MarketingBeyond

MobileBeyond Offers Podcast Interview Sponsorships to Mobile Companies

MobileBeyond, a blog focused on the future of mobile communications, has launched sponsorships of its podcast interviews. Mobile and wireless companies may now reach thousands of worldwide MobileBeyond listeners each month with promotional messages at the beginning and end of each podcast.

Podcasting marketing is a form of social media marketing and excels at creating connectedness and relationships between a sponsor's brand and MobileBeyond's and its guests.

Unlike radio advertising, podcast sponsors are continuously exposed to MobileBeyond's audience of mobile professionals and consumers who have a passion for mobile phones and technology.

Each month, host Brian Prows interviews well-known mobile professionals from around the world. Guests have included CEO's, mobile company founders, CTO's and other executives and visionaries with mobile marketing and advertising firms, mobile technology  and other companies in the mobile and wireless industries.

Mobile companies may sponsor existing podcast interviews, new ones as they're released or self-sponsored podcasts.

MobileBeyond is also syndicated through iTunes. For further information about sponsoring a podcast, visit Mobilebeyond at:

http://MobileBeyond.net/Sponsorships/

Changing of the Guard: Mobile Internet, Social Media and Journalism

Pictures and videos from Iran, recently taken by individuals using mobile phones, raise issues we don’t want to face. Despite Iran, China and other oppressive regimes seeking to stop the flow of information, it continues to grow–not from the eyes and ears of “journalists,” but from people like you and me.

Joe Wilcox, a blogger, wrote a powerful post called “Iran and the Internet Democracy.” Wilcox shows disturbing YouTube videos and pictures of angry Iranian protesters who oppose their government.

He also describes how corporate news organizations are losing media power to individuals, who snap pictures and record videos with mobile phones, write tweets and transmit all of it over the mobile Internet in real time. The reality of one person electronically communicating to the world resembles Edward R. Murrow’s “This is London” during World War II.

Story continues on MobileBeyond

Mobile Carriers and Manufacturers Fail to Engage Their Customers

During the past few evenings, I've had conversations on Twitter with disgruntled iPhone owners, new Palm Pre users, BlackBerry Crackheads like me and other passionate people who love mobile devices but are venting.

iPhone users, in particular, are mad as Hell about AT&T's lack of MMS and tethering support. They don't understand why Apple enabled these functions on the iPhone while AT&T waffles about their availability. Today AT&T slapped a programmer in the face who had devised a software work-a-round providing users with both functions, threatening customers with enormous data bills.

Read the rest of the story on MobileBeyond.

MobiChitter--Best Website in Town for Twitter Mobile Chitter Chatter

Calling all mobile geeks, mobile marketers, advertisers, mobile developers: MobiChitter, a new site featuring mobile tweets launched today. MobiChitter combines all the best tweets and conversations found on Twitter's MobileBeyond, MobiChirp, MobiMarketing and MobiChitter.

Everytime users refresh the pages, new mobile content appears. MobiChirp, a little bird that loves his iPhone, G1 and BlackBerry, along with Hopper, Chopper and MobiGeek, got so excited today, they made a video of the MobiChirp choir.

Why only chatter when you can chitter? Check Out MobiChitter.

eBay Deluged by iPhone Sellers Dumping Product Quickly

As reported on Mobile Telephone Marketing and her on MarketingBeyond in 2008, iPhone sellers continue dumping 1st and 3G versions of the iPhone on eBay WorldWide

Anticipating a new, more powerful OS and, possibly, new iPhone, sellers are creating a frenzy on ebay with over 4,000 units now for sale.

Read the full story on IM-Mobile.

The MobiMarketing Club Launches on Twitter

Join the exclusive MobiMarketing Club now forming on Twitter and elsewhere.

The MC is an interactive online and email club sharing unique content about mobile technology and mobile marketing and advertising. Want to discover how mobile affects human communications? Launch your own mobile site or market globally?

Then The MC is for you. Sign up by entering your first name and email address when the box appears on your screen.

Why are There So Many Mobile Blogs?

Mobile blog posts these days are growing like roosters in Kauai (another story, Google it.)

Speaking of Google, my quick "mobile blog" search 30 seconds ago revealed over 6 million! Top entry on page one is, naturally, The Official Google Mobile Blog, followed by the Mobile Phone Blog, described as:

• #1 Mobile Phone Blog. An Insiders Perspective on the Mobile Phone Industry, smartphone hardware, iPhone and Android applications, opinions on cell phone content, reviews of mobile games, critiquing new firms in the market and the health of the global wireless industry.

Amazing. Mobile blog readers can stop right there. Between Google and Mobile Phone Blog, you'll have 0 time left for reading the other 6 million.

Just in case you have a spare moment, you surely want to visit Anthony's Mobile Blog, despite his announcement that his employment elsewhere may indicate bias; so he's ended the posts, although he occupies position three on Google's first page:

This would be my last posting on Antony’s Mobile Blog. I will not blog here anymore.

• Why do I decide to stop blogging here? As some of you may know that I am currently working in one of the mobile phones manufacturers. Although I have written disclaimer in the About page that everything written here is purely my personal rants, there might still be a conflict of interests. People may think that this blog is related to the company where I’m working.
• In order to avoid any further conflicts, it’s better if I just close the chapters of this blog.
• PS: I am still maintaining two other blogs, i.e. Antony’s Life Blog and S60Tips.com. The first one is about my life (unless you know me in person, this may not be interesting for you). The second one is about tips, tricks and tutorials of using S60 phones (a.k.a. multimedia computers).

I think every mobile blog should have "tips and tricks." Goes along nicely with the picture of Anthony's sleeping cat (probably tired of the blog posts). Since I don't know Anthony, I'll skip his life blog.

If you're a night owl and need a glass of warm milk and more mobile blog stuff to sleep, don't miss Jason Langridge's Mr. Mobile Blog, which he describes as: A blog dedicated to everything to do with Mobile technology, solutions and applications. (Wikipedia could probably use his expertise.)

However, there's an alternative for blog readers who are tired reading more smartphone reviews, industry news, Engaget snippets that entice anger from its readers and such: MobileBeyond.

MobileBeyond is my "mobile journey," with a promise to avoid the usual two line Twitter tripe, "why I hate this mobile phone" crowd and "let me tell you everything you need to know about things mobile" bloggers.

You'll find two flavors of MobileBeyond. If you like podcasts on mobile marketing and advertising, then click on over to my podcast site. But if you like hard-core, tell-it-like-it-is blog posts, you'll love the new MobileBeyond.

For example, where in the mobile blogosphere will you find blog titles like this one?:

Wire-Less in a Mobile Age: The Threat of Cybercrime and Sabotage

Now, there's a post that should draw from a well diversified audience. Forget the latest iPhone app, go to MobileBeyond, as Paul Harvey used to say, for "the rest of the story."

Fellow mobile bloggers--all six million of you--"live well and prosper."

P.S. Like in an ice cream store, buy two scoops and follow MobileBeyond on Twitter. Goes well with a glass of warm milk.

Michael Boland of Kelsey Group Talks About Mobile Advertising Future

Mobile Advertising Growth Forecast: Michael Boland Podcast

Mobile Advertising Growth Forecast: Michael Boland Podcast

Michael Boland, a senior analyst and program director for The Kelsey Group’s Mobile Local Media Forecast Division, is an expert in mobile advertising market research and the mobile industry.

Since joining The Kelsey Group in 2005, Mike has been instrumental in covering the local online space for Interactive Local Media practice.

Mike is a frequent speaker and organizer at top industry conferences including Kelsey Group events, search engine strategies and others. He has authored in-depth reports on the changing local media landscape including online video, social networking and mobile.

He contributes regularly to highly read online news sources such as Search Engine Watch and Huffington Post. A trusted source for reporters covering the interactive media space, his comments have appeared in major news and trade media, including the Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes.

The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of strategic research and analysis, data and competitive metrics on Yellow Pages, electronic directories, local search, SMB advertising and local media.

The Kelsey Group’s Mobile Local Media Forecast for mobile advertising (2008-2013) is highlighted in the report “Going Mobile: The Mobile Local Media Opportunity.

Kelsey’ s projections, quoted in Mobile Marketer, are  $330M in 2009; $720M in 2010; $1.5B 2011;  $2.3B in 2012; $3.1B in 2013, 20X $160M in 08; search: $81M in 09; $242M in 2010, $564M in 2011 & $905M in 2013.

In the podcast, Mike discusses local mobile search advertising trends, including advertising revenues changes from traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) to mobile (SMS, display and search). SMS still dominates, but local search is growing faster, and traditional media area adopting mobile marketing as another channel for revenue growth.

Hear it on MobileBeyond.

Is Advertising Necessary?

Mobile advertising continues its relentless growth, while Internet revenues are falling. As with print advertisers, especially newspapers, that continue losing revenue to online placement, the community of mobile advertisers, mobile ad networks and mobile publishers is dominating worldwide advertising. So much for mobile.

But this post goes beyond mobile ads. It’s about the necessity of  any advertising.  Periodically, we should expose our minds to opposing opinions and views that contradict–and even imperil–our business models.

Such is the case with Eric Clemons at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Clemons just posted an article (available in PDF form) on TechCrunch. His predictions about the demise of PC-based Internet advertising and his comments on social media and mobile ad personalization are controversial with a grain of truth and 100 grains of speculation and flabbergast.

Clemons generally opposes advertising “pushed” to potential customers who haven’t requested the ads. He believes that Internet and other advertising is similar to email spam and non-participatory, shatters the Internet experience and will ultimately fail. In Clemons view, pushing ad messages to people not seeking them is a grave sin.

The full story on IM-Mobile

Letter to Dan Hesse at Sprint: Salesmanship and Customer Service

(A podcast version of this post is at MobileBeyond.)

November 22, 2008

Dear Dan:

Today, Dan, I walked into one of your stores--the one at Newpark Mall in Newark, CA, not far from my home. I'm a Sprint customer, qualify for a phone upgrade and thought I'd check out a few of your phones that caught my eye of late: The BlackBerry Curve, HTC Diamond Touch and even the Instinct--your "iPhone Killer"--although I'm not heavy into multi-media or touch-based keypad phones.

Dan, let me be candid. If you're wondering why you're losing millions of customers to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, it's because you haven't trained your staff how to sell and offer superior customer service. You haven't even conveyed to your staff a sense of urgency in our economically troubled times.

When I walked in the door, four--that's FOUR--Sprint employees were cracking jokes and having a great time behind the counter. I yelled out "Hi" to everyone, got a slight acknowledgment I existed and started playing with the BlackBerry Curve. (The demo Curve's screen, by the way, was full of finger prints and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a week.)

Not one of your employees approached me. I looked at several phones, thought about upgrading and signing another two year contract, then walked out the door.

Meanwhile, excited T-Mobile salespeople at the kiosk outside your Sprint store were actively soliciting business from people walking near the kiosk. I heard one say: "Hey, would you like a free phone?" Further down the mall thoroughfare were TWO AT&T kiosks. Positive, excited salespeople were showing off shiny new phones from your competitor. Down further was Verizon's kiosk with a giant BlackBerry Bold display and sharp-looking employees showing off Verizon's line-up.

You know, Dan, I was almost tempted to stop by each of those kiosks, if only to listen to how excited, positive people offer superior salesmanship and customer service. But time was passing and I had to leave the mall.

Dan, just so you know I'm not knocking Sprint alone, read by blog post on AT&T: "Training Retail People People to Become Marketers and Delight Customers." In the post, I relate a negative experience I had at an AT&T store. Or, if you're in the mood for some humor, take a look at my blast against Verizon: "News Release: Verizon Wireless Announces $99 'Talk All You Want' with Rollover Plan."

Sprint is running some VERY cool online flash videos of your phone line-up and expensive broadcast and print advertising portraying Sprint as the leader in wireless technology. So, I'm very sorry to see that, having spent millions of dollars on quality advertising, you would allow its impact destroyed by your retail employees. It doesn't make sense.

Here's what should have happened today at your Sprint store:

1. A pleasant, well-dressed trained Sprint sales rep meets me at the door
2. Through a series of questions and rapport building, the rep makes me feel comfortable and helps me find several phones that meet my needs
3. The rep answers all my questions and skillfully handles my objections by presenting features and benefits of the phone, the plan and Sprint as a quality company
4. The rep closes the deal with appropriate statements and quesitons ("this phone does meet your needs, yes?")
5. The trained sales rep upsells me at the counter with accessories, phone insurance, a better voice and data plan
6. After handling the transaction, the Sprint rep gives me a business card, asks me to call him/her at any time if I have questions, thanks me for buying from Sprint, walks me to the front of the store, thanks me again for my business and wishes me well

Dan, I know you have a training program in place for your sales reps. But you disappointed me today. You made me feel that, just maybe, I made the wrong decision going with Sprint. Your reps' lack of care, attention and professionalism didn't jive with your cool, high tech ads. I walked out the door feeling negative about Sprint.

I know you're working hard, Dan, to turn the company around. You're moving ahead with WIMAX and other new telecom technologies and services. But, today, Dan, you disappointed me.

I thought you would like to know.

Regards,

Brian

 

Social Media Advertising: Is FaceBook an Effective Marketing Tool?

Yesterday, MobileDiscoveries, Innovative Communication Solutions' e-commerce mobile and portable gadget store, started advertising on FaceBook. With Google charging $5+ per click for electronic items, we thought we'd give FaceBook a try.

For our first day, the click-through-rates varied from .02-.04  with GPS devices and Lenovo notebooks generating the higher number. While some say this is horrible and FaceBook users are only a bunch of kids clicking away, we don't have enough conversion data yet to calculate our ROI.

One feature that attracted us is the use of keywords representing member interests. I thought I'd share a few of our online ads and keywords with you so you can better determine if social media site advertising is worth a try.

Unlike advertising on Google, Yahoo or Microsoft, FaceBook provides an opportunity to choose very specific keywords and phrases matching FaceBook member interests. Here's the ad copy and associated keywords for ads with the highest CTR's:

 

Lenovo V200 12 Notebook

12 inch WXGA notebook features
a Core 2 Duo processor with Intel
graphics, 1GB memory, Corel and
XP Pro. 10% off at MobileDiscoveries.

Keywords: You are targeting people between 18 and 50 years old in the United States who like Bluetooth, Business, Business Development Manager, Computers, computing, Electronics, engineer, my laptop, Marketing Consultant, Marketing Director, Marketing Executive, Marketing Manager, Microsoft, The Notebook, Programmer, Sales Consultant, Sales Executive, Marketing and Sales, Sales Representative, Software Engineer, Travel, or Windows Live Messenger.

Here's a GPS placement:

GPS Navigation

MobileDiscoveries features
handheld and vehicle GPS units,
map software, cases and
other accessories at
great prices. Visit us soon.

Keywords on this one: You are targeting people between 18 and 50 years old in the United States who like Apple Computers, Autos, Computers, Electronics, Gadgets, Going On Vacation, my laptop, mobile phones, Sales Consultant, Sales Manager, Marketing and Sales, or Sales Representative.

We used more specific keywords in this Garmin GPS device that's geared for active lifestyles. This ad also identified 3.5 million FaceBook members matching the keywords, a million or so higher than the first GPS ad above:

Garmin Edge 605

Bikers. Add maps and get
motivated. This GPS enabled
cycle computer comes
loaded with everything
you need. MobileDiscoveries

Keywords: You are targeting people between 18 and 45 years old in the United States who like Anything Outdoors, being healthy, Bike Rides, Bikes, Computer, Computer Games, Cycling, Dirt Bikes, Electronics, Exercise, Exercising, Friendship, Gadgets, Garminchipotle Cycling Team, Going On Computer, Going On Vacation, The Great Outdoors, Health And Fitness, Health Nutrition, healthy living, Losing Weight, mapping, Maps, Men's Health, Mountain Biking, Outdoor Activities, Outdoors, Playing On The Computer, Relaxation, Relaxing, Riding My Bike, Street Bikes, Streetlight Manifesto, Weight Watchers, or Workout.

We started thinking about the product's features and benefits, then came up with a few keywords that seemed applicable to the demographics of our target audience. As you start typing keywords, FaceBook suggests words and phrases to use. Beneath the keyword section, FaceBook shows the total number of members who have indicated these interests in their profiles. Try doing that on Google or Yahoo.

As of a moment ago, in our second day of FaceBook advertising, we've generated over 300,000 impressions, 86 clicks and an overall CTR of .03. Again, It's too early to assess the results. But we've run Google ads with 0 clicks based on 50,000+ impressions. So at least we're getting potential customers to visit our site on a very small budget. (Average CPC is 33 cents.)

Here are the other ads currently running:

Personal Internet Radios
Garmin Geko 201
Nokia E62 10% Off
GPS Gadgets Galore
Never Get Lost
Portable DVD Players
Podcasting for Business
GPS Navigation
Portable Electronics

Our experience with FaceBook will naturally determine how we allocate our advertising budget. However, I like the narrow targeting, low CPC and ability to test dozens of ads simultaneously.

Oh, our daily budget? $20

 

Used 3G iPhones on eBay: "I Found it in the River"

eBay continues its lead as the "go to market" haven of iPhone users selling off their devices. As of August 30th, they're nearly 4,800 listings for V1 and V2 iphones. 3G iPhones clock in at 1,688 out of which 162 are listed as "used."

Sellers ditching their used 3G iphones are a curious lot. I reviewed 45 listings due to close today and found, among sellers who would reveal, multiple reasons for eliminating this prize jewel from their lives.

Most iPhone listings on eBay remind me of the grade school crayola generation--sloppy listings thrown together in minutes with blurred pictures and misspelled words. If the listings were for any product other than iPhones on eBay, few buyers would ever review the offers, let alone buy the phones. But presentation quality with the iPhone crowd doesn't seem to matter to buyers unable to obtain iPhones through retail channels.

23 of the 45 sellers wouldn't reveal their reasons for selling, although listings alluded to potential reasons: unlockability, firmware problems, lots of white 16GB models and dropped calls or slow 3G data downloads. One seller said he bought the iPhone due to "an emergency at work," while some sellers talked about locked phone problems with FIDO and Rogers in Canada.

iPhone sellers, who revealed their reasons for selling, spoke about "wanting another phone," touch screen data entry, reception/dropped call problems, needing money or the complexity of the device.

The "damaged iPhone" owners were in abundance today. 9 of the 45 sellers listed phones with cracked screens, SIM plates missing and the biggest problem: water damage. Here are a few stories reported in the listings edited for brevity:

"This iPhone didn't make it a week before it was dropped on a tile floor, shattering the protective glass and the case. Since the accident, I can get the phone to power up only sporadically, and only with some prodding. When I can get the phone to turn on (50% of the time), all areas of the touch screen seem to work, permitting normal operation...I cannot vouch for the phone sending/receiving any data, though, and I have not tested any calling functions."

""I purchased the iPhone from AT&T...used it for about 2 1/2 weeks and then I dropped it in the sink as I was rinsing off the dishes. The iPhone did not come into contact with soap, chlorinated or salt water."

"I dropped my iPhone only a couple weeks after I bought it and the glass cracked (the LCD is in perfect condition). The phone still works like new, including all the touch/motion functionality. It's as if nothing had ever happened."

"The iPhone will not turn on. It hasn't turned on for about two weeks. The iPhone does not show any signs of water damage. Nothing happens when it is plugged into the computer or the wall."

"Broken iPhone 3G needs a glass screen replaced but in working condition. You can buy the screen on eBay for $20 or have Apple fix it for $199. If anything else is wrong, Apple will fix and should be covered under warranty for up to one year. I don't need it anymore. I have another phone."

"No reserve. Broken, water damaged iPhone 3G 16 gigabyte model. Dropped in water. Inner LCD is cracked. I cracked it when I was putting it back together. I opened it to allow the phone to dry, thoroughly for a week. The phone turns on, battery charges...and it pretty much still functional minus the earpiece speaker--no sound. The home button does not work consistently as well...When turned on now, it asks for a sim card to be inserted and ready to activate."

And...the story that takes center stage:

"Found this phone in a river, jumped in after it, cleaned it, dried it out, and now it actually turns on!!. Still in really good shape, no dents or scratches!!!. My computer will recognize it and when plugged into an outlet the 'Connect to iTunes' screen comes on clearly. The only problem is that when I plug it into iTunes it says that an 'unknown error occurred (1601)'. I'm not very tech savvy so I don't know how to get past this point, which is why I'm selling it. It still is possible for this phone to work. I just don't know what to do to fix it, and Apple won't help me. I'll take it for any price!"

Surely, a story worthy of a Wikipedia article under "strange and unusual stories of the iPhone."

The iPhone Competition: Nokia & Alcatel Come On Strong (Podcast)

So much has been written about the iPhone and other high-end mobile phones of late that you'd think they represent the majority of mobile devices sold around the world. That's not the case.


Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and other established manufacturers sell tens of millions of mobile handsets globally each year, while Apple's iPhone and other touch and non-touch handsets are a drop in the bucket.

To answer many questions I've received: Yes, MobileDiscoveries sells mobile handsets and useful accessories. As you surf the store, you'll find dozens of useful items, including Nokia and Alcatel handsets, Windows SmartPhones, and a variety of accessories: batteries, chargers, Bluetooth headsets, cases, wired headsets, sync s/w for Motos, external bluetoth speaker, portable speakers for iphone,  mobile handsfree car kits (a legal necessity for California drivers) from Nokia and wireless keyboards.

This podcast covers some of the features of the more interesting mobile handsets and accessories on MobileDiscoveries.

Mobile Phones:

Nokia 6300

Nokia N73.



Nokia E62




N76 Flip Phone Black




Nokia N82



Alcatel C820a Slider Phone w Camera




Alcatel E801a MP3 Player Phone



Playboy Camera Phone - Pink

Clearboost Antenna for iPhone




Remember to use code MD-NEW for your 15% discount.

Podcast on MobileBeyond or iTunes.

iPhone & Other Data-Intensive Handsets Sucking U.S. Carrier Bandwidth

The mobile growth age in the United States of expanded handset data usage is challenging AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and other carriers to deliver web content, email and other services. In a recent InfoWorld article, "AT&T Lays Down the Law for Apple," it becomes clear that the iPhone, claimed by many as the first "handset computer," is just the beginning of other sophisticated voice/data handsets sucking bandwidth from the carrier's networks.

Listen to the podcast on MobileBeyond.