Geo marketing still in its infancy

While geo marketing is not a new phenomenon, an analysis of the discipline shows that it is clearly still in the early stages of its development. While there are some established geo marketing successes such as Google local business results, geo marketing is capable of much more substantial growth on mobile and social platforms.

Desktop web searches can show the location of various local businesses if the user searches by a keyword and a location name, however mobiles are more effective for geo marketing as their location can be detected using in built GPS. Many companies offer promotions for customers who check in at their store, or use QR codes displayed to engage with products. However there is some debate as to how effective these methods. Furthermore, the effectiveness of geo marketing is difficult to measure in terms of conversion rate. Many people using geo marketing fundamentally don’t know how to use it, but understand what it’s potential could be.

Social networks are expected to help push the growth of geo marketing as market leader Facebook makes location a more important part of its new design, and social networks such as Foursquare which are entirely dependent on location become more popular.

Amazon has also taken advantage of the mobile marketing phenomenon by offering discounts to its customers who use their application to compare prices in stores. This has been criticised by some as it leads to customers treating high street stores like showrooms, before buying the product for cheaper from Amazon whilst providing valuable product information. However online stores like Amazon and Ebay also recognise the value of geo marketing, with the former having set up a pop store simply to showcase the online store over Christmas.

As the power and popularity of social networks grow in tandem with advances in mobile technology and adoption of smartphones, there will be many more avenues for geo marketing. So far the growth of geo marketing has been slower than expected, but it is accepted that no one has quite worked out the best way to utilise it yet.

Twitter Redesigns for Marketing Online

Twitter has undergone a facelift that looks set to make it more effective for marketing online. The new interface aims to make the service easier to use for beginners, thus increasing its user base and marketing online to more users. The redesign also aims to increase user involvement, again potentially motivated by the fact that if a user spends more time on Twitter they will be more aware of the marketing online.

The updated design removes the dependence on hashtags (#) and @ and adds new navigation buttons of ‘Home’, ‘Connect; and ‘Discover’. This will help novice users discover what’s happening on Twitter easier and also give better direction to sponsored tweets for marketing online. Twitter have also launched branded pages to further marketing online, as well as new updates for mobile platforms Android and iOS as the social network recognises the significance of mobile marketing.

What all these updates appear to do on the surface is to provide a service that looks a lot more like Facebook, the king of social media marketing online. Facebook has long been the market leader for social networks with over 800 million, far ahead of Twitter’s 100 billion users. What Facebook also excels at is engagement with its users, with impressive statistics estimating the average user spends 46 minutes a day on the site making it invaluable for marketing online. Twitter does not have such engagement with many accounts being underused. Twitter will wish to improve on this aspect by becoming more like Facebook, however it is important that it does not become an exact replica of its rival. However it clearly wants the ease of entry and length of engagement that Facebook has, giving it the same revenue potential from marketing online, whilst retaining its identity.

Apple iPhone and iPad apps

Angry birds is celebrating its second birthday and as a reward for its customers has released 15 special levels on its iphone apps. Furthermore, all episodes of the game have been unlocked, an episode being the term used to group 20 levels of the game. Angry birds has been a phenomenon and one of the most popular iPhone apps across its lifespan, and its success on this platform has lead to iPad apps, other mobile platform apps, a board game, soft toys and now talk of a television series and a feature film.

Even Microsoft is now embracing iPhone apps. Both its popular service Evernote and its new Sky Drive service are now available as iPhone apps. Also featuring as iPhone apps are the Xbox Live service and even the Kinectimals game which helped launch the Kinect gaming peripheral for the Xbox 360. However there is no word on Microsoft’s key product, Microsoft Office making its way to iPhone just yet. The iphone apps are also available as iPad apps however in some cases they are little more than a port to the iPad, with the size of the apps simply expanded and the resolution distorted.

Although Microsoft will inevitably make money from selling the software as iPhone apps, it is a surprising move considering Windows is pushing its own Mobile operating system and needs all the exclusives it can get to help convince people to switch and boost its market share from a paltry 5.8%. However perhaps the lack of any such release for Android is more telling. With 52% of the smartphone market perhaps Window views the Google backed Android system as the greater competitor, and has created iPhone apps to destroy Google believing it can compete with Apple in the long run?

More Android Phones, Why less Android Apps?

2011 has been heralded in some quarters as the year of Android, as it saw the Google backed mobile operating system overtake Apple’s market share for smartphones, and celebrate ten billion Android apps downloaded. However, despite projections that there will be more Android apps downloaded in 2012 than iPhone apps, developers still prefer to develop applications for iPhone. Why is this?

One reason iPhone apps are preferred to Android apps is their ease of development. Android apps are made available for a vast variety of hardware which has different screen sizes, buttons and interaction with the touch screen. Apple doesn’t, with only one version of the iPhone being released each year, and especially with the hardware of the iPhone 4 and 4S being essentially the same. This means Android apps can often be buggy as they cannot be optimised for one piece of hardware.

Android apps are projected to overtake iPhone apps next year, but the total number of downloads has not yet surpassed iPhones total. Most developers have previously been iOS developers and have not been convinced to switch to Android apps yet. Developing Android apps requires different code to iPhone apps and switching will cost time and effort.

However the main reason is profit. While more smartphone owners now have Android phones, many paid less for them than an iPhone would cost, and many are not prepared to pay for Android apps. iPhone users are considered richer, iPhones are not cheap, and they are more likely to spend on apps. One company’s figures show that for every $1 generated for an iPhone app, only $0.24 dollars will be generated for Android apps. Android may have proved itself to certainly be a worthwhile platform to be on, however for developers with greater time restraints and less resources who can only choose one system to develop for, it may continue to be iPhone apps instead of Android apps that they choose for a while yet.

Video Search Engine Optimisation

It is said that a picture can speak a thousand words. Now think of the amount that could potentially be communicated in 30 seconds at 25 frames per second. Video search engine optimisation could become a key tool for social marketers wishing to reach an audience at a low cost. This search engine optimisation could then tie in with Youtube’s social network, along with other social networks such as Facebook and Google+ which have received closer integration with Youtube following this month’s redesign.

Research has shown that a link for a video is 53 times as likely as a website to reach an organic front page search ranking on Google. Youtube videos are of course likely to rank highly due to Google being its parent company. Furthermore most search engines provide a separate video category that will prove less competitive to get to the first page on than in the search engine optimisation battle with websites.

This is of course dependant on search engine optimisation factors such as keywords in the title and description, as well as user involvement. Comments and shares must be encouraged which is often dependant on the content. Of course there is also the opportunity to gain Youtube ‘subscriptions’ which will give users notifications of all future videos. With the closer social integration, social media campaigns could also be a significant beneficiary of being linked to Youtube videos backed by better search engine optimisation.

However, while video search engine optimisation may be more effective at gaining a place on Google’s first page, there are still further challenges than a link for a website. Firstly producing a video that entertains and promotes takes skill and creativity. Secondly it requires another step to get the viewer from the video to the website. However should the video be effective then it will become extra promotion in itself beyond search engine optimisation.

Apps for Android hit Ten Billion

This week downloads of apps for Android surpassed the ten billion mark. To celebrate, Google are making some of the more popular apps for Android available at a knockdown fee of just 10 American cents. The figure highlights the increased growth of the android platform, as it took just one month to go from nine billion downloads to ten billion apps for Android downloaded, whereas it had previously taken twenty two months for the first billion apps for Android to be downloaded.

This increase in growth has lead analysts to believe that downloaded apps for Android will surpass the number of app downloads Apple has registered in the next year. Apple reached the 10 billion mark in July, however apps for Android are now being downloaded at a faster rate. Android phones account for 52% of the smartphone market, however until now iOS apps had still proved more popular with developers as owners of Apple smartphones and tablets tended to download more. However this now looks set to change, and should developers see more potential revenue from developing apps for Android then Google’s smartphone platform may establish a position of dominance in the market.

However the achievement has been accompanied by controversy this month as it has been found that many Android phones and some iPhone contain software called Carrier IQ. This software can record a users use of apps for Android, their location, and basically all keystrokes input to the phone, and can then send the data back to the phones network. So far it has only been found on phones in the US with all British networks denying its use. While Carrier IQ claims good intentions in providing diagnostics to improve service, many have taken issue with a program that monitors their actions being installed on their phone without their consent.

Apps for Facebook

The value of apps for Facebook was highlighted this month as Farmville creator Zynga filed for an initial public offering of stock (IPO). Zynga’s most famous and profitable offering is Farmville, one of the most popular apps for Facebook. The game is free to play, however virtual crops and other items can be purchased by users, which along with sponsorship deals generate revenue for the company. The IPO is set to be worth $10 billion dollars, making Zynga the second most valuable games company in the world.

The world’s most valuable games company is Activision Blizzard, most famous for the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft series of games. Both of these titles require years of development and sell for a premium price. Zynga’s model of offering games as apps for Facebook shows how profitable the medium can be. The only other comparable company to Zynga is Rovio, who produced the phenomenally successful smartphone game ‘Angry Birds’. Rovio was the subject of a takeover bid from Zynga earlier in the year but rejected it on the basis of the potential that it can see in the social games industry.

Of course not all apps for Facebook are games. There are over 500,000 apps for Facebook available. Many will be using apps for Facebook to promote their businesses and products this Christmas. Many will use their legions of Facebook fans to spread awareness of their products and services through apps for Facebook. These apps not only help companies spread awareness, but also allow the users to interact with the company in a variety of ways. Whether these companies can use apps for Facebook to sell their physical products with obvious tangible benefits as well as Zynga can sell virtual crops remains to be seen.