It is not enough to simply aggregate content across various social platforms using social media aggregation or syndication tools, content needs to be tailored towards the audience, and content needs to be shared effectively and independently with fans and followers alike.

Each individual social media network has a different set of rules – with its 140 character limit Twitter lends itself to short comments, the non-invasive nature of ‘following’ means you can open conversations with influencers or customers all over the world. Facebook, by contrast, lends itself to longer messages, and is more centered on sharing content, pictures and video. The audience here is more intimate, and brands should be careful about directing sales messages through the platform. LinkedIn should be limited to offering potential employers and clients alike an online CV, and more details about your individual and your company’s collective work experience. Google+ is an SEO tool and another conversation facilitator, allowing you to share great content with a wider audience; YouTube is all about creating shareable video content and driving people to see it. Of course, this is an over simplified summary of the benefits of each of popular platforms, there are other factors that need to be considered – tone of voice, driving traffic and creating meaningful conversations.

Aggregation tools can help you manage multiple social media accounts, draw content from various news sources and syndicate content across all of your networks. True social media aggregation or syndication should be a process of consolidating inbound and outbound content into a dashboard allowing you to create efficiencies in monitoring, responding to, sharing and creating content; disseminating content through the appropriate platforms. It should be about much more than simultaneously updating your statuses.

Friendfeed, Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Social Mentions are all popular tools that offer a desktop to help you manage aggregation or syndication of your social networks. Used correctly, and with an effective channel strategy in place, it can help you deliver simple, effective online comms to customers all over the world.
Here are some of the best free services:

Tweetdeck

“TweetDeck is your personal real-time browser, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and more…” if you are specifically looking for a desktop app / iPhone app for Twitter, this is one of the most effective tools on the market.

Social Mention

Social Mention is a social search tool that allows you to aggregate searches across hundreds of social networks, blogs, comments, social bookmarking services and more. The service offers email updates of the latest relevant social media results based on your own custom search phrases. Unlike the other services listed here, Social Mention focuses on search, helping you aggregate the topics, people and trends you are looking for.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite helps you manage multiple twitter accounts. You can integrate other social networks like Facebook, Facebook Pages, LinkedIn, Twitter and Foursquare as well as WordPress.com based blogs. The interface is easy to use, allowing you to view as many feeds and Twitter searches as you see fit. It was built for collaboration as well, with the ability to create teams, track analytic information and share other information for campaigns.

With social media channel management dashboards like these, efficiency of cross-channel posting is guaranteed. The hard work lies in ensuring you tailor content specifically for each channel so that you generate the optimal engagement with your brand on each.

Lindsey Reaney

Account Manager and Digital PR Consultant, Golley Engage

A study commissioned by Deloitte, found that Facebook activity supports 35,200 UK jobs and fuels £2.2bn in revenue. This figure includes the direct economic impact of Facebook – such as paying tax, profits and wages – as well as the broader impact it has had in enabling businesses to reach customers, make sales, create and monetise apps and even boost demand for products such as broadband and smartphones. So how can creating apps help to boost your business and what should you watch out for?

Use feedback to build relationships. Using Facebook poll applications and tracking software can help you understand more about how consumers interact with your products. By giving consumers a voice, you are more likely to reap the benefits of a ‘social’ experience.

Geolocate your business. Survey results indicate about four in 10 (39%) smartphone operators use one or more location-based apps. Add your location & display it on your fan page using Google maps. You can show your address, office location, event location etc.

Drive traffic to your site. If used in the right way, and thanks to iFrame implemented through Page tabs, Facebook can act as a prompt for driving traffic to your website.

Word of mouth³. The new Facebook Timeline has given birth to a whole gaggle of new apps. Now, once you’ve given consent to a frictionless app to share stories on your wall, the app will be able to do so whenever you use it afterward, without having to notify you. So as soon as you look up a recipe on Foodily, listen to a song on Spotify or buy tickets on Ticketmaster, Facebook will share this endorsement with your community.

Commerce. Applications such as Facebook Marketplace have made social commerce a real possibility. Many analysts believe that online shopping through social networks is the next logical step forward.

Frictionless sharing could present a risk for small businesses. While it may be too early to accurately assess any additional risks these apps may present, it may be a good idea to inform IT specialists, risk managers and HR managers. It is more important than ever that employees are equipped with best practise guidelines.

Lindsey Reaney

Account Manager, Golley Engage

A company that invests in building the right content on its Facebook Page is more likely to increase Fans and achieve a lift in customer engagement, but it is important that this serves a communications objective.

1. Make specific targets

Whilst most brands are looking to grow the fan base on their Page, that in itself should not be your objective. Companies should look to deliver a key message or to promote a video or campaign through a particular tab; and by doing so will successfully secure fans along the way. By integrating YouTube or your website into a tab, you can seek to improve your customer’s familiarity with your product range or organisation; helping you to deliver against traditional business objectives.

2. Have a clear tab strategy

By implementing a clear strategy around tabs, companies can create a simple consumer journey for its customers. Companies should look to inform and entertain customers, and to separate out these paths. Take advantage of events tabs to publicise calendar hooks, and ensure info tabs are up-to-date.

Tabs should complement one another, it should be clear to a user where the information they are seeking is housed and campaign tabs should not be abandoned or left unpopulated.

If you are looking to hold a dialogue with your customers, do not over complicate things; instead, focus on keeping the wall engaging and fresh.

3. Incentivise

Whilst valuable content and a thriving community are important to the survival of any business in a social environment, it is still important to consider the consumer journey and to offer an incentive to drive consumers to the page from an external source. The more signposts you put in place, and the more you reward customers for engaging with your business through the platform, the more your community will grow.

4. Attract, reward, share

Once you’ve determined your strategy, it’s time to build great content. The best tabs are the ones that encourage repeat use and expose customers to a specific product or service. Try to consider how your customer uses the platform, and the sort of information they might choose to share; according to a recent report for instance, video will soon account for 90% of all online traffic [2].

5. Audience

The most important factor in any social media programme is the audience. Identifying your target consumer and building content that they can enjoy is imperative to the success for the page. Remember, you are talking directly to your consumer, not through the media or a third party, so make it count. Above all, make it relevant.

[1] http://clearslide.com/view/mail?iID=V8YFCRBY2JCCKGKSFMAK
[2] http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/video-soon-to-be-90-of-online-traffic-0117979

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

When Google acquired Android Inc. in 2005, no one could have predicted the success story it would go on to become. With the 2008 launch of the HTC Dream, the first commercially available handset to run Android, Google’s operating system went from strength to strength, slowly but surely biting into the Apple market share. According to a recent Guardian report, about 42 million Android devices were activated in December alone, suggesting that there are now just less than 280m active Google Android devices worldwide – that’s 47% of the market share. [1]

Of course, we’re not just talking about mobile phone devices. Now tablets and e-readers account for a huge share of tech sales, and with a number of tablets running the Android OS stealing customers from Apple’s rival iPad, there is no doubting that Google Android is packing a huge punch in the market. But why? Here’s what we’d put Android’s success down to:

ANDROID

Google released the Android code as open source, and it is this that lies at the heart of the battle between the Android OS and Apple’s iOS. Unlike Apple, with Android, compatibility is the name of the game. The so-called ‘Android Open Source Project’ (AOSP) is led by Google, with “the goal to create a successful real-world product that improves the mobile experience for end users” and ensures the continued compatibility of all Android devices. Google also heads up the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of 34 companies, including HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola and Samsung, committed to developing open standards for mobile devices.  On the surface of it, the majority of users won’t even be aware of the open source nature of Android. However, for a number of reasons, it has a profound effect on the service they receive:

- Fast reactions

There is a huge community of developers able to write apps that extend the functionality of Android devices. So instead of just one company working on the code, an unlimited number of people are able to do so, meaning that open source software tends to be more secure than proprietary software because thousands of developers are monitoring the code every day. As a result bugs in the software are quickly fixed.

- Creativity

The open source nature of Android means that developers’ creativity is encouraged rather than quashed. Working with the open source Android code gives developers a huge amount of freedom to produce exciting new apps.

As of October 2011 there were more than 400,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from the Android Market as of December 2011 exceeded 10 billion [2,3] – a measure of the popularity of Android with developers and customers alike, and therefore with brands interested in investing in apps.

- Freedom

So long as the user gives approval at installation time, Android apps are free to do whatever they want, i.e. ‘accessing the internet’ or ‘reading the state of the phone’. Apple apps, on the other hand, are tightly restricted – they are not allowed to communicate with each other for any reason, or run in the background. The increased functionality granted to Android apps, makes the possibilities for developers and users far more wide-ranging than their Apple counterparts.

APPLE

However, Apple is still indisputably a world leader in the tech field and still boasts the largest market share. So how can Apple fight back against the attack of the Android?

- Love

Apple has the so-called ‘sticky factor’ – the addictive desirability of its products that keep customers coming back to them time after time because they love the brand.

- Money-making

Whilst the open source Android offers many advantages to developers, Google has not yet made an app market that makes publishers more money than Apple, so developers are continuing to pick iOS over Android because it is here that they can make the most money.

- Upgrade time

The upgrade path from developer to user is much shorter for Apple users. Android upgrades have to go from Google to the phone manufacturers to the carriers to the devices, whereas iOS upgrades can be sent from Apple directly to devices. As a result, Android users can’t get an upgrade until they buy their next phone, whilst Apple users don’t have to wait.

- Innovation

If there’s one thing that Apple represents, it’s innovation. The consistently exciting new Apple releases, such as Siri, iCloud, iTunes Match and iMessage, ensure the successful future of Apple. As long as people still believe they are getting the latest, and the best, from Apple, they will continue to remain loyal members of Team Apple.

So when it comes to one of the biggest battles of the 21st century tech world, one that defines and divides the tech universe, there’s a real dichotomy – and the choice is yours. Whilst Apple is all about making it as easy as possible for the user, Android’s motto is “it’s your phone, you have the right to do whatever you want with it”. The choices they make over the next few years are critical for both operating systems. Will Apple endeavour to let go of the reigns a little and increase compatibility? Will Android be able to improve its ‘sticky-factor’ so that customers come back time and time again? We don’t know, but it’ll certainly be an interesting ride.

[1] http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-30/tech/30571342_1_android-platform-smartphone-windows-phone#ixzz1ihCS2ozs
[2] http://www.t3.com/news/android-market-reaches-500000-app-mark
[3] http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/10-billion-apps-detailed/

Phillippa Holmes
Account Executive, Golley Engage

Customer services on Twitter

More and more consumers are turning to Twitter to complain about poor customer service, particularly when they feel let down by existing channels. However, few companies have the infrastructure in place to manage queries directed via social networking sites. The company will need a specific workflow that feeds complaints made via social media into the traditional customer service process and ensures that queries are resolved efficiently and communicated effectively.

It is important that responsibility for each complaint is communicated internally right from the off, as often the social media manager will not be the person dealing directly with the case, but will need to constructively communicate any developments to the consumer. It seems that at the very least consumers expect a response from businesses when they engage with them through a brand social media channel, regardless of whether that platform is an official customer services outlet. It is therefore imperative that every brand carries out an online reputation audit and highlights any potential hotspots, allowing brand managers to implement processes for responding to consumers.

Mobile enabled site

Just under half of the UK population now owns a Smartphone, and Google’s mobile operating system Android is powering half. Consumers are using mobile internet on the move and so it makes sense for businesses to ensure that at the very least their site and store locator is negotiable via a smart phone device; and that the site or app is compatible with both Android and iPhone technology. Mobile offers brands a real opportunity to be useful to their customers. Using existing technology such as QR codes and near field communication, retailers should look to alleviate consumer bug-bears by helping customers check availability or price compare. Businesses can use advertising as a prompt to launch local store locators, or to fulfil an online order for a consumer who can’t find the right item in store. Businesses are really missing a trick if they do not target customers on the move.

Rewards

Consumers expect rewards for showing their support of a business or service online. A recent survey amongst consumers who are ‘fans’ of businesses online found that 65 percent of respondents are connecting with brands to take advantage of promotions, contests and games. Whether it’s an offer, a voucher code or simply a free prize draw, if you are looking to extend your brand presence online then it is valuable to offer an incentive. Consumers are used to being rewarded for participating in brand related activity online, and therefore are most receptive to companies that offer useful or entertaining apps, fan pages or online services.

A social experience

The growth of social networking has shown that, given the right tools, consumers will participate in conversations and share with friends. In order to be more social, brands should put the user first – responding to how users socialise online.

When shopping for a new dress online, a customer will search for information from a range of sources to decide what to buy. They may browse fashion websites, ask for recommendations from friends, look at celebrity blogs or pictures or look for advice through Facebook/Twitter. It is therefore important that a brand looks to replicate this process through their online marketing activity. This could include signposting customers to product reviews or allowing them to connect with like-minded individuals through a forum or Facebook community.

Making reviews and opinions an integral part of the shopping experience replicates offline behaviour where users will often seek the opinion of a friend before purchase. It is also important that the brand can be contacted with ease and those questions or queries are resolved efficiently. A major part of the social experience is about opening a two-way dialogue.

[1] Practical Ecommerce, January 2012 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3255-Social-Media-Users-Look-for-New-Products-and-Offers-Survey-Finds

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

Brands go social

We predict that 2012 will be the year that brands go truly social. Whether as a result of the desire to turn negative comment into positive word-of-mouth recommendation, or as recent campaign activity proves the difference social can make to the bottom line, brands will embrace marketing’s newest discipline.

Brands will learn to listen, and to respond to consumers via the channel chosen by the consumer. The rules of engagement are changing, and brands are beginning to take up arms. To move from one-off campaigns to always-on conversations, real structural and cultural change is required. The pay-off is considerable – brands are being given the opportunity to open up dialogue with consumers, to co-create and to deliver exactly what their customers want. The question is will they listen?

Effective data

Qualitative data, taken from social media monitoring tools and from the expertise of those managing brand communities, will begin to drive business decisions. A bold claim, but nonetheless, next year brands will be forced to stand up and take notice of how social media can shape their sales cycle. From ‘crowd-sourcing’ product development through to helping to predict sharp sales peaks, social media can offer conversational data indicating popular models, colours or celebrity associations that could change the way customers interact with your brand or products.

Social intelligence and insight will start to be baked into all marketing activity at the very centre of owned and earned media strategy. It will become apparent to clients that often the agencies or individuals managing digital channels are best placed to create the content that those communities want.

Mobile

Over half of UK consumers now own a smartphone device, and they are using mobile everywhere. M-commerce has become big bucks, as savvy shoppers are using their phones to research products or services, check the status of an order, locate a nearby store or look up additional information whilst out and about. This presents a huge opportunity for brands to communicate with consumers whilst they’re out-and-about, and to remove potential barriers to purchase. M-commerce should aim to capitalise on existing opportunities to further engage the customer and should, above all else, place the consumer at the centre; next year is not just the year of m-commerce, it is the year of cross platform, integrated, consumer-lead marketing.

Sharing

Pictures, media, status updates are all things that we are familiar with ‘sharing’ across social media platforms. The media industry was one of the first to cotton on to this trend, adding sharing options to news articles, which in turn led to more hits and better visibility in search engine results. But what comes next? In 2012 we’ll be sharing the dress we just bought, holiday we just booked or offering SMEs personal recommendations across our social networks. Sharing has become a social norm, and we can’t get enough of it.

TV fights back

Appointment to view TV took a bit of a hit in 2011, as networks struggled to convince viewers to watch television through their televisions, and not through catch-up services online. In 2012 the TV will fight back. Don’t be surprised to see TV and internet converge, and changes to the way we consume our favourite programmes.

We already love using Internet services like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and others to watch our favorite shows on demand, but with the rumoured launch of an Apple product designed specifically to meet this need, it looks like TV will be stepping it up a gear. In 2012, all of our media devices including our television sets, computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones could come together to offer us more social, sharable television experiences that far outweigh a cup of tea and tonight’s ‘Enders.

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

Gaining experience in your chosen field of work is like gold dust, especially when competition for jobs is so great – the ONS reported that unemployment rose to a staggering 17-year high by September this year and it currently stands at 8.3 per cent.

So when the offer of an internship arises, it would be foolish to turn it down, even if it’s unpaid, right? Well, no matter what you may think, according to HM Revenue and Customs it’s wrong. The days of unpaid work will soon be over as the Government agency is coming down hard on offending companies who are viewed as taking liberties with keen youngsters who are desperate to make a name for themselves.

It seems a wide range of industries are affected by the investigation by tax officials, from high profile fashion houses to the media industry and with it being such an emotive topic, new blog posts and news articles are being uploaded on a daily basis discussing the subject. The fact that the term ‘slave labour’ is being widely used demonstrates just how sensitive a topic this is.

Due to the sensitivity of the discussions, from a public relations perspective it would be extremely advisable for organisations that currently don’t pay their interns to do the right thing and follow HMRC’s advice before they are publically singled-out as a worst offender – something that could seriously affect their brand profile.

Brand image is invaluable; nonetheless interns who are taken on in a marketing capacity within a business can often find themselves responsible for the company’s social media strategy. They’re young enough to get it, and eager enough to impress. Ironically, as internships have been widely unpaid, candidates often only spend between one and three months with an organisation, is this really enough time to come to understand the intricacies of planning a full and sustainable social media strategy?

The quality of the external relations would undeniably benefit from a long lasting relationship between the intern and company and subsequently, the public, which can only be built over time. Social media planning should be consistent and integrated, and seek to become a part of a brand’s long-term comms strategy. It would therefore be advantageous for companies to pay their interns who in turn can afford to stay put and spend time developing a social media strategy alongside the wider communications team. Social media should not be the responsibility of the least experienced member of your business, but should be factored into long-term marketing plans – ensuring that engaging content is created from traditional above, and below-the-line campaigns.

No one is denying that internships are an invaluable way to kick start your career, but whether it’s exploitation or not, the new regulations will undoubtedly mean changes within a wide variety of industries. Let’s just hope it doesn’t deter businesses offering the experience to those who truly deserve it.

Helen Mockridge
Account Manager, Golley Slater

It is clear that Facebook has made significant changes to the platform over the last few years to create a marketable product that can be sold to businesses interested in communicating to Facebook’s 800 million members. From the very beginning, Facebook has been built on the concept of sharing; if users did not share photos, comments and content with their friends then Facebook as a platform would fail. It is, after all, sharing that leads to dwell time, and dwell time is advertising gold dust. Over half of Facebook’s 800 million users spend anywhere between 30 minutes and 4 hours a day on the site, and this time is spent interacting with the userface. With annual revenue of $1.6 billion in the first half of this year, up $800 million from the previous year, it is clear that Facebook has much to gain from users’ sharing.

It is no great surprise then that Facebook has evolved the platform in favour of improving advertising click-through rates. On Monday, Facebook began posting ads to the ticker, the real-time rolling tally of your Friends’ Facebook activity. Facebook has dubbed them “sponsored stories,” but they are essentially posts that an advertiser has paid to have displayed. While these stories are paid content, they’ll appear as the activity of your Friends or as Pages people have ‘Liked’. TechCrunch noted that Sponsored Stories are particularly attractive to advertisers because they have a 46 percent greater click-through rate than typical ads, which means they could provide these companies with more revenue. So, what of the user experience? Zuckerberg has come under fire for compromising users’ privacy in favour of commercial gain:

“I want to reaffirm the commitment I made when I first launched Facebook. We will serve you as best we can and work every day to provide you with the best tools for you to share with each other and the world. We will continue to improve the service, build new ways for you to share and offer new ways to protect you and your information better than any other company in the world.”

So, are consumers likely to turn off in droves as Facebook becomes more and more accessible to brands? Well whilst Zuckerberg’s view, that introducing brands to Facebook creates a more realistic ‘real-world’ experience, is a little self-serving, it is certainly true that we’re more accustomed to advertising than ever. Advertising is part of the world that we live in, even if it is not a part of our world; we are no more likely to log off Facebook than to turn off our televisions. There is a school of thought that argues that the way we use Facebook is intrinsically personal, quite different from the way we consume other media, and therefore any branded presence is invasive and unwelcome. Given the impulsive and whimsical manner in which we use Facebook, this seems a little severe; users are quite happy to while away the minutes on Farmville, so why shouldn’t much-loved brands offer up equally engaging content?

Last night’s documentary could encourage consumers to think twice before engaging with brands on Facebook, it might even make users question their privacy settings, but as social media marketers our challenge remains the same. Engaging consumers on Facebook requires a strong idea, something creative and engaging that will encourage users to trade their ‘Likes’ for a piece of the pie. So to echo Maitlis’ summary, ask not what Facebook can do for your brand, but what you can offer your customers.

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage

Recent research predicts that 67 million e-reader devices will be sold in 2016, compared with 25 million this year.¹ Within these huge sales figures the Kindle dominates the market, but rival e-readers are still big business. Earlier this year W H Smith partnered with a Canadian firm to launch the Kobo and the Kobo Touch, whilst Barnes and Noble have their Nook range of e-readers and Apple is furiously trying to ensure the Kindle doesn’t push its iPad out of the market. Many daily newspapers have branched out to the e-reader world too, with the majority of the national papers now available to download on Kindle.

So is it true that e-readers spell the end for independent bookshops, and the humble paperback? Given that the best-seller ‘One Day’ has sold over one million copies in paper back in the UK alone, it seems that despite the ‘e-reader fever’, we’re still buying books in significant numbers. So what are the advantages of the good old fashioned book over the sleek e-reader? Here’s our list of the pros and cons of the Kindle as we see it:

Pros

1. All clear ahead: The electronic ink and screen used by Amazon definitely lives up to the marketing spiel, making the reading experience very similar to that of reading a printed page.
2. Reading on the go: The Kindle is light and small and fits easily into your bag, meaning weighty tomes no longer need to be left behind in the morning.
3. Books galore: There are thousands of books available at the push of a button in the Amazon store (which you can access on the Kindle) thus removing the need for long-winded transfers or synching is necessary. Typically e-books are cheaper than their printed counterparts too, and many of the Classics are available for free from the Amazon shop.
4. Long life: Some might say having a battery life on your reading material is a huge e-reader drawback, but the need to charge your Kindle is so irregular that it really isn’t an issue. Just don’t get caught short!

Cons

1. No sharing: One of the best things about reading can be recommending a book to someone else and passing on your copy. With the Kindle this isn’t a possibility.
2. Too risky to read: Whilst a huge benefit of the Kindle is its portability, this is often outweighed by the worry of losing such a high value item. If you’re catching the bus to the pub for the evening, you might think twice about putting your Kindle in your bag.
3. Losing the plot: Sometimes following the story relies heavily on a great deal of flicking back and forth to timelines and family trees at the front of the book. Amazon has thoughtfully given the Kindle a bookmark feature, but it can be a bit fiddly, and it’s certainly not as easy as turning a page.
4. Bragging rights removed: The Kindle could mean the death of the trophy book cabinet. We all know someone who displays their high-brow reads for all their guests to see and admire!

The president of the Association of American Publishers, Tom Allen commented earlier this year that consumers “have made e-books permanent additions to their lifestyle while maintaining interest in print format books.” And we would agree – there are undeniably a huge number of advantages to owning an e-reader, but there’s certainly a place for both in our lives.

So will you be buying your loved ones an e-reader this Christmas? Go on. They come highly recommended.

[1] http://www.businessweek.com/technology/five-reasons-ereader-sales-will-nearly-triple-by-2016-11152011.html

Phillippa Holmes
Junior Account Executive, Golley Engage

Research has shown that mobile commerce looks set to grow by 55%[3] over the next five years. Traditional e-commerce relies heavily on consumers having time on their hands to browse and an affinity to a particular website or brand, m-commerce is proving much more impulsive. If consumers see products they like for a reasonable price, they buy – there and then. In short mobile offers a great opportunity to connect with consumers on-the-go.

Source: Forrester Research

Just under half of the UK population now owns a smartphone, and Google’s mobile operating system Android is powering half – followed by RIM’s BlackBerry models with 22.5% and Apple’s iPhone at 18.5%. These smartphones are GPS enabled and offer brands the unique opportunity to connect to consumers through location-based targeting. By focusing your advertising spend within a small geographical area, targeting a specific audience profile, you can communicate with consumers in an extremely cost-effective manner.

Consumers are increasingly becoming reliant on their mobile devices, 90% of consumers in the UK have their mobile phone to hand while they are watching TV,[4] and a recent report by the Science Museum placed the mobile phone in tenth place on the list of things UK consumers could not live without – polling higher than central heating or painkillers. Whilst this confirms the mobile offers an incredible opportunity to reach huge audiences, brands need to exercise caution when engaging with consumers through their mobile devices. Consumers are much more likely to find commercial messages intrusive, and once they are turned off they are unlikely to switch back on.

Instead, m-commerce should aim to capitalise on existing opportunities to further engage the customer and should, above all else, place the consumer at the centre. Consumers are using mobile to seek out further information in store, so using existing technology such as QR codes and near field communication, retailers and major brands should look to solve consumer bug-bears. M-commerce offers retailers the opportunity to use advertising as a prompt to launch local store locators, or to fulfil an online order for a consumer who can’t find the right size in store. Savvy brands will be looking to do more than just advertise on handsets, they will instead need to target users with effective marketing campaigns whilst on the move. 2012 is not just the year of m-commerce, it is the year of cross platform, integrated, consumer-lead marketing.

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/31/half-uk-population-owns-smartphone

Lindsey Reaney
Account Manager, Golley Engage