Marketing Technology Blog

SMS isn’t Dead, Heard of Geo-Fencing?

Douglas Karr — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:59 +0000

Short Messaging Services (SMS) may seem a little passé with the onslaught of smart phones and mobile applications… but it’s far from dead.

SMS, or “Short Message Service,” is the most widely used data application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers… SMS is perfectly geared towards mobile marketing applications given its highly personal nature, nearly 100% open rate, ability for highly targeted content based on numerous metrics and its inherent reach in terms of two way communication with consumers.

A fantastic paper, The mobileStorm 2010 Mid Year Mobile Marketing Report is available that has a wealth of information on the mobile market – including platforms, applications, social media engagement, ecommerce and much, much more.

One of the discussions in this whitepaper is Location-Based Services (LBS) & Advertising (LBA). Recent polls suggest that consumers are very open to location based advertising. Facebook Places, Foursquare and GoWalla are becoming popular applications for businesses to connect with consumers… but an advancement in SMS technologies called ‘geo-fencing’ may prove very popular as well!

With the introduction and wide availability of user-location data, it’s increasingly being used to enhance SMS campaigns in terms of relevancy. A concept known as “geo-fencing” involves setting a digital perimeter around a given location, such as a retail store or restaurant, and then SMS messages can be dispatched to users entering that perimeter. Opted-in subscribers of a deli’s mobile program could automatically receive a time-sensitive coupon anytime they come within a mile of the restaurant, for example, providing instant value to the user and driving instant sales for the deli.

Proximity marketing is also on the horizon. Proximity marketing would allow businesses with Bluetooth or SMS-CB (Short Message Service – Cell Broadcast) will allow businesses to ‘push’ advertisements when a consumer arrives within reach of the transmission region. Since this technology often doesn’t require permission, it’s questionable whether or not proximity marketing will become popular.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Follow him on Twitter @douglaskarr.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

Corporate Blogging: The Infographic

Douglas Karr — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:38:21 +0000

It was great bumping into John Uhri of Red Bit Blue Bit at Blog Indiana, this year. John does a really cool thing – rather than writing typical notes during discussions, he draws creative informational graphics (an infographic).

So, here’s a great infographic of Corporate Blogging for Dummies he did after reading through the book (click to download the full size)!

Thanks John! It’s great to see a visualization like this since it definitely compares to what we had hoped the key topics and information would be for anyone starting a corporate blog!

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

You might also find these posts interesting:

5 Ways to Benefit from Facebook’s Analytics

Kyle Lacy — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:17:55 +0000

I think Facebook could set a record in the amount of newsworthy material it produces in a week. The most recent news is Facebook launching of analytics tools. After reading about this on Fast Company I’ve decided that it’s a great addition to Facebook’s world domination. Kidding aside it’s a cool feature that will show who “likes” what without sharing personal information.

The tool shares data based mostly on demographics similar to Foursquare’s analytic business tool, which for most is old news. Both features allows companies to gauge who their main audiences are in terms of gender, age, location and language. Instead of wasting time on extensive research these charts will show who and where your target audience is. Although the new and improved Analytics for Websites, Applications and Pages are mostly targeted to app developers, content owners and publishers the people representing these brands can greatly benefit. I also recommend clicking the link above for some more step-by-step instructions to implement the new tools.

Here are 5 reasons why you WILL benefit:

Time Saver. Time is money and this feature is easy to read and use. Therefore is you know who, based on demographics, “likes” your product then that’s where you invest your time.
Capitalize on Content. For instance, if your brand has a FanPage you can look at how many users commented on posts to capitalize on what they find to be most interesting. Basically you can begin to give your audiences what they want. Also if you are an administrator of a Facebook Page you can now see analytics for referral traffic and stream stories in the Insights dashboard (read link above), as well as tab views for your Page.
Document. Document? Yes, you can now easily collect data with the new visualization tools. These will enhance you ability to view full screen, print and save graphs, which in turn will allow you to save and conduct quantifiable research.
Know Your Audience. The new features only show demographics of users, which is all you need to know about your audience or potential audience. The insights dashboard breaks it down for all domain administrators.Ê A couple examples offered for admins are a breakdown of contributions from users to active user count, demographics on authorized users and active users, and the number of times permissions are prompted and granted.
Websites, Applications, and Pages. You can use these tools on all three channels. There is no excuse to not use these new features.

This post was written by Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media training and strategy company. He recently authored two books, Twitter Marketing for Dummies (Nov 2009) and Branding Yourself (Dec 2010) and is a highly sought after speaker. He writes regularly at his blog on KyleLacy.com and you can find him chatting daily on Facebook / Twitter

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

You might also find these posts interesting:

Is Your Marketing Illegal?

Douglas Karr — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:34:59 +0000

Attorney David Castor, an attorney firm specializing in startups and SaaS businesses, emailed me over the weekend with the news that the FTC has settled with its first victim of new disclosure laws.

As part of the proposed settlement (PDF), PR firm Reverb Communications and owner Tracie Snitker must remove any iTunes reviews that were written by Reverb employees posing as ordinary customers and who failed to disclose a relationship between Reverb and its game developer clients. The agreement also bars Reverb and Snitker from posting further reviews on iTunes that pretend to be from independent consumers or that neglect to disclose any connection between the company and its clients, according to the FTC.

This is pretty scary stuff. In two decades, I’m not sure that I’ve worked with or for a marketing or PR firm that DID NOT go out of its way to promote its clients goods and services. I continue to promote my clients whenever and wherever I can – not because I wish to deceive the public, but because I believe in what they’ve accomplished. I try to disclose my actions each time – but I’m sure that I miss the mark plenty.

This could change everything. As your company wishes to deploy comment strategies, linking strategies, promotions, etc… it appears all of it could be a criminal act if it’s accomplished within the United States and doesn’t disclose a connection between the company and clients.

Will Nascar drivers have to announce their sponsors in every interview because they’re wearing a hat or drinking a soda? Will they have to put a disclosure below each bumper sticker?
Will Political Action Committees (PACs) have to announce on every comment on every site that they’re part of an organization with a paid relationship with the politician? How about when they send thousands of members to go answer polls online?
If I mention a client in a presentation or speech as an example that’s not related to our relationship, do I now need to disclose they are a client?
What about fans and follower counts? I don’t have a means of disclosing how many people follow me or how many people I follow because they’re clients or I’m a client. Isn’t that number swaying public opinion and used for marketing?
I just wrote a blogging book where I utilized many of my clients and vendors (including Alerding Castor) as examples in the book. Am I going to get fined because I didn’t disclose that we may have, or once had, a business relationship?
Will product evangelists at conferences need to wear a badge or hat that states that they’re going to talk about their clients, products or services?
Sometimes I target companies and write about them, or introduce myself for the opportunity of building a business relationship in the future. Do I now need to disclose when I’m buying them a coffee or shaking their hand that I am doing it because I’m hoping to get their business?
Will celebrity voice-overs and appearances in commercials now need to end with them telling you that they are a paid endorser of the product or service?

I understand that the law is attempting to thwart deceitful practices, but the problem is that my entire online persona, my twitter account, my Facebook statuses, my websites, and my writing are ALL based on relationships I’ve had with businesses. My company’s income is based on how well my clients are marketed. I am a paid advocate for them – twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. I’m not trying to deceive anyone… but I am trying to increase authority, awareness, and evangelize on behalf of my clients. Who else am I going to talk about?!

You might as well put the cuffs on me now and throw away the key.

Or I could move to Canada and keep doing what I’m doing. There’s the loophole folks… move your deceitful practices offshore.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

Failure: The Secret to Success

Douglas Karr — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:25:51 +0000

This week, I’ve been reading Failure: The Secret to Success by friend Robby Slaughter. Robby has put together a great guide on failing successfully so that you can learn and grow from your failure. I can’t do the book justice – there are incredible anecdotes from some of the greatest leaders in industry.

However, I would like to share some of the failure quotes from the book to inspire you:

The knowledge gained from failures is often instrumental in achieving subsequent successes. In the simplest terms, failure is the ultimate teacher. David Garvin

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan

Failure underscores the need to take chances. The cliche is right: If you take no risks, there will be no rewards. And if you are taking risks, almost by definition, you are going to fail at some point. Jeff Wuorio

I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work. Thomas Edison

No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar. Donald Foster

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. Henry Ford

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. Neils Bohr

We can only make fantastic advances in technology through many failures. Takeo Fukui

Those who succeed tend to be the ones who allow themselves to fail. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Rule #1: you have to learn to fail, to win. David Sandler

Here’s a fantastic video from Honda with the same name, discussing Honda’s failures throughout the years.

Order a copy of Failure: The Secret to Success and be sure to check out Robby’s ongoing posts on his blogFailure.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

You might also find these posts interesting:

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Marketing Technology Blog

SMS isn’t Dead, Heard of Geo-Fencing?

This post was written by Douglas Karr

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Corporate Blogging: The Infographic

This post was written by Douglas Karr

You might also find these posts interesting:

5 Ways to Benefit from Facebook’s Analytics

Here are 5 reasons why you WILL benefit:

This post was written by Kyle Lacy

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Is Your Marketing Illegal?

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Most Commented Posts

Failure: The Secret to Success

This post was written by Douglas Karr

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