The onset of the iPad has really got people talking. As of June 2010, Apple has reported over 2 million units sold since it’s U.S. launch. Apple is now the largest U.S.-based technology company in terms of market share. Not only has the iPad caused Apple to become even more dominate in the technology industry, but it is completely changing the landscape.
The iPad basically acts as a mini computer; you can surf the internet, check your email, look at photos, watch videos and movies, listen to music, download apps, and so much more. What is really so amazing about it is that it encompasses so many devices all in one. Basically, it is going to change the way people consume news and media. It is going to be a real solution for replacing books, magazines and newspapers. People can use iTunes to download full movies, tv shows, and just about anything they want to watch on the screen. It is the digitization of media. Wow.
Another theory that people are buzzing about the iPad is that it could help turn off computers. For example, rather than everyone having a family desktop or laptop that is turned on all the time, during the evenings when a family member wants to hop online really quick, he/she can just go on the iPad and leave the power-consuming desktop off.
Of course, all of this is still in the future. The revolution has not taken place yet, but it is on the horizon. As iPad’s popularity grows, so will it’s effects.
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a new standard in mobile messaging. MMS is a way to send a message from one mobile to another, but it doesn’t stop at text. You can also send sound, images and even video! It is also possible to send MMS messages from a mobile phone to an email address. This opens up a whole new world for marketing!
Think about it… do you go anywhere without your mobile phone? Probably not, especially for the younger generations. Mobile phones are a great way to reach your audience. They are so powerful because you have the ability to send different types of messages, and images and videos allow you to have achieve a more dynamic message.
Almost any business can utilize MMS marketing. It’s a great way to send promotions or sales to customers. You can set up “exclusive lists” of customers who receive MMS sales. It is a direct link to your customers.
Direct email campaigns are a very effective marketing strategy. It’s the next generation of direct mail, just the internet age version. They are an affordable and effective way to reach your customers or affiliates. We use this strategy everyday for our clients. Direct email is powerful because you control exactly who sees your marketing message, so there is no marketing waste.
When deciding who to email, it’s important to research the market. One strategy we use is to find groups on social networks, like LinkedIn and Facebook, that are related to your industry. For example, say you are a company that sells weight loss products. You would look for groups on social networks that were all about losing weight, eating healthy, etc. Compile a list of groups and include contact information of the owner. You want to email the owner of the group because he/she could potentially contact the members of the group.
Crafting the email is an important step, because it cannot sound spammy. No one is going to take it seriously or even read it. Make it friendly and engaging, and offer something for free. Also, make sure the title of the email isn’t spammy, or it might get put in the spam folder or ignored. Be straight forward about the content of the email.
Have a system established for responding to your emails. If you are looking for affiliates, make sure you have affiliate links established and ready to use. It would be very unprofessional to contact people and then take weeks to respond, so be prompt and timely with all responses. When you get a positive response, ask them if they know anyone that would also be interested in your product/service. Referrals are the most effective way to gain customers.
The response to the launch of my new Web 3.o book, Marketing in the Moment, has been great! It has received some excellent reviews, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
But I have some really exciting news! For the next 3 days (7/26-7/28), Marketing in the Moment will be FREE on Amazon if you buy the kindle version. Yes, free! I think it’s a great opportunity for those of you that haven’t had a chance to get it yet, now is the time. And Kindle is a really fun, cheap way to read books. It’s definitely the next big thing for books. So, please check it out! Here is a link directly to where to find it on Amazon.
I’m going to share another great tool that can make your life easier and help you run a virtual company. Dropbox is an amazing tool to keep that keeps you can your company organized. The basic 2 GB is free, but you can get up to 100 GB of storage for a very reasonable price, considering the great features.
When you download Dropbox, it creates a folder in your computer that is synced with all of your other computers, laptops, or mobile phones. That way, you don’t have to email things to yourself or use a usb, anything you put in the folder is everywhere else you need it. It is also available on the web, so that even if you are away from your personal computer/laptop/phone, you can still access important files through your account. They are always backed up. You can also use it for file sharing. You can share entire folders with people, and see changes they made to files instantly. Everything is also highly secure.
We just started using Dropbox and I’m very impressed! I thought I would share this time, money and stress saving tool with you. Check out their site to learn more : https://www.dropbox.com
Basecamp is a great, easy to use solution for project management issues! It’s especially helpful for running a virtual company (like mine!). Basecamp allows you to collaborate with your team and/or clients, and keep track of assignments, deadlines, and basically oversee all projects and activities!
Basecamp has some really great features. You can create “To-Do Lists”, and assign them to people with instructions and due-dates so it’s easy for everyone to stay on track! It also allows users to log their time, so it can be used as a way of tracking employee hours as well, AND you can see where the hours have been spent. Another great feature is the file sharing. You can upload files, categorize, sort, track revisions, and share deliverables. It’s all really easy to use, too. Everyone on my team is a pro now.
There are so many other features that truly make project management simple. My company uses it everyday, and I have employees all over the world collaborating and getting projects done with Basecamp. Check out their site for more information: http://basecamphq.com/
Being at the top of the search engines is a major priority for a business. People are not looking through the yellowpages like they used to! It’s important to create a strong SEO plan for your site. Here are some tips for building an SEO friendly web site. They’re a bit technical, but important for your designer to know.
Make sure that title elements and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
Check for broken links and correct HTML.
Allow search bots to crawl your sites without session IDs or arguments that track their path through the site.
Make sure your web server supports the HTTP header.
Test your site to make sure that it appears correctly in different browsers.
Avoid using too complex of tables when laying out your page.
Use external Cascading Style Sheets and Java Script files to reduce page size and make the download time much faster.
The URL structure http://www.example.com/green-dress.html is much more useful than http://www.example.com/greendress.html. You should use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) in your URLs.
I love to hear feedback about my new book, Marketing in the Moment. My colleague, Dave Crenshaw of www.DaveCrenshaw.com, has created a very informative video book review. Dave is a highly regarded and knowledgeable time-management expert and the author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing it All” Gets Nothing Done.
Today is the day of my book launch!! Marketing in the Moment: The Practical Guide to using Web 3.0 Marketing to Reach Your Customers First serves as a complete, practical, no-fluff desk reference to next generation online and mobile marketing. Check out my book launch site.
Companies of all sizes can learn to successfully utilize the web, mobile marketing, and social media. I wrote this book to help marketers, entrepreneurs and managers move beyond hype and high-level strategy to proven tactics and successful ground-level execution. Each chapter lists an explanation of the topic, the opportunities, specific methods to implement, a case-study, to-do list, as well as tips for success.
Do you know Web 3.0? Are you ready for the next wave of online marketing? You need to read Marketing in the Moment and take advantage of Special Launch Day Bonuses! If you purchase today, you will receive:
Videos on: The Top 10 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics by Legendary Marketer Jay Conrad Levinson
Videos on: 31 Continuity/Membership Model Ideas from Ryan Lee
E-course on: The 15 Strategies To Get You Inspired and In Action NOW by Matthew Ferry
Whitepaper on my top strategy for creating massive content fast
There are even more amazing bonuses available if you purchase multiple copies. To learn more about the book, features, and bonuses, check out my book launch site.
We like to take a different approach to apps. Instead of first looking at what’s out there, we brainstorm on what apps we would like to see and what those apps would do. For example: when we first did this for Twitter, we wrote down over 40 different things we wanted the app to do. Most of the things on that list came back to “easier management of tweets.”
Step 2: Search.
Use my best friend, Google, to find out if there is an app that meets the criteria you just compiled. More times than not, there will be an app that already exists.
Step 2.5:Be innovative.
If there is not an app available, read below and possibly consider building your own app. There are plenty of different developers you can hire. Utilize sites like: guru.com, elance.com and craigslist.org. There are thousands of different developers at your finger tips
Step 3: Re-evaluate.
Make sure the apps you are installing aid in one (or more) of the criteria we talked about:
Increase the relationship-building among your prospects/clients.
Aid in the experience your prospects/clients receive.
Make communication easier and more effective.
Help with the “fun factor” in your marketing.
Step 4:Follow the instructions and install the app.
Typically, you simply need to be logged in to the particular site, push a button to install the app and then turn it on or make it live.
Step 5:Don’t get app-crazy.
Don’t install hundreds of apps on your various marketing sites so all that your prospects and customers see are apps. Make sure your core information is available and easily visible. So limit the apps you use across the different sites to about five to 10, max, per site.
Step 6:Gather feedback.
Survey your network to see how they like the apps you are using and if they have any recommendations. You would be surprised by how few businesses actually use surveys to aid in their marketing. It’s a very powerful tool.
Step 7:Keep an eye out for the bigger and better.
Keep up to date with what new apps become available. I like to use Google Alerts to easily accomplish this. For example, set a Google Alert for the phrase “twitter apps,” and let the Alert app tell you when new ones have been developed. Installing and using apps, as you will see, is very straight forward. Just remember that your main purpose is serving your prospects and consumers. If you can’t identify a direct benefit to your users, skip it.
The last key area of Web apps is creating your own applications for marketing uses or to simply sell or give away. The key with giving away Web apps is to make the app something of extreme value. The more useful or (if you’re taking the other approach) fun it is, the better chance it has of going viral.
