Keynote entitled "You Don't Know How Much You Don't Know (But Here Are 10 Questions to Ask)" delivered at Pub App Expo on 12-8-11 #PubAppX Available under Creative Commons - free to use, attribution required
Brand quotes on MOBILE from Rebalance interviews:Scott Roen (AMEX): We’ve invested heavily in mobile over last year - it's become clear that small biz owners that are out and about are actually engaging over mobile device and we hadn't optimized that experience yet. Launched apps then redesigned entire site to make it best in class experience for iPad. Continued product development to ensure we're scaling and growing is a core of our focus. We need to be where our customers are consuming content - whether that's mobile, LinkedIn, flipboard, tumblr, etc. Alisa Maclin (IBM): We have a pretty robust strategy around things like creating and deploying white papers but now we're really needing to beef up our org around how we are leveraging other channels – social media channels and mobile channels and the like.Scott Kelly (Ford): Broadly speaking, in the next three years we’ll add more mobile, and put more investment into experimentation with emerging media (in-game advertising, augmented reality, etc.). Scott Vaughn (UBM TechWeb):Going mobile - the iPad delivery of that will enable other features around local and social graph.
What should you be doing NOW?What can you offer that a 500 lb. gorilla in the space can't? Subject matter expertise, presentation, speed-to-market, your own brand? Figure this part out and capitalize on it!
Agency quotes on MOBILE and VIDEO:Lee Odden: In three years, we’ll be in more mobile. Mobile audits, mobile advertising … more apps..Dave Berkowitz: In three years, mobile's the easy answer. Location-specific content is both really exciting and really daunting to make it scale well. Certain platforms are going to be easier to do that with than others
What should you be doing NOW?Agencies are frenimies - keep them close, but be careful not to show all your cards too early. You need their media buying power if you're ad supported, but you also need to keep an eye on the apps they're building for clients that are potentially competitive.
Whether using an ad platform like Apple’s iAd, or taking a branded mobile content approach to advertising like Nissan Leaf’s app – it all should loop back around to who’s your competition (and what are they doing) and who’s your audience (and how you’ll get through to them on their level). Some of the biggest content publishing sites like Baby.com could end up owning a product or brand space on the app side before the actual brand publishers do, solely due to sheer content volume and the ability to easily repurpose its content.What should you be doing NOW?Experiment. Be flexible. come up with new models. work closely with clients and agencies on custom solutions. Test, test and TEST some more. Wringing big dollars out of ever-smaller screens remains a challenge. We learned that from digital on PCs. Apps makes this even harder to figure out, particularly in display advertising.
Experiment. Be flexible. come up with new models. work closely with clients and agencies on custom solutions. Test, test and TEST some more. Wringing big dollars out of ever-smaller screens remains a challenge. We learned that from digital on PCs. Apps makes this even harder to figure out, particularly in display advertising.
In the 80s, it was VHS vs Betamax - no one knew what to buy.Some movies would only come out on VHS or Betamax ... Same with 8-track or cassette tapes. It’s a standards war that happens within every tech space. It all boils down to the same thing - If I want this content, I'll have to get this device or operating platform. (I just tossed my Kyocera and Treo – it used to be even worse!)
What should you be doing NOW?Don't put all your eggs in one basket unless you're really, really certain your target audience is loyal to one platform only (say, you publish content around Mac aficionados and know they're married to the iPhone). Remember the PDF newsletter? It seemed so sensible at the time!
Defining device is just the tip of the mobile iceberg. And let’s get one thing straight – straight off: mobile is not as simple as tablet vs. phone. Mobile can encompass laptop computers. Mobile gaming devices. Kindles and other e-readers. Non-smart (dumb?) mobile phones are mobile devices, and so are a panoply of digitally connected gizmos.Media and ad formats vary by device, by size, and by carrier. Apps are robust on some platforms, while not available on others. Consumer behavior varies radically not only between devices, but as research is beginning to indicate, on and app-by-app basis even when the device in question remains the same.
What should you be doing NOW?Determining what mobile is shapes what you publish. Should it be location aware? Laptops no so much. It it information people need on the go? If so, how? Building a tablet app isn't the same as building a phone app. This questions must be part of an overarching strategy.
Companies have a myriad of choices when it comes to deciding who will support their mobile marketing efforts. From agencies (traditional and specialty), to internal resources, to a hybrid model that includes both, who you choose to support your efforts comes down to your goals. What do you find most important? Really, all can be most important at times.“I know a guy” or “There’s this company in China”
What should you do NOW?It's not enough to just go for the technology piece without strategic expertise. Mobile publishing can be as simple as having mobile capabilities in a CMS - or vastly more complicated than that.
Charmin’s “Sit or Squat” app and Chase’s mobile banking and check deposit app are examples of utility in mobile app development vs. traditional content pushing.Gamification is also gaining tractionFlipboard now encompasses social networks into the app that delivers editorial content
What should you be doing NOW?Classic editorial models fall by the wayside on mobile platforms. Consumers who are on the go want functionality, often hyper-local relevance or ultra-vertical search engines. Consider providing these rather than news, stories and other elements of classic publishing.
Sales are a criterion when new apps are considered for development at GE, but utility matters just as much, as does speed-to-market. As far as GE is concerned, the time to develop apps for customers is now, before the wow factor wears off and while the company can still impress customers with an app's added value. Ease-of-use is also key. One app, geared to engineers in the field, is avilable on the iPhone, but also on the iPad. Why? "Because engineers wear gloves."Transformers: Appallows customers, GE sales teams, and field service engineers to remotely monitor and diagnose GE transformers and transformer stations that supply electricity to homes and business around the country. The real-time sensor data helps improves efficiency and problem solving, which benefits both GE and its customers.
What should you be doing NOW?Knowing your audience helps determine both platform and functionality.
In short, you should never begin content marketing until you have an ongoing plan for measurement and analysis. Not only will it continually inform endeavors as they move forward, it will also help justify the time, energy, resources, and budget required to get those endeavors underway to the people in the corner office.Know what constitutes effective metrics. Example – Fortune 100 company was going to measure app success of competitors based on star ratings in Apple store. This is not an accurate measure of success, as such rating systems are inherently flawed and usually do not encompass a large enough sample size to be significant.According to analytics firm Localytics, 26 percent of apps downloaded in 2010 were only used once. That means those overall download stats often mask the fact that many apps fail to catch on with users.
Don't measure everything - but determine KPIs from the get-go.Establish a measurement plan.Pay attention to the right metrics that drive the behaviors you’re looking for.Move beyond engagement and into sales.Gather qualitative customer feedback.Grow quality sales leads.Concentrate on boosting SEO.
Zyrtec’s latest YouTube campaign – Zyrtec Parks – complements the messaging of its mobile app (allergy indicator by geography).What should you be doing NOW?Consider the multiplier effect. It's a way to increase reach and awareness - without colliding into platforming issues.
Consider the multiplier effect. It's a way to increase reach and awareness - without colliding into platforming issues.