The IMPACT of Steve Jobs....,

This is a potent reminder of why Steve Jobs left such a mark on this world.....,

Here's a quote from Steve Jobs...,

"No one wants to die. Even people who want

to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.

And yet death is the destination we all share.

No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it

should be, because Death is very likely the

single best invention of Life.

It is Life's change agent. It clears out the

old to make way for the new. Right now the

new is you, but someday not too long from now,

you will gradually become the old and be cleared

away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living

someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma --

which is living with the results of other people's

thinking.

Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out

your own inner voice. And most important, have the

courage to follow your heart and intuition. They

somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary."

... "If today were the last day of my life,

would I want to do what I am about to do today?"

- Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Mobile Affiliate Profits Launch

The First US-based Mobile Affiliate  CPA company, (Offermobi)  launched a major new product yesterday 7/27/11 -- designed to highlight the process of CPA advertising and give highly targeted training for those desiring to jump into the waters of mobile advertising.  Mark Roth and Howie Schwartz are the co-founders of the company Offermobi and it's clear they are a "force to be reckoned with" in this industry.  They have been heavily involved in CPA advertising in various forms for some time now and it shows in this new product as well as in the way they are conducting this launch.  I listened to a content-rich online session Mark and associate, Liane, conducted and was frankly, quite impressed.  Keep an eye on these guys folks and at $47 the training is a bargin!

For more information check out http://www.mobileaffiliateprofits.com/ (I'm not an affiliate of the company).

Let me know if you've had any exposure to mobile CPA and to Offermobi and your results. 

Thanks...,

Gary

Bing is gaining on Google

Even though Google still controls 66% of the Organic and Local Search Marketplace Bing has made astonishing gains in the last 6 months and it getting noticed by analysts**.  If the current pace of grow were to continue Bing would overtake Google in 2012.  Now that is not expected but it does underscore the pace at which Bing's growth is occurring.

**Brian Anderson and Mario Brown write the following in their excellent Local  SEO 2011 experts Guide...,
"BING and their new Bing Business Portal have serious momentum Consider…..

 In October of 2010, Microsoft and Yahoo completed their agreement to have Microsoft Bing power the Yahoo Organic Search Results.

•In January of 2011, Microsoft completed another deal with Conduit to add roughly 2 points of additional market share

•The first half of 2011, Microsoft has made many small moves to add market share.

•So….as of June 2011, the Microsoft Bing organic market share is roughly 33 or 34%, with Google controlling 66-67%.

That means 1 out of every 3 online searchers are seeing Bing powered results:

Some recent data from Hitwise and Analysis from Mashable paint an even more interesting picture"

BING The Last 6 Months

  

Theoretical BING Marketshare Projection

“Google still clearly leads Bing more than 2 to 1. But when you consider that that ratio was 3 to 1 last fall, the gap appears to be closing. Bing is growing by five or six percent each month, whereas Google is losing two to three percent.  So what would happen if that trend continued?”

Credit:  Could Bing Overtake Google in 2012, Christina Warren,  MASHABLE "

Social Media and Retail - Where We're Headed

Groupon is charging ahead evidencing a trend that has no end in sight. Lynn Switanowski highlights this and other key directions we are moving towards as we begin the swing into 2012...,

By Lynn Switanowski

People around the world are using social media more for a multitude of reasons. They are meeting long lost relatives or high school classmates, watching videos, reading blogs and most importantly for retailers, they are using SM to connect with brands they know and love. By the end 2011- more than 63% of Internet users will be using social media. (148 million people) and the number will climb to 67% by the year 2013. (Source: emarketer.com) That's a lot of people spending a lot of time with social media to do a lot of things.
And while some retailers are just getting started in using SM for their businesses, the industry is steam rolling ahead at warp speed. New sites are being created every day and the ways consumers use social media continues to evolve. So the question is - Where do we go from here and what's next for social media?
Here we present 5 of the ongoing trends emerging with social media for 2012. Many of them will be perfect for retailers like you as they seek to engage and share word of mouth experiences with customers in real time across to a broad group of users. When you read them, don't think about where you are with SM today, but more importantly, think about where your business could be if you integrated some of these tools in the coming year.
Consumer content creation-It's all about being in the stream. Yes, you need to have an engaging presence with social media on your own that inspires people to come back on a regular basis. Now taking it to the next level and getting your brand evangelists and social media community members to talk about your business in their posts will be critical.
Think of it as PR and word of mouth marketing from your best customers. You will need to create programs that inspire them to share what you are doing in their social media posts. Think of this as a type of word of mouth referral- except that it's on line and a lot more eyes will be on the message!
Niche Location-This will be another great trend for retailers. Niche location social media site target a users location and tells others about it. This has a great connotation for retailers who can then use services like foursquare or gowalla to run contests or make offers to customers who check in when customers shop.
Its like getting free advertising for your store-people check in and get discounts, etc and then their friends see on line that they are shopping in your store and may be intrigued to come in and get the same deal.
Ann Taylor, McDonalds, Starbucks and Best Buy are just a few of the companies that have created programs for Location based services
Group Purchasing-This trend continues to grow and will expand with more sites in 2012. Simply put, group purchasing is based on the premise that creating a sense of urgency around purchasing will incentivize users to act quickly and to share the information with friends in their circle to insure the deal happens. where brands offer a deal to customers and if enough people sign up, everyone gets the deal. It's a great way to get a tremendous amount of press for your brand that you could never pay for on your own. The group purchasing sites take a percentage of the sales generated from the deal so there is some profit erosion (on this first deal, but not over the long-term life of the customer if you can get them to shop with you again.)
Using group purchasing sites like Groupon or Living social or Daily Deals has become a hotbed topic for retailers because they are concerned these sites don't attract the right type of customers that can be retained long-term. I would suggest that the key to successful group purchasing participation is how you structure the deal and how you prepare in advance to create a process for you to capture contact information from the customers as well as create marketing programs to speak to them after the Groupon is over.
Social Gaming In 2012 more game applications will be integrated in to social media programs to further engage customers with brands in a fun way. More than 56 million people currently play games with social media on a regular basis and brands that connect with customers while they are using the game platforms are poised to form a meaningful connection with them going forward.
Mobile Marketing - More than 50% of all cell phones will be smart phones in 2012. Consumers understand the time saving benefits that a smart phone can deliver and the social media trends for 2012 call for more mobile marketing programs from brands to connect with customers where they are. Discount codes coming thru phones, interactions with products while in store and QR codes offering information, games and other relevant services will further engage customers with brands and stores in 2012.
These are not the only key trends for social media usage for 2012, but they are some of the biggest and ones where retailers can see a direct connection to customers if they choose to use them. Whatever trend you think is right for your business, one thing is certain. Social Media is the way of the future for retailers to connect with customers. Just like creating a website was important 10 years ago and email marketing they way to connect with customers 5 years ago, social media is a trend that is here to stay.
At it's core, social media is a new way of connecting with customers for your store and if you plan on being in business in 10 years and having customers who evangelize your brand - you must start integrating social media tools into your marketing plans today. Personally, you do not have to like- -or even use SM-but you have to understand that effective marketing is putting messages for your store where your customers are-and that your customers are using social media to connect with brands they love-and we certainly want yours to be one of them!

Lynn Switanowski is the President of Creative Business Consulting Group, (CBCG) an International Retail Consulting firm headquartered in Boston, MA.
CBCG partners with retailers, etailers and manufacturers to create and implement profit improving sales, marketing and inventory management programs.
CBCG helps Independent retailers understand the business opportunities created by today's changing consumer trends and helps retailers to harness the power of social media marketing tools to connect with today's wired consumers.
Lynn frequently speaks at retail trade shows across North America and teaches retail marketing and branding at several colleges in the Boston area. She began her career at as a buyer at Federated Department stores.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lynn_Switanowski

Trends In Mobile Marketing For The Next Decade

By Chris Carol

It is easy to get caught up in thinking about trends in mobile marketing over the next year or two. With shifting technology and user patterns, making accurate predictions of even the near future is more of a guessing game than a practical exercise. However, there is value in trying to predict where the technology will end up and how people and companies will be using it in a mobile marketing context. Getting ahead of the competition, even if just a little, provides companies with a stronger position in the future. Taking a risk based on predictions and trends is a troubling proposition, but the benefits and potential payoffs are often too large to dismiss. Predicting the next trend in mobile marketing will offer an advantage to those who are able to seize the opportunities now and set themselves up on the leading edge of those trends. Here are a few mobile marketing trends for the next decade that will almost certainly come to pass. One of the biggest trends in mobile marketing over the next decade has already started. Mobile advertising has been around for sometime now and location specific advertisements are on the rise. But with the wave of smart phones and location-based social media applications, the ability to deliver ads specifically targeted to a mobile phone based on their location will only improve. The GPS systems in smart phones will allow marketers to know where a user is in relation to the ads that they have to serve.
Someone walking down a street with a Starbucks nearby could be sent ad advertisement for a caramel latte. Even better, they could be sent a coupon for the drink as an enticement to go buy the latte. Users connecting with social media applications such as FourSquare are also on the rise. By checking in at specific locations, users are providing valuable information to where they are, but also where they have been and go often. By utilizing this information, mobile ads can be targeted to people who have checked in at everything from the local ice cream shop to a Wal-Mart store. Integrated location specific advertising services are in their nascent stages now but in the next decade they are set to explode in a big way. In the next decade, mobile devices will not just be a method of communicating and gathering information, they will be the way many people pay for goods and services. Right now there is a small market for people to pay with their mobile device. However, in the next decade that will change dramatically. Mobile devices will become the way many people pay for purchases. Instead of carrying around a wallet with many credit cards and debit cards and cash, all the payment information can be contained in the mobile device and transmitted to the merchant for payment. This will revolutionize the way purchases are made and will solidify the mobile device as the single most important item to carry. While banks will always have their own mobile apps to check balances and accounts, either they or a third party will have to create and expand the current mobile payment system to be more secure and ubiquitous enough for this type of payment option to take root. It will happen eventually, it's just a matter of time and investment to get the system in place.
Trends In Mobile Marketing Will Continue To Grow
Political campaigns have already started to use mobile marketing. The campaign of then Senator Obama capitalized on the near universal cell phone usage of younger Americans to create mobile applications and text message systems to communicate with potential voters and supporters. This trend in capitalizing on mobile marketing by politicians will only continue as people increase their use of smart phones and their devices become a primary method of communication and information gathering. Grassroot organizing will no longer be done in meetings and offices, but will be done through the social web. This includes mobile devices as a means of political advertisement. Providing a platform for political communications and advertisements will be an increasing trend for mobile marketing in the next decade. The biggest emerging market for mobile marketing is Asia. Getting the best mobile marketing information is crucial to success. A company that sets its sights on penetrating the market there will be able to reap great rewards in the coming decade. Cell phone ownership has sky-rocketed and with over one billion people in China alone, the opportunity for mobile marketing is enormous. One recent campaign for Unilever's Axe yielded 680 million incoming calls. Being able to harness the sheer numbers of mobile users in the Asian market will be a key to who the major players are in the mobile marketing world in the next decade. Getting a foothold in the market now will provide the ability to ride the rising tide of the Asian market that will inevitably arise in the next decade. Predicting the future can obviously a very difficult thing to do. History is littered with predictions of the future that never came to pass. However, the trends that are listed here have already started. Though many of them are small now, there is a great deal of room for them to expand in the coming decade. There is no reason these trends will not continue to develop and attract a greater user base. These mobile marketing trends will continue to offer opportunities in the coming decade.
What Trends In Mobile Marketing Do You See Coming Over The Next Year?

There are plenty of ideas to start your mobile marketing campaign. You just need the willpower to start advertising to your customers through this outlet.
Check out http://www.trendsinmobilemarketing.com/mobile-marketing-agency/ for best practices on mobile advertising. Mobile is not new, but it is in its infancy. With more users than the world wide web if you are not optimizing and advertising via mobile then you are losing out on a huge potential customer base.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Carol

What is gLocal-Mobile Marketing?

1)   INTRODUCTION:  [overheard  recently] “Are you doing gLocal-Mobile (marketing) yet?”  or  [new movie out] “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mobile-gLocal World”!  Were these two statements just recently overheard today?? – no, not really, not yet, but it’s not far off..., 

 (“gLocal” is pronounced “GLOW-CULL”)

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, let me state to you that, what I am now calling “gLocal-Mobile Marketing” (gLMM) is the biggest and the hottest new development and growth area since the launching of Google or the advent of Facebook and Twitter.  Yet this awareness  can be sometimes confusing.  I mean, what exactly is gLocal-Mobile Marketing and what does it cover? And why are you calling it gLocal-Mobile Marketing when everybody else is saying Local/Mobile or Mobile/Local??  Different Mobile experts define the same phenomena, Local/Mobile Marketing in very different ways!   Local/Mobile  or what I am coining “gLocal-Mobile Marketing” can also include what could be described as “Local Internet Media Marketing” as well.  What...,  Huh??  Don’t worry, you’ll see.  To quote a variation on a phrase  “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mobile-gLocal World!”

This new trend, indeed is huge -- albeit a bit unwieldy.  But today you’ve come to the right place.  This is a guidebook to the (global)Local-Mobile Marketing opportunity for you the entrepreneurial service-provider.  Also, if your looking for a job working for a company and need to understand gLocal-Mobile, keep reading.   We have done the quick research, we’ve checked out the “best and the brightest” of the tools, packages and offerings available and when we are finished laying this out to you, if you seize upon this information and use your selected tools, you will have taken the significant and necessary steps towards mastering today’s mobile marketplace.  But not only simply mastering it, but also profiting from it with a “first movers” advantage. And if you follow the directions described herein, as with any first mover you can write your own ticket, you can explode your markets and grow this opportunity as large as you want to make it. – RIGHT NOW, there is no limit to the number of businesses who need your services – you can run with it as far as you can imagine. Wouldn’t it be nice, for a change, to not miss the “Next-Big-Thing” but instead to ride it all the way to satisfying success?! I can hear you out there..., you’re saying YES,  it would be nice, I’d like to become a wildly successful gLocal-Mobile  Marketer and build an powerful organization, create a well connected gLocal-Mobile  Marketing consulting company.  Well, to you I say GREAT, because, now is the time..., and you are in the right place...,  so let’s begin!

2)   THE MOBILE MATRIX:  “Understanding the Structure of The gLocal-Mobile Marketing  Marketplace”  

It’s a mobile matrix out there.  Ask ten local/mobile marketers “What is Local/Mobile Marketing” and you’ll get ten different answers.  Ten meaningful answers, to be sure, but still, answers that need some structure and perspective.  We can add perspective by defining the three major elements in the phrase Local/Mobile Marketing. First, it’s “Local”; this means it affects businesses located right here “locally” in town on Main Street as opposed to businesses across in the next state or far flung county (or country for that matter). Second, it includes business-building actions/activities that relate to “Mobile” devices such as Smartphone, ipads, tablets, itouches, PDAs, Pocket-PCs, Netbooks, handheld-computers, handheld-game consoles, etc. (Internet connected devices that people carry around).

Third, it’s speaks of Marketing activities, but not just any Marketing activities but rather those that are internet-based and done locally, and/or Marketing activities that are done directly upon or to Mobile devices as defined above. , Fourth, and Finally it’s global – by saying global I am not trying to negate the very important local  aspect of this definition. Instead I am simply adding one single element, -- it is that the local business-owner can himself market his products and services globally into the awaiting screens of worldwide mobile devices. His permission-based  ads can be seen on and sent to iPads/Smartphone worldwide if desired in this process we are calling, global-Local-mobile marketing (i.e. gLocal-mobile marketing).  This process is also true for the gLocal-Mobile Marketer/consultant him(herself). They can do this same marketing themselves for their own profit as an advertiser.