Consumers are adopting smartphones at faster and faster rates. Last month Strategy Analytics reported that there are now 1 billion smartphones worldwide projecting to hit 2 billion by 2015. Nielsen just published a report earlier in the summer that said more than half of mobile subscribers, 55%, now own a smartphone and that will continue to rise as 2 out of every 3 new subscribers are choosing smartphones. Also, over 85% of these smartphones are either Androids or iPhones. What else is interesting is that 56% prefer to access the internet on their smartphones OVER their computer! A recent O2 [...]
What’s Your Mobile Hook – Part 2
Last week I gave some examples of branded apps that provided a compelling “mobile hook”, or app functionality that provides a unique and often innovative utility. These mobile hooks exploit native smartphone technology like the GPS, camera etc. and effectively extends a company brand into the mobile segment. I want to dive into this a little deeper now. The Dead App Syndrome for Brands Most apps after the initial download become “dead apps.” These are apps that are rarely used and often end up on the 4th or 5th screen on your smartphone if you haven’t already deleted it altogether. [...]
Popcorn Apps…
With some of our customers and at recent trade show events I’ve been talking about the concept of a “popcorn app”. The idea behind this is that there are things that a company or organization might be able to use an app for, but because of the costs of apps in the current state of development it just doesn’t make sense. The ROI cannot be found to rationalize the process. I’ve talked about this so many times now that it has become a part of my anatomy. It all came home to me last night. I have a study that [...]
What’s Your Mobile Hook?
My favorite new feature from iOS6 is really an old feature from the 2008 Blackberry Storm days, easily sharing photos directly from the camera to Facebook! That function got me hooked on smartphones back in the day where I realized that social media and mobile phones are perfect for each other. Social media is about instantly sharing your life with your friends, family and followers; your life is mobile, and your mobile phone is with you all the time. What took Apple so long? So, why am I talking about this here? Well it’s a great example of how important [...]
How The New iOS 6 Affects Mobile App Marketing
In our recent mobile app marketing webinar, we discussed how about 60% of new app downloads come from app store rankings and searches. And of course with the new iOS 6 in the mix, it’s important to pay even more attention to this since the App Store is now just a little bit different. Searches Result In Just A One App View For starters, searches will now result in a card display of just one app, and a horizontal scroll to view others. Before, the first page for a search returned a list view of about 5 apps and you [...]
How Can You Make It Big With Your Mobile App?
It’s always hard to market your app in just the right way especially given that most first time app makers are usually short on marketing budgets. With that in mind, I wanted to put out a quick list on some easy ways to build a brand name for your app. If you have other easy and cost-effective ways in which you’ve gained an audience for your app, please tell us in the comments. Soft launch or beta tests to get trusted user feedback for your app Different and relevant channels to use – website, social media, offline/print Always think about [...]
Be Your Own Olympic Broadcaster… With the Power of Mobile
Over the years we’ve gathered around our televisions to witness iconic moments of singular and collaborative greatness, gold, and glory. Who is going to be on the Wheaties box tomorrow morning? Who will capture the world’s heart? Somehow the summer Olympics seem most special. The summer Olympics gives us a chance to see our heroes up close and personal. Witnessing history in real-time is magic. Swimming, running, jumping—we all understand those events. There is something for everyone. With increased access to customizable real-time data coverage, we have more control over the Olympic coverage we consume. In a recent poll by Velti, results [...]
GUEST POST: Peas and Carrots: How File Sharing and Mobile Tech Go Hand in Hand
We live in an age of innovation. New devices and software programs are developed on a daily basis, and as new technologies come into existence, they inspire the creation of even more advanced tools. Mobile technology is a perfect example of this phenomenon. With its versatility and expanse of useful features, mobile technology spurs the continuous progression of technological development as a whole, from verbal communication to file sharing. Mobile Technology and File Sharing When mobile technology was first developed, it was used primarily to facilitate verbal communication between two people in different locations. The first cellular phones were very [...]
6 Best Practices for Developing Your Mobile Strategy
Almost 50% of mobile users today have Smartphones. And about 55%, or more than half of these mobile subscribers use mobile media, which is defined as any activity such as browsing the mobile web, accessing applications or downloading content. Developing your organization’s mobile strategy is not an easy feat and we want to make sure you get it right the first time. From all the different options out there – web apps, Smartphone apps, mobile sites, tablet apps –what to choose, how to develop it and what to do with it. Today’s blog outlines some of those steps and how [...]
27% of Americans get their news from mobile devices …
Today I read something about myself that I already knew…that I have started to become completely dependent on my smartphone for news. In a new report called 2012 State of the News Media by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism we find that 27% of Americans get their news from mobile devices. I’m one of those folks, and you probably are too. There are some other interesting statistics but among those are that 100 newspapers are expected to join the already existing 150 daily newspapers that have a digital subscription model. The challenge for newspapers is to balance [...]