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Tag: Mobile Marketing

  • How to Build Strong Marketing at a Mature Company | Entrepreneur

    How to Build Strong Marketing at a Mature Company | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Marketing teams at mature companies aren’t usually tasked to reinvent the wheel. They’re not responsible for driving triple-digit year-over-year growth. They’ve already introduced major initiatives and hired internally and/or found partners to help run them.

    This might sound cushy to marketers used to high-growth and startup land. But with most of the fundamental work covered, if not fully optimized, a marketing team’s success comes down to advanced factors like tech integration, analytics, channel expansion and brand marketing.

    For those at a mature company (or planning to develop yours into one), I’ll lay out:

    • Major initiatives to accelerate growth
    • Team skills needed
    • Build-or-buy considerations for your tech stack

    Related: How to Build a Marketing Function During the Early Stage of Your Startup

    Growth initiatives for mature companies

    If you’ve been in marketing for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve seen this John Wanamaker quote: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” That’s been true for decades past the point Wanamaker first said it, but it doesn’t have to be true today, especially for companies with the resources to do intelligent analysis of their marketing campaigns.

    There are a number of areas where I see advertisers spending in 2023 that provide little to no return – and corresponding initiatives that could transform advertising performance.

    • More governance on programmatic placements. A recent report showing that 17% of programmatic clicks in Q2 2023 were fraudulent, even for the biggest advertisers, should be a huge red flag for brands running programmatic campaigns without insight into and control of placements. I’m not talking about mom-and-pop placements, either – in case you haven’t heard, YouTube’s placement practices are under hefty fire lately.
    • Assessing marginal return and incrementality. Whether overspending in primary channels without testing new ones or paying to engage audiences who would convert otherwise, even marketers at top brands generally waste tons of spending in a few under-analyzed areas.
    • Moving up the funnel. With all the tools available in 2023, it continues to amaze me how many smart advertisers turn up their noses at upper-funnel campaigns. Yes, the bottom of the funnel has more measurable return. Still, that gap is shrinking as platforms like Meta introduce native lift tests and branding measurement tools, and martech, like predictive analytics and media mix modeling, gets more accessible. The upper funnel helps advertisers reach net-new audiences less expensively, and it’s easier than it’s ever been to track the downstream effects of those campaigns. For instance, if you’re a Fortune 100 brand, don’t just run a Super Bowl ad and consider that branding box checked; take more precise aim with digital campaigns and start the customer journey with millions of potentially high-LTV new users.

    Marketing skills mature companies must prioritize

    More and more, I’m seeing premium value in analytics and creative talent (good luck finding that in one person). On the analytics side, marketing teams for mature brands should prioritize finding resources to do incrementality testing, conduct lift tests and cohort analyses, and get into the weeds of media mix modeling and predictive analytics to build action plans for engaging more high-LTV customers. This skill set transcends channels and should be able to spot opportunities to improve your campaigns across your entire marketing landscape.

    On the creative side, branding messaging, positioning, and visuals across a range of media can spin gold from upper-funnel initiatives, particularly as you dial in the combinations that work for different audiences that should cascade down the funnel. To do this well, you’ll need both great ideas and the mechanics to scale the delivery of those ideas across ad channels and media formats.

    Tech: to build or buy?

    In big marketing organizations spending a lot on martech tools, it’s pretty common for someone in upper management to wonder, out loud, whether it might be cheaper in the long run to build the necessary technology in-house. In theory, this has the benefit of being custom-built exactly to fit the brand’s needs, not built for the masses with a bunch of extra features you’ll pay for but never use.

    I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and I’ve gone down that road for my agency – and what I’ve learned is that in most cases, it’s smarter to buy from the experts than it is to build something yourself. Why? Well, if you use your existing team to build something, you’re asking them to do something they weren’t hired to do and may not be qualified to do. And if you hire someone else to build it, you might as well buy an established, vetted tool that already exists rather than pay someone to make something that may or may not work as well.

    Long story short: let the experts build the tech.

    What’s next

    A marketer’s job is never done. Fending off challengers and keeping on top of the latest industry developments and releases is a good chunk of work, even for companies at the very top of their industry. (Imagine being Nike’s CMO and ignoring TikTok, for instance.) But beyond that, there are real efficiencies and growth advantages to be gained by being on the ball with your analytics, creative, and holistic positioning. A team that can carve out a competitive edge in those areas will very rarely lose market share – and may just gain enough to earn promotions across the board.

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    Bryan Karas

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  • Trying to Boost Retail Sales? Here’s How Geofencing Can Help. | Entrepreneur

    Trying to Boost Retail Sales? Here’s How Geofencing Can Help. | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As a retailer, you’re always looking for new and innovative ways to attract customers and increase sales. One method that has gained popularity in recent years is geofencing marketing. By using GPS technology to create virtual boundaries around your store, you can reach potential customers in the surrounding area with targeted ads and promotions.

    In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at geofencing marketing and its benefits for retail locations. We’ll cover everything from how it works and the different types of geofencing campaigns you can run, to the best practices for creating effective ads that drive foot traffic and boost sales.

    If you’re looking for a way to take your retail marketing strategy to the next level, geofencing could be just what you need. So, let’s dive in and explore the power of this cutting-edge marketing technique!

    What is geofencing marketing

    Geofencing marketing is a location-based marketing technique that uses GPS technology to create virtual boundaries around your store. These boundaries, or “geofences,” allow you to target potential customers who are within a certain distance of your store with ads and promotions on their mobile devices. This means that you can reach people who are already in the vicinity of your store and increase the likelihood of them visiting and making a purchase. Geofencing marketing is a highly targeted way to attract customers and boost sales, making it an effective tool for retailers looking to increase their foot traffic and revenue.

    How can I set up geofencing marketing for my store?

    Setting up geofencing marketing for your store involves a few key steps. First, you’ll need to determine the boundaries around your store that you want to target with ads and promotions. This can be done using GPS technology and mapping software. Once you have defined your geofence, you can then use a mobile advertising platform to create and launch targeted ads to potential customers within that boundary.

    To ensure that your geofencing marketing campaigns are as effective as possible, it’s important to consider factors like the timing of your ads, the relevance of your messaging and the overall user experience. By taking these factors into account, you can create ads that are tailored to your target audience and are more likely to result in increased foot traffic and sales for your store. Working with a mobile advertising platform that specializes in geofencing marketing can also help ensure that your campaigns are expertly crafted and optimized for maximum results.

    Examples of successful geofencing campaigns

    Geofencing campaigns have been increasingly popular in recent years for boosting retail sales. Here are some examples of successful geofencing campaigns:

    1. Starbucks employs geofencing technology to send targeted push notifications to customers who are in close proximity and have expressed interest. A prime illustration of this is their happy hour promotion, where select beverages are available for 50% off, and relevant users receive special push notifications regarding the offer. Besides pinpointing customers’ whereabouts or entries, geofencing marketing also enables Starbucks to classify them into different groups based on their preferred drinks, such as cappuccinos or frappuccinos, and deliver tailored push notifications accordingly.

    2. Burger King‘s Whopper Detour campaign is a successful example of geofencing and geo-conquesting. By offering its iconic burger for a penny to customers who downloaded the BK app while visiting McDonald’s, Burger King gained new customers from their competitors and generated extensive publicity. This well-planned campaign remains one of the top picks for exceptional geofencing advertising.

    3. Uber employs geofencing technology to target individuals at airports and hotels, as these are places where users typically require transportation to reach varying destinations. The strategic targeting of individuals in these specific locations can greatly enhance the effectiveness of a geofencing marketing campaign.

    4. Dunkin’ Donuts launched a program to evaluate the efficiency of utilizing geofencing around competitors’ establishments along with behavioral targeting for distributing coupons through mobile devices. The outcomes were encouraging, as 36% of individuals who clicked on the offer responded by taking some additional action, with 18% of them saving the coupon, and 3.6% of secondary actions resulting in coupon redemption.

    Overall, these examples show how geofencing can be a powerful tool for retailers looking to drive foot traffic and boost sales by delivering personalized messages and offers to customers when they are in close proximity to their stores. By leveraging the power of location-based technology, retailers can create a more engaging and relevant shopping experience for customers, ultimately leading to increased revenue and loyalty.

    Are there any potential drawbacks or challenges to using geofencing for marketing purposes?

    While geofencing can be an effective tool for retail marketing, there are also potential drawbacks and challenges to consider. One challenge is that customers may find it intrusive if they receive too many notifications or offers while they are near a store. This can lead to a negative perception of the brand and decrease customer loyalty.

    Another challenge is ensuring accuracy in the location tracking, as inaccurate location data can result in sending notifications to customers who are not actually near the store, leading to frustration and a loss of trust.

    Additionally, some customers may be uncomfortable with the idea of being tracked and having their location data collected by retailers. It is important for companies to be transparent about their data collection practices and provide opt-out options for customers who do not wish to participate.

    Lastly, implementing geofencing technology can be expensive and may require a significant investment in resources and infrastructure. Retailers need to carefully consider the potential return on investment before deciding whether to implement this technology.

    Overall, while there are challenges and potential drawbacks to using geofencing for marketing purposes, the benefits of delivering personalized messages and offers to customers when they are near a store can outweigh these challenges if implemented correctly.

    How do you measure the success of a geofencing campaign, and what metrics should be used?

    Measuring the success of a geofencing campaign can be done through various metrics. One important metric is the number of people who received notifications and offers through geofencing technology. This can be tracked using location data and can give an indication of how many potential customers were reached.

    Another important metric is the click-through rate, which measures how many people actually clicked on the notification or offer and took action, such as visiting the store or making a purchase. This metric shows the effectiveness of the messaging and offer in driving customer behavior.

    Retailers can also measure the return on investment by comparing the cost of implementing the geofencing campaign with the revenue generated from customers who received and acted on the notifications or offers. This can give a clear indication of whether the campaign was profitable and worth the investment.

    Additionally, tracking customer engagement and loyalty can also be useful metrics in measuring the success of a geofencing campaign. By analyzing repeat visits, purchase history and other metrics, retailers can determine if the personalized messaging and offers delivered through geofencing technology have contributed to increased customer loyalty and engagement.

    Geofencing marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for retailers looking to boost sales and engage with customers on a deeper level. By creating virtual boundaries around retail locations, businesses can send targeted messages to potential customers in the area, driving foot traffic and ultimately increasing revenue. Geofencing marketing also allows retailers to collect valuable data on customer behavior and preferences, which can be used to personalize future marketing efforts.

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    Brian Hughes

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  • The 5 Biggest Trends Changing Mobile Entertainment | Entrepreneur

    The 5 Biggest Trends Changing Mobile Entertainment | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Mobile entertainment is now a multi-billion-dollar global industry, evolving at breakneck speed as technological advances unlock new possibilities and shape consumer preferences in new and unexpected ways.

    Here is a look at the top five trends changing this industry today:

    1. Bite-sized, mobile-first entertainment

    Mobile phones and tablets have become ubiquitous, and user expectations are shifting towards mobile-first experiences optimized for smaller screens as a result. At the same time, leisure time is increasingly becoming a luxury as the pace of life for the active part of the population continues to speed up. One consequence is that users are increasingly drawn to content that can be enjoyed quickly and easily on the go. We have witnessed the rise of platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Yepp, serving up user-generated short-form content to a broad range of audiences.

    While there is a lot of discussion about the addictive properties of short-form entertainment, screen time regulation and age restrictions for platforms that offer bite-sized mobile fun, one thing is clear — this type of content has true mass appeal and is likely to remain a major fixture in the mobile entertainment space for the foreseeable future.

    Related: 4 Tech Trends Shaping the Future of Media and Entertainment

    2. Better connectivity

    More reliable connectivity, faster speed and greater proliferation of 5G are also transforming mobile entertainment in their own ways. Better connectivity enables developers to serve up more interactive experiences and data “heavy” formats, such as video streaming and conferencing, audio streaming, podcasting and networked gaming. This democratizes the creation of high-quality live content, which is no longer the exclusive turf of big broadcasting corporations, nor is it reliant upon wifi connectivity and a desktop device.

    In addition, the speed and coverage of 5G networks enable more precise location-based services. These enhance mobile entertainment experiences, such as augmented reality games or virtual tours, enabling a more immersive user experience.

    With the ability to provide higher-quality and more engaging content, mobile entertainment businesses can unlock new revenue streams, such as subscription-based services or pay-per-view options. By opening the door to more prosperous, more interactive, and more immersive content that can be consumed on the go, improved connectivity directly impacts the possibilities for entertainment on mobile devices and fuelling industry growth.

    3. AI and machine learning

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has a profound effect on mobile entertainment. Using AI-based tools such as machine learning helps developers improve and optimize backend processes like streamlining repetitive tasks, improving content moderation, and enabling leaner teams to achieve results. It also helps provide the more targeted, personalized entertainment experience that consumers have come to expect – serving up content based on a user’s interests and past viewing behavior.

    While AI is also making it easier to generate content, including text, images and video, users are increasingly looking for content that feels authentic and relatable – something that is still hard, if not impossible, for AI to produce.

    Therefore, when it comes to funny videos, fun memes and similar entertainment, user-generated content is still king for now, while AI works backstage to enhance how it is delivered and consumed.

    Related: The FBI Says Hackers Are Using Public Phone Chargers to Steal Your Information. Here’s How To Avoid Falling Victim to the Scam.

    4. Social media integration

    An argument has been made that mobile technologies are making us less sociable as a society, with some even ringing alarm bells that the art of casual in-person communication is in danger of being lost. After all, look around when riding the subway, and you’ll see most of your fellow passengers with their heads bent over their mobile devices, completely oblivious to their surroundings and more often than not entirely uninterested in striking up any conversations with their fellow passengers (which is not such a bad thing, to be honest). However, within the confines of the digital world, the opposite trend is underway, and consumers increasingly expect entertaining content that is much more social and interactive.

    Users are no longer passive consumers who just want to play a game or watch a video. Increasingly, they prefer to interact with other players, share their memes, comment on the videos they watch and otherwise engage with their digital communities and audiences. This trend is prompting the integration of social media functionality into mobile entertainment apps, providing more opportunities for users to interact with others online and within their digital communities.

    Related: How to Think Outside Your Industry and Revolutionize the Customer Journey

    5. AR and VR

    Advances in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) tech have opened new possibilities for mobile entertainment. AR technology allows users to overlay digital content on top of the real world, creating a more engaging and interactive experience for users. Sharing features within social apps enable users to capture and share their AR experiences, such as swapping faces in photos or putting funny filters on images. AR also enables location-based experiences in social apps, which can be used for real-world events or virtual events. Users can interact with digital content tied to their physical location, participate in AR-based scavenger hunts and other location-based games, or engage in pretend play, such as trying on countless pairs of e-sneakers.

    As a result of the many AR- and VR-enabled features coming to the market, consumers are starting to expect more immersive, personalized, interactive, real-time, multimodal, and accessible experiences, prompting a higher level of competition among gaming and mobile entertainment companies to meet these expectations.

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    Max Kraynov

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  • 9 Ways Memes Can Change Your Business

    9 Ways Memes Can Change Your Business

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The so-called “creator economy” spans a hugely diverse field with products including dance videos on TikTok, crocheted doilies on Etsy and eye-popping memes on iFunny. It is becoming a formidable force. In 2021 alone, the creator economy raised a record $1.3 billion in funding, underscoring the investment community’s vote of confidence in its future. Fast forward to 2022, and memes are clearly no longer just for laughs.

    The sector’s trailblazers — behemoths like Meta and more specialized entertainment tech players like FunCorp, whose team I was privileged to join in 2021 — were fortunate to be at the forefront of many industry changes, including the explosion of memes into pop culture.

    Related: The Secret to Building Brand Devotion is Not a Loyalty Program. Here’s What Customer’s Really Want.

    Innovative players across industries are harnessing their power to build communities and inspire strong sentiment around their brand for the benefit of the business. Here are some exciting new ways in which memes can help you achieve your strategic objectives, both as they relate to your customers and your teams:

    1. Reach a younger audience. Memes don’t have a target age, but if you are keen to grab a larger part of the younger demographic, they might be the most effective medium of short-form communication. Approximately 54% of Gen-Zs, 41% of Millennials, and 21% of Gen-Xers look for new memes every day, according to GlobalWebIndex data, while 75% of users aged 13-36 regularly share memes. Considering these stats, using memes to help your corporate messages reach younger customers and potential partners seems like a no-brainer.
    2. Mount a low-cost marketing campaign. When done right, a meme that takes a limited budget to create can leverage the power of social media to go viral, which means your meme marketing campaign has the potential to go viral as well. Companies across sectors, from grocery delivery players to luxury retailers, are already using this to their advantage, with Gucci‘s meme-based ad campaign “#TFWGucci” (“That Feeling When Gucci”) representing one of the company’s highest engaging ad campaign, generating over 21,000 comments and 2 million likes. Apps like Yepp have built-in editing tools that simplify meme creation, even for a novice, helping take the art of meme-making into the mainstream.
    3. Increase engagement with your social media page. If you enjoy memes, you know the internet gets flooded with clever takes on trending news. You can keep track of popular memes and share the ones that are topical and well-aligned with your corporate image to fuel greater engagement with your audience online. A recent research report highlighted the benefits of this strategy, revealing that while millennials generally eschew commercial and sponsored content, 84% of them are influenced by user-generated content, including memes on company pages.
    4. Help your brand stand out. Given the short-form nature of meme content and its punchy messaging style and visuals, memes can stay in your memory long after you’ve clicked on them. There is a way to leverage this by incorporating memes into your branding, ensuring better brand recall than other communication formats. It’s a crowded space, and memes help break through the wall of indifference and capture consumer attention. One company nailing this is Barkbox, a company selling dog toy subscription boxes. Barkbox has racked up an impressive 1.8 million followers on its Instagram page by almost exclusively sharing memes. It now surpasses the follower count of the country’s largest pet retailer — PetSmart — by a cool 1 million people.
    5. Build brand loyalty. While traditional marketing may alienate some consumers by being overly aspirational (think beach body ads, reels for the latest diet supplements), memes tend to unite people by reminding them that they are not alone in their thoughts and feelings. In doing so, memes become a powerful tool for community-building, helping foster a sense of belonging among consumers that translates into brand loyalty.
    6. Align your onboarding with your workplace culture. Starting a new job can be a daunting experience, and deciphering the work culture at your new office can be difficult. If you pride yourself on fostering a unique working environment far from the stuffy, hierarchical offices of the past, then using memes to welcome new employees might be a good way to highlight this. Memes, when chosen appropriately, can help your new team members understand the new workplace better and easily fit into it.
    7. Encourage team building. Memes have the power to inspire strong feelings, which laugh-out-loud content tends to do. While memes are most often used for external marketing in business, corporate culture gurus are now also looking to memes, seeking more ways to unite and inspire employees. Creating work channels for sharing your favorite memes or holding corporate competitions for the best meme created by employees on a particular topic of relevance can be an unusual and fun way to encourage team building. And they can certainly help spice up a presentation when used effectively.
    8. Spice up internal communications. Deploying a mix of topical memes in internal communications can help you drive your key points home and even inject some fun into the driest of topics. It is great to hear the crowd break down into genuine laughter during an internal new product presentation or a weekly team meeting, and memes are a quick and simple way to achieve this, inserting a bit of fun into the everyday. Thinking beyond internal comms, corporate and investor presentations might benefit from memes in the same way as well.
    9. Help break up monotonous tasks. Not every job can always be exciting, as monotonous tasks are often a necessary part of a job and cannot be avoided. At the same time, feeling engaged is a key component of employee satisfaction and retention. Consider making small changes for big impacts, like inserting a “meme of the day” into your team’s workflow or even ask the team to suggest their own suitable memes for a bit of fun and to encourage social interactions to help break up the monotony of some tedious tasks that cannot be cut from the work routine.

    Related: How to Use Memes To Transform Your Marketing Strategy

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    Max Kraynov

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