RPM Blog » Mobile

Social Media and Mobile in Times of Crisis

RedLine — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:28:04 +0000

It feels insensitive and perhaps too soon to talk about marketing while the people of Haiti are desperately searching for loved ones and food and water in the wake of the 7.0 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that shook the capitol of Port au Prince on Tuesday. However, I am humbled and proud of the role social and mobile media has played in the relief effort this week. As of 11:00PM on Thursday night, The Red Cross reached $3 Million in donations via text messaging, but by Friday morning that number had more than doubled to reach $8 Million. This jump is no doubt due to the incredible support for this campaign through other media channels, social media being a major contributor. The social media formula that has caused it to be a cannot-ignore marketing tool for companies has now become a humanitarian tool. The open communication format allows for an outpouring of supporters and fundraising requests that provides top of mind awareness and constant motivation to help. The real time conversation that can sometimes be the bane of some companies’ and celebrities’ existence now provides them a captive audience just wanting someone to tell them how they can help.

Mobile has also been a key tool in fundraising efforts because of its ease of use, pure and simple. In times of crisis where swift action is necessary, people feel the immediacy and want to donate using the quickest method possible. Mobile is unique because it only takes a few strokes of the keypad (or touch screen) to make a difference. That, coupled with the fact that The Red Cross uses small donations of $10 or $20 as the default amount allows just about anybody to help, even if they can’t afford much. Even the most user friendly websites can’t offer one step instant donation.

With The Red Cross collecting unprecedented amounts to aid the people of Haiti, I can’t help but feel a sense of justification for social and mobile media that should cause skeptics of its purpose and staying power to pause. Many skeptics like to point out the destructive forces of social media while clinging desperately to the notion that they still have control over their brand, but for once I hope this proves as an example of the comradery and philanthropic spirit that social media can foster.

SEO or SEM?

RedLine — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:15:11 +0000

SEO or SEM? When considering a search engine campaign to accomplish a business objective, it is common to wonder should we embark on an SEO or SEM campaign – or a combination of both? Naturally, consideration comes up about the advantages and disadvantages of being listed in the Organic Results (SEO) or the Sponsor Search Results (SEM). Karl Hauser, Right Place Media’s Director of Interactive, likes to reference SEM as a faucet, “You can crank it up when it’s working and turn it off when it’s not.” He also likes SEM for seasonal products and services. He acknowledges that SEO takes a completely different approach and can take some time to see desired results (for some). SEO also offers a number of different factors than simply optimizing your site for keyword density.

A new study by Engine Ready helps enlighten businesses that are contemplating that same question. Assuming that maximizing sales is their primary business objective, the results are rather intriguing.

The study concluded June 30 of this year and is based on traffic to 26 e-retail sites during a 12-month period. The study identified and used four primary traffic source categories:

Organic Results
Sponsored or Paid Results
Direct or Bookmarks
Other Referrer (possibly social media)

Some of the top findings from the Study:

Visitors who arrive from Paid Search Ads are 50% more likely to purchase than those clicking on Organic Results.
Conversion Rate was 2.03% for Paid Search versus 1.26% for Organic Search.
Direct access produced the most visitors at 40% other referring sites and email were at 28% while paid search had 20% and organic search 12%.
Paid Search visitors spent the most. Average order amount for a paid search visitor was $117.06 versus $109.27 for those coming from other sites, $106.64 per order on average from Organic visitors and $95.29 for direct visitors.

What can we take from this study? Paid Search performed well. Paid Search (SEM) ranking best for average order value and conversion rate is a big deal. Reasoning? SEM’s strong call to action in the description section could play a factor. So could the ability to enhance and optimize individual ads for individual products. As we mentioned last week, it is important to optimize your meta descriptions for SEO and a strong call to action should be a part of that.

What’s your take on the study?

New York Times Take on the Study

Facebook Pages: Become a Fan via Text Message

RedLine — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:48:48 +0000

Brands will soon be able to promote their Facebook pages using text messaging. Facebook users will be able to text “fan (Brand Name)” to 32665.

This is potentially huge news for brands who want to drive traffic to their Facebook page. Once Facebook enables this and vanity URLs brands will be even more influenced to have an engaging Facebook page.