Creating a Better Tablet Shopping Experience

Earlier this week, we showed information on how smart phone shoppers and tablet shoppers differed in their holiday purchasing activities.  Tablet shoppers were more likely than smart phone shoppers to make purchases.  New research has come out that shows what features make tablet shopping more convenient.

• Ease of finding products was the top reason at 22%

• 13% of users said that being able to get reviews and rating were important

• Another 13% wanted an easy checkout system

• 8% indicated that they required access to billing information through the tablet

• 6% thought that social activities such as sharing projects with friends was something wanted

What Does This Mean To You?

Tablet shoppers are important. Not only are they a great demographic, their numbers are rapidly increasing.   If consumers move away from apps as a tablet function, you will want to incorporate these attributes into your WAP functionality.  It’s always a good idea to watch how your customers are using technology and listen to how you think your offerings could be improved.  Businesses who respond to customer wants usually perform better.  Some things they want may not be financially feasible or technologically possible today, but we never know what the future may bring as the speed of innovation continues increase. For more information on creating more revenue from tablet shoppers, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; SiteWorx

Frequency of Mobile Social Activity

Last week, we learned that social activity is becoming mobilized.  While nearly all social networkers may access sites from a desktop, the frequency of access on mobile devices is astounding.  Knowing how often social media users visit networks on their mobile devices can definitely help shape winning social tactics.

• Six in 10 smart phone owners access social sites from mobile devices on a daily basis

• That is up 11% from last year

• 14% access on a weekly basis and 7% visit monthly

• 16% of smart phone owners have never accessed a social site from their device

• Social networkers who own have visited a site from a mobile device tend to be younger, have higher household incomes, are more likely to work in White-Collar occupations and have children in their household

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile social networkers are very active in accessing social presences.  Their demographics also suggest they make a great target audience for many different types of businesses.  How do you get them to become more socially engaged with your business?

• Incorporate QR codes into your point of sale and other marketing material – Link that QR code to your social presence and provide an instant discount for “liking”, following or checking in

• Deliver mobile coupons to your followers

• Create presences on native mobile social sites – Develop Twitter feeds, promote Instagram tags & generate bvadges for FourSquare

• Engage users – This is important, don’t forget the social part of social media.  When someone checks in, tweets or updates their state status indicating they are at your location – Recognize them and thank them for their patronage

Mobile & social are not things that are going away. Everyday more people are adopting mobile and engaging social networks. Adopting strategies and creating tactics to optimize and monetize these activities is a wise investment for the future.  For more information on making more revenue with mobile and social functions, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Google; Ipsos; The 2012 Scarborough Report, Release 1

Social Media Moves Toward Mobile First

Social media has evolved from a small niche platform to a mainstream force that businesses need to understand to be successful.  The way people access social media is also evolving.  It started as a desktop activity but the rise of mobile adoption has changed that completely.  More social presences are being designed as native mobile functions and existing social sites are rapidly moving toward being more of a mobile entity.  A new report is out that shows how and where social networkers are accessing these sites.

• Over 90% of social users have accessed a network on lap top or desktop devices, but that number has fallen year over year.

• In 2012, 46% of social networkers visited a site on their mobile phone

• Visitation via mobile phone rose 24% year over year

• The biggest jump came from tablet visitation.  Nearly one in six social media users accessed a site from a tablet in 2012

• From 2011 to 2012, the number of social networkers who visited a presence from their tablet increased by over 400%

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile technology has brought social media from the home to into your business.  From earlier posts we know that consumers are using their devices in store.  Besides “showrooming”, this activity gives them the ability to make comments on your business through your company’s social presence as well as their own.  It can put negative information on your organization in full view of potential shoppers.  But, it also can give positive information, such as “likes” and encouraging comments the same publicity.  Including social reputation into your marketing strategy is something to strongly consider. Why?

• Consumers tend not to shop at stores with negative information on social presences

• Social media users are more likely to share both negative and positive experiences

• Shoppers are relying on social media as a customer service function

• Social reputations influence in-store and online shopping behaviors

Social reputation management can help you clean up negative, incorrect or misleading information about you on social presences.  It also should address how to deal with positive comments and how you are going to promote them.  Look at positive comments as virtual testimonials.  To encourage them, you need to reward them. For more information on how to improve your social reputation, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Nielsen

Creating A Better Ecommerce Experience

Earlier this week, we posted research on how digital drove holiday sales. As we move forward into 2013, many businesses are planning to make their ecommerce platforms more robust. This information can keep you digitally competitive this year.

• Over one-third of retailers worldwide plan to add How-To information or tutorials to their sites in 2013

• Over 30% are adding online videos

• 28% will be adding blog posts to their ecommerce solutions this year

• More than a quarter of global businesses will incorporate articles and
press releases

• 20% are including a twitter feed to their buying platforms

What Does This Mean To You?

When you keep visitors engaged, they spend more time on your site. Anytime you can keep visitors on your site longer, you greatly increase the chance they will buy something from you.
Isn’t the reason you have an ecommerce solution is to make more revenue?
Video’s, tutorials, blogs posts, articles and social media are great tools to help your business more effectively engage customers and create a better user experience. Since it’s your site, you can control the content. Leverage the content to put your store and the products you sell in the best possible light. For more information on how to direct more potential buyers to your site, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; SU Systems

Maybe They’re Just Not Into Your Social Brand Anymore

The relationship between consumers and brands may be just like any other relationship. They have ups & downs and sadly, sometimes they end (Believe it or not, some recent studies found that consumers might be more loyal to the brands they follow than their significant others). The reasons these social brand relationships end are very similar to real life relationships as well.
The brand may get too clingy, the brand might not be who the consumer thought they were or maybe they brand and consumer just grew apart. Like real relationships, knowing where things went wrong can help you make better decisions in the future.

• Nearly 40% of online adults say they have rarely ended connections with brands on social media. 24% say they have never ended a social brand relationship

• The top reason that consumers have ended a relationship with a brand on social networks do so is too many updates. One in three consumers who ended a relationship indicated this

• 22% said the brand’s value was different from the initial perception

• One in five consumers who ended a social brand relationship didn’t see any value in staying connected

• Less than 10% signed up after seeing an ad but didn’t want to stay socially connected with the brand

What Does This Mean To You?

Breaking up might not be hard to do on social media – it’s as easy as clicking a button – but it can be expensive to your company. 17% of adults who follow a brand on social media check their updates on a daily basis; nearly one in four did so at least once a week. That is a great deal of potential sales that your company could be losing.
It all comes down to value and targeting. A consumer may say that they are getting to many updates – but they are often saying they are getting to many updates that they really have no interest in.
The top reason consumers follow brands is to receive discounts and offers – so leverage that to get more information. After they “like” or follow you, offer them a significant discount if give you more information. This will allow you to tailor information to their wants and needs . It will help ensure that your social message to consumers is not “spammy” and that you are continually bring value to them.
Without sounding like Dr. Phil, the most important thing is not to take advantage of the relationship. By giving the consumer what they want, you will continue to get what you need. For more information on how to maximize you brand through social means, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: SocialVibe; eMarketer

Gamers Going Mobile

Consumers are becoming more mobile-ly engaged every day.  Smart phones and tablets are consumers go to device for everything from helping with shopping to taking pictures and getting directions.  Mobile devices are also being used as entertainment sources and video gaming tools.  New information is out that shows how many device owners are gaming and how much gaming activity is set to grow.

• In 2012, nearly 6 in 10 tablet owners and over half of smart phone owners used their device’s for mobile games

• In the past 2 years, the number of mobile gamers has increased by 66%

• By 2014, it is estimated that over 140 million adults will be mobile gamers – that’s an increase of nearly 40%

• Over 90 million adults are casual online gamers and that number is expected to grow to over 100 million by 2014

• Social gaming is also expected to see increases.  Over the next 2 years,
the number of adults participating in social games will increase to over 85 million people

What Does This Mean To You?

Because of the high levels of engagement associated with gaming, these activities give your organization a great avenue to build up audience. The adults who participate in mobile gaming also make great targets for many businesses.
Nationally, adults who use mobile devices for video games:

• Roughly 50/50 split between men and women

• 54% are 18-34 and nearly 40% 35-54

• Their median household income is just over $70,000 – they are 30% more likely than the average adult to have household incomes of $75,000+

• Just over half work in White-Collar occupations

• They are over 40% more likely to have children in their household

Mobile continues to become more integrated into people’s lives and gives you additional opportunities to create unique messaging opportunities.  For more information on how mobile solutions can bring you more awareness and increased traffic, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: The 2012 Multi-Market Scarborough Report, Release 1; Frank N. Magid Associates; eMarketer

Consumers Are Spending More Time Online and With Their Mobile Devices

How much time do you spend online?
What about with your mobile device?
Many people are connected pretty much the entire time they are awake.
The internet has become a staple in our lives and smart phones are one of those things that many consumers can’t live without. Think about the last time you left your mobile device at home. Your first reaction was probably turn around and get it.  A new study has been released that shows how much non-voice time consumers spend using their mobile devices and how long they are online during the average day.

• Adults nationwide spend an average of 173 minutes online everyday and 82 minutes on their mobile devices doing non-voice functions

• Over the last year, time online has grown by 4%

• Non-voice mobile use has increased by 52%

• We spend, on average, a quarter of our total time with media online and 12% doing non-voice functions on our mobile devices

• When it comes to spending time with advertising messages, time spent with online ads has increased by 8% from 2011 to 2012

• Time with ads on mobile devices has increased by nearly 80%

What Does This Mean To You?

The online revolution changed the way most organizations not only market themselves but how they basically do business.  Mobile will likely have the same effect.  It isn’t just the number of consumers owning mobile devices; it’s the usage growth and the time they spend with advertising.  This is just another reinforcement of how important a mobile strategy is for your business.  We’ve had other reports showing how important mobile will be this holiday season.  Not fully adopting mobile into your basic business plan could be a very
expensive mistake.  For more information on how to grow your business
using mobile technology, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer ; Babycenter.com; Arbitron; Edison Research

Tablet Owners Are More Engaged

The combination of tablet’s mobile functionality, screen size and speed has made them the device that everyone wants. While last year, the iPad was virtually the only major tablet available on the market, this year there are several and it looks like Apple will be adding a second screen size.  The biggest benefit to advertisers and content providers has been the high levels of engagement that tablet users enjoy. There is a new research study out that chronicles how dependent tablets users are on their devices.

• Tablet users spend 30% more time on sites than desktop users

• Tablet users also have 20%
higher engagement rates than those using PCs

• Mobile and tablet users accounted for 18% of traffic across most major sites

• Businesses are also becoming more engaged with tablets – tablet and mobile search spending has increased nearly 168% in the past 6 months

• Tablet owners are also more likely to allow themselves to be tracked.  Six in 10 smart phone users do not allow themselves to be tracked compared to bust 7% of tablet users

 What Does This Mean To You?

The more time users spend on sites, the more likely they are to see your ads or purchase items you have available online.  As more tablet users employ second screen activities – the more time they will spend on their tablet.  This also means less attention will be paid to commercials being played during prime-time.  Over the next few months, you will hear more terms like “device agnostic” or “responsive design”.  This is especially important when it comes to mobile. Simply enough, these buzz words mean that the web experience you have on your smart phone, tablet and desktop will be the same.  This may increase the amount of people who own tablets – those who don’t want to have to deal with “learning” a new device.  For more information about new and exciting content platforms that can increase your return from tablets, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Marketer; IgnitionOne

Why Some Mobile Campaigns Do Not Perform

Advertising is an investment in your company. You need to keep your brand top of mind with consumers -so when the need arises, they contact you for goods or services.  Making an investment in a mobile campaign is a wise decision because of how much consumers now depend on mobile devices.  Knowing the reasons why consumers don’t interact with certain ads can help you not make bad decisions and keep your mobile investment paying dividends.

• Over 40% of consumers said they did
not interact with a mobile ad was because
it was not relevant to them.  This lack of relevance was the top reason why there
was no interaction

• Nearly four in 10 did not interact with a mobile ad because it did not appeal to them

• Over 30% ignored a mobile ad because they thought it might be spam

• One in five chose not to click on an ad because they were unsure of its source

• Less than 5% did not engage an ad because it did not work on their phone

What Does This Mean To You

Everything comes down to targeting your message.
Make sure the audience you want to reach uses the vehicles you are
messaging through.
Proper targeting will help you create the most effective and efficient campaigns possible and maximize the advertising investment you are making.   In yesterday’s post, we talked about creating valuable offers – targeting your offer will help ensure the audience sees value.  For more information on reaching the targets that your business needs results from, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: HipCricket 2012

Mobile Ads Deliver Success

We’ve had several recent posts on the growth of mobile and smart phone penetration.  Consumer adoption of smart mobile technology has gotten to the point where mobile can no longer be considered a niche media.  New research has been developed that shows consumers aren’t just using mobile devices to communicate, they are also using them to make purchases and mobile ads a large driver of those purchases.

• Nearly half of smart phone owners have seen mobile advertising messages

• 45% have made a product recommendation as a result of seeing a mobile ad

• Nearly two-thirds of smart phone owners have made a mobile purchase due to mobile advertising

• Among 25 to 34 year olds, 70% have made a purchase because of an ad and almost 60% said they would be willing to provide personal information if they were offered a reward or coupon

• Over 60% of adults in the 35 to 44 age group said they would click on a mobile ad if it had a coupon

• High income adults are more likely to click on mobile ads.  55% of those who interacted with a mobile ad had household incomes of $75,000+, nearly 30% had incomes of $100,000+

• Men are more likely than women to make mobile purchases and recommend products because of mobile advertising

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile ads don’t just encourage initial sales but they also have a follow-through effect.  They can also help you reach into the elusive male target audience.  There are volumes of research available on this blog and other sources that can show you how important mobile is in reaching customers and affecting purchases, but there was one thing in this research that was alarming:
Nearly three-quarters of consumers stated they had not seen a mobile ad from their favorite brands
The question is, are these brands not involved in mobile?
Well, it’s estimated that 45% of companies globally have some kind of
mobile presence.
So it may not be the fact that they are missing the mobile boat, it maybe the mobile boat they are using is very leaky.
They are probably not taking advantage of all the targeting options that mobile offers or just targeting badly.  Targeting is key in efficiently and effectively connecting with the audience you want to communicate with.  You know the type of consumers you want to reach, you probably have some kind of loyalty program to encourage your frequent customers to return more often.  These are the types of things you need to include in your mobile strategy.  Targeting ads will help ensure that your messages will be seen. For more information on effectively targeting the audience you want to reach, please contact your Orlando Sentinel Media Group representative or:
Al Fiala
Advertising Research Manager
407.420.5702
afiala@orlandosentinel.com
www.orlandosentinel.com/mediakit

Source: HipCricket 2012