StealthNET Ltd

More businesses will use social media websites as a useful marketing platform, predicted one industry magazine.

Speaking at the Technology For Marketing & Advertising (TFM&A) 2010 event last week, Darren Dutton, business director at marketing news and networking website Marketing.co.uk, said that there is an increasing interest from advertisers in social media.

He said that over the next 12 months smaller networks might appear and more sectors will find their way to target the platform.

"Other companies in other sectors, whether that be the financial sector or the construction sector, will maybe start tapping into social media to connect to their target audiences," he said.

This may come as welcome news to businesses looking at mobile marketing platforms as the rise in sales of smartphones could lead to a number of opportunities to target users on social media networks.

Figures from a study by Sparkler for Microsoft Advertising had found that 50 per cent of young men use their mobile phones to access the internet and use social media sites.

The European Commission announced yesterday (March 1st) that it will allow mobile carriers Orange and the British branch of T-Mobile to merge.

This could be welcome news to mobile marketing businesses as the merger will create the UK's biggest phone network.

However, the merger is subject to some conditions of fair usage. The new company, which will keep the separate brand names, will forgo some of its 1800MHz bandwidth so that it will not totally dominate internet usage by its customers.

It has also agreed to keep its deal with 3, which currently shares the same network as T-Mobile. There had been concern that 3, which has the lowest share of customers in the UK, would be forced out of the market.

Because of these terms, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has retracted the dispute it made last month "after the companies offered remedies that fully address the OFT's outstanding competition concerns".

An eventual merger, which is expected to happen later this year, will see 29.5 million customers under the one company.

More people read the news online than in print in the US research has found.

Figures from the Pew Research Centre have shown that as many as 61 per cent of Americans access some news online while 50 per cent access their news in print.

This could come as welcome news to businesses that use internet micropayments, as some news sources use the system for users to access content on their websites, similar to the Financial Times in the UK.

For companies who use mobile marketing techniques, the research also showed that many internet users share the news they read with others, which can be accessed easily through smartphones.

The study showed that more than eight out of ten online news readers share links in emails. Others were found to use social network sites such as Facebook or publish news on Twitter and blogs.

These social sites are often accessed through the internet on smartphones, making mobile marketing more reachable to a wider audience.

Early-morning TV news show GMTV has launched a competition this week for viewers to win a Peugeot car and £1,000.

Entrants must answer a question and text their answer to a premium rate SMS or phone the premium phone line.

One winner will receive a red Peugeot 3008 1.6 VTi Active on top of £1,000 by watching the show each morning until Friday March 5th to discover what the question of the week is.

In addition, the car will come with a three-year guarantee and a 12-month road fund licence.

Last week, one viewer won a trip for two to Singapore for one week as well as £25,000.

The ITV show often uses 09 numbers for large-sum prizes on its GMTV show and mid-morning show This Morning. It also uses premium rate numbers for viewers to cast votes on talent shows including Sunday's Dancing on Ice and the recent talent show Popstar to Operastar.

Mobile marketing technology is advancing at "breakneck speed", according to one marketing expert.

Rick Segal, global practice leader of business-to-business marketing at GyroHSR, said that the pace of technology and innovation has allowed businesses to remain competitive in marketing strategies.

He said that as the demand from companies increase, marketing creativity has also grown at a great speed.

The pace of advancing technology "keeps us engaged in delivering and meeting the demands of companies that are bringing these products and solutions to market", he said.

Mr Segal was speaking at the Technology For Marketing and Advertising conference last week, which brought together industry professionals to discuss the latest industry insight, trends and developments for the years ahead.

It came at a time when 66 per cent of businesses will be investing in social media marketing, according to research from Alterian, a tool which can be of particular use to mobile marketing strategies.

Inbetweeners star Emily Atack was the latest contestant to leave Dancing on Ice after getting the least number of premium line phone votes.

The 20-year-old and her partner Fred Palascak was forced to perform the final skate-off against ex-EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook before the judges chose to send her home.

On leaving, Atack said: "It's changed my life, my attitude. It's given me discipline."

Only judge Nicky Slater voted to save Atack, despite the actress winning the second-highest score by the judges during the show.

Scoring the lowest by the judges was Boyzone singer Mikey Graham, who was saved by the premium rate vote.

Atack became the eighth skater to leave the show, leaving just two remaining girls in the competition, Danniella and Hayley Tamaddon.

Ice skating took up air time on television last week with the Vancouver Winter Olympics competition, leading to millions getting the skating bug and tuning in to watch the talent competition yesterday.

Early-morning TV presenters Kate Garraway and Richard Arnold made it through to the final of Let's Dance For Sport Relief last Saturday (February 27th) after winning a premium phone vote.

Audiences of the show watched the pair recreate the Born to Handjive dance from Grease, while other acts included the Weather Girls and Michael Fish.

Also through to the final show was Coronation Street's Deborah Stevenson, who performed Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, choreographed by one of the original dancers.

Stevenson, however, was put through by the judge's vote, a line-up which included model Kelly Brook.

Money raised from the 09 number and the premium rate SMS line will go to the charity Sports Relief.

Last week, comedian Rufus Hound won the viewer vote, while Katy Brand wowed the judges. The four acts will compete in the final show this month.

The show pulled in a seven million viewers on the night, although it is unconfirmed how many voted using the premium line.

One technology expert has predicted that 2010 will be the year of the mobile operating system.

Neil McHugh, co-founder of rightmobilephone.co.uk has said after a 23.8 per cent rise in smartphone sales in 2008, consumers want more from their mobiles.

"Consumers have been overwhelmed with different operating systems from handset to manufacturer; we have Apple and similar to Apple, Windows, Symbian, Blackberry, Android, Maemo, Bada and others," he said.

"Some will fall away into obscurity but those that can provide a robust, reliable, easy to use operating system and manage consumers' ever growing communication and social interaction needs, will be the big winners of 2010."

For businesses looking to introduce mobile marketing as an advertising strategy, this may come as good news.

According to GSMA and comScore, mobile internet usage has increased to one fifth of UK mobile subscribers, which has been put down to the rise in smartphones. This could suggest that more users are also using their phones to access internet micropayment systems such as online games.

Devices that combine netbooks and smartphones may not succeed in the computer market because they are ill-defined, according to ABI Research.

With the rise of both technologies, businesses are able to take advantage of mobile marketing, but according to the market intelligence company, the two cannot be combined.

This comes after Apple recently launched its iPad, a device which claims to be smaller than a netbook but more advanced than a smartphone.

However, IT market research and analysis firm IDC released figures earlier this month indicating that consumers are interested in subscribing to smartphones as a technology.

Jeff Orr, mobile content senior analyst at ABI Research, said: "With consumers there is a pretty strong separation between those who are looking for more of a portable or mobile computer, like a laptop or a netbook, versus those that are looking for more of a smartphone or a Mobile Internet Devices-type of handheld device."

Businesses looking at new and unique ways of internet and mobile marketing have been advised to "go viral".

Following the success of music band OK Go, which sent out its video in a viral over the internet, other companies and individuals are increasingly using the marketing tool.

Henry Cowling, creative director of digital marketing and media company the Viral Factory, said that companies need to be careful however, not push the product in the same way as other mediums such as television and internet.

"Viral is like mobile advertising - the content is the engine; if it doesn't work your advertising message won't get off the forecourt," he explained.

Mr Cowling added: "The defining attribute of videos that actually go viral is that they are loved or otherwise compelling in some way."

One such way to go viral, he suggested, was the use of Twitter.

"Twitter is like the canary in the coal mine; it is an early response mechanism that allows us to monitor and predict the reception of a viral campaign across the internet at large."

« ‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 › »