This September will mark two years into the age of the iPhone app. Doesn't it seem so much longer than that? I want to share some lessons I've learned in the process:
1. People will pay for value. Examples are my personal favorite, the $9.99 Pantone app along with national examples like the $9.99 MLB At Bat app and Kraft's $.99 cent app. Zagat's iPhone app is the 77th top-growing app in the Apps Store out of 58,000.
2. Apps must be real-time. Don't make an app that is your website--people's expectations with apps are much higher than that.
3. Figuring out the price. That's the million dollar question isn't it? Just remember, it's easier to drop the price than to increase it.
4. Don't be scared of feedback. People will point out flaws in your app on the web. That feedback is a free focus group people! Adjust your app accordingly and send through an update. Consumers want to know people are listening to them and you will earn their respect by listening.
5. Free apps do work. If you have a product or service, a free app is a great tool to drive sales. An example is Benjamin Moore's Ben Color Capture app, built to build brand awareness for its subbrand Ben, as well as drive traffic to stores. The app lets users snap a photo of something in the world that matches colors in the photo to pain shades in the brand's library. That often leads to paint purchases, and the app uses GPS to direct users to their nearest retailer. Genius!
6. Apps shouldn't be one-off projects--they should be part of integrated campaigns.
7. Engagement is better than downloads. You should be happier to have 100 engaged consumers than 1000 downloads.
8. Guerilla marketing is key: people find apps through other people. Get into the blogs, the forums and inexpensively market your app.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Digital Marketing Thoughts
While using new technology in itself will not bring success -- it's still about the content being creative and engaging -- there are some new trends I've been mulling over.
I have loved the use of viral videos when done the right way. What I'm excited about are viral video analytics becoming more sophisticated. YouTube is expanding its video analytics offerings, and small companies are jumping on board to provide comprehensive viral monitoring services across multiple online video platforms. So what I'm thinking about investing in is this: viral seeding strategies. Promoting videos via online influencers, Facebook video-sharing apps and targeted paid placements. And now I can develop and select ads with the most viral video potential before investing.
Still am not sure about mobile advertising vs online advertising. It's still a new medium and there remains consumer resistance (myself as an example) to mobile advertising.
Am investigating an interesting service called FourSquare--a mobile game that allows users to broadcast their location to a network of friends and other users in their cities. It allows marketers to tap into an engaged network of users, whether offering special promotions, etc all based on reported location. Am keeping an eye on this as I expect this to grow.
Would love your opinions on any of these topics!
I have loved the use of viral videos when done the right way. What I'm excited about are viral video analytics becoming more sophisticated. YouTube is expanding its video analytics offerings, and small companies are jumping on board to provide comprehensive viral monitoring services across multiple online video platforms. So what I'm thinking about investing in is this: viral seeding strategies. Promoting videos via online influencers, Facebook video-sharing apps and targeted paid placements. And now I can develop and select ads with the most viral video potential before investing.
Still am not sure about mobile advertising vs online advertising. It's still a new medium and there remains consumer resistance (myself as an example) to mobile advertising.
Am investigating an interesting service called FourSquare--a mobile game that allows users to broadcast their location to a network of friends and other users in their cities. It allows marketers to tap into an engaged network of users, whether offering special promotions, etc all based on reported location. Am keeping an eye on this as I expect this to grow.
Would love your opinions on any of these topics!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Advertising Insights for 2010
I know I'm late in wrapping up 2009, but am reading Advertising Age, and column by Dana Severson and I wanted to share his/my thoughts with you. I will only mention the points I agree with though (or else why share? ;)
1. Print media is not dead. Don't even think about the research, think about your favorite magazine and how it inspires you in your everyday life. Magazines are closing their doors because advertisers are spending less. It's not because we stopped reading them. That's what makes it sad. Domino magazine: Come Back!
That being said, don't eliminate print from your advertising plans--just invest more in one magazine. Instead of doing small ad sizes in bunch, invest in the one that hits your target audience the best and go all out with a full page. It has been working for me: rates are cheaper, there's less competition for the reader's attention and your ROI will be much greater.
2. Social networking only works if you commit to it. Unless you are conversing with your audience, there's not point to use Facebook or Twitter. It's better to have none at all then have one sitting there with something you posted 6 months ago.
3. Your online banner ad still generates interest--the measurement of success from your efforts will show in sales numbers and can be totally unrelated to the number of clicks. The presence is still worth something. Ad networks have us all thinking that the only value in online ads is conversions. It's not true.
That's all for today folks. Thanks.
1. Print media is not dead. Don't even think about the research, think about your favorite magazine and how it inspires you in your everyday life. Magazines are closing their doors because advertisers are spending less. It's not because we stopped reading them. That's what makes it sad. Domino magazine: Come Back!
That being said, don't eliminate print from your advertising plans--just invest more in one magazine. Instead of doing small ad sizes in bunch, invest in the one that hits your target audience the best and go all out with a full page. It has been working for me: rates are cheaper, there's less competition for the reader's attention and your ROI will be much greater.
2. Social networking only works if you commit to it. Unless you are conversing with your audience, there's not point to use Facebook or Twitter. It's better to have none at all then have one sitting there with something you posted 6 months ago.
3. Your online banner ad still generates interest--the measurement of success from your efforts will show in sales numbers and can be totally unrelated to the number of clicks. The presence is still worth something. Ad networks have us all thinking that the only value in online ads is conversions. It's not true.
That's all for today folks. Thanks.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Microsites: The Skinny
Now with the age of iPhone apps, I'm hearing the term 'microsite' thrown around quite a bit. I want to get back to basics first, so we can see how they can be used as a web marketing tool.
First, a microsite is an extremely focused, targeted 1-3 page website. Exactly what you would think when you hear 'microsite'. It can be used to promote an iPhone app, but also can target an event (example the new "Drive Through Healthy" Taco Bell campaign), a new product--anything you can think of using a single keyword phrase.
Now how can they be used for marketing? Obviously anything that is highly targeted is already a cut above, as visitors aren't distracted with information they don't need. If designed right, microsites should be consise and to-the-point. Visitors shouldn't have to click through flash elements, etc. to know what it is you are promoting or selling, etc. Basically, they help cut through the clutter when you want to promote something specific, and your message maybe or probably is different than your main website--that being said, a microsite should only focus on one topic. Or else you'll just end up making another website.
By promoting just one product or service, visitors get only the information they want--so the conversion rate is higher, and you can always integrate the lead form or purchase link into your main website.
So with microsites: single topic: good. More than that and you don't really have a microsite.
For an iPhone app microsite, I happen to love the one for www.iphorest.com. It's short and simple, tells you what the app does and the features it holds. And it's all about the app.
First, a microsite is an extremely focused, targeted 1-3 page website. Exactly what you would think when you hear 'microsite'. It can be used to promote an iPhone app, but also can target an event (example the new "Drive Through Healthy" Taco Bell campaign), a new product--anything you can think of using a single keyword phrase.
Now how can they be used for marketing? Obviously anything that is highly targeted is already a cut above, as visitors aren't distracted with information they don't need. If designed right, microsites should be consise and to-the-point. Visitors shouldn't have to click through flash elements, etc. to know what it is you are promoting or selling, etc. Basically, they help cut through the clutter when you want to promote something specific, and your message maybe or probably is different than your main website--that being said, a microsite should only focus on one topic. Or else you'll just end up making another website.
By promoting just one product or service, visitors get only the information they want--so the conversion rate is higher, and you can always integrate the lead form or purchase link into your main website.
So with microsites: single topic: good. More than that and you don't really have a microsite.
For an iPhone app microsite, I happen to love the one for www.iphorest.com. It's short and simple, tells you what the app does and the features it holds. And it's all about the app.
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