A Mobile Keyword is a one-word phrase that identifies a product, service, action, or business. Consumers simply text a mobile keyword to a publicized 5 or 6-digit short code number to receive additional information, special promotions, or to join your mobile distribution list. For example, if a customer texts “NATIMARK” to a 5 digit number code, the customer will immediately receive an automated text response. The text response can be more information about your product or service tied to that specific keyword.
A keyword is a unique letters and or numbers that people use to communicate with each other in combination with a Common Short Code (CSC) which is a special five or six digit number. Mobile phone users can send a text message to a CSC code. Every short code is common to all wireless carriers in a particular country. So, a CSC code can help small businesses stay competitive with an inexpensive national marketing campaign.
CSC’s are used for texting purposes only, and they act just like any other regular 10-digit phone number that you can send text messages to. Typically they are used for business purposes for consumers to purchase products or to request additional information about a product, or service. Other common uses of Short Codes include alert services, contests, coupons, and opt-in marketing lists. At stadiums and arenas around the country, the use of keywords and short codes are allowing fans to participate in the fun – voting on songs to play and answering trivia questions. Keywords are what you text in to the short code to make your choice. Voting is but one powerful use of mobile keywords.
Short Codes make it easy for consumers to respond to and participate in your advertising and marketing programs. Common Short Codes are popular in that they are fast, easy to use and they give the consumers the control, as with CSC-based mobile keyword marketing programs must be Opt-In. The benefit for the small business is they instantly receive and build a marketing database of opt-in customers to whom they can send out periodic monthly sale notices, specials or call to action campaigns, inexpensively, with just the push of a few buttons.
For a complete customized mobile marketing plan that includes Mobile Keyword and Short Code strategies, contact Natimark.com and talk to one of our marketing specialists

Smartphones continue to be one of the hottest consumer electronics products in the market, in fact one out of every three mobiles phones shipped worldwide was a smartphone,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “The launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S played a key role in smartphone growth to capture pent-up demand, and smartphone launches from other vendors also provided a broad selection to meet varying preferences and budgets.” http://www.marketwatch.com
But one smartphone remains the most well-known, or at least the most sought after. According to a recent survey from Crowd Science, 38 percent of smart phone owners who don’t own an Apple iPhone would consider switching to one when making their next purchase. Still despite its popularity and its mobile applications, the iPhone represents only a small fraction of today’s opportunity for marketers. http://mmaglobal.com
As of the end of second-quarter 2009, according to Apple they sold 26 million iPhones. http://www.apple.com. But this means there are still 244 million mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. who are not using the iPhone, according to statistics provided by CTIA. So marketers dedicating a large amount of their marketing budget and efforts to targeting just 9 percent of their potential audience are not seeing the whole picture
Though it holds only around 9 percent of the global mobile phone market, Apple raked in 75 percent of all profits across the industry last quarter, according to Asymco analyst Horace Dediu. But strong consumer demand for the iPhone 4S, helped Apple recently jump two spots to take third place as the world’s biggest mobile phone maker behind Nokia and Samsung, said research firm IDC. The iPhone maker saw its market share more than double to 8.7 percent, according to IDC, up from 4 percent in 2010′s final quarter.
Natimark can design and create a mobile marketing plan for your business that uses real time data to keep you one step ahead of your competition. Talk to one of our marketing experts at Natimark.com for a mobile-marketing strategy designed just for your business.

The marketing landscape has been projected to evolve in several significant ways for 2012. By executing practical and very effective mediums to manage the emerging technologies, companies can produce better results for their businesses, through increased targeted relevancy and engagement with their customers.

Personalized social messages. Companies will be able to pull in social graph data to get valuable information on consumer activity and behavioral information, which they can then use for specialized targeting. By managing this type of data, companies can develop relevant content for products, and personal interests and will introduce message personalization that will include pictures of friends appearing with the marketing messages. Geo-location data collected by mobile device will is also a tool that will be used to target consumers through email and social networks. By using geo-location data, it enables marketers to send highly targeted messages that consumers actually want to receive.

Mobile marketing will increase. More brands will engage SMS subscribers to determine their preferences and apply that data to future targeting and personalization. Marketers will become more sophisticated about optimization on mobile devices. Templates and apps will be redesigned to work with all operating systems though design and coding.

Major ISPs will filter emails. Web-based email clients are designing inboxes to filter and categorize email content based on macro and micro data using individual user data to help determine where an email appears in an inbox. Currently an email could go to the recipient’s inbox, but there is no way to track whether it is immediately visible or redirected to another folder within the inbox. There is nothing worse than spending your time and budget on an email campaign that has poor deliverability. http://www.freearticledatabase.net Marketers must continue to focus on driving individual user engagement with email.

Display advertising. According to Forrester Research, display advertising spend will represent 36 percent of overall interactive marketing spend by 2016. In 2012, marketers will start to target and personalize ads based on the individual user’s profile data.

Natimark.com can help you build and grow your customer base and retain them for the future with a customized targeted marketing strategy using real-time data, lists and content.

The best way to understand and communicate with your clients and speak your company’s message is to be cognizant of their preferences, and to what is most convenient for them. Companies such as AccurateLeads.com points out, that consumers pay attention to the messages they get in the mail, and not just on the Internet, meaning direct mail is still a vital component of any multichannel marketing campaign. They state that research conducted by Mail Print, found that 85% of consumers sort through and read selected pieces of mail every day while the other 15% let it sit for two or more days at a time. 75% of consumers are saying that they are examining their mail more closely in the recent months to search for coupons and discounts 40% of consumers have been influenced to try a new business by a direct mail piece, and 70% have gone back to old businesses after receiving mail from the company. Consumer preference has always been the determining factor in a products life cycle.
There was a time when mass or blanket advertising was considered the best marketing plan for companies; “Cover everyone, and that will ensure you will reach someone.” Physical mail was also one of the only marketing channels companies could use and the result was mail boxes stuffed with useless advertisements that did not target the companies’ audience. This lack of direct researched marketing led to unknowingly forcing consumers to ignore most of it. Some marketers predict that digital advertising could walk down the same road if companies continue to drown consumers through only one medium.
But by using accurate researched data collection solutions that actually targets consumer buying habits and lifestyles, companies can eliminate inaccurate information such as addresses and other unusable data. Direct mail can be a valuable tactic that helps companies reduce the number of unnecessary pieces that are sent out, which makes both the consumer and the cost-conscious companies happy.
Today you need a multi-media marketing plan that actually targets consumer buying behaviors and lifestyles to ensure you understand your audience. Natimark.com can create a custom marketing plan that uses real-time accurate data and multi-channeled mediums that will ensure you reach the consumers that are looking for you.

SMS Marketing is a fairly new type of mobile marketing that uses Short Message Service text messaging as a form of direct advertising, and it is usually directed to a company’s existing customer base. A typical SMS marketing campaign involves collecting mobile phone numbers, usually by customer opt-ins using a keyword sent to a short code, which adds their number to a messaging database. Once the numbers are collected, the marketer can easily design and create a series of promotional coupons and offers to send as one mass message to their customers. Although SMS Marketing is considered a trusted form of advertising, some marketers have used it as a channel for spamming. The Mobile Marketing Association however does have set guidelines that prevent spamming and using purchased lists of mobile phone numbers. It is advised to only send SMS text promotions to opt-in only subscribers who have given their consent to receive messages from you if you want to earn and gain their trust.
SMS Marketing is one of the newest and fastest growing types of marketing because if offers a low cost, high return on your investment; plus your target audience receives your valuable incentives, promotions and updates in real time. It is similar to email in cost, but offers much higher response rates as most mobile phone users open and view text messages no matter where they are and no matter what they are doing. Any business can benefit from text marketing offering a discount coupon to national brands engaging millions of customers. Studies have shown that mobile users like text messaging and as high as 95% of all texts are usually opened within five minutes, which is faster than email and other social media updates.
Visit Natimark.com for a customized SMS marketing campaign that will help you reach and engage an existing and potential customer base.

Mobile marketing is a very hot topic right now in industries across the board. Businesses have so many options to choose from including; apps, coupons, text messages, QR codes, or check-ins. It’s become a tool too powerful for businesses to ignore any longer. In the quick-service (QSR) industry it has become clear that more businesses are using mobile couponing to drive traffic and sales.

Cellit, a provider of mobile CRM systems and mobile couponing, published a study that said the most effective ways for QSR brands to engage customers was in a mobile rewards program, including subscriber acquisition, content, optimal timing, and trends. Some of the findings of the study include:

Subscriber Acquisition:
Leverage social media and email databases to convert customers to mobile
In-restaurant signage, and box-toppers for delivery/take-out
Integrate mobile call-to-action into existing advertising campaigns

Content:
The most compelling content for consumers to receive via mobile is a coupon:
Value deals (such as buy-one-get-one-free offers)
Offer free item for new subscribers
Provide discount off menu items
QSR industry coupon redemption rates average 23%
Include sweepstakes, contests, promotions, and announcements

Optimal Timing:
The best days to send text messages are weekdays
No more than 1 message per week
No less than 1 message per month

Future Trends Expected to Accelerate:
Coupon redemption
Near Field Communications (NFC): ex—Mobile wallet
Location Based Services (LBS)

In the end, marketing is all about consumer demand. If your customer is ahead of you in technology, how are you going to reach them? Mobile marketing opens up new opportunities for businesses to build their brand, engage the target audience, and enhance the overall customer experience. If your target audience is using mobile, you should definitely take advantage of it.

Contact Natimark.com for a complete custom mobile couponing marketing plan

Industry experts agree that the mobile web will be a leading breakout mobile channel in 2012 and will prove to be crucial for all brands. With more hands on more internet capable devices, a mobile web presence is becoming indispensable for business, entertainment, information and far more. Brands that are not participating yet need to have a plan, if they want to stay in the game.

According to statistics, more than 90% of mobile phones today have access to the mobile Web through a browser. HTML5 gives brands the capabilities that can be built into a mobile site. Jeff Hasen, chief marketing of Hipcricket, Kirkland, WA. Says; “My bet for breakout star is the mobile Web,” he said. “Black Friday and Cyber Monday have produced a tripling of activity and shows that we’re out of the early adopter phase.” According to PayPal, mobile payment volume on a global scale increased 516% on Black Friday and 552% on Cyber Monday. This proves that not only are consumers accessing the mobile Web more, but they are far more inclined this year than last to make purchases on mobile Web sites.

But there has been an ongoing debate regarding HTML5 versus mobile applications. According to Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta, she believes that the opportunity for brands on the mobile Web surpasses that of mobile apps. “I believe that the mobile Web will be the breakout mobile channel in 2012. Businesses are realizing that apps are for their dedicated customers and need to be more personal than just having an app that does the same functions as the mobile Web. Two years ago, the thought for some was, if customers didn’t have a phone that allowed them to have apps then it wasn’t worth the time to reach these customers, and businesses delivered up a degrading text/links scenario that was less than ideal just to check a box. The mobile Web is a good acquisition tool, while apps are more for cultivating existing, loyal customers.”

Steve Timpson, president of Siteminis, Atlanta says: “Use internal data to justify the investment – if your PC site is getting 6 percent or more engagements form a mobile device currently, you better have a plan in place to satisfy those customers with a reasonable brand experience. If the engagement is 10 percent or greater right now, you better run to exploit that customer and quickly, because the consumer will make the choice and vote with their dollar and if you don’t take care of them in mobile cyber space, guess what – someone else will – retail 101!”

For a complete customized mobile marketing plan, contact Natimark.com

Recent information from advertising associations and other research firms report that there is a huge value in including traditional direct mail in a multifaceted marketing campaign. Some companies have started relying more heavily on digital forms of communication, such as social media and email, but marketing professionals will tell you that forgetting about the physical channels could be a mistake.
Social media definitely is changing a lot of things, but it isn’t the answer to everything. It can be over relied on and it needs to be one important part of a wide, but strategic marketing campaign. Companies here and abroad are still spending more on social media campaigns, but combining the time and money spent on search, display, mobile and email advertising with the physical will bring much better results in the end.
Companies can increase their chances for success by adopting a direct mail solution to ensure they have the current data including, updated lists for names, addresses, and buying habits.
Natimark.com can customize a marketing plan that includes real-time information for a successful strategy that includes the digital and print.

“Tweens” are a rising demographic in the marketing world as they are defined as in-be-“tween” a child and a teenager. Understood as the 8-12 age-group, tweens grew up with computers and internet access, making them quite different from previous generations of pre-teens. In fact one-third of the 33.3 million tweens in the US own a mobile phone.
While they are physically still children, socially they are beginning to explore what it means to be a teenager. Tweens are becoming more sophisticated at a younger age, as they race to have the newest and coolest technology and style like their older peers and siblings. Their tastes and opinions are a strong influence on their parents, and their estimated $300 billion a year buying power should not be ignored. This is the ideal demographic list for retail, technology, online services, mobile phones, green aware products and more.
Tips for targeting
Know what drives Tweens- Part of a targeting strategy for tweens is knowing what motivates them to purchase.

The need to belong
The desire for power
More freedom from parents
The desire to have fun — sensory stimulation is key!
Test the waters first – Test your work on tweens before launching. They like being asked about their opinions, especially what they like and why, and they’ll be truthful if you ask how a product or service can be improved.
Find out how Natimark.com can create a custom “tween” demographic list for your business.

While most people have head the term SEO, do they really understand how it can help you increase your sales, while building a personal relationship with your clients? Some important things to remember and practice with SEO strategy are:
SEO is more than just technology and search engines, it is still about people and what drives them to buy. SEO copy should be written with specific keywords true, but it also needs to be focused on the audience, not just the speaker. Only worrying about your Google CTR, CPC and ranking, or if it’s “Likeable” on Facebook will not help you to reach your customers, or increase your conversion and sales. Set SMART goals; specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. It’s easy to get lost in the technology of marketing. Remembering that you are trying to influence a person to buy your product or service, not a computer can help you to realign your goals and strategy.

If you view your website like a valued salesperson and company representative, you may better understand how your customer sees you.

For a customized SEO marketing plan contact us at Natimark.com