More Than Half of Small Businesses Are Going Mobile…Are You? | Business 2 Community

More Than Half of Small Businesses Are Going Mobile…Are You? 

As mentioned in a recent Fresh Insights post, new survey data from Constant Contact shows that the mobile train has officially left the station.

Two-thirds of small businesses are on board, proving that mobile marketing is no longer the sole domain of major brands like Subway, Google, and Target. Given the growing interest in mobile marketing among small businesses, it seems worthwhile to take a deeper look at the survey results.

So, how exactly are small businesses using mobile technology?

More than 70 percent of small businesses are using mobile for social media marketing and email marketing — think Facebook updates and email newsletters that can be viewed on smartphones or tablets.

Forty-four percent are conducting mobile advertising through social platforms.

When asked what types of mobile/social advertising they use, 97 percent of respondents said they use social media platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Location-based promotions (Foursquare check-in, etc.) came in a distant second at 17 percent and text messages came in third at 15 percent.

Another interesting survey tidbit — small business owners are big Apple fans. iPhone users trump Android users 66 percent to 39 percent. Sounds like Apple’s carved out a good small business niche given that among the general population, Android subscribers account for more than half of all subscribers while iOS subscribers account for just 38 percent.

By now you’ve probably heard the ubiquitous stat that claims there are more mobile phones than toothbrushes on the planet, so it’s great to see small businesses taking advantage of mobile marketing. And why not? It’s a fast and direct way to reach customers and mobile advertising can be very cost-effective. There’s no denying our mobile-optimized world and it’s not going away, especially when you consider some analysts are predicting that mobile searches will surpass desktop searches this year.

Of course, there’s always the flip side of the coin and that leads us to the 34 percent of small businesses who’ve not yet boarded the mobile train.

Why not? A lack of customer demand?

Fifty-six percent say their customers haven’t expressed a demand for mobile communications and 47 percent say their customers haven’t expressed a demand for mobile payment solutions. More than a few respondents even said things like, “I have no idea how this stuff works.” The problem with this wait-and-see approach is that you may miss some prime marketing opportunities. Not convinced? Consider the fact that 42% of emails are opened on mobile devices and 1 in 5 internet users don’t use a computer. Mobile is a way of life and smart small business marketers need to climb aboard before this train leaves the station.

And now, a question for you: Are you using mobile to market your business and if so, how?

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/more-than-half-of-small-businesses-are-going-mobileare-you-0497206#6cAlqM1xAEhi4AFb.99 

Report: Savings of $12K Per Year for Smartphones App Users

Report: Savings of $12K Per Year for Smartphones App Users

By Andrew Burger

The 97% of U.S. smartphone owners who make use of mobile apps are saving lots of time, and that translates into saving lots of money, according to an online survey conducted by Harris Interactive for ClickSoftware.

U.S. smartphone owners who use mobile apps save up to 88 minutes per day, as much as 22 days’ worth of free time per year, according to reported survey results. That could yield as much as $12,000 in savings as compared to the average $174 smartphone owner surveyed paid for their devices, according to a press release.

“This survey calculates a concrete value of the benefits that mobility brings to everyday life and it is apparent that the smartphone-toting masses are, in reality, carrying quite a high ticket item, far more valuable than the price they paid to purchase the device,” commented Click Software’s vice president of mobility Gil Bouhnick.

“Beyond being a five-figure personal accessory, the smartphone can afford its owner, on average, more than 500 hours per year in savings accrued by using popular apps like email, text and GPS as tallied from our survey data,” he added.

Highlights of the survey and report include:

• Email, text and social networking apps lead the pack for frequency of use, followed by games and web browsing, with weather, GPS and calendar apps also making it onto the leaderboard

• Men (17 percent) are more likely than women (10 percent) to identify GPS apps as one of the three types of apps they use most often. More than half (59 percent) of people who use GPS (either most, second-most or third-most) consider themselves to be extremely or very productive when using GPS and 72 percent say GPS saves them up to 30 minutes per day, versus completing the same task without the app, for instance, using a paper map

• After selecting the top three types of apps they use most frequently, the smartphone owners who use apps collectively attribute a total savings of as much as 88 minutes per day to app use—up to 10 hours per week or 535 hours (22 days) per year—as opposed to functioning without the use of those smartphone apps

• According to Social Security Administration data, the average U.S. annual wage is $45,790, which makes the average cost of an hour of an American worker’s time $22 based on a typical 40 hour work week. Multiply that by the up to 535 hours per year in time savings simply realized from smartphone owners’ use of their top three apps and the true value of the smartphone emerges at approximately $12,000 ($11,777) for just one year of use

• Email and GPS seem to be the apps with the most balanced split between work and personal use by employed smartphone users, with about one in five saying they use these for mostly work use, and one third saying they use them equally for both work and personal use. One in five email app users designate their productivity level as extremely productive when using mobile email on their smartphone

• People ages 35+ are far more likely to list weather apps among their top three most-often used, while the younger 18-34 crowd plays on social networking sites with more frequency. Interestingly, 79 percent of smartphone owners say they save up to an hour per day by using weather apps, perhaps to avoid running late after ransacking the house for that lost umbrella or sitting in weather-related traffic delays

• While smartphone owners report feeling productive when they use apps on their phones, the survey also reveals a majority (82 percent) feel they are probably not using all the features and apps on their smartphones to the fullest. And 77 percent of them feel it is important to be able to access their information from multiple devices (e.g. smartphone, laptop and tablet)

“Given the world’s massive immersion in mobile computing, it has been an eye-opening exercise to measure a facet of its influence on modern America, and certainly, specific professions that rely on mobility to support job performance have the potential to derive an even higher dollar figure than $12K,” Bouhnick added.

“As powerful as our survey results prove the smartphone to be, the exciting reality is today’s mobile technology innovation has only scratched the surface of its potential to propel success, both in personal life and in business.

“The trend of ‘consumerization of IT’ is sure to make workers demand this productivity in their workplace. As the lines continue to blur between work and non-work mobile device use, organizations will seek out cost-effective solutions that empower their mobile workforce and enhance their bottom line while supporting complete workflows required in the enterprise market.”

22% of Salespeople Don't Want to Make Money

22% of Salespeople Don't Want to Make Money

by Rosalia Cefalu

“Two roads diverged in the social media wood, and I, I took the one less traveled,” said 21.7% of salespeople.

In a recent survey of 511 predominantly B2B sales reps and executives published on A Sales Guy Consulting, approximately 22% of salespeople claimed they didn’t use social media to close deals, while an overwhelming78.3% said they had used social media to sell.

Are you, or someone you know, part of the 22%? If so, it could be impacting your career, your business, and your paycheck. But there's good news -- there's still time to join the 78%! Allow me to try to make the case for you (and feel free to co-opt any of this if you'd like to make this case for a 22%-er yourself.)

Why Social Media’s Value Is on the Upswing

We live in a world where open communication and transparency are not just options, but near addictions. When it comes to social media, many people have fallen victim to digital exhibitionism. We post how we feel about our meals, our friends, the services we use, and our views on just about anything. With this kind of unfiltered, raw personal insight flowing constantly through the arteries of social media, now is the time for salespeople to keep their fingers, quite literally, on the pulse of the marketplace through social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. 

It wasn’t always like this. In the beginning of the social media era, this kind of personal data simply wasn’t around. There were less people talking, sharing, and establishing relationships over social media. It’s taken some time for the B2B market to join the social media conversation, but there’s no denying that the data overwhelmingly suggests that industries have evolved and adopted these practices. In 2013, 43% of surveyed marketers said they had found a customer through LinkedIn. Similarly, 56% of B2B marketers plan to increase their social media spend in 2013.

Now that adoption has ramped up, it’s time to respond. Not just in Marketing, but in Sales, too.

Why Should Sales Adopt a Social Media Strategy?

Because your future customers are on social media!

Remember back when businesses would advertise in the Yellow Pages? Someone might look up “Law Firm,” call for a quote for their services, and the firm would answer when people called. In the digital age, it's not so different. People "call" us in a lot of different ways -- on the phone, via our website, on email, even in search engines. And when they do, we do our best to "call" them back, whether through nurturing materials, an email, or an actual phone call.

Now answer me this. If you got a "call" through social media ... would you return it?

If your answer is anything other than of course, you might be in the 22%. For some time now, social media has been the voicemail box we just haven’t been checking. With growing adoption of social media, there are more and more messages being sent over social that you should be doing your darndest to pick up on. And if you’re not checking the messages, someone else will. 72.6% of salespeople using social media actually outperformed their colleagues not on social media. Don’t let the salesperson outperforming you be from your competitor.

(Tip: The value of social media in the sales process extends beyond just being present where leads are communicating. It has to do with the soft skills many sales professionals have already honed in-person and on the phone. Any sales professional knows it’s extremely important to develop a sense of comfort and trust early on in a relationship. Social media can be the perfect medium for engaging in those conversations that will help you better understand your lead's pain points, interests, and personality. In a world where we text before we call, the domain of sales conversations is expanding from the headset into the Twitter stream.)

What Sales Reps Could Be Doing TODAY to Leverage Social Media

So how exactly does a salesperson get involved in an effective social media strategy? The first steps are knowing which messages to search for, who the most important people to look for are, and how to best respond to individual messages. Here's how you (or that friend of yours in the 22%) could get started immediately with being a social seller.

Monitor Your Company and Industry Keywords

Regularly monitoring mentions of target keywords (often the same ones Marketing uses to optimize their content) and mentions of your company on social media platforms like Twitter can help to identify those leads who are looking for a service like yours. You might even find leads making direct comparisons between you and your competitors. This is the perfect opportunity to lend a helpful hand and reach out to those people who are asking sales-centric questions.

Monitor Your Leads

Even salespeople who are already on social media often find it difficult to uncover messages from those leads who matter the most. This problem can be solved by monitoring specific lists of social media messages only from your leads, in order to gain perspective on their challenges and needs from your business.

You can create manual lists of people to monitor in Twitter, allowing you to see only messages that are coming from specific people -- like, say, a specific sales rep’s leads. Here at HubSpot, we use the brand new Social Inbox to do this. Social Inbox is integrated into the same contacts database a marketer uses to send emails, so we’re able to monitor specific lists, like a sales rep’s specific leads from a CRM like Salesforce. From there, sales reps can monitor everything their leads are tweeting, or filter it further to only deliver streams of messages containing mentions of your company, relevant keywords in your industry, or just about any other custom search term that you care about.

Gather Social Context

Social media can be a great place to gather valuable lead intelligence that fuels your more high-touch sales efforts, like phone calls or in-person meetings. For example, one IT consulting company, NSK Inc., uses social media to streamline their in-person networking events. They host various in-person events in the industry, and invite people to register for free to attend and learn about new technologies in cloud computing and other relevant topics. Before the event, sales reps are able to pull a list of their leads who are attending, and easily view a history of their interactions with the company, a picture of them sourced from Twitter, and a stream of only their tweets. When sales reps have this valuable information ahead of time, they can streamline their conversations to the aspects of their offerings that each person cares about, instead of showing off every feature or capability.

Engage in a Conversation

Though some behaviors have changed with the adoption of new technologies, one thing hasn’t changed: we all still like to be treated like humans. The philosophy of inbound aims to take Marketing and Sales back to square one, and put the person (in this case, a prospect or lead) back at the center of your strategy. That means engaging in helpful conversations, not in sales pitches. That means addressing the specific needs of each individual person, not blasting the same all-encompassing tweet or response. Here are a few tips for better, more personalized social engagement:

1) Answer the Prospect, Not the Competition

If a prospect sends a message out to the Twittersphere asking for experiences with your company versus your competitor, you should, obviously, do what you can to answer their question. You should not send them a message about how much your competition sucks (even if they do). Instead, you could send them a link to a case study or testimonial from an existing customer. If your email marketing client and web analytics are integrated into your social media monitoring tool, you could look into your contact’s past history with your company to better identify what their biggest challenges and interests are, and target your message toward them accordingly.

2) Develop a Personal Relationship

The real secret to social media is simple: be a person. People don’t want to do business with automated social media bots. Social media is an amazing opportunity to break down the faceless front of a company or brand and establish yourself as an actual person at the other end of the screen. This is the kind of rapport sales folks aim to achieve at the beginning of every phone call. Similarly, rapport can be established over social media, all the while having rich lead intelligence on hand to better understand and effectively address your potential customers’ pain points.

3) Don’t Be Afraid of What You Don’t Know

Maybe your leads are asking you questions you don’t have the answers to, whether they be technical or in the domain of another department. The best part about social media is that simply by answering your prospects’ calls, you’re already establishing great brand equity. If someone gives you a tough question, it’s better to tell a prospect that you’ll find them an answer and dig into it deeper with the people in your company that have the answers. Often, people can shy away from this level of uncertainty, but the openness of social media has invited a sense of transparency that, while uncomfortable at first, is preferred (and often demanded) by consumers.

Pretty low-hanging fruit, right? Feel like these are some changes you or someone you love in Sales could make today? (Hint: you totally can!) I believe in you, Sales. Become part of the 78%!

7 deadly sins as applied to QR codes - Mobile Marketer - Columns

7 deadly sins as applied to QR codes - Mobile Marketer

May 20, 2013

Ritesh Bhavnani is chairman of Snipp

By Ritesh Bhavnani

QR codes have been mocked, debased, abused and downright hated, oftentimes with good reason.

There is no doubt that QR codes have gotten a bad name amongst the media cognoscenti. Much ado has been made about the Tumblr blog Pictures Of People Scanning QR Codes (spoiler alert: the site is empty – implying that no one actually scans QR codes).

But like most tools, QR codes are only as good as the people who wield them – and without a doubt people have been wielding them poorly, sinfully even.

Below are the seven deadliest sins that I have seen committed by folks using QR codes.

(Note: The author begs artistic license in his alterations of the actual sins for the purposes of this article.)

1. Sloth
By far the most pervasive sin of all.

If you are going to use a QR code, do not be lazy about it. Test out the QR code to ensure it scans properly. Work through the entire user flow. Think through the messaging. And, for goodness sake, make sure your destination is mobile-optimized.

2. GluttonyJust because they exist – and are free to use – does not mean that you should engorge your marketing collateral with QR codes.

Like all tools, be judicious in where and how you use them. QR codes are great to use when directing people to a campaign-specific page on a Web site – which is cumbersome to type into a mobile browser – as opposed to just sending them to your Web site homepage.

3. Parsimony
You are asking consumers to take out their phones, select a QR scanning app and then scan your code – all whilst they were in the middle of doing something else such as reading a magazine, waiting for the train or watching some television.

If they are being generous with their time, do not shortchange them back – make sure the experience is worth their time. Or do not bother using a QR code at all.

4. Shame
Do not tuck your QR code away in a corner of your ad because it is ruining your design.

Do not obfuscate the call to action or drown it out in a sea of competing messages.

Do not let it be an afterthought to the ad. If you are going to use a QR code, make it proud.

5. Ignorance
Use a short URL redirect embedded in your QR code to get measurement data and analytics.

Since QR codes encode URLs directly within them, the only way to get usage data from a QR code is to use a short URL to do the measurement and tracking and then redirect users to the original destination.

6. ArroganceDo not assume everyone knows what QR codes are – or how to use them.

Do put calls to action next to the QR codes so people know what to expect when they scan the code.

If you can, use a text keyword as an alternate for those who do not have a smartphone or a QR code reader.

7. Stupidity
My favorite sin of all.

Do not put a QR code where someone can’t scan them. Like in subways where you do not get reception. Or on billboards on the highway or on the back of trucks, where drivers could lose their lives trying to scan your code. Or in airplane magazines where mobile phones are supposed to be switched off.

Bonus sin: 8. Optimism
Do not assume QR codes are a silver bullet or a cure-all.

Do not assume that just because it is there people are going to scan it.

Do not assume that hundreds of thousands of people will scan your code, even when done right. It is one of many tools marketers can use to add interactivity and responsiveness to their static media – and should be used judiciously.

Ritesh Bhavnani is chairman of Snipp Interactive, Washington. Reach him at ritesh@snipp.com.

VooDoo BBQ works loyalty magic with rewards-based app - Mobile Marketer - Database/CRM

VooDoo BBQ works loyalty magic with rewards-based app 

May 20, 2013

VooDoo BBQ & Grill is rewarding customers for purchases and referrals via a new mobile application designed to increase loyalty.

The branded app enables customers to accrue loyalty points for purchases and displays the earned points on their mobile devices. Users also receive five points for logging into the app via Facebook.

“Customers expect to engage with their favorite restaurant brands on mobile – for everything from finding the nearest location of Voodoo, earning rewards for loyalty and referring their friends, sharing reviews about their experiences with friends on social media, to learn about the latest offers, etc,” said Jitendra Gupta, CEO of Punchh, Cupertino, CA.

“Restaurants rely on word-of-mouth to acquire new customers but they know very little about these customers,” he said.

“Engaging loyal customers and inviting them to them come back more frequently or to have them drive referrals is really the best way to drive measurable revenue at a restaurant.”

A rewarding visitVooDoo BBQ & Grill is a chain of 16 restaurants that sells slow-smoked, New Orleans-style BBQ in three states.

The restaurant chain is leveraging Punchh’s Marketing Automation Platform to power its loyalty app. Punchh’s platform is cloud-based and integrates with mobile, social media and merchants’ point-of-sale systems.

Users download the app to their iPhone or Android and can sign up with Facebook or with just their email.

To use it, customers place an order and receive a receipt. At the bottom of the receipt is a unique bar code that can be scanned with the app to earn rewards for the visit.

The app automatically awards them the right points based on the loyalty program that the operator has defined.

Right after users earn points, they can write a review and share it with the operator and their friends via social channels.

When customers accumulate enough rewards, they can redeem points to get a free appetizer, a free dessert or even a free entree. They can also gift these rewards to their friends and earn more rewards by participating in various social campaigns such as special invitations, group rewards and fundraising for causes.

Push notifications Additionally, users can view the nearest locations of the restaurant and which offers are available. They can also receive push notifications from the operators directly to their phones

The app will enable VooDoo BBQ to gather customer purchasing data, so it can target customers with specific offers designed to drive purchases and deliver higher rewards. It is integrated with the chain’s Micros POS system so it can tally customer purchases and referrals.

The chain will consider expanding the app’s features in the future to include surveys, gaming and gift cards.

The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

“One of the important learnings we have had is that, with the right rewards, customers love to engage with the brands and love to talk about food. One of our chain customers, in just eight weeks after introducing the app to its customers on March 20, has seen over 100k downloads and generated 10 times more reviews then all other social media - including Yelp! - combined,” Mr. Gupta said. “The measureable ROI to date is well in excess of 300 percent.”

What the iPhone 5S must have to revitalize Apple’s smartphone strategy - Mobile Marketer - Manufacturers

What the iPhone 5S must have to revitalize Apple’s smartphone strategy

May 20, 2013

The rumor mill surrounding the next iPhone launch has started grinding in earnest. But while iPhone launches always come with much anticipation, there is an added level of urgency this time around because Apple seems to have lost some of its magic touch.

Long the darling of the smartphone market, the iPhone has been under increasing pressure from Samsung, which had a 30.8 percent share of the global smartphone market in the first quarter compared with Apple’s 18.2 percent share, according to Gartner figures. With Apple needing to drive more sales, there are growing rumors that the next launch – which could take place either this summer or in the fall – will include a lower priced offering to broaden its appeal.

“Faced with increased competition from Android devices, and an installed base of older version iPhones, Apple must introduce a lower priced unit to compete,” said Kurt Hawks, general manager atGreystripe, San Francisco.

"A lower priced model will result in broader consumer adoption of iPhones, further placing smartphones in the center of a consumer’s digital life,” he said. “As consumers continue to shift towards mobile content consumption, marketers will continue to scale efforts to reach a connected audience.

"Apple’s share will rise when owning an iPhone goes from a luxury to a necessity for a broader range of consumers - simply by removing the pricing barrier. The bottom line for advertisers is that a lower price point puts more iOS devices into the palm of the consumer’s hands, which creates additional opportunities for marketers to reach consumers."

The NFC question
Lower prices alone may not be enough to light a fire under iPhone sales.

Last year, many were disappointed that the new iPhone did not come with NFC technology embedded, as had been expected.

While NFC technology is still moving at a slow pace, there are more NFC-enabled implementations all the time. So the question is, will Apple make the move to NFC this time around.

“Some future incarnation of the Apple iPhone will need to establish an offline commerce offering that will move its iTunes credentials to ‘iShop’ credentials in the physical world building on the Easypay service,” said Gary Schwartz, author of “The Impulse Economy” and “Fast Shopper, Slow Store.”

“This will extend their Passbook wallet into impulse purchases,” he said. “I believe NFC is the natural enabler for this iShop service and would allow offline advertisers to tag their media with ‘buy now’ functionality.

“Offline interactive solutions are the next media frontier for Apple. It will expand its commerce and big data footprint while its competitors muddle with in-store POS.”

Maps muscle Part of Apple’s problem is that competitors such as Samsung are beginning to look more forward-thinking by being the first to adopt NFC technology and larger screens. As a result, Apple is losing some of its hold on early-adopters, still a key audience in mobile.

However, if the next iPhone were to come with some cool new features, Apple might be able to quickly regain any ground it has lost.

According to rumors, the focus of the new iPhone 5S is on three potential new enhancements - longer battery life, a high-definition screen and better security via fingerprint recognition.

“The first two could potentially result in users spending more time on the device,” said Seth Hittman, CEO of Run DSP, New York.

“From an ad tech standpoint, this means that users’ purchasing decisions could very well be impacted due to these enhancements,” he said. “Advertisers must adapt to these enhancements as well as the other rumor surrounding the various price points and affordability.”

Apple stumbled last year when it introduced its own Maps service, which quickly received numerous negative reviews from users.

While location-based services are a must-have for mobile users – and to drive mobile advertising revenue – it is also important that the user experience be a strong one.

“Clearly attempting to build their own maps product and force it on users was a misstep last time around,” said Harry Kargman, CEO ofKargo, New York .

“Apple should let users choose their default maps application - meaning that if they want the Apple version as the default for apps and email it is available,” he said. “But, if the user wants to choose Google Maps as the default then all the apps and Apple mail would use Google Maps instead.

“Similar to the default browser on a P.C., Apple should allow users to select their default maps provider.”

Apple also needs to up its game when it comes to the camera embedded in the iPhone as most high end Android devices now have an 8 megapixel camera or better.

“Apple touts its phones as taking more pictures than any other device on earth,” Mr. Karman said.

“Given that the iPhone5 camera is not currently competitive with some of the best Android devices, Apple not only needs to raise the bar to be competitive, but needs to surpass what is currently out there on Android,” he said.

Charged upOne of the biggest issues Apple faces with the iPhone is its short battery life.

With smartphones being relied on for a growing array of everyday activities, no one wants to be lugging around a dead phone.

A larger screen could also be a key feature to appeal to consumers.

“As the phones become more and more a part of every day, all day productivity, the battery life of the phone becomes critical,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta. “There is an option for a mophie battery pack, but not all consumers are willing to spend an extra $100 for the extended case, having the new iPhone come out with a longer lasting, better battery would be a great benefit.

“With the iPhone competition coming out with a larger screen, and the traction of these phones, it is indicative that this is a feature that the consumers are looking for as a decision maker in a phone purchase,” she said.

Apple does still have the ability to bring out some good surprises – last’s year introduction Passbook is one example.

“I have no idea what it might have, but what I hope it has are widgets, built in watch-with features for TV, a scary-good camera and software, and that awesome 3D hologram thing that hit the rumor mill several months ago,” said Brennan Hayden, executive vice president and chief operating officer at WDA , East Lansing, MI .

“If it has all that, I’ll finally ditch my carry-around Android,” he said.

Final TakeChantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York

Associate Editor Chantal Tode covers advertising, messaging, legal/privacy and database/CRM. Reach her at chantal@mobilemarketer.com.

Google Launches Dramatic Redesign of Google , Emphasizing Context and Content Discovery

Google Launches Dramatic Redesign of Google , Emphasizing Context and Content Discovery

By Pamela Vaughan

You may have caught wind of some of the announcements coming out of the Google I/O conference over the past couple of days. And while we made some high-level observations here yesterday about how this year's emphasis seems to be on context, there was one announcement we thought deserved more of our attention: the complete redesign of Google+.

Uhh ... yeah. Did you miss that? We kind of glossed over it, too. So in this post, we'll pick apart what's different about Google+'s new look -- which Google is rolling out over the next week -- and what these changes mean for marketers like you.

What's New With Google+?

First take a quick look at the changes to Google+ in this 57-second video from Google: 

 

If you can't remember, here's a quick, very recent blast from the past screenshot showing you how Google+ used to look, thanks to TechCrunch:

 

 

Now onto the specifics. Here's what's new and exciting about the Google+ redesign:

1) Consistency Across Devices

According to a 2012 Google study about multi-screen usage, 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal. In other words, people may start reading an email on their phone on the train home from work, but finish reading it at home on their tablet -- or maybe they watch a commercial on TV and then turn to their laptop to research the product. Based on what we know about users' multi-screen habits, it's no wonder Google's design changes to Google+ attempt to achieve consistency across all devices. While the Google+ tablet and mobile apps had already accomplished a consistent look and feel, prior to the redesign, this same consistency had been lacking in the web platform. The Google+ redesign makes the experience across all devices much more cohesive through the following changes ...  

2) Multiple Columns 

Depending on the size and orientation of your screen, Google+ users may now see one, two, or three columns of content on their main Google+ stream, their personal profiles, and Google+ Business Pages. Here's how this looks on HubSpot's Google+ Page, for example:

Very Pinterest-esque, am I right?

3) Larger Sized Media

Similar to the more prominently displayed starred content you see on Facebook, Google+ users will notice that certain media content such as photos and videos will sometimes span the width of the full Google+ stream, like you see in the example below. However, it's not clear how Google+ decides which cards (i.e. the individual posts resembling tiles, or "cards") get featured more prominently, and unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be something individual publishers or page admins have control over.

Cover photos, both on personal profiles and on business pages, have been blown up significantly as well (obnoxiously so, in my opinion). As a result, it's important for marketers to make sure the image they use for their business page's cover photo is high resolution. When it comes to sizing, Google+ indicates cover images must be at least 480 pixels wide and 270 pixels tall.

4) Animations

Google+ users will also notice that a lot of features are animated now, boosting the interactivity of the social network. For example, the sidebar navigation slides out from the left when you hover over the home icon on the top left, the sharebox bounces toward the center of the screen, and the cards flip and fade (more on this shortly).

5) Related Hashtags 

One of the limitations of the former Google+ design was that it lacked depth. While users could scroll up and down to scan posts, there was really no way to go deeper and explore a particular topic even further. The redesign solves for this by automatically adding hashtagsto the content you share. Google+ will look at your post to determine what it's about, hashtag it accordingly, and then rank relevant conversations across the network. When users click on the hashtag, the card flips, and users can browse related content right there (see below). Users can also add their own hashtags or remove the ones automatically generated by Google whenever they want.

6) Stand-Alone Hangouts App

Google+ has also transformed Hangouts into a free, stand-alone application which includes text, photo-sharing, and live video features, available for Android, iOS, and the desktop. The revamped version of Hangouts features richer, more responsive messaging; conversation histories; notifications that sync across your devices (so you only see them once); and free, face-to-face video chatting. It's also available practically everywhere -- download Hangouts from Google Play, the App Store, and the Chrome Web Store, or access it via Gmail or Google+.

7) New Photo Features 

The final set of new Google+ announcements has to do with its new photo features, which include cool things like ...

• Automatically backing up pictures taken with your mobile devices, as you take them
• Automatically highlighting higher quality photos and weeding out duplicates, blurry images, and bad exposures
• Automatically enhancing photos to improve elements like brightness, contrast, etc.
• Automatically animating a sequence of photos or grouping photos into a single collage

Here's What We're Dealing With, Marketers

In thinking about the Google+ redesign, I'm picking up three main marketing themes here: 1) an emphasis on context, 2) an emphasis on content discovery, and 3) an emphasis on visual content.

1) An Emphasis on Context

No surprise here, especially given that context seems to be the overarching theme of the I/O conference this year -- as well as a very hot topic for marketers these days. We've talked before about how leveraging contextual information to inform your inbound marketing canmake it much more powerful and effective, and Google+'s new features like related hashtags are clearly aimed to help deliver more relevant and contextual content to its users. As a marketer, use this to your advantage, tagging your Google+ posts with relevant hashtags to make your content more discoverable. Which leads me to theme numero dos ...

2) An Emphasis on Content Discovery

Aside from the element of discovery that Related Hashtags bring to the table, the Pinterest-like redesign of Google+ makes content discovery much easier, surfacing more, better scannable content through the new tiled design. And while it seems like there's an algorithm behind which images and video Google decides to display more prominently, marketers should recognize the chance that the visual content they share may get featured more prominently than text-based content. (Man, these segues are uncanny ...)

3) An Emphasis on Visual Content

With its Pinterest-like resemblance, there's no doubt that the Google+ redesign puts a much greater emphasis on visual content. It's no surprise either, given the effectiveness of visual content in social media. The takeaway here for marketers is pretty straightforward -- invest in visual content creation. Especially considering the chance that Google+ may feature your visual content more prominently, marketers who excel at creating visual content have a better opportunity to stand out from other content in users' Google+ streams.

7 Ways to Build Authority on Google - Website Magazine

7 Ways to Build Authority on Google - 'Net Features - Website Magazine

As the looming Penguin update (version 2.0) hovers overhead, search professionals are left wondering how the unknown changes to Google’s search algorithm will impact their company’s digital visibility.

While Google always holds its cards close to its virtual chest when it comes to its search algorithm, Matt Cutts (who is in charge of Google’s webspam team) has announced in a recently released video that the company is looking to give special ranking boosts to sites that are authorities in a specific industry, community or space. Although Cutts doesn’t define how authority will be determined, one could speculate that the company’s social network, Google+, could be an influencer.

This scenario wouldn’t be surprising at all, especially because Google has been incorporating its social network into a variety of its products, including its search engine, for a while now. So in the case that Google+ does indeed become a factor in determining authority, one question remains – How can a brand build authority on Google+?

1. Grow Your Circles

A brand with 20 followers on Google+ doesn’t come off as very authoritative in its niche. That said, building a fan base on this social network can be challenging, especially for companies whose fan base spends the bulk of its time on other social networks, like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. However, there are ways that brands can increase their popularity on Google+. 

Start by growing the people within your circles, which is a tactic that is frequently used on Twitter. By doing this, your brand’s name and Google+ profile is being put in front of new people, which influences them to return the favor. And the more people a brand adds to its circles, the more likely it is to receive higher follow back numbers (keep in mind that not everyone will follow you back). While you can add anyone to your circles, this strategy is most effective when targeting relevant people. To do this, brands should search for influencers within their industry, as well as for contacts that they already have on other platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even email lists.

Furthermore, if you already have an active audience on a social network like Facebook or Twitter, make sure to promote your Google+ profile with your audience on these platforms. You can even tease exclusive Google+ content in order to persuade your audience members to make a profile and follow your brand on Google+.

2. Post Fabulous Content

Content is, and will always be, king. In fact, nothing says that you are an authority on a topic more than content that receives high engagement metrics, like shares, comments and +1’s. And regardless of your follower numbers, the only way to obtain high engagement rates is with content that captures attention and makes audiences feel like they need to share the information with their circles. There is absolutely no way around it – in order to receive high engagement numbers, brands must create and post content that resonates with their audience, is relevant and is in high-demand.

3. Leverage Communities and Hangouts

To be an authority within your niche, your presence on Google+ most go beyond posting regular status updates. Luckily, Google’s social network offers a variety of avenues for brands to foster relationships with their audience, including Google+ Communities and Hangouts.

Communities, for instance, allow users to create social groups based on specific topics or interests. And when a brand fosters an active community, it not only helps them build better relationships with their audience and acquire more brand advocates, but also helps them obtain more interactions and therefore gain authority within their niche. In addition, brands can use Google Hangouts as another unique way to build relationships and increase engagement rates, which, ultimately, helps a brand gain authority.

4. Interact with Your Audience

We have already established that shares, comments and +1’s help a brand gain authority, so what better way to encourage this type of behavior than by interacting with your own audience? Just as adding people to your circles can influence them to return the favor, so can interacting with people. That said, you shouldn’t just start interacting with everybody and every status update. Rather, choose your interactions wisely so that you do not come off as unprofessional (and un-authoritative). For example, if someone comments on one of your posts, consider responding back. This will help build brand loyalty by showing the audience member that you pay attention and care about what they say – making them more likely to interact with your brand in the future. Likewise, if someone posts interesting content that is relevant to your industry, an action as simple as a +1 or share could influence them to return the favor in the not-too-distant future.

5. Network with Other Brands

Take your interaction strategy up a notch by networking with other brands and industry professionals. While the aforementioned audience interaction tips can be applied here as well, you can also partner with other brands and professionals to share contributed (guest) content with your audience. By doing this, your business is not only providing its readers with relevant content from respected industry professionals, but it also helps to increase your business’s visibility. This is because the contributor is likely to share the content with their network as well, which puts your brand in front of a whole new audience and gives you the opportunity to increase your followers and engagement rates.

6. Use the Google+ Page Badge

Just as you display social sharing buttons for Facebook and Twitter on your site, it is also important to feature the Google +1 button. This button encourages site visitors to publicly recommend your content and share it with their Google+ circles. And the more +1’s you obtain, the more authority you gain, as it shows Google that you are a trusted source of information.

7. Take Advantage of Authorship

If your brand is publishing content, make sure to link that content to the authors' Google+ profiles with Authorship. This not only gives recognition to your hard-working employees, but it also shows Google that there is an identity connected with the content, which gives the content and your brand, better credibility.

Applebee’s drives foot traffic via targeted location-based mobile campaign - Mobile Commerce Daily - Advertising

Applebee’s drives foot traffic via targeted location-based mobile campaign 

May 15, 2013

Applebee’s is enticing consumers to visit its locations through a new location-based mobile advertising campaign that incorporates menu items, a store locator and gift cards to bolster engagement.

The company is running the campaign within The Weather Channel’s iPhone app. Mobile advertising is an effective way for the company to drive in-store traffic, and, by adding location into the mix, the company is able to get customers in there faster.

“Mobile is no longer an option for restaurants,” said Shuli Lowy, marketing director at Ping Mobile, Beverly Hills, CA.

“A study performed by Neilson found that 95 percent of smartphone users conduct restaurant searches,” she said. “Of those, 90 percent convert within the day – meaning they go out to eat – and 64 percent covert within one hour.

“A mobile initiative is particularly important for restaurants. While consumers may take the time to do thorough research when going on a special night out to an extravagant steakhouse, they wont do the same when catching a quick bit to eat. More likely, the consumer will quickly look up a couple of local places while rushing about his/her busy day.”

Ms. Lowy is not affiliated with Applebee’s. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Applebee’s did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile location
The Applebee’s mobile banner ad reads “See You Tomorrow. Applebee’s.”

When consumers tap on the mobile ad, the company asks them if it is OK to use their current location – consumers can choose either “Don’t Allow” or “OK.”

From there, consumers are taken to a mobile landing page, which features the nearest Applebee’s address on the top of the screen.

Through the mobile campaign, consumers are able to browse the company’s menu items, both classic and signature dishes.

Furthermore, consumers are able to give and share virtual gift cards, which they can send through email or Facebook.

Customers are able to select the special occasion, card amount and finally personalize it.

A campaign such as this is a great way for the company to build a relationship between its new and existing customers.

Nowadays, users are on the go and always have their mobile devices on-hand. Therefore, running a targeted mobile campaign is an effective way to capture a user’s attention.

Past efforts
Applebee’s is no stranger when it comes to mobile.

In 2011, the company introduced its Digital Gift Cards initiative that let consumers buy and send personalized gift cards through its online, mobile and Facebook channels (see story).

Most recently, Applebee’s highlighted mobile video content as part of a marketing campaign to help launch a new line of low-calorie meals (see story).

“Consumers are often making their last minute eat-out decisions on the go,” Ms. Lowy said. “Accordingly it is imperative that any major eatery have a mobile site where consumers can easily find nearby locations, menu items, and specials.

“There are a couple of targeting parameters in mobile that are particularly useful for restaurants,” she said. “Aside from the geographical targeting, the timing factor is also important for restaurants.

“Applebee’s mobile ads provides a well placed effort to reach consumers with relevant content; the mobile ads allow consumers to find a nearby Applebee’s chain, view their menu options and get additional mobile coupons to make the offer even more enticing.”

Final TakeRimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York