This is a great info-graphic visualizing how inbound marketing stacks up against traditional outbound marketing. We call  inbound marketing, consumer engagement primarily because we see it as two-way communication where marketers provide value and are rewarded. See more about inbound marketing and our consumer engagement services here

Via Mashable

Thanks to the Internet, marketing has evolved over the years. Consumers no longer rely on billboards and TV spots — a.k.a. outbound marketing — to learn about new products, because the web has empowered them. It’s given them alternative methods for finding, buying and researching brands and products. The new marketing communication — inbound marketing — has become a two-way dialogue, much of which is facilitated by social media.

Another reason why inbound marketing is winning is because it costs less than traditional marketing. Why try to buy your way in when consumers aren’t even paying attention? Here are some stats from the infographic below.

• 44% of direct mail is never opened. That’s a waste of time, postage and paper.
• 86% of people skip through television commercials.
• 84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an “irrelevant or intrusive ad.”
• The cost per lead in outbound marketing is more than for inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing focuses on earning, not buying, a person’s attention, which is done through social media and engaging content, such as blogs, podcasts and white papers. This content is interesting, informative and adds value, creating a positive connection in the eyes of the consumer, thus making him more likely to engage your brand and buy the product. So it costs less and has better a ROI.

This infographic from Voltier Digital highlights the differences between the two kinds of marketing. Let us know your opinions in the comments below.

 Latest Comscore data shows rapid growth of consumers accessing social networks via their mobile devices. This is important for companies that want to share offers or drive traffic to their mobile website  utilizing Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, Linked in, Google and a variety of other  social networks popular on mobile devices.  Reach out to ApolloBravo for a mobile readiness evaluation and creative solutions for integrating Mobile + Social.

via WARC NEW YORK: Over 70m consumers in the US now access social networking sites through their mobile phones, a study from comScore, the research firm, has revealed. According to the company’s estimates, 72.2m people – a third of the entire mobile audience – logged on to these platforms via a handset in August 2011, a 37% increase on an annual basis.

More specifically, 39.9m individuals engaged in this pastime “almost every day”, a total which had expanded by 58% during the last 12 months.

Facebook led the field in terms of usage, reflecting its dominant position in the market as a whole. Some 57.3m of its members signed in from a wireless handset in August, a 50% lift year on year.

Twitter was in second place having attracted 13.4m mobile subscribers across August 2010, equating to 75% growth on August 2010. LinkedIn attracted 5.5m visitors in the same way, a 69% surge.

At present, the most popular activities undertaken by the mobile social networking audience are viewing comments from their friends on 80.3%, and posting status updates, on 69.5%.

Elsewhere, 53.2% of people had followed links to websites, and 52.9% read posts from brands and organisations.

This was ahead of the 44.8% that looked at material from celebrities and other public figures. Another 34.8% of netizens posted links to websites.

Turning to more commercial matters, 33.3% of consumers had received coupons and offers on these web properties, and 27.7% clicked on ads.

When considering the means via which mobile subscribers access social networks, comScore reported 42.3m did so through a browser, up 24% year on year, and 38.5m utilised an app, a 126% annual improvement.

Some 60% of smartphone owners logged on to social networks on these gadgets, nearly double the overall average, Mark Donovan, comScore’s senior vice president for mobile, said.

“Knowing that fans and followers engage with branded content on mobile devices opens the door to a world of opportunity for location-based services,” he added.

Data sourced from comScore; additional content by Warc staff, 24 October 2011

Our mobile marketing trends 2010 report was a big hit with over 65,000 views and comments on slideshare and scribd. This year we cover the rapidly expanding use of smart phones to access social networks. We also take a deep look at creative ways to use SMS text promotions and integrating them with Facebook, QR Codes and mobile websites.  We share some of our mobile campaigns Including Text to Win, Snap to Win, Text to Give, Text to Screen, digital signage and mobile coupon integration.  Plus much more…Take a look.
 
Mobile Marketing Trends 2011. Mobile Goes Social

A 5 minute pitch on social media – Socialnomics

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

From Mashable – While Twitter may be getting the majority of the press in the Facebook-Twitter competition, Facebook’s still the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Today the world’s largest social network made that clear by announcing that they now have more than 300 million users.

In a blog post, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the social network’s constant growth and also announced that the company was self-sustaining and cash-flow positive, not a small feat by any means considering the relative trouble they’ve had monetizing. Being able to generate a profit opens the door to many possibilities, including an IPO.

The announcement also means that Facebook grew from 200 million users to 300 million in just over 5 months. It took 8 months to reach 200 million from 100 million, and it took years to reach the 100 million user milestone. This is a company that is growing faster, not slower, than its competition.

As the company continues its all-out assault on Twitter, it’s easy to forget that it simply has more users than its upstart rival. By the end of the year, there should be 18 million Twitter users. That’s not even 1/15 of the current size of Facebook.

Mashable, Read more

Facebook Now Has Over 300 Million Users.

Great Slideshow from INC Magazine. Read about 1 person companies that generate up to 10 Million in revenue. Contact ApolloBravo about home based office opportunities in Mobile Marketing and Social Media. How much time do you spend in your car or in unproductive meetings ?

11 Businesses You Can Start in Your Pajamas

Pet Care — Paul Mann, Fetch! Pet Care

Virtual Assistant — Tawnya Sutherland, VAnetworking.com

Bargain Hunting Website — Karen Hoxmeier, MyBargainBuddy.com

Accounting Services — Melissa Nash Andrews, Accounts Receivables

Technical Staffing — Bill Foster and Ruben Santana, XRoads Consulting

Home Improvement and Organization — Allan Young, ShelfGenie

Green Construction — Nic Darling, Chad Ludeman, and Courtney Ludeman, Postgreen

Graphic Design Services — Sam Feuer, Mindsmack.com

Resume Writing — Kathy Sweeney, The Write Resume

Corporate Educational Services — Joseph Pickett, Experts Briefings

Online Dating Site — Markus Frind, PlentyofFish

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHHa0JZ-kM4]

NEW YORK – Brand marketers are finally discovering mobile as a medium for building unique strategies for one-to-one user engagement. The channel is a new opportunity to have real creative engagement.

A panel of speakers at MediaBistro’s ThinkMobile Conference and Expo in New York talked about their strategies and experiences in leveraging the mobile channel. Mobile Marketer’s Mickey Alam Khan moderated the panel

The travel industry, quick service restaurants and the automotive companies are the leaders in the mobile space, according to Jamie Wells, mobile director, Ignition Factory, OMD, New York.

“More than 75 percent of the brands we work with are starting to ask about mobile,” said David Bear, executive director of mobile and social media at Atmosphere BBDO, New York.

Mr. Bear stressed the importance of educating the agency people on mobile. “If they don’t understand the mobile platform, the ideas won’t get to the client,” Mr. Bear said.

www.apollobravo.com

The mobile phone was never intended to be a marketing tool, according to Brad Vettese, Now it is so personal that brands would like to be invited in.

Applications are the Holy Grail of mobile, the panelists all said. However, there are some challenges when developing an application and it is even more daunting to try and get the word out.

An audience member asked the panelists, “How does one go about getting the application downloaded?”

This is where mobile search engine optimization comes into play. Keywords in the application’s description will help get the application found.

“Branded apps make sense,” Mr. Wells said. “Branded apps have great interactive options.”

Lead generation through applications is also impressive.

“Applications are a great way to create a branded experience and an emotional connection with the consumer,” Mr. Arbour said.

Mr. Bear said that because the mobile space is still so new, brands should be looking at what their competitors are doing in the space. This information should drive decision making.

“Think about what you want the user to experience and then figure out how to make it happen,” Mr. Vettese said.

The panelists agreed that 2009 will be a ground-breaking year for mobile commerce.

Brands like Marriot and Papa John’s are proof that mobile commerce is well on its way.

“It’s complicated because there is a limited value-proposition,” Mr. Wells said. “Markets with mature payments systems in place will not be too excited by mobile commerce. But less developed markets are going to be really excited about it.”

Because of the economic slowdown, brands are using mobile more for direct response and less for branding purposes.

“Engagement is key,” Mr. Vettese said. “Brands are really trying to get consumers to take action and do something.”

The panelists gave examples of successful marketing campaigns they created for their clients in an effort to show that mobile works.

“What’s great is that clients have low expectations for their mobile initiatives so it isn’t really hard to blow them out of the water,” Mr. Bear said.

See more  http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/2870.html

Contact ApolloBravo for the latest mobile campaign strategy 703-835-9688 Ext 801

Lives in a van down by the river. Great travel blog. http://ping.fm/q80my