In a Facebook "whiteboard" session today at the company's headquarters, it introduced press and analysts to its recently acquired mobile app development platform Parse and its former CEO Ilya Sukhar (who heads the Parse unit of Facebook). Sukhar seems like he could be Mark Zuckerburg's first cousin. For those who've never heard of Parse, it was a two-year-old startup acquired in April by Facebook. It's now part of the suite of tools Facebook offers for developers (Facebook Platform). Parse's mission was/is to take the complexity out of developing native mobile apps for multiple platforms (i [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Facebook | Facebook: Acquisitions | Facebook: Apps & App Center | Facebook: Business Issues | Facebook: Mobile | Mobile Marketing

Modern audiences are becoming more and more mobile; they are constantly switched-on and are ready to compare data and make consumer decisions at the drop of a hat. At the same time, mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular and have already been proven to increase revenues for companies that have taken the plunge into the mobile app marketing world. But success with apps may not be as straightforward as you might think. There are five common pitfalls often encountered when setting up mobile app marketing campaigns, and you should avoid them if you want to achieve your goals. 1 [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing Column

As part of its "Mobile Path to Purchase" research, Nielsen, xAd and Telmetrics have released some additional findings about the use of mobile devices in retail shopping. Among other things, the research argues that so-called showrooming is "overhyped" and not that widely practiced by consumers. Other research, most recently from Google, suggests the opposite. The Mobile Path-to-Purchase study (a follow up to a similar study in 2012) was based on online survey data (n=2,000) and behavioral observation from "Nielsen’s Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000 Apple and Android users." The st [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Top News

During  last week's I/O Conference, Google announced they would be adding a number of upgrades to AdMob, their mobile ad network for app developers. Since fully integrating the AdMob's mobile app inventory into AdWords last June, Google claims AdMob can help developers monetize and promote their apps by connecting them to more than a million advertisers globally. Rolling out over the coming months, AdMob's new features will include the same Conversion Optimizer tool used in AdWords. By choosing a target cost per acquisition for each download, the AdMob Conversion Optimizer will show ads w [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: AdSense | Google: Google I/O | Google: Google Play | Google: Mobile | Mobile Marketing

Pinterest is upping its mobile game by adding more mention, notification and search features to its iOS and Android apps. Now including the "@" sign before a name makes it possible for Pinterest users to mention friends within the app. The new notification feature alerts users via the app when they have been mentioned or if a comment has been made on one of their pins. Push notifications also have been added, letting users know they received a comment or have been mentioned without opening the app. Because the nature of Pinterest includes finding content from across the Web, the Pint [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iOS | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Mobile Marketing | Pinterest | Pinterest: Mobile

In a new report from Gartner, the only global market to experience mobile phone sales growth during Q1 2013 was the Asia/Pacific region, demonstrating a 6.4 percent increase year-on-year. This growth rate accounted for a 53.1 percent year-on-year increase in Asia/Pacific's share of mobile phones globally. China witnessed a 7.5 percent increase last quarter compared to Q1 2012, and accounted for 25.7 percent of all global mobile phone sales. "The Chinese and local manufacturers have been exemplary at addressing the demands of buyers by offering affordable devices with optimum features," claim [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iPhone | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing | Samsung | Statistics: General | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Popularity & Usage

This week, Google will have its 6th annual developer conference, Google I/O, where the theme will be "Innovation in the Open." Mobile Search, in particular, looks to be a focus in this year, and we can already pick up some pre-conference clues that indicate where the search giant is headed. Unfortunately, we won't hear from SEO guru Matt Cutts this year at I/O. He formerly presented a session on SEO at Google I/O each year, but that ended in 2010 -- which was also the last year I personally attended the conference. This year, Danny Sullivan, Greg Sterling, & Matt McGee will be co [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Google I/O | Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing Column

It's Mother's Day this Sunday in the United States and many other countries around the world. It's also another example of how much last-minute purchase activity happens on mobile devices. xAd, a mobile ad ntework, looked at data from last year to create an infographic showing likely trends for Mother's Day 2013, ranging from nearly one-third researching Mother's Day products on their phones to the peak day for mobile versus desktop purchases, for certain types of products. Buying bakery goods for Mother's Day? On both mobile and desktop devices, the peak day is two days before Mother's [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile Marketing | Infographics | Mobile Marketing

Adding more fuel to the "Amazon is building a smartphone" rumors, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported today that the company is developing two smartphones and an audio-only music device. Though, the report doesn't say these devices will likely carry the Kindle brand. The WSJ describes one of the two smartphones as a having a 3-D screen: One of the devices is a high-end smartphone featuring a screen that allows for 3-D images without glasses, these people said. Using retina-tracking technology, images on the smartphone would seem to float above the screen like a hologram and appear three [...]

Related Topics: Amazon | Channel: Retail | Mobile Marketing

Is Google simply trying to create a better user experience on the iPhone and iPad or is it trying to "colonize" iOS with its apps? It all depends on your point of view -- though, it's probably a bit of both. When the new Gmail app for iOS was released May 6, immediately, inflammatory headlines appeared, suggesting that Google was "taking over the iPhone." However, that's not exactly the case. Users of the new Gmail app have the (default) option to go directly to the native versions of YouTube and Google Maps, as well as open Chrome via links in email. Previously, such links would have op [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Apple: iOS | Apple: iPhone | Apple: Safari | Channel: Industry | Google: Android | Google: Chrome | Google: Gmail | Google: Maps | Google: Mobile | Google: YouTube | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Top News

With an open mind and help from a Google staffer showing me how the device works, it was pretty easy to see some compelling use cases within the first hour that I was a Google Glass owner. On Monday, I visited Google's Mountain View headquarters for my onboarding appointment with a Glass specialist. Marketing Land/Search Engine Land Founding Editor Danny Sullivan was there, too, to help document the visit in photos and videos. Much has been written about Google Glass in the three weeks or so since Google began inviting "Explorers" to get their devices -- but a lot of it has focused on th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Content Marketing | Features & Analysis | Google | Google: Glass | Mobile Marketing | Top News

Today, native advertising company Sharethrough announced the launch of Sharethrough Mobile, a platform that allows advertisers to promote branded content through native ads across mobile devices. Sharethrough uses proprietary technology called Real Time Templating (RTT) that enables the platform to identify the style elements of any webpage and match the look of each individual ad to that environment. RTT also adapts to any future style updates publishers make to their templates so ads stay consistent with the new elements. Below are examples of how Sharethough mobile ads appear across d [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Display Advertising | Content Marketing | Display Advertising | Internet Marketing Industry: Stats | Mobile Marketing | Social Media Marketing: Advertising | Statistics: Online Advertising | Top News

Local mobile ad network xAd has released its Q1 insights report. Like other such reports now in the market, it surveys trends and year-over-year changes observed on its ad network. This comes on the heels of xAd's co-sponsored "Mobile Path to Purchase" report (with Telmetrics), based on Nielsen data. That report had some truly striking findings. Chief among them: 46 percent of survey respondents said they relied exclusively on their mobile devices to conduct online research across a range of purchase categories. In other words: no PC usage. The principal finding of the Q1 insights report [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Top News

After analyzing billions of mobile app events during the first quarter of 2013, mobile apps measurement platform AppsFlyer discovered that social networks were the most effective mobile app marketing channel, but search delivered the highest quality of mobile app users. Comparing conversion rates, user quality and install volume across various channels, geographies, app categories, and user segments, the AppsFlyer Mobile App Discovery Report revealed that the most common mobile marketing channels included ad networks, app discovery platforms, cross sell opportunities, incentivized ad networ [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Google: Google Play | Marketing Tools: Analytics | Mobile Marketing | Social Media Marketing: Advertising | Statistics: Mobile Marketing

Google and Facebook combine to take up seven spots on Apple's newly-released list of the Top 25 all-time free iPhone apps. Apple published that list -- and three others -- as part of its countdown to 50 billion App Store downloads, which the company expects to happen soon. (Apple is giving away a $10,000 App Store credit to whomever completes the 50 billionth download and $500 credits to 50 others.) Those lists look at the most popular iPhone apps (free and paid) and iPad apps (free and paid). On the paid side, the majority of apps on both lists are games. But, there's more variety in th [...]

Related Topics: Apple | Apple: iOS | Apple: iPad | Apple: iPhone | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Facebook: Instagram | Facebook: Mobile | Google: Mobile | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Top News

The March smartphone market share numbers are out from comScore. What we see is Apple gaining 2.7 points to maintain its lead as the top US smartphone maker. Samsung also gained slightly and remains the number two smartphone manufacturer in the US. All other hardware makers, including Google's troubled Motorola unit, lost ground. Below are the smartphone operating system share percentages. Android lost about a point and a half of share. Apple gained 2.7 percentage points. And Windows Phones saw a slight gain. These comScore data above stand in contrast to data released earlier in [...]

Related Topics: Apple: iOS | Apple: iPhone | Channel: Mobile Marketing | Google: Android | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Market Share | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Popularity & Usage | Top News

One of the five predictions in my recent 2013 mobile predictions post was that mobile analytics and measurement would get a seat at the "adult table" this year. In particular, one of the areas in which I am seeing tremendous growth is location-based listening and analytics. As more and more companies adapt a listening strategy -- in many cases, using advanced tools like Sysomos and Radian6 (now part of Salesforce.com's MarketingCloud) -- some are starting to look at the possibilities of going deeper. During a recent interview with colleague and co-author of Digital Marketing Analytic [...]

Related Topics: Analytics | Channel: Local | Check-In Services | Facebook: Mobile | Foursquare | Mobile Marketing | Mobile Marketing Column

A new GlobalWebIndex study analyzing international social media behavior revealed that mobile use and older Internet users are driving growth for Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. To conduct the Social Stream Q1 2013 study, GlobalWebIndex surveyed 31,779 consumers in 31 different countries, examining global social media behaviors during the first quarter of this year. According to the findings, Android and iOS users were more likely to be on social networks than average Internet users. In Japan, iOS users were 133 percent more likely to use Google+ than average Internet us [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Facebook: Statistics | Google: Google+ | Mobile Marketing | Pinterest: Statistics | Statistics: Online Behavior | Statistics: Social Media | Top News | Twitter: Statistics

Perhaps the most potent – even shocking – finding of the 2013 US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study is that 46 percent of survey respondents said they relied exclusively on their smartphones or tablets in conducting online research across a range of purchase categories. Nearly half of the adults involved in this study did not consult PCs as part of their pre-purchase research, search and discovery process. I was taken aback by that finding, so much so that I had to confirm and reconfirm it with xAd, one of the companies that co-sponsored the study. While these mobile-first or mobile-only [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Strategy | Mobile Marketing | Statistics: Mobile Marketing | Top News

Email isn't dead. In fact, it's one of the most popular activities people do on their smartphones and tablets. So are your email messages designed for this on-the-move audience? The folks at GetResponse have created an infographic designed to help you get your email marketing into shape for mobile viewing: Want the infographic for yourself? You'll find it, along with more tips and explanation on making email friendly for mobile devices, here: Email Marketing Mobile Optimization [INFOGRAPHIC]. [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Email Marketing | Email Marketing | Infographics | Mobile Marketing