Our roundup of noteworthy digital marketing insights, tips and trends from last week’s news:
1. Mobile marketing: Is "cross-screen" the new "mobile-first"?
Remember "mobile first"? Brands are starting to realize that mobile isn't the beginning and the end of consumer engagement; it's one of two or three screens that consumers use throughout the day, writes Lauren Johnson on Mobile Marketer. Marketers who can master "cross-screen" engagement across multiple devices — from smartphones to tablets to laptops — and often at the same time are the ones that will succeed. Still, "cross screen" marketing has its challenges, including finding the "right mix of content that is tailored to a specific device." Wacarra Yeomans, director of creative services at Responsys, says the answer lies in developing a responsive design that can adapt to different screen sizes and gadgets. "Responsive design isn't a silver bullet, but it allows marketers to prioritize and think through what specifically their mobile audience needs," she said.
Read more at Mobile Marketer
2. Social media: Forty-six surprising facts
It's easy to forget how quickly social media has taken off. Jeff Bullas, a blogger and author of Blogging the Smart Way, has designed an infographic that highlights just how quickly the channel has grown. Among the more interesting factoids:
Read more at JeffBullas.com
3. New school marketing: Big data lessons from Tesco
How did Tesco become a supermarket giant? By using customer data to build loyalty, says Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco's former CEO who spoke recently at the SAS Premiere Business Leadership Series in Orlando. Old-school marketing, he says, tells brands to give Coke fans an incentive to buy Pepsi. "That's how the whole industry is set up, to incentivize people to do what they're not already doing," said Leahy, "when you actually should reward and reinforce what they're already doing." But you can't do that until you know who your customers are.
Read more at Direct Marketing News
4. Mobile marketing: SMS may be more important than you think
Ever heard of "nomophobia"? It's the fear of being out of mobile contact and, according to one British study, it affects about half of all men and women. Eric Lazar, vice president of mobile CRM for ePrize, argues that digital marketers are missing an opportunity. “With nearly all phones equipped with SMS capabilities, and with consumers reading virtually every text within minutes after receipt, why is it that businesses still choose to forego this channel and rely solely on mobile optimized websites and native applications?” Here's what Lazar says mobile marketers are ignoring:
Read more at The Next Web
5. Email marketing: How marketers can become more relevant
According to Daniel Burstein, director of editorial content at marketing research firm MECLABS, marketers can create better customer-focused messaging in their email marketing campaigns. Two examples:
Read more at MarketingSherpa