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A major American research company has found that most companies have no real measures or understanding about how well they are doing at implementing their mobile strategies.

Researchers recently talked to over 200 global companies to find out how they were measuring their mobile strategies, and what their measures of success were. The study found that media, travel and financial services were most likely to have an established mobile strategy, but the numbers were low.

The research found that 57 percent of organizations either did not have any mobile strategy or policy, or were only in the early stages of developing it.

Of those businesses surveyed that did have some form of strategy in place, only 30 percent have had the strategy in place for more than a year. A further 10 percent only had some kind of strategy in place for less than a year. Researchers believed the low numbers are a result of the relative newness of the mobile marketing platform.

Customer engagement was listed as the most important goal and a key longterm strategy for 52 percent of the businesses surveyed. Businesses said they see mobile marketing as an important way to attract and interact with customers, alongside retaining them.

One third of the businesses surveyed do not have a dedicated executive in charge of developing mobile strategy, and over half of the businesses have one full time equivalent fulltime staff member or less dedicated to mobile strategy. Even though most businesses do not have the staffing resources dedicated to mobile strategy development, most of the businesses have already increased their mobile budget for 2011, with around 25 percent of businesses doubling or even tripling their spend.

Research showed that the shift towards mobile marketing is seen as important, but the ways to ensure they are getting the most out of their advertising spend were not as easy to establish.

Visit www.txt2get.com for advice on developing successful and measurable mobile marketingcampaigns.

Text response is being used more and more in advertising campaigns, replacing traditional mechanisms of response such as 1300/1800 numbers and websites. The ease of audience engagement with text response is its greatest advantage.

Case studies show that text response typically doubles, or even triples, ad reception. Aus/NZ mobile marketing experts TXT2GET supplied this result to Sydney’s 2UE radio station. Rebecca Coleman, Promotions Manager at 2UE, says of text response: without a doubt, TXT2GET more than doubled the response we achieved.

A further advantage of text response is its ability to provide an exact measurement of ad response. Also, its live reporting feature exposes trends in response over time. Finally, future communication with respondents is opened up, leaving an invaluable database of consumers.

Traditional response mechanisms such as phone numbers and websites are based around the same concepts as text response: they are just the evolutionary step before it. Text response is effective where other forms of response-seeking fall below expectations.

The launch of 1300 and 1800 phone numbers in Australian advertising had similar aims to text response. These phone numbers were included in advertisements to make it easy and cheap for audiences to respond, and so reached moderate success. But what’s holding this method back is accessibility. When most of the audience is on-the-go, calls to 1300 and 1800 numbers happen from mobile phones. This means that the call is no longer local, costing the average person more than they care to pay. A text message, on the other hand, is cheaper and also requires less effort than a phone call.

Another popular response mechanism is website links in advertisements. While links to social media can be effective in garnering audience response, this technique is limited by its low user-friendliness. The action of remembering a website address and returning to it later does not effortlessly occur: initial interest is hard to retain over longer periods of time. Furthermore, even once browsing a website, the audience is not left with anything tangible to encourage further engagement with the business or brand. When audiences spend hours browsing websites; an advertisement needs to be remarkable to leave an imprint days later. The solution? Provide them with a concrete result: a text message.

When compared to traditional response methods, text response is more effective, due to its ease of use for both the marketer and the audience.

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Over the last decade or so, mobile marketing has been increasingly harnessed as an effective tool in the promotion and running of events. Be it on television or live, mobile phones give organisers an opportunity to not just spread the word about events, but also to create a more dynamic experience for those watching or attending. With smart phones becoming more and more widely used, the ways in which this can be achieved are ever expanding.

Television has proved to be an effective user mobile technology as a way to further engage its audience. Shows such as American Idol who allow viewers to vote for their favourite contestants have been at the forefront of mobile use on television. Certainly, Idol owes its consistent number one rating in part to its engagement of viewers in allowing them to decide each season’s winner.

The popularity of using mobile technology in television has easily translated to live events. As a way of filling the time between matches and keeping it’s audience involved in the proceedings, the replay screen at this year’s US Open tennis tournament frequently displayed messages that patrons could respond to by SMS. Amongst other things, the crowd was asked to vote for correct options in fact or fiction games, answer trivia questions or even vote for the song they most wanted to hear played over the PA system. The idea proved such a success that the organisers are already looking for new and exciting ways that mobile technology could be developed for future events.

While new and innovative uses for text messaging are still being developed, the growing popularity of smart phones has given event organisers a far greater range of tools with which they can communicate to their audiences with. Applications for one allow organisers to create content that ties into their events. The US Open particular offered an application that allowed users to keep track of match scores and tournament information.

The social networking capabilities of phones though is something that organisers are particularly excited about. The recent Red Bull Air Show used the social networking service, Whrrl, to create a society which interested parties could access from their phones. Because Whrrl takes account of a users physical location, those who joined the society were able to access exclusive content which tailored for them based upon their physical location.

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Simply put, one of the most important technological developments in recent years has been the advent of social networking. Allowing users to connect and interact with friends, relatives or just generally people of similar interest and hobbies, social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have become very popular in a short space of time. As mobile devices are now capable of running social networking applications, the opportunities for advertisers are exciting.

Social Networking sites go right back to the early days of the internet. Through chat rooms and other rudimentary online communities users could interact with others; often by linking in email addresses. These online forums quickly evolved however and it wasn’t long before the first social networking services appeared allowing users to build their own sophisticated online communities with which they could interact in a diverse range of ways. Presently, largest of these services is Facebook which has over 500 million users. 100 million of which have access on their mobile phones.

Advertisers have been quick to seize the opportunities presented by mobile access to social networks. One clear example of this the Red Bull’s use of the location-based social networking service, Whrrl, in promoting it’s New York Air Race. By creating a Red Bull Society that people could join up to, Red Bull was able to provide mobile content such as ticket deals, drink passes and event information to interested parties relevant to their physical location.

Services such as Whrrl show that the location-based technology will be a big part of social networking’s future development.

Giants such as Facebook have started to integrate it into their platforms and considering their reach, it is an exciting prospect for marketers. The ability to infer a user’s preferences from their whereabouts will allow advertisers to tailor their content accordingly making for more relevant and effective marketing.

To find out more about how Txt2Get’s mobile marketing tool can help you embrace the benefits of social networking, visit www.txt2get.com

Incumbent, traditional media networks are not usually swift to change business practice and adopt innovative new technology. This is generally because they have large revenue streams coming from traditional advertising models and disruptive new technology generally represents a threat to these revenues and the entire existence of the business. For all involved in the management of an established profitable business, massive change is very scary, the future of the business and people’s livelihoods are at stake.

However, when change comes and a traditional media company faces the possibility of losing their audience almost over night, then they are forced to consider changing business practices, make decisions and acting. In the newspaper industry, this was seen with the rise of the internet and the move by audiences to consuming news and information online. Newspaper publishers where the first traditional media companies to feel the massive impact of disruptive technology and there have been many articles written about the impact on their circulations and revenues.

However after successive periods of denial, anger, grief and acceptance, smart newspaper organisations found ways to adapt to change by joining the ‘online revolution’ as it was called at the time. Companies like News Corporation made significant investments in digital assets and this had the effect of hedging against the wave of online content brought about by the changing tide of technology.

In a similar way in Australia, a pro-active radio company has embraced technological change and has used it to compliment its core business of selling radio advertisements. The Australian Radio Network (ARN) is a subsidiary of APN News and Media, they have been actively supporting their medium and their advertisers by integrating mobile marketing keywords into radio scripts. This has had the effect of increasing the response their clients receive from advertising, proving that the medium is delivering results and creating interactivity between the radio broadcast and the listener.

The Brisbane based ARN radio station 97.3 FM has integrated numerous keywords into advertising campaigns and one notable campaign resulted in listeners receiving mobile coupons to their phones via SMS. To receive the coupon, listeners were asked to text BOAT to 19 33 33. The listener was then able to take the SMS coupon to the registration desk at the Brisbane Boat Show and receive a 25% discount on entry.

By taking this pro-active approach to the mobile revolution and digital technology, the management at 97.3FM and ARN are ensuring that their medium and their product stays relevant to clients. They are using a piece of new business technology to grow and protect their valuable existing revenue base. This is demonstrated clearly by the response from clients:

“It was our account manager Naomi Westaway at ARN (97.3FM – Brisbane) who planted the seed for us to start using SMS promotions in the first place.

“She provided great suggestions and advice on how to use radio to get the best results. Thanks to her we were able to integrate radio advertising with mobile coupons that visitors redeemed at the door.

“Naomi’s expertise and the integrated mobile option made advertising on radio very compelling and certainly influenced our decision to go with 97.3FM” says Nicholle Smith – Marketing Officer- Marine Queensland

By trying new things and adopting what works, ARN are much better positioned to weather any storms that disruptive technology may throw at them.

The latest trend is to combine mobile marketing with traditional marketing such as radio advertising. Have you tried this out for your advertising? Visit www.txt2get.com.au today to find out more!

The Seven Network released details of a new digital channel, entitled 7mate. The network will become the first commercial network to have three channels in Australia. The network hopes to capture the attention of the mass male market by broadcasting the Australian Rules grand final later this year. The channel will offer a range of comedy, movies and sports shows which are targeted mainly at men between ages 16 to 49.

The network’s Director of Programming and Production, Tim Worner, said, “We are after the most elusive demographic in media and we think we’ve got the offering to get them.”

A wave of new-media marketing is expected to follow the network’s move. The centralised male market will be advantageous to many businesses, but the capacity to effectively interact with viewers will remain possible with mobile marketing campaigns only.

Technological advancements have forced businesses to change the way they interact with customers. A recent study by a digital marketing agency, Defakto, showed 80% of all ages said they would get a quicker response from a text than from an email or voicemail. Mobile marketing company, TXT2GET (www.txt2get.com.au), claims quick responses are generated most efficiently using SMS keywords and automated responses.

Country Manager of TXT2GET, Andrew Campbell explains, “SMS is an instant response mechanism. It’s easy and simple for people to use and that is why you get higher response rates and improved customer experience.”

Traditionally, television advertisements have provided customers with limited options should they require more information. 1300 numbers have a reputation of placing customers on hold, while internet access is still unavailable to all- but texting has proved to be simple and convenient. The service encourages viewers to simply text a keyword to 19 33 33 in order to participate in competitions, receive mobile coupons or seek more information. Businesses that have used TXT2GET keywords have been able to double and triple advertising responses.

New marketing strategies are essential with technological advancements. Text Marketing can increase business interaction with customers. Try out TXT2GET – Mobile Marketing Australia Free Trial .

If a client calls a free call number to register their interest and no one is there to answer it, the business is losing a potential sale. Every unanswered call affects a business’s profits.

A recent survey found that only 30 percent of calls to free call numbers were answered between 6 – 8am and 6-8pm. The interesting point about this survey is that researchers only called businesses that were actually advertising during these hours. The businesses were advertising, but only 30 percent of them had staff ready to answer the interest generated by the ads.

A client’s time is precious, and everyone is busy in this mobile world. Many customers will not have the time to call again, or their interest may have waned before they try again. A call to a free call number is a warm lead, but if no one is there to talk to that customer, the lead quickly cools.

By making it easy for a client to register interest in a product or service, an advertiser is taking the opportunity to capture that potential sale, and not lose it to an unanswered call.

The most simple, low-cost and effective way to ensure a client receives a response 24/7 is through text marketing. Text marketing means that no matter what time a client acts on a call to action in an ad, they will receive a response. This lead can then be kept warm until a staff member is available to contact the client.

Text marketing responses can be easily tailored to each campaign. From an acknowledgment text to an opportunity to register for further information, text responses are a quick way to keep a client interested. Best of all it is a way to generate leads for a business, and turn those leads into sales.

Don’t let your phone ring unanswered, make your clients happy and turn those leads into sales by utilising text marketing.

Visit www.txt2get.com.au to see how you can turn leads into sales using text marketing.

Sports brands such as adidas and Puma invested in mobile marketing during the World Cup and helped increase global mobile advertising.

The sports giants weren’t alone in a push towards mobile advertising. Reports for the three months to the end of June 2010 showed global mobile advertising grew by 61 percent worldwide.

It doesn’t take a global budget to reap the benefits of mobile marketing. Even the smallest company can integrate mobile marketing into their campaigns.

Mobile marketing is very accessible and allows businesses to more easily interact with their customers. Businesses do not need to wait until the next world cup to take advantage of it. A new campaign can be started at any time.

Tying a new advertising campaign to a big event is a great way to capitalise on media coverage and audience interest in a particular subject. If your business relates to the latest sporting event, cultural event or a local or national celebration, it is a great time to look at how you can turn the audience’s interest in that event into interest in your business.

Providing specials on products, or developing a promotional campaign that relates to the event in the media spotlight allows businesses to capitalize on the repetition of key words. A mobile marketing campaign that uses “dance” as a key word during a major arts festival provides a relevant and easy way to grab the attention of the audience.

Being aware of what is coming up in the media and aligning mobile marketing campaigns to suit, allows a business to benefit from heightened interest in the topic. By grabbing the attention of the listeners a successful mobile marketing campaign can be translated into sales. A quick and simple key word allows the audience to easily interact with the business. Making the key word relevant to major media events makes great business sense.

Visit www.txt2get.com.au to investigate how this simple and effective mobile marketing method could work for your business.

A group of experts met in New York recently to look at mobile marketing and how to develop the most successful strategy that brings the greatest return for businesses.

The conference panellists talked about what makes a successful campaign and what businesses need to do to make sure that their mobile marketing campaigns deliver the best results for the business.

The panellists agreed that a mobile marketing campaign needs to be planned and fit the business’s overall marketing strategy. The campaigns need objectives and measurable results. It was decided that it is important for campaigns to have long term goals and strategies, rather than be a series of one-off campaigns.

A case study was made of hardware giant Intel’s mobile marketing approach. The panellists decided it was a good example of a cohesive and well thought out campaign that fitted into the model of a traditional marketing campaign, but one that just happened to be executed in the mobile market.

While short campaigns can be successful in promoting a specific product or competition, it is important that there is an overall strategy in place. The same rules apply to mobile marketing as to traditional marketing channels. Doing the research, setting objectives, developing strategy, planning tactics and evaluating the success of the campaign are all important factors.

Mobile marketing campaigns are great for promoting new products and a perfect competition mechanism, but the ease of implementation and cost effectiveness can result in businesses using mobile marketing without planning ahead. To ensure that a business gets the best value for money, the rules that apply to traditional marketing mediums should also apply to mobile marketing.

Integrating mobile marketing into your business’s marketing strategy right from the planning stage, and ensuring you have clear objectives and a way to measure the campaign’s results will make sure that you get the best value for your advertising spend.

Visit www.txt2get.com.au to see how mobile marketing can be integrated into your businesses long term marketing strategies.

A recent mobile marketing conference in New York discussed the effectiveness of mobile campaigns and the key to developing a successful campaign.

The conference attendees talked about what makes a successful campaign and looked at examples of major global campaigns.

The panellists concluded that there is no single recipe for a mobile marketing campaign around the world. The different mix of technology available, access to that technology and current advertising methods all affect the campaign. The panellists concluded that advertisers need to create mobile marketing campaigns specifically for the regions, rather than implementing a global campaign locally.

A closer look at the mobile marketing campaign of a major computer hardware company showed the importance of allowing for the region’s unique characteristics when developing campaigns. The company’s effort in Indonesia paid off with a change of focus. The company moved away from smart phone technology to focus on feature phone technology, the predominant technology in the region. The company managed to maximise their campaign with a closer look at their target audience.

The importance of ensuring mobile marketing campaigns still followed the basic marketing rules was also emphasised. The panellists discussed the effectiveness of mobile marketing, concluding that correctly used, it was an important part of an effective campaign.

The panellists also stressed the importance of not implementing mobile marketing without ensuring it fits with your current campaign. Mobile marketing is most effective with clear and achievable goals that can be measured. Every campaign is an opportunity to learn about the market and what your customers will respond to.

Mobile marketing is most effective when it is a major part of an integrated campaign. Printing the key word and SMS number prominently in ads, and making it a feature of radio and television ads will ensure that businesses reach the greatest number of potential customers. Get the best value for money for your advertising spend by including mobile marketing in your next advertising campaign.

Visit www.txt2get.com.au to look at how your business can include this simple and cost effective mobile marketing tool into your next campaign.