Lakeshore BrandingSearch results for 'sms' (page 1 of 2)

Mobile Technology is Changing the Face of Marketing

Guest Blogger — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:08:58 +0000

It used to be that marketing teams and technology people didn’t really interact apart from uncomfortable meetings about getting a new offer onto the latest website build. But with the rise of mobile-optimized websites, custom branded apps, locality services, and integrated messaging campaigns, the lines between marketing and technology are blurring. Marketers today must be comfortable talking about HTML5 and integrated databases. Technologists today must be comfortable talking about audience segments, targeting, and messaging strategy. But mobile technology is changing more than how we work together. It’s literally changing how we market and where we put our marketing investment. Poor Old E-mail E-mail was called the ‘killer app’ for at least a decade. Its power to connect with audiences led to an entire generation of technologies to gather addresses, segment lists, target messages, test performance, and provide service. Only, young people today don’t (or rarely) use it. They use instant message technology and social networks, with mobile (and SMS) figuring - Read the full article

Mobile Technology is Changing the Face of Marketing is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Social Media Dashboards – with Customer Relationship Management Features – for Twitter

Chris Campbell — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:52:32 +0000

It’s not uncommon for businesses today to use social networks – namely, Twitter and Facebook – as a platform for engaging with customers and managing customer relationships. This development has given rise to an increasing number of social media solutions and dashboards, each promising to streamline all tasks and bring a new level of ease in customer engagement. Let’s take a look at the best of these solutions and their features. MediaFunnel MediaFunnel is a social media suite for businesses and enterprises, with a host of features designed to make Twitter and Facebook accounts easier to manage. One of these distinguishing features is Multiple User Roles, or the ability to assign Administrator, Publisher, and Contributor roles and grant various levels of permission to review or publish tweets and Facebook posts (for greater editorial control and efficiency). Apart from monitoring Twitter and Facebook for mentions and tracking the performance of links via Bit.ly and BudURL, MediaFunnel also enables you to - Read the full article

Social Media Dashboards – with Customer Relationship Management Features – for Twitter is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Three Tips for Effective Online Lead Generation

Guest Blogger — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:30:34 +0000

Small business owners often rely on leads in order for them to keep their business afloat. The only problem is that online lead generation can be a very difficult thing to master, especially when the goal is not just simply to come up with a huge list. The quality of the leads is something that owners need to consider as well. Trying to hit both goals can be very tricky. Most people assume that the numbers are all the matter in online lead generation. But what is the use of a big list if it consists mostly of unqualified leads which cost not just money but time as well? Online lead generation is a tool that allows business owners to make attractive offers to prospective buyers. In order to keep you from engaging unqualified leads, wasting both time and effort, here are a few tips. 1. Conversion Mechanisms Should Be Consistent with Purchase This is a very simple concept which - Read the full article

Three Tips for Effective Online Lead Generation is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Letting Testimonials Speak for You: A Guide to Soliciting and Maximizing Customer Reviews

Chris Campbell — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:57:49 +0000

According to a study by Forrester Research, 71 percent of online shoppers read customer reviews before making a purchase decision. That’s close to three out of every four! Enough for us to have to seriously take this insight, one that serves as yet another proof that, when it comes to winning new customers (and bringing in new business) a satisfied customer or a loyal fan just might be your most potent sales rep. Oh, and it’s also probably a good idea to start soliciting customer reviews and testimonials. Why? More than techniques to manage your online reputation, reviews and testimonials can act as the worms that bait the fish. (Worms: a funny word to describe that which persuades shoppers to buy and mere visitors to become customers.) Need advice on soliciting – and maximizing the potency of – customer reviews and testimonials? Here’s a quick guide: Soliciting Reviews Ask for it. Your customers may never know that you want their - Read the full article

Letting Testimonials Speak for You: A Guide to Soliciting and Maximizing Customer Reviews is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Online Advertising Spending Surpasses Newspapers

Chris Campbell — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:50:35 +0000

Online advertising is back – and bigger than ever. US online ad spending rose by 13.9 percent in 2010, reaching a new record of $25.8 billion after a downslide in 2009. According to digital marketing research firm eMarketer, this figure surpasses that of advertising spending in newspapers (print and online editions), which fell to $25.7 billion in 2010: a decline of 6.6 percent. Among several measured media, only TV generates more advertising dollars than the Internet. The results of eMarketer’s study mark a new milestone for advertising on the Internet – and a trend that is likely to continue in the next few years. It is estimated that in 2011, Internet ad spending will account for about $28.5 billion, while ad spending on newspapers is expected to continue to decline. Said Geoff Ramsey, CEO of eMarketer, “It’s something we’ve seen coming for a long time, but this is a tipping point.” eMarketer cites three key reasons for the steady rise - Read the full article

Online Advertising Spending Surpasses Newspapers is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Tips for Optimizing Your Site Globally by Using Local Languages

Guest Blogger — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:15:55 +0000

Google is not the only search engine in the world. In some large countries like Russia, it isn’t even the most popular. It has been estimated that only one fourth of the Internet’s 2 billion users speak English as their native language. Only one fourth! That means that if you are only optimizing your site for people who speak English then you may be missing out on 1.5 billion potential customers! Obviously if you want to expand your market globally, you have to start thinking about targeting local areas around the globe that search on the Internet in different languages. This means translating your site, among other things that will help SEO-wise, and you should do so because it has been proven that people searching on the web trust their native speaking tongue when it comes to making a purchase on the Internet. Where to Start You must first decide if you want to target by location or by language. - Read the full article

Tips for Optimizing Your Site Globally by Using Local Languages is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Are You Ready for 2011? Internet Marketing Trends to Expect Next Year

Chris Campbell — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:50:23 +0000

Are you ready for 2011? As the Internet transforms, so should you. The rate at which technology evolves only means that, no matter how far along you’ve come with your Internet marketing program, there will always be something new to explore. There’ll always be something new to add to the mix. It is in this light that Lakeshore Branding takes a look at a number of online marketing trends expected to take off next year. We present this hoping that you’ll turn these expectations into opportunities – and the opportunities into tools to drive your business. HTML5: As the next major revision of the HTML standard, HTML5 is expected to emerge next year – and beyond – as that which will change the chemistry of the World Wide Web. Under development for much of the last few years, HTML5 will nonetheless continue to usher in the next generation of web development and programming. It will be supported by more browsers, - Read the full article

Are You Ready for 2011? Internet Marketing Trends to Expect Next Year is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

7 Reasons Why SMS Marketing Will Work for You

Chris Campbell — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:00:41 +0000

There’s a high-potential marketing platform that’s slowly and surely attracting corporations, small business owners, advertisers, and marketers alike. Observers say that this is a big one – an avenue through which one can reach a good portion of billions of consumers. It’s called SMS. You know: text messaging. No, you’re not reading an article from our 1998 archives. This is 2010 all right, but you know what? In the age of tablet computers, flashy apps, smartphones, and social media, SMS marketing has indeed become one of the most viable and important platforms for businesses today. Here are some numbers: An estimated 3.5 billion text messages are sent and received every day. 57 percent of all cell phone subscribers use SMS on a regular basis. According to the New York Times, 97 percent of text messages are opened, and 83 percent of these are opened in less than an hour. Despite the explosive growth of smartphones and mobile technologies like the - Read the full article

7 Reasons Why SMS Marketing Will Work for You is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Tools for Taking your Online Business Mobile

Guest Blogger — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:15:48 +0000

A business today needs to be mobile. Your customers are using their cell phones to access business information. If you aren’t easily accessible on their mobile phones then they’re going to start overlooking you in favor of businesses that are. Here are the tools that you need in order to go mobile with your business: Reinvent your website for the mobile platform. You may have a really amazing Flash website with a lot of interactive features that looks terrific on a desktop computer. However, that’s not going to work correctly on most mobile phones. You need to also have a mobile version of your site. (Lakeshore Branding has a list of really sweet tools here.) Each different mobile platform offers a browser WebKit to help optimize sites for the web. It’s worth it to work with a professional who is knowledgeable about making your website ready for mobile devices. Do local search engine optimization. Doing SEO for your website means taking - Read the full article

Tools for Taking your Online Business Mobile is a post from: Lakeshore Branding

Facebook Messages: Its Not Email

Chris Campbell — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:07:32 +0000

Facebook, the world’s largest networking site with over 500 million members, launched a new messaging system Monday, taking various communication platforms like E-mail, SMS, instant messaging, and chat and integrating them into what is called Facebook Messages. The system is a result of a 15-month engineering project, considered by many as the largest Facebook has undertaken. Facebook Messages is actually a revitalization of its current messaging system, and – despite industry observers and news media hyping the new feature as an “E-mail killer”, intended to rival Google’s highly popular Gmail – it isn’t technically a new E-mail platform. “This is not an E-mail killer,” said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “We don’t expect anyone to wake up tomorrow and say they are going to shut down their current E-mail accounts.” What Facebook Messages does provide are three unique communication features, which served as the highlights of Zuckerberg’s Monday announcement. Seamless messaging: Facebook users will be able to send and - Read the full article

Facebook Messages: Its Not Email is a post from: Lakeshore Branding