remember that as businesses continue with the growth of technology, more and more people reach for a phone more often than their toothbrush.

Ad Mobility

by | Feb 16, 2011 | Advertising

Smartphones are getting smarter, all thanks to advertising. With more people accessing the internet through their mobile phones, ad upgrading offers a huge niche for ad revenue. Mobile advertising is where creative juices (and funding) will be flowing hard. The thought of putting progressive advertising into the palm of every smartphone user’s hand couldn’t’ be more exciting!

Ad Mobility

Image provided courtesy of the Annie Mole (flickr), under the creative commons license.

With Google’s acquisition of Android Operating Systems and with the purchase of AdMob, the largest mobile advertising network out there, Google has put their stake in the sand for the fight in mobile advertising dominance.

A hair behind is Apple, with a $275 million dollar acquisition of Quattro Wireless after losing out to AdMob. The launch of the iPhone 4G which allows users to browse multiple programs simultaneously, has invariably improved the possibility for greater advertising space.

This means a great change for agencies, as it builds a brand new facet to our already lively interactive sector, and a viable tool for branding and monetizing the mobile web.  Mobile advertising in the recent past was relatively archaic and chunky, but with big media players investing in functionality, the result is our playground.

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