Smartphone sales are set to outpace personal computer sales by 2012. That’s not hard to believe as everywhere you turn someone is downloading an app, updating a Facebook page, or tweeting his or her status---or a new link---from a mobile device. Moreover, it’s not hard to believe as Americans are on the move and obsessed with being constantly connected.
The numbers and statistics on mobile use, and its pervasive nature in our everyday lives, are staggering. Consider these few factoids (compliments of Mashable):
- Of the world’s over 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smartphones
- By 2014 mobile Internet use may surpass PC desktop use
- One half of local searches are done on a smartphone
- Almost 90% of mobile users are surfing the Internet on their device, while watching TV
- On average, Americans spend almost 3 hours per day socializing on their smartphones
- 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices per day
- Women between the ages of 35-54 are the most active group in mobile socialization
The bottom line: If your campaign, brand, or organization is not optimized for mobile and smartphone devices---it should be.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you optimize for mobile: Is your website mobile friendly? Will your online ad campaign include a mobile element? What about including a text message component in your communications efforts?
Smart campaigns, organizations and brands will focus more resources on mobile---and those that don’t will be left behind
What are some of the tactics and strategies you are using to reach stakeholders, citizens, voters, or customers on their mobile devices?
I recently saw a series of newspaper ads with the tagline: “Own the Moment.” The content of the ads didn’t interest me, but the phrase got me thinking.
I started thinking about how social media---and the tools we all use to engage and interact online---is really all about “owning the moment.”
Social media revolves around conversations---and Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs, are the highways we travel during our conversations. At any given moment, there are unlimited conversations happening across Internet.
However, during all of these online conversations, there is always someone, some group, issue, movement or brand that owns the moment.
Currently, actor Charlie Sheen owns the moment on Twitter, racking up over a million users in one day, after a single tweet. Like him or not, his unprecedented climb and popularity in this medium is incredible, and he quickly realized the power of social media to propel his message.
Last month, Egyptians owned the moment on Facebook as they took to the streets in protest of their government and to advocate for change. Facebook, and Twitter as well, provided the means for these brave citizens to raise awareness and compel an historic revolution.
Recently, on the Today Show, I saw a story about a baby boy whose contagious laughter ,over his father ripping up a job rejection letter, entranced millions of viewers on YouTube---propelling the young family to instant fame. It is safe to say this little baby, however silly it seemed at the time his dad filmed him, owned the moment on YouTube.
Almost four years ago, President Obama (then candidate Obama) owned the moment online with his presidential campaign. And there are countless examples of how the Internet allows common folks to achieve instant stardom, fame or make history.
These are exciting times to be alive, and to watch how all our lives change because of a moving Tweet, an unforgettable Facebook post or photo, or a funny YouTube video that captures our imagination and taps our collective humanity.
So this brings me to my ultimate question, in this post: How can you raise awareness or promote an issue using social media and the Internet? How can you promote your business, your cause or your campaign---and own the moment?
According to Hubspot, an inbound marketing company, there were 90 trillion emails sent in 2009. When you think about that number, it’s mind-boggling. Yet, in practical terms, we all live and die (pretty much) by email. Whether sending email for your company, your issue, or campaign, it is the de facto way to communicate.
So, we thought we would offer up some practical tips for maximizing your next email campaign---whether it’s for a grassroots or corporate communications initiative. While it’s not rocket science to craft and send out an email, there are several simple ways to increase the response rates and clickthroughs.
We recently participated in a webinar, hosted by Hubspot, entitled “The Science of Email Marketing.” According to this presentation there several simple strategies for getting the most out of your email campaign.
- Morning is the best time to send out emails. This is when most folks check their email, and the clickthrough rates are higher.
- Optimize for mobile. Over 80% of emails are read on a mobile device. Enough said. So make sure folks can read your email on their mobile phone, smart phone or Ipad.
- Links matter. The more links you have in your email, the better. The clickthrough rates are higher for emails with more links.
- You can never send enough email. We know; this seems counterintuitive—right? But think about it: If you send only a few emails, most people are inclined to unsubscribe. But if you send emails consistently---with good content and calls to action---your audience will respond favorably (and maybe even look forward to receiving your emails).
In short, email marketing is both art and science. You need to experiment, test and measure your emails for maximum impact. We spend a lot of time testing and retesting different tactics for increasing open and response rates. You should too.
We are always interested in hearing about new ways to improve email marketing. What are some to the tricks of the trade, so to speak, that have worked for you email marketing efforts?
