BlackBerry exchange Google for Bing…

After being on stage at the annual RIM BlackBerry show, Microsoft announced that Bing will be providing the search facilities on Blackberry devices. This will then be a new partnership for Microsoft, with the aim to help people make better decisions with Bing on Blackberry Devices, while boosting handset sales.

The partnership will include Bing as the default search provider for the search app and the browser. However, it is unclear at this point which of the blackberry devices will be defaulted to Bing. It might be the new Blackberry Bond and also the Blackberry Playbook that is due for release soon.

This is good news for some and not so good for others. The benefits are for Microsoft and their Bing search, hopefully this will boost handset sales for blackberry.  The biggest loser in this deal is Google; as they where the default search provider on the Blackberry handsets.

Bing has been in this position before, in terms of having their search facility exclusively on a produced handset. Also, you may remember that deal that was pending between Microsoft and Nokia, which did sound very similar to the Blackberry and Bing arrangement. Perhaps Microsoft is planning a worldwide domination to be the default search providers of mobiles and Smartphone’s.

Let’s assume that both Microsoft deals happen and are completed as expected, what might happen to the market share of Google against Bing? What is known is that Bing is growing fractionally month on month, 2011 has started very well for Bing. This slow but consistent pace is worrying for Google, as it has been stated if Bing’s growth was erratic it would show that its decline just as quick as it grows. Unfortunately that is not the case which is why it could be very damaging for Google.

Specifically in the mobile search, Google have a strong hold on the Android and the iPhone devices, but if Apple that make the iPhone decided to change the default search provider, Google would be in a lot of trouble and would lose a lot of crucial market share. Having said that, Microsoft and Apple are not on best of pals anyway, so the chances are remote that these two businesses will come together.

Google is not helping itself in a number of areas because of the changes that have been made to its search results and the algorithms.  Add Bing’s increasing fortunes and we could be in for an entertaining online battle for search facilities.

App success leads to a Mobile Transactional site…

Budget Hotel chain Premier Inn are putting together a mobile website that will show room vacancies, a booking area and an order confirmation screen following the great success that its app had in generating room bookings.

The Hotel Chain has stated that the app developed a million pounds in bookings. The app was launched in January and has been very successful.  This has then generated the interest in a mobile friendly website that will include an order confirmation page to book the room. The website will be very similar to the app that was launched on the iPhone, android and Nokia handsets.

The App was produced because Premier Inn mobile users found the traditional website very tricky to navigate on the handset. This was preventing bookings.  The app was downloaded 250,000 times, it was also linked into the GPS systems on many handsets so that it would show the nearest hotel at any given time.

Research shows that the app really helped the business audience when booking a room last minute. However, most bookings were done via the iPhone approximately 3 months in advance.  The developer of the app is also been included onto the development team for the new mobile site. Key areas will be to keep the iPhone users business coming in and also make sure that the user experience is perfect for Blackberry’s, Androids and Nokia’s.

Mobile Ad Spend Increase is Enjoyed by Affiliates.

The mobile device sector is the number 1 growth area in the advertising world. The ad spend for mobiles has more than doubled over the last year. This is what affiliates want to see.

In addition to that, many businesses are operating or at least developing a mobile marketing strategy. This strategy will include a mobile specific website and a mobile payment service that is usable and secure. The increase in spend is set it continue and could top the previous year.

These specific differences to traditional market advertising and spending has forced many marketing companies to review the investment plans as the target audience may be different, but by how much?

Currently, marketing in apps is a key area that highlights the ongoing strength of the online advertising. This will maintain the investment in affiliate marketing. Also, there has been an emergence of social media .ads on personal network websites, especially with the ‘like’ icon that is an accurate and live indication of your popularity. Those that do ‘like’ will then get any post about offers and promotions – an instant link to a receptive audience. The last area that is being more recognised as good practice is incorporating online video advertising into social catalogue websites like YouTube and to a lesser extent ITV player.

Crucially however, the mobile is generating new activities from its users. Learning this array of habits is very important as marketing teams target a growing audience. A fully developed mobile site is key otherwise people shopping on the move will move to a different website to shop.

Marketing teams do have an ace in up their sleeve because they can use the affiliates to gauge the tactics and mindset of the mobile shoppers and visitors. Gaining these behaviours and tactics is very importing for planning your next online marketing budget.

Consumers’ demands are outweighing retailers’ commitment to mobile commerce

Despite plenty of warning it seems that the majority of retailers aren’t ready for the demands of mobile commerce. 

In research carried out by mobile app developer Kony, results showed that 60% of shoppers use their mobile to buy an item.  However, only 16% of the retailers surveyed had an m-commerce strategy in place.

Head of product marketing at Kony, David Eads, said: “The results show a significant discrepancy between retailers’ anticipations of the impact of mobile and the strategies they currently have to facilitate this demand. Mobile is already affecting shopping habits and has the potential to overtake ecommerce in the next few years.”

The survey also revealed that the majority of m-commerce users are using their mobiles to decide on purchases by using a store finder app and running price checks.  In addition to this 60% of the consumers who took part confirmed they used the net on their handsets to decide on purchases while in a store.

89% of surveyed retailers advised that m-commerce had equaled e-commerce in terms of popularity.  42% of retailers also said customer behavior in their physical stores had changed due to the use of mobiles.

Even though we can see the potential behind m-commerce, the majority didn’t have it high in their list of priorities with only 1 in 10 retailers investing 50% of their marketing budget in m-commerce.

Is effective Mobile Marketing just about having a mobile friendly website?

Mobile Marketing is a relatively new marketing channel but most companies don’t have a mobile advertising spend. The mobile market is expected to grow more over the next few years to the extent that it can’t be ignored and will become part of any digital marketing plan.

With Smartphone’s, including the iPhone and blackberry increasing in popularity, there will be more potential customer that will respond better to mobile marketing activities.

There are a number of ways that Mobile Marketing can be done, so take note. Also, you will need to consider carefully which methods will be your primary and secondary because of the type of business that the mobile marketing campaign is for. It is vital that this is done and that the target audience is understood.

1. 1.       SMS/MMS/VMS (Video)

This is a highly used and most common method of Mobile Marketing that is used by most companies because is it very targeted and immediate in comparison to others, plus it is very cost effective. A classic example is that a restaurant chain would send a SMS/MMS to its registered customers offering a percentage discount when they dine with them and the text would be shown to the manager to confirm.

1. 2.       Mobile Applications

Many companies and websites have developed an App that is hosted for download from the App Store. The purpose of the App is to create a more personal channel so customers can interact with a business or a website, such as the Facebook app and eBay.co.uk app. An app can be designed in such a way that any changes, offers, and even buying stages such as ‘payment processing’ and ‘on delivery’ can be displayed and so informing the user.

1. 3.       Mobile Games

With the apps – there is the opportunity to create a game that users can play that includes the company brand name and various marketing messages to direct the players to the website and convert them to customers.

1. 4.       Mobile Banner Advertising

Simply put, placing banners with a relevant message on mobile friendly websites. The selection and location of the banners is easy to manage to achieve a target audience. Banner advertising is priced in a similar way to PPC and CPM methods.

1. 5.       Mobile Local Search

The key thing with this one is that mobiles are on the move most of the time and when looking for a company that might be nearby, people go to the mobile to get directions with Google Maps. Also if you are looking for a particular item, many people use a search engine to see what shops may have it. A phone number will be posted and address. So, a call is made to make sure that the item is in stock and a postcode that can be dropped into Google to show where the shop is.

Most search engines use GPS that is often within a Smartphone and iPhone to determine your location. The search results can be filtered so that the 1st result is the nearest.

1. 6.       Mobile Paid Search

This is not dissimilar to normal PPC search apart from the number of results that will be shown on the mobile phone is only 4 – so the search campaign needs to be accurate to land on the first page. There is a danger however, that mobile users are less likely to interact with the site if it is not mobile friendly.

One tip: run the website through mobiReady to see if your site will perform on a mobile device.

So somewhere in that list will contain the perfect mobile marketing balance. Make sure that you’re online and mobile campaigns are working on an accurate blend.

Will Mobile Advertisers Dominate your Phone?

You might think that your personal mobile phone is free from advertising, because it’s your phone. Unfortunately, that might not be the case. Advertising experts believe that the personal mobile is the future market, and your mobile is liable to be flooded with marketing messages.

Looking back, 2010 was a breakthrough year for mobile advertising. Now in 2011, the mobile advertising has grown dramatically. You may recall receiving text messages to your mobile from your network, informing you of new tariffs and special deals.  This type of marketing is likely to increase but not just from your network provider. The new messages that will appear will be more localised, messages sent from shops, bars and restaurants that are nearby to the handset.

You may be asking – Who is running this operation? Well, no real surprise, Google. That is already taking its massive share of search, maps and established PPC campaigns to link this into the new mobile platform.

So, with Google maps being the main navigation tool on Smartphone’s and the huge search potential, this localised SMS/MMS marketing can begin and grow. Let’s check out the possibilities, you have been shopping on the high street in the morning and its getting nearer to lunchtime, you then receive a message on your mobile that tells you that a local restaurant that you are near to is offering 10% off your total bill when dining with them today. Would this message annoy you – or would you see this as a benefit?

The message is only fired to handsets that are in a local area, with other controllable components.

There is present mobile advertising within many mobile phone apps, most of which are free so ad revenue is vital otherwise the apps won’t be free. So, the advertising medium on the mobile is already there if you have not noticed, but is being tweaked slightly. The App market is now a $15bn business with $2bn contribution from advertising. App developers include advertiser’s logos and messages within their apps to make money and also to offer the app free of charge.

Display advertising is already very popular on the web.  How about a full screen advert on your mobile, perhaps with audio as well? Imagine that landing on your mobile.

There could also be the scenario that the Smartphone is less popular, and the increased sales to consumers are hindered because of marketing messages that annoy the users.  There could be a trend that moves away from a Smartphone, and back to a handset that is just a phone.

The mobile industry still has a load of development and testing to do before it is proven that this new market works. A UK survey from a mobile marketing agency showed that 14% of its sample said that they had never clicked on a mobile ad and 32% said that they hate them. The skill in this game will be all about location and timing, receiving information to your mobile that you want and need.  eBay activity and Facebook comments are well received otherwise apps for both eBay and Facebook would not have been so popular. Random marketing messages that are not related to where you are, what you need or are looking for will not be effective as a marketing campaign.

Yahoo! Peruses the Mobile Market with Assistance from Nokia

Nokia have recently confirmed their agreement with NAVTEQ, who will supply their mapping service and a partnership with Yahoo! who will provide a Mail and Chat service. So, what can we expect?

Yahoo! has in the past has been traditionally quite slow in jumping onto the Mobile Market bus. While Google and Microsoft have developed their own OS, Yahoo! has not been as productive. However, better late than never – Yahoo! has got some help from a very popular and known mobile manufacture that will seriously boost its efforts.

The key aspect that Yahoo! has secured with NAVTEQ and Nokia alliance is that the much recent revised maps and Yahoo! Chat and Mail will be pre installed into all future handsets. This set up is very similar to Google Search being the default search engine on the iPhone, but is it too late?

This market is very competitive and Nokia have locked horns with the likes of Apple, HTC and Samsung on many occasions. So, in summary we have 2 separate business types that are trying to complement each other in their own heavy changing markets. Could it therefore be possible that this partnership could distract either Yahoo! or Nokia from its core business activity and so be detrimental to them?

Having considered all these aspects and elements to the partnership, it potentially might not alter any market position for Nokia or Yahoo!. There is an argument that the main mobile marketing battle is currently raging between the OS for iPhone and Android. The Apple iPhone is the most popular consumer device and this has pushed Google’s search platform further.

The Partnership has a massive hill to climb to compete with Apple and Google. For sure, it may generate a spike in interest and Yahoo! will have their brand name on all supporting devices generating more visibility, but will that worry its competitors enough?

Just to make Yahoo’s intentions a bit harder, Bing have been working towards being a default search engine on other devices, by using offers to users, manufactures and distributors that may become fruitful in the future. However, at present Google is the dominate search engine and without needing to check a crystal ball, they are likely to stay dominate.

Yahoo’s major problem is that the search is not strong enough, while their homepage is littered with news, videos, sounds, popular content and a very valuable email following. Breaking into a fierce market with nothing new will be very difficult.

The mobile internet is a new battlefield for the search giants to attack and hold. With their partnerships with Nokia and NAVTEQ, Yahoo! will be rolling into battle in good stead and moral, assuming that there is something to fight for? We already know the brand name and the financial weight that Apple has and they have stamped their authority on the mobile internet ground. Can Yahoo compete, with or without Nokia?

As Google reveal that a third of mobile searches are for local businesses, are you mobile search ready?

The internet holds similar properties to a new organism; it is constantly adapting and evolving. Back in the day, all interactions with the internet were very static, you would sit at a computer and get involved. In the last several years, evolvements, asked questions, new technology and reduced costs have made the internet more widespread. Today we expect internet access from 3G and Wi-Fi networks when we are out shopping or having a drink in a coffee shop. The mobile audience today is vast, an audience that is progressively craving more advancements in technology.

It has to be said that this new age of internet access is a full shift forward, opening connections to access the internet where ever the user is. No longer do you have to be sat in front of an old PC, better internet is outside. With this new age come new methods of doing things, including using a search engine.

Google has reported via the Director of Mobile Advertising at Google, that a third of all Google searches on mobile devices are linked to its local area. This may not be a massive revelation to most people, but it does highlight a search trend. So, is the mobile search essential for business websites with this current information? Well, ignore it and you will lose out.

Mobile users can access information very quickly, including specific information matching their initial search. With improved and combined technologies, it is now also possible to generate your location during the mobile search through GPS and signal triangulation. Therefore, the search can produce national results but also very good local results. Business websites need to be compliant with the mobile search to maximise this new search trend.

Just having a traditional marketing campaign is out of date and inaffective with the evolving consumer habits. Being mobile is a growing market, so any business will have to consider how their websites are displayed on a mobile, ie making full use of the screen specifications. Having a small local SEO spend could be very rewarding while highlighting the businesses geographical location.

Locating website geographical locations is very easy to register, and within minutes you could be picking up highly targeted mobile search traffic. It requires optimising your website with local search phrases and making sure that search engines know where you are.

With a tailored mobile friendly website and local SEO, your website will receive more local traffic. Mixed in with more widespread national marketing campaigns to increase visibility and local presence online, then you have an online campaign that is right for today’s world.

Mobile Friendly Website + Mobile Search Spend = SALES

Online businesses will have to consider mobile search advertising spend for their websites as more people are using their Smartphone’s to do research and make purchases. According to a recent study, mobile phone and Smartphone clicks during the months of December 2010 and January 2011 dramatically increased.

This increase in mobile clicks is partly due to the level of research that consumers are doing while shopping on their Smartphone, normally when they are on the high street. However, the main reason is believed to be that more people have access to a Smartphone and can make purchases (with appropriate apps occasionally) very easy. The mobile phone and the Smartphone are a very immediate method to research prices and locate the best price on the move.

It will be more important for any business to utilise any mobile purchasing when driving sales. A conventional website will be visited more and more as research on mobiles grows.  It’s vital that the business website is suitable and clear form a desktop pc and a Smartphone if it wishes to generate sales as Smartphone’s continue to grow in popularity.

Kenyan Film Industry Turn To Digital Marketing

The Kenyan film industry is about to use online marketing in an effort to attract higher exposure with the public.

African news publisher, Business Daily, advised that the African government is creating a new portal to enable the Kenyan Tourist Board to show off what products they have to offer.

Business Daily also said the increased popularity of mobile web devices has seen a huge rise in mobile web use in the country.

IT professional, Moses Simiyu said: “The ongoing transition to digital technologies that increases processing power and storage capacities of consumers will be instrumental in its success.”

This is a similar move to Visit Savannah which recently undertook various efforts to attract publicity via online marketing.

Kenya should also consider using SEO services to increase their presence.