Mobile Payments – Replacing Wallets with Smartphones

Make Life Easier with Mobile Payments

These days we can forget our wallet at home but not our smartphones. Mobile devices are dominating the users’ lives. Their world exists in these magical devices, where in they can connect with their family and friends, keep themselves updated on events happening around them. They have adapted themselves to all the features introduced in the mobile devices.

And like so many other things, users welcomed the mobile payment feature and adopted it with a big smile. In a recent study by Carlisle & Gallagher, a consultancy group, “48 percent of respondents in the United States expressed interest in some form of a mobile wallet.” The number clearly shows that customers are looking forward to innovations, in the form of convergence of marketing and payment in the tech field. They too are inclined in turning their mobile devices as the powerhouse through which they can share, connect and now pay their bills. And why not? It is another feature in the mobile devices which will make their lives easier and even more comfortable.

What are Mobile Payments?

eMarketer defines Mobile Payments as, “Transactions for goods or services made by scanning, tapping, swiping or checking in with a mobile phone at the point of sale.” For instance, users can install a mobile payment app such as Google Wallet or Isis on an NFC-equipped phone and can pay from the account by tapping the phone on an NFC payment terminal.

Mobile payment apps enable users to use their smartphones to:

• Make online purchases,
• Make in-store payments,
• Receive offers,
• And to manage their debit cards, credit cards, reward/loyalty/discount cards
• Number of mobile payment users

Number of Mobile Payment Users

The number of mobile payment users is growing rapidly. It is estimated that the number of mobile payment users will increase to 13.3 million users as compared to 7.9 million users in 2012. And by 2016 there will be 48.1 million users in the United States. [fig.1]

According to a new study by Yankee Group, “The volume of transactions made via mobile will also continue to grow and is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2015.”

Fig. 1

Retailers Offering Mobile Payment Solutions 

Big retailers such as, 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS and Wal-Mart all are offering easy mobile payment solutions to their customers. However, Starbucks is leading the mobile payment battle as the company said its customers do 2.1 million mobile transactions at Starbucks every week—about 5% of all its sales transactions in U.S. stores.

“Over 7 million customers now use one of our mobile payment apps, translating into 2.1 million mobile payment transactions each week, with hundreds of thousands of additional Starbucks mobile app downloads each week,” says the Starbucks chief executive, Howard Schultz. And he gives the credit of this success to Starbucks gifts card, which is increasingly growing popular among their users.

Starbucks is putting in a lot of efforts in the form of, the Starbucks mobile app, Apple’s Passbook and Square Wallet in their mobile digital initiatives. And now the coffee shop chain is reaping the benefits of understanding the importance of mobile payment solutions.

Most popular Mobile Payment Apps

Google Wallet – A Google Wallet app let users store their current credit and debit cards. And to make a payment, all they have to do is wave their smartphone or tap it on the NFC enabled phone or machine. Users can also redeem discount points stored in the app just by tapping on their phone while paying at retail stores such as Macy’s or Old Navy.

ISIS mobile wallet – Users can store their credit and debit card information, reloadable ISIS cash card, loyalty cards, personalized offers, account details and purchase records.

Pay with Square app – Want to go for a cup of coffee? Just browse your favorite local coffee shop and look for square enabled merchants near your location in the app. Just say your name at the payment counter and you are ready to clear your bills.
This easy to use app works with iOS and Android phones. The app requires users to link their credit card information and their image in the app. And at the checkout counter tell your name and the square enabled merchant will click your picture to charge you.

Venmo – Venmo is a simple iPhone, Android and Blackberry phone app, which is getting popular for its sharing feature. Users can store their credit card and bank account information and can pay or share bills with their friends. Just enter the name, phone number or email of any of your friend in your contact list, enter the amount and click pay. In case if the receiver is not using the app, the person will get a message to set up an account to claim the amount.

Paypal – Just like Venmo, Paypal let users send money to other Paypal users and track previous transactions’ details. The app is available for both iOS and Android.

Mobile wallets: A Comparison

The picture [fig. 2] below highlights the differences between the big four mobile wallet apps, including who supports them, what’s unique about them, in which locations they are active, and on which technology they rely on.

Fig. 2

Mobile Payments : The Future of Online Commerce

Convenient and safe online payment solutions have revolutionized the way consumers shop. A Forrester Research predicts that by the end of 2017, U.S. mobile users will spend $90B via mobile payments, a 48% increase over the $12.8B spent in 2012.

With more and more mobile payment solutions coming to the fore, the brick-and-mortar businesses are undergoing through major transformations. And businesses opting for simple and convenient mobile payment solutions are expected to be the winners in terms of adoption and transactions.

For more information on iPhone app developers and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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How Does Mobile Retargeting Works?

Mobile Retargeting – Turning a Potential Customer into a Happy Customer

The growing mobile landscape

The number of the mobile device users is growing exponentially. Smartphones and tablets have taken their place as the third and fourth screen after TV and desktop, in the consumers lives. According to the ComScore new report, “State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy, Q1 2013,” there are 137 million smartphone users and 60 million tablet users in the U.S. This increase in the number of mobile users is bridging the gap between users and the online retailers. Mobile devices are increasingly being used for online shopping.

The report also finds out that the amount of time consumers spent with online retail jumped 104% to 34.9 billion minutes in February 2013 compared with 17.1 billion minutes in February 2010. Therefore, it is important for the marketers to understand the mobile consumers’ behavior to ensure the success of their marketing campaigns.

What is mobile retargeting?

As we know, mobile devices are everywhere and the users are spending more time on the online retail sites, marketers must devise strategies which helps in improving the conversion rates. As per the statistics, for most websites, only 2% of web traffic converts on the first visit. So what about the remaining 98% is the question that perturbs marketers?

Online advertising strategies such as, mobile retargeting is one of the most important strategies which help marketers in bringing back those 98% visitors to the site and also help in improving he conversion rate.

Mobile retargeting help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website, thus, allowing marketers to identify the potential customers. Once you know who really is interested in your site/products, you can optimize your spend by serving ads to a specific group of visitors only.

How does retargeting works?

Technically, retargeting is a cookie-based technology that uses a simple JavaScript code to anonymously ‘follow’ your audience all over the web. So all it requires is a simple JavaScript code that you can place on your website. This code will keep a track of visitors, who leave your website, by keeping anonymous retargeting "cookies" in their browser. And when next time these users browse the web, the cookie will let your retargeting provider know when to serve ads, thus, ensuring that your ads are served only to people who have previously visited your site. Fig. 1 describes the process of “How retargeting works”?

Fig. 1

Why you should be doing retargeting?

Before looking for the answer, ask yourself;

• Do you want to save money?
• Do you want to reach the potential customers who have shown a little interest by visiting your website?
• Do you want to increase the conversion rate?
• Do you want to improve brand awareness for your business?
• Do you want to serve customized ads to your potential customers, which are tailored to their immediate interests and behavior?

If the answer to all these questions is “yes” then you know mobile retargeting is your strategic approach to reach all those potential customers. 

How to retarget your mobile customers – Case study

Deeplink.me, a new retarget networking service launched by Cellogic, links the audience directly to the inside of the app. How? Figure 2 shows how the retarget service works for the marketers and bring them back to their mobile apps.

Marketers can get started with Deeplink.me’s retargeting networking by using a 300×50 template, provided to them or uploading their own creative. This way they can keep a track of their ads performance using the provided analytics which shows numbers of ads shown, clicks, geography, and more. It can also be integrated with other third-party analytics providers, too. The ad units themselves will be improved over time as well, allow for more interactivity, and more customization possibilities with regards to their look-and-feel.

Fig. 2

The retarget service let marketers’ choose who they want to retarget. Marketers can target right people with right messages, i.e. they can target their audiences with custom messages. They are given the option to serve different ad messages to both the dormant users and the most frequent users. Also, marketers can serve different messages to people at different locations.

Marketers can analyze reports to make sure whether the service is generating the desired results.

The service let app marketers create ads that are app-enabled, thus, creating a high conversion environment for the customers. 

For more information on iPhone app developers and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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5 Best Paid and Free iPad Apps for Preschool Kids

Tablet Apps Are Becoming the Easiest Way to Teach Preschoolers

Tablets are the new devices to educate and entertain kids. Parents too are adopting the new age tools and let their kids use their tablets for homework and other school assignments.

Here is the latest Connected Devices Report from Nielsen, according to which,

- Approximately 78 percent of parents with tablets admitted they let their kids under the age of 11 uses their tablets at home

- 54 percent, i.e. more than half of parents, who let their kids use their tablets at home, says that their children used tablets for educational purposes.

- Fig. 1 shows some of the most popular activities of kids on tablets. Kids are more engaged in activities such as, reading books on tablet (42 percent), taking notes (40 percent), and finishing homework (30 percent) than watching videos (26 percent) or using tablets for social networking purposes (25 percent).

Fig. 1

That was about kids who are going to school. And kids who have yet to start their journey in the education world are equally hooked on to the tablets.

According to developmental psychologist Peter Gray, “Engaging with an app seems more attracting instead of indulging in a passive activity such as watching TV. Kids are interested in tools where they can actually make something happen.”

Tablet apps make for good time pass and can prove beneficial for preschoolers as they help in mental development and physical dexterity. These apps have become the easiest way to teach preschoolers about alphabets, numerical, plants, animals, shapes, colors etc.

A good app is a perfect combination of entertainment and education. There are scores of apps available in the app stores for preschoolers, which makes it difficult for the parents to choose the best one for their kids’ learning process. We are publishing a list of the best paid and free educational iPad apps for preschoolers that you can download on your iPad to make your kid’s learning process easier and simpler. [Links given at the end]

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Tablets or Smartphones

Which is the Most Effective Device for Advertisers?

Do you know?

• In 2013, about 20 percent of Internet traffic is projected to be mobile (KPCB)
• Use of mobile search has grown by 500 percent over the past two years (Econsultancy)
• 82% percent of mobile shoppers use search to influence their purchasing decisions (Google Online Shopper Study)
• Across all industries, mobile traffic is increasing by 3.5 percent per month (Televox)
• Of the estimated 30 billion annual mobile searches, about 12 billion are local searches (Search Engine Land)
• Seventy-seven percent of mobile searches occur at home or work—even if a PC is nearby (Search Engine Land)

It is evident from the above statistics that mobile marketing will be the significant growth driver for brands globally. Many businesses have already directed their marketing strategies towards mobile devices in order to engage and acquire customers online. But the most important decision lies ahead for many is, which is the most effective device for advertising, i.e. a smartphone or a tablet? Here are three determinants which shows that tablets are far more popular among the users as compared to smartphones, thus, making them a preferred choice of many marketers to advertise.

I. Usage

1. Tablet usage is growing at a striking speed, with traffic from tablet devices doubling over the past year, according to new data from Adobe's Digital Index. Additionally, tablets surpassed smartphones for the first time in February 2013, when looking at global traffic share.

Adobe looked at more than 100 billion visits to more than 1,000 websites worldwide, and found that 8% of visits came from tablets in February, slightly more than the 7% of visits that came from smartphones. [Fig. 1]

Fig. 1

Smartphones continue to be more common among consumers, but tablets, obviously, offer a better option for browsing, shopping, and engaging with content, and a more in-depth experience overall. Adobe found that tablet users visit 70% more pages per visit while using a tablet compared with a smartphone. [Source:adexchanger]

2. Based on a survey of more than 13,000 consumers, a Forrester report shows that, “Tablets are being used primarily at home, with 67% of U.S. tablet owners access them in the living room, and 57% in the bedroom.” On the contrary, smartphones are used on-the-go and at home for communication, content-snacking, chat/messaging and gaming apps.

Fig. 2

With more and more users using their tablet devices at home shows that the users are in no hurry and are using the device in a relaxed mood. There is high probability that the tablet users may not be annoyed with the ads and remain unperturbed with their presence on the screen while using the device. Thus, giving advertisers more opportunities to advertise their products and services on tablets as compared to smartphones

Smartphones are more “Type A” devices, where users are inclined in completing a specific task and getting things done. For example, the study found that 75% of mobile consumers use smartphones while shopping in stores; and only 8% use tablets (size does matter, as users cannot carry their tablets everywhere and every-time).

II. Ad Recall Value

A collective study of about 8,300 people by IPG Media Lab and digital video advertiser YuMe suggests that viewers remember ads better when they watch them on tablets than when they watch them on smartphones, computers or TVs. [Fig. 3]

Fig. 3

III. Growth in Revenue
According to a report released by MarketLive, “Revenue is growing at a faster rate on tablets than smartphones.”  During the first half of 2013, tablet revenue is growing eight times [Fig. 4] faster as compared to smartphones.

Fig. 4

“The biggest news is the dramatic increase in revenue and visits on both mobile phones and tablets, 40 percent revenue increase has seen on phones, where as there is 77 percent increase on tablets; there is 40 percent increase in traffic on phones and 74 percent increase of visits on tablets,” said Ken Burke, founder and chairman of MarketLive.

However, in terms of reach, smartphones are far ahead of tablets as the number of smartphone users is higher than that of tablets. We have explained this here.

One approach does not fit all marketers alike. You need to keep in mind several other factors such as;

• Who is your target audience?
• Which is the best method to disseminate your message among users, a smartphone or a tablet?
• Which device can carry your brand image or identity? For instance, a luxury car ad looks good on a tablet, where advertiser can publish the car image with all its features and other details.

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming the shoppers’ devices. And since the 2013 holiday shopping season is close by it is always good for retailers to offer a strong user experience to their potential customers to avoid the risk of losing potential customers to their competitors. Therefore, advertisers need to create a marketing strategy based on behavioral preferences of users/audience while using them.

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Why Tablets Will Be Most Sought-After Devices Like Notebooks?

Why Tablets Have Become Users’ Most Preferred Device?

“PC sales had dropped to their lowest level in history, with global shipments falling by 10.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2013.” Not only Pcs, sale of notebooks have also dropped drastically.

Do you want to know why?

According to the latest research report from IDC, “Tablet shipments are on target to surpass those of both the laptop and desktop PC by 2015.”

A new study released in May 2013, claimed that tablet shipments will grow 59% this year to 229.3 million units, a figure which is higher than the firm’s forecast for 2013 notebook shipments, and reckons that they will eventually top PC shipments two years later.

It’s no secret; more and more users are turning to mobile devices, such as, tablets and smartphones. These devices are the new toys in the market. Users find these devices more accessible to engage with online content. These on-the-go devices have become everyone’s favorite, including, students, businessmen, professionals and even kids.

Tablet adoption rate

Tablet adoption rate is growing with every year in the U.S and has doubled to 34% adults at the end of May 2013. Pew Research Center surveyed 2,252 adults by telephone from April to May for a new report. And found that tablet adoption rate rose from 18% in 2012 to 34% in 2013. Fig. 1 shows remarkable growth in the tablet adoption rate where, it was as low as 8% two years ago and 3% in 2010.

Fig. 1

Worldwide mobile PC shipment forecast

According to the latest quarterly report on mobile PC shipments by DisplaySearch, tablet shipments will reach 364 million worldwide in 2014, a figure which is significant because the researcher believes that this will be more than double the 177 million shipments forecast for standard notebook and ultra-slim PCs.

Fig. 2

The credit of boom in the Tablet market goes to two most of the prominent platforms and the various devices they launched in the market. Here is a list of the major tablet platforms and various tablet devices that are reaching innumerable users every day.

Major Tablet Platforms

• iOS
• Android
• Windows
• And Blackberry

Major Tablet Players and their position in the market

• Apple iPad and iPad Mini
• Samsung Galaxy Tab, Tab 2
• Google Nexus 7 and 10
• Barnes and Nobles’ Nook
• Amazon’s Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD, and Fire HD 8.9”

Tablet Market-share

iPad reigned the tablet market and became the first preference of many. But now the Android ecosystem has proved that it could catch up with Apple’s iPad devices. With the introduction of Amazon's Kindle Fire brand and Google's own Nexus 7 series built with mobile OEM partners, there is a surge in the demand of Android devices.

Windows Surface RT and Surface Pro - As per the most recent figures from IDC, “1.8 million Windows 8 tablets were sold in the second quarter of 2013, for a 4% market share. That's compared to a 1% market share the year previous, and a year-over-year growth rate of 527%.”

Fig. 3

 Reasons behind the booming demand for tablets

The tablet devices forayed in the global market as mere PC companions. But now the devices are dominating all others as users are using them for everything, from checking e-mails and Facebook profiles to playing games and accessing the web.

Why tablets have become users’ most preferred device?

1. Affordable – Tablets are inexpensive. As per a Gartner report, “In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, which is accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.”

2. Constant connectivity and engagement – Tablets connect and engage users. For instance;

• Brands connect with their potential consumers through various apps and e-commerce sites;
• Users connect with their friends through social media sites and various other chat apps, photo apps such as, Scribbly (fig. 4), Instagram, Pinterest; 

Fig. 4

• Students connect with educationists and have access to the glut of information, including newspapers, TV channels, e-books and dictionaries;
• Parents engage their toddlers through various learning apps, such as, Intro to Letters (fig. 5), Intro to Math, Alpha Writer; 

Fig. 5

• Travelers connect to the world through apps such as, Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate   Experience;
• Food enthusiasts look for recipes through apps such as, Nom Nom Paleo (fig. 6)

Fig. 6

In a nutshell, tablets are growing in almost all the aspects, such as, business, education, health and medical, entertainment etc. and offering a unique blend of connectivity and mobility.

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Why Tablets will become the Future of Education?

With the Introduction of Tablets in Classrooms, E-Books are Just a Click Away

Fig. 1

Before coming to the conclusion, let’s peep inside the classrooms and see what’s going on:

- Long Island University in New York has deployed at least 16,000 iPads for its students, with 3,000 more on the way, according to George Baroudi, CIO, vice president of IT and chief business process improvement officer at the school.

- Widhalm’s school recently received a $266,000 grant to purchase mini iPads for every student.

- The Los Angeles Unified School District—the second largest school district in the country recently spent $30 million to deploy 35,000 iPads to students.

- Smaller districts such as, Guilford County school district in North Carolina is also going the tech way, and, come fall, 20,000 tablets will be distributed to all middle school students.

-  Many districts have begun the process of tablets replacing textbooks. Muller Road Middle School in South Carolina has already gone paperless. This fall, the Susquenita School District in Pennsylvania will replace textbooks with iPads for students in grades eight through ten, and may carry over to students in grades 10 and 11, if deemed successful. And schools like Burlington High School in Massachusetts have pledged to stop buying textbooks.

- The Jackson Christian School in Jackson, Tennessee have gone "virtually paperless" as a result of adopting iPads and digital textbooks.

- The Holy Family School in Ashland has begun using iPads to improve English by teaching children to rap, while the Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista, California has combined the tablet with a specialized app to improve Physical Education.

The list doesn’t end here. This is just the beginning of a new tech-ed era, where tablets are replacing text-books and students as well as educational institutions are happily adopting the new transformations in the field of education.

Not only the schools and universities are desirous of adopting tablets for daily use in the classrooms, tech companies are also helping in pushing the technology in the classrooms. For instance, Microsoft, under its “Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project,” offered to give away Surface RTs to the first 10,000 registrants for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in San Antonio June 2013. In addition, the tech giant is now offering its Surface RT tablets for $199 to educational institutions in 25 countries.

Tablet Revolution in the Education World

The growth in the mobile devices market spurred a new way of learning. There are approximately 1.5-billion mobile devices, such as, smartphones, tablets and mini-tablets in existence today. And by 2018, the number is expected to explode to 7.5-billion screens, or more than one for every person on the planet.

It is estimated that mobile users worldwide will download 70 billion apps in 2013. And over 10% of all tablet apps are dedicated toward education and learning, including toddlers. With so many educational apps available on the app stores, learning has become fun in the classrooms. Students have access to thousands of educational apps such as, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography via App Stores. Major publishers, such as, Pearson, are also plunging in the edu-tech world and are helping in digitally delivering textbooks to iPads via apps.

Why Tablets will become the Future of Education?

• Entertainment + Learning = Improved Learning – tablets help students in improved learning experience
• Interactive and Engaging – students can take polls, tweet questions, and look up information during the class
• Expandable Memory - students can keep hundreds of books at one place
• Affordable – tablets can diminish printing, data storage, and textbook costs by keeping the information in the cloud.
• Quick Access - Students have access to up-to-the-minute information on Tablets

Top Devices available for students

• Apple’s iPad
• Amazon’s Kindle
• Google’s Nexus 7 and other Android tablets
• Microsoft Surface
• Barnes & Noble’s Nook

Top Educational Apps Available on App Store for students

1. HMH FUSE Algebra 1 - HMH Fuse Algebra 1 Common Core Edition gives every student a personalized learning experience using video tutorials, MathMotion step-by-step examples, homework help, quizzes, tips, hints, and many other integrated features to teach, review, and assess all concepts.

Fig. 2

2. Oxford Picture Dictionary, Second Edition - The Oxford Picture Dictionary app provides instant access, anytime and anywhere, to the bestselling picture dictionary.

Fig. 3

3. PBS Parents Play & Learn HD - PBS’ first app designed specifically for parents, PBS Parents Play & Learn provides more than a dozen games parents can play with their kids, each themed around a familiar location–including at the grocery store, at home, in the kitchen, and more. The bilingual (English/Spanish) app makes it easy for parents to seize upon those daily “teachable moments” through theme-based interactive games and simple hands-on activities that connect math and literacy skills to everyday experiences.

Fig. 4

4. POETRY from the Poetry Foundation – The app allows users to take thousands of poems by classic and contemporary poets on the go. From William Shakespeare to César Vallejo to Heather McHugh, the Poetry Foundation’s app turns your phone, iPod Touch or iPad into a mobile poetry library. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or Android 1.6 and up.

Fig. 5

5. School Fuel – The app is a mobile learning platform that allows teachers and school leaders to connect with students in class and on the go. School Fuel App provide customized app libraries aligned to Common Core Standards helping schools deliver the right apps to the right students at the right time-on any device.

Fig. 6

6. Wonders of the Universe - Take a mind-blowing 3D tour of the Universe with Professor Brian Cox as your guide. Journey up from the smallest particles, past the moons and planets of the Solar System, out through the Oort Cloud to the Milky Way, past our local stars and out to distant galaxies before arriving, finally, at the edge of the known Universe.

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How to Capitalize on the Mobile Video Viewing Shift

Mobile Video appears to be a New Additive for Marketers

The exponential growth in mobile devices such as, tablets, smartphones, e-readers etc. has paved the way for new marketing channels. Marketers can use an array of tools and techniques to ensure the success of their business. For instance, after using text messaging services, they are now experimenting with creating mobile videos to widen their reach to their potential customers.

Growth of Mobile Devices

Mobile devices accounted for around half of all mobile-phone sales in Q1 2013, compared with roughly 40% for the whole of 2012. The number of total mobile subscriptions grew by 8% globally year-on-year by Q1 2013.(Source: BusinessInsider)

A Glimpse of Mobile Video's Growth

Video consumption has gained substantial ground in 2012; however, its expansion on mobile devices, such as, tablets and smartphones grew manifold in 2013.  Fig. 1 shows the difference between the rate of growth in mobile video consumption in 2012 and 2013.[Source: BI Intelligence]

Fig. 1

The growth in mobile audience means increased engagement and revenue opportunities for the marketers. Tablet users can be termed as the early adopters who would likely spend more money and consume more media content [Fig. 1]. Marketers can target these audiences and formulate their mobile video strategy accordingly. And not surprisingly, Apple devices continue to dominate video viewing with a 60 % of share, whereas, Android comprises 31 % in comparison.

Fig. 2

 Social Media + Videos = High Engagement

The continuous rise in the mobile users’ interest towards visual content has given marketers an opportunity to present their brands in a new and interesting form. Many have increased their social media marketing efforts to attract more engaged digital video viewers. [Fig.3]

Fig. 3

 More and more people are spending time on video sharing and social networking and various other blogs. Although all the mobile devices let users search or go direct to videos, but, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube offers more engagement. In fig.4 Starbucks Coffee shared a video on their Facebook page, which got 14,939 likes from their followers.

Fig. 4

 Effect on viewers after watching videos

A recent research report on Social Video shows that if marketers get successful in capturing the attention of their target audience, chances are high that they will either access the website of the brand that created that video, or like the video or both. Fig. 5 shows the behavior of the target audience after watching the videos on various channels.

Fig. 5

How Marketers can capitalize on the Video Viewing Shift?

1. Create videos that interest the target viewers: focus on creating content that’s quick and engaging and can be easily viewed by the users on the go. Make the content easy to share so that the mobile users can share the video with their connections.

Fig. 6 shows the most popular video categories viewed (weekly) on various video sharing sites by the users.

Fig. 6

 2. Marketers can share videos on various:

I) Social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Path) – Mobile devices have become the primary devices where they constantly logged in to their social media profiles. Smartphones are the on-the-go devices whereas, tablets have become the bedtime devices. 

II) Video Sharing site (YouTube, Netflix) – In the month of March this year, YouTube, named as the video Mecca, announced a major milestone: one billion monthly users. That’s nearly half the entire user base of the internet. YouTube, the most popular video sharing site passes 4 billion video views daily [HubSpot Research]. As a result, the site has become a favorite platform for marketers to exhibit their products and services.

III) Mobile Apps (Vimeo, Vine, Klip, Instagram) – Over the last two years, the U.S. mobile video audience has increased 77% to 36 million viewers (Source: BusinessInsider).
Brands looking to reach a large video audience for their commercials can upload their video commercials on mobile apps, which are frequently accessed by the users.

Fig. 7

 IV) Video Blogging – is another in-thing in the present times where marketers can build connections and interact with the target viewers like no other blogging format. Brands can also participate in various awards such as, Shorty Industry Awards for Best Use of Video in a Social Media Campaign for more recognition and fame among the target audience.

V) Company website – Adding videos in the company website is a tried and tested technique. According to Forrester Research reports, “a video that is properly submitted (tags, descriptions) is 50 times more likely to hit the front page of Google when compared to standard marketing techniques.” 

3. Communicates with viewers: Marketers can create campaigns where they can ask the viewers to create their own videos. This ensures engagement and makes communication a two-way process.

Are you looking to increase the traffic on your website or want to establish you brand among masses? Mobile video marketing is the way to do it.

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iOS 7 Top Features

iOS 7 Top Features to Know For App Creators

Apple released the iOS 7 beta for developers in the second week of June. And termed it as "the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone", which demonstrated tech giant’s thirst to beat the competition for acquiring new fan following all over the world. 

On their website, Apple unveiled the iOS 7 something like this:

“Reimagine your apps on iOS 7. Download the SDK today and take advantage of the new multitasking APIs, dynamic motion controls in UIKit, AirDrop, Sprite Kit, enhanced video APIs, new features in Game Center and Map Kit, and so much more.”

We have compiled a list of top features of the new OS for developers and designers; after all, they need to start working on their skills to create beautiful and dynamic apps to keep the users hooked up with their creations.

1. New Design: There is quite a bit of information about the radical new flat design by apple. But the thing of great value to developers is that all the change is with the same API's that was used in the earlier version. Which means it would take the same amount of effort to create an iOS 7 app as it would to create an iOS 6 app.

2. UIKit Dynamics: Apple always values tiny details in providing realistic feel to all views in every app. Now this gets even easier with their dynamics physics API. It would have taken considerable effort to add gravity, collision and other physics functionalities in apps. But with this new set of API's it will be significantly easier to add the features. In the simple language, it will be easy to build apps with images which collide with each other; controls which bounce and slide; stacks of to do lists which fall with gravity, and all that within a few hours of development

3. Javascript Bridge: The web apps and hybrid html apps are becoming very prominent. The new API set will help in creating such apps by bridging the javascript with objective-c. It will be easier to evaluate and parse JavaScript objects in objective-c, making it easy to develop hybrid apps and components.

4. Core Motion / CI Detectors: In iOS 7 there are API's to detect the mode of transport i.e. if the users are commuting in a car, bus or using their bicycle or even covering the distance on foot.

There are API's which can be used to detect human sensations and movements, for instance, the API can detect if user bobbed his head, shook his head to left or right. It can even detect an eye blink and smile. With this API, developers can create a wealth of interesting apps.

5. Text Additions / Attributed String: Rich text / attributed string with bold, italics and color in text were always available in Mac. But iOS limited itself to plain text of single color. With increasing attributed string support now it’s easier than ever to have bold and colored text for words within a sentence.

6. Notifications & Multitasking: One major drawback of iOS was that it did not allow the app to run in the background to do any additional processing. With iOS 7, now we can schedule the app to run or send a push notification from server so that it can update the information from server.

For instance, if a flight got delayed and the user have all the flight information stored, then, as soon as the app is opened at the airport the app will display that it has been delayed without keeping the user to wait till the information is fetched from the server.

7. Sprite Kit: Cocos 2D is a great library to create 2D games, but the library development were stalled for some time and sprite kit is the new solution from the tech giant, Apple. This is a great new framework to allow developers to create a great app without worrying too much over OpenGL and keeping the development time of an app to the minimum.

8. AirDrop: This is a new feature from Apple in iOS7 which allow users to share photos and files to a different device nearby. New apps can register to allow sharing their content through airdrop so that it facilitates the transfer of custom content. For instance, a spreadsheet in one device is sent to the other through this.

9. Peer to Peer Connectivity: With this API, multiple devices nearby can connect and talk to each other without the need of a server. You can Meet a random stranger in a coffee shop and start chatting or, have a group chat session in a conference. Many practical rich set of applications can be created from this set of API. 

All in all, there are a slew of amazing features added in iOS7 to revolutionize the creation of unique and interesting apps.

For more information on iPhone app developers and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Building Brands with Mobile Apps

5 Reasons How Creating an App Helps Create Your Brand

Businesses are going mobile.  That’s right, but, the challenge is not just creating your mobile presence by creating mobile sites or mobile apps. The real challenge lies in building a brand with the help of a mobile app.

Why mobile apps?

Creating mobile apps is not a fad, its customer service. Many SMBs that use mobile marketing are experiencing incredible rise in the sales. We have published a post on the same here.

With a rapidly growing mobile population worldwide, businesses cannot turn a blind eye to mobile apps. Especially in an end-consumer market, the return on investment from mobile apps is high as businesses can create more value, reach a huge number of mobile users, engage with the potential customers with a more personalized approach, and ask for their feedback.

Mobile apps have changed the way businesses interact with their prospective customers. They provide a rich platform for marketers, too, to position their products and services in a way so that they can reach and engage customers to be ahead of their competitors.

How mobile apps help in creating your brand?

Businesses who have a thorough understanding of their audience know how they can use apps to create something that is both useful and valuable. For instance, Starbucks' mobile app lets the users make transactions directly with a tap on their smartphones, helping to drive sales. Mobile apps are a wonderful opportunity for the businesses to create a brand name. How?

Here is the key to this question:

1. Awareness – Number of mobile devices and their users is exploding. IDC, a research firm, predicts that in 2013, the total number of smartphones shipped worldwide is expected to reach 958 million units as compared to just 722 million units in 2012, i.e. 32.7% rise as compared to the last year. The research firm also predicts that the tablet devices shipments will reach 229.3 million worldwide, vs. 144.5 million last year, i.e. 58.7% rise in 2013.[Fig. 1]

Fig. 1

With the continuous rise in the use of mobile devices, businesses have widespread reach across the world. They have tremendous opportunities to reach their customers and make them aware of their products and services. All the mobile apps are published either on the Google Play or the Apple App Store where anyone in the world can download your app. For instance, an app can aware a mobile user who is located in South Africa about your product and services and let them reach you if they are interesting in buying your product.

Location based apps are the best way to make your presence felt in the app world, as a study conducted by the GlobalWebIndex found that Google Maps was the No. 1 most downloaded app on tablets and smartphones in the first quarter of 2013, with 54 of users downloading the location app. Facebook ranked No. 2, followed by YouTube [Fig. 2]. Mobile marketers can also use social media sites to publish information or to post images of the products to make their customers aware of their brands.

Fig. 2

2. Engagement – With more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, according to Mary Meeker’s latest Internet Trends report, you have a fair chance to reap the benefits that are now possible through the most personal connection available with your target consumers – the app.

It’s an app world. And to enter in your potential customers’ personal space, you just need to create a smart mobile app that targets their needs and keep them engaged with the app. You can analyze the engagement factor by tracking the following things:

- User behavior, i.e. how much time, users are spending with your app, how many times they re-launch its version updates. For instance, in case, of content apps, such as, news apps, you might track article views and shares.

- How much revenue is being generated from the app, if you have an ecommerce app?

- How users are interacting with the app, i.e. are they using it as a source to compare prices (in case of e-commerce site); are they frequently using it to connect to their friends and family (in case of chat apps); how much time they are spending in playing 9in case of games apps), for how long they are staying on a particular screen etc.

- User retention, for how long they keep the app in their mobile device, i.e. daily, weekly or monthly retention

The higher the users are engage with the app, the better are your chances to establish your product or company as a brand among masses.

3. Increase value – Mobile apps increase the value of your brand by increasing number of loyal users over a period of time. For instance, Nom Nom Paleo, a Paleo food blog, created an app for their users to share Paleolithic diet recipes along with attractive photographs. The cooking app is loaded with a number of exciting features, such as, email-friendly grocery list to makes food shopping a breeze; Over 1,800 stunning, high-resolution photos showing every step of the cooking process; a Whole-friendly 30-day meal plan with links to recipes etc.

With its informative and exciting content, the app garnered five-star customer rating on the iOS app-store

4. Viral marketing – Mobile apps such as, Instagram and Pinterest, make your brand go viral. With 100 million users, Instagram gives you a fair chance to exhibit your products to a huge number of audiences, who are continuously active from their mobile devices. Figure shows the engagement rate is quite high on Instagram as compared to Pinterest.

5. Increase in sales / services – Successful mobile apps help increase in number of sales of your products or services. For instance, L’oreal, an international cosmetic brand, launched two mobile apps for various purposes, such as, the purpose of INOA, one of the two apps, is to drive visitors to their stores. The app uses augmented reality to help the users find nearby stores. [Fig. 3]

Fig. 3

The Color Genius, other L’oreal app, helped their clients in making a decision. The app basically let users take a snapshot of their outfit, select the look (day or night) and then it presents 3 options combining the nail varnish, lip stick and eye shadow shades, depending on the mood of the user (MATCH IT, BLEND IT or CLASH IT). The users can also share it on Facebook and look for feedback from their friends.[Fig. 4]

Fig. 4

For more information on iPhone app developers and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Why You Need Mobile Apps?

Five Reasons Why You Should Create an App

Before finding the reasons on, why do you need to create a mobile app, answer the following questions:

• Do you use mobile devices to shop online?
• Do you use your mobile devices to connect to your friends and relatives on social media sites?
• Do you use your mobile devices to check your business mails or reading news while commuting or traveling?
• Do your kids enjoy learning new things by playing games on your mobile devices?
• Do you or your spouse use mobile apps for searching new recipes or latest fashion trends online?
• Do you take your mobile along with you while going to gym or park to listen to your favorite music track?
• Last but not the least, do you use your mobile devices to connect to your friends and relatives on social media sites?

If the answer to all the questions is yes, and I bet it’s a yes, then you probably are aware of the importance of mobile devices in the present age living.

How fast is mobile internet growing? 

Mobile devices are monopolizing the user experience in the digital world. Mobile devices together with internet, is growing rapidly. Anybody can

travel to any destination; read literature of any of any country or connect to their friends and relatives with the help of a mobile internet.

According to Cisco, “In five years, planet earth will be home to 7.6 billion people, says the United Nations. And those folks will be using 10.3 billion Internet-connected mobile devices.”

In other words, there will be more mobile devices in the world than people, reveal Cisco in its annual report on the growth of the mobile Internet.[Reference: Fig 1& 2]

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Reasons to create Mobile Apps

1. Reach: The reason behind this massive growth in the mobile devices is connectivity, i.e. the freedom to access the information at anytime and anywhere. Given the rapid rise of smartphones and tablet devices, apps have become an integral part of users’ lives. A recent report from ABI, a research firm, estimates the total number of mobile app downloads to reach 70 billion by the end of 2013.

As mentioned earlier that there are a lot more smartphones out there than tablets, out of the total of 70 billion apps, it is estimated that the vast majority of apps will be installed on smartphones (56 billion – 80%), while the remainder (14 billion – 20%) will be installed on tablets.

Experts from ABI Research predict that, 58% of all apps will be downloaded on Android devices, 33% will be downloaded on Apple’s iOS, while Windows Phone and BlackBerry will account for just 7% collectively.

2. Customers shop with their mobile devices: Going deep in further details, mobile users are using shopping apps rapidly, i.e. 247%, after social

networking apps and media and entertainment. The research from Flurry.com shows that consumers are using retailer-specific apps, up to 27% vs. 15% in 2011, but they also are accessing third-party apps, such as online marketplaces (20%). Figure 3 & 4 illustrates the significant growth in the mobile apps industry, as well as the different types of shopping apps used by consumers.

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

3. Quick results with mobile apps: Mobile customers use social networking sites, such as, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to search new products and for various other activities, such as, to compare the prices, to find daily deals etc. [Figure: 4]

Recent trends reveal that small businesses are using mobile technology than ever to save time and increase productivity. 78% of business owners believe mobile apps save their time. They can connect to their customers immediately and pass on the news of new arrivals or information of any sale they are planning to organize.

Mobile apps are a good way to update your customers about special events, specials of the week/day, display product pictures etc. Push notifications break the barrier between you and your customers and update them instantly.

4. PR Tool: Mobile apps offer a brilliant opportunity to be in contact with the online media and let them know about your company and brand. It doesn't matter, whether you are a start-up or well established brand – media loves to talk about mobile apps and this is your chance to capitalize on that trend.

5. Access to information/notification: The significant growth in the mobile apps industry clearly shows that mobile devices are here to rule the digital world. People are spending more time on mobile apps (94 minutes/day) than desktop and mobile web (72 minutes/day) (Source: Brightcove). And this anywhere, anytime access offered by mobile devices is transforming consumer behavior as more and more people turn to their smartphones and tablets as their primary means of going online. And mobile apps are a simple and fast way to reach this ever growing number of mobile users.

So, when are you planning to get an app developed for your business?

For more information on iPhone app developers and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Mobile Marketing and SMBs

How Mobile Devices are Benefiting SMBs?

With the introduction of mobile devices, there is no dearth of opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Users are active almost all the time of the day and can connect to their devices anytime and anywhere. Users are searching information, buying products and services – whether it’s locating the nearest sushi restaurant or booking flights for their upcoming trip, with just a tap on their mobile devices [Fig.1].

Fig. 1

Online sales are estimated to increase to 62.2$ billion over the next three years and mobile driven online sales in the US are expected to reach 2.12$ billion in 2013 [Fig.2].

Fig. 2 (Survey by Voucher Codes Pro)

The businesses which are reaping rich dividends from the mobility era are SMBs. SMBs are exploring the new avenues to reach the potential customers and retain the existing ones. Small businesses are increasingly using mobile technology to be more approachable, productive and competitive. Many businesses are ensuring they are maximizing the use of mobile to improve customer engagement.

There are over 27 million small businesses in the US [Fig.3].

Fig. 3

And 85% of small businesses use smartphones to improve productivity of their business tasks [Fig.4]. A report, conducted by pollster YouGov, found that nearly one-fifth of small businesses in the U.S., Canada and Australia have experienced productivity gains of more than 30% after adopting mobile work styles.

Fig. 4

For 2013, IDC, a leading research firm predicts that U.S. small business adoption of tablet will grow 114% from 4.9 million to 10.4 million tablets.

According to the highlights of the Google Mobile research, “Mobile search is both always-on and on-the-go.” The research also found that three of four mobile searches trigger additional open-ended actions, such as, additional research (36%) or a website visit (25%), to more concrete conversions like a store visit (17%), a purchase (17%), or a phone call (7%).” [Fig.5]

Fig. 5

Businesses using mobile devices are deriving tremendous value out of it. Not only businesses, mobile devices such as, tablets are transforming the education sector as well. iPads, for instance, are considered as the best quality tablets available in the market for students by the L.A. Unified School District. Apple Inc. recently won a $30-million contract from the L.A. Unified School District, paving the way for the company to provide every student with an iPad in the nation's second-largest school system.

Many of the SMBs are opting for the usual e-commerce tricks — a website, online shopping cart and Facebook page — which help them in achieving their goals.  They are turning their attention increasingly towards mobile to engage social media-savvy customers who are ready to spread the word. Evie Poitevent, owner of Feet First, is using social media sites such as, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Snapette (a local fashion shopping app) accounts and frequently updates her customers with new products and promotions[Fig.6]. Users also communicate their requirements and views about the products, news shared on these social media profiles.

Fig. 6

Top Benefits of using mobile devices

Smartphones and Tablets have become an integral part of businesses. Figure 7 shows the benefits businesses are deriving by using these mobile devices. Mobile sites and mobile apps have become a common point for the businesses to reach their customers and communicate with them. 45% businesses say mobile devices help them in attracting new customers.

Fig. 7

From large corporations to local entrepreneurs are finding better opportunities on mobile, as they can use it to fit their business goals. Businesses are turning towards adopting this new technology which embodies a customer-centric culture.

For more information on mobile app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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B2B Marketing

Are you Using Mobile as a Lead-Gen Tool to Reach Target Audiences?

Current scenario:

The invasion of laptops, smartphones and tablets has transformed the way people communicate or do business. Apple laid the foundation of smartphone and tablet market and from there onwards there is no looking back. The introduction of these mobile devices in the tech world has given shape to a landscape where consumers can connect and communicate with anyone and almost anywhere. Smartphones, being at the top, are at the forefront of this change. [Fig. 1] [Source: The Economist]

Fig. 1

According to The Economist, the sale of connected devices – specifically smartphones – will reach nearly 700 million by 2013. What’s more, there are likely to be 10 billion mobile connected devices by 2020, compared to just one billion PCs in 2008. [Fig.2]

Fig. 2

The upward curve in gadget sales is clear, which is an indication of people using their mobile devices for various purposes other than sending or receiving calls, messages or emails. And smartphones are most common devices for users to initiate online activities, which are further continued on the PCs and Tablets. According to Google, 65% users search for information about the product on the smartphone and later on 60% of them carried forward their search on a PC and 4% of them looked for the info on a tablet. [Fig. 3]

Fig. 3

Users are constantly using their mobile devices, which show they are more engaged on these devices as compared to other devices.

Top business objectives for mobile marketing

Mobile brings new opportunities for B2B marketing as well. 

According to a report by Ogilvy & Mather, “Mobile makes B2B marketing more effective, sales interactions more productive, distribution partners more successful and customers more engaged. The impact is enormous and grows all the time.”

According to Mobile Marketing Benchmark Report by MarketingSherpa, “marketers are concerned primarily with 3 stages of the marketing funnel. 63% of marketers revealed that increase sales conversion and revenue is their top priority, and increase in lead generation trailed closely behind 55%.” [Fig.4]

Fig. 4

Mobile devices let marketers bridge their offline marketing efforts by creating mobile apps that direct prospects through an industry trade show.

Why marketers are opting for Mobile for B2B?

Businesses are opting for mobile devices in B2B marketing for the following reasons:

I) Growth: Mobile devices growth rate is unprecedented and seems unstoppable at present. With mobile devices overtaking PCs as the most common web access device worldwide by 2013 [Figure 1], the growth opportunities are very high for the marketers. With users turning to mobile devices, its marketers turn to integrate mobile into their marketing initiatives.

II) Engagement: In their pursuit of being in touch with their businesses and teams, professionals use their internet connected device constantly. Mobile devices have become a preferred way for the businesses to fulfill their consumers’ needs and their own personal activities simultaneously. Marketers can develop mobile solutions for these business professionals so that they can work faster and smarter. And they connect to their audiences and engage them with their brands and increase their brand’s ROI.

III) Reach: With a high percentage of traffic on mobile apps [Fig. 5], mobile presents B2B marketers with a new channel to pull more prospects to their businesses. With mobile apps marketers can reach worldwide audience – no matter where those prospects are physically located.

Fig. 5

IV) Lead Generation: Earlier, direct mail, print and broadcast media were the most preferred channels for lead generation for B2B marketers. However, the scenario has transformed completed with the introduction of mobile devices and its various services such as, mobile apps, GPS services, mobile sites and SMS. Marketers can use these tools to reach the widespread audiences and pull the potential customers. According a report by Panvistamobile, “Lead generation is an essential function of B2B mobile apps as it helps to produce a direct ROI from the initiative.”

The rise of tablets and smartphones also reflects a big shift in the marketing world. Mobile devices are becoming more versatile with each passing day. Inclusion of features such as, larger screen size, clearer picture quality and shop-on-the-go, are proving rewarding to the consumers as well as the retailers. Whether it is B2C or B2B, businesses have started focusing on refining their mobile marketing strategies and are looking for ways to achieve success through mobile revolution.

For more information on app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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