WSI www Experts Trinidad and Tobago

They are with consumers nearly all the time, and they are almost always “on”.  Mobile devices are still capturing people’s attention, with upgrades, new products, apps, and features. But what is really going on in the world of mobile marketing in Trinidad and Tobago?

Does size matter? Do people really pay attention to those mobile ads? Which industries are spending more on mobile marketing these days, and why? There are some recently released surveys that can help you better understand what’s going on in mobile. Hopefully, that information can help you decide whether to answer the call to go mobile, or help you to tweak your existing plans. If nothing else, it can help you understand the marketing medium a little better.

Ads

Companies spend a lot of time and money creating mobile – friendly ads, so it would be nice to know if anyone actually looks at them. The answer, according to a survey from Prosper Mobile Insights is yes, sometimes, in certain situations.

*  Three-fourths of mobile users pay attention to ads when they are surfing the web, either regularly, or occasionally.

*  Nearly 60% of smartphone and tablet users do so while visiting social media sites.

*  Men are more likely to pay attention to mobile ads while surfing the web, watching videos, or even shopping.

*  More than half (51%) of men say the ads they watched influenced the products and brands they purchase, compared to 43.7% of women.

*  Nearly half of the people surveyed did not seem very interested in paying for ad-free social media sites.

Results like this indicate that mobile ad spending is worth while. The key is to research placement and message to target your audience where, and when they are more likely to give you their attention.

Industry

To keep pace with the ever-expanding use of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, many industries have been increasing their mobile budgets. The industry leading the charge is finance, with the largest reported mobile ad budget of all verticals on the Millenial Media platform.

*  The goal for the finance vertical is less about maintaining a market presence, and more focused on lead generation – at 70%.

*  The same study found that mobile financial consumers have a higher mobile penetration rate at 80%, and more likely to have a web-enabled device that isn’t a phone.

*   Creating a spot-on user experience for tablets would benefit financial brands hoping to lead users to websites or mobile apps.

*  These customers also preferred apps for providing information on mobile devices.

 Size

There are a lot of sizes to select. There’s quite a range from smaller smartphone screens like the Sony Xperia mini (2.5 inches) to mid-sized screens, like the Kindle Fire (7 inches) up to the largest tablet screen – the Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1) inches. Which one has a better Click-Through Rate (CTR) on mobile ads?

According to a Jumptap study… size does not really matter.  The highest CTR came with the 7 inch Kindle fire, The 4 inch iPhone was 3^rd, with the larger Galaxy Tab in 5^th. The 7” Nook was last. So apparently, size doesn’t matter… the user does.

Mobile continues to attract users, create more opportunities for marketers, and to keep people engaged at all times, and anywhere. Taking advantage of the popular devices, and the way people use them is a matter of keeping pace. For effective mobile marketing in Trinidad and Tobago, learn your customers, and you can better help them learn about you.

Do you have a mobile ad strategy in place? Contact us and we can work with you on options and ideas.

One stop shopping is a great concept. The success of “big box” stores and places that sell more than one specialized category are proof. The same can be said for digital marketing in Trinidad and Tobago.

 Components

Think about blogging for a moment. By now, hopefully you’ve caught on to the need to incorporate a company blog into your marketing scheme. If you’d like to know details and stats on what we’ve previously said about it’s benefits, including to SEO, read here.

In a nutshell, though… blogging provides a platform for sharing your company’s thoughts, ideals, even innovations. It also aids in creating a “brand awareness” through carefully executed posts that offer the image you want to project.

Pull together

Having a place to curate your thoughts and share them with potential, and current consumers is important. Where you place your blog is just as key to your success. There are wonderful places to post blogs these days. But if you want to give your digital marketing in Trinidad and Tobago a shot in the arm, then it should be integrated with your site.

It’s that one-stop shopping idea. When someone finds your blog, then wants to engage, do you really want them to have to switch sites? Keeping them on your company website is as crucial as getting them there.

Socially Facilitated Marketing

It also fits in well with your social media efforts. You tweet a tidbit, with a link to your blog and it just makes sense that the link also lands them on your site. The new, and consistent postings turn your website into a living thing. If it is constantly evolving, it becomes far more relevant. People will return to your site, and will keep up with your social media postings to learn when a new, long-form article is on board.

SEO

New content aids in improving your search rankings. There isn’t a business out there that wouldn’t want good page rankings. One way to get them is having lots of visitors to your site, and what better way to do that than to have them go there for your blog. If they’re hitting a separate place to read your message, they may not ever visit where you need them. Routinely updating your blog helps SEO, and keeps your page relevant.

Reference

It’s about a better overall user experience. Take a look at a quality website with a blog… it will have an archive of previous postings. As a visitor looking to be informed, having these resources at their fingertips is quite helpful. You may not be discussing something they need today, but if they are familiar with your site, they may go there to find what they’re looking for. Being viewed as helpful and informative is one of the goals of not only blogging, but good digital marketing.

Do you have a company website with a blog? If so, let us know what it is doing for you.

If not, contact us and we can help you with your digital marketing plan.

They say you have to roll with the changes. Let’s be honest though, it can be hard to let go of our way of doing things. Right now, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Is my method of lead generation in Trinidad and Tobago “In”, or “Out”?”

By that, we mean, are you using inbound, or outbound forms of marketing?
Inbound marketing is where consumers come to you through various strategies, including social media, blogs, ebooks, search engine optimization (SEO), or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Outbound marketing is pushing your message out to the audience. The messages are widely distributed through methods such as print or TV ads, cold calling, banner ads, press releases, email marketing, or direct mail.

Choices
Both are aimed at getting out your message, but inbound marketing is the newer kid on the block. It is less intrusive, and it costs less than outbound. According to some stats from Pamorama, The cost per lead in outbound marketing is 62% higher than for inbound. This is not to say that outbound marketing has no place – it does. You simply need to consider your company, it’s goals, and the budget you have to work with.

You also need to consider the target audience. Consumers 18-34 are far more likely to respond to inbound marketing. One reason, they are more connected to the technology involved. They are also used to the idea of researching purchasing decisions and exploring their options.

That being said…
There is some debate that outbound marketing is over.  However, there are statistics from a recent Marketer’s Benchmark Report mentioned in B2C shows marketers rank brand awareness, email marketing, and event marketing – all outbound strategies, as their “most critically important initiatives.” Our most recent blog about inviting email marketing includes some positive statistics about the success of such campaigns, and offers best practice tips.

Be inclusive
We believe that creating an integrated campaign between the two forms is the best path to success. The key is driving awareness and brand credibility. Both can be achieved through mixing the two tactics effectively. Outbound methods can create name recognition and reach a wide audience. Inbound marketing can generate conversation, sharing, and help to perpetuate the image of a helpful, knowledgeable company.

Know your customers and create messaging that speaks to them. Don’t forget to shake things up once in a while. Once consumers get bored with your routine message, they may leave. Lead generation in Trinidad and Tobago doesn’t have to be a difficult choice. Both inbound and outbound marketing methods can help you identify potential customers, and better yet, keep them engaged.

How do most of your customers come to you? Contact us and we can help you build an integrated marketing campaign so that you don’t miss anyone.

The numbers typically don’t lie. There are some from Jupiter Research that says effective email marketing campaigns in Trinidad and Tobago could produce 9 times the revenue of broadcast mailing. Here are some more statistics that should get you to RSVP “yes” to an email campaign:

•  Email is also credited by 59% of marketers as being the most effective channel for generating sales.
•  When looking for a deal, email just edges out company websites as where people look for deals from a company they know.

Best Practices
With nearly 80% open rates on permission-based emails, there’s a lot of promising prospects to creating a campaign. Just as with venturing into any marketing territory, though, there are some key factors to keep in mind.

•  Ask permission before adding consumers to your email list and include ability to opt-out.
•  Go for quality over quantity when it comes to gathering lists. Accurately targeted smaller lists will get further than a larger, widely cast net.
•  Personalized emails (names) generate higher response rates.
•  While brevity has always been touted as the way to go, longer subject lines are OK these days. New research from AlchemyWorx found they are effective when it comes to opening and clicks.
•  Clean up any existing email lists to eliminate dead-ends and long inactive accounts.  Check your addresses for accuracy, know your bounce rate, particularly the hard bounces for     incorrect emails. Otherwise you could be hurting your campaign. Have subscribers enter their     address twice to confirm.
•  Offer a value proposition.

Crafting the message
Most people look at the “from” address, then they scan the subject line…. grab them with something that speaks to their motivation to open. Try using words like ‘sale’, ‘offer’, attention’, ‘invitation’, ‘breakthrough’, ‘personalized’. While all of these words may not apply,  find one that does, or use a related term that accurately describes what’s being offered. You’ll need to play around a bit and see what works.
If it’s not a sales related email… make sure the subject line is compelling, or time sensitive – ‘Newsletter Feb 2012′, or ‘important info.’

Yes
Experiment with these components to reach your audience.

• Try differing the length of subject lines, their tone, their content.
• Play around with copy size, images, video.
• Send messages out at different times of day

No

•  Avoid going on and on about your business, people are busy and look for the quick take. Simply state what you’re offering at the beginning of the message.
•  Never promise something just to hook your customers in, then provide them with less. If you’re offering free shipping, don’t have numerous exceptions or people will feel duped. Don’t claim your product or service can do something that it can’t.
•  Try not to overload. Too many graphics and hyperlinks can get in the way of a good message. They may also display incorrectly.
•  Don’t fumble the connection. If you include a link, be certain it works by testing it out on different operating systems so customers will be directed where you want them.

Once you’ve waged an effective campaign of email marketing in Trinidad and Tobago, you’ll want to evaluate the results. Use real-time tracking to see when emails are opened, analyze where the responses are coming from, and in response to which messages.

Do you open company emails? Do you think they would work for you? Contact us and we can help you develop a plan that will get response.