There are a number of growing trends on the Internet that involve both social media and mobile applications. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest all have massive audiences spending a considerable amount of time on their website and mobile sites. With this blog post I chose to review the overall mobile and social trends through a few interesting articles I've found on the topics.
Mobile:
Mobile usage is skyrocketing. Don't believe me? Check out some of
the trending topics relating to mobile onCNN. The use of Smart Phones in particular has allowed
people all over the world to access the Internet without requiring a computer.
It is now commonplace to see young children walking around with
Smart Phones, or babies being entertained by an ipad or iphone.
One
thing I find ever more interesting is the growing number of mobile Internet
users in comparison to computer Internet users. According to a study previewed below, Internet usage through mobile devices surpassed computers in India in 2012. Read more on this study at http://www.insidemobileapps.com.
Social: The Conversation Prism is a visual representation of the growing number of
social media applications out there today. Like mentioned above, the most prominent social media applications are sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, but the number these sites grows every day! The Conversation
Prism does a good job of visualizing the complexity of social applications. One ways that it does is is through categorizing different social media platforms by topic.The Social Conversation Prism outlines a complex industry landscape in a way that is still easy to comprehend. Check it out below or visit https://conversationprism.com.
As someone who works in the Advertising industry, I often get asked to validate my profession. Becoming a Lawyer, Doctor or Accountant all require certification exams that validate an individual's knowledge on the topic and gives them the honor of calling themselves a professional in their industry. So how does Advertising govern and set ethical practices and expectations? The answer is through the Internet Advertising Bureau, otherwise as the IAB. To quote the IAB's website, "the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising" (http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab). The IAB is an active part of my career. My current company is actively involved in IAB initiatives and support all policies led by the IAB. Our ad units follow the same guidelines as IAB units and runs a number of its Rising Star units. We also actively participate in their certification exams. This past year, all Sales representatives needed to pass the IAB Sales Certification in order to attend our annual sales conferences. The IAB is a great way to learn about new trends in the marketplace. After 3.5 years in Ad Operations, I moved into Sales and Account Management for my company's DSP (Demand Side Platform) or what some might refer to as Programmatic Advertising. Programmatic Advertising is new to market and can be described by phrases like RTB (real time bidding) or Non-Reserve. The IAB published white papers on Programmatic Advertising to help educate marketers on the subject. One article included the graph below to help visualize how Programmatic inventory exists within the media world today. Programmatic (+ Reserve) Inventory Sources:
This past January I also took the IAB Digital Ad Operations Certification exam. A new exam for the IAB, a number of my Operations Directors took part in helping write the exam, along with many other industry partners and competitors (participating vendors listed at the bottom of the page here). The 3 hour computerized multiple-choice exam was proctored in a Pearson Testing Center, the same testing organization used to monitor exams like the GRE and the GMAT. With over 100+ questions, I completed the exam in an hour and a half and PASSED!! I have the certificate hanging in my cube at work. It helps remind me to be confident in my digital knowledge and makes me proud to be part of this industry!
I first learned about GoPicnic when a close friend started working there as the Brand Communications Director. Known to some as the "healthy lunchable" GoPicnic prepares ready to eat meals that are predominantly vegan-friendly. The Brand Communications Director, Jamie Siegel, was hired to grow GoPicnic's digital and offline brand presence and often relies on social media to keep costs down and reach a wide target audience. More and more organizations are realizing the benefits of social media and the power of the Internet for both brand awareness and sales. Finding the right platforms and sending the right message has to be 100% customized to the company, so here's how Jamie utilizes social media for GoPicnic! I sat down with Jamie and interviewed her about GoPicnic. She explained, "I was brought into GoPicnic to build our social media presence online. In my year and a half at the company, I've build social engagement that rivals national brand competitiors. Facebook has been a very powerful tool for us recently. In just one year, I've utilized social media at GoPicnic to organically fans from 5,000 Facebook fans to over 21,000." To give you additional background on how GoPicnic uses social media, here are the things Jamie thinks are the primary benefits to using Facebook and other social media platforms. Building Brand Awareness GoPicnic began as a start-up selling packaged meals to airlines. The company has expanded its products and relies heavily on social media to reach its nationally scaled audience. Facebook and Amazon are 2 platforms GoPicnic uses frequently. Driving traffic to the website to boost online sales GoPicnic uses social media to educate consumers on sales and promotions. They then use this data on consumers to help guide purchasing decisions by making suggestions of additional products based on past purchases and browsing habits. All links tied to social media are trackable, which helps GoPicnic learn more about which social media sites are working well and which aren't. Educating Consumers GoPicnic sells products both online and through partner distribution channels, but finding where to buy isn't always easy! GoPicnic can be found at local Target, your local 7-11 and a variety of other convenience store locations, so social media helps communicate where consumers can buy regardless of online or offline. Check out GoPicnic's Facebook page:
