Alberta Business MarketingJul
12
2010
Jul
12
2010
Jul
12
2010
When it comes to seeking immediate gratification for personal communication and entertainment, mobile technology is the new norm. From tots to boomers, all age groups and 75% of Canadian households use mobile phones. For teens and tweens unable to afford data plans, the iTouch and other wifi-enabled devices offer a quick internet fix and addictive applications.
So as marketers, how do we stay on top of trends and reach target audiences quickly and easily?
The answer lies in pint-sized form: mobile marketing. Canadians are very interested in communicating with their friends through mobile. At LIPSO Systems Inc. we have learned that in addition to providing multi-channel solutions, data driven consumer insights are what matters to customers the most.
In 2009, 35.3 billion peer-to-peer text messages were sent in Canada, which is a 70% increase from 2008. As this trend grows, year-over-year commercial marketing campaigns become more integrated with mobile solutions to extend branding efforts into the social media landscape and reach consumers anywhere and anytime.
Beyond texting, Canada’s overall wireless revenues totalled $15.9 billion in 2008, and half of all phone connections in Canada are now wireless. Most interesting of the Canadian mobile trends are voice revenues, which are declining per subscriber, while the industry still grows in double digits. 2009 saw a 35% growth rate thanks to data plans, which are now housing hundreds of thousands of app options, interactive games and mobile versions of users’ favourite websites.
When it comes to hardware, Canadians are shelling out for top-of-the-line iPhones, Blackberries and exploring the open-source movement with various devices supporting the Android operating system, making wireless phones among the fastest growing consumer products in Canadian history. Thanks to all this data use, the retail industry is seeing a significant bump in web traffic. 46% of North American consumers use their mobile phones to compare prices while they’re shopping in stores, and mobile web shopping has increased 40% in the U.S. since October 2008.
While these numbers are compelling and speak to the need for all organizations to explore opportunities on mobile platforms, the underlying reason to integrate mobile into your marketing communications strategy is the same reason we rely on media relations, events, in-store promotions and print advertising.
As a nation of storytellers, Canadians’ history has been marked by challenges to overcome geography, adverse weather and other political and cultural differences to tell our stories. Over the past twenty years Canada has established itself as a leader in communications networks and technology, and it is no surprise that Canadians are eager to receive information, interact and transact on their mobile phones.
Christian Trudeau, President, Transcontinental Marketing Communications
LIPSO
Jul
12
2010
Last week our team from Ulistic met with the great folks at MSP University in Garden Grove, California. Together, we started to carve out what will become an awesome relationship. MSPU is one of the leading managed services firms globally and the clients they work with are market leaders and enjoy the fruits of the hard work. I have personally known Erick Simpson and Gary Beechum for a number of years, they are rock solid guys and the entire team at MSPU is built on the same core values Gary and Erick bring to the table.
During our chat last week we got looking at Facebook Marketing and how businesses can leverage Facebook to market their offerings. It is no secret that Facebook is growing. Their recent partnership with Microsoft BING has shot Facebook up to the 6th most popular search engine. One in Four page views on the Internet is Facebook related and the average person spends anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour on Facebook each day. Still many question Facebook’s effectiveness in the market place.
During our time with MSPU, a number of ideas were discussed, but it was this fact amongst all the others that kind of surprised me when I stumbled upon it. There are almost as many Facebook users in California that what there is in the entire country of Canada. This is no secret really, we have heard for years that there are just as many people in one state in the US than what we have in Canada. 15.4 million Facebook users in Canada and almost 15.5 in the entire state of California. What does this mean for business?
Does marketing on Facebook now make sense to your business?
If you look at the numbers closely, the 15 million or so folks from either California or Canada represent about 50% of the population. That represents a good portion of the Canadian or Californian landscape uses Facebook. Pretty impressive.
Are you leveraging this to get your message out there?
How can you use Facebook to market your business?
There are many ways to do this from Pay-Per-Click or Pay-Per-Impression ads, Facebook Pages and regular interaction with people. Engagement with folks on Facebook, talking with your community, the people in your network and simply serving the market.
Do you need to know more about how to create a Fan Page that sings?
Want to know how to engage with Facebook?
I invite you to reach out and let’s have a chat about how you can use Facebook right now.
There are a number of opportunities and Facebook can be another important channel for you to help with your marketing. You know the old saying about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION or what Wayne Gretzky has always said “skate to where the puck is going, not where it is”.
Need a hand to figure it out…visit my Execute On Facebook or Marketing On Facebook page and take the first step in creating a marketing strategy for Facebook today.
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