Mobile Marketing Strategies

With the recent Google Hummingbird algorithm update mobile traffic access and strategies have been in the forefront of advanced business planning. How is mobile marketing different from regular SEO and traffic generation methods? Here's a look at the new mobile-friendly content marketing.

In the past the main approach was to make some content and format for the big computer screen and then scale it down somehow for the mobile screen. However, more than half the searches are now done from mobile devices, so the new direction in content is to think mobile first.

Just breaking paragraphs into smaller sentence numbers is only the beginning. Now it is more likely to see single sentences instead of paragraphs (my high school English teacher would not be pleased). There is more than one image and spread out through the article or post, usually Thumbnail size. As you can see the changes are in both content and format. Understandably the post must be shorter. No one except Kindle book readers scroll through long passages these days. The challenge is to shorten the length but to include as much quality content - sort of like writing a clear, understandable poem.

Here are some more observations by Jason DeMers, CEO of AudienceBloom in a recent article published on LinkedIn. He points out that the exception to the short content rule might be a post that is so gripping and interesting that the reader can't put it down throughout the whole ride on the train to work (would it be that everyone has the luxury of train rides instead of boring car commutes). He also points out that it's important to focus on catchy headlines (always important, no matter what the audience) and the first few sentences as well as the summary paragraph if it exists.

Understand your audience’s mobile habits 

It’s amazing how many conversations about mobile strategies and content marketing in general happen in the absence of audience data. Can you answer the following questions about your customers and prospects?

• What percentage of your audience accesses your site on mobile devices?
• Are they using tablets or smartphones?
• What activities are they doing on your site, independently and as compared with your overall traffic?
• What content are they accessing – by topic and by format?
• How much time do they spend on your site? An audience with an average of 10 minutes is different than an audience with an average of 90 seconds. It’s all about attention span.
• Do they consume visual content?
• What other sites, social media platforms, and activities are they doing on mobile?

The greater the depth in terms of your understanding of your audience’s mobile habits, the more compelling your content will be. But specifically, understanding the makeup of their mobile universe will help you create content that feels native – rather than retroactively shoehorned to fit in.

To read more, click on this link.

Being mindful of mobile viewers, this post needs to end now. Want to know more about Mr. DeMers' ideas? You can find his book with this link: The Definitive Guide to Marketing Your Business Online.

Exploring Amazon’s Whispersync and Whispernet for Cell Phones and More

Prompt using Whispersync

As technological improvements are appearing at an increasing pace, it’s not surprising that Amazon has come up with two new ways to link the various machines that they sell connected to the internet. There are three types of Whispersync: for Kindle books, for personal documents and for Amazon Instant Video. With Kindle books on Kindle Fire, Whispersync synchronizes all bookmarks, annotations and furthest pages read across all devices registered to the same Amazon.com account. This means that you can “pick up where you left off” across all devices, no matter which one you pick up. It also can download new purchases from one device to the others.

With Whispersync for personal documents Amazon has introduced the Kindle Personal Documents service which converts your personal documents into Kindle format and stores them in a Kindle library. You can download them easily or again start again where you left off on any of your devices. Of course you can change your documents. “These features are currently supported on Kindle Fire, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle, Kindle Touch, and Kindle for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch with Kindle app version 2.9 or greater.”

Whispersync for Amazon Instant Video keeps track of your last location of a video with Kindle Fire, PC, Mac or over 300 compatible TVs and Blu-ray players. This is the only type of Whispersync that cannot be turned off.

Whispernet is wireless coverage for Kindle without using WiFi. Therefore it is not necessary to find WiFi hotspots. This means there are no monthly wireless bills, no setup fee or data plans. The content is downloaded in seconds via “high speed data networks”. It can be used as soon as you purchase your Kindle (Free 3G). Whispernet can be combined with Whispersync. Sorry – this won’t work for your phone calls too. The international coverage has yet to be developed fully.

While it is convenient to have your various gadgets synchronized (assuming your are wealthy enough to have more than one), I personally am more interested in having more audio functions that convert to written form so that I’ll be free of typing on small keyboards. It has started with the Kindle audio version that can be downloaded through Whispersync for Voice.  It lets you switch from the audio version of a book to the regular Kindle version. With a Kindle Fire it is also possible to read and listen at the same time. There is another version available through a downloadable app at audio.com. The other issue with synchronizing involves security. What else will these devices connect to and who can access them besides you?

For more coverage of these plans, please go to: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200375890

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200775230

New 2013 Updated Safety Measures for your Cell Phone and Tablet

With the recent news about government collection of personal data from the National Security Agency and the disclosures from Edward Snowden, everyone is more aware of public privacy. Now there is another disclosure by a group of hackers  working for the security firm, iSEC. They found a way to hack into a signal-booster made by Samsung for the phone company, Verizon. The were able to turn it into a spy tool that would pick up “all calls, text messages and data sent by mobile devices within range from a small backpack. ‘This is not about how the NSA would attack ordinary people. This is how ordinary people would attack ordinary people,’ said Tom Ritter, a senior consultant, iSEC.” ( http://thehackernews.com/2013/07/hackers-turn-verizon-signal-booster.html )

Perhaps it is time to re-visit and update security for your cell phone or tablet. Here’s some suggestions that will save you grief later on if you follow them.

New 2013 Updated Safety Measures for your Cell Phone and Tablet

1. Install antivirus software on your phone or tablet. Only install software from Apple App Store, Google Play Store or Windows App Store.

2. Load a password and lock your phone, tablet or any other mobile device when not in use.

3. Keep your mobile device up to date (install updates).

4. If you use you mobile device for banking, register it with the banks you are using. Most banks have a multi-factor authentication program – your account number, password and some security token or key. Some banks will also include fingerprint or a typing pattern.

5. Be cautious about using public WiFi for any transmission that should be secure or private.

6. Don’t use foreign computers to access your bank accounts, even to check your balance. You are better off to use the ATM balance check than a computer in a far away place. Not everyone has international or even roaming capabilities on mobile devices, but be cautious about making money transactions if your device has this capacity.

7. If you lose your mobile device, call your provider immediately with your IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity) number which you can find under the battery or by dialing #06# . Write this number down and put it in a safe place. This will allow the company to disable your device and it will be useless to the finder/thief.

8. Call your bank immediately and report the lost or stolen phone so that the finder/thief cannot access your bank accounts. People are used to contacting bank for stolen credit cards, but a mobile device can provide access to banks as well.